Heart Eyes / Hip Kit Club

Happy Thursday, friends!  I'm back today to share my latest layout for Hip Kit Club.  It's my first page using the 2016 August Hip Kits, and they are nothing short of beautiful.  I was drawn to this really pretty & soft color scheme in this floral Dear Lizzy patterned paper.  I usually tend to go bold and bright, but these colors just called out to me.  I used a big chunk of the floral paper and then added a fussy cut scalloped border from one of the new Crate Paper Cute Girl papers. 

One of my favorite things this month is the Prima Oil Pastels in the Color Kit.  They are amazing and so much fun!  I used them to create the teal watercolor effect on the background.  I drew with them on some plastic and added a few drops of water.  I smushed the plastic together and then smushed it down on the paper.  Smush, smush, smush...haha :D  To try something different, I also created my own cut file from the black doodled flower on one of the 4x6 Project Life cards.  I took a photo of it with my phone, uploaded it into my Silhouette Studio, traced it and cut it.  Super easy, and now I have a new floral cut file!  I used the pastels to color one yellow and one that pretty soft pink color.

Here's a closer look at those die cut flowers.  The pastels did a great job of coloring here...all you need is a small bit of color and small bit of water.  And you can also smudge with your finger if you don't want to use water.  I used some of the MME enamel dots in the centers of the flowers and added some of the Amy Tangerine Oh Happy Life die cuts.  All those black clear stickers are from the new Dear Lizzy line, and they are very versatile and easy to use anywhere.

Here's the original flower from the PL card that I made into the cut file.  I used the pastels to color it and then went over it with the white pastel to give it a softer look.  If you want to lighten up something black or any dark color, use the white pastel over it and smudge it.  I did fussy cut that layered piece behind my photo from another PL card.

Here's one more close-up of the journaling area.  The Amy Tan sticker book is FULL of fun clear stickers!  They look so great on white cardstock because the color really pops!

Here's my process video if you'd like to see how this came together.

Thank you so much for stopping by today...it really does mean so much to me!  I hope you have a fantastic day!

Vegas Views / A Flair For Buttons

Hey, friends!!  I'm back today to share a new layout for A Flair For Buttons.  I used flair from three different sets:  Hello Life, Black Marquee Lights & Summer Gold.  I decided to scrap some photos of a few Las Vegas views from one of our trips out there a few years ago.  I'm always amazed at all the hotels and all the beautiful mountains.  We have zero mountains in Florida, so they are a treat to see.  I pulled out a very old Lily Bee patterned paper to use as my background.  I covered a large portion of it with white acrylic paint and then came in with some Shimmerz and watercolor paints.  I wanted to pull out the blues from the photos.  I also had to add lots of gold.  Because Vegas is flashy and glittery, and I can't make a page about Vegas without that! :D

I've been hoarding my gold flair buttons!  This airplane was perfect for this page since we flew out there.  Planes are the perfect embellishment for a travel layout.  Here you can see some of the watercolor work.  I used some cheesecloth behind my photos as well as some pop dots.  The dimension is incredible!  I just love it.  I also added in some shiny gold thread.

This marquee LOVE flair just screams Vegas to me...the flashy lights and big letters!  I used a few cut apart labels from Evalicious here and added some gold MAMBI alpha and star stickers.  I used shiny gold thread to machine stitch and to create a nest for the flair.  I used some Dear Lizzy washi tape and a few Tim Holtz word stickers.  And I broke out my hoarded gold glittery Thickers, too!

Since I had a bit of green going on in the layout, this flair was a perfect choice.  I cut "vegas" on my Cameo in a yellow Lily Bee paper and then coated it with Heidi Swapp gold texture paste.  I just love this font...it's called Shoreline.  It's the perfect scripty font, I think!  And I love this gold color up against the pretty blues.

Here's a good shot of the background work...lots of Kuretake watercolors & Shimmerz with some Heidi Swapp gold Color Shine.  I seriously cannot get enough of gold glitter...

