THANKFUL - JustNick Studio

Hi there!
Nathalie with you today in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with our American friends.  This time of the year always bring lots of reflection, love and gratitude, and what better way to documenting than to create a scrapbook layout using some of the JustNick Studio cut files.

Our biggest blessing are our kids.  So i wanted to make them the highlight of this page.  I started by creating the background with a bit of handstitching and using the Compressed Chevron background as a stitching guide.

I chose embroidery floss that will match the colors in the Maggie Holmes Heritage collection for the background, and watched a few Christmas movies while i finished detailing the lines.

I set the picture in place and added embellishments to create the clusters on the page.   I then used the Card Sentiments 3 cut file to  cut the "thankful"  from a piece of Vicki Boutin Foundation paper and then added a bit of shine by coloring it with Gold Glaze.

The title was attached with a bit of foam adhesive to the page, and then all was left to do was add some journal lines and embellishments to complete this page.

I hope that this has inspired you to document your gratitude using some of Just NIck Studio beautiful cut files.

Til Next time,

PICTURE PERFECT - Citrus Twist Kits

hi there!

The new Citrus Twist Kits  kits for October have been revealed and i love them all!  As soon as i opened the add on kit and saw this paper from Paige Evans Truly Grateful collection, i knew that i will be fussy cutting the leaves for one one of my pages.

I cut about a third of the paper, and took my time cutting each leaf, making sure that i had a good mix of all the colors and leaf designs.   Then, i arranged them on a piece of white cardstock so that they  looked like they were flying through the page.

Also, besides movement, the leaves were also arranged so that they transition in color as they move through the page.  I glued just the center of the leaves, and then softly curled some of the edges, before using my piercing tool to create holes for my hand stitching.  My idea was to create wind trails for the leaves.

This picture of me finding color on my walks was then framed with a paper that matches the shoes, and then i glued it to the page so that it sits in the center of the page, nestled by the leaves.      I added a simple label as a layer, and used the wood veneers to add the embellishment ( i added a bit of gold paint to the piece).

Along the way i stamped sentiments from the this month's TN stamp with gold ink, and then added  the title using a piece of ephemera and the Stamp (love that stamp!!!).  To emphasize the change of colors, i cut two little slits at the corners of the layout, folded the edges and backed them with papers from the add on kit and At My Table kits, i added a few stitches to hold the folds together,

I love how this turned out.  It is simple,but filled with texture and color!  Remember to stop by Citrus Twist Kits to check the kits, they are amazing!!!  As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions on how this  came together.

HYBRID LIFE CRAFTED LAYOUTS - Citrus Twist Kits

Hi there!
It is always fun to open a new Life Crafted kit from Citrus Twist Kits each month and get inspired by its contents, but my favorite part of receiving the kits is opening all the digital files.   I love having the power to customize my pages using digital files, it gives them a one-of-a-kind feel that we all strive for.  The following pages focus on the This is Life: LET'S WANDER  digital stamp set to create my title pages.

   For this page, i started by enlarging the picture of my son and nephew walking around town, and added a few cut apart digital elements  to create the cluster on the picture.

To create the title of the page, i enlarged one of the circle images from the Digital stamp (to fit almost the entire width of the page.  I used the physical form of the same stamp set to add the small sentiment at the bottom of  the circle, and then  carefully cut around the inner circle outline.

I backed the empty space with a picture of my kids walking around our local farmer's market and added more stamping. Since i had part sentiment from the top impression, i chose to repeat the same sentiment on the picture.   For my lines of journal, i chose to enlarge one of the Digital PL cards, added my story and then finish it with some stamping using the EXPLORE kit stamp set.

I love how this turned out, especially as it took no time to put together since most of it was done with the computer.   Let me now show you another idea on how to use Digital Stamps to create titles for  your  Life Crafted album.

This time,  i chose to create a badge (like the ones you get to add to your backpacks) using the digital stamp and some hand stitching.

I simply printed the image, poked holes along the lines of the image, and then backstitched all the lines.   The  circle was then trimmed and  then placed on the center of the  page (created with the digital TN papers from the EXPLORE kit).

All that was left to do was add the picture and create the embellishment and journal card  - these were all created with Digital Files from the September kit).   Just love how these turned out!!

Remember to stop by Citrus Twist Kits to check the September EXPLORE Life Crafted kit and all the digital files that coordinate with the kit.   Hybrid scrapbooking is probably a new concept for you, but you will love how it can transform your pages.  If you have questions about these, please leave me a comment.

XO

FRANKLY FRIGHTFUL COUSIN CREW FUN - Simple Stories

Hi there Simple Stories Friends! Nathalie with you today with a new layout that brings a not-so frightful approach to Halloween memories.   When i saw the Happy Kids Bits and Pieces of the new Say Cheese Halloween collection from Simple Stories, i did a small inner cheer as i had the perfect picture for it. 

