Sun Sand Sea Layout by Missy Whidden

Who is ready for summer vacation?! We have just a couple more weeks of school and then we are hittin' the local "beach" and never looking back! Okay, that's an exaggeration, but we are excited to swim at the lake now that the weather is finally warming up! Missy Whidden shares my enthusiasm for summer and vacations and has a colorful layout to share with you today!

Hey there, friends! Missy here again and this week we are featuring layouts about vacations. I chose a beautiful photo from a trip to Aruba last year and the blue water was just stunning. I knew the bright colors from the Oh My Heart and Fancy Free collections would showcase it beautifully. I was recently inspired by one of Paige’s layouts where she hand cut letters from patterned paper. I started out by cutting letters from Paper 10. I wanted lots of pinks, yellows, and oranges. I decided to add in some papers from the Fancy Free 6x6 Paper Pad as well, and they added in a few different shades of bright colors. I decided to create my own background using white cardstock. I covered most of it with clear gesso and then sprayed some yellow inks over a sunburst stencil. I love adding sun rays whenever I create a beach layout. I also like to add blue watercolor to echo the blue colors in the photos, so I used some blue acrylic paint and some ink sprays.

Here you can see the mix of blues in the background and how they really make the letters stand out. Before I glued anything down, I ran the background through my sewing machine and stitched along the edge of each of the sunbursts. I love how it makes the edges crisp and gives some nice texture. I also stitched through the title. I didn’t want to over-embellish here since the background and title were taking center stage. I went with flowers since my photo is about Aruba and it’s very tropical. This chipboard piece is from the Fancy Free Chipboard Stickers. I fussy cut a few flowers from Oh My Heart Paper 06 and layered them in here as well. I also added a few small hearts from the Oh My Heart Chipboard Stickers.

All of the “SEA” letters are from the Fancy Free 6x6 Paper Pad. I really love how machine stitching adds such awesome detail to a layout without it being overwhelming. I used a yellow golden color thread that blended in. Here you can see more pieces from the Oh My Heart Chipboard Stickers.

I decided early on that I wanted to fussy cut this big yellow flower from Oh My Heart Paper 06 and use it as a big embellishment. I made it work over on the left side of the layout under my photo. One of the leaves ran off the page, so I cut it and used it on the other side. I hate wasting those bits and pieces that you can use elsewhere! And plus it makes it look like its own embellishment when I really just cut it and used one. I layered in some flowers from the Oh My Heart Ephemera Die Cuts. I also fussy cut those small pink flowers and added them right on top of the photo. Last but not least, I added in some tangled thread.

I hope this inspires you to try some fussy and hand cutting on your next project! It’s fun to cut crooked and wonky letters and make them your own. And these collections are bursting with images that can be fussy cut… especially the flowers!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 SUPPLIES: OH MY HEART: Paper 06, Paper 10, Chipboard Stickers, Ephemera Die Cuts; FANCY FREE: Paper 01, Paper 12, 6x6 Paper Pad, Chipboard Stickers

Blog: littlenuggetcreations.blogspot.com  Instagram: @missywhidden  Pinterest: @missywhidden
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Let the countdown to summer vacation begin, if it hasn't begun already! I know some schools are already out! Thanks to Missy for sharing her talents!