{Little Cuties} Scrapping Our Stash Blog Hop!

Hello and happy Friday y'all!  Welcome, welcome.  You may have arrived today from Katrina's blog.  Her projects are amazing!  Glad you could stop by.  Today I'm sharing a layout using the Creative Scrappers April Sketch (which is FABULOUS!) and American Crafts Better Together collection.  And I have a giveaway!  Take a peek at my layout.  My nephew and niece are super cute!!

I started with some CTMH Outdoor Denim cardstock for the backdrop for these fun papers!  I created a quick template to cut the triangles using my Cameo because I'm not good with the diagonals using my Fiskers trimmer - ha!  I cut triangles from 3 papers and offset the stars and the hearts to be opposite each other.  I purposely left the right side blank to help show the title better.  And then I sewed along the inside edge of each triangle.

After matting and sewing the photos of those cuties, I popped it up with 3D foam.  Super fun!  And then I had a star party!  I cut several using my Cameo but I also put some star stickers, sequins, and enamel stars.

 And then I put even more on!

Next I created the title using my Cameo to cut the "little" and some Thickers for "cuties".

I printed out some journaling strips and popped those up with 3D foam tape too.

I adore that star paper...must. buy. more!  ;)  Here's a quick look at the other embellishment areas.

And there you have it!  I had so much fun with this sketch, I hope you are inspired to create with it.

And now for the good part!  It's GIVEAWAY time!  

Today I'm giving away a $15 gift certificate for Paper Issues so you can add to your crafty stash!  All you have to do is follow my blog using Google and/or Bloglovin over on the right of my blog plus follow me on Instagram.  If you are inclined to leave a comment, I'd love that too.  Super simple and easy peasy!  You have until Monday, May 2, 2016 to enter for your chance to win.  I will announce the winner on Tuesday, May 3rd.  

Now it's time to continue your hop along to the supremely talented Christine!  Her projects usually knock my socks off!  And if you want to start from the beginning, the list is below.  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

xoxo,
Majken

Juliana http://www.17turtles.com/

Katrina http://paperscissorsandglue.blogspot.com

Majken http://chocoscrapaholic.blogspot.com/

Christine http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com

Wendi http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com/

Monique http://moniquesscrapbook.blogspot.com/

Sweet Little Man

Hello out there in scrappy land!  Today I'm digging in to a new stash of Jillibean Soup Healthy Hello.  It's got great colors for girls, but I'm using it for a boy layout following along with Scrap Our Stash's April sketch + 3.  I used Jillibean Soup, Kraft paper, and lined paper for my three choices.  Isn't my little man handsome?  He crinkles his nose up at pink but loved the layout when I showed him!  I think the blue really balances it out.

I loved the sketch as soon as I saw it.  I took Just Nick's Scribble Circle Background and trimmed the top left circle from the full background, then enlarged it to cut out.  Then I machine stitched some wonky circles over the circle in dark blue thread.  It's fun to let the sewing machine go fast and crazy!

Speaking of crazy, I decided the small flowers needed to be fussycut so I could include on my layout.  I trimmed the flower journal card to pair with my photo.  I matted it and then trimmed a smaller piece of the lined paper journal card to stash behind.  I loved layering the flowers and stickers like the "awesome you" tab sticker.  Isn't the arrow paper fun?!

  
Here's the embellishment area on the bottom right of the layout.  I adore that "Herbed Hola" paper with the confetti circles!  I also used an arrow sticker and some word stickers, then added more fussycut flowers and some enamel dots.

Here's a close-up of the journal area:

For the title, I used some brown Thickers to go with the kraft paper as well as the blue alpha stickers from the collection.

One more close up of the fussycut flowers (don't they look pretty with the bluebonnet?) and enamel dots.

Here's a look at the sketch:

Fun sketch and super fun collection!  I hope you take a stab at the sketch and that I've inspired you to use your pink on a boy layout.  

Have a super week!
Majken

Love Shaker Card with Basketweave technique

Hi everyone - hope you are having a craft-tastic weekend!  I wanted to pop in quickly to share a card that uses the paper basketweave technique and also is a shaker card!  I used the gorgeous Crate Paper Hello, Love collection (here's a layout I shared last week using the collection).

Take a look!

The card is simple, yet fun.  The basketweave piece is approximately 4x6 and the finished card is 5x7.  

To create the shaker, I took a photo of the heart from one of the patterned papers in Hello, Love, loaded it into Silhouette Studio and then cut it out.  I put patterned paper as the base for the heart (trimmed to just smaller than the heart), and then sprinkled sequins and shapes.  Using some leftover clear packaging, I trimmed that to the size of the heart as well and then put the cut heart on top.

Some twine, enamel dots, and a "love" rub-on complete the card.

Have you tried paper basketweaving yet?  If not, I hope you do...it's addicting!

Chocolate hugs,
Majken

{Paradise Adventure} April Stuck?! Sketch & Simple Stories

Hello!  Today I have a layout for you that uses some foiled shapes I created using both my Silhouette PixScan mat and my Heidi Swapp Minc (I have a tutorial here showing you how to do this at home).  Grab some chocolate and come along!

