Sweet Summer / Hip Kit Club

Hey there, and Happy Hump Day :)  I'm back today with a new layout for the Hip Kit Club.  This is my first page featuring the 2018 July Hip Kits, and boy are they beautiful!  My focus today was watercolors and cut files, so I used both.  This awesome cut file is FREE over on the Hip Kit website under the Cut Files tab...yay!  I backed with various papers in the Main Kit as well as a few Project Life cards. 

I wanted to create some "water" and a "sun" on my background, so I used the Pinkfresh Studio Liquid Watercolors from the Color Kit.  I prepped my white cardstock with clear gesso first and then started spritzing water down.  I dripped some of the blue color down and let it run and spread.  I brought in a few blue Shimmerz sprays from previous kits to add some variation. 

I felt like adding some textured detail to the cut file, so hand stitched around the letters with white embroidery thread.  It's not perfect, but I like it that way :)  I added some foam adhesive to the back to pop it off the page.  I added one of the acrylic words above the S to complete my title.  Easy!  I embellished around the cut file with some of the exclusive flower die cuts as well as some of the Pretty Little Studio flower stickers.

Look at these adorable acrylic clouds!  I had to use them on this page...just so cute.  To make the sun rays, I used a stencil from my stash.  I mixed some of the yellow watercolor with white gesso and smudged it over the stencil.  It was really bright, so I went back over it once it dried with more white gesso.

I love all these little bits and pieces...they're all in the exclusive die cut pack.  I pulled out the Pink-o de Mayo Shimmerz from the June Color Kit and added some pink splatters.  I also added aqua and yellow from the paints I used on the background.

I fussy cut this pink scallop from an exclusive patterned paper and added a bit here at the bottom and another piece above the photo.

Ahhhhh....these colors!  So pretty and summery.

One final close-up of the fun background texture.  I added a few more die cuts here at the top and the outline of a PLS sticker that I cut out for a pop of darker blue.

I hope this gives you some fun ideas to try on your next layout using these kits.  Have fun!!  You can check out my process video here if you'd like to see this page in action:

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Selfie Giggles / Paige Evans DT

Hey, friends!  Happy Tuesday :)  I'm back today with a new layout for the Paige Evans Design Team.  Have you ever used one of Paige’s cut files as a stencil? That’s what I did on this layout using her Flower cut file. It’s a simple flower, but I duplicated it in several sizes and made a vertical design. I cut it on white cardstock using a Silhouette Cameo and then scraped modeling paste over it. I used a fun multi-colored paper from the Fancy Free 12x12 Paper Pad as my background and faded out a lot of the pattern with white gesso. Once the paste dried, I used some bold ink sprays to add in lots of red, pink, aqua, dark blue, and yellow. These colors match the Pick-Me-Up collection perfectly.

The gesso helped to prep the patterned paper for the paste and liquid sprays. I really love the rich colors and fun texture this created. To add in a bit more dark blue, I machine stitched around the center of each flower. I used color photos to brighten everything up and embellished with Pick-Me-Up Chipboard Stickers, Ephemera Die Cuts, Stickers, and fussy cut bits from the 12x12 Paper Pad. Did you know there are several papers included in it with gold foil? Yes!! My title is subtle on the dark blue area and made with the Pick-Me-Up Mini Thickers.

I fussy cut several flower clusters from one of the Pick-Me-Up 12x12 Paper Pad papers and used them as layers. Here is another floral Chipboard Sticker under the photo. I also tucked some dark blue thread under the flowers for an extra pop of color and texture.

I added in a few more Pick-Me-Up Chipboard Stickers and even a Rub-On. I’m really crushing on this deep reddish pink color! My final touch was some Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine.

I don't think I could ever get sick of using any embellishments with gold foil.  I love how it shines in the light!  I decided to use the dark blue Mini Thickers here instead of the white.  I think the white would have really stood out too much.  I did wind up tracing around parts of the letters with a gold pen.

Texture and dimension here...I love how it turned out!  My favorite thing about modeling paste is how the color just runs and blends around the shapes.  It really does all the work for you.  And I was able to stitch around the centers with no problems once it was completely dry.

I get a lot of questions about what type of pen I use for journaling.  My black pen is a fine tip Sharpie...nothing too fancy.  I have to be careful and not press too hard when I'm writing over gesso.  I honestly have ruined many of these pens, but I just try and write softly to make them last.

I can't get enough of the rich and deep colors in this collection.  They inspired me to create a fun and rich background to match!

Here are a few more close-ups because I tend to take a lot...haha!

