Aloha in your heart | Hula Girl scrapbook layout, free cut file and tutorial

Aloha everyone!  I wanted to chat with you today about journaling but first, I just have to say—I love working with the Sunshiny Days collection! They are perfect for all the fun summer activities we've been doing as a family.  From the pool to the beach (and all the sweet treats in-between), it seems to cover the full spectrum.  Naturally, it was my go-to for documenting my sweet daughter practicing her hula dancing on the beach. Take a look below at the hula girl scrapbook layout I created and then I'll walk you through a step-by-step tutorial.

Hula Girl scrapbook layout

Hula Girl scrapbook supplies

This layout can be used for any type of tropical, summertime activity. To re-create this layout, you'll need to gather a few supplies...

patterned paper for palm leaves

my free palm leaves cut file for Silhouette

ephemera

stickers

Thickers

adhesive

Print a photo that's approximately 7" w x 9" h and place it in the upper right corner of the page.

Then cut a 9 1/2" circle template out of scrap paper to use as a photo template.  You can also cut the photo using your die cut machine—I'm not brave enough, so I went with this method to make sure I cut it exactly where I wanted. To use my method, I've found a super cool trick to finding the perfect placement.  First, take the leftover paper from the circle you cut out and place it over your photo until you see exactly what you want to show (see example above).

Next, without moving anything, place the circle back inside the cut out, over your photo, as shown above.

Remove the outer circle piece so that just the circle remains over the photo, like you see in the photo above.

Then carefully pick it up and cut your photo using the circle as your guide.  Now you have your photo cut exactly how you want.

Palm Tree Leaf Border

Download my free palm leaves cut file for Silhouette and cut different sized leaves from 2 - 3 patterned papers.  The photo above includes leaves I cut using my file as well as ephemera from the Sunshiny Days collection.

Adhere the leaves around the circular part of your photo, creating a border of leaves and flowers. Place a few more in the opposite bottom corner (I also added a couple at the top corner of my photo).

Journaling tips

I decided to journal in 2 ways.  First, this layout will coordinate with a 2nd layout telling the story of how my daughter learned hula, I thought I'd make this the "hero" or title page of the album and use the 2nd page to tell the longer story. With that in mind, I wanted to use a big title.  How does this relate to journaling? Well, the 2nd way I decided to approach this was to use hula blessing as my title.  Since it was too long for an actual title, I hand wrote part of it (journaling) and then put the key part of the quote in Thickers to highlight them.

I enjoy using quotes, song lyrics, things my children say, etc. as my title.  It's also super fun to mix them in with the journaling. You can easily tell your story instead of a quote (like I did) and then choose key words or phrases in your journaling and highlight them within your story.

Supplies:
Sunshiny Days Paradise (733596)
Sunshiny Days Puffy Stickers (733611)
Sunshiny Days Chipboard Stickers (733610)
Sunshiny Days Ephemera Die cuts (733609)
Sunshiny Days Cardstock Stickers (733608)
Heart of Home Thickers Words / Pink Foil (733767)
Heart of Home Thickers Letterboard White Foiled (733767)
Tealightful Bouquet (733527)

Summertime at the Beach | Mermaid Scrapbook Layout

Aloha everyone! While I may be back from our trip to Hawaii, I'm still living in vacay mode. I figured now would be a good time to get started on documenting the highlights of the trip. Why not start with this summertime at the beach mermaid scrapbook layout?

Be a mermaid & make waves | Mermaid scrapbook layout

My daughter loves everything mermaid, from fashion to her favorite television shows to documentaries so we gave her a mermaid tail a few years ago as a gift. She only swims with it when in the pool but we brought it along on the trip for a little play time.

Since the mermaid scrapbook layout was also about the beach, I wanted to incorporate some visuals in that theme - waves and mermaid scales.

Cut scallops from the Let's Float scallop paper to resemble mermaid scales as well as waves. I love the scallops on this paper because they aren't all shaped the same.

Starting at the bottom of the layout, overlap the scallop strips. Layer some more than others so it doesn't look too symmetrical. Then I added a patterned paper to the top half to resemble the beach.  A thin paper strip at the seam helps give the page a more finished look.

Next, I added a frame around the photo, a card with hidden journaling tucked behind the photo and embellishments. I didn't want to add too much here because the lower half of the layout is quite busy. I used an anonymous quote I ran across as my title. For a great visual, I wrapped it around my photo and to the side. This also helped fill in some of the empty space on the page.

Last but not least, I added additional embellishments around the mermaid scrapbook layout to fulfill the visual triangle design principle. And of course, a fluffing of the scallops to finish it off.

I gotta say, she's the cutest little mermaid I have ever seen.

Pebbles Supplies: Sunshiny Days Paradise (733596), Sunshiny Days Summer Day (733606), Sunshiny Days Let's Float (733604), Sunshiny Days Pink Flamingos (733597), Sunshiny Days Daydream (733598), Sunshiny Days Paradise (733596), Sunshiny Days Puffy Stickers (733611), Sunshiny Days Chipboard Stickers (733610), Sunshiny Days Ephemera Die cuts (733609), Sunshiny Days Cardstock Stickers (733608), Sunshiny Days Alpha Thickers (733607), Merry Merry Gold Glitter on Kraft (733725)

Beach Tag Mini Album | Quick Gift

Aloha everyone!  I'm writing this blog post while on an amazing vacation in Hawaii.  I wanted to create a beach tag mini album to document our activities as a gift to my family.  The idea was to create a new page every day and add a small 2" x 3" photo of the day.  The photos show the album without pictures since we are just beginning our vacation.  I will be back home by the time you read this so join me on Instagram (@heatherleopard) to see it with photos included.

