Friday, June 29, 2018

Using Older Supplies / Whatever

Hey, friends!  It's Friday again...yessss!  I have a new layout to share today just for fun :)  When I have a break in design team assignments, I try and squeeze in some layouts using up older supplies.  I went to my shelves and just randomly picked a bag of goodies.  I discovered that I had never even opened this cute Hashtag Whatever collection from Simple Stories.  It's a small line with only six double-sided patterned papers and a 6x12 sticker sheet.  I had the perfect photo to go with these sentiments...haha!

Paige had just thrown herself a huge temper tantrum.  The kind where she buries her head under blankets and couch cushions and screams her head off.  When she emerged (haha) her hair looked like this.  This could pass for a drunken mugshot if you ask me, but it's the funniest thing ever!  Needless to say, she wasn't in the mood for a photoshoot, but I took some anyway.  Because that's what scrappy moms do, right?!

The first thing I did was slice up some striped patterned paper and create a little rainbow at the top.  I tore a big chunk of this black and white wonky grid paper and attached it.  I covered a lot of the paper with clear and white gesso.  I wanted to mimic the stripes, so I took some matching Distress Oxide pads and scraped them horizontally across in stripes.  I spritzed the area with a bit of water and let the colors sort of mesh together.  I love how it turned out!


Once it was dry, I went a little crazy with my sewing machine.  I used black thread and went back and forth all over the place.  I love the crazy feel it gives...it matches my crazy photo...haha!  I knew I wanted to use a bunch of the sentiments on the cut-apart paper, so I fussy cut out several sayings.  I used the "Whatever" stickers as my title.






I fussy cut a few of these watercolor circles from another paper and created a little cluster with a few more stickers.  I did reach for my Crate Paper Good Vibes stamps to add a little something extra, like this "literally."


The sticker sheet had a few florals on it, so I tucked those in over on the right as well as a random black floral die cut I had lying around in my stash bin.  I also added some black tangled thread.  I did add a few pieces of patterned paper behind my photo as well as some tissue paper and adhesive foam.


Here's the left side of the photo...more stickers, a few leafy die cuts, more thread and stitching...the works!


I love the effect of tearing paper.  It allows you to be crooked and messy and not have to worry about being perfectly straight.  And since my photo is far from perfect, this was the "perfect" solution!


Plus you get some awesome dimension from not laying everything flat against the background.


One more shot of all that fun stitching here...again, this creates awesome texture and dimension.  Plus it's fun to just go back and forth on the sewing maching!


I hope you enjoyed this page...I loved making it!  I love scrapping those photos that aren't so great.  The memory is still great, and that's what counts!  My tip is if you have a photo that isn't great quality because of the lighting or colors or maybe a busy background, convert it to black and white.  It makes a huge difference!

Here's my process video if you'd like to see this layout in action:



Thanks so much for stopping by!  See you soon :)

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Squeeze the Day / Hip Kit Club

Hey, friends!  I'm back today to share my newest layout for Hip Kit Club.  I used the 2018 June Hip Kits as well as one of the monthly cut files only available at Hip Kit Club.  I wanted to create a lemon theme since there are a ton of them in the kits.  I began with the Pinkfresh Studio lemon paper and fussy cut some out.  I also cut some lemons on white cardstock as well as the Pretty Little Studio yellow floral transparency paper from the Paper Kit.  I layered them under three photos in a vertical fashion.  I added my title over to the right using the Pinkfresh Studio puffy alpha stickers.


Layering is a great way to get a lot of things on a page.  Here I tucked in some of the lemon die cuts, enamel dots and chipboard (both from Pinkfresh Studio) as well as some fussy cut light pink circles that I fussy cut from a Project Life card.  I decided to paint the white lemon die cuts using the beautiful Shimmerz Going Peach Side from the Color Kit.


I love the dimension that layering creates.  I did add some adhesive foam and tissue paper behind my photos and then added in more goodies...a Pinkfresh Studio puffy sticker, more chipboard and some epoxy circle stickers.


I searched Pinterest for a fun lemon quote and found this!  It was perfect since I'm literally squeezing my daughter in the photos...haha!  I used my ruler to make sure they were straight.  I did add another lemon, a pink circle and more enamel dots to the right.