If you want a new idea on stencils, give this fun cut file a try. Paige has so many cut files that would make awesome stencils! I hope this inspires you and gives you some ideas for your next layout.

Be sure to check out my process video to see how I did this...

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Scrappin' Series / Chill By The Pool

Hello again, friends!  I'm so excited to be playing along with my wonderfully talented scrappy friend Audrey Yeager and her Summer Scrappin' Series!  She creates 21 days of summer layouts and process videos and has a different designer join her each day.  Today it's me, and I want to thank her for having me! 

I have to say I'm very excited about how my layout turned out!  I've taken so many pictures of my girls at our pool over the years, and that means they have a ton of swim suits.  I've had these pictures printed for a while, and I never really had a good idea about how to scrap them.  Then all out of nowhere, I looked at them the other day and immediately got that light bulb over my head.  I wanted to recreate her swim suit design as my background.  It worked...woo hoo!

Surprisingly, it was easy to make.  I coated the white cardstock with clear gesso first.  Then I used several different shades of blue and green Distress Oxide pads...I just scraped them across the page.  The soften up the stripes, I spritzed the paper with water and then picked the paper up and turned it sideways.  I didn't want the strips to blend completely because I wanted to emphasize the stripes in her suit.  I have a large hibiscus flower stencil, and I placed that over the ink and dabbed white acrylic paint over it.  I LOVE the results!

I wanted something more to layer in behind the photos, so I used the stencil again to trace a smaller hibiscus onto some vellum.  I used a white jelly roll pen, and you can see the tracing detail up close here.  I fussy cut them out and layered them in.  I curled up the edges for some extra dimension and then added in some light pink tangled thread.  I almost didn't add in any pink, but I'm glad I did.

If you haven't played with Distress Oxides yet, you need to!  They are amazing, and they react with water in such a cool way.  They really do all the work for you.  This background looks like it took forever, but it really only took a few minutes.  You can see it in my process video below!

I dug through my older summer stash and pulled out a Simple Stories sticker sheet.  I found this little floral sticker and it was the perfect colors.  The flowers aren't the same, but who cares?  It matched and looked great right there.  I journaled with a gold pen.

More stash here...I pulled out the Pink Paislee Citrus Bliss collection from a few years ago and found several die cuts that matched perfectly.  I created a fun little cluster over on the left.  That "chill" sticker was also the perfect colors...I had to make it work!  It was on the Simple Stories sticker sheet.

These splatters are a combination of the Distress Oxides watered down and some Shimmerz Vibez.  And of course some gold Color Shine!

I mean come on....look at that blue!  I could never get sick of blue...it's definitely my favorite color.  I did wind up adding in a tiny bit of striped patterned paper behind my photos...it's from a Fancy Pants 6x6 Paper Pad.  I think it was from last year at least.

For the title, I mixed and matched.  I stamped "By The" using the Crate Paper Oasis stamps from several months ago.  I dug way back into my Thickers stash and found an unopened pack of Dear Lizzy pink foam alpahs....again, the perfect pink color.

I really love how this turned out...I hope you are inspired!  Please check out Audrey's YouTube channel.  She has a lot of videos that are just so incredible, and she comes up with the greatest design ideas.  Here's my video:

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

Happy Little Life / Using Older Supplies

Hello again, friends!  I'm back with another stash layout today.  I actually started this page about two months ago and never finished it.  I finally did...go me!  I pulled out the Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer and American Crafts 5th and Frolic collections from several years ago.  I hoard all the pretty things, so I had quite a bit of the papers left over.  This layout took some twists and turns, but I like how it turned out.

I actually started with a cut file from Make Paper Art.  I cut it out on white cardstock and then used it as a stencil.  I scraped modeling paste over it to create a fun textured background.  A lot of it wound up getting covered up, but that's okay.  Changes happen, right?!  I used a lot of blue, pink and yellow Shimmerz sprays as well as some Distress Oxides over the paste to create a lot of messy color.  I also did a lot of fussy cutting from paper...lots and lots of flowers!

You can see some of the modeling paste shapes here, and I love how it looks with the ink sprays over it.  I did lots of machine stitching for added color and texture.  I basically just layered in all the flowers I cut out.  I took a chance combining so many different styles of flowers, but in the end I like how they look together.

I tucked in a few colors of tangled thread as well in several places.  Here you can see the zig zag stitching I did up the side.  I also added in some matching sequins from SpeigelMom Scraps.

I even fussy cut the title out of paper.  I wanted to use as much paper as I could, so these letters worked perfectly.

I wanted to keep my journaling light, so instead of using a black pen, I used a metallic silver pen.

