Read It: Pinspire Me

Hello! A fun September mood board is ready for you in the 

Facebook Friends and Fans group. I was so inspired by the stack of books that

 I immediately set out to use my Silhouette to cut books and use them with my son's photo! 

Check out my blog post at Paper Issues to check out the moodboard and other details!

September's Mood Board:

For the book cut files, I grabbed my watercolors 

and chose colors that matched the Simple Stories Lil Dude papers.  

After drying it, I added fine line doodle outlines with my WE R ruler on each of the books 

to give the stack of books more definition.

I love the reflection of the book and my son in the countertop. 

 It was a fun picture to capture because usually they are 

hiding in their rooms when they read!  

I love the text overlay in the Thickers and in the patterned paper.

 It all adds details to the reading theme which is an extra bonus!

Tone on tone stickers and little enamel dots for pops of color.

  I hope you check out the September challenges on Facebook,

 especially the Pinspire Me moodboard challenge.

I have so many challenges I can't wait to try out!

Have you checked out the August kits? The swag bag and the kit of the month are beyond awesome and full of fun!

Blue Ain't Your Color is on my desk right now.  

There is so much included!

Get yours before it's gone!

Don't forget to check out the new cut files

 that are always free in the store.

Save 20% on all of your favorites in stock at Paper Issues!

code: Stacie

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Snow Day

I love Mary-Ann's mood boards and this month at Paper Issues is a new one to inspire! Today it's all about being Pinspired on the Paper Issues blog.

I love the snowy background!  I was inspired by the reds and light blues, obvi the snow, too!
I went with a new cut file for Paper Issues in the Free Files for my background.

Here's how the cut file snow grid background looked backed in Sweater Weather paper and stitched. I added the positive snowflake pieces in the openings.  I had to add snowflakes to go along with the mood board snowy images.

I added lots of Sweater Weather ephemera and chipboard from CP FaLaLa. The flair was from Fancy Pants holiday collection from last year.

I loved the soft blues in the moodboard and backed the snowflakes to mimic this element.

I love my little Kylo Ren-  he's such a Star Wars loving kiddo. I embraced the red and made that the "pop of" color for this design. Just a sprinkling of red just like the mood board images.

I hope you will play along at Paper Issues and create something sparked from this awesome mood board.  You have now through February 4th to submit your projects.  Simply add them to the posts on Facebook.

Pinspire Me: Pastel Winter

Today on the blog at Paper Issues it is time for a new Pinspired moodboard made by Mary-Ann! I call it Pastel Holidays! Winter is usually white and soft here in MN, so pastels are the perfect partner!

I was inspired by all of the trees.  I created a tree farm cut file to use with Crate Paper Snow & Cocoa.

I cut the background cut file from white cardstock and then cut a background pieces of patterned paper for behind the openings and then cut a patterned paper tree from the cut file to layer and stitch together.  I was able to lift the layers for instant dimension to the trees.

Up close details of the layers. Crate Paper Snow & Cocoa chipboard, word stickers, ephemera, 12x12 patterned paper scraps & 6x6 papers.

 Side view of the tree dimension. I love that I could include so many of the cute patterned papers in one design without being too crazy looking! Pink and black splatters to fit the moodboard vibes.

 A bit of white twine to string the ephemera tags together.

Play along with this beautiful board now through December 31. Be pinspired by all of the inspiration images.  Maybe try a cut file with your design--there are 100s of free files in the PI store for instant download!

Don't forget about the Paper Issues sale going on right now!!

Pinspire Me: Adventure Awaits

Hello!  Today on the Paper Issues blog you can catch the latest moodboard for Pinspire Me. 

 I was inspired by the globe and the saying Adventure Awaits along with the inspirational quote.

 I played along with Fancy Pants Designs Dream Big.  It is a perfect collection to inspire and carry the sentiment I wanted to leave for my littlest. I love this scripty text  Daydream Believer paper. The light gray color works well as a muted background.

A few more looks:

I used texture paste and scraped black acrylic paint behind my photo. You can find the cut file title in the Free Files section of the Paper Issues store.

The Dream Big ephemera, puffy sticker phrases, and star stickers worked well with the colors in the fall photo.

Fall photos with golden light filtering in are some of my favorites!

I hope you are inspired (Pinspired!) to join us on the Facebook Paper Issues group to post your entries into this challenge and more! Don't forget to check out the free files section of the Paper Issues store for more cut files for your projects.

Too Cool

Today on the PI blog Mary-Ann is wowing us with a new moodboard for August for Pinspire Me.  I love her fun boards.  It is always so easy to play along.
I was inspired by the movie clapperboard and the little boy with candy scattered around him.

 I used Amy Tangerine Hustle + Heart for my take.  I welded the PI cut file letters and sunnies into my title for a fun take on my son's sunglasses obsession. I splattered Inklingz watercolors from Shimmerz throughout the background along with the packaging technique to mimic the Hustle + Heart paper I used for the title letters. I liked how it worked for the colors in the candy image.

