Happy Monday, friends!  Missy here, and I have another layout using the beautiful 2016 November Hip Kits to share.  As you know by now, there are a ton of holiday and Christmas related products in the kits this month.  There are also a lot of winter themed goodies.  It’s hard to get winter photos in Florida since we really don’t experience it like the lots of other places do.  Sometimes we get cold enough to bundle up, and these pictures are from a cold January day a few years ago.  Paige inherited her big sister’s bear jacket, and she looked adorable!  I wanted to convey the idea of winter, so I began with one of Tiffany’s snowflake cut files.  I used one of Kim Watson’s exclusive papers as my background.  You can find it in the December Documented Kit.  In the beginning, I had no plans of hand-stitching, so I traced the large die cut snow flake onto the background paper.  I used a flat brush and white gesso to paint around the outside edges.  I used the Shimmerz Coloringz Well Blue Me Down from the Color Kit to paint the actual snowflake and then used light aqua thread to stitch around it.  I also used a bit of pink spray and some of the Shimmerz Dazzlerz Foiled Again on the background as well.

Here you can see the wonderful detail of the mixed media work and the hand-stitching.  It did take me a few hours to get it done, but the end result was worth it!  I love the texture and detail.  Plus it really makes the snowflake pop.  I added some Foiled Again Dazzlerz to the white die cut snowflakes.  Those are from the exclusive Main Kit die cuts designed by Kim Watson.  That cute flair is also exclusive, and it’s in the Embellishment Kit.

I cut “wonderful” from one of the 3×4 cards in the December Documented Kit.  I love the colors and small font!  Perfect for a title.  I added in some of the Embellishment Kit glittery silver Thickers and another exclusive die cut to convey “cold.”  I also added in a few of the exclusive cut apart phrases.  There are a ton of those this month!

Have you seen these sequins?  They are SO pretty!  I glued several of those down around the page.  I did add a little bit of pink and aqua tangled thread as well.  The layers behind my photos are a combination of 3×4 cards and bits of patterned paper.

I love these layers!  I added in a few strips of the exclusive washi tape, too.  The colors are so rich and pretty!  One of the last things I did was machine stitch with shiny silver thread.

Here’s one last look at the title area.  I love how the silver thread brings it all together.  I just can’t get enough of these beautiful colors and textures!

Here’s my process video if you’d like to check it out.  I hope it gives you some ideas on how to use cut files in a different way.  Also, don’t be afraid to take some extra time to do a little hand stitching.  It’s worth it in the end 🙂

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a wonderful and thankful week!