Before I glued any of this down, I covered my white cardstock in clear gesso.  I used the Shimmerz Frostbite Vibez on the background to contrast against all the white and yellow elements.


I used one of the Vicki Boutin stamps here under the top photo to add a cute sentiment and a pop of black.  I also added in some of the Pretty Little Studio washi tape strips...only the ones with tiny black designs on them to add a subtle pop of black.


Here's one more close-up of all the fun layers, colors and dimension :)


This was so fun to put together!  Always look through your papers and embellishments to see if there might be a theme.  In this case, it was lemons.  It's fun when your photos go along perfectly with your products, and then you find the perfect title.  Check out my process video for more details!



Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon.


Friday, June 22, 2018

This Sweet Girl / Paige Evans DT

Hey, friends! It's Friday...yeah!  Today I'm sharing a new layout for the Paige Evans Design Team.  I think it may be my most favorite one yet!  I based this layout around these gorgeous flowers. I used Paige’s new Layered Flower cut file, and it’s just amazing. I used a ton of patterned papers from Pick-Me-UpOh My Heart, and Fancy Free to create them. It’s super easy and fun because you simply choose all the papers you want, cut each flower separately, and then layer them all together. Bending up the edges creates some incredible dimension. I just love how they turned out! I tucked a cute photo in the middle of the flowers and added some mixed media to the rest of the page. I used the Pick-Me-Up Mini Thickers for my title, and I used Distress Oxides inks to add some color to the bottom of the letters.


These really are easy to put together. I added some matching buttons to the centers and they were complete. I sorted through all the Pick-Me-Up embellishments and used color coordinating bits and pieces from the Haberdashery Multi-PackChipboard StickersStickers, and Rub-Ons. I love the tone-on-tone look against the mixed media.


To add color to the background, I first added gesso.  I used Distress Oxides inks  and simply rubbed the ink pad on the paper in a downward motion. I used a few different blues, pinks, and yellows and then spritzed it with water. I held the cardstock up to let all the color drip down the page. It turned out so cool!


Here you can see the beautiful colors and how all the small embellishments match so perfectly.  I even cut a piece of the Cut Apart Vellum Paper to use on the blue section.


These flowers look complicated, but they were super easy to assemble.  It took longer to pick out all the papers to use than it did to put them together.  But just look at the result!  The most amazing dimension ever!


These Mini Thickers were really easy to color.  I just used my ink foam blending tool and a bit of Distress Oxide and smudged the color onto the bottoms of the letters.  This helps them to pop off the page and yet stay subtle at the same time.


Here's one more close-up because I just love it all so much :)


You simply must check out this Layered Flower cut file! It made this layout come together really fast and I love that it allowed me to use so many patterned papers together. I hope this has given you some fun ideas to try on your next layout!  Be sure to check out my process video to see more:



Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

You're the Best / Hip Kit Club

Happy Wednesday, friends!  I'm back today to share a new layout for Hip Kit Club.  This is my first page using the 2018 June Hip Kits.  I began with the Pretty Little Studio die cut tags from the Project Life Kit and worked my design around them.  There are a ton of them, and I chose three.  I created a horizontal design with one photo.  I used the Shimmerz paints from the Color Kit to add color behind the open spots on the tags.  I mixed the colors on some scratch paper and glued it behind the tags.  I also smudged some of the paint on the edges.  To break up all the white, I layered lots of Pretty Little Studio & Pinkfresh Studio die cut flowers on them.


I love all these bright colors!  Layering small die cuts like this can really create lots of dimension and add tons of color to your page.  I did add some adhesive foam behind the tags to pop them off the page.


This circle die cut fit perfectly right here, so I layered it over the photo.  I also added a Pinkfresh Studio epoxy sticker as well as a Pinkfresh Studio photo frame.


To make the letters on this tag stand out a bit more, I lightly traced around the letters with a pencil.


I used some Turquoise Mist cardstock as my background.  I smudged a lot of white gesso over it first and then used the Shimmerz again to create a watercolor effect.  These fun stamps are by Vicki Boutin, and they’re also in the Color Kit.  I topped the photo with a Pinkfresh Studio puffy sticker.


