Dream It, Wish It...

Today I am up on the Paper Issues blog sharing my love for PI Swag bags!
Paper Issues monthly Swag Bag kits are so easy to create with!
Here is how I  used the February "Write It Down" kit

to create my second project.  For this layout, I was inspired by 

the numerous Vicki Boutin "All the Good Things" collection items. 

 I added mixed media paint stripes in the background 

to pick up the minty-blue hues in the butterfly and embellishments.

Here's a pic of the February Swag Bag- the kit I used was a variation of this as all kits are slightly unique!

Here are a few close up views of the mixed media and hand stitching that I added for the butterfly trailing throughout the background. I added Shimmerz watercolor paint splatters and painted the cork star to be color-coordinated.

I attached the butterfly in the center and lifted up the wings with foam pop dots to give it dimension. The background paper is Jillibean Soup. The thread was the perfect match to bring the color across the page!

Time at the hotel pool, means hours of swimming and pretending to be a mermaid.  

Yes, always a mermazing time at the pool!

All of the Swag Bag kit papers become layers and pops of color for the photo cluster.

  The Vicki Boutin ephemera, journaling cards, and bird clip added the perfect little touch at the top.

The bow pin balanced out the pops of black that were scattered throughout the design.  I love the gold paper clip embellishment to group all of the layers together.

Here's how I used the February Swag Bag the first time using a background 

cut file from Paper Issues and the brighter colored swag bag items. 

See how you can create such a different look with the same kit??? 

 I love the versatility of each month! The Jillibean Soup felt bow is adorable to clip on photos!

Guess what...I still have February Swag Bag items left after two layouts!  

This is why you totally need one or both of the kits available in the shop!

Check out the matching watercolor splatters! I loved the rainbow vibes from this kit!

If you are wanting to see more- here's the March Swag Bag kit called- I've Got This! It's so bright and bold! This kit will be so perfect for Spring Break photos or documenting spring fun!

I can't wait to see what you create!  Please share your projects on social media and tag Paper Issues or play along in the Paper Issues Friends and Fans Facebook group.  

Stop by Paper Issues to grab these new kits or shop all of the new collections in the store.  

So many new releases!  Save 20% on all the things with code: Stacie

XOXO Swag Bag

Swag Bag kits for January "All the Hearts" are in the house!  Check out the blog today at Paper Issues to be inspired on how to use these awesome swag bag kits. As it was such a kit full of heart, I went with it and used a PI free cut file to cut hearts out of the kit papers!

I started by splattering the acrylic paints in a ring shape on the Simple Stories woodgrain paper.

I cut the heart grid background cut file multiple times to use up the paper included in the kit.  I trial and error messed around with placement in the circle before adding a small amount of adhesive and sewing each heart down the middle so they could be lifted for dimension on the page.  See my workspace and the additional swag bag items I didn't use on this project!  So much to still play with!!

Cassie includes so many amazing embellishments with each month's kit.

 I love the tassel heart and rosette heart.  I still have the washi tape roll,wood veneer, and several more paper cards, paper scraps, ephemera, and sequins to use!

I challenged myself to use a lot of this gorgeous January kit in this project and I was successful.  But, honestly there is still always so many beautiful kit pieces left to use on other projects!

I really do "heart" you!  Thanks for stopping by.

Grab this kit before it's gone.  Save 20% off with my code!

I la la love it!  You will never be disappointed these swag bag kits, 

they are packed full each month!

Christmas Magic

For Try It Tuesday at Paper Issues today,

Amanda is challenging us to use party products in our design. 

I used a paper treat bag in the layers and a Christmas glittery gift tag is tucked inside

 to document my 5 year old Ryan and his list for the year.

Here's a close up of my "party or holiday party items" that I added to my layers.  I love that I can keep his list tucked into the page for reminding us years from now what he was interested in!

I loved working with Pinkfresh December Days.  The chipboard, puffy stickers, ephemera and wooden buttons were the perfect little bits I needed to layer this festive design.

