Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Summer Life / Hip Kit Club

Hey, friends!  I hope you're having a great week so far.  I have a new layout for Hip Kit Club to share today.  I used the 2018 May Hip Kits, and my focus for this page is the Vicki Boutin stamps & dies and acrylic paints that all came in the Color Kit.  I began by smudging a lot of the paint onto some white cardstock and letting it dry.  It created a fun marbled look.  The I used some Distress Oxides from previous Color Kits to stamp some of the circle images.  I used the circle dies to cut them out, and I scattered them around the page to create a fun background design.  I tore this pretty striped Heidi Swapp paper from the Paper Kit and attached it to another sheet of white cardstock.  I scraped down a lot of white gesso and then came in with more of the Vicki paints and a palette knife.  I wanted a messy background to coordinate with the circles.  I also stamped directly onto the background.


This page wound up having lots of bright colors.  I embellished with some of the Amy Tangerine clear stickers here on the side of the photo.  I stuck this flower cluster to some white paper first and then fussy cut it out so it wouldn't lose it's color against the background.  I also used some of the Creative Devotion cross stickers, which I cut into plus signs.  The phrase stickers are from Pretty Little Studio, and the cute birds are from the Amy Tangerine clear sticker book.


I mixed and matched the title using the two different Thickers sets.  I added some pops of yellow with the Bella Blvd yellow puffy hearts and more of the Pretty Little Studio die cuts.


I love all the dimension here!  I added some tissue paper and adhesive foam under the photo as well as a Project Life card and one of the Heidi Swapp die cut papers.  I colored it green and then tore it to give it messy edges.  I adhered another bird and die cut as well as some tangled thread.


I really love circles...they are such a fun shape to use.  These stamps and dies made that really easy for this design.


Here are a few more close-ups because I just couldn't stop taking them.  I am in love with these beautiful colors!



I hope this inspires you to create something fun and bright with your Color Kit!  I really love the paints and stamps this month...I can't wait to use them again!  Here's my process video if you'd like to see how I created this page.



Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Wednesday!


Friday, May 25, 2018

Today / Using Older Supplies

It's Friday...yessss!  Today I'm sharing a layout I made just for fun using up some older products.  This is the My Mind's Eye Find Your Wings & Fly collection from 2013!  I have been hoarding it...yes, I'm a scrappy hoarder.  I fell in love with the colors back in the day, and so I thought I'd pull it out and make a page with it.

I wanted to work with all the black elements in the collection, so I began with some black cardstock.  I cut the Funky Striped Background cut file from Just Nick Studio.  I love the crooked, wonky stripes.  I backed them with lots of patterned paper strips.  I did a little bit of mixed media on the background using some Vicki Boutin Acrylic Paints & some Shimmerz.


Once I had the cut file backed, I did lots of crooked machine stitching with black thread.  I also added in some stamping.  I pulled some random border stamps from my stash...I think from Michael's.  I also used a few white clear stickers from a MAMBI sticker book and some Tim Holtz phrase stickers.


Acrylic paint looks so cool on black cardstock!  It really pops off the page.  I scraped a little pink, blue & green behind the photo using a palette knife and then added in some Shimmerz It's Mint to Be (one of the new colors).  I also watered down the paints and splattered some dots with a brush.  I layered some patterned papers behind the photo as well as some stickers and old buttons.


I used a giant black foam Thicker from Amy Tangerine (I think) as my title.  Another thing I've been hoarding.  To make it pop a little more, I traced around it with a white gel pen.


I used some of the MME stickers as embellishments on top of my photo.  I had some extra "white" space on the right side of the photo, so I'm not covering up anything important.  I like to do this technique if the photo allows it.  I also found a random scalloped die cut in my stash bin, so I colored it pink and used it here.


Backing a cut file is a great way to use lots of colors & patterns on your page without overdoing it.  I used so many papers here, but it's not enough to make it too busy or overwhelming.


I created a small cluster down on the bottom right using more of the MME stickers and a few pieces I fussy cut from a patterned paper.  I added adhesive foam behind the camera here along with some green and blue tangled thread.  I also found this random lime green wood button...it matched so I used it!


Here I combined red and pink thread to create a "new" color.  The pink tones down the red, and it matched perfectly here.


Here's one more close-up of the fun stitching detail.


I hope this inspires you to pull out some older goodies and create something with it!  I just can't bare to give a lot of this older product away...I still love it!  I just ran out of time to create with it.

