Claustrophobic / Hip Kit Club

Happy Wednesday, friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the holidays!  I wanted to share my newest layout for Hip Kit Club today.  I used the 2018 December Hip Kits to document this photo of my daughter's anti-love for Santa...haha!

I used one of the FREE subscriber cut files for this.  I cut the fun frames on three different patterned papers from the Main Kit.  I also used a patterned paper as my background.  I coated a lot of it with white gesso to fade out some of the pattern.  I used several Shimmerz from previous Color Kits on the background to create a pretty blue color.  I added splatters using the Red Necking & The Holly & the Ivy Shimmerz from this month's Color Kit as well as more colors.

Shout out to Pinterest for helping me out with this perfect title :)

I fussy cut these cute lights from the Pinkfresh Studio patterned paper.  I arranged them under the title so it looked like they were hanging.  The navy chipboard letters are exclusive this month, and I stitched through them with gold thread.

I used some packaging from the exclusive stickers and a Project Life card as layers behind the photo as well as some tissue paper from my stash.  I layered lots of different styles of Christmas trees around the photo, including gold puffy stickers, colored puffy stickers and die cuts.
 
This red & white paper was really bold and busy, so I painted it with some of the Red Necking Shimmerz to tone it down.  I also backed all the cut out words with white cardstock to make them stand out more.  All of the gold puffy stickers I used were a bit too brassy, so I gave them a coat of white gesso and it immediately toned them down.  I love how the matted gold looks!  I also added in a few puffy stars and candy canes.

You can't go wrong with layered puffy trees :)  I layered some navy blue tangled thread under them and added an exclusive wooden button on top of them.  The round Merry Christmas chipboard piece is also exclusive this month.

On the right side of the photo I used some tree die cuts.  I added some "lights" by using some of the gold puffy sticker dots.

I just love the texture and dimension that chipboard gives.  I centered this long title under my photo and split it up to make the "Claus" part stand out.

Okie dokie...here are a few more close-ups of all the fun details!

I hope this gives you some fun ideas to try with your December Kits!  This one was really fun to make.  Be sure to check out my process video here if you'd like to see this page in action.

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

Oh So Cozy / Hip Kit Club

Happy Friday!  I'm back with a new layout for Hip Kit Club using the 2018 December Hip Kits…woo hoo!  I was so excited to receive them the other day and get started.  There are SO many exclusives this month, and everything is just beautiful.   I began with one of the free subscriber cut files for this month.  I cut the trees on white cardstock.  I actually first painted them green using the Shimmerz The Holly & The Ivy from the Color Kit, but once I made my colorful background, I decided to flip them over and use the white side for better contrast.  I used the exclusive Sweater Weather paper as my background, and I coated a lot of it with white gesso first.  I used lots of Shimmerz to create all the beautiful color.

I mixed several colors on the background including some from previous kits.  I wanted lots of blue, green and soft reds.  I used some Well Blue Me Down, Ride the Tide and Miner Miner 49er from older kits as well as  Red Necking from this month.  Here you can see all the details and layering.  I machine stitched through the die cut trees with gold thread.  I layered in some of the exclusive poinsettia die cuts, sequins and puffy stickers.

I printed my photos in a vertical strip.  I cut the bottom on off to create some space for the Holly Jolly banner die cut.  I also fussy cut this floral oval from a Project Life card.  I used the outer edges of that card as a layer behind the photos.

The metallic gold puffy stickers were just a tad brassier than I wanted, so I wiped some white gesso over them to tone it down, and I love the effect.

I created some “snow” by watering down some white acrylic paint and splattering it down with a brush.  I used some of the red exclusive puffy alphas to complete my title.

I fussy cut this oval from a Project Life card...I always find cool images to fussy cut!  It's fun to make your own embellishments just by cutting something out.

I created a cluster over on the left using some exclusive chipboard, die cuts, puffy stickers and sequins as well as some tangled thread from my stash.

I added some gold chipboard stars at the top of the trees.  I coated them with white gesso to tone the shine down a bit.

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

I am really happy with how this turned out!  I hope you are inspired by it in some way.  Have you gotten your December Hip Kits yet?  They are downright amazing, I promise!  I have a process video here for you, so check it out when you can!

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

You Better Not Cry (or Pout) / Shimmerz Education Team

Hey, friends!  I'm back today with a fun Christmas layout for the Shimmerz Education Team using lots of Shimmerz Paints.  As soon as these pictures were taken a few weeks ago, I knew right away what my title would be for this layout :)  My daughter had a random meltdown at the Christmas Tree lot, and there were lots of sad faces.  I wanted my title to be big, so I made it using a cut file.  These letters are from the Out of Line Alpha cut file from The Cut Shoppe.  I cut them on white cardstock and backed them with papers from a few Bella Blvd lines...Santa Stops Here & Holly Jolly Christmas.  I used those colors as inspiration for my Shimmerz selections.

I used a patterned paper background and coated the majority of it with white gesso.  This fades out some of the pattern and creates a white space to work on.  I used Vibez Blue Jeans to match the colors in the photo.  I also used Spritz Cotton Candy, Vibez Jeni B Bleu, Creameez Ride the Tide and Shimmerz Christmas Cheer.  I used the packaging technique and a brush to apply the colors.

I really love how these colors look together.  It's fun to use non-traditional colors on a Christmas page.  I used a brush to add some Blue Jeans to the blue papers in the letters since that color wasn't in the papers.  I arranged the title where I wanted it, glued it down and machine stitched through each line with gold thread.  I LOVE the glittery shimmer from the Christmas Cheer!

I fussy cut some tiny trees from a patterned paper and created a little forest in this open space.  I created some ground for them with more stitching.  Here you can see the faded dots from the background through the color but they are very subtle.

