NEW CUT FILES | Back to School Bash

Can you believe it's already time for back to school??!!  You're either ready to get those kids back with their teachers, or hoping to hang on to summer days a little bit longer.  We homeschool, so mine are with me 24/7!  HA!  Since we homeschool, I don't always have the usual school photos, but I just had to use the NEW School Days cut file.  Thankfully, we had the chance to help out on one of our church campuses last weekend with a backpack giveaway for kids in the community, and I made sure to snap a couple of photos.

When I sat down to work on the layout, I remembered having a kit from Freckled Fawn, that I bought last year that would work perfectly for a school themed layout.  All of my patterned papers are from the kit, and I love the way the burst patterned paper looks behind the backpack cut file.  Since I had cut the cut file from white cardstock and had such a bold paper backing it, I wanted something subtle behind it, but not solid white.  You can imagine how excited I was to have the fun notebook paper to use for my background!

Even though the papers from the Freckled Fawn kit worked with the school theme, most of the embellishments did not.  So I decided to dip into my Pinkfresh Studio Office Hours collection.  I looked for pieces that would coordinate with the colors in the burst paper and found quite a bit.  I created a photo cluster on the right hand side with some of the embellishments and then made another embellishment cluster on the left hand side, that included my journaling.

I needed something for my title, and had these black and white Thickers in my stash.  They work great with any collections, and I love the contrast with the bright colors.  The spacing worked out perfectly to add the title on the lower portion of the backpack.  

I hope you'll stop by The Cut Shoppe store and pick up the School Days cut file.  And while you're there, make sure you check out our other new designs that are now available!

 

So Lucky TN Spread with Neftali

Happy Saturday scrappy friends! It’s Neftali here with you today to share some scrappy inspiration. Today I have a super duper quick Travelers Notebook spread using the Beach Bum cutfile set below using gelatos and a fun trick to mix them into your Travelers notebooks!

I only used the sea shell cutfile out of the Beach Bum set for this project. 

Before I continue, let me show you the finished spread:

It’s a super simple spread that I decided to create to keep the main focus on this stunning photo of the sunset here in California. I also chose my colors from the photo and kept it to a monochromatic gold. 

So for my background I brought out some more Gellatos in a copper, gold, and peach color. 

I didn’t use water at all, instead, I used my fingers to rub out the color. It works wonders, too. The warmth of your fingers helps rub out the creamy crayons, and since were working on such thin pages from the TN notebook, this is a perfect technique to add a bit of color on your backgrounds.

I also used the gelatos to color over the cutfile and it just gives it the perfect pop off the page and the colors of the background.

Not only did I use the gold color schemes gellatos but I also added some gold shimmer spray. Then I was ready to add my photo. I just cut that to add to both sides of the spread, instead of folding it, and I finished it off with some gorgeous gold glitter Thickers with the phrase, “So Lucky.” Because seriously, there’s no other feeling you get standing at the foot of this glorious sight. 

So, lovelies, this was pretty much all I did to create this TN spread. It came together very quickly, and I am actually currently loving popping into my TN or other projects to create simple projects that include new and fun techniques. I hope I have inspired you all to grab this cut file and give it a go for those summer photos you might have.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Filter-Fun

Hello!  It's Melissa here, and today I have a layout featuring my favourite SnapChat filter, the adorable bunny!  I loved it so much I had to try it on all of my kids, even our sleeping baby!  I used the Bless Your Heart cut file set, and loved them so much I had to use all 4 on the one layout.  I used my January Hip Kit, featuring Maggie Holmes "Chasing Dreams".  The paper strips at the top and bottom of the page are Dear Lizzy.

I started with white cardstock and pink and gold acrylic paint.  I wanted to keep the cut file hearts white, so I painted behind each one in pink gold.  When I adhered my photos and hearts I used minimal adhesive behind the photos so that the hearts looked like they were floating.

I kept all my embellishment around each photo to one area, which enabled each cut file to shine.

This layout has minimal patterned paper, and I love how it turned out.

Here is the cut file set.

Thanks so much for looking!

Little Moments With Irit

Hi! Irit here with a layout I created using a fun new cut file from The Cut Shoppe. Here's the finished project-

I used the Everyday Essentials cut file for this one. 

I supersized one of the images and used it as a main design element, backing it with different patterned paper.

All the patterned papers are from the Happy Day Felicity Jane kit. The Thickers are by Amy Tan.

I also used the star image, but only cut the outline, and resized some so I could sew a fun little embellishment.

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to check out The Cut Shoppe for this cut file and many many more! Have a scrappy day!

Wands at the Ready

Hello there! I have layout to share with you using the Very Squarey cut file. This layout was inspired by a 6"x6" paper pad. I wanted to use as many patterns from it as possible, and was looking for a file that would be great for featuring the designs. Very Squarey was perfect!

I backed some of the squares with paper, and left others blank. I love the look of white on white! I used the Shimelle Starshine collection and a photo of my wand and I at the Harry Potter theme park! I added bold title with thickers and some ephemera, but kept the embellishing on the simpler side.

I love the way it turned out! Thank you for joining me, I hope you have a great day!

