Scrapbooking How-to: Create a Large Snowflake Design

Try clustering and layering a bunch of die cut snowflakes around a central design for a fun Winter themed scrapbook layout.

It's just not a productive snow day if there isn't at least one snowball fight, right!? At least that's the way it is with my boys. You play in the snow, you gotta watch your back!

The design process for this layout started with the want to create a large snowball design as the background for the photo of my son, Jackson, throwing a snowball at me.

He's a stinker!

My norm these days when it comes to creating a new layout starts with a cruise through The Silhouette Design Store to see if there is anything I can use for my layout. I did a quick search for snowball and up popped this super cute snowball with the words "snowball fight!" in the center. It was perfect with a capital P!

Here's how I put this design together:

Step #1: Cut out the snowball and select your papers.

My snowball is about 9".

For the papers, I used a 6x6 paper pad. One of the best things about using 6x6" paper pads is that the patterns are shrunken down. You don't lose the design when you use them in small spaces or portions.

I did a quick measurement of each letter and then cut a piece of patterned paper to fit.

It might help to lay your papers in the same order as you plan on using them, as shown in the picture above. This way you can get an idea of how the arrangement of patterns and colors are going to look. I tend to be picky about having an even balance of patterns and colors so I like to make sure I don't have two reds next to each other or two snowflake papers side by side.

I'm weird like that!

Step #2 - Adhere the pieces of patterned paper to the backside of the snowball.

I used a small glue pen (on the backside of the snowball) to add a few dots of glue around the edge of the letter and then added my paper.

Step #3 - Add a stitched border around the snowball.

I wanted to add a stitched border since I knew I was overlaying a white snowball onto a white base. I wanted to define that edge with a subtle border of white. It helps that edge stand out without taking away from the snowball design while also adding some texture and dimension.

To add the stitched border, you will need to pierce your holes first. I typically space my holes about 1/8" apart.

If you are new to stitching I always recommend drawing your border with a pencil first. This way you can see beforehand that everything is the way you want it to look before you start piercing your holes. After you pierce your holes, erase all the pencil lines.

If you are comfortable with piercing your holes, you can do it without the pencil line.

Step #4 - Adhere the snowball to the center of the layout.

I used foam adhesive to adhere mine. Since there are snowflakes that will be tucked under the snowball, I tried to not put the foam adhesive too close to the edges. That way I could adhere it, but still add the snowflakes with out having to lift adhesive.

Step #5 - Cut and adhere the large snowflakes.

I used my Silhouette to cut out eight large (5") snowflakes in three different snowflake designs.

A little tip for this part:

Don't waste paper by cutting out full snowflakes. I knew that most of the snowflake was going to be hiding behind the snowball center so I only cut out half snowflakes.

To do this I cut a 6x3" piece out of each patterned paper and placed them all on my Silhouette cutting mat. Then I placed the full snowflake so that it would cut on two of the 6x3" pieces. This would cut one side of the the snowflake in one pattern and the other side in another pattern.

Step #6 - Add some extra embellishments.

I punched a few smaller snowflakes out of white cardstock and adhered them around the edges of the snowball center.

Another detail I added were small chipboard snowflake circles.

Step #7 - Add the finishing details.

I used a Wink of Stella brush to add some sparkle to the white cardstock snowflakes.

The last finishing touch I added are Nuvo Drops in several different styles. I used Crystal Drops, Dream Drops, and Glitter Drops.

Step #8 - Add the photo.

The photo slightly covers some of the letters, but it's small enough that you can still read the words. You could also add some smaller photos around the edges, peeking out from under the snowball design. Or if you want to go two-page, just add a large photo block on the second page.

Here's a closer look at some of the details:

What I like most about this design concept is that you could use a circle or square for the center and then customize it to any theme with whatever shape you want to embellish with.

• hearts

• stars

• circles

• flowers

• butterflies

• arrows

• leaves

So many possibilities!

Supplies Used - Cardstock: Bazzill; SVG cut files for Silhouette: Snowball - Amanda McGee, Snowflakes - Echo Park and Rhonna Farrer; Patterned paper: Echo Park "Celebrate Winter"; Chipboard pieces: Echo Park "Celebrate Winter"; Tonic Studios Nuvo Drops: Crystal Drops in Simply White, Glitter Drops in White Blizzard, and Dream Drops in Cloud 9; Wink of Stella Brush; Embroidery floss: DMC