The Joy of Fussy Cuts: A Webster's Pages Layout Tutorial - SNR Magazine

My favorite way to add detail and embellishments to my layouts is through fussy cutting. I love to cut papers apart and rearrange the pieces into my own design. Before buying any piece of paper, I always ask myself, 'Can I cut this paper?' One of the features that I love most about Webster's Pages papers is that I can always answer my question with a 'Yes!' When looking over the papers from the All About Me collection, I had two favorite patterned papers. It just so happened that my favorite patterns where the A- and B-side of the same piece of paper! This problem happens frequently for me. With a little creative fussy cutting, I was able to use both sides of a single sheet of paper to create a design that I love! I created this layout tutorial for the Webster's Pages sponsored event at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

Supplies:
1 Sheet of white cardstock
1 Sheet of Webster's Pages "Look Within" patterned paper
Embellishments
Scissors
Craft Knife
Border Punch
Adhesive
Optional: Charm, Gems, Glaze

This is my favorite patterned paper from the Webster's Pages All About Me collection. The soft floral and damask patterns, the beautiful script and the romantic silhouettes contrast wonderfully with the circle, black linear frames and the lattice shapes. I thought that a mix of soft and hard lines would create a unique design.

Step One: Cut the floral element and damask pattern from the patterned paper. Also, cut the embellished bottom left corner from the patterned paper. Note: Cut as close to the printed pattern as possible.

Step Two: Carefully cut the floral and circular design element from the damask print. Use a border punch to create a decorative edge on both sides of the damask patterned piece of paper. Note: A craft knife makes removing the small areas of paper from between the flower stems and petals much easier.

Step Three: To make a small banner from the bottom left corner of the patterned paper, cut a small triangular piece from the right-hand side of the paper strip. Add a decorative pin to the left-hand side of the paper strip.

Step Four: Flip the remaining piece of patterned paper over and cut the silhouettes from the lattice design of the patterned paper. Note: I first used a pair of scissors to cut all the partial silhouettes from around the edges of the paper. I used a craft knife to cut the silhouettes from the rest of the lattice design.

Step Five: To make a small charm, gather two of the silhouettes cut in the previous step, a small charm, gems, scissors, adhesive and glaze. First, cover the inside of the charm with the cream-colored A-side piece of patterned paper. Next, cut the small silhouette from the B-side piece of patterned paper and adhere to the center of the charm. Cut two small strips of gems to size and attach them to top and bottom of the charm. Finally, fill the charm with glaze and set aside to dry.

Here is the assembled charm.

Step Six: Attach the piece of lattice to the cardstock. Note: I cut away a small portion of the lattice to make a more interesting pattern for my layout.

Step Seven: Attach the small piece of damask patterned paper to the right side of the layout. Note: The uneven edge of this piece of paper will not be visible on the finished layout.

Step Eight: Add a photo to the center of the circular floral piece and attach to the upper right corner of the layout, slightly overlapping the end of the lattice piece.

Step Nine: Attach the small, feathered corner design to the bottom of the circular floral element. Note: I cut this piece from the top of the circle. I aligned this piece with the black border on the bottom of the circular floral element to make a decorative corner. Again, like before, the uneven edge of this piece of paper will not be visible on the finished layout.

Step Ten: Add the banner created in Step Three and an embellishment of your choice to the layout just under the photo. Note: These two elements hide the uneven edges of the fussy cut pieces, leaving only the finished decorative edges of the papers visible.

Step Eleven: Add the charm created in Step Five to the layout. Note: I also added the three small red flowers that I cut from the paper as well as some diamond-shaped gems.

Step Twelve: Add a title to finish the layout. Note: I was inspired by the name of the patterned paper and chose to use that as the title of this layout. I hope I have inspired you with this tutorial! With a small pair of scissors and a little bit of patience, you can create a unique one-of-a-kind design for your projects.

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages; Alpha Stickers: Webster's Pages; Gems: Webster's Pages; Princess Petal: Webster's Pages; Pin: Webster's Pages; Metal Charm: Fancy Pants; Punch: Martha Stewart; Glaze: JudiKins; Other: Twine