Swag Bag November

Yay!  It's a new swag bag day at Paper Issues!  I love the PI Swag Bag monthly kits that Cassie ships out. They seriously have the best bits in them to create so many projects.  I used only a 1/3 of the swag bag (if that) to create my project. There is so much left to use in other projects which is always a fun go-to stash to have out on my table to use on current layouts that I am working on!

I started with gesso and mixed media colors to go along with the items I pulled out.  I stuck with several ephemera pieces from Echo Park's I'd Rather be Crafting collection and mixed in other swag bag items to create a horizontal design with the larger quote and tag as anchors alongside the photo.

To make the bunting, I cut apart a 3x4 card of chevron that was made with the triangles. The swag bag included enamel dots, so it was an easy embellishment to add dimension and interest along the lower edge!

  I attended this fun crafting workshop in Minneapolis two years ago that was hosted by Amanda Rydell and Maggie Holmes. Two other of my crafty besties also attended and we had so much fun sewing, painting, re-purposing old books into planners, and more. It was such an inspiring day in the arts district of the city!

So there you go! I hope you hop over to the Paper Issues store to grab a new November swag bag or be so smart and grab a 6 month subscription so you don't miss a kit! I love the variety each month and I am always inspired to create when I open these fun swag bags!

Don't delay! Save 20% to try one out!

So Sweet: My Girl

Today at Paper Issues for Free File Friday we are focused on Thankful.  Allllllllll the people, things, and places that we are thankful for. I love the leaves and glow that autumn brings.  My daughter was captured in this perfect sun flare and it was perfect for some Maggie Holmes Carousel!

I love the leaf from the November Grateful Leaves cut file.  This is one of the original cut files that Paper Issues offered. Grab it for yourself!  I welded the leaves together in groups of two and three.

I kept it quite monochromatic and added gold gelatos to the roses in the paper as well as the chipboard. I am always a fan of black and white! 

The Maggie Holmes' bows are a fave of mine

 (psst--grab some they are still in the shop!)

I added a second project to my post since it was just Thanksgiving!  Here's my little guy with his colorful turkey.  I was nostalgic as this was our favorite thing to do as kids back in the day waiting for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Cocoa Vanilla Studio Bohemian Dream and the Fall is my Favorite cut file brought this design together.  I added watercolors to the background and to some of the cut file words.

Have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by the blog today. 

Don't forget to shop small at Paper Issues this weekend.

Home Sweet Home

It's time for round two of Home is Where the Heart Is at Paper Issues.  I am documenting how our neighborhood development looked from Google Earth when our neighborhood lots were being plotted and prepped for building.

A few close ups of the gorgeous Turn the Page by Paige Taylor Evans for Pink Paislee:

I love the bold tonal striped paper that I used in the background. It had such an earthy, home feel to it, I knew it was just the one to document my home-building story. Making a move to a new city and building a home from the dirt upwards, is a scary and exciting adventure. The Thickers/sticker quotes in Turn the Page worked so well with home building and moving with a family of six!

I used the free PI cut file: Heart of the Home for my title Home Sweet Home and the wood slice heart design. I used some of the ephemera from Carta Bella/Echo Park Welcome Home collection.

This design uses the Pink Paislee Turn the Page: patterned papers, ephemera, sticker booklet, chipboard stickers, and wood veneer.  Isn't it crazy how quickly things change?  This photo was taken in 2012 or early 2013.  Now 4+ years later, the houses are all filled in down the street and around the ponds.  This pictures are hard to believe when you see the current development.

Thanks for stopping by for our new issue "Home is Where the Heart Is".  

I hope you are inspired to try out a PI free cut file design or start documenting

 your move, new house, fresh start, or building project. 

 Don't forget to grab a Google Earth image to go along with

 your new neighborhood or old neighborhood story. 

Stop by the Paper Issues store to save 20% on all of the things from Pink Paislee or any of the collections in stock!

Your Smile is Magic

Happy Tuesday!  I hope you are having a fabulous week and are ready to Try It Tuesday with all of us at Paper Issues.  Amanda Jayne has a fun challenge this month to try out making your own embellishments.
This was easy to play along with as there are always ways to DIY and create fun embellishments for your projects.  Think: tags, rosettes, flowers, layering cut files, etc...

I am using Shimelle Glitter Girl for my design.  I love the pinks and teal for this fun beach photo from West Palm Beach last March.


I used the Tropic Like It's Hot palm leaves cut file from Paper Issues for the base of my DIY embellies. I layered the ribbon flowers (loops of ribbon stapled in layers with my Tim Holtz tiny attacher) More cut file leaves from the Tropical Palms cut file.  Shimelle wood buttons and enamel dots for the finishing touches. I got the Shimelle mixed embellishment pack in my October PI swag bag!

Thickers with wood grain and glitter?! Yes, please! I love this set paired with the teal foam glitter words!

 Machine stitching on the borders of the patterned papers for a finished look.  Love the Shimelle patterned papers: especially the wood grain stripes and the pink text word paper.  The sparkly stars paper is oh, so magical, too.

Play along with the fun at Paper Issues now through December 3rd! Save 20% on all of the Shimelle products I used as well as all of the rest of the items in stock at Paper Issues.