Rock&Roll

Hey there scrappy friends,

Zsoka here with you today with my first layout for The Cut Shoppe! I am so honored to be here! If you know my work, you know that I use cut files in some form on about 98% of my layouts and I've been using The Cut Shoppe cut files pretty much since I started to scrapbook last year!

I never plan out my layouts, I usually don't know where I'm going with them when I start. Generally I open up Silhouette Studio, look at my cut files and see what inspires me at that moment. I more often than not have no idea what photo I will scrap at this point. Sometimes I just feel like doing some hand stitching. Again, no particular plans on my mind what they will be turned into. With my first layout this is what happened. I wanted to do some hand stitching and for some reason the Make A Splash cut file jumped out at me. I think I haven't used it before! I chose the sun and cut three different sizes from different papers from Paige Evans' Fancy Free line for Pink Paislee. 

Because this was going to be quite a lot of stitching, I used the perforate tool (after adding an internal offset to my design) to score the paper. This was the first time I did this and I will be honest, I was quite disappointed with the results! When I use my paper piercer my stitching looks much nicer, granted, it also takes much longer! 

 

Once I was done, I layered my suns on my pink background paper, stitched down the biggest one, then added some foam in between the layers to add some dimension. Then I was looking at the layout for hours wondering what was wrong with it... I just didn't like something but I could not put my finger on what exactly...Then I took a deep breath and cut around the stitching, removing my background paper. Yes I wasted a sheet of Fancy Free paper! While cutting through under my biggest sun, I accidentally tore the paper in a couple of places...I wasn't going to redo it that's for sure :). So how to cover up those spots?! I wrapped some embroidery floss around them...I think it actually looks nice! Happy accidents :).

I then went through my other FF papers and found one I did some mixed media work on but never used because I didn't like it for what I intended to use it. And it was perfect!!! I really liked that there's just a bit of mixed media peeking out from under the sun. I don't know about you but I love when I find something in my stash that has been there forever and finally I find a use for it!

To finish it off I added my title and some embellishments: chipboards, tags, puffy stickers and buttons. Done!

I hope you like my first project for The Cut Shoppe! Should you have any questions, just ask in the comments! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day! X

Best Ever

Hello there! Today I have a fun layout to share with you using the Half Hearted cut file. This cut file is definitely a new favorite of mine, and I've loved seeing the other design team members use it! 

While it's perfect for Valentine's Day, the way I used it in this layout was more for everyday.

This layout looks more complicated than it is. I cut the cut file out on a patterned paper, and backed the negative with a bunch of different patterns from a 6x6 pad. I made sure to try and distance similar patterns and colors. After that, I added my layering and embellishing. The layout was looking really busy, so I toned it down by adding definition to the hearts with a black pen. Easy peasy!

I definitely want to use this cut file again for a Valentine themed layout! Thanks for joining me today!

Put a Little Love in Your Heart

Do you ever work on a layout, that you put a lot of love into?  The one I'm sharing today, definitely took a lot of love because of all of the hand stitching!!  I wanted to create a string art look in the background, using our new The Thin Line Alpha cut file.  It did take a lot of work, but I had fun doing it and really loved that it turned out the way I wanted it to.

Here's a look at how I used the cut file to create the string art design.  First, I opened The Thin Line Alpha and went to Object then down to Trace.  With the Trace window open, I clicked Select Trace Area and then used my mouse to highlight the whole alpha.  Next, I unchecked the High Pass Filter box and clicked Trace under Apply Trace Method.  This gives me the cut lines for the alpha set.  To separate the alphas, I clicked Release Compound Path under Object.  This gives me the ability to choose just the letters that I want to use.  So I highlighted over the L, O, V and E individually and moved each one aside.

Since I didn't need the rest of the alphabet, I just deleted the other traced letters.  Then I moved the word Love to the center of the mat in Silhouette Studio and enlarged it.  Once I had it at the size I wanted, I clicked the Cut Settings tool on the right hand side of the tool bar of Silhouette Studio.  Then I selected each letters outline and clicked No Cut.  I only wanted to cut the inside lines of each letter on the Cameo.

 

After the inside lines finished cutting, I went back to the Cut Settings tool and changed the outside lines back to cut.  Then I just deleted the inside lines in each letter.

The last step, was drawing a box around the mat in Silhouette Studio, using the box tool on the left hand side.  Instead of cutting this time, I placed a sketch pen in the Cameo and drew the lines as a template for my stitching.

I really love using this technique with the sketch pens to create stitching templates and mix it with cutting on the Cameo.  It creates a fun and unique look on your layouts!

And if you would like to pick up the new The Thin Line Alpha, as well as our other new sets that are now available, make sure stop by The Cut Shoppe Etsy store.  You can still shop with the Discount Code MERRY31 through December 31st to save 31% off of your purchase!!

Supplies:  The Thin Line Alpha cut file:  The Cut Shoppe; Patterned Paper, Wood Veneers, Bits & Pieces, Cork Embellishments & Stickers:  Elle's Studio; Thickers:  American Crafts; Enamel Dots:  My Mind's Eye; Tiny Attacher:  Tim Holtz; Die Cut Machine:  Silhouette Cameo