Big City Selfies!

Hello! Today I am sharing a fun big city themed layout made with the very cool Carta Bella Paper Metropolitan Girl collection. It is so modern and retro at the same time- I love it!  I love the mix of salmon, teal, and yellow! Metropolitan Girl is the perfect collection for documenting my day in the big city of Chicago! I also had some fun making my own background using the diamond from the Echo Park Play Card Icons. Come take a look!

I started the layout by creating my diamond background pattern in the Silhouette software. I then cut out the design from a sheet of the Carta Bella Natural White Designer Cardstock. I opted for the creamy white cardstock because it blends well with the cool vintage vibe of this collection. I then backed the diamond openings with my favorite patterned papers using foam adhesive.

Of course I had to add this fun and fashionable gal sticker!

I used the black side of the Girls and Cities patterned paper to die cut my title using my Silhouette Cameo. The enamel dots are a fun addition and add a little bit of color to my title.

I used the Silhouette Cameo and black patterned paper to cut “selfie” out for my title using the Mistral font.  I finished the layout off with a few cute element stickers and a fun round piece from the ephemera pack.

Thanks for joining me today. Be sure  to check out the Metropolitan Girl collection for your next layout!

And thanks to Echo Park for posting FREE download instructions on their website of this Metropolitan Girl layout! CLICK HERE!

"Snow Fun" Gift Boxes!

I love all of the cookie making and gift giving this time of year brings. And the Carta Bella Snow Fun collection is perfect for making little treat boxes to hold my homemade goodies. I was happy that they came together pretty quickly so I can make a number to have on hand for when I need a last minute gift. I love the combination of fun winter colors of this collection. And the snowman is beyond adorable! Who wouldn’t love to receive a little box of cookies with him on it?

I first die cut the box bases using my Silhouette Cameo and the 3D Cookies Stack Box from the Silhouette store. I cut them from the red mini polka doted side of the Winter Wonderland patterned paper and blue star side of the Shimmering Snowflakes patterned paper. I folded each base on the perforated lines and adhered the boxes together. I then embellished each base with flat stickers, layered stickers, and enamel dots. I added snowflake decorative tape around the side of the red box.

I used the Carta Bella Ultra White Designer Cardstock to cut out the box tops. Once they were adhered together, I die cut the scalloped accents pieces from the red mini polka dot patterned paper and the blue snowflake patterned paper. I then looped ribbon through the openings in the box tops and made bows.

I finished each box off with a handful of homemade chocolate chip cookies. I can’t wait to give these little goodie boxes to my friends, family, and neighbors!
Thanks for joining me today! I hope I have inspired you to handcraft some cute treat boxes for your loved ones!

Fun die cut ornaments!

Hello1 Today I am sharing a fun die cut ornament I made using the Echo Park Paper I Love Christmas collection! This cute collection is perfect for me because it is so festive and well, I really do love Christmas! I also used one of my favorite Echo Park Paper die sets, the  Scalloped Circle Die Set, to create this fun three-dimensional ornament. I can’t wait to make an entire set of them for my Christmas tree. Here’s how you too can make your own ornaments!

Use the larger scalloped circle die to cut a plain circle out of the plaid Christmas Joy patterned paper. Embellish it with a small piece of the scalloped border sticker and banner piece cut from the woodgrain patterned paper. Adhere the Santa sticker with foam adhesive for added dimension. Add enamel dots and a brown bow made from twine.

Use the larger die again to cut out four scalloped circles from the green side of the Border Stripes patterned paper.

Bend each scalloped circle in half and start gluing the four quadrants together.

Make sure the scallops line up pretty well.

Once the four quadrants are glued together, place a little bit of liquid adhesive on the middle piece of your ornament. I used Zip Dry and then just held the Santa piece in place for a short bit while it dried. Once dry, you can also add a little more Zip Dry on the back to make the bond stronger. Add red twine to the top of the ornament so it can be hung on the tree.

Thanks for joining me today! I hope I have inspired you all to get creative with your dies. And I hope everyone has a happy holiday season!

Fall is in the Air Mini Album!

The Echo Park Fall is in the Air collection is great for documenting all of your fall activities! I began this mini album by first die cutting all of the pages out of different patterned papers using a Carta Bella pumpkin cut file from the Silhouette Design store. I adhered the backs together to form thicker pages. I then cut out two smaller pumpkin bottoms from coordinating patterned paper and solid paper to layer on my cover. I finished the cover by layering the ephemera pieces, stickers, chipboard stickers, and enamel dots. I punched holes in the side of the album and bound it with a 1 inch binder ring. Super easy!

