The Cut Shoppe Feel the Love BLOG HOP!

Welcome to The Cut Shoppe Feel the Love Blog Hop!  We want to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day Weekend and celebrate with amazing inspiration from the Design Team, a FREE cut file set, giveaways, and a discount code to The Cut Shoppe Etsy Store.  So make sure you read all the details so you won't miss out!

You should have arrived here from Jennifer Haggerty's blog.  Here is the layout I created for the Hop.  I used the Love Struck and Feel the Love Cut Files, and I mixed in the Truly Madly Deeply Printable set.  It goes so well with the Crate Paper Hello Love collection!  I used some of the printables as layers, and I used one as my title to the right of the photo.  The big pink heart under the layers is from Feel the Love, and the "love" under the photo is from Love Struck.

Here are the sets I used:

I just printed these out on printer paper.  You could certainly used cardstock, or even vellum.  I layered a lot of Crate Paper embellishments around the page as well as a few flair buttons and some MAMBI stickers.

Although this "love" piece is part of a bigger design, I only traced the "love" part.  You really can do anything with these cut files!  That orange watercolor on my background is Shimmerz Creameez in Can't Elope.

I can't stop fussy cutting these Crate Paper XOs...haha!  I layered in some washi tape and another flair button here. My flair are from A Flair For Buttons.

Tangled thread and lots of fun paint splatters!  I added my journaling to the bottom of the heart.

One more close-up of the top...more layers, thread and stickers :)

Be sure to check out The Cut Shoppe Blog to download a FREE Valentine Cut File...go there now to see it!

After you get the freebie, head on over to the Etsy Store and browse through all of the other fun cut file designs!  There are so many to choose from, and you can use this discount code to receive 30% off your purchase from February 11th - February 15th!

And now on to the GIVEAWAYS!!! *************************

GIVEAWAY #1 - Each Design Team Member participating in the Hop is giving away a one Cut File.  Make sure you visit each blog and leave a comment for the chance to win.  Winners will be announced on the designers' blogs on Tuesday, February 16th, so make sure you check back on their blogs to see if you're a winner!

I'm giving away the Truly Madly Deeply Printable I used on my layout!

GIVEAWAY #2 -  You can win 14 of your favorite Cut Files just by commenting throughout the Hop.  Leave a comment on each blog, starting with The Cut Shoppe Blog, for a chance to win.  One winner will be chosen from all of the blog comments, and announced on The Cut Shoppe Blog on Tuesday, February 16th. The winner will be able to choose 14 Cut File Sets from The Cut Shoppe Etsy Store!

Before you go, here is a full list of the Blog Hop for you to follow.  Have fun Hopping!

The Cut Shoppe:  http://thecutshoppe.blogspot.com/

Katrina Hunt:  http://paperscissorsandglue.blogspot.com/

Aimee Maddern:  http://aimeesarmoire.typepad.com/

Allie Stewart:  http://www.magicalmesses.com/

Jennifer Haggerty:  http://livethemoment-jen.blogspot.com/

Missy Whidden:  http://littlenuggetcreations.blogspot.com/

Michelle Wedertz:  http://michellewedertz.blogspot.com/

Laura Mooney:  http://happinessequalscreation.blogspot.com/

Madeline Fox:  http://bayoubytes.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for playing along with us!  Happy Valentine's Day!!

Darling Valentine / Hip Kit Club

Hey, friends!  I'm back again...this time to share my newest layout for Hip Kit Club.  I used the 2016 January Hip Kits, and I just can't get enough of these beautiful colors!  I knew I wanted to use the black and white striped Crate Paper paper because it matched the stripes in my daughter's shirt.  I used a big piece of the dotted paper and added a lot of white gesso to white some of the pattern out.  I used the packaging technique and a lot of teal Shimmerz spray (not in the kit) to create the watercolor look.  I machine stitched that big heart and then built all the layers from there.

Be still my heart!  All of my favorite things in one close-up photo...watercolor, stitching, shiny gold glitter, wood veneer, puffy stickers...all of it!  I used the Heidi Swapp Gold Texture Paste from the Color Kit to color the wood heart.  I just used my finger, and the texture and shine turned out beautifully.  Those cute acrylic circles are exclusive "confetti" this month....LOVE them!

I believe these turquoise Heidi Swapp puffy alphas may be my new favorite thing.  I love how they look continuous when you place them beside each other...so pretty!  I kept the Studio Calico wood veneer letters raw and created "Valentine" for my title. I also added some of the CP chipboard and stickers.

I fussy cut the XOs from one of the CP papers...it's full of them!  I love the beautiful teal vellum words in the kit this month...they are the perfect color.  I added more stickers and confetti circles here as well.

