Using a cut file as a stencil - Water Colour Layout

Her heart was a secret garden scrapbook layout.

I love floral cut files and I also love watercolours so it was time that I combined the two to make this scrap book page.

What you will need:

A cut file of your choice
Some watercolour paints, or you could use acrylic paints, texture paste, modelling paste, mists and sprays.
I also used some embroidery thread.
Paper/embellishments. 


I used this design from the silhouette store:

I like it as it gave me lots of opportunity to use different colours and shades.

The how to do it bit

I started out by cutting my design out of regular textured card stock...

These were the settings I used...

Here is the finished cut, I laid it over a blank piece of card stock and you can see how I made the shape large enough to cover the whole back ground...

Next up I gathered my watercolour set and my brush with a built in water well, but any brush and a jar of water will work the same.

Now on to the fun part, essentially colouring in YAY!

You can see that I tried to create different shades and tones. You will also see that I go onto the edges of my cut file. I don't worry about being too neat as watercolour lends itself to a softer and sort of blurred edge look which I love.

I continue with the process choosing various colours until it's all been filled in. REMEMBER to keep wiping your brush off in between colours. I just use a piece of kitchen roll...

Here are the picture of it all coloured in still with the cut file on top...

now for the big reveal...

Seriously, how pretty is that! The bleeding is almost cloud like and so so soft.

Now hopefully you are getting to know me well by now and you know I just couldn't leave it like that - oh no, not me!

I decided I wanted to add some stitching, in a sort of  crewel work embroidery style. In order to do this I needed holes to stitch through. I just popped in holes using my needle where I was going to stitch. Sometimes it's the centre of a flower, others just the petals. I also did a section on each leaf. A handy tip is to use a needle threader to get the embroidery floss through the small eye of the needle.

 Here are the holes on the front...

Here are the holes on the back, you will see I just use tape to secure it as I don't like knots making my layout unable to lie flat...

Here is the back of the layout when stitched HA!...

Here is the final layout where I have used some patterned paper in quite soft colours to back my photo and some leaves for embellishments...

Close ups of the flowers and stitched details...

The added bonus is that you are left with this beauty to play with (I have plans)...

Isn't that just amazing, I have a great idea for another layout with this left over stencil, it's a good job I scrap for twin girls!!!!!

I hope this has given you some ideas, the possibilities are endless and I just love this machine for that very reason.

'Til next time
C x
(tillyandarthur)

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