Guest Designer | Elizabeth Free

I suppose as the 'leader' of UKSA I really ought to be neutral... but I must confess I have been looking forward to having this scrapper guest for us from the very beginning of the UKSA journey!  Please welcome Elizabeth...

My name is Elizabeth Free and I am a scrap-a-holic from the wonderful town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. I have been crafting since I was very young, from bead looms to knitting, cross-stitch to embroidery. My love of paper crafting began ten years ago when my younger sister, Caroline (aka TillyandArthur) found a fabulous craft shop in Llandudno where she had recently moved. We both began with card making, banners and memory keepers, but Caroline moved to Scrapbooking some time before me. We both joined the Like For Ever Kit Subscribers community and I have now been scrapbooking for over a year. I incorporate my love of stitching into many of my layouts. Sewing a background is so relaxing, and that is one of the main reasons I do it, since I am a secondary school music teacher (11-18 year olds). Peace and quiet is all I dream of when I am in the middle of a lesson in which ukuleles, glockenspiels, percussion etc. are all being played with gusto!  I am on Instagram as @elizabethsarahdesigns and can be found on Pinterest as Elizabeth Sarah.

For my featured layout, I found a fabulous crocheted doily design on Pinterest, which I printed out and washi-taped to my project. I then used my Sizzix foam mat and paper piercer to pierce the design through my card stock. Once pierced I used bright yellow DMC embroidery floss (three strands only) to stitch my design. 

I wanted to include a photo of my beloved cat, Flora, so I knew that I had to include florals. I stamped and heat embossed my flowers (Vicki Boutin) on watercolour card, coloured them with my Zig Real Color markers and used the matching dies. I also die-cut several butterflies from a pre-prepared ombré watercolour swatch using my Diamond Press dies, embellished with Nuvo Crystal Drops (dandelion yellow). Several Like For Ever goodies also made their way on to the layout, including a jar of flowers (Illustrated Faith ‘She Blooms’ Icons) and several word sentiments (American Crafts ‘Grow’ puffy stickers). 

Resin roses are nearly always included in my layouts. It’s an illness…I can’t help myself!

Thank you so much Elizabeth, your talent with needle and thread never fails to amaze me!  Laura