{That Smile} Hand Stitched Letters

Hello, hello!  So glad you stopped by.  Today I have a new page that I did hand-stitching on for the first time.  While a bit time-consuming, it definitely adds a pretty and defined texture to papercrafts.  This layout is my darling daughter when she was one and a half. And who *doesn't* unload dishwashers with their sunglasses on, anyway??  :)

I had the concept of this layout started on International Scrapbook Day, but I sadly didn't get to finish then.  But I did take the time to visualize how I wanted the page to end up, and I knew I wanted to hand-stitch on it after seeing my friend Heather's page come together during a scrappy weekend.  Isn't that gorgeous?  I love her watercolor effect with it too.

Usually I don't have a specific title in mind when I start a layout, but in this case I did.  So I used the Just Nick Outline Alpha cut file to pull SMILE into Silhouette Studio and cut it out with stitch holes (see below for instructions).  I used an embroidery needle and floss to backstitch around each letter.  What a relaxing task to do during a bit of television!

Then I used a folder file cut file from the Silhouette Store to cut out my folder "mat" on that beautiful aqua heart paper.  Isn't the Bella Blvd She Blooms paper adorable?  

After I had the basic photo area done, I placed it temporarily where I wanted it to go, removed it, and splattered a bit of white mist on the top left and bottom right areas.  After it dried, I put the photo area back on and did some embellishing.  Here's the bottom right area with a small bit of journaling.

I normally will machine sew on my layouts but because I did hand-stitching on the title, I wanted to keep that the focus.  Instead I incorporated a few messy-thread areas with my stickers and enamel hearts - and a fussycut flower.

Here's a close-up of the stitching:

And all that created layers both underneath the stitching and on top using 3D foam tape!  

Here's a quick tutorial on how I created hand-stitching holes around my letters using Silhouette Studio and my Cameo.  I found this video helpful as a start.

1. Trace your alpha cut file letters in the size you want the stitching to be.
2. Align the letters to be evenly spaced horizontally and centered, keeping a little distance between them to account for the holes.
3. Do an internal offset of the letters, and move the internal offset cut lines out of the cutting area for now.
4. Create a text box with Times New Roman periods sized at 36.  Grab the crosshair circle and drag it to your first letter and the periods will "snap" around your letter.  Fill in the remaining periods until you have covered the letter.
5. Repeat for each letter.
6. Remove the cut lines for each letter, leaving the periods.
7. Move the internal offset cut lines back to the center of each letter and send to your Cameo to cut.

I hope this inspires some hand-stitching!  I'd love to see your creations if you decide to use this fun technique, so feel free to share them with me in the comments or on social media.  If you found this helpful, I'd love for you to Pin it!

Have a super weekend filled with a bit of chocolate and scrapping time!

Majken

Birthday Boy with Simple Stories and Just Nick Studio Cut File - Journaling Font Color Tip

Hello everyone!  I have this crush...I've had it for awhile.  I'm talking about Simple Stories.  Their collections are so much fun to play with.  I had pre-ordered a few collections after the Winter CHA, and Simple Stories was one of them, but I hadn't had a chance to bust out Let's Party yet.  So when I saw Kristine Davidson's Instagram challenge to use Just Nick Studio Dreamcatcher Background 1, I had the perfect chance.  What a fun match-up between collection, challenge, and cut file!

I started by enlarging the Dreamcatcher Background to approximately 11", traced it in Silhouette Studio, and the cut it out of white textured cardstock with my Cameo.

I used the pieces that fell out of the circle to cut slightly larger pieces from the different patterned paper that I wanted for each section.  I adhered them on the back using little dots of my Martha Stewart glue pen - I love it for small amounts of adhesive like I needed here!

I then adhered the full circle onto another white textured cardstock piece, about 11 1/2" x 11 1/2".  Then I busted out my sewing machine!  I used white thread to circle the outside edge and all the straight edges within the circle.  

I adhered that onto a piece of Cranberry Red CTMH cardstock and sewed along the inside edge of the white cardstock.

I had three photos I wanted to include on the dreamcather, so I matted them with white cardstock and then different pieces of the patterned paper from It's A Party.  Coincidentally, there were three tab stickers with the collection, and I used one on each of the photos!

With that base down, I decided on my title.  I used the Birthday from the ephemera pack and some red alpha stickers from Simple Stories' Snap collection for "BOY".  I tucked the boy from the ephemera pack next to the title for a fun accent.  Isn't that gray curlicue from the photo sticker pack cute??  I sprinkled a few of those along the circle.

I used some ephemera, New Bradz, enamel dots (borrowed from Simple Stories' Say Cheese Collection!), and stickers to create different embellishment spots.  There's so much to choose from - I know I'll be making some birthday cards with this collection.

To journal, I typed and printed a few strips to sew along the page.

TIP:  To use a matching color for your journaling:

1. Open a web page that shows the color you want (I browsed to a photo of It's A Party)
2. Take a screen shot of the page that has your color
3. Open it in Paint
4. Use the dropper tool to "grab" the color you want to use for your font (I grabbed the gray/brown color)
5. Change your font color in Word to the RGB values shown in Paint.

I decided to add some embellishments to the top left and bottom right corners outside of the Dreamcatcher circle.  I just HAD to use that banner sticker and sew along its seam!

And that's a wrap for this layout!  I hope you will also take part in Kristine's challenge and use the cut file - Nicole has some really awesome ones in her shop.

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy the rest of your week!

Majken

Blog Hop Giveaway Winner!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  So excited you hopped along with us this weekend.  With no further ado, it's time to announce the winner of my giveaway - $15 gift card to Paper Issues!

The winning comment number is 4:

 

Cathie Noir, email me at chocoscrapaholic at yahoo dot com by midnight Central time on Sunday, May 15, 2016 for your gift certificate!

Thank you everyone who hopped along, followed my blog, and commented!

Chocolate, scrappy hugs,

Majken