How I Made My July Layout

This layout shows my daughter Emily dressed for a dance show.

 This month we are scraplifting Gabrielle Polloco and challenging you to use YARN on your layout. Here is Gabrielle's original layout using Bo Bunny's Country Garden papers ...

 .. and our sketch

I also used Bo Bunny papers and selected seeds, stripe and cut outs.

Here is what I did:

Cut green garden stripe paper, to leave a 1” border frame, distress and ink the outer edges.

I used Seeds paper cut down to 11.5” x 11.5” by taking some off more than two sides to keep the parts of design I wanted. I didn't worry about cutting off stitches as I planned to add them back in later. Distress and ink the edges. Stick blue paper to green border centrally, giving a border of 0.25” all round.

Decorate with some brown machine stitches.

Distress and ink the edges of photo and mount onto green paper leaving a very thin border. Machine stitch in white round the photo edges, starting and beginning at the bottom as this will be hidden. Distress and ink the edges of green paper.

Cut stripe paper vertically as wide as you can and approx. 6” long. Distress, ink and stitch around three sides. Select two panels from ‘Cut Out sheet and treat as stripe. Stick stripe piece lightly on layout about 3” down from top and 1.75” in from the left.

Draw a 6.8” circle very lightly in pencil, and zig-zag stitch around the lines (start and stop where the stitches won’t show). If pencil lines show, carefully rub away. Stick other panels into place.

POTTED PLANT - Cut flower pot in Kraft Bazzill using QuicKutz die. Shade with chalk inks. Add top to pot with 3D foam pads. Cut ‘stick’ from brown Bazzill using Cricut and 'Doodlecharms' cartridge at 3” and add to pot.

Use pink coloured section of spare patterend papers and punch out lots of petals with Martha Stewart ‘Hydranga’ punch. Ink in pink and layer up on stick to make potted hydrangea. Decorate the centres with stickles, perfect pearls or flat backed pearls. Stick plan to left of layout.

BRANCH - Cut 2” branch and leaves from brown and green Bazzill using ‘Straight from the Nest’ Cricut Cartridge. Add to top left of page and add blossoms cut and prepared in the same way as the Hydrangea.

BANNER - Cut ‘Believe in Yourself’ banner from ‘cut out ‘ sheet, ink the edges and add over banner on layout wit 3D foam pads.

FLOWER BED / FENCE - Cut flower bed from brown Bazzill using template provided. Stick along base of photo. Cut two fence panels at 1.5” using white Bazzill and Paper Dolls Dress Up Cartridge for Cricut. Ink, overlap and stick together to make one longer fence. Stick with 3D foam pads towards bas of flower bed.

Make 9  mini seed packs using QK die and Kraft Bazzill. Draw some tiny seed pack images. Cut out and stick images to packets. Cut some spare Brown Bazzill into thin strips to make sticks to add to seed packets. Arrange in flower bed, slightly behind fence so the peep over the top.
Add garden twine to fence twisting and looping along the way.

I drew the little seed packet images and coloured them with my Promarkers. Because Linda and I make up kits which we sell via Cradinal Colours I made these images available in black and white as well as colour for the kits. I am aslo happy to send your the images to anyone who wants them - just drop me an email.

Cut butterflies from patterned paper and arrange on layout.

Add some blossoms and flat backed pearls for centres.

Use Cricut and ‘George and Basic Shapes’ cartridge cut a title 1” high with shadow using brown and green Bazzill. Add title to top right of layout.

Write journalling on one of the panels beside the photo.

And it's finished!

Thanks for looking. Please pop back to the 'Y is for Yarn' post for more details of the challenge and prize.

How I Made My January Page

This is the double page I made for the 'T is for Texture' January challenge. I used photos of my family from Christmas 1998. Because the colours were so mixed I changed them all to sepia before printing them out.

This month we are scraplifting a layout by Stacey Hansen, called Life's a highway, from September 2011 Creating Keepsakes Magazine. We are challenging you to use lots of texture (or lumpy bits), make a double layout and lots of photographs.

Left hand page

Right hand page 

I used:

2 sheets Red Bazzill cardstock

1 sheet Leapfrog Bazzill cardstock

1 sheet Salt Dotted Swiss Bazzill Cardstock

QuicKuts dies - Poinsettia, treelights, Lucy Alphabet

Creative Memories Large Circle Template

Technique Tuesday Cardstock Fundamentals

The patterned papers are American Crafts Christmas Dear Lizzy collection, Twinkling Tree, Gracious Gifts, Garland Greetings and Poinsettia and Pine.

Here is what I did:

Use the two pieces of red cardstock as a base for the double layout.

Cut two pieces of diagonal red white and green stripe, 4" x 12", use TT FUNdamental Postage Stamp template to draw pattern along the top of both pieces, just to mark where to cut, then using a small 5/8" circle punch cut notches in place.  Stick these to each piece of red about 2" up from the bottom so the pattern runs right across both pages, leave top unstuck to allow for tucking circle and bracket in place later.

Use a medium sized 'Swanky Frame' TT FUNdamental shape as a template. With Leapfrog cardstock cut half a frame following the outside edge of this shape. Cut a piece from holly paper using the inner frame as a guide. Mount the holly paper on top of the green, and tuck this under the diagonal striped paper on the right side of the layout to the right of this piece, about 3" down from the top. Trim where this overlaps the side of the layout.

Cut about 3/4 of a circle using the outer edge of the CM template and the fine stripe paper. Cut the inner circle from the dotted Swiss cardstock. Mount white over stripe and cut down the centre. Mount half of this shape on each side of the layout so they meet in the middle. See sketch for placement, but this is also about 3" down from the top. This is also tucked under the diagonal striped paper, and all is stuck down. (However I wanted a little spare red cardstock for making flowers, so I gutted some from under where the circle is going to sit before sticking all down for this purpose!).

I ran a wide red grosgrain ribbon with a white stitch effect across the bottom of the diagonal striped paper, then added a 5mm green satin ribbon on top of this, with a green bow to the left side of the left page.

I matted all my photos in white and arranged them across the layout as in the sketch (roughly).

Then I dusted off the QuicKutz, which has been neglected since I acquired my Cricut!  I got busy and cut 16 poinsettia petals and 16 leaves, arranging these in pairs to make 8 flowers. I curved the petals with the scissor blade and attached each pair together with a gold brad, these were added to the layout with a 3D foam pad. The leaves were added later, 2 to each flower. Then I cut lots of small tree bulbs and arranged in a garland along the top of the layout, each of these is raised on a tiny piece of 3D foam too.

Next I cut my title using Leapfrog cardstock and the Lucy Alphabet dies. I arranged these letters inside the white circle.

Thanks for looking.

If you want more details of this layout please see my blog.

For more details of this challenge please go back to the post titled 'T is for Texture' of 01/01/12 on this blog.