How to: use die cuts to make a quick layout!

Hey there,

I hope you are enjoying all the birthday festivities here at Lulupu and participating in the fun contests and birthday challenge. Which reminds me, have you participated in our Guess 'N Win Contest?? You have till tomorrow night to submit your entries.. :)

Today, I have a layout to share with you along with a few in the making steps and how easy it is to use available die-cuts :)

My mum had visited us in Pune for a couple of weeks when my daughter Aadya was about 2 months old and yes I did capture a few pictures which I had wanted to put in my daughters first year scrapbook :)

When I saw this beautiful die cut from Sweet Nector Collection by K&Company that came in my DT kit from Lulupu, I knew it would be perfect for the pictures. I layered the die cut on a 12X12 sheet of paper to make my base.

Then I picked up the sketch at C'est Magnifique and started assembling my bits and pieces for this layout.
I placed my pictures first to see where they look good. I am not gluing down anything yet. Just figuring out the placement.

Next step was to gather my embellishments. Even though I love making my own, these days with a small baby to attend to, I am always looking for quick ways to complete my projects and still make them look pretty and thats when these beautiful ready made die-cuts and embellishments come in the picture :)

I started with a couple of die-cuts from Bo Bunny Noteworthy Ambrosia Pack and some pretty Fabric Lace  with adhesive backing (What more do I need?) *grin*

And then I added some more, layered the Doodlebug Designs "Sweet" tag over the Bo Bunny die-cut, added the gorgeous layered butterfly from K&Company and used American Crafts Foam Thickers to build my title.

And then it was just a matter of adding some flowers and journaling :)
Here is the final layout.

And here are some close ups.

Did you see how the die-cuts made my life easy and yet made the whole thing look pretty? I love them :)

The felt flowers were made using a heart die, but you can use a heart punch and make these from paper too :)

All you have to do is die cut some hearts from amazing wool felt and use them as petals.
You can chose to sew the petals together like I did or hot glue them. I used 5 hearts for each flower and stitched a button in the center to complete them.

I hope you had fun making this layout with me and will give die-cuts a try :)

Love!