Hearts and patterns

Who doesn't love hearts? When I saw this pattern layout I needed to try it. It's very versatile and you can use any scrap paper you have around as you only need 10 squares sized 2"x2". Cool right? The original we can see it here.

I loved the wood grain look and I had an older pack of 'wood grain' so I went all for it but will look awesome with any patterned/plain combination.

I made a complementary page as I usually scrap in double layouts but definitely this can be a standalone page, a cover or backing page, whatever you want.

Materials you need:

• 10 squares sized 2"x2" cut in half by the diagonal.
• White cardstock 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" 
• Contrasting cardstock 10"x10" (I used a dark wood grain, in the video they use glitter paper but any solid or contrasting paper would work).
• 12"x12" base paper, I used a light wood grain pattern, but again, any patterned or solid of your choice will work.
• scraps for details and embellishments are at your convenience.

I have double-matted my picture to make it pop and added some black details to tie everything.

Some details I added:

• I have fake distressed the edges of my white cardstock using a Toffee inkpad, I just grabbed my inkpad and worked sideways along the edges, if I wanted more ink I just went flat against the paper. It gives a cool distress effect that adds some dimension.
• I have stamped stitching lines all around my heart, this can be done by hand with a pen, or even with a sewing machine, I used blank ink to tie up some of the details and my photo mat.
• As I'm a paper saver, when I need frames like this, I use a technique called gutting. What I do is I cut the inside 1/2 or 1 inch wider than I need, so I can save the inside for another project. For example, in this case, the outer frame, I need a 1" inch, so I grab my 12"x12" I put it on the trimmer at 2", place the blade at 2" and slide until I reach the 10" mark, then I turn the paper 90 degrees a do the same until I cut out the center, so I will have an 8"x8" leftover square. I did the same for the inner frame, this is a 10"x10" showing just 1/4", so I cut out a 1-inch wide frame saving another 8"x8" square.

The main advice for making this page is to mark where the center of your page is vertical, I draw a line with a pencil at the 6" mark once all the frames were in place.

Then place the triangles without gluing down anything. When you are happy with how they look start gluing them, I started from the bottom and worked upwards.

Have fun!

Yes is Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere!

Well, actually is already Winter down here but I was in an Autumn mood when I put this page in place 😁

I prepared this page as an easy kit for my July workshop, I love the paper, the colours, and the simple yet eye-catching of this layout.

I have used the sketch from page 32 of Make it from your heart vol.5 which is a great tool to reach for some inspiration, and the same sketch using different paper patterns and decorations results in a completely different design.

For this layout, I used Crisp Air paper suite for the patterned cardstock, and then I used Pine and Toffee colours for the solid ones from the coordinating cardstock pack and white as a base.

Stamping was done in Pine and Nectarine inks for the leaves and splatters and I stamped in Mocha for the small leaf on the round decoration as well as for the small titles of 'family' and 'real moments'. The stamps I used are mostly oldies but the splatter is called Brush Strokes (B1799). I use this stamp set a lot, just to give some personality to my layouts, I think is very versatile for any kind of page, as a detail, background, to emphasize a title, the possibilities are endless!

If anyone is interested in a kit for building this layout email me and I can make this happen!