Ace | Polly's Papercrafts (Emma) | Sewing

Hello lovelies, it's Emma here with you today and as you know, we are talking sewing on UK Scrap Addicts this month. Whether it's hand-stitching, faux stitching, machine stitching or any other kind of stitching you can think of, we're probably talking about it! 

Now, we all know that hand-stitching can be time consuming and it's possibly not for everyone but it does look stunning on a page, doesn't it? 

For my layout this month, I attempted to keep it simple (especially as I have been short of scrappy time this month - not good!) but of course, simple is never quite as easy as it looks, is it?

I decided to do a 12x12 page, using white cardstock as my base. I also used the FREE daffodil cut file  that can be found here. I used the cut file as a stitching template rather than its original intended use. 

The yellow patterned paper in the background is a piece from Pinkfresh Studios Indigo Hills collection and its just the perfect warm shade of yellow. 

I just love the look of the white-on-white stitching - it adds texture without being overwhelming. I wanted there to be plenty of white space on this page with pops of yellow and your attention being drawn to that gorgeous (I might be biased!) pooch in the middle!

I'm really happy with how this page came together, even if my mojo has gone on an Easter holiday without me! 

**Remember, if you share layouts inspired by any of our team - use the hashtag #ukscrapaddicts**

Until next time...

Dreams Are For Chasing | Pol Prince | Sewing

Hi everyone! It's Pol here today with a new layout featuring sewing.

I really enjoyed doing this one because I love hand stitching on my pages, and it turned out even better than I'd imagined.

I used a couple of Maggie Holmes collections for this page, 'Chasing Dreams' and 'Bloom', and our FREE daffodil cut file designed by Emma.

To start off with, I printed a picture of a mandala off the Internet, taped it to my white cardstock using washi tape, and pierced holes at regular intervals through the template. I used a Sizzix large stamping mat which doubles as a piercing mat, underneath my card. 

Once I'd carefully peeled the template off, I selected my thread colours. I was so tempted to do a rainbow effect mandala but I decided it might be too full on with my brightly coloured daffodils photo! So I went for blue ombre instead. I chose 5 shades of blue, ranging from the darkest to the lightest. As you can see these blend perfectly together to create the ombre effect.

Once I'd finished my hand stitching (this took quite a while!) I trimmed the edges of my cardstock and matted it onto my patterned paper. 

I had already cut the free daffodil cut file, and coloured it using distress inks on a sponge. It went with my photo of daffodils perfectly!

I wanted as much of the mandala as possible to show, so I placed my photo in the bottom right hand corner with a tag and the daffodil cut file tucked behind it.

I then embellished my page using 'Chasing Dreams' and 'Bloom' chipboard and stickers.

I tried to keep the embellishments fairly minimal in order for the mandala and the photo to be the main focus of the page. Although I do like little clusters and couldn't resist one in the top left hand corner of my layout to balance the page.

I hope you've enjoyed my layout and learning a bit more about sewing on layouts. We have a whole month featuring sewing, so do pop by regularly, or sign up to the blog, to see what our creative team have made!

Free Cut File | Daffodils

Hello UKSA fans!  Today we have a free cut file for you...

It has been designed by our very own Emma aka Polly's Papercrafts.  Below I have two examples cut, one roughly 16cm tall on plain white and one roughly 22cm tall.  The larger one was cut on white and coloured with spray inks.

Here is a quick run through of downloading the image and turning it in to a cut in Silhouette Studio...

To use this cut file you will need to click on the black and white image to maximise it.  Right click and 'save image as' and give it a name you will remember.  Open up your Silhouette Studio and a blank page.  Drag and drop the image from where it is saved to Silhouette Studio.  Resize if desired, and trace.  If you get unwanted pieces traced right click and release the compound path.  Then select the individual pieces to delete.  Reselect the daffodil and all of its small pieces, right click and make compound path.  Now you can move it around as one piece.  Resize and place on the page where you want it to cut, set the correct settings for your cardstock and cut.

As with all cut files with delicate features the smaller you cut the trickier it will be to get off the cutting mat.  My 16cm cut was clean and easy enough to remove from the mat.

For all those of you who do not have cutting machines, it can be used as a template either for stitching or paper piecing.

If you use it (and we hope you will!) please tag #uksacutfiles when sharing so we can see your creations!

I want to say a huge thank you to all of you have supported UKSA, liked or commented on a post or sent us well wishes.  I'm not sure what I expected when I started this crazy journey, but the response and support has been wonderful!
Laura