I wanted to bring color and playfulness to this page, so i opted to use lots of the patterned papers, and what better way than to create a large title for the page.  I chose a few cut files from the Silhouette store to cut the words from some of the collection's papers.   A chose to cut an offset of the words out of the Say Cheese 4 Basics papers and then hand stitched the words to the black cut out.

Before building the page, i chose to trim and distress the edges of the Frankly Frightful paper, then stitched it to the  Hey Pumpkin paper.   A few sticker details were added to the distressed edges, followed by drops of black and white ink around the page.

The title was glued on a bit of a slant, then i nestled the pictures atop the title, and started adding embellishments around them. I chose to complete my title with one of the phrase stickers from the ephemera pack

To finish the page,i added a few lines of journal to the side of the title,followed by a pair of the Happy Kids Bits and Pieces that match closely their costumes.  Just love these little pieces of joy. 

I LOVE how this turned out!  The new Say Cheese Halloween from Simple Stories is one of the cutest and not-so frightful collections around, you are going to fall in love with it!  

XO

Altenew Live Your Dream Scrapbook collection Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi there!

Welcome to the Altenew Live Your Dream Scrapbook Collection Release Blog Hop and Giveaway.  You should be arriving from Altenew Card Blog...

As a paper lover, nothing makes me happier than to take part on today's blog as Altenew is releasing a new Scrapbook collection, LIVE YOUR DREAM.   This collection is bright, elegant and so versatile, you can use it to document all those special moments and also the lovely everyday moments.  This collection is filled with beautiful patterns, designs and color, and it contains:

• 16 sheets of 12x12 double-sided patterned papers (2 of each/16 different designs)
• 2 6"x12" sheets of puffy alphabet stickers (220 pieces)
• 2 6"x12" sheets of chipboard stickers (38 pieces)
• 2 6"x12" sheets of clear stickers (31 pieces)
• 1 pack of wood epoxy buttons (20 pieces)
• 1 pack of die-cut cardstock embellishments (32 pieces)   

Let me show you what i put together with the beautiful LIVE YOUR DREAM scrapbook collection:

I wanted to use all the papers and colors of the collection, so what better way that to showcase them in a large tittle that serves as the focal point of the page.

A cut file and the Silhouette Cameo were used to cut the word "Smile" from papers from the LIVE YOUR DREAM collection. Each letter was hand stitched to an offset so that they can stand out and be combined in the title.

A bit of Altenew Watercolor -black- was used to create the background of this page.  To bring a new layer of interest of the background, the Wavy Grid stencil and a bit of art crayon was used to create a shadow impression for the title.

The stitched title was attached to the background with a bit of foam adhesive, and then it was time to add the picture of my three babies.

All the colorful die cuts, chipboard stickers and epoxy wooden buttons from the LIVE YOUR DREAM collection were used to frame the picture.   I added a few sentiments to the clusters using the Dream Big and Botanical Silhouette stamp sets.

To complete my visual triangle, a small slit was created in the bottom of the page.  Once the edges were folded, i used a piece of the LIVE YOUR DREAM collection paper was used to back the space, and then i repeated the elements in the clusters  along with a stamped image from the Trendy Circles stamp set.  A few Altenew enamel dots complete the clusters and create movement on the page, all that was left to add were a few lines of journal and drops of Altenew pure white ink spray.  The following video will showcase how this page came together:

I really hope this has inspired you to check the new LIVE YOUR DREAM collection from Altenew.  Remember to , and now on to the fun part of this blog hop...

>>>>>  Giveaway<<<<

• To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 2/28/2019 for a chance to win. 6 winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 3/3/2019.

• I will also be giving away a $30 gift certificate to the Altenew store to a lucky commentary. The winner will be announced on 2/28/2019.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments, they are greatly appreciated it!. The lucky winner is:

Congratulations Melissa, please email winner@altenew.com by 3/10/2019 with the subject line Altenew Live Your Dream Scrapbook Collection Release Blog Hop Winner from Nathalie DeSousa's blog.

Thank you all so much!

Now it is time to continue admiring all the beautiful projects created with the LIVE YOUR DREAM collection, your next stop is Kimona Tracey's blog!  Remember you can always come back here to join in the hop, or stop at the Altenew Scrapbook or Altenew Card blogs.  A list of all the participants has been added for your convenience

Altenew Scrapbook Blog

Paige Evans

Enza Gudor

Kathleen Graumüller

Jen Schow

Zinia Redo

Bea Valint

Raquel Bowman

Sandra Dietrich

Amanda Baldwin

Maryam Perez

Svitlana Shayevich

Missy Whidden

Altenew Card Blog

Nathalie DeSousa <<< You are Here

>>>> Kymona Tracey <<<< YOUR NEXT STOP

Patricia Roebuck

Lydia Evans

Terhi Koskinen

Lilith Eeckels

Meghann Andrew

Reiko Tsuchida

Flóra Mónika Farkas

Virginia Lu

Kim Jeffress

Elsie Robinson

Laurie Willison

Kelly Janes

Erum Tasneem

Thanks so much for stopping by!  

XO