Coming Full Circle

Many years ago, I signed up for Shimelle's class, "Blogging for Scrapbookers 2", and it gave me the tools I needed to develop my blog... I even created my first YouTube video for that class. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone but it was so worth it in the end. I also participated in her "Journal Your Christmas" class starting in 2010, and I've completed a December album every year since then. Her "Pretty Paper" class taught me to use product while I love it and quit hoarding it for the perfect layout. As you can see, Shimelle has been a great influence in my scrapbooking journey and I thank her for that.

Fast forward many years and I am a Guest Designer on Shimelle's blog!!! I was lucky enough to get to pick my date and subject so I chose stars and July 4th (of course!) Click here to see the post and layout.

It's an honor (and a bit surreal) to be able to design for someone that has had so much impact on my creative journey. Thank you, Shimelle, for your inspiration and this opportunity. I've definitely come full circle and it's a great feeling! ♥

Love, Joy, and Coffee

My darling daughter has developed a love for Starbucks and she loves nothing more than holding that special cup of Mocha Frappuccino in her hand. My favorite for the fall and winter season is a Salted-Caramel Mocha (skim milk/light whip, please!) Of course the icing on the cake is a selfie WITH the cup in your hand. This selfie and the "Let Me Espresso My Gratitude" prompt at Paper Issues is what inspired this layout.

I saved the (controversial) red cup because it was our first cup of the season. How lucky am I that her sweatshirt was the perfect shade to match it. Of course I wanted red cup to be on the layout, so I used it as a starting point and built the layout from there. I painted the wood veneer coffee cup with Gelatos and a water brush - such a fun detail! A mix of Thickers and My Mind's Eye chipboard were used to create the bold title. I truly adore this layout. It's one reason I love prompts and challenges and Paper Issues is chock-full of them; be sure to check it out!

Wishing you all love, joy, and coffee during this most wonderful time of the year! ♥

Embossing with a Stencil

This month's Color Kit at Hip Kit Club included a Dear Lizzy stencil. It's such a lovely design, full of flowers/leaves and I knew I wanted to individually paint them. Typically stencils are used with paints/mists over them. To enhance the design of the stencil, I used VersaMark on the back side of the stencil and placed it on watercolor paper. A brayer was used to ensure even coverage of the VersaMark. I then poured Zing embossing powder (white) over the image and heat set it. The result is stunning. I almost didn't paint it because it was so pretty with white on white.

The next step was to have fun painting. I used Gelatos and NeoColors to watercolor the image. Since it's white on white, it's initially hard to distinguish the flowers from the leaves. Keep the stencil close at hand to help see the design.

Since the painted page is so colorful, I decided to use minimal embellishments on the page. Watching the pattern come alive as I was painting, was so exciting. That is how I emboss with stencils, you can get a completely different look this way, and the end result is amazing!