My Sunshine / Birds of a Feather Guest Designer

Hey, friends!  I wanted to share another layout I created a few months ago for the November Birds of a Feather Retreat.  I can't share any specific details about how I created it since I made it for a paid class, but I wanted to share it along with the close-ups.  I used the Crate Paper Maggie Holmes Willow Lane collection.

I hope this inspires you in some way...it was a pleasure making it.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have an awesome day :)

Beauty in the Everyday Details / Hip Kit Club

Happy Tuesday :)  Here's a new layout for Hip Kit Club featuring the 2018 November Hip Kits.  I wanted to create a light and airy page using lots of patterned paper.  I began with the black and white text paper from Jen Hadfield, and I tore a big chunk of it to use on the top half of the design.  I tore a few more Heidi Swapp papers as well as one of the Heidi stencils.  I layered all the torn edges to create some fun and messy dimension and texture.  I glued these to a sheet of white textured cardstock and then smudged down some white gesso behind where the photo was going to go and over to the right behind the cluster.

I used one of the floral Heidi Swapp stencils on the background here.  I scraped some modeling paste over it to create some really bumpy texture.  I painted over it with some the Shimmerz Paints from the Color Kit as well as a few from previous Color Kits.  I decided to stick with a pink and yellow/gold color scheme.  Here you can see lots of products...including some of the Heidi Swapp die cuts and stickers as well as some of the exclusive puffy stickers and acetate leaves.

I love these big gold Thickers!  I bent this one to give it a slight arc...they are very easy to bend and curve.  I finished the title with some of the exclusive small alphas and a fun puffy floral sticker with some thread under it.

Do you ever tear your papers like this?  It creates texture and dimension without even trying.  I love how uneven it looks.

I fussy cut this floral cluster from a Project Life card and layered it in under the photo along with a Heidi Swapp vellum die cuts.  I really love these exclusive acetate leaves...this golden color is gorgeous!  Here you can see lots of splatters I added using the Shimmerz.

I went back a few Color Kits and sprinkled some Shimmerz Inklingz Miner Miner 49er here...it's a gorgeous gold.

This pretty shimmery color is from last month's Color Kit...Sunflower.  Very yellowy/golden and very shimmery in the light.  The pink colors I used are Creameez Good Ol' Summertime and Spritz Cotton Candy.

I used a black fine-tip Sharpie for my journaling.

I used one of the Jen Hadfield wood veneer circles in the cluster over on the right as well as another of the Heidi Swapp stencils.  I cut the flowers up and used them as layers.  I love the white!

I hope this inspires you in some way.  I had fun making it...as always :)  Check out my video here if you're interested...

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a great day!

Using Older Supplies / Yeah Yeah Summer Vibes

Happy Saturday, friends!  I'm back today to share a new layout I made using up some older supplies.  I pulled out the Studio Calico Print Shop paper pad that I've had sitting on my shelf for years.  I pulled two papers to use as my background.  I was in the mood to create a summery mixed media page, so I did just that.

I tore the pink and yellow paper and attached it to the black and white tiny grid paper.  I smudged down a lot of white gesso to prepare the papers for the liquid sprays and paint.  It also gave me some white space to work with.  I hadn't planned on going "grungy" with this page, but it just sort of took that turn.  I embellished with pieces from the Basic Grey Highline collection, some Vicki Boutin die cuts, some Crate Paper Good Vibes pieces and some MAMBI stickers.

I used lots of Shimmerz on the background here.  I love that you can still see some of the grid background through the color.  I pulled out some of my older wooden stamps here and stamped them on the background.  I mixed and matched the title with some Basic Grey chipboard, some Vicki Boutin Thickers and a "vibes" die cut.  I traced around the black Thickers with a white pen to make them show up a bit more and then stitched through the letters with blue thread.

The first thing I did behind the photo is create a painted frame onto the background.  I used some light blue acrylic paint mixed some blue Shimmerz.  I scraped it down with a palette knife and made it look messy and uneven.  I also splattered some of the paint around with a brush.  I did wind up machine stitching around the frame with some black thread.  I used a lined wooden stamp here to create some sketchy lines on the background as well as a flower stamp.  I used the black paint to create the black splatters and then added in some black clear MAMBI stickers.

I raised the photo up by layering a Crate Paper pom pom frame under the right side and some adhesive foam behind the rest of it.  I sprayed some white cardstock pink and used it as a layer behind the photo as well as a black & white polka dotted bag from my stash.

I printed my photo in black & white so it would pop against all the background colors.  I love this look because everything stands out and doesn't blend together.

I did add some adhesive foam behind the YEAH chipboard piece to add some dimension, and I used a few of the Basic Grey stickers on top of the photo.

Here are a few more close-ups...

I created a cluster over on the right combining more of the same pieces.  The blue strip is a piece of  a Project Life card I had left over from a Hip Kit Club kit.  I really love how all these colors & pieces look together.

This was so much fun to put together!  I hope it inspires you in some way or at least gives you some ideas to try on your next page.

I have a process video here if you're interested:

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Grateful Love / Hip Kit Club

Hey, friends!  I have a new layout to share today for Hip Kit Club featuring the 2018 November Hip Kits :)  Our theme this week is Family/Gratitude.  I used one of this month's free cut files (available on the Hip Kit website).  I played around with the placement of it and eventually decided to place it on the bottom left side, kind of crooked and running off the page.  I used some soft pink cardstock from the Cardstock Kit as my background.  I used some white gesso first and then came in with the Shimmerz from the Color Kit.  I also used a few colors from previous Color Kits.  I used the packaging technique as well as my brush to add splatters.

These photos are of my husband and daughter at their school's Thankgsiving Dinner a few years ago.  I printed them in color because they have mostly neutral colors in them and worked well with the kits.

