Thursday, January 28, 2016

XO Love Always / Hip Kit Club

Hey, friends!  I have another layout to share today for Hip Kit Club using the 2016 January Hip Kits.  I used a lot of Crate Paper goodies for this one, and I created my mixed media background with some Shimmerz products.  I decided to go bold for my background with this black and white striped paper.  I added some white gesso using an old gift card and then used the Pucker Up Pink Dazzlerz from the Color Kit mixed with some distress paints to create a few different shades.  I also added some teal spray from my stash.  I also did a lot of hand stitching on the XO for some added detail.  I cut the XO and "love" from one of Nicole's cut files.


Here you can see the texture from the gesso and texture paste. I love how the colors blended together.  I used pop dots to raise the XO up.  I added in some of the Crate Paper stickers and a butterfly puffy sticker.  That cute brad is from My Mind's Eye, and those clear gold stickers are from Heidi Swapp.  I love the detail from the hand stitching!


I love the pops of teal...this flower chipboard piece was perfect for this spot.  I created a little cluster with some of the MME chipboard buttons and added a CP glitter sticker.


I blew up the cut files and cut them really large so they would be the basis of my design.  I used a black pen to trace around the "love" so it would stand out a bit more.  I also machine stitched through the chipboard Thickers with gold thread.


I added a few more stickers here...I did have to glue them down since they didn't want to stick that well on top of the thread.


Here's a look at my process video if you'd like to see how this page came together...I hope you enjoy!


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

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Hey You / Shimmerz Education Team

Happy Wednesday!  Today I'm sharing a new layout for Shimmerz that I created using one of the new PickPocket Stakz cards.  If you love to color or paint, these are perfect for you!  I love these small 3x4 sized cards because they're small and they can be worked into a scrapbooking layout design pretty easily.  I painted this one and used it as a big embellishment.

I used a lot of Shimmerz products on this page.  I used mostly Creameez and Iklingz to color the card with a few touches of Coloringz and Vibez.  I used a small paint brush and just painted everything on...I'm definitely not a professional painter, and this is really easy to do.  The color combos are endless, and it didn't take that long to do.

I used some papers from my stash including the Studio Calico Wanderlust collection and the original Maggie Holmes line.  My flair buttons are from A Flair For Buttons.


Here's a look at the Stakz card up close.  As you can see, it's not perfect.  I love that it's kind of messy.  I tried to create a pinkish/orange blend on the flowers using Creameez Piggy Pink, Berry Hot & Daffodil mixed with Inklingz Can't Elope.  The leaves are painted with Inklingz The Holly and the Ivy.  The blue background is a mix of Creameez Ride the Tide and Vibez Jeni B Bleu.  I used a black pen to color in the words.  It really is fun to mix similar colors together to create different tones.  I added some machine stitching, some hand cut flowers, tangled thread and a few stickers.


I cut the two large scribbly circles on my Cameo (from a file I purchased in the Silhouette Store).  I used them as stencils first.  I put some Creameez Ride the Tide onto some plastic packaging and smushed it over the die cuts to create a messy design on the cardstock and then added some Vibez over them.  Once that dried, I glued the die cuts down and went over them with some white gesso to blend out the pattern a bit.  I came in with some Coloringz No Yoking on some plastic packaging.  Once I knew where the card and my photo were going to go, I added a bit of the Piggy Pink Creameez with a brush to pick up the color from the card.


Here you can see some of the layering I created using some of the Maggie Holmes flower paper and a few die cuts.  I added some tangled thread under my flair button here and added lots of ink splatters to the background.


I brought in a few die cuts from the Simple Stories Carpe Diem collection as well as a few Elle's Studio stamps.  I also added in some washi tape strips from my stash.


Here's a look at my process video if you'd like to see how this whole layout came together...I hope it inspires you to get your hands on some of the Shimmerz Stakz!


Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies Used:
Creameez--Piggy Pink, Daffodil, Berry Hot, Ride the Tide
Inklingz--Can't Elope, The Holly & The Ivy
Vibez--Jeni B Bleu
Coloringz--No Yoking, Pink Stiletto


Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Always Time For a Dancy Party / The Cut Shoppe

Happy Tuesday, friends!  I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.  Today I'm sharing a fun layout for The Cut Shoppe using two of the newer cut files:  Kitschy Cursive and Snap to It.  They are both very versatile and can be used on just about any project.  You can create anything with this alphabet, and cameras are suitable for any and every layout!


