Halloween Round Up!

Today on the Paper Issues blog we are giving you lots of Halloween inspiration!  Here is my latest using Bella Blvd Spooktacular. My kiddos last year went as Jake and the Neverland Pirates, a witch costume custom made by my mom, and a baby.  My middle schooler bought this mask on a shopping trip with friends.  Creepy baby mask, for sure!

First I prepped my paper with gesso and then used the packaging technique with watercolors to add oranges, red-orange, and gold to the background.  I finished by adding splatters once it was dried.

I super love this text paper instead of white cardstock for a change!

I used the cut apart paper (the little 2x2 squares) to make little banner ends for both sides of the photo.   I added messy threads in matching colors to add dimension in a few places.

The 12x12 sticker sheet , clips, and die cuts and pieces pack gave me plenty of things to embellish with.  I also love the Doodlebug Design enamel eyeballs.

Here are my other Halloween pages I have made this month:

This was for the Pinspire Me board for October.  I used lots of Doodlebug Boos & Brews and the background border is Bella Blvd, Spooktacular.  The photo mat papers are Bella Blvd Trick or Treat.

This was using the same collection- Bella Blvd Spooktacular.  I scraplifted Dona, Orange Gearle, for this Mix It Up LO of hers.  Here's my background for it.

Messy stenciled chevrons for the three colors.  I started with gesso, then added watercolor via packaging technique, and then stenciled with ink pads.

If you made it this far, thanks for scrolling through! I hope you were inspired to get those fun pictures into your albums! It is my Halloween Round Up for this year.  I hope you will check out Paper Issues blog and store for more inspiration as well as on Instagram and Facebook.  Save 20% at the shop with my code: Stacie 

Scraplift Sunday

Hello! Today we are lifting the amazing burst design by Ann.  Here's my take using We R Memory Keepers Urban Chic.  I added stickers from Dear Lizzy to destash my collection.

Summer is such a vibrant and fun time of the year.  The state fair is at the end of August and is a great culmination of the end of the summer season before school starts!  These papers were fun and that donut paper begged to be used with my mini donut photo!

I love to type journaling and add it in strips, but that takes an extra step! So, often I just handwrite directly onto my pages.  This trip to the fair was a different one as we only had two kiddos along while two vacationed with their grandparents!  My friend joined us and it was a total throwback to our younger days of going to the fair and eating french fries before a teen boy band concert.  We had many laughs thinking about life in 1989!!

I destashed and used stickers and chipboard from other collections to coordinate colors and make it a playful fair page instead of the intended girl power and travel vibe from Urban Chic!

The black alpha for the title were from We R last year and have the plastic reverse cut outs to use as well.

Have a spooktacular week ahead!

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Warm and Cozy Spotlight

Today we are up the Paper Issues blog with a product spotlight on Jen Hadfield's new collection with Pebbles, Warm & Cozy.  It is super rich in color and has so many gorgeous fall details in the collection.

I love the Log Cabin wood grain paper and the Logs leaf paper with wood grain design.  The cut logs on the opposite side are perfect for outdoor pictures, as well.  I stitched strips of these papers at the side and bottom edge of the layout.  The title Family is from the 6x12 title stickers.

I love the leaves that come in the ephemera and sticker pack.  There are a few in the copper/rose gold color and several in color.  These partnered well with the wood grain/bark/dictionary chipboard leaves in the collection.  These leaves are my favorites!  I love the look of texture and interest they add.

I cut out the large leave cut file from the Cut Shoppe and popped it off the page with foam adhesive.  I also added Shimelle's Go Now Go wooden enamel buttons and Studio Calico sequins. I love the groupings of leaves and sprinkling of sequins to keep the movement in the design.  

Check out the PI store for Pebbles Warm and Cozy and so much more.  Save 20% with my code: Stacie.

Swag Bag Sunday

Today on the PI blog we are showcasing all of the Paper Issues awesome Swag Bags.  Cassie creates the perfect bags full of all of the latest paper bliss and bits.  It's coordinated and makes a a fun project or two or three come together so fast!  I usually drool over all of the bits and pieces first and then check out the paper pieces and make my plan!

I added this background "Pond"paper from Shimelle Go Now Go to go with the design of the photo being in rectangles and the edges with the papers cut in layered rectangles.  I sewed several layers down at different places.