I used Simple Stories You Are Here collection to highlight some photos from my honeymoon back in 2000 (no, I am still working on scrapping the trip 16 years later! And the time warp continues!).  

Here are some close ups.  I love sewing on my layouts.  Aren't the photo stickers and New Bradz awesome?

Here you can see the gold foil anchor I created using my PixScan mat and Minc, along with another New Bradz, enamel dots, and photo sticker.

How cool is this fussycut flower cluster popped up with 3D foam tape?

And here's a close up of the title and journaling.  I used CTMH stamp set "Hello Paradise" and then print/cut/foiled the "adventure" and the heart I stuck on top of the chipboard camera.

I used the April sketch from Stuck?! Sketches.

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Majken

Using the Silhouette PixScan Mat to Create Minc Foiled Words and Shapes

Howdy crafters!  I have a fun tutorial to share with you today using the Silhouette PixScan mat (here's a tutorial on how to calibrate PixScan for your camera if you are just getting started).  I got a Minc Mini for Christmas (thanks Santa!), and because my HP OfficeJet printer recently passed into printer heaven after years of good service, I spent a little extra money and got a LaserJet printer recently.  I work from home so the extra quality is nice, PLUS because it uses toner, I can now use it for foiling - win-win!    The possibilities are endless!

What you'll need:

• Laser printer (available at printing shops like Kinko's etc. if you don't have one; or purchase Minc toner sheets)
• Cardstock
• Silhouette digital cutting machine (I use a Cameo)
• Silhouette PixScan mat
• Silhouette Studio software
• Heidi Swapp Minc and transfer folder
• Foil

First I typed some words in different fonts and included some icons from an shape font to print out onto a sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock.  I wanted "adventure" to complete my layout title but I didn't want to waste cardstock and I know I'll use the other icons somewhere so I added several to print!

The next step is putting the sheet on the PixScan mat and importing it into the Silhouette Studio software.  Remember to take the photo as straight on as possible and in good lighting.  

Tip:  Mine gave me the error "cannot detect the PixScan markings" several times.  After several takes, I rotated my mat 180 degrees so the arrow was pointing down like you see below, and it worked (I suspect a lighting issue).  Below is the photo I used to import to Studio.  

Note:  it ignores everything outside the mat, so it's okay if other stuff is in the photo.

Note 2:  Once you have a photo imported, it's very important to NOT remove the cardstock from the PixScan mat because it sees the images based on their position to the mat's registration marks.

Here is the photo after importing (it turns the mat arrow the correct way on its own):

The next step is to trace the images. In this case, I turned High Pass Filter off and traced.

Next, I copied the red traced elements onto a new drawing area so I could zoom in and fix any trace errors by editing points, etc.  

Once all of them were fixed, I created a slight internal offset for the full sheet, cleaned it up, and copied the traces back onto the PixScan mat drawing area.

Tip:  The internal offset helps account for slight variations based on the photo of the images on the PixScan mat.  If you'd rather have a border cut around your images, then you can create an external offset.

The next step is sending this to the Silhouette Cameo to cut.  Once they are cut, they are ready for the Minc!

I took two "adventure" words, a heart, and the anchor to the transfer folder for my Minc.  I turned my folder over to make sure all my pieces were covered with the gold foil.

Then run it through the Minc (I used setting 3).

The outcome?  Foiled goodness!!  And this fun layout.  

I'd love to see what you create with your PixScan and Minc!

Thanks for sharing, pinning, and your feedback!  Happy scrapping and crafting!

Majken

He Picked Flowers

Hello out there!  Did you miss my bloggy absence?  I took an unexpected month off - my day job took a bit more energy these last several weeks.  PHEW!  But I'm back!  Today I'm sharing a layout using Crate Paper Hello Love...what an awesome collection, amiright?  And although it has a lot of pink in it, I emphasized many of the other colors in the collection.  Take a look!

I based my layout on the Spring 2016 sketch from Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine.

What's not to like about that striped paper?  I layered some heart paper, the marbled green paper strip, some vellum I scalloped, and sewing for the base of the photo area.  It was a fluke that "so much love" showed at the bottom of the photo so I opted to keep it slightly longer to keep it rather than trim it to match the other three sides.

I created the title cutting "He picked" with my Cameo combined with those lovely Fancy Pants Designs alphas.  I used my Cameo to cut some flowers from Just Nick's Girl Power and layered them over the O.  I placed an enamel dot in the center to finish.

I scalloped another green marble strip and stitched it on the top.  I added another flower cluster too.

For the corner embellishment area, I completed the visual triangle with a third flower cluster.

For the journaling spot, I opted to print it out.  I used the font KG Always a Good Time to match the top part of my title.  I added more scalloped paper, stitching, a cut tab from the striped paper, and another enamel dot.

Et voila!  

Supply list:  Cardstock:  American Crafts; Patterned Paper:  Crate Paper Hello Love; Alphas: Fancy Pants Designs; Electronic Cut File:  JustNick; Punches: We R Memory Keepers; Enamel Dots: Pebbles, My Mind's Eye; Inks: Close to My Heart, Stazon; Adhesive: Scotch by 3M; Other: Vellum, Sequin