Last close-up of the photo area...I added pop dots to the one on the left and also added some tissue paper under them.  That cute heart is from the CP tag pack and the the brad is from MME.

Once again, here's my process video if you'd like to watch me create this layout.  Thanks for watching!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!

Love Love Love / Citrus Twist Kits

Happy Tuesday, friends!  Today I'm sharing a new layout for Citrus Twist Kits using the February Main "Stories" Kit.  It is so beautiful, and it's full of pretty pinks, yellows, teals and lots of floral elements.  I've had this photo ready to scrap for quite some time, but the papers were never right.  This kit is perfect...it has just the right colors and elements.  I knew right away I had to get it scrapped!

I used a few cut apart pieces from one of the Maggie Holmes Bloom papers and paired it with some of the Pink Paislee ephemera pieces and stickers.  I did a bit of mixed media work on the background and used a flower stamp from my stash to create a few subtle hearts on some vellum.

I love how this cluster turned out.  I fussy cut the YOU banner from the cut-apart printable exclusive sheet and machine stitched it down.  I fussy cut that tea cup of flowers and layered it with the Pink Paislee ampersand.  The yellow tab and green label are from the exclusive printable as well.

I just adore these Thickers!  There are so many...including two different sizes of upper case letters.  I mixed and matched here to spell my daughter's name.

I used a flower stamp, ink and vellum from my stash to create a few subtle flowers for layering here, and I also added in some tangled thread.  I love how the pretty light blue contrasts with the pinks, yellows and greens in the papers and my photo.

I love that the Pink Paislee ephemera pack contains die cuts and acetate pieces.  I paired this piece here with one of the puffy stickers.  I also added in one of the white exclusive doilies as a layering piece.

Here's a look at my process video if you'd like to see how I put this page together from start to finish.  I hope you find some inspiration!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a great day!

Seas the Day / My Mind's Eye

Hey there again, friends!  I have a new layout for My Mind's Eye to share today.  I am totally loving the new releases.  I used the beautiful new nautical collection By The Sea for this page.  I'm so excited to use it because I have a lot of fun travel pictures to scrap.  These photos are from our recent vacation to St. Maarten, and this line is just perfect for it.

I used a cut file from The Cut Shoppe to create the big wheel on some MME Kraft cardstock.  I backed the open spots with various patterned papers and added in lots of little bits and pieces.  I used white gesso to create that foggy look around the wheel, and then I added some watercolor.

One of my favorite things about MME collections are all the bits and pieces that come with them.  Good old fashioned brads...enamel dots & shapes, flair, chipboard...stickers...you name it.  I couldn't resist clustering those things here.  I did do some machine stitching through the wheel with silver thread.

I decided to use the shape of the wheel to add my title.  I used the shiny silver alpha stickers there, and I love how it turned out.

I absolutely LOVE this title!  I can't take credit for it, though...I punched these letters from one of the Journal Cards.  I added some red watercolor and then traced around them with a white gel pen.  How clever is this phrase?  I just love it.  I added my journaling around the outer edges.

Here is one more close-up of the top area.  I added this cute chipboard piece and a few enamel dots and a cute star.  I used a Journal Card as a layer behind my photos.

I hope this gives you some fun ideas of how to use this collection...if you have boating photos, this line is perfect!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Love My Crew / A Flair For Buttons

Happy Sunday, friends!  (Super Bowl Sunday, that is!)  I hope you've enjoyed your weekend.  Today I am sharing my latest layout for A Flair For Buttons.  I used flair from two different sets:  Minimal 1 and Best Summer Ever.  I focused on using buttons that were mostly black and white and jazzed them up with teal thread.

I used the Dear Lizzy Documentary collection to document this photo of my husband playing with our two girls in the pool.  It's rare that they are all in the photo together, so I just had to get pictures of the moment!  I have several of them, so I printed this one in black and white so the colors would contrast nicely around it.  I used a little bit of Shimmerz Coloringz in Say Can U Sea on the white cardstock using the packaging technique.  I also added some Heidi Swapp gold texture paste through a small lined stencil for added interest and texture.

I love adding flair to my projects, and I love creating little nests of thread for them to sit in. I like how it anchors them down and gives an extra pop of color.  I layered this one right on top of the photo.  I hand cut those circles out of patterned paper to layer around the page.  I also used several of the coordinating rub-ons.

Here's another button...black and white with teal thread.  I've got a lot going on down here at the bottom:  rub-ons, washi tape, paper, stickers, puffy glitter stickers.  I love layering to create little clusters.  The 123 stickers are from Simple Stories, and the "we laugh" sticker is from a MAMBI sticker pack.

