These Days

Hey Bestie

~ dddesignz ~ 1 Comment

This layout is very special to me. I designed it as a birthday gift for one of my life-long friends, Gail, who was celebrating a milestone birthday. We’ve been through decades together, and she’s been there for me through thick and thin. While there may be a few years difference in ages, we’ve had fun together as if we were classmates growing up together. It turned out that we both married the man of our dreams the same year. Coincidently, our husbands share the same first name. The picture in this layout comes from our mutually celebrated 25th wedding anniversary trip to Italy. A dream come true for all four of us!

I used the Hey Bestie cut file from Cut to You as the centrepiece for this design. The cut file was cut from white cardstock and then pierced with a paper piercer to allow a stitched border.

The letters were stitched with pale peach embroidery floss and the heart with pale blue. Cocoa Vanilla Studio’s, These Days, coordinating patterned paper, was used to backfill the letters in the title.

I created a shaker pocket for the heart and added some sequin mix from Cocoa Vanilla’s Daydream collection. These sequins coordinated with this collection beautifully. At this stage, the title was set aside. The background paper for this design came from a Vicki Boutin collection of Ready-to-Use Mixed Media Paper pads. The gold, pink, and peach background was a stunning backdrop for this completed title. In preparation for securing the title to the page, it was backed with Foam Sticky Strips from Taylored Expressions. The photo was placed on a coordinating patterned paper used in backing the title. Once I was happy with the positioning of each, they were both secured to the page.

The page was completed by adding various coordinating embellishments from the These Days collection. The flower cluster, seen at the top left of the photo, was created using various elements from the Floral Ephemera pack. The yellow butterfly was used from the Die Cut Ephemera pack and the small colour-coordinated hearts came from the Puffy Stickers collection. The final embellishments added were the gold heart and the YOU ARE SO LOVED phrase to the bottom right of the title.

When the layout was complete, it was placed in a white shadow box before it was gifted to Gail. She loved her gift and the beautiful reminder of our special friendship. I hope you have at least one friend this special. Here’s to girlfriends everywhere!

Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Hugs

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

There are times we feel helpless when friends are hurting. Life can be so hard sometimes. Add a pandemic into the mix, and those who suffer can feel isolated and alone. Reaching out to them is helpful in any form. Today I felt the need to let someone I know how much I love and care for them. Making and sending a card is such an easy thing to do when you can’t physically be with them.

The pretty papers in this card came from Cocoa Vanilla Studio‘s These Days collection. I often purchase the A5 Paper Stack in these collections, as they are excellent for card making. I chose butterfly paper to cover the whole card front. Next, I used two Stitched Scallop Basic Edged 2 dies (currently not available) from My Favorite Things to shape the soft green leafy paper.

The HUGS sentiment comes from Papertrey Ink, and I have had it in my collection for at least a decade. It is a timeless set that I will continue to use for many years to come. I purchased the coordinating stamp set for these dies and used the word SENDING for the front of the card. Each letter of the word HUGS has intricate cutouts. I wanted these cutouts filled with coordinating colours of this collection. The easiest and quickest way to achieve this was to cut the coordinating papers and back these sections. I layered the completed die cut on fun foam to provide a bit of texture and dimension to the card.

The final touch was adding a few hearts from the These Days Puffy Stickers sheet. I’m very happy with the end result and hope my friend feels the love I’m sending with it.

Thanks for stopping by, and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Together We Have It All

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

This.

Like all mothers out there, I am proud of my family and all their accomplishments. What I admire most is their ability to be positive and focused, regardless of what life presents. Core to our relationship is an understanding that one of the most important aspects is our strong connection. We are here for each other through thick and thin, for better for worse. Our strong relationship makes us rich in so many ways. This foundation is what matters most to us. When life throws us a monkey wrench, we carry on together.

This summer, I felt like one of the luckiest women in the world. After many months of separation due to COVID, my family reunited in August! Sean and Tanis travelled from Edmonton to join us at the cottage. It has been six long years since Sean had the opportunity to spend time there, and the first time Tanis was able to travel east during the summer. Honestly, having everyone together at our happy place was a dream come true!

As I began designing a layout concept to document this event, I came up with the title but was unable to source it out. I turned to Marie Hurst, owner of Peartree Cutfiles, and asked for her help. Not only did she agree to design the cut file Together we Have it All, but she also exceeded all my expectations! I’m simply in love with the result! Thank you, Marie, I’m so deeply grateful!

I utilized two Cocoa Vanilla Studio collections in this layout, Daydream and These Days. I love how the collections work well together and allow for the mixing and matching of embellishments. All papers in this layout came from the Daydream collection. The background paper is Sweet Serenity, and those used in the title are Garden Variety (backside), All Aflutter and Daisy Days, respectfully. To create the completed title, I offset the letters slightly and then adhered them on top of the base title using Taylored Expressions Foam Sticky Strips. I filled the two cut out hearts with puffy hearts from both the Daydream and These Days collections. They were a perfect fit and complement to finish off the title.

A selection of embellishments from the These Days Die Cut Ephemera package completed the layout. To create the dimension on the butterflies, I placed score lines on either side of the butterfly’s bodies and then gently folded the wings up. Scor-Tape was then applied in the thin centre channel to adhere the butterflies to the page.

The best thing we have in life is to hold on to one another. No matter where we go, what life throws our way, together, we truly have it all. Thank you, Marie, for helping me document a very special time this summer!

Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!