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!

Mix It Up Monday

It's Mix it Up Monday on the Paper Issues blog.  Orange always has a great idea to spark the mixed media challenge.  This month it's all about using scraps or creating mixed media and then punching shapes or borders out from it to add texture and depth to your pages or background!  

Here's the process I used for this project.  I started with two 12x12 white cardstock papers.  I added gesso all over one and on the second one, I just added gesso to the middle of the page.

  I used the packaging technique to layer the watercolors and added splats.  Next, I started the background page.  I did the straw blowing on opposite sides of the paper to ensure that most was dry before adding more watercolors nearby. That keeps it from getting muddy looking with too many colors blending.  I kept working inward to the yellow and green.  As it dried, I layered more paint and used the straw to add more lines of paint in both directions.

My preschooler loves dressing up or being silly. He modeled these star glasses this summer.  He definitely knows how to make me smile!  Who says Crate Paper's Cute Girl has to be just for girls??  I had fun making it work for a boy page! The last step was punching out all of the stars grouping them by color, and sewing them down!

 As always get your hands on all the cute things at Paper Issues store.  If you use my code: Stacie you will get 20% off your order.  Thanks for looking!

Disneyland is my Favorite

Pink Paislee's new Fancy Free by Paige Evans has been long awaited! I played with a bit tonight. 

Super fun polka dot papers to punch out. I have a love of circle punches, polka dots, and round elements on my pages!! Also, the glitter Thickers and ephemera pack add fun details and texture!

It was amazing to take a bit of time to create. I'm almost done with grad school and so very soon I can get back to having fun!!

Oh, that was Fun

Using up a bunch of Seven Paper from the Amelia line. 

I am loving the pops of gold metallic thread. I also busted out several star punches for this Disneyland page.

Happy faces for the fun carousel near the castle.

Love You Two

This was for Big Picture Classes Rainbow class. I adjusted Jen Chapin's pretty 8.5x11 page to a 12x12. I stamped the Kelly Purkey Sketchbook stamps for the kids names. 

I went with bold black Thickers to draw your eye into the photos. 

I added dimension to some elements and added tone on tone stamps as well as flair. Hope your day is bright and full of color!

Oh You 2!

This page documents our 15th Anniversary and my trying on my wedding dress again. I journaled around the circles. It blends in with the background, but it's there! 

To create this:

I used a paper tube to stamp Heidi Swapp Magic Medium in a grid on the background. 

I used a circle punch to cut several different papers from MME. I created several fabric dyed flowers that I twisted into spirals and glued. I placed three of them as a visual triangle and to create movement on the page. I layered the doily along with a few Kelly Purkey label stickers. The Dear Lizzy bow and Studio Calico wood veneers with Elle's Studio alpha/number stickers finish it up!