Happy Together + Cut File Tutorial

Hello everyone.  Heather Leopard is here today with a layout using the new Graphic Chevron Background 2.  I love a great background cut file and this one did not disappoint.

I modified this file just slightly by removing 5 of the graphic chevrons - 2 were completely removed and 3 were replaced with a cut out for the photos.

 To get the perfect fit, I printed my photos so that the parts I wanted would show through.  Then I placed them under the cardstock and moved them around until I liked where they were.  Then I placed the piece that was cut out over the photo.  Then...

I pulled the photo with the cut out piece and cut around it, leaving ~1/4" border to add my liquid adhesive. That allowed me to get the perfect placement.

I added pattern paper to the back side of the cardstock in a very random order, filling some diamond chevron shapes completely while leaving so many others blank. I added my photos as well before adhering it all to a 2nd white cardstock background. I added my title and just a few embellishments to complete the layout.

Get this cut file here - Graphic Chevron Background 2

Recipe for a Scrapbooking Layout

Hello, my friends.  The Pebbles team is documenting favorite recipes on the blog and since I like to be a bit "different", I thought I'd do a bit of a twist on the recipe projects.  All of my family recipes are tucked away in my recipe box so instead of scrapbooking a favorite recipe, I decided to create a recipe to share with you.  A recipe you can use in your every day scrapbooking...

Recipe for a Scrapbooking Layout

This recipe contains all the ingredients I use most often when creating a layout.  Feel free to right click the recipe image below to save a copy to your PC.  This recipe contains:

• Select the perfect cut of photos. I usually use 1 photo but today I mixed 4 photos layered together to make one.
• Blend together 5 coordinating pattern papers
• Add a dash of machine or hand stitching
• Garnish with embellishments (die cuts, wood veneer, cardstock/acetate shapes, chipboard, etc.) to create lots of layers
• Add a dollop of alphas for a title
• Complete the layout with journaling

I used the recipe above to create this scrapbooking layout today. I hope you enjoy it and use it as a guide for your scrapbooking needs.

Select the perfect cut of photos

I usually only use 1 - 2 photos on a page but because I know many Pebbles fans love to use multiple photos on a page, I thought I'd mix the two styles so that I could include multiple photos but only taking up the space of one.  To do this, I used my Fuse tool to create a waterfall photo flip.  I simply printed photos in different sizes and used the fuse tool to make protectors sized to the photo.

  I layered the photos over each other so that each of my children's faces and their word would show, with the last photo only revealing a photo of my husband and I and the last word of the sentence, which also serves as the main title.

 

Blend together 5 coordinating pattern papers

Next, I wanted to create a background of leaves but I also wanted to add some contrasting color so I trimmed my first pattern paper to 10"x12" and added a small border using my 2nd pattern paper to the left side. For the right side, I combined those two patterns used on the left with 2 additional pattern papers, overlapping them together to make a larger border on that side.

Add a dash of machine or hand stitching

No layout of mine would be complete without stitching.  For this layout, I stitched the seams of each border, leaving room to lift the paper just a bit.

Garnish with embellishments to create lots of layers

I used a combination of hand cut and die cuts leaves as well as wood veneer to add layers around my photo as well as to create the triangle visual design pattern around the page.

Add a dollop of alphas for a title and complete the layout with journaling

I'll admit, I almost never have a title in mind when I start creating.  I wouldn't recommend this but it's what I do and almost always work out.  Journaling is a key component to a layout that you really shouldn't go without.  Although you may remember the story as you are creating it, you probably won't remember those details years or decades from now and those who are looking at the pages in your album certainly won't remember it or may not have even been a part of the story so please, please add an ounce or two of journling, even if it's just the who, when and where. You can add journaling directly to the layout in various ways or you can add hidden journaling on the front or back of the page.  You don't always see it on the layouts I show online but I always add it. Sometimes I like to keep those details private and add them to the layout after photos are taken. So, while this recipe for a scrapbooking layout is not an official Pebbles challenge, I'd love to see your take on it. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram (@heatherleopard)