Here's one more close up of the top area.  More washi tape, stickers and stitching.  I love how the white paint faded away some of the background circles.

Here are the flair sets I pulled from:

Hello Life

Summer Gold

Black Marquee Lights

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  Have a great day!

Stretch Your Sketch #2 with Ashley Horton / Summer

Happy Monday!  Today I'm sharing the second layout and process video in the Stretch Your Sketch series I'm doing with my scrapping friend Ashley Horton on YouTube.  Last week, we used the sketch "as is."  This week, we are flipping it.

 Here's the sketch on it's side.  You can get a completely different look just by doing this, and you would never guess it was the same sketch!  I actually flipped it to the other side so the title is on the left.

Here's my layout.  I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!  For the circles, I drew some wonky spirals, sized them in different widths and welded them together in Silhouette Studio.  I cut the design on white cardstock and then used paint and Shimmerz to color it yellow, orange and pink.  I used some blue acrylic paint on the background and then brought in lots more yellow, orange and pink to balance out all that blue.  I used papers and embellishments from Bella Blvd, Simple Stories, Hip Kit Club and A Flair For Buttons.

My photos have a TON of blue in them, so most of my embellishments were a different color.  These fun stickers are from Simple Stories Sunshine & Happiness, and that pretty light pink layer is from a Hip Kit Club exclusive paper.  It's actually a cloud that I used as a fun layering piece.

There's another cloud...that's a yellow Bella Blvd patterned paper.  I cut "Summer" from that same Hip Kit paper and placed it vertically to mimic the title in the sketch.  All those blue sequins are from my stash.  The balloons and orange sunburst are from Simple Stories.  Even though the sketch has a lot of stars, you can use whatever shape or embellishment you want.  It's just giving you an idea of what you can place in that spot.

I am having so much fun lately with these emoji flair buttons!  This one is perfect for a Summer page, and he really pops with the pink thread.  I am so happy with how the cut file turned out.  It had its tricky moments when I peeled it off the cutting mat, but it straightened out once I started gluing it down.

Here's one last look at the upper area.  I added a chipboard sun, more tangled thread and a cute flamingo flair button.

Okay, here's the process video for you.  Be sure to check out Ashley's video HERE, and we'd love for you to play along with us!  You can download this sketch and some FREE cut files HERE.

Thank you sooooo much for stopping by!  Have a GREAT week!

Using Older Supplies / Weird is a Side Effect of Awesome

Happy Sunday, friends!  Today I'm back with another layout in my Using Older Supplies series.  This is the third layout in my YouTube series where I try to use up some older supplies from my shelves.  This layout took a lot of twists and turns.  I started with the Fancy Pants Hopscotch collection from 2012. I have used it before, but it has been sitting there for quite a while.  I love the bright and fun colors, and this photo definitely has a bright and fun vibe...haha :D

I cut my title on my Cameo.  The cursive words are a font called Shoreline, and I used the Open Letter Alpha from The Cut Shoppe to make the rest.  I used papers from the collection to back the open spots...this is something I've done so many times, but it always works.  After trying out many different things and stressing out about what to do next, I finally decided to use the cursive words as masks.  I placed them on white cardstock where I wanted them and used various Shimmerz sprays over them.  When I removed the words, the white negative space was left.  I love how that looks!

Backing a cut file like this is a great way to use up your old papers or your scraps because you only need little bits and pieces.  And you can really narrow in on specific parts of each paper.  I enjoy this process, although it does take some time to do.  I added pop dots under the words to create dimension, and it just gives the page a whole different look.  I added some grey tangled thread under a few of the words for added color and texture.

I love the shadow the pop dots create!  It just makes everything sort of pop off the page.  I added a few flair buttons on the layout as well as a few stamps.

This flair button is so perfect for this crazy photo...haha!  My daughter is the queen of goofy faces as you can see :D  I added some blue thread under it for some contrast and a pop of color.  I also added a little bit of tissue paper under the photo.