As you can see, I created a pineapple box to hold the beach tag mini album.  The mini album is made using many tags, die cuts and stickers.  So cool, so fun and so QUICK!

This project took a little planning ahead of time. I knew I wanted to give it to my family when I got to Hawaii but I didn't want it to get damaged en route to Hawaii.  With that in mind, I cut the box bits and tags ahead of time.  I knew I wanted to use my mobile printer that prints 2" x 3"  photos so I made the tags large enough to hold the photos.  I waited to put it together until I got there (super easy to pack since I left all the pieces flat!).

Pineapple gift box

I used a cut file from the Silhouette store.  The pineapple leaves came in one size but I wanted them to better resemble a pineapple stalk so I cut three sizes and layered them over each other as shown.

Naturally I had to use the pineapple patterned paper to cover the base of the box that will hold the beach tag mini album.

Beach tag Mini album

I pre-cut each pattern in various-sized tags including everything from standard tags and leaves to scallop circles. I liked most of the Side A and Side B patterns so I ended up dividing many of the the tags for greater variety.

The die cuts and cardstock stickers are great for adding dimension and layers to the tags.  Some of these will be tucked under the photos while others will go on top.  In addition, I also added mini puffy stickers because they are just too cute.

Beach tag mini album assembly

The first tag I created was the cover.  These are quite small so I had to keep it to a minimum. I started with a palm tree (and added a sun/puffy stickers later). Next, I included the location and year.

Here you can see the tags for the first half of the mini album. You can also see how I added the sun and puffy stickers to the cover tag. To make these, I sorted the larger tags in the order I wanted them and then I added the smaller accent tags.  I finished them off with additional die cut shapes and stickers.

Below are the tags for the second half of the mini album.

Once they were all complete, I tied them together with a palm tree leaf. Some of these will hold photos while the others are perfect for journaling and holding items we may collect along the way.  I may also add tickets and other items using a hole punch.

Ready for the memories

Once the palm leaf dries, it will become more sturdy.  However... I may want to add in more tags  or souvenirs, so a metal book ring or ribbon might be better suited for the job.  That way, I can tie on the palm leaf to when I get home.

So there it is. This beach tag mini album was very fast to put together. It seems like it took me only about 30 minutes once all the pieces were cut so probably 45 - 60 minutes max.  Simply cut the tags, embellish, add photos and journaling, you are done!

I can't wait to fill it up with details of our trip but I'm looking forward to creating memories with my family most of all.

Supplies: Sunshiny Days Flower Garden (733603), Sunshiny Days Summer Day (733606), Sunshiny Days Fresh Squeezed (733605), Sunshiny Days Beach Day (733601), Sunshiny Days Pineapple Float (733600), Sunshiny Days Flip Flops (733599), Sunshiny Days Daydream (733598), Sunshiny Days Paradise (733596), Sunshiny Days Puffy Stickers (733611), Sunshiny Days Chipboard Stickers (733610), Sunshiny Days Ephemera Die cuts (733609), Sunshiny Days Cardstock Stickers (733608), Sunshiny Days Alpha Thickers (733607)

DIY Indoor BBQ Picnic

Hi everyone.  I am sharing a DIY Indoor Picnic Idea with you today.  I don't know about you but I love picnics. We do them as a family all the time but they aren't always a normal picnic at the park. We also picnic in the front and back yard but what my girls really love to do is picnic in the house. We basically layout out blankets and/or towels in a room other than our dining room and there's just something really fun and special about it.

DIY Indoor Picnic

I surprise my girls with an indoor picnic every couple of months because sometimes it just seems like the fun thing to do.  Just don't plan to do it on spaghetti night due to the fact that it can be a mess.  While you can certainly use your normal dishes for an indoor picnic, I figured we should make it fun by creating a picnic caddy for the house. As a result, it's basically everything we need in one little package.

Create a picnic caddy

You can use a box or a crate for this, an upcycled fast food drink tote or almost anything you'd like. I had cardstock and my die cut machine therefore, I chose to make one out of paper.

This is great for utensils, condiments, straws, napkins, you name it. While it's not carrying anything especially heavy, it holds up pretty good. You probably don't want to load it up with drinks unless you really reinforce it.

Add some custom plates

I wanted to create custom plates so I bought clear plastic plates and lined them with patterned paper.  Simply trace the center of the plate on your favorite patterned paper, cut it out and adhere it to the bottom with mod podge.  NOTE: only apply the mod podge to the bottom of the plate.  I'm pretty sure you don't want to eat from a mod podged plate since it probably has chemicals you may not want to ingest but maybe I'm wrong?!?!

Picnic themed invitation

Next, create a cute little apron card. I downloaded this one from the Silhouette store. Isn't the grill set cute?

This can be an invitation to the picnic, a menu (on the inside) or just a cute piece of decor in addition to whatever else you have planned.

Ready for the picnic

So there you have it... a fun DIY Indoor Picnic that's as cute as can be.  Just add your favorite food & beverage and dine in style.

Supplies: Sunshiny Days Ephemera Die cuts (733609), Sunshiny Days Daydream (733598), Sunshiny Days Flower Garden (733603), Sunshiny Days Fresh Squeezed (733605), Sunshiny Days Flip Flops (733599), Sunshiny Days Cardstock Stickers (733608)