Remember December: SANTA

Merry Christmas, friends!

I am up on the Paper Issues blog with some Remember December inspiration.

A trip to the mall with Ryan to visit Santa was fitting for today's post!
He is always so excited to see Santa and tell him his Christmas list
and to talk about the Gopher football team. 
Santa sure seems to know a lot about MN sports!

I used the December scrapbook kit. The kit is sold out, but many items can be purchased separately in the store or found in the December Swag Bag kit. I love the background of the mall's snowflake cut outs behind Santa, and used the light blue as my first color to bring out in the watercolors. 
(Grab similar flair buttons here from Pretty Little Studio.)
I used glittery snowflakes from an older Pink Paislee collection,
but even a cut file of snowflakes could be used in your design!

The Elle's Studio puffy titles and mini label stickers were the perfect little touches to layer and add the pops of color I needed in the horizontal grouping.  The Pink Paislee Together for Christmas paper number 9 plaid made a beautiful background border!

I love that the Together for Christmas ephemera from Pink Paislee also coordinated with Elle's Studio stickers and Pretty Little Studio Glitter and Ice trees. With little bits of foam adhesive squares, the little bits were easy to layer against the watercolor background. The iridescent acrylic paint added little snowy dots that were scattered over the watercolor layer.

I hope you are inspired to carve out some creative time
 over the next few days to join in the December challenges at Paper Issues!!
Tag us on social media when you complete a challenge.

Post your creative additions to the December challenge album on Facebook
in the Friends and Fans group now through January 5th!

If you missed out on the Pink Paislee Together for Christmas or need a
December Swag Bag (with the Elle's Studio mini labels I used today),
be sure to grab yours today!

Save 20% with my code: Stacie

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Thanks for stopping by!

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!

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!

Travel- Stick It To Me!

I'm up on the Paper Issues blog today  with the Stick it To Me challenge and it's a super special day, it's my wedding anniversary! Brian and I have been married 19 years today.  He is patient with me and all of my photos (ok, most of them) I stop to take and keeps me laughing.  Here's me hogging the window seat on our Spring Break flight to capture the scenery from the skies!

See the how to on my previous blog post on watercolors with the packaging technique.  This is the project I was creating the background for in the tutorial photos!

Since this was the sticker challenge, I was all about using as many stickers from the Carta Bella Pack your Bags collection and others from an older travel collection, Pink Paislee Atlas. When layering stickers, I prefer to use the tone on tone style so they coordinate and don't end up being messy/distracting from the background layer.

Here's a few more close ups to see the stickers and watercolor background. You can also see how I layered the watercolor stripes to the solid white cardstock and the arrow patterned paper.  This helped to make it lay flat and it wasn't as warped as it had been without the backing!

I added foam ahesive to some of the stickers to add depth and layers. It was a fun challenge to use only stickers as the focus of the design.  I hope you give this one a try before August 5th.  It is a great way to use up your sticker stash and find coordinating pieces to match your paper, photos, or background.

Don't forget to stop by the Paper Issues store for all of your paper crafting needs. 

 We love seeing your awesome designs so tag us on social media!  

Post your projects for July challenges in the Facebook group. 

 Never know when your design entry gets picked to win the monthly gift cards!

You can play along through August 5th.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Take 5: My Sun, My Moon, & Stars

Today it's all about Take 5 Tuesday on the blog at Paper Issues. Mary Ann has some great prompts for November.  Pick 5 and play along! This striped paper Paper 22 from Turn the Page by Paige Evans for Pink Paislee was begging to be used with the stars and rainbow painting.

Grab those 6x6 pads of paper and Thickers and hand cut letters or use your cutting machine to create your quote or title. I love the look of tone on tone patterns for subtle dimension and a title that isn't too distracting.

I started with the gesso and watercolors with a straw to get the splatter and drip look. Lift up some of the letters edges to create shadows.

 The Turn the Page collection has a few papers that can be fussy cut along with sticker sheets or Thickers that have stars. I put on my fave movies or shows and cut the paper 12x12 and the 6x6 version to create the rainbow  of colors I needed to coordinate with the striped paper.  I added foam adhesive to pop up some of the layers, stars, and my photos.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your time picking at least 5 prompts to play along. Paper Issues has a big sale going on this week. Check the Facebook group or Instagram for more details.

Roll the Dice March

Today it's Roll the Dice with Rachel on the Paper Issues blog.  This month her boys rolled a 3 for washi and a 2 for number of photos.  I am always up for a washi challenge as I love to collect it and hardly ever use it.
I used new pictures from last week's Spring Break.  I love having new photos to scrap with!  I bought the new pack of Amy Tangerine On a Whim washi tape, so that was easy to decide on what collection I would be using!

My children love the ocean. They adore running in and out and squeal in delight as the waves catch up to them as they are running away!  Since we live so much farther away from the ocean, I am always on a mission to capture them when we are on vacay!

And this guy.  Yeah, he's an awesome 5 year old now.  Amy Tangerine tropical bliss right here.  It was fun to layer up her patterned papers from On A Whim and use chipboard LOL Thickers and stickers from the sticker booklet and 6x12 stickers from the collection.

A few closer looks.