Once the background was dry, I lightly glued down the cut file and then machine stitched through each letter with navy blue thread.  I love the color and texture it adds.  I used some of the Heidi Swapp vellum and paper die cuts as well as some of the exclusive leaves from the kits.  I love the colored acetate leaves!  These blue ones are gorgeous.  I also used a few of the exclusive black clear phrase stickers.

I used a few Project Life cards as layers behind the photos as well as some tissue paper from my stash.  Here you can see more of the vellum and acetate pieces.  I punched a circle from one of the woodgrain Project Life cards here and added an XO clear sticker.  I noticed I had a few more circles on the page and wanted to add one to this area of the page.

These adorable wood veneer pieces are also exclusive this month, and they have adhesive on the back.  And gold foiling!  What's not to love?  :)

I love creating mixed media backgrounds like this to show through cut files.  Sometimes I like to back cut files, but I left this one open.  I cut it on one of the Heidi Swapp patterned papers.  At first it was a bit too dark, so I smudged some white gesso over it to soften it up.

I love these matte gold Thickers.  They are nice and big and perfect for titles.  I layered this one over the bottom of the photos and tucked in some dark blue thread under it.

I wanted a bit of a pattern behind the pink cardstock, so I crookedly sliced off some of the cardstock along the top and right side.  I attached one of the exclusive patterned papers behind it...a beautiful blue and white gingham pattern.  I machine stitched around the edges with gold thread and created a small cluster in the upper right corner.  I fussy cut this pink flower from a Heidi Swapp paper and layered in some leaves, a circle die cut and some thread.

And one more close-up of all the details :)

I really love how this turned out, and it was fun to make.  I've said it a million times, but these kits are always amazing.  They make it so easy to put together great pages!  I have a process video here if you're interested.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week :)

Whimsical Cards / Paige Evans DT

Hey, friends!  Happy Friday...woo hoo!!  Today I'm here with a couple cards for the Paige Evans Design Team featuring the new Whimsical collection. I used two of Paige’s cut files on these cards along with a little mixed media.

For the first card, I cut Paige’s Branch cut file on papers from the 6x6 Paper Pad. I really love the deep pink, orange, and golden yellow color mix. I used a white cardstock base for the card so the colors would pop. I jazzed up the background with Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine and a few coordinating colors of Shimmerz sprays. I fussy cut flower clusters from Paper 03 and layered them in between the branches. I went simple with the sentiment and used a Sticker. I added foam adhesive under it to add dimension and tucked in metallic gold thread before gluing everything down.

For the second card, I cut Paige’s Beautiful cut file on white cardstock. I backed all the letters with papers from the 6x6 Paper Pad and one of the 2x2 Paper Pads. I used more 6x6 papers to create a few layers behind the cut file. I smudged white gesso on the background papers before painting on blue, purple, and yellow watercolors. I wanted flowers behind the cut file, so I fussy cut some from Paper 14 and layered them around the edges of the card. To add more detail and shine, I machine stitched around the edge of the paper layers and tucked in metallic gold thread under the cut file.

How often do you make cards? The Whimsical collection is perfect for cards and it’s fun to mix in Paige’s cut files, too! I hope this gives you some fun ideas to try. I have a process video here...

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I Got Chills / Shimmerz Education Team

Hey, friends!  I'm here today with a new Winter-themed layout for the Shimmerz Education Team featuring some beautiful Shimmerz Paints :)  I'm loving the DT challenge this month to create a project focusing on one main color, and I chose Vibez Frost Bite.  It's a gorgeous blue, and it makes me think of Winter.  I decided to create my own background using some Glass Bead Gel from my stash and a circle stencil because it resembles snow.

I used thick smooth white cardstock as my background, and I coated it with clear gesso first.  I used  a palette knife to scrap the glass bead gel over the stencil to create all the circles.  Once that dried, I sprayed the Frost Bite over it.  I blended in some Coloringz Well Blue Me Down and Spritz Cotton Candy.  The liquid colors ran and blended so nicely over the circles.  I sprayed a bit of water over it all to help it blend even more.

Here you can see the fun texture from the glass bead gel.  It's very thick and bumpy and reacts wonderfully with the Shimmerz sprays.  I used some products from an older holiday kit from Hip Kit Club, and it had lots of Crate Paper Snow & Cocoa goodies in it.  These pretty blues made me think of silver, so I used some older chipboard silver glitter alphas for my title.  I did have to add glue to them to make them stick to the background.

I love these colors here...I'm such a blue fan :)  I had lots of die cut snowflakes in my stash, so I used several of them around the page.

I fussy cut some little trees from a Crate Paper patterned paper and added strips of adhesive foam under them to create dimension.  I used some exclusive Hip Kit Club Project Life cards and a patterned paper a layers behind the photo.  I mixed two different shades of pink thread together here for more added color & texture.

I decided to paint some of the white snowflakes, so I lightly coated them with the Frost Bite and mixed in hints of Spritz Granny Gray.  Once they were all glued down, I machine stitched through the middle of them with silver metallic thread.

I really like the dimension created by the overlapped snowflakes.  I also used a few of the light pink puff balls around the page.  I love how the echo the background circles.

Here you can see the light blue coat of Frost Bite on this snowflake.  It's fun to see how dark and how light one color can get just by adding water or adding more layers.  Frost Bite is the perfect blue shade for Winter.

Here's one last look at the fun details.

I hope this inspires you to give Vibez Frost Bite a try on your next project...it's a beautiful and versatile color.  I want to try it out on a Summer layout next!

Be sure to check out my process video to see this page in action.

Thank you for stopping by!

Product Used:

Vibez--Frost Bite

Coloringz--Well Blue Me Down

Spritz--Cotton Candy

Spritz--Granny Gray