Design Team Layout by Valerie Bisson

Hi there, Valerie Bisson on the blog today! I am so happy to be sharing my first layout as a new design team member. My page features pretty hand stitched flowers using Paige's Sketch and Stitch Flower Background cut file.

I started my layout by preparing the cut file on white cardstock. After all the holes were cut with my Cricut I added some inks with a blending tool. Pink, red, orange, yellow, green, a blue, and some purple ink colors were used. Then I sprinkled water and white acrylic paint across the page for a bit of a distressed look. Paige's Flowers Stencil was a great way to add even more color with some subtle inking in all four corners of the page. When that was all dry I started my stitching with a simple back stitch in a rainbow of variegated threads to match up as close as possible to the ink colors. In total it was about a week of stitching a couple of hours at a time. I love how the stitching creates texture and interest on the layout. The stitching would look just as lovely being done on plain white cardstock if inking or mixed media is not your thing.

The rest of the layout came together pretty quickly. For the flower centers I used the same cut file by making the sketch line into a cut, and just slightly smaller so that the circles fit nicely inside my stitching. For this I used Bloom Street Paper 07 and the Bloom Street Digital Collection. I layered my photo with digital paper and vellum. Then I popped everything up with dimensional foam adhesive. To embellish I stamped out 9 butterflies using the Go the Scenic Route Acrylic Stamps on more Bloom Street digital papers and then cut them out. I placed the butterflies around the photo in a visually pleasing way to my eye, drawing attention to the photo yet leaving lots of stitching on display. Next I added my title with the Mini Foam Thickers on top of my photo, again bringing attention back to the photo. Final touches were adding the Enamel Dots from Go the Scenic Route and journaling around the edges of my layout.

Thank you for stopping by! I had so much fun making this page and I hope you’re inspired to try a Sketch and Stitch cut file!

SUPPLIES: Patterned papers, enamel dots: BLOOM STREET; Bloom Street Digital Collection; Acrylic stamps: GO THE SCENIC ROUTE; white cardstock; white acrylic paint; vellum; inks; Mini Foam Thickers; Die cut machine: Cricut Explore Air 2; Flowers Stencil; Cut file: Sketch and Stitch Flower Background by Paige Evans

Location: Manitoba, Canada / Instagram: @valeriearts2 / Pinterest: valeriearts2 / Facebook: Valerie Bisson