"From the Heart" Scrapbook Layouts

I’m baaaack! 

The cottage was wonderful, and so was all the visiting we did with family and friends. The next two weeks are going to be frenetic… busy, busy, busy so I can spend a week at my Mom’s farm and then bring her to the cottage for a couple of weeks. Yep, I am well and truly blessed! 

 During the short time I’m here, I’m teaching a set of classes: a coordinating set of scrapbook layouts that feature die-cutting materials other than paper. Check 'em out and see how many different non-paper materials you see. 

There’s a feminine version in ivory with glittery cheesecloth and canvas butterflies and a more masculine version featuring denim, cork, and burlap. 

Both versions began with Little Yellow Bicycle paper and incorporated canvas, cheesecloth, denim, Spica pens, Adirondack inks and Tim Holtz distress stains.Even with the very different feel to these pages, it’s easy to spot the similarities, like the same title (“From the Heart”) and scalloped matting. The LYB paper complemented the textures without being overpowering – just like great paper ought to do. So let’s take a look at some of the unique details of each page.

The ivory page featured very light and airy butterflies created by adhering three layers of cheesecloth to a piece of vellum using two-sided tape, dredging it in Glitter Ritz’s Cool Highlight, and cutting with Die-namics “Butterflies” die. This transparent glitter lets the texture shine through and adds just the right amount of sparkle. Viva Décor’s Pearl Pen in Ice White provided the right amount of shine and weight for the butterfly bodies. The completed butterflies were distress inked with Adirondack ink in Stonewashed. 

The title (Sizzix, Phrase, From the Heart) was also created with cheesecloth but the top layer was stained with TH distress stain in fired brick and the finished words were outlined in At You Spica pen in Red. The matting pieces were cut from another piece of LYB paper using a Sizzix Bigz Die (Frame & Frame Back, Scallop), stained with TH Distress Stain in antique linen, and inked with Adirondack ink in Denim and Red Brick. 

The denim bird was cut with a Spellbinders die (Bird Sanctuary) and stenciled with At You Spica in Sky Blue. A Sizzix Bigz Die (Hearts, Intertwined) was used for the canvas hearts at the top.

The denim page started with some Tim Holtz Crackle Paint in picket fence streaked with faded denim distress stain. I used my fingers for this just because I like the tactile part of crafting but I s'pose you could use a brush. A Sizzix Originals heart (Heart, Wing & Arrow) was cut from ivory burlap and stained with TH Distress Stain (fired brick). I would use a much lighter hand with the ink or select a lighter shade if I did this page again. The title was cut from canvas this time and inked with Adirondack ink in Latte and Red Pepper, with highlights provided by At You Spica pens in red and gold.

A piece of burlap was scissor-cut to layer over the cork background mat and under the cork 'bubbles' and denim mat. See the little heart from the title on the ivory page peeking out from the end? A heart was cut from each denim (dyed with fired brick) and burlap, then the spiral pieces separated and one of each joined to form new hearts as shown at the bottom of the page. 

A flower near the top right corner finishes this simple layout with the teeniest bit of glimmer - a touch of feminine on this otherwise very masculine page.

So whadda ya think? Should I just go back to the cottage, or would you come play with me in my craft room if you had the chance?