Life's Trivialities

Scrappin' Our Stash May 2015 Blog Hop

Hi there! Welcome to yet another edition of "Scrappin' Our Stash"! A monthly blog hop where some lovely, crafty ladies share their latest creations created using "old" product. Nothing from the latest CHA or more recent than that.

Today I have to share with you a layout that I began ages ago. At least two months ago. I had a plan for it. I cut out bits and pieces and then neglect set in. I never took a picture of the "layout to be" and it's original appearance is but a distant memory. So, a new vision was constructed!

Old Bella Blvd. Some AC puffy stickers. A free 17turtles cut file! Some Studio Calico vellum stickers. An old October Afternoon stamp. Lots of older but still great goodies from my stash! It's easy to use up the old stuff when you have cut files to freshen things up a bit, let them take on a new look.

Another clean and simple layout. Not much to it but the story is preserved and there is enough supporting evidence that there are goodies to look at but not enough that you get distracted from the focal points, the pictures and a story.

This month's hop order is as follows;

Audrey http://audreysreflection.blogspot.com/

Becki http://beckiadams.blogspot.com/

Alison http://alisondaydesigns.com/

Juliana www.17turtles.com

Katrina http://paperscissorsandglue.blogspot.com/

Kelly Jean http://www.kelsterjean.com/

Brenda http://simplybrenhavingfun.blogspot.com/

Cathy http://alteredplayground.blogspot.com/
Wendi R http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com/
Suzanna http://lifestrivialities.typepad.com/
Cheryl http://patchesandscraps.blogspot.com
Wendy C www.stampingrules.com
Kristy http://alwaysaworldaway.blogspot.com
Lee-Anne http://lee-annelovethejourney.blogspot.com
Susie http://mytime2play.blogspot.com/
Christine http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com

You should have arrived here from Wendi's blog and now you are off to visit Cheryl and her wonderful creation!

Thanks for stopping in this month! Be sure to pop in now and again!

Walking on Sunshine / Paper Issues Sketch

I have a thing for sketches. I love sketches. You probably are already aware of my "small" problem. I just don't have time to play along with sketch challenges as much as I would like. Life kind of gets in the way! But fortunately for me, timing couldn't be any better, I had a bit of a break in deadlines AND this amazing sketch from Paper Issues is begging to be used!

Here's my layout;

And this is the Paper Issues sketch that inspired it;

You can find other people's interpretations of this awesome sketch as well as the Paper Issues design teams layouts based on this sketch HERE

I recently picked up the Basic Grey collection "Adrift" with some of our Spring Break pictures in mind. And it was sublime for this picture of Mia sprinting to the waves. Her first visit to the beach this past April, she couldn't get there fast enough!

For circles at the top of the sketch, I modified one of Juliana's free 17turtles cut files. In Design Studio, I omitted some of the circles leaving me just the row of three. You can find this amazing free file HERE. Be sure to bookmark this blog - Juliana frequently has great free digital cut files.

I love the washi that is a part of this collection. I really wanted to use bits of it for additional color beside the photo but needed to back it in order to make it stand out.

And that, my friends, is my layout of the day today! Be sure to see what the other talented scrappers out there do with this awesome sketch!

 

Paper Camellia March Guest Designer

I am thrilled to be guest designing for Paper Camellia scrapbook kits this month! The kit was fun to work with and I just love the mix of manufacturers! I worked with the main kit and was able to churn out two layouts and a card with plenty to spare.

Here's the fabulous kit I got to work with;

Simple Stories, My Minds Eye, Pebbles and Heidi Swapp goodies!

As my kit came sans puffy stickers due to the timing of the shipping, I wanted some additional embellishments. What better way to add embellishments that by using cut files?! You can cut the cardstock or patterned paper that comes with the kit. For this layout, I used the Floral Bouquet Cut File from 17turtles as both a mask on the cardstock and the cut flowers themselves.

You can see that I used the cut file which was a mask on the layout as well as a clean, unmisted flower and leaves. Such a lovely little perch for that chipboard Simple Stories birdie!

This picture does a much better job of reflecting the gold that is in this great kit! I have a soft spot for the Simple Stories I AM... collection and just love how the My Mind's Eye and Pebbles is paired with it.

Because I have no allegiance to size and I wanted to show you that you can create a lot of variety, I also created an 8.5x11 layout as well.

I have said before and I will say it again, I just love the My Mind's Eye and Pebbles paired with the Simple Stories, they are sublime together! The colors are perfect compliments to one another.

The arc of the the header with the gold circles really softens the geometrics of the triangles don't you think?

And last but not least, a card. I am not a card maker. You know that. We all know that. But I am really pretty chuffed about this card. It's simple. That's what I do with cards, simple. But it's simply elegant.

If you haven't already snatched up some Simple Storied I AM... and are looking for a great kit club, this is definitely one to consider! I really had a grand time working with it!

