The Cut Shoppe: Snow Day

Hello! Michelle here with you today to share a new layout where I used both the new Frosty Flakes and Bits and Baubles cut files that recently became available in The Cut Shoppe.

When beginning my project, I first cut the Frosty Flakes cut file out of white cardstock with the intention of layering it over a matching white background. This is one of my go to techniques because it adds interest in a simple way. However, as I was playing around with placement, I decided I really liked it as a layering element and thought it would be super fun to have all the snow flakes peaking out from behind my photo. With that decision made, here is what I created:

My daughter's neutral colored photo really opened up the gates for picking a color combination to use. I ended up using patterned paper from the very pretty Hello, Love Collection from Crate Paper as well as the Goldie Collection from Seven Paper. The floral paper was by far my favorite and I ended up layering it underneath the snowflake.

I chose to cut the "Snow Day" title out of a black patterned paper to create some contrast against the lighter colors. 

Don't forget, The Cut Shoppe is passing on the savings to you all month long with a discount to save 31% off your purchase:

Wishing you a happy holiday!

Michelle

Citrus Twist Kits: December

Hi all! Today I want to share my projects made with the December Kits from Citrus Twist!  This month I actually had a super easy time creating, even with the hectic schedule of the holidays and the round of sickness that made its way through our house, and its all down to how fantastic the kits were!

The kits for this last month of the year are a mix of products from companies such as Crate Paper, Seven Paper, and Basic Grey. That last one-Basic Grey-was a surpise hit for me. I really haven't been too aware of what they released this past year, but every time something of theirs finds its way into a kit, even if it is just paper, it's pretty fantastic. I will definitely have to put them on my radar for the next wave of releases......

As I said earlier, I worked with "kits," which include the Scrapbook Main Kit, Embellishment Kit, Sprinkles Kit, and the Pattern Play #1 Kit. You can see photos of the kits in full HERE.

Now for my projects! Up first is my Main Kit only layout:

This layout was about simple layers and stickers--which are my most used scrapping supply.

There is a little bit of all the kits in this next one, except for the paper clip which is from an older kit. The yellow paisleyish patterned paper is from Basic Grey and I loved it! The yellow gold color is super pretty and made me think of all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I read growing up!

And yes, my obsession with leaf cut files is still going strong.....

The third and final layout that I am sharing is probably my fave of the bunch and it was the most simple to put together. 

This page was solely inspired by the diecut squares from the new Goldie Collection from Seven Paper. I had them laying out on my work space and as I was looking at them it hit me that they would work perfectly for a recent drive out to the desert that my husband had taken us girls on. I almost stopped mid-layout to jump to this one!

 

Well there you have it, my first three projects using the December Kits from Citrus Twist! As always, thanks for stopping by!

Michelle

Gossamer Blue: December Reveal

Hi guys! Today's blog post is all about the December Kits from Gossamer Blue! Yay!

This month the kits really inspired me and I was a happy scrapper as I put together new layouts use the lovely mix of products that include the newest products from Crate Paper, Pink Paislee, and Seven Paper (aka Studio Calico).

First up is layout featuring a super happy girl standing on Main Street in Disneyland. This was one of my fave photos of the day and that meant I had a little anxiety about creating a layout that really complimented the photo. With the help of all the beautiful colors in the kits, I gave it my best shot:

Seriously, the sheet of heart patterned paper from Seven Paper was one of those where I felt super torn between keeping it whole and saving forever or cutting it up and using everywhere! I chose to cut it up ;).

I sort of surprised myself with this next layout. Early on as I was beginning to piece together the basic design, I had the crazy idea to switch up my usual white thread to BLACK and stitch all over. I was super happy how that random thought turned out!

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I really believe that my change in thread color took this layout to a new level. Funny how such a simple change up can make a whole lot of difference!

Well, that's all I am sharing for now, but I won't hold out on you too long! If you want to see a sneak peak of my other projects as well as check out the rest of the design team's work, you can head on over to the Gossamer Blue Gallery where there is loads of inspiration! 

Wishing you a great day!

Michelle

Citrus Twist Kits: November Reveal

This past weekend the November Kits at Citrus Twist Kits were revealed and they are beautiful! Here's what the November Main "Happy Lane" Kit looks like:

The color scheme in this kit was right up my alley with the neutrals and pops of yellow and blue. The surprise hit with me this month was the pack of ephemera from Basic Grey's Sunkissed collection--loved every piece of it!

I also worked with the Sprinkles, Embellishment, and Patterned Play #1 Kits--I like having options!  Here are two of my projects that I have created this month:

For more inspiration, make sure and stop by the both the Gallery and the CTK Blog--our design team is a busy one and there is always something new for you to see! 

Have a great day!

Michelle

Celebrate

Happy Saturday everyone! I don't know about you but I have been so looking forward to the weekend! Two of my kiddos started school a week and a half ago and I have been slow to adjust to my new schedule. This past summer I gave myself permission to take the break easy-no real schedule, hanging out at home, being mellow.....and I have certainly been paying for it! And to be perfectly honest, the only reason I am able to sit down and write this post is the fact that my daughter is home sick. Having already taken my (grumpy) 9th grader to school, I am pretty much on chill status this morning and finally have some time to share a new layout! Yay!

Despite having a Silhouette Portrait, I still regularly use my manual diecut machine--sometimes when I want a simple shape it's is just so much easier and less time consuming to pull it out and cut my shapes. This is especially true anytime I want some circles, like I did for this next layout:

I went into this layout knowing that I wanted to do some sort of a grid using a mix of patterned papers and that I wanted them to be circles. I ended up going with a two by two grid. Then, to take my grid idea even further, I machine stitched a grid connecting the four circles.

To balance my layout I "floated" one of the remaining circles in the top left corner of my layout. Anytime I am working with this type of layout design-one where the bulk of the layout is either at the top or the bottom-I will usually "cut" my layout diagonally into two triangles and will make sure to fill one of them.

 

I used a mix of products for this layout that includes bright and colorful papers and embellishments from Chickaniddy, Seven Paper, Dear Lizzy, Crate Paper, and October Afternoon. 

Wishing you a great day!

Michelle

Citrus Twist: August

Happy August everyone! I am not quite okay with how fast the summer is rollin' by, but lucky for me I have a new kit from Citrus Twist  to console me!  Ha ha.

The August Kits from Citrus Twist were revealed this past weekend and today I want to share those with you! This month I worked with the August Main, Embellishment, and Pattern Play Kits. Here is a look at what you will find in them:

August Main Kit

August "Go There" Embellishment Kit

August Pattern Paper Play Kits #1 and #2

 

My first layout that I want to share with you today uses a mix of all the kits:

Whenever I see stickers in a kit I get excited! They are one of my favorite embellishments and the Journey stickers (from Crate Paper)  in the Embellishment Kit are just so pretty! 

Currently at Citrus Twist, we are holding a fun #JUSTSTAMPIT Challenge on Instagram. 

If you haven't already checked out Jessy's stamps that she designed for Citrus Twist, you can check them out here in the shop.

Wishing you a great day!

Michelle