This Sweet Lovely Smile / Paige Evans DT

Hey, friends! I'm here with a new layout for the Paige Evans Design Team, and I am so excited that Paige’s 9th and newest collection called Bloom Street has been revealed! I adore all the gorgeous colors and patterns. It’s full of pretty flowers, butterflies, birds, and all things Spring. For my very first layout using this collection, I started with one of my favorite papers: Paper 24, which is filled with gorgeous rainbow arrows. I fussy cut a lot of them then arranged them in a circle pattern.

I did coordinating watercolor work on the white cardstock background smudged with clear gesso to accent the beautiful colors in the arrows. I smudged each color of Distress Oxides lightly onto the background in the circle design and then spritzed it with water. The colors spread and blended together. I also used a brush in a few places to help the blending. Once that dried, I arranged the arrows and stitched through the circle. I decided to add some dimension so I created a second layer of arrows and stitched through them again. I folded up the ends to really create nice depth and texture.

I don’t have any of the Ephemera Die Cuts yet, so I fussy cut lots of flowers and leaves to embellish with. I cut flowers from Paper 02, Paper 11, and Paper 12. I layered them on both sides of the photo. I added adhesive foam behind some of them to create even more dimension. I also tucked in tangled thread in a few places.

I love the Puffy Word Stickers, so I used a few of those around the circle. I kept it tone-on-tone to match the stickers with the background. I added a white title right on top of the photo.

I fussy cut this cute sun from a patterned paper and added some pink thread and adhesive foam under it.  The more I look at these arrows, the more I love the double layer!  I almost just did one flat layer, but adding the second one makes a big differnce!

Since I don't have any of the floral die cuts from this collection yet, I did a lot of fussy cutting.  I happen to love doing it, so it was fun cutting out all these pretty flowers & leaves.

Here are a few more close-ups of all the details.

Isn’t this collection simply gorgeous? I cannot wait to get my hands on the full line! I hope this inspires you check out Bloom Street. Prepare to order it all because you will fall in love with it! Thanks so much for stopping by!

January Challenge / Pinkfresh Studio

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope 2020 is off to a great start for you.  I'm sharing the January Challenge over at Pinkfresh Studio.  You can find it HERE.  You can pick any Challenge from 2019 to create a project from.  I chose the May 2019 Challenge, which was a gorgeous rainbow color scheme and the rules "Anything Goes."  I pulled out a variety of 2019 collections...Out & About, Joyful Day & Everyday Musings.

I started by tearing a big strip of this Out & About striped patterned paper.  I wanted it to be a big statement piece, so I glued it to some thick white cardstock.  I added some clear gesso to the cardstock to prepare it for some watercolor.  I used several of the Liquid Watercolors to create the watercolor effect.  I mixed and matched a few colors to get the perfect shades to match the striped paper.

I used a variety of embellishments.  I wanted this to be a fun and whimsical layout, so I used flowers that I fussy cut from paper, puffy stickers, die cuts, and stamps.  I kind of just stacked the embellishments in a crooked line under the photo and along the line of the patterned paper.

I wanted something light here at the bottom, so I used some of the white Puffy Alpha Stickers from Just a Little Lovely.  I added another Joyful Day flower here, which I popped up using adhesive foam.

I layered a few stickers above the photo and then doodled around the edges using a black pen.

To add some fun to the left side of the page, I created some fun little half-circle banners.  These are super easy to make.  I used a circle punch and then cut each circle in half.  Then I lightly glued them down and then machine stitched through them.  Instant cute banner!

I created a cluster of goodies here...more images I fussy cut from paper, a few puffy stickers and this cute title die cut.  I also used a scripty puffy alpha sticker on top of the photo from Just a Little Lovely.  I love mixing and matching collections like this!

Here you can see the dimension.  I love having things stand up off the page, and that's easy to create with adhesive foam.

Here's a look at the pretty watercolors.

A few more close-ups of all the beautiful colors :)

I hope you will play along with us this month!  As always, your layout could win you a $50 Gift Card to the Pinkfresh Studio Store!  And trust me...there are some new AMAZING collections coming soon, so you'll want to shop your heart out.  So come play with this challenge!

I hope this inspires you in some way... I love how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you again soon.

Stay Cozy / Hip Kit Club

Happy New Year, friends!  2020...unbelievable!  Today I'm sharing my newest layout for Hip Kit Club.  I used the 2019 December Hip Kits, and I went a little star crazy :)  I couldn't resist fussy cutting out all these beautiful stars from Crate Paper.  I also added some starry texture to the background using the star stencil from the Color Kit.  I felt like creating a big star cluster, so that's what I did.

I used a light grey Heidi Swapp paper as my background, and I coated a lot of it with white and clear gesso.  I scraped modeling paste over the stencil and let it dry.  It created some amazing rough and bumpy texture!  Next, I used a few blue shades of Lindy's Magical Powders & Starburst Sprays.  I used the Jana's Jade from the Color Kit and a few others from past kits.  I also splattered some of the Gold Glitter Spray from last month's kit.

I layered and overlapped the stars.  I added some adhesive foam behind some of them to create some depth.  I also added in more stars...some of the Crate Paper Chipboard pieces and some puffy ones from the Thickers sheets.  There are also a few stickers from the exclusive sticker sheet.