The sequins were included in the Swag Bag kit for December.  Make sure you grab a PI swag bag kit when Cassie releases them as they are the perfect layout finishers!  I mean--it's the go to stash of items to add to those spots you need just a little something!! The epoxy black stars were included in Heidi Swapp mini packs of stickers.The PI store has the Heidi Swapp scripty stickers all in stock and they are adorable to add to pages!

We hope you will join us on all of the January challenges at Paper Issues.  They are open now through Feb 4th.  Don't forget to grab items from the Paper Issues store--it's always on sale and the shipping is fast. Cassie adds the best detailing with each order! Don't miss out!

Swag Bag December: The Magic

It's all about Santa and the magic of the season in our house right now!  We took our youngest two to see Santa this past weekend and I put the expensive mall photo to good use. The Paper Issues December Swag Bag kit was perfect for the page design! I still have so much of the kit left to use on another winter themed page that I will share in January. Check out the Paper Issues blog today for more Swag Bag inspo.

The Maggie Holmes Carousel starry background paper is the off-white cream color that picked up the gold tones of several of the embellishments and papers included in the December kit. I added mixed media to the background to soften the stars around the immediate design and photo cluster. I used the packaging technique to add sparkly green and gold layers.

The December Swag Bag rosettes added such fun depth and texture!  I love the snowy winter whimsy it brings to the design. I love the fun mix of sequins included in this month's kit. I used only the gold stars, but the crimson red,white, and other sequins will be used in another project--tis the season to sparkle!

If you have been wondering about swag bags, now is the time to try one! Cassie packs the kits full of fun possibilities.  This kit worked for the holidays, a visit with Santa, baking cookies, winter outdoors fun, sledding, not to mention perfect for your December albums if you are documenting each day this month!

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!

Cut files and Swag Bag: Yay! Golden Birthday

It's a great day to play!
Here's my second layout made with my August swag bag.

Favorite Moments: Swag Bag October kit

Happy Monday! Are you rocking a "swag-ger" in your step today? Go check out the PI blog for all sorts of swag bag kit inspiration. 

 I dug right into the October kit which included so many awesome embellishments.

 Swag Bags are the perfect motivator to get you creating all sorts of projects.  

I love using them on layouts, but swag bags can be used for planners, pocket pages, paper crafts, traveler's notebooks, and so much more.

 The little mini flip book card from Maggie Holmes was the perfect spot for mini 2x3 photos of my parents with all of their grandkids. I used my Silhouette Cameo sketch pens for the journaling to document these special photos taken on my parent's anniversary.

After the journaling was set, I added gesso and gold acrylic paint with the packaging technique.  After it dried, I splattered green watercolor. I used my Cameo to cut the cut file daisy from the Rings of Life cut file to cut into the 3x4 cards which coordinated with the florals and my photo.  With the remaining scraps, I cut the little flowers from Made with Love.  How about that amazing Maggie Holmes bow?!  I love that it fit right below my wreath of flowers.

I love the Dear Lizzy Star Gazer big wood veneer paper clip that was so perfect for clipping down the Maggie Holmes Carousel interactive flip booklet of photos. Simply slide the clip over and look at the other photos. This would be the perfect spot for hidden journaling or having my kids write messages to their grandparents.

 The October kit was jam packed full of embellishments--including an entire set of mixed embellishments from Shimelle Glitter Girl.  I used the sequin stickers and enamel dots in the larger flowers around the page. I have already used the embellishments on another layout and still have more remaining!

 Nuvo glue was perfect for any flower or embellishment gluing. If you haven't tried Nuvo, you are missing out-- the small tip is perfect for precision glue jobs like cut files! I tied in the word "golden" into my journaling as I wanted to add to the sparkle that was prompted by the gold sequins in this kit along with the gold strip attached to the Maggie Holmes flip booklet.