Lucky U Layout / Welding with 17turtles

Today I'm sharing with you a layout that I created for St Patrick's Day using a Christmas file from 17turtles. The file is called Plaid Plaid Christmas however, really, you can use it for SO much more. Take this St Patrick's day layout, for example.

I used the argyle part of the file and welded it together to create three "sections" of connected argyle using the one that came in the file. I duplicated the whole file twice and then lined the up where I wanted them to be, making sure that the "x"'s of the argyle overlapped. Before welding those lines, don't forget to remove the diamonds or they will weld into the pattern.

This is what my screen looked like after clicking weld. Cut these welded argyle lines in black and slide them off the cutting mat, making room for the diamonds.

And there you have it, an Irish argyle perfect for any St Patrick's day layout! You could even machine or hand stitch to take it a step further. My original intent had been to do just that however I felt like the page was busy enough and didn't need anything additional. Not to mention, I was at an away crop sans sewing machine...

Mixing and matching some old and new Bella Blvd. I love the new Color Chaos collection and the monthly pocket cards.

I hope you see how you can branch out and use cut files for a little more than their intended purpose! Even the stars of this file would be suitable for so much more than just Christmas! That is kind of a no brainer though.

 

Custom Cut Files and Offset How To with 17turtles

Do you know those brush script fonts that are all over the scrappy world that really ROCK a scrapbook page? Do you ever think, that's really cool but I wish it said "________", (fill in the blank with the title you want)? Well, have I got the solution for you!! 17turtles has custom files available for purchase, Juliana can create that custom title for you! Read on to find out how!

I used Custom Scrapbook Title No. 6 from 17turtles Etsy shop to create the title for this page. When you have custom cut files, you have up to 3 words available. I clearly have more than 3 words so paid twice for the longer title thus allowing me to add 3 additional words (of which I only wanted 2).

Here's a closer view of the title itself and that awesome brush font! The font itself is a bit more compact than what you see. I made the file longer (taller, perhaps a better descriptor) in Studio and also created an offset to pop the title a little bit more. Here's how you do that;

Click on the Offset button and the window on the right pops up. Choose the distance that you want the offset to be from the original file (I used 0.075) in this case and click on "apply". Be sure to move your original file off of the visual cutting mat in order to only cut the offset background.

This is the specific custom file that I used it this one;

The other 17turtles digital cut file I used on this layout was a freebie that Juliana has for download called Hand Drawn Circles. You can find that file on her blog HERE. The next two close ups are of two of those circles cut using the same gold cardstock as the title.

I know the date is missing a year. I had to text my Mum to see what year they were married and where. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. She didn't get back to me in time so I wrote it in after the pictures were taken. But the info it there, promise!

Another hand drawn circle just poking out from underneath the picture. They make nice subtle elements to the layout. Compliments to the gold polka dots.

Be sure to check out the six different font/script type available for custom scrapbook titles by 17turtles! You can see all six of them HERE.

Winner / 17Turtles

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Or better yet, a gift card to use at Juliana's 17turtles Etsy shop! WOOT!

The prize goes to;

    Lyne B. said:

Congrats on the new team - such an honor to be asked rather than have to apply! I really like her coffee and tea files and would use them with my coffee stamp/die set from Stamps of Life

 

Thank you to everybody who swung by and especially to those who commented! It's always nice to receive a little love now and again!

 

Lyne if you would so kindly email me your email address I will pass that on to Juliana. Please know that she is out of town for a family matter so it might be a bit before she is able to email you with your gift card. You WILL receive it. Thanks for your understanding! Congrats again!

Announcing / 17Turtles / Giveaway

It is an aboslute honor to share with you this latest venture which I have been asked to be a part of. Juliana Michaels, aka the designer behind the amazing cut files at 17 Turtles, has asked me to join Katrina and Monique to be a part of her first ever 17 Turtles design team!

To celebrate this occasion, Juliana is giving away a $20 gift certificate to her Etsy store, 17 Turtles, where you can find the most amazing cut files. Not only are the designs incredible but so too is the customer service. Not sure if the design will cut small or large enough, just ask! Don't see the sport you are looking for, just ask, she might be able to create something for you! I got the swimming files I asked for. For details on how to win Juliana's $20 GC, be sure to check in on the blog HERE.

To stay up to date on the going's on, free files, tutorials and coupons, be sure to subscribe to the 17 Turtles Newsletter. You can do that HERE.

The 17 Turtle FaceBook page can be found HERE. And Instagram HERE.

To celebrate today's announcement, I too have a $10 gift certificate to the 17 Turtles Etsy store to give away! To eligible for the prize please leave me a comment for each of the following;

1. Follow me on my scrappy FaceBook page HERE. (Suzanna Scraps)
2. Leave me a comment letting me know which of the 17 Turtle files you would buy with your $10 GC or if there are files you would to see.
3. Follow me on Instagram HERE. (suzlee72)

Thanks for popping in today! Be sure to bookmark the 17 Turtles Etsy store and blog for more great inspiration!