hello there ♥

Good morning, Shannon here sharing this layout with you ♥

It has some of my very favorite people in it, and it's perfect for featuring one of Ashley's brand new files! Take a look:

You'll find Hello Hello and The Happy Little Clouds set on this layout, thanks for taking a look!

Make sure you keep checking back on the blog for inspiration! ♥

Cactus Embroidery with Kira

Hey everyone!  It's Kira and I am back with a little off the page project today.  Did you know you can use The Cut Shoppe cut files as embroidery patterns?!  I chose this cute little cactus from the Llama Love cut file to embroidery as a gift for a friend.

There's a few ways you can use the cut file as an embroidery pattern, but to start, you'll need to choose your hoop size and fabric.  I buy 5.5" hoops in bulk so that's the size I went with, but any size will work!  And I typically use a cotton blend fabric, but if you're a beginner, a sturdier fabric might be best.

Then to transfer your cut file.  You could print the cut file on paper and trace around the image onto your fabric by using a light box or window.  You could use the draw feature on your die cut machine to trace the image onto paper and then transfer it onto your fabric.  Or you can do what I do and let your die cut machine trace the image directly onto your fabric for you!  It's so easy!  I use just a regular black precision pen, but if you do that, you will need to make sure you cover up all the pen marks with your stitching.

Once you have your image transferred, it's just a matter of stitching.  I am no professional here.  I am actually self taught and have Pinterest to thank for that.  So if you're interested in learning, it's a really easy hobby to pick up for relatively low cost.  But in case you're curious, the stitches I used are mostly the short and long stitch and a satin stitch.

Thanks for stopping by!

xo, Kira

DIY Canvas Tote Bags For Teachers | Helen Gullett

Hello The Cut Shoppe fans! Helen is here today... School year reaches the end and we are so totally all the teachers for all what they have done to help our children to grow. For them, I made these canvas tote bags that filled with gifts.

I dressed up these three canvas tote bags with glitter heat transfer vinyls (HTV) that I cut them with cutting files from The Cut Shoppe.

On this first canvas tote bag, I cut out the some of the images from the School Rules and You've Been Schooled. When you work with HTV and vinyl, don't forget to mirror the images, and then cut. After I cut and weeded them, I saved the numbers and letters for the second canvas tote bag.

I put the cut out HTV images on the canvas (plastic carrier on top), added pillow case on it, and then I ironed it with the highest/cotton setting and no steam. I pressed it down for at leas 20-30 seconds each section. Once a while I checked it if it sticked or not yet.

On the third canvas tote bag, I used the All Caps Alpha cutting filed to create the words: Teach and Inspire. With alpha cutting files, you can create any word you want to put on your project!

For the love heart image, I welded the heart image from Friends Forever and the word "love" from Words To Live By cutting files. Before I welded them together, first I removed the word "life" from the "Love Life!" using the erase tool on Silhouette Studio.

After I arranged them in the space where I wanted them to be, I mirrored them, and then cut. Then, I ironed them just like the first 2 tote bags above.

Creating these canvas tote bags is super fun. I love the options what I can do with digital cutting files on projects I want to create.

I hope today's projects give you some inspiration to try something new with The Cut Shoppe cutting files! Thank you so very much for stopping by today. Have a fabulous day!

Counting Stars Layout | Elsie Robinson

Hey crafty friends - it's Elsie here! I have a bit of a different layout to share with you today, as I was inspired by the Counting Stars cut file to create an 8.5x11 sized layout, rather than my go-to 12x12 size!

Although this cut file could easily be copied and pasted to work on a 12x12 page, I really love how the stars are arranged in a vertical cluster, so I decided to give the 8.5x11 layout a try. And I am so pleased with the results, this is definitely something I will be doing again!

I cut the cut file from some 12x12 white cardstock as I wanted it to be a little bigger than my 8.5x11 layout, so the stars would stretch right to the edges of the page.