Supplies: Warm & Cozy Tweed Pattern Paper Warm & Cozy Afternoon Naps Pattern Paper Warm & Cozy Fall Day Pattern Paper Warm & Cozy Breezy Pattern Paper Warm & Cozy Fall Botanical Pattern Paper Warm & Cozy Ephemera Die-cuts Warm & Cozy Leaves Chipboard

DIY Fall Candle Wrap Decor

Hello everyone. Fall is upon us and I'm enjoying decorating my house with all the gorgeous autumn colors.  This project was recently featured on the Pebbles blog. The Pebbles Woodland Forest collection is the right mix of everything you need for a little fall ambiance, like this Fall Candle Wrap home decor.

Once I had all my supplies, I was able to complete this project in under an hour.

Using your favorite die cut machine, cut leaves in various shapes and sizes using your favorite colors. Select the leaves you want to use on your candles and set them aside. Select a few cardstock shapes for additional candle decor.

Spread the remaining leaves on the plate. You may adhere the leaves together to prevent them from moving around.

Cut a strip of burlap approximately 2" high. Make sure to cut it long enough to wrap around the candle. Adhere to the back of your candle using Sticky Thumb sticky dots.

Add the leaves and cardstock shapes you set aside to the front of the candles. I used sticky dots to adhere these. Repeat for all your candles.

Display in your home or office and enjoy a little bit of the outdoors wherever you are.

Supplies:
Woodland Forest Stitched Floral pattern paper (733429)
Woodland Forest Apple Cider pattern paper (733430)
Woodland Forest Leaf Toss pattern paper (733426)
Woodland Forest Fall Florals pattern paper (733434)
Woodland Forest Pears pattern paper (733428)
Woodland Forest Printed Cardstock Shapes (733437)
Sticky Thumb sticky dots (340274)

Hello, You!

Hi everyone.  I have a new Pattern Play that's being featured on the Gossamer Blue blog today and it's one of my recent favorites.

For this Pattern Play, I'm revisiting the concept of repetition.

I absolutely love the Pink Paislee / Paige Evans bows in this month's kit.  I was trying to think of how I could use them on a page and was desperately wishing I had 27 of them.  I wasn't sure how I'd use them yet so I starting looking through the pattern papers and noticed the gorgeous ombre one and of course since it was from the same collection, it had all the colors of the bows. After a little thought, I decided I align the bows on the layout and fill in the remaining area with hand stitched bows, coordinating my embroidery floss with the pattern paper.

I knew hand stitching in great detail would take longer than I wanted so chose to use full bow length stitching, which saved lots of time and I think it helps match the bows a little better.

Next I added my photo, backing it with frames and flowers and a small tag title.  Then I tucked a little journaling tag under the photo.

Normally I would add additional embellishments on the opposite side of the page somewhere and maybe even a large title but I think these bows deserve to stand on their own.  As my daughter said to me when she saw it, "I don't like it. I LOVE IT!" and I hope you do too.

Hello Sweet Girl

Hello, my friends. I am sooo in love with the new Crate Paper Cute Girl collection.

I have this photo of my precious littlest girl playing dress up with a bouquet of flowers, mostly white dress and a veil so I was quite inspired to keep a lot of white for this particular layout.


I used white cardstock to cut a white wreath of flowers using the JustNick Studio Floral Wreath cut file and a white doily, from the Nana's Doily Background cut file.


I added a pop of color with the embellishments around the wreath. I used a mix of cut file alphas and an embellishment to create my title, cutting the word "sweet" out white cardstock, using the Simple Set Alphabet cut file from JustNick Studio.

2nd Day of 2nd Grade + Free Cut File

I take a first day of school as well as a ____ day of ___ grade photo each year.  Just a little something I do that's totally unnecessary but I think it will be fun to look back on when they are older.