Check out some of the fun details:

The PI free files include the open brush alpha which I welded with the sunglasses cut file from the summer cut file. I ungrouped the sunglasses cut file to lift off the lenses as I wanted just the background layer of the sunnies for my O's.

I love the ephemera that is part of the Hustle and Heart collection. It has a shiny layer and adds fun sayings and pops of color. 

 The Hustle + Heart  foam Thickers include shapes and this extra long arrow. The Amy Tangerine sticker booklet is so versatile with pages of clear sticker phrases, shapes--check out the multi colored and wonky shaped hearts I scattered.  The little red scallop sticker prompted me to doodle scallops on my journaling.

Get all of the awesome Amy Tangerine Hustle + Heart collection for 20% off in the Paper Issues store.  Cut files are always free! Grab them all and have fun playing around.  Alter them like I did  here to make them work for you!
Thanks for stopping by today, I can't wait to see how you are pinspired by the August moodboard. Play along now through September 3rd.

Pinspire Me: May

Mary-Ann has kicked off May with such an amazing mood board.  Go check out Paper Issues blog and see what inspires you to create!
I was so into the blues, the colors in the giraffes, and the eggs!  Here's my littlest with his chicken/rooster obsession.  We visited my friend's chicken coop and he was all in!

Here are a few details:

I used Cute Girl and Cool Kid from Crate Paper for my Title Brave & Cute, as well as the Best Kid chipboard piece.  Nearly everything else I used on the LO is Bella Blvd.

This flair from The Crafty Pocket coordinated with the colors, so I had to add that with messy thread. Also, how cute is this adorable background paper that is the bonus design in the Bella Blvd Barnyard collection pack.

I mixed in a few Bella Blvd collections for the arrows, clouds, and hearts.

I hope you are pinspired by this month's gorgeous mood board.  I love the fun images Mary-Ann finds each month!

Play along and post your project on the challenge thread in PIFF Facebook group.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a magical Monday!

Pinspire Me: March

The Paper Issues Mood Boards for PInspire Me by Mary-Ann always get me inspired to get a project done!  Check out the PI blog today for tons of inspo!
I was inspired by the greens, palms, and painting image!

For my take, I used Amy Tangerine On A Whim.  I love the bright colors and pops of orange.

I got messy with gesso and paint.

 Layers and texture for this one!

 Love the AT On A Whim details around the photo.

 Amy Tangerine On A Whim watercolor resist tags are so much fun to make and then add to your projects.

I hope you are inspired to go for the green or get inspired by so many other possibilities on the mood board!

                     Save 20% off of everything at the Paper Issues store.  Use code: Stacie

Pinspire Me February

Mary-Ann has another gorgeous mood board ready to PInspire you!  Check out the Paper Issues blog for more amazing inspiration from the design team.

I was so inspired by the center image of the donut and all of the pops of bright pink.

I used an exclusive cut file for Paper Issues for the donut in the top corner (Build a Donut file) and my title word is coming soon to the PI free files. 

These puffy donut Thickers for Amy Tangerine's On a Whim are so much fun.  I LOVE the cuteness they bring!  The watercolor resist tags are always a fave.  I love the look that they add.  I super love how the title turned out.  The cut file for Love is one that is appearing in another week in the PI free files section of the store!

The pink foil touches added to the ephemera and 6 x12 stickers in this collection are so much fun.  I love the sparkle they add!

I hope you are drooling over that sweet moodboard and ready to make a project!  We can't wait to see what you make.  Be sure to tag us on social media or post your project in theFB  Paper Issues Friends and Fans group!

Save 20% off of Amy Tangerine and all the things in stock at Paper Issues!

Code: Stacie is all you need to save!

Pinspire Me: January Edition

It's time to get sparkly!  Check out the new mood board for Pinspire Me January.  Mary-Ann has crafted an amazing inspirational spring board for you to get started scrapping!

I was inspired by the gold stars, so I used the free PI star background cut file and painted it with gold acrylic paint mixed with gold glitter glue.  It added just enough sparkle!

A few close ups of the mixed media cut file process.  The gold paint was shimmery, but muted.  The gold glitter glue added the littles shimmers of glitter bits.  This was a good contrast against the darker polka dots Hazelwood paper.

Here's how it looked after I dried it with the heat gun.

I loved my son's silly glasses pictures from summer.  They worked with this star theme and I wanted to use one canoe two's AC Hazelwood collection.  I was all about using the gold foam Thickers and the gold phrase Thickers from Hazelwood.

Check out the gorgeous gold sequins from the December Swag Bag!  I added several wavy rows of stitching to adhere the cut file down and  to create a subtle frame around the layout.  I used foam dots to raise up the photos and I matted them with vellum to help them not get lost against the sea of stars.

Save 20% in the Paper Issues store.  You totally need these scripty foam Thickers!  They are amazingly beautiful!