This is Us / Paige Evans DT

Happy Thursday!  I'm back today with a new layout for the Paige Evans Design Team featuring Paige’s Go the Scenic Route collection. I used her Penny Tile Circles cut file because I was in the mood for circles. As soon as I cut it on Paper 3 using my Silhouette Cameo and peeled it off my cutting mat, I instantly fell in love with the negative piece and decided to use that as an abstract background element instead! I love when something unexpected completely changes your entire design.  

Paper 3 has all the colorful stamps on it and I mainly used it for all the color. I coated a sheet of white cardstock with clear gesso and used some Shimmerz in matching colors to add pretty watercolor effects behind where the cut file would go. Once I laid the circle piece over all that color, it seemed a bit too colorful. I smudged white gesso over a lot of it to soften things up. That made things a little too light for me, so I layered another chunk of the circle die cut paper over it again. It was a process that I just kept working on until I got it just right… haha. I love how the background turned out… finally!

 

I decided to embellish with lots of colorful flowers. I used a few from the Floral Die Cuts and I cut a few from patterned papers. I created a flower cluster on the left side of the page and I popped some of them up with adhesive foam to create dimension. I hand cut the orange flower from Paper 7 to bring some orange over to this side of the page. I also added in a few Chipboard Sticker dots, a Cardstock Sticker, and dark blue thread.

I was happy to use more of the Chipboard Stickers on this page.  I used a lot of the small hearts and dots.  I also made sure to use contrasting colors for the papers I layered behind the photos.  I did use a pink scrap behind them, but it is separated by the other colors.  So the pink in the photos doesn't touch the pink layer...if that makes sense :)

I was happy with how the background finally turned out.  I love getting surprised like this...when your original idea just vanishes as soon as you see something else that sparks an idea.  I feel like it has been a while since I had that happen.  This background reminds me of bubble wrap...haha!

I layered a few paper scraps from the 12x12 Paper Pad & 6x8 Paper Pad behind the photos and mixed and matched the short title. I used some of the Foam Thickers and combined them with blue Mini Foam Thickers. I layered in another fussy cut flower, a large Chipboard Sticker heart and yellow thread. I love how the cut file looks here. I wanted it to look artsy and random with lots of color and I love how the navy blue pops against it.

Here you can see all the layering...you can see what I meant about the pink layer on the very bottom.  I wanted the contrasting colors to be closer to the photos to break up the pink. 

I haven't used a lot of the metallic blue foiled pieces in this collection yet...until now.  I cut this mandala piece from a die cut and tucked it in the corner here.

I tucked in a few more flowers here as well as more Chipboard Sticker dots and Puffy Phrase Sticker dots. I wanted to use lots of pink shades without going into pink overload and I think all the other colors mixed in helps balance it all out.

Wow I took a lot of close-ups..haha!

I hope you'll watch the process video for this...you can see exactly how this background was born :D  I also hope this inspires you in some way...it was a lot of fun to make.

 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Oh Paige / Pinkfresh Studio

Hey, friends!  I'm back today to share another new layout for Pinkfresh Studio.  I used the new Some Days collection.  I wanted to incorporate some of the bright patterned papers, so I cut 3x4 pieces from four different ones.  I arranged them in a horizontal line across a sheet of thick white cardstock and glued them down.  As always, I wanted to add some watercolor, so I added clear gesso to the bottom and top of the page and some white gesso over the patterned papers.  I used white to help blend out some of the patterns to create a bit of white space.  This just helps tone down the busy patterns and allows the photos to stand out a little bit more.

I used the Liquid Watercolors on the background.  I used a mix of Sunshine & Clementine to get that golden yellow color, and I used the Sky Blue for the blue area.  I used a variety of embellishments from the collection around the photos.

 

I used all the colors on this page, which is my favorite!  I used three photos, and I layered two of them here on the right side of the page.  I layered some white tissue paper under them as well as pieces of a few of the pockets / envelopes.  I popped all that up off the page with some adhesive foam.  I added some chipboard stickers, a puffy sticker, some blue thread and some of the Essentials Jewels.  I love the sparkle and dimension they add.

Here I layered a few of the phrase die cuts and a cardstock sticker.  I love the string curving around from the envelope's clasp.  I curved it around the big watercolor drops.

For the photo on the left, I layered them same things around it...chipboard, puffy stickers, a lemon die cut, thread and Jewels. 

I machine stitched through all the papers in matching thread colors. 

I love all these fun layers!  It's so fun to use a variety of embellishments, and when you have all the colors to work with it's even more fun :)

I created a little cluster here at the top with a few label / tab pieces, part of a torn tag, a puffy sticker and a lone Jewel.  I added some twine to finish the tag off.

I tucked in a few more die cut flowers & leaves here.

I felt like something was needed in between the photos here, and this orange flower die cut was it.  I popped it up and added a Jewel.  I went with a small title using the puffy alpha stickers, and it fit perfectly in the middle here.