I wanted to create something that totally and completely makes you think of school and apples for the teacher is one of those things.  I decided to create an apple background.  At first I was thinking of cutting hearts to make the apples but I wanted a more quilt-like look so I drew circles in my Silhouette software and then cut them in half. Now the circles  come together to make 4 apples as a background.

You can download the cut file HERE.

Cut all the shapes out and adhere with light adhesive, then stitch away. Although it may look like I stitched each individual piece down, I stitched straight across all patterns. This helped speed things WAY up!


Once stitching was complete, I added my photo, embellishments and journaling around the apples.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Don't forget, you can download the Silhouette cut file HERE.

You're So Sharp DIY Back to School Gift

Hello everyone. I'm here to show you how I created unique Back to School pencil boxes for all the kids in our cul-de-sac, who recently returned back to school.

The majority of the kids in our part of the neighborhood are still in elementary school. They are so excited to go back to school to see their friends and teachers. These little pencil boxes are just a small gesture from us to add to their excitement.

I used this pencil box cut file that I downloaded from the Silhouette store. Using a combination 3 different Pebbles collections, I mixed and matched colors and patterns to resemble a pencil. Then, I used the same color palette to decorate the crate that will hold the gifts. This will also serve as part of the back to school decorations in my house until we hand them out.  I'm getting a 2 for 1 deal here.

I found this crate in the Dollar isle at Target and had to get it because it's so cute.  You could easily recreate this yourself with a couple of rulers and wood glue.  It didn't need much more decorating but I wanted to add a bit of color. To do this, I added a cute little banner to the top and a school sentiment to the bottom corner.

This project involves a bit of paper piecing work but there's only 5 elements and it's so cute and really simple to do. I added little tags to the pencils so that I could add a sentiment on the front and who it's from on the back.

If you want to mix it up a bit for the pencils you could really use any fun pattern you have on hand. Afterall, pencils come in all sorts of fun prints these days.

Pebbles Supplies: Jen Hadfield Warm & Cozy Tweed Pattern Paper (733415) America the Beautiful Patriotic Posies (733346) Fun in the Sun 6×6 Paper Pad (732862) American Crafts Cardstock

Hello Farm Life Scrapbooking Layout + Free Cut by Heather Leopard

Hi everyone.  We recently celebrated Geometric Shapes on the Pebbles blog. Luckily for me, shapes are my most favorite to work with when creating a scrapbooking layout. I almost always use geometry to create fun backgrounds for my layouts. Inspiration for these types of layouts can be found everywhere, from quilts to art posters to this project right here. It's been blazing hot here in Texas so I thought I'd attempt to cool it down a bit by creating a fall layout using the Pebbles Warm & Cozy collection.

  Let me walk you through my creative process for this scrapbooking layout.

• Choose a light colored background paper. I chose the white Cozy Comfort one that resembles a sweater.
• Cut three 2.4" x 12" strips of similar pattern papers. I chose the Tweed paper with text.
• Stitch the strips to the background creating evenly spaced columns.
• Download my free Silhouette cut file. If you don't have a machine to cut these, simply cut large triangles / diamonds and octagons or circles.
• Alternate the diamond and octagon shapes so that the top and bottom of your layout always includes a half shape and the inner part of your layout includes full shapes. Adhere with a small amount of adhesive.
• Once all shapes are in place stitch down the middle of the columns / shapes.
• Next, I added layers of pattern paper behind my photo, tucking in embellishments here and there.
• Lastly, I finished it off with a title above my photo and a sentiment at the bottom in one of the embellishment clusters.
• To complete the layout, I will journal in the open white space just under the photo.

Use a combination of different stitching types to add interest to your layout.

Don't be afraid to add layers of clusters under and around your photo.  It helps draw the eye to the photo and can really help compliment storytelling.