I used some embroidery floss from my stash to top all the tags.  I also added some black splatters.


Here’s one last close-up.  I tore a strip of the floral Bella Blvd paper for the bottom of my page.


I hope this gives you some ideas to try with these fun tags.  I can’t wait to see what you come up with!  I have a process video here for you showing how I put this all together.



Thanks so much for stopping by!  See you soon :)


Sunday, June 17, 2018

Summer Feeling / Shimmerz Education Team

Happy Sunday!  I have a new layout to share today for the Shimmerz Education Team.  I began this page with a fun cut file.  I cut Paige Evans' Folded Circles cut file on white cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo.  Before peeling everything off the cutting mat, I covered the entire sheet with various Shimmerz.  I used lots of pinks, oranges, blues and golds including Coloringz, Vibez, Shimmerz (original paints) and Inklingz.  (I'll list all the colors I used below).  I basically sprayed, splattered and scraped the paints and inks all over the paper and let it dry.  Once I peeled all the circles off, I used the score lines on the circles to fold the edges up.  I love how it all turned out!


In the beginning, it seemed like I was just making a big colorful mess.  That's the fun part of coloring a plain cut file.  When you peel it up, it turns into magic.  I made the circles different sizes so I could create a collage or a mosaic type of design with them.


Here you can really see the shimmer and shine from all the paints.  After I used the sprays, I coated a few areas with some of the original Shimmerz Paints in two of the newest colors: Pool Me Closer and Pink-o de Mayo.  I also painted on some Bumbly Bee and Candlelight for extra gold shine.  Those gold splatters on the left there are from Inklingz Miner Miner 49er.


I really love the texture and dimension of these circles.  Look at all that shiny shimmer!  So pretty.


I didn't go too heavy with embellishments since the circles took up most of the page.  I used some Amy Tangerine clear stickers around the photo as well as some tangled thread.


Another look at the pretty shimmer here...the Candlelight and Miner Miner 49er really shine in the light.


I used more Amy Tangerine hearts here on the right side of the picture.  I mixed and matched some gold Thickers with some Amy Tangerine chipboard for my title.


Here's one last close-up of all the colors and texture.


I hope this gives you some ideas to try on your next project.  This idea allows you to "make a mess" first and then make it more of a controlled look by using the cut file.  It's really fun to do!  I have a process video here showing how I made it all come together.



Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Inklingz--Miner Miner 49er



Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Sweet & Shady / Hip Kit Club

Hello again, lovely friends!  I'm back today with a new layout for Hip Kit Club.  I used the 2018 May Hip Kits to create a fun and tropical page.  I used a lot of the Color Kit on this as well as lots of products from past Color Kits.  I was first inspired by the sunglasses on one of the Subscriber cut files this month.  I also cut several of the flowers from the cut file using some of the pink Heidi Swapp papers from the Main Kit.  I jazzed them up with some of the Vicki Boutin paints.  I tore the green leaf Heidi Swapp paper to take up half the background.  I attached it to white cardstock and then scraped blue Vicki Boutin paint on the bottom half.


I wanted some yellow glasses, so I cut them on white cardstock first.  I used some gold Heidi Swapp Color Shine first and then painted on some of the yellow Dina Wakely acrylic paint from a past Color Kit.  To make the shiny lenses, I painted some of the Vicki Boutin Iridescent Glaze on some plastic packaging.  It turned out so cool!  I added some adhesive foam around the glass frames to pop them off the page.


I scattered the layered flowers around the photos.  The pink contrasts against the blue so nicely.  I finished them off with some yellow enamel dots.


I tucked in some of the Crate Paper rose gold glitter Thicker leaves in a few places as well as some coordinating tangled thread.


I created a little cluster over on the right side of the glasses.  I used a Pretty Little Studio banner shaped die cut, an Amy Tangerine die cut and some fussy cut glasses from a Crate Paper paper.


Layers and dimension....yesssss!


I added some foam behind my photos.  The dimension is my favorite :)


Here's that cluster I mentioned earlier.  I love how these lenses look darker in some light and really shiny when you tilt the page!


And one last close-up of all the pretty things :)


I hope this inspires you to make something cool with the Color Kit!  Check out my process video if you'd like more details :)




Thank you for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!