Monday, October 31, 2016

BOO, EEK...Trick or Treat Halloween Layout + Free Cut File

Happy Haunting, Pebbles friends.  There will be no tricks this Halloween, only TREATS.  Keep reading for a link to download my spider's web cut file.

book-eek-halloween-layout-by-heather-leopard This girl of mine successfully attempted to play Mal for Halloween. The only problem with playing the "bad" girl is my daughter's sweet face and personality so I thought I'd "mean" it up by making the layout a little bit creepy with all these spider webs.

stitched-spiders-by-heather-leopard
I created the spider webs in my Silhouette software and I'm offering it as a free download, which is my TREAT to you today! Download it HERE. I chose to back the spider web cut-outs with coordinating pattern paper.  I used the smaller prints from the 6x6 paper pad so that the patterns would show more detail.  To get the perfect fit, I used the cut out bits as a template for each "empty" space and just left a 1/4" border around it.  It made for a perfect fit when I adhered it to the the back of each section of the web.

stitched-spiders-2-by-heather-leopard Next, I stitched over each and every section of the web and left the black threads to add to the creepy effect I was going for.

rosettes The webs were a bit flat feeling so I added a paper rosette to each of them.

photo-layers
Then, for the photo, I added more coordinating patters, die cuts, tags and stickers.

hidden-journaling You can even pull the black tag with the spider out from behind to reveal hidden journaling. I hope you have a wonderful and safe Halloween wherever you are. Make sure to come back here when you're ready to scrapbook your photos to DOWNLOAD THE FREE CUT FILE! Happy Haunting!

Supplies: Trick or Treat 6×6 Paper Pad Trick or Treat “Creepy” Patterned Paper Trick or Treat “Black Cat” Patterned Paper Trick or Treat Puffy Stickers Trick or Treat Ephemera Die Cuts

Friday, October 21, 2016

Ballerina Girl

Hi friends, I'm here to talk to you today about layering.  I love how layers help add so much dimension to your layout and helps draw your eyes around the page.  I thought that I'd spend some time today walking you through my process for creating this layout.

To get started, select 5 - 6 coordinating pattern papers.


Trim your pattern paper to 6" long x anywhere from 1/2" to 1 1/2" high.  Lay them on the right half of the page, overlapping here and there until you are happy with how it looks.


Stitch across the middle of each paper strip. This will allow them to lift up just a little for some fun dimension. Add even more layers on the layers using embellishments like die cuts, sentiments, chipboard and more.


In the upper half of the layout, place your photo. Choose chipboard, die cuts, stickers, tags, etc. and start placing them under, around and over your photo. Start sticking it down once you like the design. I usually take a photo of the layout so that I don't have to think about the design again during this stage.  I just look at my phone and adjust here and there.

Next cut large letters for your title using the same coordinating patterns as your paper strips.  I used my Silhouette CAMEO but you could easily hand cut the letters.


Place your title down the left side of the page. Stitch them down like you did your strips. You could even add a few embellishments over your letters for even more layers.

Don't think too hard about your layers. Just start shuffling them around and around until you like how it looks and then commit.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

DIY Halloween Countdown Home Decor

Hello everyone. I'm here today to share a fun DIY Halloween project your entire family is sure to enjoy.
I don't know about you but Halloween is a huge deal in our house. My girls absolutely love dressing up, knocking on neighbors' doors and collecting all the treats they can.  They are always asking me how many days until Halloween so I thought I'd give them a fun activity they can look forward to each day.

  Supplies needed:
  • Wooden block or frame
  • Pattern paper
  • Embellishments like die cuts and puffy stickers
  • Clothespins
  • Gesso and paintbrush (optional)
Cut a fun quote out of a lighter colored pattern paper.  I chose "When witches go riding & black cats are seen 'tis ___ days until Halloween." You're going to add more patterns behind the pattern paper with the quote so you may want to tone it down with a bit of paint or gesso.

  Add fun pattern papers to the back of your quote paper.  Trim if necessary (you can see I had to trim). Adhere to coordinating background paper to help it pop off the wooden block.

  Cut large numbers for the countdown and a large bow for the top of your block / frame.

  Adhere additional embellishments. I tried to tie back to the witch and black cat theme and then added additional friends, like the spider and his web and the ghost. Now set it out for your family to enjoy, or in my case, for the kids to fight over who gets to change the date. Just kidding, kind of.

Supplies: TRICK OR TREAT CLOTHESPINS BATS 733174 TRICK OR TREAT EPHEMERA DIE-CUTS 40/PKG SKU: 733179 TRICK OR TREAT Pattern Paper OCTOBER 31 733353 TRICK OR TREAT Pattern Paper HAUNTED HOUSE 733355 TRICK OR TREAT Pattern Paper CREEPY 733362 TRICK OR TREATED PAPER PAD 6"X6" AMERICAN CRAFTS HALLOWEEN CLOTHESPINS 340387 AMERICAN CRAFTS HALLOWEEN CLOTHESPINS 340386

Friday, October 7, 2016

Away We Go Scrapbooking Layout

Hi everyone.  I absolutely adore the Pretty Little Studio Here Comes the Sun collection so I couldn't wait to play with it and the JustNick Studio Up in the Air cut file.



