American Crafts Vicki Boutin's Cut & Paste - Our Little Sunshine

Today I have a final layout using Vicki Boutin's Cut & Paste collection.

A beautiful piece of patterned paper can be the perfect starting point for a scrapbook layout, but what if you're torn between two gorgeous papers? I recently faced this dilemma with Paper #4 and Paper #6 from the collection. For some time, I thought each of these papers would make a good base on its own. But in the end I used both on one layout.



I started by trimming down Paper #6 just a bit, then mounted it onto a sheet of black cardstock to create a narrow black border.



Next, I took Paper #4 and carefully cut out all the pink squares. To make sure they really stood out from the background, I used a black fine-liner pen to draw a thin line just inside the edge of each square. This prevented the squares from blending into the background when I arranged and stuck them in rows across the top section of the layout.



I matted my 6x4-inch photo onto black cardstock to match the layout's border and placed it on the left side. For the title, I dug into my stash and found some older die-cut words from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. I arranged these words to hug the photo.




With the photo in place, I turned my attention to the right side of the layout, where I created an embellishment cluster using die cuts from the Ephemera Icons pack.

The pack included a cute dog die cut, which I absolutely had to use. I added it into the cluster, then added a puffy word sticker from a sheet of Thickers.

Right behind the embellishment cluster, I tucked in two tags that I cut from Paper #8. I threaded some black and white baker's twine through them, and they're now the perfect spot for some journaling—once I find the right words.

American Crafts Vicki Boutins Cut & Paste - Follow Your Dreams

I have another layout using the vibrant Cut & Paste collection by Vicki Boutin for American Crafts. The bright colours in this collection are so versatile and are perfect for any scrapbooking project.



I began the layout with a 12x12 sheet of black cardstock. On top of this, I layered pieces of white and teal cardstock, leaving a thin border around each.



Next, I used black thread to machine-stitch a zigzag line where the white and teal cardstock met. This detail adds texture and interest to the page.



Then, I used a mini brayer and teal acrylic paint to add three short horizontal stripes to the layout. I intentionally kept the application a bit messy to create a more textured, relaxed look.



Using paper #7 from the collection, I fussy cut some scallop border strips. I used these to create "shelves" beneath each of the painted stripes.



I matted three photos with pink cardstock and placed one on each shelf. To embellish each shelf, I used a combination of die cuts from the Ephemera Icons pack and fussy-cut flowers from paper #2. I added 3D foam underneath some of the elements to raise them slightly.



Using my Silhouette machine, I die-cut the title words from black cardstock and placed a word next to each of the three photos.

Finally I added a scattering of acrylic dots and sequins to the layout.

American Crafts Vicki Boutins Cut & Paste - Beautiful

I've been spending some time recently creating with Cut & Paste, Vicki Boutin's final collection for American Crafts. As expected from Vicki's signature style, this collection is full of vibrant colors. and what I particularly like is how many of the patterns and elements are reminiscent of decoupaged or layered paper-pieced images.

Today, I'm sharing a layout I created using one of my absolute favorite papers from the collection -Paper #3. This paper has a sunburst / pie shape design on it and I challenged myself to use it in an original way. This layout features a technique I have used before, but with a twist.,

I began by carefully fussy cutting the pie shape from the paper. Then, with a circle cutter, I created concentric "rings" by cutting them from the center. I arranged the rings on a sheet of graph paper from my stash. The two larger rings were nestled in the centre of the layout, while the two smaller ones were placed into the bottom right corner. To add interest, I rotated each ring to mix up the patterns.

I machine-stitched a zig-zag around the circles with black thread. This added texture and made the colors pop.

My photo, matted on black cardstock, was attached on the right of the layout. For embellishment, I layered on flowers and leaves from the Ephemera Icons Pack, giving them dimension with 3D foam underneath.

I found some older Vicki Boutin Thickers in my stash with words that were perfect for this layout, so I added them too.



The colours of some of the Thickers matched the layout perfectly.



I incorporated a title from Cocoa Vanilla Studio near the bottom of the layout, though a phrase sticker or alphabet stickers would have also worked well.



Journalling strips were printed on the computer and tucked beneath the title.



Finally I trimmed down the layout slightly, mounted it on a sheet of black cardstock leaving a narrow border and added a scattering of black sequins and paper punched stars.

Vicki Boutin's Bold & Bright for American Crafts - Magic Moments

My layout today uses the Picnic Blanket paper from Vicki Boutin's Bold & Bright collection and lots of fussy cut elements, phrase Thickers and puffy stickers. The layout is a very clean, graphic, grid design that uses all the colours in the collection.

I started by printing my journalling onto a sheet of 12x12 smooth white cardstock. I wanted the journalling to run round the outside edge of a grid, so I created my journalling on an MSWord document. I drew a 10" square in the centre of the document and then, using WordArt, I added my journalling to the outside edges of the square. Finally I deleted the square, leaving just the words, and printed the journalling on my computer.

Using a 2" square punch I punched 16 squares from the Picnic Blanket paper. The squares were arranged in a 4 x 4 grid and using a black gel pen I drew grid lines between the squares. The paper squares were already printed with faux stitching lines so there was no need for real stitching on this layout.

I double matted my 3x4 photo with green paper and white cardstock and placed this at an angle in the bottom right corner of the layout.

I took the word 'Moments' from the sheet of Puffy Title Thickers  and the word 'Magic' from a sheet of  Paige Evans Adventurous collection Phrase Thickers and added them to the bottom of the layout.