So these hearts almost didn't happen.  They started out as a background.  I had some white cardstock with the left over scraps of some punched die cuts from the collection.  I adhered it to the cardstock and added gesso and lots of pretty watercolors.  That was originally going to be my background, but I just wasn't feeling it after I made it.  So I grabbed a heart punch and made all these pretty hearts out of that background.  Sometimes you just have to make something out of something you don't like :)  I machine stitched through all the hearts and added another fun flair.  You can see how I made the hearts in my process video down below.

I really love how this turned out.  This is REALLY easy to do if you have any spray mists or inks.  I used a pencil to create a little bit of shadowing and then added my journaling at an angle under it.  I also added a small strip of orange striped washi tape under the photo.

Here's one more close-up of the top area.  Aren't those blues and greens so pretty together?   I love this technique.  Just make sure you know exactly where you want it to be on the layout because once you spray it, it's there and you can't move it.

Here's my process video showing how all of this chaos came together!  I hope you enjoy and get some fun ideas from it!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

More This / Hip Kit Club

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I'm back today with my last July layout for Hip Kit Club using the 2016 July Hip Kits.  My theme for this one was Focus on Patterns.  I decided to go really bold and create a pattern of strips using lots of different patterned papers from the kits.  All of these papers were sheets I had already cut into for previous layouts, so I didn't "waste" any 12x12 papers just for a few small strips :)

I arranged them on white cardstock in various lengths, adhered them down and then smudged some white gesso over a lot of the center area.  I came in with some blue, pink and yellow Shimmerz (surprise...haha) and created a messy watercolor look.  I used these two cute black & white photos of my daughter, and I arranged them like this once I accidentally discovered how the right curve of that yellow striped frame outlined her arm and shoulder in the photo.  I love how that looks!  So I tilted the photos and the frame and then came in with lots of puffy stickers and die cuts.

Here you can see some of the fading from the gesso and the machine stitching detail.  I used various colors of thread to match the strips.  I also fussy cut several beautiful flowers from one of Kim Watson's exclusive papers.  If you received the Project Life kit, then you have the cut one that has all the "More" phrases on it.  I cut it up and used the phrases around the page as little embellishments.  It also inspired my title.

I love these Becky Higgins frames!  A very thin chipboard, and I ran this one through my sewing machine.  No problems at all.  I added a PL card behind it and then added more die cuts, chipboard and wood veneer on top of it.

 

Here's that PL card all cut up into individual words.  I think it's a great design element, and it gets my point across...haha!  I added some of the awesome exclusive lime green puffy alpha stickers to compete the title.  The round "Today" die cut and beautiful puffy flower are all from Kim Watson.  I added some pink tangled thread for an extra pop of color & texture.

 

I like to use frames in a different way, so I placed the photo on top of it instead of under it.  Since everything else was a little crooked, I liked the way it looked.

Here's one final close-up of the bottom area.  More fussy cut flowers, more strips and more "More" phrases :)

Here's my process video if you'd like to check that out.  I hope you get some fun ideas!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day!

Happy Strollin' / Shimmerz Education Team

Hey, friends!  I have another layout for the Shimmerz Education Team to share with you today.  I created this layout as part of Shimmerz Shortz #51.  I showed how you can use all those tiny scraps left over on your Silhouette cutting mat after you've cut a design to create a fun background.

I had a bunch of squares left over from a recent design I cut using my Silhouette Cameo.  I used the design and had all these leftover little squares left on my cutting mat.  I peeled them off and saved them.  I arranged them on white cardstock and then used a few Shimmerz sprays and just simply sprayed right over the squares.  I used Coloringz No Yoking, Vibez Sweetheart and Coloringz Mama Sings the Blues.  I also added a bit of Vibez Jeni B Bleu.  I love the negative space created by the squares.

I roughly outlined each square with black pen just to make them stand out a bit more.  I was mainly just playing around. You could leave them as is if you wanted.