The mix of patterns is this collection is fabulous! I am in love with the checks, stripes, and plaids! And how cute is that little bird sticker perched atop my photo?

The entire collection coordinates so perfectly with fall photos, putting this album together was a breeze! The ephemera pieces make great page fillers. And the little bear sticker in this collection is beyond adorable!

I adhered 1.5” thick strips of coordinating solid paper across the middle of each page to give the album a cohesive look. And then I had fun then designing all of the different album pages! On some pages, I left off photos and just focused on the cute embellishments!

Thanks for letting me share my mini album and my pumpkin patch adventure with you!

A Card for Giving Thanks!

I love this time of year! I love the fall colors, the sweater weather, and the season of gratitude.   The Autumn collection is a great collection for making cards to show my loved ones I appreciate them! I am in love with the teal and rust mixed in with the pumpkin orange and brown. This collection just screams fall and I love it!

I embellished the corner of my card with this sweet little birdie brad from the I Love Family collection. This is a great compliment to the Autumn collection and the two can easily be mixed and matched!

The “Attitude of Gratitude” sticker is the perfect sentiment for my card. I layered it over the tiny sunflower print from the Autumn 6 x 6 pad so that it would stand out. I love the tiny prints in the little paper pads- the smaller prints are super cute and great for small projects!

I can’t get enough of the little die cut leaves like the aqua one here! This leaf is just one of the three adorable leaves that can be die cut from the Autumn Leaves Die Set. I love that these leaves are the perfect size for all kinds of projects. They would be great on cards, layouts, home décor projects, gift wrap, or even used as table scatter for Thanksgiving!

I finished my card off with a cute red polka dot leaf sticker. I adhered it in place using foam adhesive to add dimension. I love that this card includes two of my favorite fall things- leaves and sunflowers!
Thanks for joining me today! I hope I have inspired you to show your gratitude with a handcrafted card!

Christmas Card using Echo Park's Deck the Halls!

Hello! Christmas is right around the corner and the Echo Park Deck the Halls collection is a great solution for holiday cardmaking! I am in love with the navy and aqua mixed in with the traditional red and green. And the addition of gold accents makes this collection a new favorite of mine! Scroll down to see how I created my fun multicolor woodgrain background too!

I first adhered the Carta Bella Woodgrain #2 stencil to the Carta Bella Ultra White Felt cardstock using washi or repositionable tape . I made sure to tape off a larger area than I thought I needed.

I then used an ink blending tool to gently cover random parts of the stencil with Vintage Photo Distress Ink from Ranger. I made sure to leave some areas uncovered.

I then used an ink blending tool to gently add in Peeled Paint Distress Ink from Ranger. I also made sure to overlap parts of the Vintage Photo to make my multicolor background. You can also press a little harder in some spots to make those areas a darker green. So easy, but oh-so-cool! 

After trimming the cardstock down to the right size, I added it to my card base. I love that this background looks so complicated and multicolored, but really it only took a couple minutes and 2 colors of ink to create! The Christmas tree and “Merry” stickers are gorgeous accents for this woodland-inspired background.

Thanks for joining me today! I hope I have inspired you to get creative with your favorite Carta Bella or Echo Park Paper stencil. Happy crafting friends!

Tegan :)

Free Online Holiday Idea Book!

The brand new Echo Park Paper FREE online Holiday idea book was just released and you will definitely want to check it out. All of the projects are so fun!

This fab idea book contains Halloween, Thanksgiving, AND Christmas projects!

Click the link below to go to the download page!

Echo Park Holiday Idea Book 2016

Have a great day everyone!

Fun with Pumpkins!

Happy fall y'all! Today I am sharing a fun trio of paper pumpkins just in time for cool weather! The Echo Park Paper I Love Family collection is great for not just documenting family outings, but for home décor projects as well. These cute little pumpkins could also be used as gift boxes too! I just love the warm and inviting feeling of this cozy collection. And I am sure you will love it too!

I started out by using the 3D Pumpkin Box Short from the Silhouette online store to cut out the first box. I cut out the bottom using the blue floral paper. And the orange polka dot was the perfect accent to finish off my pumpkin top. The green swirly paper in the collection makes great pumpkin leaves too!