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

I love how this turned out!  I hope it gives you some ideas to try on your next page.  Sometimes I have a hard time using really busy papers, but I find that if I use them in small pieces like I did here, it works much better.  I never want the photos to be overshadowed by the patterns, so I make sure to fix it where that doesn't happen.  

Here is my process video for this layout:

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day :)

Pinkfresh Studio NEW Washi Tape Release / Backyard Vibes

Happy Weekend, friends!  Pinkfresh Studio is releasing a NEW set of Washi Tapes with matching metal dies and matching stamps!  They are all floral and they are GORGEOUS!  I was able to play with three of the sets:  Joyful Bouquet, Anemone Magic and English Garden.  We're having an Instagram Hop that you can participate in for a chance to WIN these gorgeous tapes!  Head on over to the Pinkfresh Studio Instagram page to get started and then follow the Hop.

Here is what I created using the tapes and dies.  I couldn't decide on which one to use, so I used all of them...haha :D  All you do is roll the tape onto some white cardstock.  The matching metal dies are in the same shapes as the flowers on each tape, so you just easily roll it through your manual die cutting machine.  You have quick and easy (and beautiful) flower die cuts to play with!

I used thick white cardstock for my base here, and I coated it with clear gesso first.  I wanted my background color to match her shirt since that color was not in any of the flowers.  I used the Liquid Watercolors to add the blue (Sky Blue) color.  I chose a striking photo of my daughter and created a floral frame around the bottom and sides using the flowers.

I am obsessed with these colors...so bright and beautiful!  I just layered them around and over the photo.  I wanted the watercolor to contrast against the flower colors, so that is why I used a color that was different than the flowers.  I also tucked in some tangled thread here.

I love the metallic gold trim on the flowers, too!  Here I created a smaller cluster of the flowers.  I cut these out from larger pieces on the tape.  I popped a few of them up to create more dimension.  I also used a combo of pieces from the new Keeping it Real and Some Days collections.  I mixed and matched the title here using tall skinny puffy alphas with a scripty word.

I actually changed the color of these tall alphas.  They are light blue, but I wanted them to be more of a dark aqua to match the background.  I smudged some white gesso over them and let it dry.  Then I used a few Ink Cubes to color them.  I used a foam ink blending tool to smudge the color on.  So easy to change the color :)

I took lots of close-ups because I just love all this gorgeous color :)

Here I tried to machine stitch above the photo for some added interest and texture.  It didn't turn out as great as I imagined it would, but I think it's okay.  I added a few more bits from the collections here as well.

I did more stitching here above the title, but I didn't love it.  I actually went over it a bit with the blue watercolor. 

Shine...yesssss!

I hope this inspires you to join in our Hop!  You need these tapes in your life...they are truly beautiful.  If you want to check them out in the store, go HERE.

Here is my process video of how I made this:

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

The Best Part / Pinkfresh Studio March Challenge

Hello again, friends!  The March Challenge is up over at Pinkfresh Studio, and the focus is FLOWERS.  You don't have to twist my arm to make a flower layout, that's for sure...haha!  Check out the beautiful mood board:

Here is what I created.  These colors coordinate with the Keeping it Real collection.  I used that along with the Folk Florals cut file.  I loosely backed the die cut flowers with patterned papers, meaning I only glued down the centers.  This allows the petals to curl up.  I used thick white cardstock for the background, which I coated with clear gesso.  I used the Liquid Watercolors to add color and then used the Diamond Plaid stencil with the Ink Cubes to add some extra detail.

I added some watercolor to the flowers as well.  I smudged a bit of white gesso on them and then dabbed some of the matching watercolor to the center and part of the petals.  I added some of the coordinating Enamel Dots to the centers of all the flowers, and I popped most of them up off the page with some adhesive foam.

I love the subtle detail the Diamond Plaid stencil created.  I used a foam ink blending tool to smudge the ink over the stencil.  Then I used a wet brush to make the color run a little bit.  I love that "left out in the rain" effect :)  I also added in some of the Essentials Jewels & Crystals in the matching areas.  I love those so much!

Here are some of the blue Crystals.  Here you can see how the petals & leaves easily curl up since I didn't glue them down.  Dimension is my fave! :D

I also used the Reset Stamps & Dies Set.  I used the dies first and cut out the shapes of the flowers.  Then I stamped the matching flower cluster onto the die cut in a few colors.  I used the Ink Cubes and then used the matching watercolor to fill them in.  I tucked those in a few places around the page.  Those were so fun to make!  I love that the matching dies make stamping so much fun :)

I did add matching threads in a few places as well.  Although I scattered the colors all around the page, there are a few "tone-on-tone" areas.

I took lots of close-ups, so here they are :)

I used both the puffy word stickers & puffy alphas from Keeping it Real for the title.  I love how it nestles in perfectly between the two flower clusters.  I popped this "pick-me-up" die cut up and added it under the title.

I hope this gives you some inspiration today!  I hope you'll join us in the challenge...you could win a $50 gift card to the Pinkfresh Studio store!  Heck yeah!

Here's my process video:

 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!