Traveler's Notebook Summer Travels

Hello!  It's my parent's 50th Anniversary today and we just got back

 from celebrating on vacation with them! 

It was definitely a must to document and I am sharing two TN pages

 for 52 Favorites on the Paper Issues blog today-scroll down to see both!

It's so easy to pack a few supplies and document as you go!

This is week 31! Post on social media with #52favorites

I absolutely love the Pinkfresh mini puffy alpha and they are always my go-to for titles in my TN spreads!

I used the Kaisecraft little dots stamp that was included in the PI July Flyover States Scrapbook kit! 

 I love the subtle look it adds to the background! 

Added to the dots was an Amy Tangerine heart stamp to the background.

I took apart the Pinkfresh layered hearts embellishments to add the word together. 

The cut file connected  hearts are from the TN pages free cut file coming soon to the shop. 

Here's the second using a map that I grabbed from a travel brochure 

and the free PI cut file TN Pages Let's Talk about Love!

  

The best part of documenting as you travel??  You can photograph your pages right in the place you are visiting! That's right- set it right on the beach like I did, hold it up to the sun, capture the foliage around you, it's a fun way to remember the actual details you are journaling about!

 The tiny Pretty Little Studio star stickers are from July's Flyover States scrapbook kit! Perfect for noting details and places on a map. The background papers are from PI Kits as well, get the trend here??--all things that come in the kits get used!! 

Did you see that Paper Issues now offers a "Tell Your Story" TN kit as well?  If you are in need of an amazing kit that is ready to go for travels as I used mine or to document your life at home!  It is a perfect thing to try for bite-size memory keeping!! Check the new traveler's notebook kit out here!

I hope you are inspired to play along with all of the new August challenges posted in our Facebook group!  Check out the August fun on FB here!

Need a few things? The store now offers Sezzle for payment plans! Shop now and make payments!
Save 20% on alllllllll the things in the Paper Issues store--including all of the kits!
Code: Stacie 

Thanks for visiting today. Make today great! Create a life you LOVE!

Free File Friday:Sailing

Hello!  Happy Memorial Day long weekend for those of you celebrating! It's almost summer vacay here, so naturally my focus was past summer trips!  I am up on the Paper Issues blog today with a fun way to layer your cut files as a texture and design element!

The Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope paper pad had this

 blue toned water color background that was perfect for my base.

  I added more watercolor drops and splatters from other colors

 to add more splashes in the background. 

I sewed on the free cut file:

 Sailing into Summer waves and splattered some more!

My little dude showing his shaka sign- hang loose, especially when you're sailing in Hawaii!

Add sewing machine to stitching lines for more movement and texture to the background.

I can't wait for you to try a cut file in a new way. 

Maybe it is taking a smaller cut file like these waves

 and altering them by welding them together to create a longer strip of waves.

  Another idea would be to use a cut file in a repetitive way

in your background. Try painting or stenciling a background

 with a cut file or altering it with mixed media. 

Cut the cut file out of colored cardstock.

Try backing it or paper piecing a cut file!

Hope you are playing along with the May challenges 

that are posted in Paper Issues Friends and Fans!  

Save 20% on all the things you need from the Paper Issues store!  

There are so many new collections, free cut files,  and PI kits to try out!

April Showers: Dream and Wonder Wanderlust

Here's a look at the April Showers challenge this month at Paper Issues. I was inspired by this challenge to find some fluffy clouds and document a sweet moment with my littlest!

I love when you find the paper that coordinates with your photo, looks like you got messy, and really all you did was color match embellishments.  The Vicki Boutin watercolor background is so beautiful!

My littlest was fascinated with the sea birds that were landing and flying near the beach, so he decided to follow them for miles down the beach and back.  My friend and I ran behind him and captured so many sweet pictures.

I wanted to go for lots of textures to bring in the soft clouds and the mix of water along the beach, so the torn paper edges, messy threads, and soft color palette was my mission!

I love the Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope mixed media paper pad and that was the perfect watercolor base for this beach photo. The colors were so much fun to coordinate threads in several blues, paper layers, and soft vellum to back the cut file clouds from the PI free file: Sky's the Limit. 

I used the April Paper Issues Bohemian Rhapsody kit for the sticker title Wanderlust and for paper mat layers! The PI kits always have just the perfect embellishments or papers that I need to finish off so many design projects!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today. 

I hope you join in on the final days of April challenges and

 post them  in the Friends and Fans FB group. 

Have you shopped at Paper Issues?  If not, go check it now for new kits,

 free cut files, and lots of new releases!

Save 20% with my code:

Stacie

Tag us on Social Media--we love seeing what you create!

If you use a PI cut file, use #picutfile and #PaperIssues 

Here's what I used:

Sky's the Limit cut file

Oh Snow Happy

Today I am up on the Paper Issues blog with their January Sketch and I absolutely LOVE this sketch.  I stayed pretty true to the sketch, but added the patterned Carta Bella woodgrain snow border because it was too good of a paper not to use more of it!
Here's my take on the sketch:

I started off with big drops of white pearl acrylic paint and let that dry while

 I was cutting snowflakes from several Paper Issues free cut files. (Drop Down Stitching, Winter Wisdom, Very Merry Holiday, and Snowflake Grid.)

The beautiful January sketch from Paper Issues:

Have you cut apart Thicker words to create your own?  For this title, if you look closely, I cut the word snow from three different words and it saved me from finding alpha stickers to coordinate!

I love capturing fresh snowfall pictures and printing them in black and white.  

This lended itself to being a neutral monochromatic design.  

The white on white background was a fun change from using lots of color.

 By slightly lifting/lightly gluing the snowflakes, 

they provide depth and texture behind the focus of the photos!