I've been hoarding these awesome black Thickers.  I'm sure you've seen them...everyone has them, right?!  This "My Crew" was the perfect title.  I fussy cut "Sunday" from patterned paper and added in some of the shiny gold Dear Lizzy washi tape, a sticker and a puffy heart.

Here's a look a the texture paste...I just love this lined stencil.  I think it was the very first stencil I ever purchased years ago.  Here, I've got more circles, rub-ons and stickers.

Here's my third flair...this simple yet very bold heart.  I love it!

One more close-up of the cluster on the right side.  I just love this gold washi tape...it's from the washi tape strip pad from the collection.  And I love those glitter puffy hearts...those are from Pinkfresh Studio.

Here are the two sets of flair I pulled from:  Best Summer Ever

Minimal 1 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Be sure to check out all the flair Shelley has in the store...there are sooo many to choose from, and she's always adding new ones in!

Have a great day!

Designer Spotlight with Paige Evans!

Happy Friday! I'm SOOOOO excited to share that I am being featured in the Designer Spotlight with Paige Evans over on the Scrapbook Expo Blog!  I can't tell you how fast my heart started beating when I saw I had an email from Paige...she is a scrapbooking goddess as we all know, so it was quite amazing to say the least.  A huge thank you to her for inviting me to be a part of this! 

You can see my full feature HERE.  I had fun answering questions about my life and my scrapbooking.  I created this layout especially for this feature, and I used mostly the Amy Tan Rise & Shine collection, which is one of my all time faves.  I used some cloud cut files from The Cut Shoppe, a few stickers from MAMBI, the little cloud stamp is from Echo Park, and I used watercolors, spray inks and gelatos to create the background and to color a few of the clouds.

I absolutely love backing cut files with patterned paper.   It's a great technique to use to get lots of color and patterns on your page in small doses.  I added a fun flair button here with some tangled thread and created some layering effects with other small cloud cut files.

I cut these clouds on white cardstock and then used inks and gelatos to color them.  I added a few Studio Calico word stickers and a Freckled Fawn arrow clip.  Those enamel dots are from Bella Blvd, and the "lovely" glitter sticker is from MAMBI.

I used a few Heidi Swapp ink pads and Distress Inks to stamp this cute cloud.  I fussy cut them out and stitched them down.  I fussy cut "Shine" from a MAMBI Project Life card and paired it with some Simple Stories alpha stickers.  I also machine stitched here with yellow thread.

I wanted to create a sun and sky for my cute clouds, so I first added ink sprays and watercolors in an aqua color to my cardstock.  On another piece of cardstock, I used a small sunburst stencil and some yellow ink spray to create the sun.  I fussy cut it out and glued it to my background.  I machine stitched through each ray, and I love how it turned out!  Just like the image I had in my head :)

I hope this inspires you in some way...I had a fabulous time creating it for the Expo.  Another big thanks to Paige for having me!  It was an honor to be a part of this.

Have a wonderful day!

Smarty Pants / Hip Kit Club

Hey friends, and Happy Thursday to you!  Today I have another layout for Hip Kit Club to share.  I created this using the 2016 January Hip Kits, and I used a lot of the My Mind's Eye products included in them.  Most of this is from the My Story collection with the exception of the Basic Grey paper strips at the top and bottom of the page and the February calendar piece to the left of the photo.

I went very light on the mixed media for this page.  I began with the white cardstock and that fun circle die cut behind the layers.  I cut that using my Cameo and then layered the Feb card and my photo on top of it.  Since my daughter looks so smart and studious in the photo, I decided to use embellishments that reminded me of a bookworm :)  I fussy cut some typewriters and glasses and scattered them around the page and added in several hearts and a few Heidi Swapp gold stickers.

I fussy cut these adorable glasses from one of the MME Journal Cards, and that cute little brad is also from MME.  I used a black marker to color the Studio Calico wood veneer letters...I love how they turned out!  I also love the pops of shiny gold in these MME and HS goodies!

Aren't these little typewriters so cute?!  They came from a 12x12 piece of patterned paper.  Those black glasses are a sticker.  I added some tangled black thread before I machine stitched with gold thread.  I added black splatters at the end and a few little sentiment stamps.

I used my waterbrush to create a bit of pink and gold watercolor smudges around the edges of the photo.  I didn't want too much "mess" on this layout since there was so much going on already.  I like how subtle it turned out.

Finally, here's one more close up of the top area.  I added another Heidi Swapp sticker and a little Maggie Holmes stamp from my stash.

You can check out my process video here if you would like to see how this layout came about from start to finish.  I hope you like it!

Thanks for visiting me today, and have a great Thursday!