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

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!

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!

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: Together

I hope you are ready to be wowed by the power of a magical swag bag from Paper Issues.  These kits are nothing but bliss each month!  Here's my layout using the April swag bag kit!  I love how it led me to try out a monochromatic layout with neutrals and gold.

A few more looks at the beautiful gold shine and fun patterns included in the swag bag.

The gold binder clips from Heidi Swapp and tags with gold are perfect for layering!

 The Heidi Swapp Magnolia Jane gold script words are so pretty to add a pop of shine in projects.

The black pockets with gold embossing were perfect to tuck journaling into and layer with photos and embellishments.

Go check out the subscription to grab a monthly swag bag for yourself.  This LO only used a portion of this April swag bag.  I still have lots left to use on several projects.  Check out this amazing swag bag kit that Cassie creates each month. You won't be disappointed!  You can purchase one each month if you are fast enough to grab one before they are sold out!

Save 20% at Paper Issues with code: Stacie  Happy Shopping!