Also, be sure to grab the 3-dimensional snowflakes from Crate Paper FaLaLa collection

 from the PI store, I adore the pop it adds to the snowflakes on the page!

I can't wait to see your take on this month's sketch!  

Swap out the snowflakes for hearts, circles...what else can you add to your background?

Join in on the fun in the PI Facebook group.

The January challenges are sure to spark your creative juices.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Now, onto shopping!!

Stop by the Paper Issues store to check out

 all of the new collections and download free cut files, too!

The best part--everything you purchase is 20% with 

code: Stacie 

Life is Good

It's all about the perfect recipe to kick of a creative start in the new year! Scrap Soup is on the blog today at Paper Issues.  

For this recipe, I used Cocoa Vanilla Studio's Bohemian Dream.  I loved the burst of color and thought a heart would be a good focal point for my photos of our catamaran snorkel cruise.

I used Shimmerz Blue Lagoon for the chipboard title stickers.  Those are my "three of the same embellishment" and one of the fonts.  The cut file is floral sweetheart and is in the free files at Paper Issues.

I also used three tabs-two on top of the photos and one for the date.  The chipboard hearts in a group of three across the design as well.

I used more than one font as seen here.  Yes, the acrylic paint drops were still not dry when I took the photos.  It's winter and daylight is fleeting!

I can't wait to see your take on Scrap Soup. I hope you are inspired to play along.  The more you post your work in our challenges--the more chances to win now through Feb. 4th.

Paper Issues has everything you need and with my code it's always on sale!

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.

Free File Friday::First Day of Preschool

Hello!  It was my back to school week here in Minnesota, so this is all about getting those school related photos scrapped with a fun free PI cut file.  Check out the Paper Issues blog for more inspiration from the Design Team.

 Here are a few close ups of the cut files I used (Love you to the Moon and Back - stars and the new School and Sports words cut file that's being released today.)

I used lots of Amy Tangerine Hustle & Heart from papers to stickers to tags and cut aparts.

 The School and Sports cut file words were so helpful in spelling out the title. The Hustle and Heart clear sticker booklet always has things to use on each design.  Loved the pen and pencil stickers for this school design.

 The coolest backpack from the Pebbles Girl Squad ephemera.  Stars cut file from the Love you to the Moon....

Amy Tangerine Hustle & Heart ephemera with gold foil and Fancy Pants tags from Family and Co.

 Hustle and Heart layered chipboard stickers.  I love that I was able to reposition these layers to make the sticker work for my design.

Have a wonderful start to your weekend.  I hope you are inspired to play along and download some free Paper Issues cut files.  They are free--download as many as you need!

Free File Friday titles: Sun & Fun

I am up on the Paper Issues blog with a new installment of Free File Friday!  

We are focusing on using a cut file title this month!  

I used the Sun & Fun title from the Geo Tropical Palms cut file and converted into stitching dots.  See this blog post for the details on how to get the perfect-sized hand stitching holes by converting the cut file--it's so easy! 

Bella Blvd Secrets of the Sea was perfect for documenting my little fish!

After you convert the cut file lines to stitching marks, I usually cut the cut file out as a solid shape.  This helps when it's a scripty title or other intricate shape so you can lay the shape on top to see where the stitches go as well as spots you might want to add a stitch hole to make the stitching more rounded.

I adore this printed quote paper from Bella Blvd Secrets of the Sea.  I had wanted the quote to show--and voila--I realized by showing only the border of it the top and bottom of the paper display the entire quote.  So very sweet! The ephemera pack and sticker sheet worked well together for layering and adding details.

 I just played with Shimmerz brand watercolors for this layout. I love how it worked on the paper and the way it dried is so pretty.  Some colors were shimmery and all colors played off the color scheme of the Secrets of the Seas papers. I got paint into the stitching area in some spots but the twine just soaks it up.

More stitching and Shimmerz paint close ups on the cut file title. So, here's my "secret of the seas"--I started this stitching layout in June and just completed it in August!!!  Anyone else have page designs that you start and don't finish or take you forever to finish?!

One last view of the title in full. I added lots of splatters as you can see he was all splashed by the waves in the photo. I love the look of the ombre colors in the letters. The Bella Blvd fish were so cute with this design.

 

I hope you are inspired to use a cut file title in your projects this month.  

Paper Issues has so many words, titles, alphabets, and quotes to use to help you with your page designs. 

Create a title and submit your project in the August Challenge thread in PIFF (Paper Issues Friends and Fans on Facebook.)  

Who knows, you might be the lucky one to win a PI store gift card?!

Grab some cut files to download and get ready to create. 

Bonus if you create a title that you converted to a stitching file.

I love seeing what you create.  Tag us on social media so we can share some love!

Save 20% on all of your purchases at Paper Issues.

Try It Tuesday: Washi Tape

Happy August!  We are back with a new month full of challenges to try out. Check out the PI blog--Try It Tuesday is all about fun ways to use washi tape to add texture to your projects!  I had so much fun using my neglected washi tape on this challenge!

A few close ups of the torn washi and stitching with mixed media.

I love the Amy Tangerine On A Whim collection washi tape that had multiple tapes included.  It worked perfectly to match with the colorful paper and the mixed media water colors and gelatos I used.

I popped up the Paper Issues free files title that I used.  I also cut out the You Fill my heart full of Love  cut file for all of the hearts in the border. The AT chipboard Thickers were the perfect addition under my title.

 Clear stickers are the perfect addition to photos or background paper. Find some of AT On A Whim and her new collection: Hustle and Heart in the store.

Have a wonderful first day of August!  Summer is scooting by too quickly.  I hope you will join us on the new challenges that pop up throughout the month. This one is a definite must.  Washi is always a good idea to play with!

Save 20% on all the things at Paper Issues.

Code:: Stacie