Geek Lab With Hannah

Aloha!! It's Hannah with you here today!! If you are like me and in the United States you may be happy about the extra day off of school for the kids, these are the perfect day to lounge around the house and scrap. I fully take advantage of these days. I hope you are able to enjoy your Monday no matter what you have planned. 
Today I thought I would chit chat a bit on some tips of things you can do if you don't have a digital die cutter. Digital die cutting is all the rage right now, and you know I do own one, but sometimes I just don't turn it on for many reasons. I also think back to the days when I didn't own one in my early scrapbooking days. There are so many ways around not having one, that I really want to talk about ways you can bump up your pages with little things that can mimic that die cutting look without buying a machine. 

I will also be sharing a layout I made using the February Sketch that our designer Maryam made. I love so many elements of this sketch. It was so much fun to play with. For this layout I used mostly the February Atacama Traveler's Notebook Kit that features Maryam's Collection The Sweet Life from Pretty Little Studio. 
My first tip for obtaining a layout or elements that look die cut, is to cut shapes out of patterned paper, like circles or triangles. I like to use dishes or small bowls for cutting out the circle shape. For shapes like triangles or banners and flags I like them to look more rustic and homemade. I will even doodle some faux stitching around the shape. 
​In this layout I cut out multiple circles in different sizes to place around the layout like in the sketch. 

Another tip I have is to use your patterned paper to it's fullest. There are so many patterns out there now that have flowers, hearts, or other items that you can fussy cut out. Use that pattern to your advantage and fussy cut them out of the whole page and add them on top of a piece of white card stock. If you add media to the card stock and then layer the fussy cut elements it looks like a brand new piece of patterned paper and really close to something that was die cut. 
For this layout instead of splatters I painted with a thick bristle brush acrylic paint. I also added it on top of the black and white floral patterned aper from the Main Kit from February. I really love the contrast between the black and white and the bright acrylic paint. It really stands out and will draw your eye to the circles in those areas with paint. 

Another tip I would suggest is to try and practice brush script and use that with alpha stickers for a title. Often the dic cut titles I use have that brush script or calligraphy look. Where those look really uniform and perfect, I find it fun try to create that brush script look with watercolors and a paint brush. You can do this right on the layout background or use scrap white card stock and fussy cut around it. 
I had fun layering all the die cuts from the Traveler's notebook kit with my circles and other stickers from a dimensional look. 

My last tip for creating a digital die cut look with actually using a digital die cutter is to pull out those maple die cutting machines you have tucked away. I had bought an Evolution from We R Memory Keepers and since I have lived in Washington, I have only pulled it out a few times. I have so many dies and embossing folders, that it's a shame. Pull the out, bulk cut a bunch of shapes and pieces from your scraps and now you have some really cute pieces that you can use on your layouts. 
One thing I also have found is making use with the items and things I do have in my scrap room. We can't all have every single piece of cool craft equipment, so finding uses for the pieces we do have in our rooms really helps us be better scrapbookers and more thrifty in our projects.
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For this layout I used tons of dimensional adhesive for my circles and other elements on my layout. I really love how the circles layered when they were different heights. 
For this layout I also used a small photo so that the main focus is actually the paint and the circles since they are a huge focus in the sketch. I choose to use the die cuts as the text elements throughout the layout helping your eye travel around the space. 

Often I will let my elements lay off my layout let this one. I kinda like that my canvas doesn't just have to be on the 12x12 piece of patterned paper. 

This sketch was created for the February Challenge. Be sure to use it and share in the Clique Kits Facebook group in the comments of the Challenge post for a chance to be entered into the challenge. We really would love to see your take on this sketch!! 
Can't wait to see you around the community and next time I am up the blog. For more of my work check out the Clique Kits Youtube Channel and watch my process or share videos!!