Here's a process video if you'd like to watch this page come together.



Thank you for stopping in, and have a great weekend!

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Patio Paradise / Hip Kit Club

Happy Wednesday, friends!  I have a new layout to share today for the Hip Kit Club using the 2018 May Hip Kits.  I wanted to create a fun & unique background, so I pulled out the Heidi Swapp Lace Papers from the Embellishment Kit.  I used two of them as masks.  I used the Vicki Boutin Acrylic Paints from the Color Kit and smudged them over the flower and grid papers to create a negative shape.  This beautiful Peacock cardstock from the Cardstock Kit was perfect to let those colors shine.  I had the perfect photo to showcase with these colors, and I love how it turned out.


I started out the background by scraping some of the blue and green paint on the cardstock with a palette knife.  I also smudged some white gesso down to lighten it up and then added more of the blue.  I used some of the Vicki Boutin Iridescent Glaze from the March Color Kit over the small grid paper to add some shimmer and shine.  I embellished with a lot of chipboard flowers, die cuts and Thickers.


The acrylic paints show up very well against this blue background.  These Heidi die cut papers are very versatile.  Even though I used them as masks, you could also color them or cut them up and use them as is.


I mixed and matched the two gold Thicker sets we received and then added a few Pretty Little Studio die cuts underneath it.  The banner piece is actually orange, but I needed it to be pink.  I added a bit of the pink paint to it to change it up.  My journaling showed up really well with a white gel pen.


Here you can see how shimmery the glaze is.  I wound up going back over the grid paper with the light pink paint.  I used a few pieces of patterned paper under my photo to make it stand out a bit more.


I fussy cut a few leaf sprigs from one of the Pinkfresh Studio papers and tucked in a few of the gold glitter Thicker leaf sprigs.  Those pretty flowers are Simple Stories Chipboard pieces.  I also used a few of the Amy Tangerine clear stickers.


One more close-up of all the pretty colors and details!


I hope this gives you some ideas to try on your next layout.  I highly recommend trying the Heidi papers on a dark background.  Give it a go!  Here’s my process video showing how I created this page.



Thank you so much for stopping in!  See you soon :)


Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Favorite Moment / Paige Evans DT

Hey, friends!  Happy Tuesday :)  I have a new layout to share for the Paige Evans Design Team.  This page features a lot of the Pick-Me-Up Stickers and Chipboard Stickers. I began this page with Paige’s Geometric Flower Background cut file. I almost used it as a stencil, but I decided to use it over a mixed media background. I chose a few colors of ink sprays that matched the deeper colors in the Pick-Me-Up collection. After adding some white gesso, I used the packaging technique with the sprays as well as directly spraying right onto the paper. I glued the cut file right over it for a fun background design. I embellished with a lot of Pick-Me-Up goodies.


I backed the centers of the flowers with Pick-Me-Up Paper 02. I wanted to highlight the deep red orange, dark blue, softer pink, and yellow tones. I used a row of three photos and layered some bits of Pick-Me-Up Paper 01 and Paper 24 behind them to add some pops of color. I also tucked in some pieces from the Pick-Me-Up Chipboard Stickers and Stickers. I added a bit more texture and color with some tangled thread. I created my title using a Pick-Me-Up Sticker and navy Mini Thickers.


I created a fun little cluster down below the photos using more Stickers. I fussy cut the “Hello Sweetness” piece from Paper 01. I love how all these pieces look layered together. I touched the area up with a few Chipboard Sticker hearts.


I added my journaling down below the title. Instead of stamping the date, I created it using the Pick-Me-Up Stickers and then stitched through it.


I couldn't resist adding some splatters of Gold Color Shine :)  A lot of the embellishments I used have gold foil on them, so I thought it would look pretty.


I created a little interest at the bottom of the page by cutting a crooked piece of the white cardstock out.  I backed it with a striped patterned paper to pull in all of the colors I used above.  I topped it with one of the die cut flowers.  I love the white-on-white look.  It creates interest without being too busy or distracting.


I decided to use three of these framed stickers.  I kind of just went for it and chose a lot of stickers I hadn't used yet.


Here's one more close-up just because :)


It’s really fun to begin a layout with a cut file in mind or a specific set of embellishments. I knew I wanted to focus on the Stickers & Chipboard Stickers as well as the cut file, so this helped me get my page started. It helps to limit what you’ll use so it’s not so overwhelming when there is a lot of product to choose from.  Be sure to check out my process video here to see how I put this all together.