I backed each star with a patterned paper from the Dear Lizzy Stargazer collection, and I even used strips of navy washi with copper accents to back some of the stars for an extra bit of shimmer!

Of course I couldn't resist doing some stitching, and I hand-stitched around all of the stars with some white thread. Once that was all done, I popped the cut file up on some foam and went a little OTT with the embellishing! But I was having way too much fun and didn't want to stop adding pretty things... I'm sure we've all been there, right?! ;)

Thanks for joining me today!

Happy Heart | Erica Thompson

Hello!  Erica here with you today to bring you a 12x12 layout using the Let's Party file that was released on Thursday!

I just fell in love with the sweet scallop border cut file and I could not wait to back it!  I dug into my stash and pulled out some Wild at Heart from Cocoa Vanilla Studio!  I thought the colors went well with the dress my daughter was wearing in the photo!  The photo was taken on Mother's Day this year and my daughter dislikes her photo taken so my husband and I grabbed her and held her tight to get her in this shot!  We took a bunch of fun photos on this day and had a great time! 

Once I had the file backed with some pretty papers I pulled out the Artisan paper from the Wild at Heart collection.  I love the mixed media look to this paper!  I added foam tape to the back of the banner and adhered it down!  I added some ephemera from the same collection and used the wood veneers for my title Happy Heart!

Super simple layout to put together and I just love how it turned out!  I would love to see you use this file in your next project!  Share with us in The Cut Shoppe Scrap Spot on Facebook!  Don't forget to check out all the new released files in the shop too!

Thanks so much for stopping friends!  I will see you again later this month!

Girl Squad by Jill

Hey crafty friends!  Did you check out the new releases from The Cut Shoppe Etsy store?!?!  I absolutely adore a good banner, and the Let's Party cut file is perfection!

I started this page by sizing the banner just slightly bigger than my 12x12 cutting mat, using my Silhouette software.  I cut the banner from the pink gingham paper, then backed the open banner spaces with a few coordinating patterned papers.

I added ink splatters in several colors including gold, then embellished the layout with some gold glitter thickers to tie all the gold accents together.

The photo is tucked in behind the banner pieces, and to add more detail and texture I used black thread to machine stitch everything down.

The last embellishment on this page is the small wood stars and hearts that I sprinkled around the other embellishments to add another element of fun!

Thanks for checking out my newest layout for The Cut Shoppe!

New Cut Files | 12

I have a confession to make...I am not a big fan of creating birthday layouts!  There's just always something about the photos and the need to make a themed layout.  But I have tossed the themed birthday layouts to the curb, and have decided to give birthday themed layouts more of an everyday look.  On today's layout, I used the new Let's Party cut file and a photo of our oldest daughter from her birthday dinner in January.

I used the Pink Paislee Oh My Heart collection by Paige Evans.  I cut the banner from one of the ombre papers in the collection, because I wanted some color on the cut file.  Then I backed the open half circles with patterns from the 6x6 paper pad.  For the background, I used one of the patterned papers that had a confetti look and then I stitched along the top of each row of the banner.

I wanted to have two large clusters for the main design of my layout.  I started at the top with my photo.  We went out for Hibachi, and there was a lot going on in the photo, so I changed it to black & white to have it coordinate better with the Oh My Heart collection.  A lot of times, I like to pair fussy cutting with my cut files, and I did just that on this layout.  I fussy cut some flowers from one of the patterned papers and layered them around the photo.

The second cluster on the layout includes the title, which is simply just "12".  I cut the numbers from White card stock and then backed them with one of the 6x6 papers.  I continued the look from the top cluster, with some more fussy cut flowers.  Then I added some stickers from the Paige Evans sticker book to complete the look. 

This is a fun, versatile cut file and I know that you'll see more upcoming layouts from the Design Team, using this design!  You can find it now in The Cut Shoppe Etsy store, along with three other awesome new designs!