This Spritz Cotton Candy pink is one of my favorites!  I love how it looks with the red here.  And again, that gold shimmer!

I always say my backgrounds are a hot mess during the making process, but once everything is situated on top of it....the whole thing changes.  I love how the white in the letters pops against all the background color.  To make the letters stand out a bit more, I lightly traced around them with a gold pen.

I added a few Bella Blvd stickers that were a bit sarcastic for the photos...haha :D

I fussy cut this tree from patterned paper, and this cute little Santa is actually a sticker.  I stuck it to some paper and then fussy cut it out.

Here are a few more close-ups...

I really had a great time putting this together!  I hope it gives you some fun ideas to try.  Do you ever use your patterned papers as a guide for choosing your Shimmerz colors?  It's fun to build a color palette that way :)

Here's a process video showing how I created this if you're interested:

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

Supplies Used:

Vibez--Blue Jeans, Jeni B Bleu

Spritz--Cotton Candy

Creameez--Ride the Tide

Shimmerz--Christmas Cheer

Colorful Christmas / Paige Evans DT

Happy Monday, friends!  I have a new Christmas layout to share for the Paige Evans Design Team.  Have you made any holiday layouts yet with the Whimsical collection? I love the challenge of using non-holiday products for a Christmas project. Last year we had a rainbow of colorful goodies under our tree and this collection was perfect to document that photo. I used Paige’s Christmas Tree Background cut file and cut out lots of tiny trees using multiple Whimsical patterned papers. I wanted to mimic all the bright colors in the photo and also create a modified landscape with little hills of trees. I drew some wavy lines and then glued down trees on them. I machine stitched under the trees with green thread.

I applied clear gesso to the background first and then used a few green spray inks to create a watercolor effect behind where the photo would go. I also added a bit of soft blue inks and then brought in several other coordinating colors for splatters. Later I decided to add a bit more green under each row of trees to create a grass effect and a bit of soft blue for a sky. I took it a step further and added snow by splattering some watered down white acrylic paint. I used some of the spare bits of patterned paper from the cut file as layers under the photo and used Puffy Stickers and Rub-Ons in several places.

I just had to use this tag from the Stickers because it reminded me of a gift tag. I also added in more Stickers as well as some Chipboard Stickers and more Puffy Stickers. I also wanted a bit more of a blue pop around the photos so I tucked in tangled thread.

I really love the effect of the white paint splatters for making "snow."  It's so easy, fast and it dries very white.

Do you machine stitch or hand stitch on your layouts?  I love the effect of the stitching here under the trees.  It gives them some "ground" to sit on.  I also love how it emphasizes the curves and allows me to curve the sentiments under it.

All of these ink splatters remind me of Christmas lights :)

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

I even curved my journaling...I love how it turned out.

I knew from the start what my title would be and the colorful Foam Mini Thickers were perfect. I curved the title along the wavy hills in rainbow colors. I didn’t do a lot more embellishing because I thought the trees mixed with all the colors were enough. Sometimes less is more and since I had so much color on the page and in my photo, I didn’t want to overload the layout.

I hope this inspires you to create a holiday page with the Whimsical collection. I think this is one of my favorite Christmas layouts I’ve ever made and I love thinking outside the box and using all of the colors while still conveying the idea of a Christmas page!

Be sure to check out my process video if you'd like to see this layout in action:

Thank you for stopping by!

Trees / Hip Kit Club

It's Friday...yay!!  Today I'm sharing my newest layout for Hip Kit Club using the 2018 November Hip Kits.  The December Kits have been shipped and are on their way.  I'm stalking the front porch!  My assignment for this week was to use cut files, so I chose this awesome forest of trees.  This is one of the Freebie 12 Days of Giving cut files available over on the Hip Kit website.

I cut the trees on patterned paper but wound up covering up most of the pattern.  I added some white gesso first and then used some green Shimmerz sprays from my stash.  I added the Vibez Deep Blue Sea from the Color Kit, and that mixed with the greens created the perfect dark forest green color.  I wanted to match the deep greens in the photos.  My background was pretty simple to create.  I coated the white cardstock with clear gesso first and then used Shimmerz Creameez Ride the Tide to create a light blue color wash.  I wanted a light sky behind the trees.  I watered down some white acrylic paint to splatter down some snow.  Even though we live in Florida...haha.

I also splattered on some of the Inklingz Miner Miner 49er for a pop of gold shine.  I wanted to go soft with embellishments to contrast against the dark green, so I used some light pink pieces from the kits.  I used a Project Life card behind the photos and added a heart die cut.  I also added some of the small gold dots from the Thickers sheet.

I created a cluster beneath the photos here.  I love these Heidi Swapp stencils...I fussy cut this flower from one.  I wanted some color under it, so I tucked in a few Heidi die cuts as well as some of the blue exclusive acetate leaves and pink & blue thread.  I also tucked in a few exclusive puffy stickers and some Heidi gold foiled stickers.  I went simple with the title and kept it short since there really was no room left for a big one.

Gold shimmer!  I will never get tired of that :)

I tucked in another tree here...this is the cardstock I cut them on, and this one here is one of the negative pieces.

Even though it doesn't snow here, I love creating it on my winter pages.  Plus it's so easy to splatter acrylic paint!

I also added one of the exclusive banner die cuts here on top of the photos as well as some of the gold Thickers.  I love those leaves!

Ahhhhh texture and dimension is the best!

And one more close-up...

I hope this inspires you in some way!  It's a fun challenge to make a Christmas page out of non-Christmas products.  I do have a video here if you're interested...

Thank you for dropping in!  Have a great weekend!