So that's it! Get the new October Swag Bag kit that is new in the shop today!  Save 20% off with code: Stacie  You will not be at a loss at what to do--these fun embellishments can be used on so many projects.   Get yours before it sells out, and they usually sell out fast!

Swag Bag September: Today was the Best Day Ever

Swag Bag kit in the house! Go check out the newest kit in the Paper Issues store 

and then check out the PI blog for inspiration on how to use the swag bag kits. 

 I used the newest swag bag for September and it was 

perfection for this colorful shave ice pic from Hawaii last month. 

I was inspired to make this background based on the Seek Rainbows patterned paper

 from Shimelle's Glitter Girl collection.

 I think you could totally cut the rainbow patterned paper into a circle for a similar look!

Here's how I started this layout-- gesso and a circle of rainbow watercolors using the packaging technique.  I just kept on layering shades of the colors until I had similar matches to the papers in the September swag bag kit. I added splatters of watercolors after I had stitched all of my circles and ephemera down.

The Shimelle Glitter Girl made a splash in this fun swag bag kit--see the fun lenticular camera ephemera--it says snap when you tilt the page! I love the speech bubble hello and all of the little circle faces paper with glasses.  I had so much fun punching circles from lots of the paper cards this month.

I love the title card also from Shimelle's Glitter Girl ephemera pack.  See the cute gummy bear paper circles--those are from the Happy Hooray collection by Pebbles. The glittery shooting star embellishment with little ribbons--totally adorable and you can get it from the Dear Lizzy Stargazer collection.

Happy Hooray puffy stickers are in the kit, see the balloon animal? 

Also some ephemera is included from Pebbles Happy Hooray.  

It all works so well together. After I stitched everything down, I added enamel dots for dimension and little circles to scatter in the ring.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! 

 I hope you are inspired to try a swag bag kit for the first time or use a kit you've been hoarding!  

Grab your circle punches or your die cut machine and get pops of color from the rainbow of papers and then start layering.

Save 20% today on your swag bag and all of the items I tagged above at the Paper Issues store.

Use code: Stacie  this will save you 20% everytime you shop!

Go check out the swag bag kit and quick!  They sell out so fast each month.

I love that Cassie includes bits from all of the newest lines and matches them with papers that make it so easy to use in several projects. I still have so much left from this month's kit!

Swag Bag: Little Explorer Love

Hello!  It's my fave time of the month--a new swag bag is in the house!  Cassie has an amazing kit for August and I hope you are fast enough to buy one before they sell out. Check out the Paper Issues blog for more inspiration from the design team.

I was inspired by the Amy Tangerine Hustle & Heart items that were in the August kit. This prompted me to grab the across the waves paper from this collection as my background.  I really love how this turned out. It is perfect for Ryan running and exploring the beach at Newport Coast. The ombre heart paper is so adorable peeking out in the photo mats.

I mixed in a few embellishments from the June swag bag kit. I loved the Crate Paper Little Explorer title piece and it was the perfect match to my Love from AT Hustle and Heart ephemera pack. The little map stars, blue twine, rubber heart charm all coordinated with my theme.

 I added watered down white acrylic paint for the final drops of mixed media. I love the watery effect it gives the background. The burlap paper was such a fun texture and layer to add to my beachy photo.
  I added layers of 4x6 and 3x4 cards from the August kit. The AT enamel banner pin sticker was the focal piece of the top cluster. They are so cute to add to a project. I love the banner paper clip for wrapping twine and looping the twine into a grouping. Enamel dots were in the June kit and I love the little drops of shine they add.

These swag bag kits are the cutest each month, and each is slightly unique 

based on ephemera you get and variations in embellishments.  

It is so worth it to get a few or a small bit of all the cool things

 in the shop that have caught your eye.  I still have soooo much left of my August kit. 

I have so many ideas of how to use them in other projects.  

It is definitely not a kit for one project!

Get your swag bag subscription or take your chances at month to month.

Save 20% with my code: Stacie