I hope you enjoyed a peek into my creative process for this scrapbooking layout.  Don't forget to download the free Silhouette cut file I created.  And if you create anything with it, please share a link to it here or tag Pebbles and me (@heatherleopard) on Instagram so we can ooh and ahh over it!

Supplies: Pebbles Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Warm & Cozy - Daisy Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Warm & Cozy - Log Cabin Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Warm & Cozy - Tweed Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Warm & Cozy - Fallen Leaves Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Warm & Cozy - Tartan Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Warm & Cozy - Cozy Comfort Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Warm & Cozy - Fall Bouquet Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Stickers Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Printed Chipboard Shapes Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Ephemera Jen Hadfield Home + Made: Accent Stickers American Crafts Thickers: Cozy This To That Foam Tab Adhesive – 617

"Fabulous & Lovely" Flower Scrapbook Layout by Heather Leopard

Backgrounds are some of my most favorite things to design with. You can use them over and over again with vastly different looks depending on what you use to back them. Sometimes I like to cut it out of white cardstock and layer white on white, other times, I cut it out of white cardstock and lay it over pattern paper but mostly I do what I did today - white background cut over white cardstock filled with various patterns that coordinate. The possibilities really are endless and the results look completely different each time.

I used the Spirograph Background 1 cut file for this layout. I liked that it resembled flowers. My process included cutting the background file out of white cardstock. Then I released the compound path / ungrouped everything and cut the inside petals and leaves out of pattern paper. This made it super easy to get the perfect cut. I glued them in place and then stitched circles over the center of the spirograph flowers.



I mixed & Matched Pink Paislee Paige Evans Take Me Away collection pattern papers and for the inside petals, I created an ombre effect, starting light at the top and darker at the bottom.  I just felt like it needed more solids in the middle to help ground the flowers.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Quick Summer Mini Album and Gift Bag

Hello everyone.  Today is my big design team debut on the Pebbles blog.  I hope you'll pop over there and say hi!  

I'm super excited to show you a quick gift I made to give to my girls.  We love our  beach vacations and I thought it would be fun to give my girls a little care package to document all our summer activities.

The creative aspect of this care package includes the gift bag and mini album / journal.  These are relatively easy to make if you have a die cut machine or template you can follow.  The Fun in the Sun collection is perfect for this project.

To get started, I knew I needed to begin with the beach bags. The bags needed to be able to hold the album and other little goodies so I made it fairly large, measuring at 6" x 8".  Choosing a design that allowed for a 2 tone pattern gave it added interest.  Then it was time for the really fun part - decorating!

Each bag includes buttons where the straps attach to the bag, a fun sentiment and a coordinating embellishment or two. You could also hang a tag off one of the straps but I am letting my girls decide which ones they want.  Of course, I designed these with my girls' style and colors in mind so we'll see how it goes.

I designed the mini albums to be 4" x 6" to easily fit into the 6" x 8" beach gift bags. To create these, simply cut a 8" x 6" cover and several inside sheets measuring 3.5" x 5.5". I used 5 sheets for the inside to make 10 pages. Center the inside sheets so that there is an 1/4" border.

Then I stitched it together in the center. Once the mini album is together, it's time to decorate again!  I added a tone on tone background to cover the album and then I used the fun sentiments from the 3" x 4" cards pattern paper, framed it out and then added a dimensional sticker.

I can't wait to give these to my girls.  We're taking a road trip soon so I may even print out a few photos from the summer and put a little craft kit together to keep them busy on our way to the beach.

Supplies: Pebbles Fun in the Sun Summer Days (732850) Fun in the Sun Popsicle (732859) Fun in the Sun 6x6 Paper Pad (732862) Fun in the Sun Shaped Cards / Popsicles (732832) Fun in the Sun Puffy Phrase Stickers (732833) Fun in the Sun Layered Stickers (732836) Bazzill Cardstock (309026) American Crafts Cardstock Primaries