Then came the fun part of embellishing the layout and I choose to embellish tone-on-tone. I added fussy cut butterflies from the Smile Bright Paper to some of the squares. I glued the body of the butterfly to the layout and put 3d foam pads underneath the wings to add some dimension.

The sheet of mini puffy stickers has 101 tiny stickers (butterflies, hearts, stars, dots and words) so some of those were added too.

In my stash I found enamel dots in all the colours and dotted a few of these on each square.

Words were cut from the 3x4 tags sheet of paper and used on some squares.

I trimmed the white card down slightly and matted this onto a sheet of black cardstock leaving a narrow border.

Tiny heart stickers were placed in the corners and then with a black gel pen I drew lines round the outside of the layout.

Vicki Boutin's Bold & Bright for American Crafts - Take the Pictures

Today I have another layout using Vicki Boutin's gorgeous Bold & Bright collection which is perfect for scrapbooking sunny, summer photos. The title on today's layout is a Foam Phrase Thickers from the collection which says 'Take the Pictures to Capture the Memories', and that is so true. 

I started my layout with a sheet of smooth white 12x12 cardstock and in the middle I smooshed some aqua blue acrylic paint. I then trimmed the cardstock down slightly, distressed the edges and matted it onto a sheet of Ocean blue Bazzill cardstock.

I  cut random sized rectangles from the Light of Day, Mixed Tags, Spinning Wheels and Picnic Blanket papers distressed the edges and layered them in the centre of the layout. I used the B sides which have smaller all over designs on them.

Using black thread I machine stitched a straight stitch round the edges of all the papers and the layout.

Onto the paper layers I placed my 6x4 photo which I matted with white cardstock.

I fussy cut some of the blue and green wheels from the Spinning Wheels paper, distressed the edges and tucked these under the paper layers.

One of the Foam Phrase Thickers overlaps the corner of the photo.

The branding strip from the Smile Bright paper has black arrows on it. I cut the branding strip into pieces and used this to embellish the top and bottom of the layout.

My journalling was printed as word strips and stuck below the photo.

Finally I scattered some sequins and enamel dots around the layout.

Vicki Boutin's Bold & Bright for American Crafts - Capture it All

I have a new collection to share with you - Bold & Bright by Vicki Boutin for American Crafts. As the name suggests, the colour palette of this collection is wonderfully colourful and vibrant. It is perfect for so many scrapbook layouts. The layout I have to show you today is a multi photo layout inspired by the Mixed Tags sheet of paper.

For the base of the layout I chose to use a sheet of paper from one of Vicki's older Painted Backgrounds Paper Pads but you could also create your own mixed media background or use a plain sheet of cardstock or tone-on-tone patterned paper. I trimmed 1cm from one edge of the background paper and stuck a piece of black cardstock behind to add a bit of interest,

The 5 largest tags on the Mixed Tags paper were cut out and cascaded down the centre of the layout. Onto each tag I mounted a 3" x 1.5" photo. 3D foam was placed beneath each photo for dimension. 

Some of the tags were threaded with black and white twine.

From the Bunches of Fun paper I fussy cut two huge flower clusters and tucked these behind the top and bottom tags.

From the Spinning Wheels paper I cut lots of the wheels and also tucked these behind the tags, making sure that the colours were evenly distributed throughout the layout.

On each tag, beside the photo, I added a word strip printed on the computer and a butterfly from the sheet of Mini Puffy Stickers. This pack of puffy stickers contains 110 tiny stickers which are so versatile and great for scattering on layouts. I think they're great value for money.

In the bottom right corner I added my title. I used one of the Puffy Title Thickers and some Mini Foam Thickers and beside the title I added a cute puffy sticker camera from my stash.

Finally, a few enamel dots were added and I doodled a line round all the paper elements using a black gel pen.

Simple Stories Winter Wonder - Snow Much Fun

Today I have a scraplift  to share using the Winter Wonder collection from Simple Stories as well as a page from the Discover & Create Painted Backgrounds Paper Pad from Vicki Butin.

Inspiration for this layout was this gorgeous layout created recently by Jana Eubank. I was particularly drawn to the vertical collection of embellishments down the centre of the page.

For my layout I started with a sheet of paper from the Discover & Create Painted Backgrounds Paper Pad from Vicki Butin, which had a purple design on it. The Winter Wonder collection from Simple Stories doesn't have any purple in it, but as my daughter was wearing a purple coat in my photos, I thought the Background paper was perfect. I trimmed the paper down slightly and matted it onto a sheet of pale purple Bazzill cardstock to leave a narrow border all round the edge.

Inspired by Jana's layout, I layered papers from the Winter Wonder collection on top of the background.  Using a black gel pen I outlined all the papers as well as the background paper.

On to the papers I placed my two photos which were matted with white card and tucked a tag, cut from the tag elements paper behind one of the photos. The tag was tied with some black and white twine and the twine was secured in place with some wet adhesive.

Between the two photos I placed a couple of narrow strips of patterned paper to anchor the floral bits and pieces which I cascaded down the page. I chose pieces which were black, pink and green to co-ordinate with the papers used. There are 72 die cuts in the pack of bits and pieces so there were lots to choose from!

In my stash I found some wood veneer snowflakes and stars and added these on top of and around the die cuts.

Letters die cut from a scrap of black cardstock were used for the title placed beneath one of the photos.

The date, cut from more black cardstock, was added at the bottom of the layout.

I finished the layout by scattered a few sequins from Picket Fence Studios here and there.