For the Love of Family

Take 5 Tuesday is up on the blog at Paper Issues and I am documenting our recent family photos from October. I love the golden glow and this burst paper from Turn the Page by Pink Paislee and Paige Taylor Evans layered with flowers seemed like the perfect way to draw focus to our photo.
This month's prompts are fun with a winter twist, but I made it work! 3. white (acrylic paint drops) 7. patterned paper 9. journal 11. layers 12. sticker (alpha & florals)

The Dear Lizzy big chipboard title words are so much fun to customize.  I added gesso and two colors of gelatos to match some of the floral colors and the golden leaves color from my picture.

The Turn the Page sticker book had the mini floral alphas for my secondary title words. Most florals were from the ephemera packs and sticker booklets. I also fussy cut many to tuck into spots or add to the depth of layers.

 I love the 6x6 paper pad for this collection as it had the mini prints with foil details. It was the perfect border for the main  family photo.

Thanks for taking a closer look at today's Take 5 Tuesday project.

 I hope you'll play along this month.

Grab all of the things you need to create your projects at Paper Issues.

Save 20% while you are loading your cart!

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!

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: Super Star Soccer!

It's FriYAY! I am so excited to show you another week of Free File Friday and today we are releasing a new file called Having a Ball! Go check out more details on the Paper Issues blog!

I was excited to get to my niece's soccer game and snap some pics of her in action!  My kids are not soccer players so it's always fun to watch a new sport for a change!

I love how Paige Evan's new Turn the Page collection worked for her soccer pictures! Red and pink is  such a fresh color combo!

The red was definitely a fun color to scrap with. I think Turn the Page is a must have collection!  

The embellishments (hello, stars!!) and mini paper pads are adorable!

Save 20% all all the things in the PI store! Go shop now!

Wonderful Everyday Family Moments

It's Scraplift Sunday at Paper Issues. Go check out the PI Blog for more takes on Cat Martin's inspirational multi-photo design!

I was super excited to use the new Pink Paislee Turn the Page by Paige Evans. I love the fun colors and embellishments that worked so well with my water slide race photos.

A few details:

I love this pic of my 70+ year old Dad going down the slide to impress his grandkids!

I used the packaging technique to water log my background and make it full of water splashes. Layers of ephemera, ribbon, and chipboard.

Turn the page clear stickers and cardstock stickers from the sticker booklet.  Wood veneer pieces painted in coordinating colors are so much fun to layer with ephemera.

The scraplift featured today has a bow and you need one.  Make one!  Get your roll of ribbon out and hand stitch or machine stitch like I did.  I also used Nuvo clear glue to seal the raw edges of the ribbon--no fraying! The little saying is from the mini pads (swatch books).  This is a super heavy cardstock that makes a fun stand-alone mini card for a lunch box or as the perfect embellishment.

The washi booklet had the wonderful word which ties in the ribbon, and helps to ground the title with the birds and smaller words below it.

Get busy lifting Cat's amazing design.

 I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by.

Get all of Turn the Page online at Paper Issues.  

It is a beautiful collection to play with! 

Use code: Stacie to save 20% on everything.

The Good Life

Today we are up on the Paper Issues blog showing you lots of fun ways to use your Stitch Happy sewing machine or thread to hand stitch.
I used the Stitch Happy twine from the Paper Issues store to hand stitch while I was traveling. This heart cut file from Paper Issues was the perfect size to hand stitch around.

A few close ups of the details on the layout:

The We R twine was the perfect match for the heart cut file paper which is from Amy Tangerine On a Whim.  This leaf paper was a close match to Paige Evan's Oh My Heart collection. I used up lots of scraps from past layouts to fill in the hearts on this cut file.

The rose gold journal card was a great size to be a photo mat. I used the chipboard Oh My Heart Thicker frame as a photo mat layer for dimension. These patterned papers are so versatile.

I scattered Oh My Heart puffy stickers and phrase stickers from Simple Stories. I added WE R Stitch Happy twine stitching in three of the central hearts for a bit more focus on the stitching nearest the photo.

Get all of the newest American Crafts and Pink Paislee collections in Paper Issues store. 

 The newest collection from Paige Evans is coming soon! 

Save 20% on everything you need to have!

Try It Tuesday

Today we have a new challenge for you called Try It Tuesday.  Find out all about it on the Paper Issues blog. For the challenge of mixing something with water--I went with watercolor crayons similar to gelatos under the cut file.

I used the NSD free cut file which included a diagonal flower chain.  I played with watercolor crayons under the openings to add colors to coordinate with Paige Taylor Evan's Pink Paislee collection Oh My Heart.

The free cut file I used is from NSD 2017 cut file.  Find it and all the others in the Free File section of the PI store.

I cut the cut file out of the patterned paper as well, to get the cut out area to add the gelatos and align the cut file back. I cut pieces of foam tape to pop it up against the white background.

 I layered several kinds of Paige Evans Oh My Heart papers for the photo mat. The ephemera worked great for layers and I added chipboard flowers as well.

We can't wait to see what you mix with water for your Try It Tuesday.  Will it be markers, gelatos, or paints?  Save 20% at Paper Issues on all Oh My Heart items or so many more things!

