Boys will be Boys: Real Life

Today I am up on the Paper Issues blog with a post for the Boys will be Boys challenge.

I paired Box of Crayons from Shimelle with the fun cut file A to Z from Paper Issues.

 I couldn't wait to document Ryan (my kindergartener's) school photos

 since we just wrapped up the school year.

  It is extra special to document these stories since

 I teach down the hall from him and I often come upon photo ops that make me laugh!

Box of Crayons has the perfect school vibe I was going for with this design.  My "Mr. Independent" Ryan insisted on wearing his brother's football jersey to school. He knew most shirts with words, "the words" go in the front, so of course his last name had to be front and center!

I added details to the story in the alphabet letters scattered throughout the page.

The black writing doesn't stick out lots unless you read it closely, 

but it helps add a subtle design connection with the pencils and crayons.

It ended up being the perfect match was Shimelle's Box of Crayons collection 

paired with the A to Z background cut file free from Paper Issues.  I scattered my alphabet connected journaling throughout the page design. 

I added some roller stamping and word strip stickers to the letters as well. 

My fave was NOPE for this epic fail of wearing his jersey backwards.  Here's the "nope"!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Do you have a "Boys will be Boys" story of your own to document? 

 I sure hope you will play along this month and post your 

entries in the June challenge album in the Paper Issues.

So many new products in stock at Paper Issues, stop by and stock up for 20% off!

Celebrate 14

Hello!  It's all about celebrating today!  I absolutely adore this month's swag bag kit from Paper Issues and couldn't wait to create a fun birthday page with it.  

April is my birthday month, so it's all about throwing the confetti around to whoop it up! 

 Evan my 14 year old may not love the colorful page design, 

but I went with the inspiration from the candles on his birthday pie!

Here's my rainbow confetti birthday celebration:

Here's a look closer at the colorful details:

I printed out a large number 14 from my computer to layer the paper strips over.  I then flipped it over to cut using the dark outline of the numbers as my cutting guide.

 Finished with the paper strips.  These are all from the 3x4 papers included in the April kit. 

 Plus, there are still several I didn't use in this design. 

Gotta love a swag bag and the ability to use it for several projects!

Layout with the "confetti" splatter- Nuvo mists from the Paper Issues store, Heidi Swapp Shine from past swag bags, and Shimmerz mists.I loved the ephemera piece that said "happy" to tuck in above the yellow birthday paper.

I loved the puffy glitter ephemera from Shimelle's Glitter Girl collection.  It adds the perfect dimension in the vertical stack of paper layers.

The Pebbles Happy Hooray chipboard banner stickers worked

 so well to create a banner across the entire middle of the design.

So that's my pop of colorful to start off your day.  I hope you are inspired to grab an April Swag Bag kit from the Paper Issues store and create your own "Party on a Page".

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

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.

Happy In Hawaii

It's Scraplift Sunday at Paper Issues!  Stop by the blog and play along!  It's a fun way to incorporate multiple patterns and photos. Michelle created a fabulous design to lift.

I used Shimelle's Glitter Girl collection for my photos of Brooklyn

 having so much fun this past summer in Hawaii.  

Snorkeling with sea turtles for the first time and

 poolside with a flamingo floatie is what summer is all about.

I am crushing on these colors together. 

Teal, red, and pinks are so much fun paired with the ever so fave of mine- woodgrain! 

Glitter girl pattern papers worked so easily together--

I love when things just work out with your photos! 

I used the solid pink triangle from the one side of Make a Statement 

and the hexagons from the other side!  

The Embrace Chaos text paper is a great neutral to build a layout off of!

And so you ask, "Why should I glitter?"  Hello. Bokeh photos!!  

Seriously though.  Get that sparkle on.  Boys need some sparkle in their 

lives, too, think outside of the box and grab all of the sparkle included in this collection!

Grab all of the Shimelle Thickers teal words and woodgrain gold alpha.  

I also added the two tone red-pink Thicker alphas from the Valentine collections.

Here's a quick close up of my fave parts of this lift.  

The stitched seams and the enamel dots lining the paper edges. I also had to sneak in some tropical bliss, so I added Pebbles Sunshiny Day puffy stickers. 

 See those adorable hearts with gold edges?  

Those are new Valentine's Day collection from Crate Paper Main Squeeze.

This was such a fun lift.  Cut your papers at an angle and get playing along!  I hope you are inspired to mix it up and try some new products or actually cut into things you were hoarding like I was!