These watercolor resist tags are such a fun thing to play with.  I love to see the image come to life after painting the tag! 

Shop now at Paper Issues and save 20% with my code: Stacie 

Cut It Up February

It's a new Cut It Up Saturday at Paper Issues!  I think you will find lots of ideas and be inspired from the design team on the PI blog today!
  Go to the Paper Issues store and download this free background Heart Tracks file and it includes titles, too!

For my take with this fun cut file, I used Pink Paislee's Oh My Heart by Paige Evans.  It has so many bright fun colors that I tied into my background.

I used the cut file as a stencil to watercolor my background.  It wasn't perfect, but that is part of the imperfect look of mixed media!  You just go with it!

I love the copper foil that this collection has!  The ephemera pieces and stickers were perfect for this page of my son and I after I had presented my thesis and was approved for graduate school graduation.  Books, clipboard, phone, hearts and 'mom life' pieces worked into this design easily!

I double cut the title words in white and black cardstock to offset them slightly and add dimension to the words against a colorful background.

I skipped spaces in the background watercoloring to add the layer of white hearts and stitching.

I loved the little saying from Dear Lizzy's new Lovely Day collection "make the days count".  I started grad school before I was pregnant with my littlest, so this was a total culmination to have us both in this picture.  It was such a big moment to be done with the stress of grad school and to have more time to play and spend time with my Ry!

The Oh My Heart chipboard books were so on point with this LO topic!  Enamel dots, messy threads, and splatters of India ink show a few of my faves to add to my pages.

I hope you are inspired to download this cut file and play along with Cut It Up for February.  You have through March 5th to play along and post your projects in the challenge thread at PIFF on Facebook.

Just as a reminder use any of the 100+ cut files that are free in the Paper Issues store on a new project and post them in Cut It Up for a chance at a Paper Issues giftcard!  Tag Paper Issues on social media so we can send you some love when you use exclusive PI cut files!

Save 20% off of all the things you need and can't live without in the Paper Issues store. 

Use code: Stacie

Love Vacation Adventures

It's all about LOVE this month and at Paper Issues we are working that vibe right into our titles.  Join the Working Title challenge this month by using the word love or using a heart in your title.  Here's my take using a photo of me on vacay in Florida.

I used Crate Paper Heart Day and my title word Love is from a PI cut file.  I watercolored the background paper and I loved how the black patterned paper hearts had the same look at the Love title heart.  I stitched around my paper mat layers and fringed the fringe paper from this collection.

I  hope you will play along with this fun challenge this month.  If you are checking out the design team inspo on the blog, be sure to stop by the store to check out all of the new things in stock!
Save 20% on everything.  Use code: Stacie

December Swag Bag

It's Swag Bag time at Paper Issues!  The new December swag bag is full of golden goodness!  Have you checked it out in the store?  Here's mine-  I just received it in the mail today!

 Here's my Swag Bag layout that I created with November's, October's and September's swag bags.

I was inspired by the Paper Issues order card with the coffee quote.  The Amy Tangerine watercolor circle prompted the circle theme!  I added the background paper to my swag bag mix and I added the coffee alpha stickers.  Otherwise, all the rest of the items are included in the swag bag!

Here are a few close ups:

I love, love, love the coffee card and the sweater paper!  So perfect for winter designs (or coffee)!  The Pinkfresh gold foil hearts paper fit right with my theme of my love of coffee.

I like the pops of pink that are scattered throughout the page.  I used more pink watercolor splatters on the background.

 I snuck in the "I have issues" card to peek out of the coffee photo mats.  As in daily coffee issues!

I hope you are inspired to open up a swag bag from Paper Issues and get creative!  Cassie has the best coordinated bags each month and they never cease to amaze me!  I love to scheme layout designs and projects to use each little piece with!

Start a subscription or go month to month!  You need this!

Save 20% on everything at Paper Issues with code:  Stacie

Cut It Up December

Today it's Cut It Up Saturday, and we are inspiring you on the Paper Issues blog with a fabulous new free cut file "Snowballs" to try out this month!

I love that you can put paper or photos behind the messy circle openings or you can add layers on top of the solid circles.

I started with white on white and then cut it out in black as I was set on using the watercolor circles paper from Simple Stories new collection #Whatever.

I used my circle cutters to cut circles for the tops of all of the solid circles.  I then gessoed the background in the circles that are open. 

 I added watercolor to match the other circle splotches of paint.

After the paint dried, I added India ink to create a similar pattern as the paper.  I started out making splatters and then realized  I wanted it more controlled and added the spots with the end of the brush where I wanted them.

I added foam adhesive behind the cut file it helps as the background was wavy due to the mixed media.  

 Embellishments- tone on tone enamel dots from my stash, Dear Lizzy Saturday Thickers, and stickers from this Simple Stories mini collection.  

I love the modern feel to this design and how simple it was to all come together!

Here's my fave smile sticker from the Simple Stories collection.

Have a great weekend! 

 I hope your December is filled with fun traditions 

and that you take some time to create beautiful projects!

Grab this free cut file in the Paper Issues shop and find lots of other things you need!

You have until January 6th to play along with this challenge and post your creation in our PI Facebook group!

Save 20% in the Paper Issues store with code: Stacie

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.