Pinspire Me: November

It's time to be Pinspired!  We are up on the Paper Issues blog with a new moodboard thanks to the talented Mary-Ann. Take a peek:

I was inspired by all of the leaves and the golden yellow colored leaves in the upper left, the blue around the turkey eye, and the sentiment of thankful. Dear Lizzy florals were the perfect match with my photo of my family. I also added the layer of mint green to match the leaves and the bold mustard gold stripe paper.

The copper metallic chipboard Thickers worked so well to scatter throughout.

I love how the mixed media turned out on the base layer. I added lots and covered up most of it. It still looks fun peeking out from under the flowers.

 Dear Lizzy flair just had to be used as another pop of metallic . I also love the Maggie Holmes Carousel gold puffy sticker word phrase for the title.

Thanks for stopping by! 

I hope you check out the Pinspire post on the blog

 and get inspired to play along!

Shop at Paper Issues and use code: Stacie to save 20% off of all of new Dear Lizzy Star Gazer and everything else!

Scraplift Sunday: Together Quote

Today it's Scraplift Sunday on the Paper Issues blog and we are lifting a layout done by me for Take 5 Tuesday this past week.

I was inspired to use a striped paper as the base to layer and create mixed media effects. Amy Tangerine Hustle & Heart worked perfectly with this design. 

I started with the watercolors and worked on opposite sides of the paper so colors wouldn't blend together while it was wet. A straw from the Paper Issues Swag Bag kit was perfect for blowing the watercolors to create the long splatters.

I started layering ephemera, layered stickers, puffy hearts, mini bows, sticker book stickers, etc... from the Amy Tangerine Hustle and Heart collection.

This was such an easy way to use up some Thicker words from my stash! Most are from Amy Tangerine collections and just two were from Dear Lizzy.  Don't forget to cut things apart to form words you need!  I did this trick for the word "place." The layered globe sticker is absolutely the cutest.

By starting with the Bright Side paper as the base to match watercolors and ephemera, it becomes an easy process to match things up by stripe color. By grouping things tone on tone, it looks less crazy busy, and more layered and colorful. The eye can clearly scan the page and focus back on the small b & w photos. I especially love the clear heart stickers in all the colors found in the sticker book.  You get a whole page of the mini wonky hearts!

Have a wonderful week ahead!  

We hope you are inspired to play along with this week's scraplift or any of the new November challenges.  Please tag us on social media so we can be inspired by your creating and leave you some love!

Save 20% on all the things at Paper Issues

Take 5: My Sun, My Moon, & Stars

Today it's all about Take 5 Tuesday on the blog at Paper Issues. Mary Ann has some great prompts for November.  Pick 5 and play along! This striped paper Paper 22 from Turn the Page by Paige Evans for Pink Paislee was begging to be used with the stars and rainbow painting.

Grab those 6x6 pads of paper and Thickers and hand cut letters or use your cutting machine to create your quote or title. I love the look of tone on tone patterns for subtle dimension and a title that isn't too distracting.

I started with the gesso and watercolors with a straw to get the splatter and drip look. Lift up some of the letters edges to create shadows.

 The Turn the Page collection has a few papers that can be fussy cut along with sticker sheets or Thickers that have stars. I put on my fave movies or shows and cut the paper 12x12 and the 6x6 version to create the rainbow  of colors I needed to coordinate with the striped paper.  I added foam adhesive to pop up some of the layers, stars, and my photos.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your time picking at least 5 prompts to play along. Paper Issues has a big sale going on this week. Check the Facebook group or Instagram for more details.

Free File Friday: Little Boo

It's time to check out some Fall Fun for November's new FFF at Paper Issues. 

 What fun things have you been up this autumn?  

 Any pictures from Halloween this year? Any trips to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard? 

We can't wait to see you document it with any of the free files at Paper Issues.

A few close ups of the details: I added the watercolor stems for the pumpkins after I stitched them. I then added more paint over the stitching to make it a layered, deeper green.  I love the Pebbles Midnight Haunting papers. The Pumpkin Patch background layered with the black EEK paper makes a  great "blackboard effect" to layer the pumpkins.

The swirly orange paper I layered with the cut file is Pink Paislee Spellcast.  

It's truly the perfect pumpkin color.

I hope you will share your Fall fun with us on the PI Friends and Fans Facebook group.  

Download the free files and start documenting your awesome autumn adventures.

Post your new projects between now and December 3rd.

Save 20% on all of your order at Paper Issues with code: Stacie

Notable Quotable: Together Hooray!

It's time to be inspired by Michelle's quote pick of the month. Check out the Paper Issues blog today for all of the details! I love this month's print from the talented Amy Tangerine.  The rainbow colors and her script writing made this layout come together in a flash.

I used her new On A Whim collection and I love how the daisy cut file made the patterned paper pop against the bold pink!

I used the daisy frame cut file to be my photo border.  I love the Amy Tangerine half circle felt embellishments.  They add another texture, dimension, and color to a project. I love how these worked out perfectly for the flower centers.  My next new item added to the collecion are the enamel pin stickers. The camera was the perfect embellishment for my cousin and I, as we tried to snap so many selfies.

The paper clip flower has to be my favorite paper design.  I love how it looks on petals. Splatters of watered down acrylic paint finished it off! All the colors and patterns add to the quote vibe by Amy Tangerine. Speaking of Amy--did you see Cassie is offering 50% all of Amy Tangerine products that are in the shop. Code at checkout: AMY use code before Sunday!

We hope you will join us in the PIFF group and submit your CROP challenges before Friday/Sat.

This project gets linked in the Notable Quotable November gallery.