Thursday, July 7, 2016

Getting to know you blog hop at The Cut Shoppe



Hello dear friends,

Us girls at The Cut Shoppe are bringing you a blog hop today, so you can get to know us better! I hope you'll hop along! 

Let's start with a little Q&A :)

How many times in a week do you work on something scrapbook related?
At the moment I work on something every day because I am on sick leave and have time. When I'm working, I am only able to scrapbook at the weekends.

What is your favourite subject to scrapbook?
My son and my family.

What is your favourite color to use on your layouts/projects? What is your least favourite color?
I am a fan of colors! It can be any color, for me it more depends on the combination of colors. For instance, I am not a fan of red but I don't mind using it in a rainbow color design. But I hate it together with only yellow or with yellow and blue for instance. Having said that, green has been my most favourite color for the past 15 years or so, especially lime/citrus green. I don't like what I call Christmas green though. No darker shades!

Why do you like using cut files on your layouts/projects?
They inspire me! I often start working on a layout by looking at my cut files first, what I want to use at that moment. I find they add a fun element, dimension and texture to a project. And they are very versatile, there's a million way you can use them, modify them to make them your own unique design! I hardly ever do a layout without a cut file!

What are some of your other favourite hobbies? If you were not a scrapbooker, what other hobby do you think would consume most of your time?
I don't have any. I'm always so focused on one hobby! I changed hobbies a lot over the years, but they were all crafting: from mosaics to silk paint to cake decorating, I tried it all. That said, I wish I'd do some sport as a hobby!

Tell us 5 things we don't know about you!
OK so these will be totally random!
1. I passionately HATE cooking. I didn't use to but over the years this feeling grew and grew stronger to a point where I simply don't cook at all. Ever. Luckily my boyfriend loves cooking.
2. I'm Hungarian but have been living in Germany for almost 12 years. It was supposed to be temporary but I like it here. I always thought we'd move to Holland eventually but we keep putting it off. Hopefully one day we will because I am a fan of Holland and we would be around some family!
3. Since I scrapbook I've only bought a couple of shoes. I used to be addicted to them and buy at least 2 pairs of beautiful stilettos every month. Now they are just home deco! I have at least 10 pairs I have never worn.
4. I'm tall, 5'11". I used to hate it as a kid because I always stood out, but now I don't mind. Also, since I am with my boyfriend, I am the shortest girl around haha! (lots of tall women in his family!)
5. I never wear make up, other than mascara. You'd think at my age I'd know how to apply it but really, who has the time for it lol?!

I've created a layout for this blog hop too. I've used the "I'll fly away" cut file. I absolutely had to buy the new Millie&June line from Fancy Pants even though I generally don't scrap a lot of feminine layouts...I decided to document my special relationship with my cousin, who I grew up with and who is more like a sister to me than a cousin! Even the name of the line reminds me of the two mischievous little girls we used to be <3. So, I thought if feminine, then I might as well use this butterfly cut file finally! Take a look:









I hope you like what you see and it encourages you to use cut files! They are so fun!


Oh, and there's something to be won too! Just leave a comment below until Sunday, July 10 and I will pick a random winner who receives a $5 Gift Certificate to The Cut Shoppe Etsy Store. You can win on every designer's blog so make sure to check them all out! Winners will be announced on The Cut Shoppe blog on Wednesday, July 13, so don't forget to check back that day!

Now go on, hop on over to my awesome scrappy friend, Jen McMurtrey's blog! ENJOY XXX

Scrapbook Expo - Designer Spotlight with Paige Evans!

Hi there scrappy friends,

I'm so excited to finally be able to share with you that I've been asked to create a project for the amazing Paige Evans' Designer Spotlight over at Scrapbook Expo! You can find the article, some of my favourite (older) projects, a new project and a lot of information about me here.

About my new project...I decided to go with a mini album because so far I've only made them for family and friends! It's about our trip to Strasbourg on my birthday 2 months ago (to the day ha!).

All info is in Paige's post, here I only wanted to show you lots of detail shots quickly! Hope you like it and you'll check the original post also. Thanks for stopping by! X



















Friday, July 1, 2016

Rock & Roll - my first layout on The Cut Shoppe Design Team!

Hey there scrappy friends,

Here I am today with my first layout for The Cut Shoppe! I am so honored to be on this team! If you follow my scrapbooking adventures, you know that I use cut files in some form on about 98% of my layouts and I've been using The Cut Shoppe cut files pretty much since I started to scrapbook last year!

I never plan out my layouts, I usually don't know where I'm going with them when I start. Generally I open up Silhouette Studio, look at my cut files and see what inspires me at that moment. I more often than not have no idea what photo I will scrap at this point. Sometimes I just feel like doing some hand stitching. Again, no particular plans on my mind what they will be turned into. With my first layout this is what happened. I wanted to do some hand stitching and for some reason the Make A Splash cut file jumped out at me. I think I haven't used it before! I chose the sun and cut three different sizes from different papers from Paige Evans' Fancy Free line for Pink Paislee. 


Because this was going to be quite a lot of stitching, I used the perforate tool (after adding an internal offset to my design) to score the paper. This was the first time I did this and I will be honest, I was quite disappointed with the results! When I use my paper piercer my stitching looks much nicer, granted, it also takes much longer! 


 
Once I was done, I layered my suns on my pink background paper, stitched down the biggest one, then added some foam in between the layers to add some dimension. Then I was looking at the layout for hours wondering what was wrong with it... I just didn't like something but I could not put my finger on what exactly...Then I took a deep breath and cut around the stitching, removing my background paper. Yes I wasted a sheet of Fancy Free paper! While cutting through under my biggest sun, I accidentally tore the paper in a couple of places...I wasn't going to redo it that's for sure :). So how to cover up those spots?! I wrapped some embroidery floss around them...I think it actually looks nice! Happy accidents :).



I then went through my other FF papers and found one I did some mixed media work on but never used because I didn't like it for what I intended to use it. And it was perfect!!! I really liked that there's just a bit of mixed media peeking out from under the sun. I don't know about you but I love when I find something in my stash that has been there forever and finally I find a use for it!


To finish it off I added my title and some embellishments: chipboards, tags, puffy stickers and buttons. Done!

I hope you like my first project for The Cut Shoppe! Should you have any questions, just ask in the comments! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day! X