I then cut out my second pumpkin using the 3D Pumpkin Box Medium cut file. I used the multi floral pattern for the base of my pumpkin. I then embellished the little gourd with a floral sticker, chipboard piece, decorative brads, and some seam binding I had on hand.

I used the 3D Pumpkin Box Tall cut file to cut out my last box. I absolutely love the woodgrain patterned paper and the orange polka dot patterned paper top. I added more seam binding and a decorative brad sentiment. I finished off the pumpkin by adhering the bird nest sticker on the top. How cute, right?

Here are the links to these adorable 3D pumpkin cut files from Lori Whitlock in the Silhouette online store!

3D Pumpkin box tall cut file

3D Pumpkin box medium

3D Pumpkin box short

Thanks for joining me today! I hope I have inspired you!

A Magical Adventure!

Hello! I am so excited to share my fun banner I made for my niece using the amazing Echo Park Paper Magical Adventure collection. My family loves going to Disney World, so it was no wonder I squealed with delight when I saw this collection! It is just perfect for documenting trips to see America’s favorite mouse. It was also great for creating this countdown banner calendar for when we go to see him again! Don’t have plans to go back? Simply just switch out the countdown on the middle banner with another favorite photo!

I started by cutting out the banner pieces using the papers from the two 6x6 paper pads in this collection. I used the 6x6 Magical Adventure Dots & Stripes pad and the 6x6 Magical Adventure patterned paper pad. I used the Echo Park Pennant Banner cut file from the Silhouette store to cut out 3 pennant banner shapes and 2 triangle banner shapes. I enlarged the shapes so that each banner piece was 5 ¾” tall. I cut out extras too and trimmed the sides off of them to use as layering pieces.

The coordinating Ephemera Pack made putting this adorable banner together a breeze! I simply layered the “once upon a time” ephemera piece over a small banner ephemera piece and then added a few Glittered Enamel Dots. So easy and so cute!

For the middle pennant, I added a countdown using the numbers and alphabet stickers from the Alpha Sticker Sheet. I first dusted the backs of the numbers with baby powder to cover the permanent adhesive, and then adhered them to the banner using repositionable adhesive. That way I can easily reuse the numbers and change the countdown!

Again, I can’t say enough about these fun ephemera pieces. How cute are they, right?! They would also be perfect on cards, gifts, and layouts too!

I quickly finished off this colorful banner with more ephemera pieces, a couple buttons, and glittered enamel dots!

Thanks for joining me. I hope I have inspired you to create your own Magical Adventure banner for any past or future trips to see Mickey!

A Girly Card!

Hello! Today I have a fun little card using the new Echo Park Paper Girl Cousins mini collection to share with you. This collection may be small, but it is packed full of cute patterns and prints! Think sweet hearts, cute feathers, and pretty florals! It is a great collection for making feminine cards.

I started with the gorgeous aqua floral for the base of my card. I used the heart patterned journaling card as the focal point of my card because I am head over heels for this heart pattern! A little bit of cream chevron ribbon adds some texture and a girly touch!

I finished the card with sentiment stickers and die cut flowers I adhered with foam adhesive to add dimension. The sweet and dainty pink flowers were die cut using the Echo Park Paper Flower Die Set #5. And, of course, every flower needs a glitter enamel dot center!

Thanks for joining me today! I hope I have inspired you to create a sweet little card for your loved one!

Let's Go for the Gold with Paper Issues!

Good morning all! I am super excited for the latest challenge over on the Paper Issues blog! It is called Let's Go for the Gold in honor of the Olympics that are starting this week! The challenge is actually open to a wide array of themes. Suggested ideas are travel, cruises, day trips; use a world globe, stop sign or stop light as an embellishment; Olympics; use gold, silver or bronze; achievements, medals, accomplishments. I went the travel theme route using the very fun and Disney inspired Echo Park Magical Adventure collection, which is available in the Paper Issues store!

This collection is perfect for documenting all of your favorite photos from your Disney trips! The patterned papers are so bright and fun. The yellow star patterned paper is one of my favorites, can you tell?!

I used one of the journaling cards from the 3x4 Journaling Card patterned paper for my title. I embellished it with the very fun alpha stickers and bow tie sticker! The light blue castle sticker was just perfect for this layout. I added a couple enamel dots and a heart sticker to it. I added another star sticker and a few enamel dots above the castle to mimic fireworks.

If you love Disney, you definitely need this collection. You can use the code Tegan to take 20% off of this collection and your entire purchase at the Paper Issues online store. Get it before it's gone!

Thanks for joining me and have a magical day!