To create this layout, I supersized one of the hot air balloons. It's much taller than the 12" height so I cut it at a diagonal to keep it as one piece.



I kept the pieces that were cut and used them as guides to cut the pattern paper.  Then I glued it to the back of the large hot air balloon.



Once each section was filled in, I adhered it to a 2nd piece of cardstock, added the photo, embellishments and title.  Now I just have to journal and how it to my girls for their stamp of approval.

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Quick Fall Hostess / Teacher Gift Idea

Hi everyone, I have a fun fall hostess gift idea on the Pebble blog (and here) to share with you today that you can whip up in a matter of minutes.

It's basically fall in a jar and it's bursting with traditional falls colors.  I'm going to let my girls give these to their teachers but they're perfect for a hostess gift or a little treat for your co-workers.

Supplies:
  • mason jars
  • your favorite Pebbles fall collection - pattern paper, die cuts, wood veneer
  • Twine
  • Paper piercer or hole punch
  • Sticky Thumb Sticky Dots
  • candy or trail mix

To create these, fill the mason jars with candy made up of the your favorite Autumn colors. Then, cut leaves using whatever tools you have.  I used my Silhouette CAMEO.  Then mix and match the leaves with a sentiment cut from one of the pattern papers in the 6x6 paper pad.  Punch a hole in them and tie them together with twine. Wrap around your mason jars and then add wood veneer using Sticky Dots.

You're halfway done at this point! Next, grab a few smaller leaves and a cute little wood veneer character. Adhere the leaves together, folding them the way a typical leaf would be folded. Adhere them to the top of the mason jar lid using another sticky dot.
Add a little bow to your character to give it even more character.  Adhere to the top of the lid using a stick dot.  I also attached a piece of cardstock as a base to the back of the wood veneer to help it stay standing upright.
And there you have it, two quick gifts using my favorite fall colors. I only hope my girls' teachers enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making them for them.

Pebbles Supplies: Woodland Forest Apple Cider pattern paper (733430) Woodland Forest Fall Florals pattern paper (733434) Woodland Forest Pears pattern paper (733428) Woodland Forest Wood Veneer Shapes (733439) Woodland Forest 6"x6" Paper Pad (733441) Sticky Thumb sticky dots (340274)

Monday, October 3, 2016

13 Things I Love About You Birthday Mini Album

Hi everyone. I'm here today to talk about quick journaling gifts.  This project was featured on the Pebbles blog in September but my daughter's birthday wasn't until this month so I had to withhold this from my blog.  Thankfully she didn't see the Pebbles blog.

My daughter's birthday is a BIG milestone birthday.  She's officially a teenager! Since this is such a momentous occasion, I thought it would be nice make her a birthday mini album and write 1 note to her for every year with the plan for her to read one every day leading up to her big day.

I'm pleased to say that this is the first gift she was eager to open, before all the large gift wrapped boxes.  She also took it to her birthday lunch with family to show it to everyone.  To say she appreciated it is an understatement.  It made me feel special to make her feel so special.
I wanted this to be something that can be made relatively quickly and can be scaled up or down depending on the number of years the birthday recipient is turning.  Afterall, if you choose to make something similar for a 30th birthday, you don't want it to take too 30 years.  Since I wanted it to be quick and easy, I chose to keep the embellishments and details to a minimum, plus I wanted this birthday mini album to have plenty of space for a favorite photo and journaling highlights from each year.
  How to:
  • This birthday mini album will have a finished size of 4x6" so your first step will be to trim your cardstock to 4x6". Be sure to cut a cover and enough pages for all the years you are celebrating.
  • Choose your favorite photos from each year and print them no larger than 2.5x2.5".  Add them to your pages if you are handwriting your journaling. If you are typing or using your CAMEO sketch pens, you'll want to do the journaling before you add the photos.
  • Next, add your journaling to the pages. You can choose to keep everything consistent from page to page or mix it and journal in different spots.  Make sure to leave enough space for your photos if you are adding the photos after your journaling.
  • Lastly, add embellishments.  I chose to keep it simple by adding a few strips of paper, punched circle and the year. I stitched these elements to each page to make sure they were nice and secure.



Now I get to add a 13 year page.  I can't wait!

You may choose to wrap each day's page separately so that she opens a new one each day. Make sure to include a book ring so the birthday girl or boy can piece them together each day to build their birthday mini album.

Pebbles Supplies: Birthday Wishes Printed Bags Birthday Wishes Hip Hip Hooray (732557) Birthday Wishes You're Invited (732556) Birthday Wishes Make a Wish (732553) Prismatic Thickers (732831) Cottage Living Imprint Thickers (732776) American Crafts White Cardstock