Here's a layout I made using this background.  I used three small photos and arranged them so the background squares were peeking out here and there.  I tried a bit of color blocking using die cuts and pieces from the June 2016 Hip Kit, a few pieces from Amy Tangerine's Rise & Shine, a flair button from A Flair For Buttons and a few sequins.  This really didn't take too long since the background was done and it was just a matter of embellishing.

I love the subtle spray inks coming out from behind the photos, and the black & white really pops. I used a few stickers from Simple Stories Sunshine & Happiness and an acetate heart from Pink Paislee Fancy Free.  That puffy heart is from Amy Tan.  I did add some black splatters with Coloringz Night Moves, which is your basic black spray.

I added in one of those fun acetate die cut words from Pinkfresh Studio for a pop of orange.  I love how those squares create some fun interest behind everything.

Here's the blue side...I love these pretty shades!  This was really not hard to do...just simply spraying over the squares onto the cardstock.

I added in a pop of green with this "laughter" die cut (an exclusive to Hip Kit), and I added pop dots to it to create some dimension.  That pink strip is a piece of ribbon from my stash, and those awesome blue alphas are Hip Kit exclusives from the June Kit.  

Here's a quick look at how I made this background.  You could try this with any little scraps you have saved up.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

New YouTube Series: Stretch Your Sketch with Ashley Horton / Monkey Business

Hey, friends!  Happy Monday to you :)  I hope you had a great weekend!  I'm so excited to introduce a new YouTube Scrapbooking series called Stretch Your Sketch.  I've teamed up with my awesome scrappy friend Ashley Horton to bring you four fun episodes of working with a sketch in different ways.  I hope you enjoy it!

Ashley designed the sketch, and it's really fun and versatile.  There are a lot of circle elements that can be interpreted in a lot of different ways.  She also designed a really fun cut file set that you can download.  You can find the link to the sketch and the cut file set in the description area of our YouTube videos.

For our first episode, we used the sketch as it is.  I tried to stick with it as much as possible.  I used mostly the Pink Paislee Fancy Free collection, and I traced lots of different sized circles on that beautiful patterned paper inspired by Britt Bass Turner.  I machine stitched around them as well.  I did some watercolor work on the background in coordinating colors using Shimmerz, gelatos and watercolor markers.  These photos make me laugh...Paige was being silly and acting like she was asleep while my husband was tickling her.  She would suck her thumb and close her eyes...and then pop them open and start laughing again.  What a goofball...haha!

I wanted to keep the idea of the stars in the sketch, so I punched some out of vellum and lightly painted the edges with Shimmerz.  My journaling fit perfectly in this circle here, and I jazzed up these fabric Thickers using gelatos and some white paint.  I added in some MAMBI glitter stickers, a wood veneer arrow and some Tim Holtz word stickers.  That "pretend" sticker had to go on this page somewhere!

Here's another vellum star.  I love how the background turned out, and I love that by mixing different mediums together you can get the perfect color to match anything.  I mixed watercolor, marker and gelatos...so much fun!  I used lots of chipboard and buttons here as well. I framed both my photos and added cord to the centers of the buttons.

This is a paper frame from the Fancy Free collections, and I added the wood veneer one with the glitter behind it for added sparkle and dimension.  I added another vellum star and another button.  That cute flair button is from A Flair For Buttons, and the aqua alphas are Elle's Studio.

I also added in lots of tangled thread in various colors as well as another word sticker.  Before I adhered this photo, I machine stitched around the frame to jazz it up a bit.

Here's one more close-up of the frames & title area.  I love how those Thickers turned out!  This layout turned out pretty heavy and chunky from all the chipboard, so I made sure it was all glued down really well.  Those Fancy Free chipboard buttons are so awesome!

Here's the process video.  You'll find a link to Ashley's video, the sketch and the cut files in the description box below the video.  I hope you love it and use the sketch with us!  Click HERE to see Ashley's video.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!