I used pop dots to lift some of the layers around the photo. I added paper pieces to all edges around it to bring in the papers from the outside borders.   I love the Shimelle wood buttons that were included in the September swag bag.  Check out the cutest puffy heart stickers and enamel hearts by Shimelle. I loved that the September swag bag included Shimelle's foam Thickers to use for the title!

Shimelle's chipboard stickers were included and it tied in colors from the We R High Five papers that came in the swag bag!  My photo shows the amazing sky changing colors during a huge rain storm at sunset!  It ended with "Purple Rain" in honor of MN's own, Prince.

Thanks for joining us in swag bag bliss!  I hope you'll consider getting a swag bag 6 month subscription to get one of these beauties each month or just get one to try it out.  October's swag bag includes so much fall fun!  Use my code: Stacie for 20% off shopping at Paper Issues!

Stitch on It

Today I'm up on the Paper Issues blog with the We R High Five collection with a focus on stitching.  I love how stitching whether it be sewing machine stitching, hand stitching, or faux stitching with messy threads can add interest and texture to your project.

The soft blue and gold made me pull out our fall pictures from last year where the golden leaves and rugged dock play off of this vintage vibe in the We R papers.  I love the flair paper and all of the fun sentiments.  They perfectly stated my sweet thoughts about this moment with Dad and toddler son!

The back stitching around the hexagon took a bit of time to do, so I tend to watch a tv show or listen to music. Once it is stitched, I like to make the rest of the page a faster process, which is why I love sticking with the same collection. Next, I backed the cut file openings with High Five papers.  I placed the similar photos-one in color and one in B&W.  I love to have both versions as it captures different feelings and ties in the colors of the page elements.

I love the variety of papers in We R High Five- from bricks, to wood, to plaid, and playful outdoor prints.  The 6 x 12 cardstock stickers are easy to layer and add throughout your project.  I finished the page off with watercolor splatters.

The We R flair, stickers, and ephemera made it so easy to create with a cohesive look.   It helps to coordinate and scrap with speed. I love when a page design comes together as you imagine it! I can't wait to see how you use stitching on your projects. We have fun free stitching cut files in the PI store to try this technique.  If you want these gorgeous We R High Five items, grab them all in the store with 20% off by using code: Stacie

Thanks for checking out the details on my layout.  Have a great weekend!

High Five Whale Watching

Today we are shining the spotlight on We R's High Five collection on the Paper Issues blog.  This collection is super fun to design with as it can be versatile for outdoor adventures or just everyday life pages. I love this golden map paper for travel layouts.

I went on a whale watching catamaran cruise with my daughter while visiting California.  We saw absolutely zero whales, but we got amazingly close to so many dolphins.  It was an incredible trip with her and no boys along!!  Hello Epic whale paper and all the whale bits and pieces!  The cardstock stickers have fun shapes to add details, too.

The ephemera pack had so many awesome little bits to add to the LO and give details to the story.  The cut file title is a freebie in the Paper Issues shop.

I love adding foam adhesive to add height and dimension on layouts that are more basic in design like this one.  I added light blue spray mist for the water splatters at the end.

I hope you can find time to create with High Five and post your creations on Instagram or PIFF so we can be inspired by you!

Save 20% in the Paper Issues store with code: Stacie

Sparkle and Shine

Today we are up on the Paper Issues blog with a new Roll the Dice challenge. This month Danielle rolled a 6 for number of photos and three for how many stickers you can use!  I was going to do a grid design and then came across this photo collage of my daughter donating 11-12 inches of her hair this past June.  It had exactly 6 photos on it, so that was just what I needed!

I got out my stash of Simple Stories Posh for this challenge.  I love the Simple Stories ephemera pack of bits and pieces. It had just what I needed to add designs, layers, and title work without having to use stickers.

The embossed papers and gold embossed ephemera bits and pieces add the fancy feel to this memory of her giving the gift of her hair to cancer patients.  I layered several Posh papers to the photo mat layers and used 4 papers in the background layers.

These are my three stickers:  I used them all from the 6 x 12 Posh chipboard stickers- the camera, big pie chart heart, and word sparkle.  The rest of the Posh bits and pieces and the cutest tassel is from Cute Girl by Crate Paper.

