Guest Designer | Audrey Mutschall

Hello! My name is Audrey Mutschall and I am so excited and honored to be the guest designer with Paige's cut files for the month of June! I live in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with my husband and three young kids. Scrapbooking is my passion, and I am thrilled to have this opportunity to share my love of documenting memories with you!

My first layout features Paige’s Vintage Spring Truck cut file which I paired with an old photo of my grandparents from 1945. I backed the cut file in green patterned papers from the Wonders collection, as well as a few scraps from my stash. I fussy cut flowers from Paper 16 and layered them onto the back of the truck using foam adhesive for extra dimension. I also used Paige’s Wildflowers cut file to add a few taller strands of flowers in the truck and around my photo; I cut those out of Paper 21.

When the truck was completed I decided to make a little country road scene, so I sketched and cut out a road, hills, and grass, and layered them onto my background paper. I chose a pink/yellow watercolor paper from the Bloom Street collection for my background, and a yellow floral paper from Bloom Street for the hills. I added more definition by hand-stitching along the borders with embroidery floss. I used foam adhesive to adhere the truck and added a kite in the sky using this Kite cut file, which I backed with scraps from the Wonders collection. I fussy cut butterflies from a paper in the Go the Scenic Route 12x12 Paper Pad, and added them to the sky.

My photo is mounted on Paper 3 from Wonders, and I used a heart paper clip to attach a card with journaling behind the photo. I often place journaling cards behind photos when I’m unsure of where to add journaling in a layout; the card adds a little extra color/pattern to the layout, and can easily be removed and read. My title in the top right corner uses Ephemera Die Cuts as well as the Epoxy Phrase Stickers. Lastly, I fussy cut flowers from the Truly Grateful collection and added them to the foreground.

For my second layout I used paper and embellishments from both the Wonders and the Truly Grateful collections. There are so many vibrant pinks, greens, and oranges in these collections, which perfectly complement the colours from my wedding photos!

 I cut two inch squares from patterned papers in these collections, turned them on the diagonal, and lightly glued them onto the bottom two-thirds of a piece of white cardstock. Then I stitched across the borders using a whip stitch and two colors of ombré thread (DMC 4501 and DMC 4508). This way I was able to vary my thread color without constantly changing thread! For the top section I chose a pink ombré paper from Whimsical and added a few paint splatters to break up the space. I used Paper 15 from Wonders to add a border between the two sections, then added my photo, which is mounted on ombré pink paper and vellum. I added fussy cut flowers from the Truly Grateful collection, and layered them onto three of Paige’s flower cut files (Flower one, Flower two, and Flower three). Lastly, I added some sentiments around my photo, a little stitching at the top, and a journaling card behind the photo.

For my third layout I chose Paige’s Flower Wreath cut file because it has a tropical feel to it, and I wanted to document my daughter’s first trip to the beach. I backed the cut file with various watercolour papers from Paige’s paper collections, including Oh My Heart, Fancy Free, and Go the Scenic Route. 

 For the background, I used Lindy’s magical powder paints to add shades of pink, coral, purple, and turquoise onto a piece of white cardstock. I painted them in a circle, just behind where the wreath would go. I adhered the cut file using foam adhesive and decided to fill it in with more foliage. I used Paige’s Monstera Leaf cut file and the leaves from her Layered Flower cut file, to add this extra greenery to the wreath. I added my photos, a chipboard title from the Pick-Me-Up Thickers, and a few fussy cut flowers and butterflies to finish the layout! 

For my fourth layout I chose a large title cut file - I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know; these are always fun to use because you can add so many patterned papers to them! I wanted to use photos from my daughter’s newborn photo session, and the soft colors of the Take Me Away collection are a perfect complement to these photos. 

The background is simply white cardstock that I lightly stenciled with watercolors and splattered with paint.  I cut strips from the Take Me Away paper, distressed the edges, and glued them down diagonally across two corners of my page. I added the cut file, traced the negatives onto patterned papers, and adhered them using foam adhesive. This is a simple and easy way to add dimension to a cut file. I matted my photos with vellum, placed them around the cut file, and embellished with various elements from the Take Me Away Digital Collection. I also added sentiments on top of the cut file to add another layer of dimension. Nearly all of the patterned papers and embellishments on this page are from the Take Me Away Digital Collection; they print beautifully and it’s so nice to be able to re-print papers from collections that aren’t physically available to buy anymore!

For my final layout I used Paige’s adorable Stacked Suitcases cut file. I had some wedding photos where we posed with suitcases, and I thought this was the perfect excuse to scrapbook them! I ended up only using one photo, but I printed it twice - once in black & white and once in color, because I wanted to fill up the space beside the cut file. The photos are matted with tissue paper and a pale purple paper from Take Me Away.

I chose papers from both the Wonders collection and the Truly Grateful collection to back the suitcases.  There are so many pretty patterned papers to choose from, so I picked orange, pink, and purple tones in order to narrow it down. I used Paper 10 from Truly Grateful as my background and cut out a title from white cardstock using the “mermaid” font.

I sketched out my hills and cut them from Paper 21 (Truly Grateful), then laid everything down where I wanted it to go. When I was sure of the placement of my elements, I glued down the title and hills, and then stitched around them with embroidery floss. Next, I added the cut file, popping it up with foam adhesive. I tucked my photos into the cut file and added a removable journaling card to the bottom photo. For the embellishments, I cut stars from Truly Grateful Paper 6 using the Star Background cut file, and placed them around my title. I sketched around a few of them, then stitched the outline and removed the star, leaving just the stitching in place. I also added stitching to a few of the flowers from Truly Grateful Paper 2, and cut out a cloud to add to the top right corner, which also has stitching.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  It has been such a privilege sharing my layouts and my love of scrapbooking with you! You can find me on Facebook and Instagram for more inspiration!

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper and ephemera from Wonders, Truly Grateful, Go the Scenic Route, Oh My Heart, Take Me Away, and Fancy Free collections; Thickers from the Pick-Me-Up collection, Lindy’s paint, vellum, embroidery floss; watercolors; white cardstock; Cut files: Vintage Spring Truck, Wildflowers, Kite, Flower one, Flower two, Flower three, Flower Wreath, Monstera Leaf, leaves from the Layered Flower, I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know, Stacked Suitcases, and Star Background by Paige Evans