I wanted to keep the bottom part of the layout a little cleaner, so I only added a few things.  I added a small title and a few die cuts & stickers.  You can see how they're popped off the page...I used adhesive foam.  The space between the bow and the stars was perfect for my journaling.

I added in some darker teal thread in a few places for more color and texture.

I created a little star cluster to the right of the photo along with more thread.

I couldn't resist tucking in this cute little fox sticker.  This "together" sticker is from Pretty Little Studio.

One more close-up here...

Have you started creating with your December Kits yet?  They really are beautiful.  I love how this layout came together, and I hope it inspires you in some way!

There is a process video for this up on the Hip Kit YouTube Channel.  My personal channel is STILL DOWN.  The latest update is that Google is in the process of transferring my content into a new channel.  So as soon as I know more, I'll let you know :)

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO Photo Stories / Shimmerz Paints

Happy Monday, friends!  The last Monday of the decade...wow!  I'm here today with a new layout for Shimmerz Paints featuring a whole bunch of Shimmerz goodness :)  I based my color scheme on the colors from the Cocoa Vanilla Unforgettable collection.  I wanted to enhance all those pretty flowers and also pull in some of the grey and black elements.

I started with smooth white cardstock as my base.  I used a brayer to apply some black acrylic paint onto the background.  Once that dried, I scraped on some white gesso in all the places where I planned to add Shimmerz.

I used the following Shimmerz:

• Coloringz--Well Blue Me Down, Oh Say Can U Sea, Peachy Keen
• Shimmerz--Pip Pip Cherry-O, It's Mint to Be
• Inklingz--Plum Crazy, Miner Miner 49er
• Vibez--Mango Tango, Sweetheart, Deep Blue Sea
• Spritz--Cotton Candy
• Creameez--Trippin' in the Tropics

I very carefully started adding color by spraying it or painting it with a brush in separate areas.  Here in this area I used the Plum Crazy and Pip Pip Cherry-O.  They blend well together, but I wanted them to be a little bit separate.  They match this collection perfectly, and the embellishments I added coordinated so well.  Here I used some die cuts and clear stickers.  Since there is a bit of peachy orange in the collection, I tucked in some orange thread here for added color & texture.

I hadn't played with a lot of black in a while, so this made things interesting.  I love how the Miner Miner 49er shines right off the black!  So pretty.  The blue here is Deep Blue Sea.  I added some patterned papers behind my photo to create some layering.

For this area, I mixed O Say Can U Sea, Well Blue Me Down & It's Mint to Be.  This is where the bulk of the embellishing is...lots of beautiful floral die cuts and stickers, some clear leaf stickers, some word stickers.  I also fussy cut this "photo stories" piece from a sticker and popped it up using adhesive foam.

Aren't these colors just delicious?  As soon as I pulled this collection out I knew exactly what Shimmerz colors would match perfectly.

Here is a mix of Peachy Keen and Mango Tango.  Also a hint of Sweetheart.

This purple butterfly matched Plum Crazy so well.  The Inkingz have such a gorgeous shimmery finish.

The only thing that isn't from Cocoa Vanilla here is the XOXO.  Those are some older Thickers from my hoarded stash :)  I angled my journaling under the title here using a black Sharpie.

I had a lot of fun getting messy making this layout!  I hope it inspires you in some way.  How often do you use black on your background?  I love how this turned out.  Be sure to check HERE for the process video.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and HAPPY 2020!!

Love / Hip Kit Club

Hey there, friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  I wanted to share my newest layout for Hip Kit Club today.  This is my first page using the 2019 December Hip Kits.  I had to fussy cut this gorgeous wreath as soon as I saw it.  It's from Pretty Little Studio, and the colors & details are so beautiful.  I used a sheet of the Coastal cardstock as the background, and I added some of the Lindy's Magical Powders to create some pretty watercolor effects.

Fussy cutting is a great way to create dimension.  Leaves and flowers are my favorite because it just brings them to life.  I did have to use a craft knife to carve out some of the inner pieces, and I just love the results.  I used a few of the exclusive Pocket Life cards as layers behind my photo.

I added in some extra flowers and leaf sprigs from the exclusive die cut pack.  There are a zillion pieces in there!  I just kept adding and tucking here and there...so perfect for this wreath.

Here are more of the die cut bits.  I went very simple with the title...I used one of the soft metallic copper Thicker words.  I also tucked in some colored thread in a few places for added texture and color.

To create the background, I first used white gesso.  I used my fingers to smudge a giant gesso circle behind the wreath.  My fingers are the best tool to use to create that hazy cloudy edge.  Once it dried, I used the Lindy's Powders from the Color Kit...Andrea's Azalea and Jana's Jade.  I wet my brush and gently dipped it into the powder.  I added a few layers of color around the circle.  I also used a few gelatos from my stash to smudge in a few darker areas.

I love how these colors really enhance the colors in the wreath.  I didn't want to make the background too dark.  I want the background to compliment the wreath and not compete or take away from it.  I did add some adhesive foam under the wreath to pop it off the page.

I also splattered some of the Jen Hadfield Gold Glitter Spray from the November Kits for some extra shine.

 

I hope this inspires you in some way!  I had a lot of fun making it.  The wreath pretty much made the design for me.  There is a process video up over on the Hip Kit Channel if you're interested :)

Thanks for stopping by!