Save 50% currently on all Shimelle that's in the store. Use code: Glitter to save 50% (shop soon--I am not sure how long this sale will last!)
For all other items save 20% with code: Stacie  **One code per transaction.

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!

Hello Super Hero Friends!

Today it's all about the glitter and rainbows on the Paper Issues blog.  We are showcasing new products that just bring the wow factor!  I focused on Shimelle's newest collection, Glitter Girl and using a PI cut file for the base of my layout.

The puffy glitter shaker stickers are a must! Look how it fits almost perfectly in the cut file opening! These shaker stickers are so cute and add so much fun and playfulness to a layout design.The wonky paper polka dots"Get Messy" make this background so much fun. I love the clean white paper as a base for the colorful dots and prints.

Glitter foam Thickers in teal!! Yes, please! Love the fonts and the mix of block print and cursive.

The rainbow ombre style polka dot paper is so pretty as a raised layer off of the mixed media background.

Ok, just one more close up! I love these fun colors and the variety of prints in the new Shimelle collection. The Pink Paislee Girl Squad thickers were a favorite and it's perfect down below the main title.

Have a gorgeous day! Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek! 

Play along with all things glitter and full of sparkle!

Get all of Shimelle Glitter Girl for 20% off with code: Stacie 

Free File Friday: It's all about the Guys

Head on over to the blog at Paper Issues to check out a new round of Free File Friday.  Today it's all about the guys in our lives. Here's a peek at the new free file:

I love circles and text circles are even more fun.  Here's my take using the new cut file.

I used the new Just the Guys file from the Paper Issues store. A large circular cut file in the background backed with Dear Lizzy's colorful watercolor paper was a fun way to start the page design and build off of it.

Have a great weekend and I hope it includes lots of time to work on new projects or maybe even get a Father's Day card made.  I can't wait to play along with the June challenges now that I am on summer break from school.  

Play along with any PI cut file on your guy themed page, project, or card.  I love seeing how you creatively use the cut files from the shop!

Shop and save 20% with code: stacie 

Scraplift Sunday: Hello Beautiful Life

Today we are back at it with a fun Scraplift Sunday featuring my water-inspired scallop LO of Ryan on spring break!

I lifted my design and went for a white on white scallop using the new Mother's Day free cut file scallop.  I stitched it down in rainbow order similar to my original LO and added embellishments from my stash and Shimelle's Little by Little to bring pops of color throughout the design.
Ryan was so happy to be egg hunting and I sure adore his sweet shadow in the photo!

A few close ups: 

Each scallop cut file was stitched in a different color of the rainbow.  I matched ephemera and little bits from Shimelle's Little by Little, Elle's Studio Live Laugh Love collection, and Paige Evans' Fancy Free collection.

 I am loving the white on white elements on this page!

The scallop cut file will be in the Paper Issues free files today for Mother's Day.

Enjoy your weekend.  Happy Mother's Day!  I hope you can play along with the scraplift this month!  Post your creation in Paper Issues Friends and Fans group Scraplift Sunday thread.

Get all of these fun products for 20% off in the Paper Issues store with code:

Pinspire Me:You Spin Me

Today there's a new Pinspire mood board at Paper Issues on the blog.  I love the bright and colorful options this month from Mary-Ann!


I was inspired by the swirled lollipop, pink color in the cactus photo, the modern alpha, and the round yellow puff!  Here's what that looks like in my project:

Fun, huh?!  I wanted it to be playful and lighthearted to capture the feelings of being in the Midway section of the State Fair.  The kids love going on the rides and winning games (which is why the little creatures are also fitting....stuffed animals always end up joining us!)  

The lollipop swirl inspo came from the Shimelle patterned paper circle of segments and I added the white swirl being a free PI cut file the polka dot wreath.  Love how you can stick little bits in the circles, too.  I added lots of itty bitty puffy stickers from Little By Little!

The Amy Tangerine Thickers from Oh Happy Life have been waiting for me to use them and this mood board was the perfect reason to!  They go right with the alpha style and they matched Shimelle's Little by Little Carousel Dreams paper almost perfectly! Winning at stashbusting when that happens!

I hope you start creating with the inspiring Pinspire Me mood board today!  So many creative ways to interpret the moodboard.
If you haven't checked out the Paper Issues online store, stop by today and look at all of the new collections in stock!  As always, if you use code: Stacie at checkout you'll save 20%.