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

Heart = Melted

Happy Monday everyone!  Well, as happy as it can be for a Monday.  :)

So, I mostly create double-page layouts, and the one I wanted to share today is no exception.  My son said the most wonderful thing to me not too long ago, so I wanted to document it - it totally melted my heart.  I didn't have specific photos for that moment, so I printed a couple of recent ones with him that I really liked.

I took two pieces of CTMH Whisper cardstock to use as my base, and I used a dotted foam stamp with Slate ink randomly across both pages in first and second generation to create a darker and lighter pattern.  Next, I decided to give the pages some texture using Tsukineko's Goosebumps Clear Texture Spray, and then let it dry.

After I laid out my photos, other pieces of cardstock, and Studio Calico's Darling Dear chevron vellum, I adhered the heart to the cardstock leaving a few gaps.  To cover the center of the spiral, I used a scallop circle, a star flower, and a brad.  I cut out an arrow from the heart to the word "Melted", spelled out using Heidi Swapp's awesome clear mint alpha letters (not for the first time!).

Isn't the heart cool?  I was inspired by Melinda Spinks' layout she did for Little Yellow Bicycle.  Her rendition had more pieces, more patterns, and was feminine, so I just adapted it for my boyish purposes.  I first sketched out the heart on the back of the patterned paper that I chose.  In this case, I used My Mind's Eye Collectable - Notable collection, which I fell in love with when I first saw it.

I then cut out my heart, used a pencil to lightly sketch the swirls from the upper left side of the heart, and then cut on the swirls, careful to keep each piece in order.

I absolutely had to journal our conversation that made my heart melt.  He certainly can be a handful sometimes, but my son can definitely be a sweetheart.  

I hope you are inspired by my layout.  Happy scrapping!

Majken