I used the Cocoa Vanilla Life is Beautiful collection.  I've had it for a while and just haven't had the chance to use it.  It's really pretty, and it went perfectly with my photos of my daughter in her yellow shirt.  She decided to have herself a little dance party one day and I had to get pictures of it :)

I did a lot of mixed media work on this layout.  I used white gesso first, and then I came in with some of my Shimmerz watercolors and texture pastes.  I wanted to bring in more yellow, and so I added a lot of it to the background.  I used papers and a die cut frame as layers behind the photos and then added the title beneath it.  I created the word "party" using the Kitschy Cursive cut file.  I simply traced each letter and then welded them together.  I also cut that little camera from Snap to It.


I cut them both on white cardstock and then painted them with Shimmerz watercolors.  I also added some gelatos to them to get some variation in shading.  I used some October Afternoon alpha stickers for the first part of my title and then added in some flair.  This particular flair button is part of the collection.


This flair is from A Flair For Buttons, and it matched perfectly.  I added in some machine stitching in a few places.  I really love that little banner piece from the collection...it fit perfectly in that spot.  Plus, it goes with my "party" theme :)


Here's another AFFB flair.  Here you can also see the texture paste...it really does give great texture and it's just really pretty, I think.  I added in a lot of tangled thread in various places.  I think it gives great pops of color and great texture.


Here's one more close-up...lots of fun texture, die cuts and dimension.  This was really fun to put together!


Here's my process video if you'd like to see how this layout came together.  I hope you enjoy it and get some fun ideas!


Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!



Friday, January 22, 2016

Sunny Smiles / My Mind's Eye

It's Friday....yay!  Gotta love the start of the weekend...woo hoo!  Today I wanted to share my latest layout for My Mind's Eye.  I am in love with all four of the new releases, and I couldn't decide which one to break into first.  I finally settled on the new Hello Gorgeous line.  It's such a classic MME collection.  Lots of florals, dots, stripes...everything is just beautiful.

I began with some of the Snowbound MME Canvas Cardstock and some mixed media products.  I used some of my Shimmerz Dazzlerz texture paste and some spray inks with a floral stencil to create some flowers and splatters on the background.  I fussy cut a few large flower clusters from patterned paper to create layers under my photo.  I added in a few die cuts, stickers, chipboard and a brad to finish it all up.


I really love this cardstock.  The texture really shows when you add paint or ink to it.  And it holds moisture well for me.  This cute glitter heart is from the Journal Cards pack.  I added in some gold thread for a few extra added details.


I love how the texture paste looks here under all the layers.  These two label-type stickers are from the Sticker Sheet, and I stitched through them and added a few enamel dots.  My journaling fit under them just perfectly.


I used alphas from the Sticker Sheets for my title and added a fun chipboard button.


Here's one more close up of the detail and dimension.  I just LOVE the fabric covered brads!  They are all so pretty, and they really add a lot of fun to the layout.


Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I can't wait to dig into the other three MME collections soon!

Have a great day!

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Hello Love / Hip Kit Club

Hey, friends!  Today I'm sharing a new layout for the Hip Kit Club using the 2016 January Hip Kits!  This is my first page using these kits, and they are simply amazing.  It's so difficult to pick and choose what to use first.  I started with one of the Basic Grey papers and added some white gesso.  I used the Pucker Up Pink Dazzlerz texture paste in the Color Kit and some of the Prima Watercolor Pencils from past Color Kits to give different shades of pink to the background.  I also used the exclusive heart stencil and some of the Heidi Swapp Gold texture paste.  The mixed media products this month are fabulous!!

I love all the wood veneer, chipboard, vellum die cuts, rub-ons, brads....so much goodness!


I created lots of layers here...I combined tissue paper, patterned papers, chipboard, glitter die cuts, stickers and puffy stickers here.  I tangled some teal thread from my stash here to create more color and texture.  That cute butterfly is a My Mind's Eye rub-on.


This is my favorite part of the layout :)  I heat embossed part of the Crate Paper wood veneer with gold powder.  I just love how it turned out!  And gold is my favorite :)  It looks so awesome against that pink background, too.


Eeeeeek!  Shiny gold hearts...it doesn't get much better than that!  I fussy cut the XOs from one of the Crate Paper papers and stitched them down.  "Blissful" is a vellum die cut...there are a few different words included in the kits.


Here's one more close up of the bottom part of the layout.  I stitched through this geometric chipboard heart and added a few stickers on both sides.  I added my journaling below that.  Aren't those colors just so yummy?!


Here's my process video if you'd like to see how this layout came together from start to finish.  I hope you enjoy!


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

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Hello Lucky / Citrus Twist Kits

Hey there, and Happy Tuesday!  I hope all of you are doing well and getting in lots of crafty time :)  Today I'm sharing another layout I created for Citrus Twist Kits.  I was up on the blog a few days ago for the Sunday Sketch.  It's an awesome sketch, and this month's kits are just perfect to use for it.  I love the square photo, the layering, and those fun corner pieces.  Sketches are such a fun jumping off point to get your scrappy juices flowing!