Thanks for stopping by!


Thursday, May 17, 2018

I Heart Her / Shimmerz Education Team - NEW COLORS!

Happy Thursday, friends!  I have a new layout to share for the Shimmerz Education Team featuring three NEW Shimmerz colors.  I used a lot of Shimmerz products, but I included the new Lilac Blossom, It's Mint to Be and Limoncello paints as well.  I love creating my own color schemes on white cardstock.  I started by painting an entire sheet of it in stripes of color using those three colors as well as Creameez 1 Hot Mama, Vibez Jeni B Bleu, and Shimmerz Moulin Rouge.  I also added in bits of other colors which I will list below.

Once my paper was dry, I cut a bunch of different sized hearts using my Cameo.  I was inspired by a recent layout created by Paige Evans where she created a lot of stacked hearts.  I decided to stack a few of them and leave the rest of them to scatter around the page. I love how it turned out!


I didn't want to leave the background solid white, so I mixed in some of the same colors I used on the hearts.  I mixed them with white gesso and scraped it all over the paper to get lighter hints of the colors.  I wanted it to peek through all the hearts.  Look how shimmery these colors are!


I ran the stacks of hearts through my sewing machine to give them a finished and textured look.  I decided to vertically stack them so my photos could be tucked under them.  I pulled the purple color from my daughter's shirt.


I tucked in a bit of white tissue paper for a subtle border along with some tangled thread.  I scattered lots of sequins from SpiegelMom Scraps around the page.


Here on this stacked heart you can really see how pretty the three new colors are, and they work very well together.  I used some old Thickers for my title.


Here you can see the effect of mixing the paints with white gesso.  It does take out some of the shimmer, but that's okay.  I mainly wanted to have some subtle color back there to enhance the hearts and photos.  I also did a bit of splattering.


Here's a tip if you're going to stack your shapes like this:  only glue the center parts down.  Leave the edges along so you can flip or fold them up for dimension.


This was so much fun to create!  You can see that I hardly used any extra embellishments.  I felt like the hearts were enough to carry the page.  Sometimes you don't need a bunch of stickers or chipboard.  Just create lots of pretty shapes with your Shimmerz and you will be set :)

Here's my process video if you'd like to check it out:



Here's a short video I created showing you each of the three new colors:


Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Shimmeringz--Goldie Lox
Creameez--1 Hot Mama
Spritz--Ruby
Coloringz--Well Blue Me Down


Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Good Vibes / Hip Kit Club

Happy Tuesday, friends :)  Here is my first layout using the 2018 May Hip Kits!  They are filled with tons of bright and beautiful products from so many different manufacturers.  My theme for this was circles, so I decided to create my own background using them.  I used an old homemade circle stencil and painted circles using the Vicki Boutin Acrylic Paints from the Color Kit.  I just smudged the paint on using a foam ink blending tool.  I added more circles with the Vicki Boutin stamps.  They are the coolest!  My background paper is from Pinkfresh Studio, available in the Main Kit.


These colors...so gorgeous!  I wanted to add pops of black, so I used black archival ink to stamp the circles.  I also used an older Hip Kit exclusive tiny circle stencil from a few years ago to smudge more circles.  I added some black splatters as well.  I punched more circles from one of the black and white Heidi Swapp patterned papers and then stitched through those with black thread.


I also stitched a messy frame around my photos.  I used a few Project Life cards under the photos as well as some tissue paper and adhesive foam.  I love the title mix here...I used an Amy Tangerine clear sticker and combined it with some Simple Stories chipboard.  I layered a piece of a PL card  under that as well as a lime green die cut banner piece from Pretty Little Studio.


These photos are so adorable.  These were taken on our patio right before Hurricane Irma blew through.  Paige is so silly, and she was in a good mood here so naturally I took a million pictures :D  I layered a few more Pretty Little Studio pieces on top of the photos.



I added my journaling under the title and then built a small cluster of strips down at the bottom.  I brought in all the colors in the top of the layout to the bottom.




I know, I take a lot of close ups :D


I hope this inspires you to create some fun circles on your next background.  I highly recommend the Color Kits each month.  They last for a long time, and things always wind up matching the next month's kits.  I use all the goodies from previous kits all the time.  Very good choice to purchase if you like mixed media :)

Here's my process video:



Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon :)