Meeting Kariel: Mermaids Have More Fun

It's such a fun day! It's Try it Tuesday hosted by Amanda-Jayne.  

She's got a great challenge for October.  

Get your mixed media on your paper and then punch it out, 

cut it out, or use your scissors to create your page elements. 

Go check out the Paper Issues blog for all of the details.  

For my take, I used Shimmerz paints on cardstock and after it dried I ran the paper through the Silhouette with a free PI cut file for my mermaid scallops background.

Here are a few more views:

Bella Blvd Secrets of the Sea and Fancy Pants Hello Sunshine --that citron paper!!

Don't be afraid to paint, splatter, and get messy on your paper and then use a cutting machine when it's dry!  You may want to flatten the paper overnight before cutting it. Machine stitching or foam adhesive behind the cut file make it easier to deal with warping or uneven surfaces.

We hope you'll play along!

Sketchy Saturday October

Today is Sketchy Saturday on the Paper Issues blog!  Amy has created a fabulous new sketch for us to use for the month of October!

I am always inspired to try out the sketch!  It is also fun to think of it flipped or rotated as another way to make the sketch your own.  This month, I kept the sketch as is and worked with Crate Paper Cute Girl.

I love the cute Cool Girl mermaid chipboard sticker and pink acetate ephemera heart!

My daughter took a summer vacation with her grandparents, and they sent me pictures of her swimming with the resort mermaids!  How cool is that?! That honestly became the inspiration for working with Crate Paper Cute Girl and this sketch!

 Also, they have the cutest ephemera bucket list with "swim with the mermaids" listed.  This piece was too cream colored, so I cut this version out of a pocket page card Sweetheart paper since it was white. For the sketch circle, I went with stitching multiple circles in the teal color to tie in the mist "water drops." For my title I used the accent sticker LOVE and Puffy Thickers.

I added the black chipboard scallop to the bottom where the sketch had a banner placed.  I also added the puffy Thickers sticker scallop under the title to define it more against the bright yellow "mermaid scale" Cheery paper.  The clear acetate pieces in the ephemera packs can be a bit trickier to use, but in this case, I loved how they showed the patterns through in the layers. I am crushing on these versatile little cardstock "washi tape" look text/phrase accent stickers. I used my fave paper from this collection--the gorgeous "Rainbows" stripe.  I used it across the yellow paper and as a photo mat layer.  The puffy hearts scattered throughout are from the Thicker pack and they help connect the LO from top to bottom.
     Thanks for taking a peek at the details. I can't wait to see how YOU use the sketch! Have fun shopping at Paper Issues for all of this cuteness and so.much.more.  You know you need it! Always a sale--- 20% with code Stacie

We Mermaid 4 Each Other

The current issue at Paper Issues is called Gleam Catchers. It calls for shiny, glittery, and all that sparkles! I think this mermaid tail fits the requirements. I was so inspired by this video lesson by Sandy "Ohsnapgonzo" on YouTube. I made my own cut file on the Silhouette for the tail. You can enjoy it here. 

Some sequins were the adhesive ones from We R MemoryKeepers and others were from various kits (Studio Calico and Paper Issues Swag Bags) that needed destashing!  I completed the whole mermaid tail while watching The Bachelorette. Perfect mindless tv to adhere sequins!

I kept adding more sequins to fill and overlap my traced pattern of the cut file on white cardstock. 

I added foam adhesive around the cut file after I machine stitched around it. This keeps it elevated above the sequin layer.

The layout before pictures and embellishments. Super sparkly and just what I was hoping it would look like!

Pictures matted on vellum papers, journaling, date stamp, and a few Simple Stories Sunshine and Happiness embellishments. Blue background paper for a mermaid water vibe. Thank you for checking this project out!