Here is what I created based on this sketch.  I stayed pretty true to it.  I used the January Verona Main Kit and the Sprinkles Kit.  I started with one of the Seven Paper sheets for my background.  I added a bit of white gesso and then some bright blue acrylic paint.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut some messy rectangular frames out of the Basic Grey paper and built my layers on top of that.  I used a lot of the Maggie Holmes papers for this as well as the fun printable cut-apart sheet.


I love all of these bright colors together!  I love layering bits and pieces around my photo.  I used one of the fun flair buttons, one of the Heidi Swapp scripty puffy stickers, one of the sentiments from the branding strip of the exclusive CTK papers, exclusive wood veneer...so many little details!  I used a foam brush to apply the acrylic paint.  I wanted a messy brush stroke effect.


I added some cord to the cut-apart tag here and layered it behind the photo.  I also added in some pink tangled thread behind the flair button.  That is a great way to add a pop of color and some fun texture to your page.


I fussy cut more pieces here and did lots of machine stitching.  I also used some of the exclusive CTK stamps on my layout.  They are super fun and can be used in so many ways!


Here's my process video if you'd like to see how this layout came together.  Thanks for watching!



Okie dokie...that is my layout!  I hope it has inspired you in some way.  I hope you use it to create something amazing!  If you do use the sketch, make sure you upload it to the Citrus Twist Gallery by next Saturday to be eligible for a $5 coupon to the store!  Be sure to add "1/17" to the title line so we know what sketch you're using.  I can't wait to see what everyone makes!

Have a fabulous day!

Saturday, January 16, 2016

If You're Happy and You Know It / A Flair For Buttons

It's the weekend!  Yay!  I hope you are all enjoying your Saturday so far.  Today, I'm sharing my latest layout for A Flair For Buttons.  I used two flair buttons from the With All My Heart set.  I did some watercolor work on some white cardstock and then used Project Life cards from MAMBI to create my design.  I found this pack of cards at Hobby Lobby, and I don't even do PL.  I love the patterns and colors on them, and I love using them on layouts.

I also used stickers from a few MAMBI sticker books that I also purchased.  These two flair buttons coordinated very well, and you can't go wrong with cute hearts!


I used the packaging technique and a brush with the watercolors on the background.  I also used watercolors to paint in the letters on this card.  I layered some tangled thread here under the flair button for a pop of orange.  I did a lot of machine stitching on the background and on the card, and I added in a few Crate Paper rub-on hearts.


I love bright colors, and this flair button is one of my favorites!  This PL card was so cute, and the flair fit perfectly right up top.


I cut this big heart from a 4x6 PL card.  I love how it looks like it was painted with watercolors!  I added more teal behind it with thread and then added another cute sticker.


This fun "I Love You" sticker was perfect for the bottom of the page, and I worked my journaling under it.  These MAMBI stickers are so fun and there are so many in the little booklets.


Here's one more close up of the upper left area.  I love how the watercolor turned out.  I did add some white and lime green tissue papers behind my photos.



Here is a look at the entire set With All My Heart.


You can go HERE to check out all the flair in the store....there are a TON!  And they're all amazing!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Thursday, January 14, 2016

XOXO / The Cut Shoppe

Hey, friends!  Happy Thursday:)  Today I'm sharing a layout for The Cut Shoppe using the new Half Hearted cut file.  It's such a fun background design!


I decided to try something different with this layout.  I used the Sketch Pens to draw the hearts instead of using the blade to cut them.   I wasn't sure about gesso smudging the ink, so I added the gesso to my paper first and then ran it through the Cameo.  It worked perfectly!  I used watercolors and gelatos to color in the hearts.  My color scheme was inspired by the new Hello Love line from Crate Paper.


Coloring in all the hearts was so fun and relaxing.  The colors blended so nicely together.  I fussy cut the big XO and the camera from patterned papers and used them as embellishments.  I also added some machine stitching in between each painted heart...it worked out perfectly.


I was so excited once all the stitching was finished...I love how it looks like the hearts are being held together.  I love how you can resize cut files and create a brand new look with them.  And how about that gold watercolor....I'm loving it!


I pulled in a few clear & black stickers from a MAMBI sticker pad I bought at Hobby Lobby. I also added in some gold glitter Maggie Holmes heart stickers as well as some Tim Holtz sentiment stickers.


I fussy cut these cute hearts from patterned paper...I think they go perfectly with the cut file hearts.  I added another strip of striped patterned paper to the left and some tangled thread in a few places.


Finally, here's another look at the hearts.  I really want to try this again...using the sketch pens and watercolor.  So fun and different!


Here's my process video if you'd like to see how I put this page together.  I hope you enjoy!


Thanks for stopping by today!