Cut It Up April: Be You

Hello!  Today I am on the Paper Issues blog  along with some Paper Issues teammates, and we are showing you several ways to use the new free cut file: Be You.  I transformed the ampersand into a stitching cut file and this post is all about walking you through the super simple steps!

I wanted to supersize the Be You ampersand and do some hand stitching--I am pretty happy with the results!  Here's the how to on getting perfect needle circle holes to stitch...

1. Once you have your cut file the size you want on your mat, select the text (A) icon.

2.  Select Times New Roman font.

3.  Set the font size to 36.0

4.  Increase the character spacing to 200% if you want longer length stitches as I used in the ampersand.

5.  Start typing periods in the text box.  (if any of the settings reverted back to default, highlight the periods in the text box at this point and select the above settings).

6.  Move the green circle toggle button in the text box so that it snaps onto the cut file line of the ampersand or cut file you are using.  This will adhere the periods over the cut line.  Continue typing periods until the entire shape is covered with the periods (stitching holes).

 7.  After the shape is covered with stitching holes, click on the mat near the shape to select the shape, this will remove the green text box.
8.  Go to the Silhouette cut settings and select NO CUT.  This will instruct your machine to only cut the stitching holes and not the original cut file outline.
9.  If you'd like the original cut file for the inside of the stitching area, reload your mat and cut the shape again with whatever patterned paper you'd like by cutting with the normal cut settings.
Here's what the perfectly round stitching holes look like:

Here's with the stitching completed with several colors of thread/floss and the Pink Paislee Oh My Heart paper number 8 inside with a bit of mixed media.  Have I mentioned how gorgeous this paper is??!!  I love that it looks like it was painted and there's no mess involved!

Close ups of the final project with added ephemera from Oh My Heart and Fancy Free.  A few puffy stickers and enamel dots for added dimension! The Oh My Heart  6x6 paper pad works so well for layering under the photo.

One last picture to show the popped up parts of the florals, photo, and title.

Thanks so much for taking a look at the process I use to transform a cut file into a stitching file by using the Cameo to punch the holes for me.  

I hope you'll try one of the PI free files this month and tag Paper Issues or me so I can check out your awesome projects!  

If you use this tutorial to help you convert a cut file, let me know!  I can't wait to see what cool ideas you have!

You have until May 2nd to post your Cut It Up entries into the Facebook Friends and Fans April Challenge folder.  Winners of the monthly gift cards will be announced May 3rd.

As always, if you are a fan of the products I've used here, go to Paper Issues online store to save 20% off with code: Stacie

Take 5 Tuesday: April

Here's another awesome Paper Issues challenge to try out for April.  Check out Mary Ann Jenkin's Take 5 Tuesday prompts and join us with your creations on Facebook.
I used: 1. turquoise (background watercolors) 4. Patterned Paper  6.  number  7.  Two or more fonts 10. layers  11. wood veneer  12. cardstock

Here are a few detail pics:

My boy loves to jump and count down to jump again.  He can't get enough pool time ever!

I think the scallops worked well with the water/pool theme as a wave of sorts!

If you haven't used the scallop paper on a project you need to get it!  It was fun to fussy cut and stitch down a rainbow of layers.

 I partnered Dear Lizzy chipboard Thickers with the rose gold to match the upper title from Paige Evan's Oh My Heart collection Thickers.  I used several wood veneer pieces from past Crate Paper lines.

I can't wait to see your Take 5 Tuesday!

Cut It Up February

It's a new Cut It Up Saturday at Paper Issues!  I think you will find lots of ideas and be inspired from the design team on the PI blog today!
  Go to the Paper Issues store and download this free background Heart Tracks file and it includes titles, too!

For my take with this fun cut file, I used Pink Paislee's Oh My Heart by Paige Evans.  It has so many bright fun colors that I tied into my background.

I used the cut file as a stencil to watercolor my background.  It wasn't perfect, but that is part of the imperfect look of mixed media!  You just go with it!

I love the copper foil that this collection has!  The ephemera pieces and stickers were perfect for this page of my son and I after I had presented my thesis and was approved for graduate school graduation.  Books, clipboard, phone, hearts and 'mom life' pieces worked into this design easily!

I double cut the title words in white and black cardstock to offset them slightly and add dimension to the words against a colorful background.

I skipped spaces in the background watercoloring to add the layer of white hearts and stitching.

I loved the little saying from Dear Lizzy's new Lovely Day collection "make the days count".  I started grad school before I was pregnant with my littlest, so this was a total culmination to have us both in this picture.  It was such a big moment to be done with the stress of grad school and to have more time to play and spend time with my Ry!

The Oh My Heart chipboard books were so on point with this LO topic!  Enamel dots, messy threads, and splatters of India ink show a few of my faves to add to my pages.

I hope you are inspired to download this cut file and play along with Cut It Up for February.  You have through March 5th to play along and post your projects in the challenge thread at PIFF on Facebook.

Just as a reminder use any of the 100+ cut files that are free in the Paper Issues store on a new project and post them in Cut It Up for a chance at a Paper Issues giftcard!  Tag Paper Issues on social media so we can send you some love when you use exclusive PI cut files!

Save 20% off of all the things you need and can't live without in the Paper Issues store. 

Use code: Stacie