Hey friends! I’m back today to share a layout that was recently on The Cut Shoppe Blog using the Zig-Zagged Background Cut File and the Snow Day Background Cut File.

Last year I purchased a warehouse box and received a few papers from the Simple Stories Snow Fun Collection, but I didn’t have any of the matching ephemera. I absolutely LOVE the papers and colors of this collection, but the colors are very specific. I was having a hard time finding products in my stash that coordinated well with these papers. So I turned to the cut files from The Cut Shoppe.

I started the layout by using one of the pattern papers from the Simple Stories – Snow Fun Collection as my background. I felt like the background was a little too dark so I added a white wash using white acrylic paint. I also used a dot stencil and Whipped Spackle texture paste to add a little more dimension to the background. I also love how the dots represent snow and play along well with the winter theme of my layout.

These photos were taken during a big snow storm in 2015. We had over 16″ of snow fall in just a few hours on a Sunday. It made for a perfect day to play outside. Aidan LOVES playing in the snow. Actually I think it’s more a love of a snowball fight! HA! He would stay out there for hours and it’s all about throwing the largest snowball…even if it includes using a shovel to throw it!

I used the Snow Day Cut File to cut various size snowflakes using silver glitter cardstock. If you are a Cricut Explore user, like me, then you can use a custom setting to ensure that you get a clean, crisp cut when using specialty papers. You can find out more info about this custom setting in my YouTube process video posted below.

I then used multiple pieces from the Snow Fun cut apart sheet for the layers behind my photo and for my title. I wanted to add another pop of color to the layout so I used the Zig-Zagged Background Cut File to cut a couple of chevrons and tucked them next to the vertical strips of paper.

I’m so happy with how this layout came together! I love that because of the cut files I was able use papers that may have sat in my stash for years until I came across ephemera that matched the papers! I’ve put together a process video that includes a Cricut Design Space tutorial.

Thanks so much for joining me today!