Here's my message to my girl- I often don't show my journaling or even write on my pages, but when I do, I want my family to know how loved they are.

Thanks for taking a peek today.  I sure hope you will join us on Facebook Paper Issues Friends & Fans and show us how you tackled this roll the dice challenge for October.

While in Paper Issues land, be sure to shop for Posh and all the new the beautiful collections. Save 20% each time you shop with code: Stacie

Posh Simple Stories Spotlight

Today on the PI blog we are doing a product spotlight on Posh from Simple Stories.  It has lots of gold foiled papers, elements, and soft colors with bold navy blue!  Today's photo was a touching one to our family.  The picture was quite dark, but the moment it captures is what it's all about.  A big love for our favorite "cousin" doxie Max and our good byes to him last October.

I started with using the elements paper to cut out the mega sized doxie and built up layers in the center to ground it on the layout.

I added Posh cardstock stickers, chipboard stickers, and clear stickers (I place them on cardstock and cut around them when I need them to stand out).  I stuck with lots of florals, hearts, and arrows. I also love the decorative clips and epoxy metal clips for added layers. To finish off the layout border, I added a teal color stitching around the edges four times to make it imperfect and make it stand out against the dark navy.

Ryan was three years old and he just had to keep getting more Max kisses before we said our goodbyes as Max was ill from complications of cancer.  These are the stories that are hard to scrap, but I never want to forget these tender moments.

Isn't this collection pretty?  It has versatile papers, pops of gold, and beautiful colors to fit so many creative projects.  Get 20% off your order at Paper Issues store with code: Stacie  Join us on Paper Issues Facebook Fans and Friends group and add your Posh creations now through November 5th!  It's always great to have a chance to win a gift card to shop!

Mix It Up Monday: Burst Stencil

Today it all kinds of fun, it's Paper Issues Mix It Up Monday with Orange Gearle and she is challenging us to use stencils with our projects.  I have been loving the colors in Pinkfresh Studios Indigo Hills and couldn't wait to use my distress inks with a 12 x 12 Heidi Swapp stencil to make this burst layout.

Ryan found this "tunnel" during his brother's football game.  He kept running through it as though he was a pro football player coming through the tunnel yelling with all of his might!  I started by adding gesso to the background.  I then layered the stencil with the distress inks.

After everything was dry, I used the stencil to trace the solid parts onto the Pinkfresh papers.  I love the indigo blue Blue Valley papers and gold pops in the Pinnacle paper.

I then added stitching in blue and gold to the border of the beams and lifted the edges up.  This created a cool dimension and movement that I wanted to accompany this action picture.

It is pretty much a favorite of mine to get the machine stitching on my pages.  I bet my mother never thought I'd use the machine she gave me, let alone dream I'd be stitching on paper!! 

I also used the free cut file from Paper Issues Cut it Up October and used the arrow negative pieces from it.  

I love the two alphas that are part of the Indigo Hills collection.  The leather style mini alphas with blue splatters and then the blue puffy alphas for the main words in the title.  I can't wait to see how you use your stencils in your projects this month!  Join us on Facebook to show us what you are inspired to make!  You can find these Pinkfresh items in the Paper Issues store and so much more.  Save 20% with code: Stacie

Pinspire Me October

We are super spooked and loving this new fun mood board from Paper Issues Pinspire Me on the blog!  Check out this amazing board:

I was inspired by the super crazy eye balls, cobweb, and bat.  I grabbed Doodlebug's Boos & Brews from the Paper Issues store and had fun layering Trick or Treak papers from Bella Blvd from my stash along with a new paper from Bella's Spooktacular collection.

I love how this picture of my daughter last Halloween looks with the fun Halloween bits.  The enamel spiders and eyes from Doodlebug are a must!  I love the way they shine and have such a playful spin on this page about my glasses wearing girl!

I was inspired by fellow PI team member, Kathy Skou, and her Doodlebug layout here.  I loved her stitched border and that led me to the multiple stitching lines for the webs.  I love the inked wood veneer bats that are in this lower corner with the magic potion. 

I hope you are able to get out your Halloween, outdoors, or get inspired by the beautiful colors in the mood board.  Be PInspired with us and add your projects to our Facebook group.  As always, shop your heart out and save 20%: