Getting the most from our craft supplies is something we all like to achieve so helpful hints always come in handy. Have you ever thought about storing your patterned paper left overs in large zip lock bags and keeping similar colors together? I have always stored my paper remnants in clear bags for easy access and also to see exactly what I have available when creating a layout like Friends Forever!

All the strips of paper are from various Jillibean collections yet they all merge seamlessly when placed together in the one design. At first when I laid the strips down they basically sat flat and didn't really achieve the look I was hoping for. So I roughed up the overlapping edge and curled it up slightly which gave it more dimension and appeal.

Because I had so much colour in the actual design of the layout I chose to print the photo in black & white so it contrasted nicely with the background and actually stood out more.

I am so in love with this new multi colour thread I found in a local store in town, so much so that I bought just about every colour combination they had. Stitching is usually a staple on my layouts and sometimes I add little knots and cut the ends just to add something different.

Supplies: 

Jillibean Soup 

Patterned Paper: Bohemian Brew; 2 Cool For School; Farmhouse Stew; Shades of Color 

Coordinating Stickers: Bohemian Brew; 2 Cool For School; Shades of Color 

Pea Pod Parts: 2 Cool For School 

Puffy Stickers: 2 Cool For School 

Cut File: Best Friends Forever 

Other: White Card Stock, Embroidery Thread.

Do you create your layout theme to match your photos or choose your photos to match your theme? I chose to create a whimsical style layout as this photo of the washing line full of puppy toys lent itself to a more light-hearted design. 

I hand-stitched the sun’s rays and filled the inside with a rainbow collage made from punched patterned paper circles and embellished with Puffy Stickers and Shape Shaker Fillers.

The title was created using an altered digital cut file and Co-ordinating Stickers before being overlaid with handstitching.

I then placed two strips of patterned paper across the bottom to draw the eyes down towards the journaling and to give the layout an overall balanced appearance. 

Supplies: 

Jillibean Soup 

Patterned Paper: Bohemian Brew/Bite Size Bits, Happiness, Content; 2 Cool For School/Bite Size Bits, Wild Child; Farmhouse Stew/Bite Size Bits, Hold Your Horses, Goodness Gracious; Shades of Color/Happy Hues 

Coordinating Stickers: Bohemian Brew; 2 Cool For School; Shades of Color 

Puffy Stickers: Bohemian Brew; 2 Cool For School; Farmhouse Stew 

Shape Shaker Fillers: Jewels & Sequins/Reds-Pinks, Blues, Oranges 

Cut File: Sunshine On My Mind 

Other: White Card Stock, Embroidery Thread.

I've never really been known to use multiple photos in my layouts but every now and again I surprise myself and come up with a design in my head that requires more than just a single photo. Actually, the photos dictated this design as I just loved the sequence of shots my littlest man and I had taken when we were attempting a selfie of his painted face. I just didn't want to leave any of the photos out as they told a story of how much fun we were having at this particular moment in time.

I used papers and embellishments from four different Jillibean Soup collections as I had a rough idea of the colour scheme I wanted to use so literally just picked a sheet here and a sheet there until I had all the colours I was after.

Once I had everything down on the paper I realised the title got lost with everything that was going on so I cut a white bee from one of the Jillibean Soup cut files and added the title over it which worked perfectly.

Supplies:

Jillibean Soup

Patterned Paper: Bohemian Brew/Bite Size Bits, Calm, Happiness, Unity

Co-ordinating Label Stickers: 2 Cool For School/Bohemian Brew/Farmhouse Stew/Shades of Color

PeaPod Parts: 2 Cool For School/Bohemian Brew/Farmhouse Stew

Puffy Stickers: Bohemian Brew/Farmhouse Stew

Adhesive Sequins: Gray Melon, Yellow Mellow

Day2Day: Shaped Paper Clips

Soup Labels: 2 Cool For School

Cut File: Jillibean Soup - Bee

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Other: White Card Stock, Embroidery Thread, White Gel Pen

Preserving memories is important for looking back on what life was like through each stage of our lives and pets for most people are an important part of that journey. Especially now that I have my very own little dog. I've always been a cat person until this little guy came to live with us and now he is my little shadow and friend that fills the void with having the kids at school and work.

When my very first design team box arrived from Jillibean Soup it didn't take me long to find the adorable pooch icon in amongst the 2 Cool For School collection so it got me thinking that it was time I did another layout for Dusty!

I drew a rough sketch of how I wanted the design to look and at first I was going to use Jillibean's paw cut file with patterned paper and adhere to the page to make the paw. However, I wasn't happy with how it was looking so I ended up using the paw as a template to create stitching holes around the layout and grabbed my new ombre thread that just happened to be the perfect color combination. Speaking of stitching, I also added some faux stitching using a white pen along patterned paper strips which is a much quicker way of adding that stitched look without having to thread a needle. Let's just say, after doing the paw I was all stitched out!

I love to add lots of layers on my projects to add that feeling of depth and dimension plus the extra embellishments of sequins, wood pieces and puffy stickers add even more lift. Shaped paper clips are also an excellent way to focus on important words like the word 'bone' in my journaling!

Tip: Journaling doesn't always have to be handwritten or even on white cardstock. I decided I really wanted to match the teal color from the patterned paper to also be the background color for my journaling. So I went to the Jillibean Soup website and saved a picture of the patterned paper I was using and then used that to select the color for my journaling.

Supplies:

Jillibean Soup

Patterned Paper:  2 Cool For School/Too Legit, Wild Child, Boys Rule

Coordinating Cardstock Stickers:  Bohemain Brew, 2 Cool For School

Adhesive Sequins:  Green Apple, Gray Melon

Wood Veneer:  Flower, Words

Puffy Stickers:  2 Cool For School

Day2Day Shaped Paper Clips:  

Washi Tape:  Note This

Other:  white cardstock, ombre embroidery thread, white gel pen.

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