I love how the blues turned out on the background.  I started with Shimmerz Chance of Rain and then added in a few blue Distress Oxides to create some variation.

Since the original cut file design was circular, I stitched along those shapes.

One more close-up of the all the beautiful flowers :)

I hope this inspires you pull out some of your older (((hoarded))) stash and use some of it!  It's like going shopping on your shelves and finding brand new stuff again...haha.  Look for fussy cutting opportunities, and you can get some really fun looks.

Here's my video showing how this was made if you're interested:

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!

High on Sunshine / Hip Kit Club

Hey, friends!  Happy Tuesday :)  Today I'm sharing a new layout for Hip Kit Club.  Our assignment for Monday was to focus on fringe.  The fringe I created sort of turned into pleats, but I love the finished look of it!  I used the 2018 June Hip Kits for this.  My 2018 July Kits turned up on my doorstep as I was finishing this one.  I used patterned paper to create my fringe pieces.  I covered them with gesso and then various Shimmerz sprays from previous Color Kits as well as the Shimmerz Frostbite from this month’s Color Kit.  I cut the paper into strips and then folded it accordian style.  I machine stitched through them, and they make the greatest embellishments!  They create awesome texture as well.

I incorporated lots of embellishments on the layout including some Pinkfresh Studio chipboard and lots of floral die cuts from Pretty Little Studio.  I added lots of adhesive foam behind my photos to raise them up since they overlapped the fringe pieces.

I used a Pinkfresh Studio paper as my background.  I coated a good portion of it with white gesso and then used some pink, yellow and blue Shimmerz sprays from past Color Kits to create the watercolor look.  I also added in some coordinating colors of tangled thread.

For a pop of orange, I used this cute Pinkfresh Studio epoxy circle sticker.

I’ve been wanting to use these gorgeous Pretty Little Studio floral die cuts since I opened the kits, and this was the perfect page for them!

I really love the look of this pleated fringe…or my version of it…haha!  Once they were stitched together, I could move them around easily until I found the right spot for them.

I cut this big lemon from patterned paper to mimic a sun since this is a Summer layout, I love how it looks peeking out from behind the photo.

I hope this inspires you to create your own “fringe.”  You can get a different look if you have fringe scissors, but I wanted to take a different spin on it.  Give it a try!  Check out my process video if you’d like to see how I made this:

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll see you soon :)

Cutie / Paige Evans DT

Happy Friday!  Yeah!  I'm back today to share a new layout for the Paige Evans Design Team.  I’ve been wanting to create a layout using Paige’s Heart Group cut file for awhile now, and I finally did! I used some of my favorite techniques to put this page together including backing the cut file and using plastic packaging to smudge around some watercolors t. Once I cut the hearts out on a slanted angle, I pulled out Fancy Free Paper 03 to back it. I’ve been hoarding that paper because it’s so pretty, but the patterned circles fit perfectly behind the hearts. I left some open so the mixed media would show through.

I cut the hearts from white cardstock using a Silhouette Cameo so all the bright colors would stand out. I machine stitched with gold thread around the hearts I didn’t back. I added some adhesive foam behind the entire cut file to give it some dimension. I embellished only around the photo using some Turn the Page Chipboard Stickers and Ephemera Die Cuts. I also added more pops of gold from the Turn the Page Washi Tape Book - I used the rose gold dots from the centers of the row of flowers.

I also tucked in a Turn the Page Journaling Spot here. There are several stickers from 30-page Paige Evans #StickerBook that coordinate. I went small with the title and used the Pick-Me-Up Mini Thickers. I added some watercolor and Color Shine to jazz them up.

I love how you can see all the pretty shimmery watercolor through all the hearts! I added in some tangled thread in several areas to add more texture and color.

I love how flowers look peeking out from behind a photo...they are one of my favorite images to use for layering.  Those little tabs are also fun!

I had to be very careful as I machine stitched around these hearts.  I was proud of myself for staying inside the lines...haha!  I have to make myself go slow and turn the paper every few stitches.  Here you can see some of the little gold dot washi tape stickers I added in.

I wish I had several sheets of this Fancy Free patterned paper.  The colors and patterns are perfect, and I don't think I could ever get tired of creating with them.

One last close-up of the title and journaling area.  I also hope I never run out of the Mini Thickers...they have quickly become my favorite go-to Thickers to use.

I hope this inspires you to create something fun and colorful with that one hoarded piece of paper you have...haha!  You'll never see it if you never use it.  Mine stayed tucked away on my shelf until now.  I'm so proud that I finally used it :D  Here's my process video if you'd like to see this layout being created:

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