New YouTube Channel!

I have some exciting news to share... I'm starting a new YouTube channel where I will share process videos, crafting, etc. I'd love for you to stop by and check it out (and subscribe, of course!)

Here is a link to my first video... Scrappy Inspiration with Hip Kit Club

I'm looking forward to creating and sharing with you all - thank you!

Snow/Ice Week = Scraptime!

This past week has been brutal weather-wise! A little snow, ice, and FRIGID temps have caused school to be cancelled all.week.long. Yay for sleeping in, boo to air so cold that you can't breathe. Of course I always look at forced down-time as a gift from the Scrap Gods. :) Today's post is just a few of my recent layouts using Hip Kit Club kits.

I must take a break from scrapping now and do some chores. We have another Winter Storm Warning in effect, starting late this afternoon, please pray for our sanity. :)

Waiting for the Perfect Paper

In 2008, a friend took my daughter to a local museum and captured some adorable photos. Although I love the photos, I could never get inspired to scrap them. When I received February's kit from Hip Kit Club, the Webster's Pages Beautiful Chic (Swatches) immediately caught my eye. I love all the gorgeous circles of color. It reminded me of the buttons on my daughter's headband in the photos. Because I love the paper so much, it took me a few minutes to get the courage to start cutting the circles out. I thought originally I would do a straight line of circles, but decided to just cut a bunch out and then start playing.

Once I cut all the circles out, I decided on a heart shape around the photos. I laid it all out being careful to mix up the patterns and colors around the shape. I then took a photo with my iPad so I could replicate it when it was time to adhere it.

I wanted the background of the heart shape to be a contrasting paper to the white cardstock. I placed tracing paper over the heart shape and traced over the heart. I cut out the heart from the tracing paper and then had a template to use on my patterned paper.

I grabbed some coordinating buttons to match the buttons in my daughter's headband and added those around the heart. With just a few embellishments the layout is complete. I can honestly say that I am so glad I waited to scrap these photos because I LOVE the completed layout. ♥

We've finally been having some winter weather around here, so we have another day off school tomorrow. Of course I'm thrilled, because I will have time to clean up my space. I'm a hot mess when creating, no matter how hard I try to be neat about it. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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!

Matching Photos with Patterned Paper

Call me old school, but I still love to match photos with patterned paper. This layout is a perfect representation of that. I had a lovely vacation photo of our children at a marina. The soft peachy-pink hue of the sun setting in the sky was absolutely gorgeous that night. When I received Hip Kit Club's January kit, it had lots of the peachy-pink color which made this layout come together so easily.

I wanted to use the green and white paper, but it was a little too green for the photo, plus I wanted a touch of blue to compliment the clothing. I went over some of the v-shaped design with a blue Faber-Castell brush pen and placed vellum over the top to soften it. Vellum is my scrappy friend; it's amazing how it can transform the look of a paper.

We survived January without much winter weather (thankfully!); here's hoping February is the beginning of an early spring!

Creating Backgrounds with Stamps

This week's challenge at Hip Kit Club is a recipe challenge. It must include aqua, navy, pink, gold, use triangles,add stitching,and have something sparkly! To be honest, triangles are not my go-to design element, but the whole point of challenges is to be pushed out of the rut of sameness. I happen to have a fabulous triangle stamp in my stash (Cocoa Daisy), and pulled out my mini Distress inks and created a fun patterned paper.

I cut triangles from patterned paper and stitched a little banner to layer behind the Crate Paper chipboard banner. Several layers of Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder were used on the Dear Lizzy die cut word. To tone down the gold in the banner, I dabbed Brilliance (Platinum Planet) on it. I love the way it softens it; so pretty!

This layout is a personal pep-talk to myself. I needed this today, perhaps I should hang it in my scrap space as a daily reminder. :) Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely weekend!

When Scrap Challenges Push Creativity, Magic Happens!

This week's challenge at Hip Kit Club was a doozy... Create a layout with a white background, paint embellishments white, and then (the biggie) cut the layout to fit into divided page protectors. I only have 2 types of divided page protectors 6x6 and 4x6, so my options were a bit limited. The photos I selected were from the most beautiful snowfall we had last year. I thought they would pair well with the white aspect of the challenge. I laid out the die cut words on the page protectors to see which direction this layout would take.

To create interest and dimension, I grabbed my favorite snow stencil (Simon Says Stamps Falling Snow),Faber-Castell Whipped Spackle, and white cardstock. The wonderful thing about Whipped Spackle is that it dries so quickly.

For the painted elements, I chose wood veneer snowflakes, acrylic letters (I painted them on the backside, and added dots to the front with a white pen), and did a white-wash over the kraft die-cut frame and the cork piece. To play off of the gorgeous, golden sun streaming through on the photos, I decided to use a few gold elements. I was thrilled to find out that the Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder was a perfect match to the Amy Tangerine Love die-cut, so I embossed the heart on the frame.

In the end, I removed it from the divided page protector and converted back to 12x12. I truly LOVE this layout and it's all because of a fun challenge. Hip Kit Club offers weekly challenges (usually on Friday), be sure to stop by and check them out here. Not only are they a great way to get inspiration, you may even win a gift certificate for participating.