Make Today Ridiculously Amazing - Simple Stories

Hello blogging friends! I am so excited to share some Simple Stories Carpe Diem layouts with you today. This collection is gorgeous with those bright colors mixed with the black and white pattern papers. 

For my first layout, I really wanted to make a pretty, girlie scrapbook page that showcased the beautiful floral pattern paper. The title for this layout Make Today Ridiculously Amazing comes from one of the Bits & Pieces elements. It really goes with the theme of this collection, Seize the Day. Take a look ...

I used a piece of black cardstock as my background and used the diagonal pattern paper as a border. I think the black really makes those bright colors pop. I softened the look with a white die cut doily and also some white die cut leaves and flowers, Sprinkled among the pretty die cuts are some Carpe Diem Bits & Pieces, Bradz and Enamel Dots. Digital cut files for the die cuts came from JustNick and 17Turtles.

A Chipboard Frame tucked in under the lower right of the photo helps to frame it. There are lots more Bits & Pieces here along with more Bradz, Enamel Dots, and a sweet little twine bow.

With so much layering at the top, I left the bottom half of my layout clear of embellishments so you can really appreciate that pretty floral pattern.

For my second layout I wanted to showcase the fun side of the Carpe Diem collection and I mixed in a piece of yellow from the Life in Color collection. This one is titled Shine Bright. What could shine more than the sun? so I added a big die cut sun on my layout.

I love adding machine stitching on my layouts. Here I stitched the sun rays.

A Chipboard Frame made a nice frame for my photo. Look how fun this chipboard lightbulb is!

I love layering the 4x6 Element pattern paper pieces. This one had an adorable quote choose to Shine. My title Shine Bright is a combination of a Silhouette die cut and the Carpe Diem alpha stickers. 

Thanks for stopping by today. I had so much fun playing with this collection. I know you will love it too. 

Products Used:

Carpe Diem

Brand New Day Pattern Paper - Item #6608

Don't Mind Me Pattern Paper - Item #6604

First Bump Pattern Paper - Item #6605

Teal Dot/ Yellow Dot Pattern Paper - Item #6614

Pink Dot/Black Dot Pattern Paper - Item #6615

4x6 Horizontal Elements Pattern Paper - Item #6611

Bits & Pieces - Item #4926

Bradz - Item #6627

6 x 12 Chipboard - Item #6628

Chipboard Frames - Item #6638

Enamel Dots - Item #6631

Life In Color

Teal Watercolor/ Yellow Watercolor - Item #5014

Good Dog - Imaginisce Give Thanks

Hello blogging friends!

I can't believe that Autumn is just around the corner already. Summer just flew by. I have a layout to share today that I created with the new Imaginisce Give Thanks collection. I love all the coordinating embellishments for this collection; dimensional stickers, phrase stickers, puffy stickers, enamel dots, die cuts, and wood buttons. I used a little of everything on my layout along with several of the fabulous pattern papers. This is my daughter's rescue dog Princeton. He is a borgi, a border collie and corgi mix and loves to chase anything that moves. In the fall it is usually squirrels.

Here are some detail shots of all the fabulous embellishments that coordinate with this collection,

Supplies:

Imaginisce : Pattern Papers, Die Cuts, Puffy Stickers, Enamel Dots, Phrase Stickers, Dimensional Stickers, Wood Buttons (Give Thanks)

American Crafts: Cardstock

17 Turtles Puppy Love Digital Cut file.

Silhouette Cameo

Brother Sewing Machine

 

 Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend!

~Marcia

At the Zoo - Imaginisce

Hello blogging friends. I have another Imaginisce Family Fun layout to share today using the adorable zoo papers. This collection is so fun for all kinds of family outings but I especially love those zoo papers. Imaginisce recently sent me some Milk Paint. Have you tried out the Imaginisce Milk Paint yet? I thought it would be fun to paint a little greenery on my zoo layout. First I had to select my photos and come up with a design so I would know where to start painting. Once I was satisfied with a rough layout idea I starting mixing up the green Milk Paint with a little water. I love that I can control how much paint I mix up at a time. I painted the green on my background and set it aside to dry. While I waited, I added a little blue Milk Paint to some of the green paint I had already mixed up. I wanted my leaf branch to be a little darker green. Then I dug out a stencil with some leaves and laid it on my green background and started painting. A paper towel comes in handy for blotting the paper if it gets too wet and wiping off the stencil if you want to move it. While this was drying, I mixed up a little yellow Milk Paint adding just a touch of my original green so I could add some spatters. When it was all dry I outlined my leaf branch with a colored pencil. Here is the final result.

These sticker stackers make such cute titles!

Supplies:

Imaginisce : Pattern Papers, Enamel Dots, Sticker Stackers (Family Fun), Milk Paint (green, blue, yellow)

American Crafts: Cardstock

Silhouette Cameo

17Turtles cut files (from the November Clique Kit)

Studio Calico roller stamp

Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo

Derwent colored pencils

Thanks for stopping by!

~Marcia

The Sweetest Tradition - Pebbles Home For Christmas

Hello blogging friends,  Are you baking Christmas cookies, or decorating a Gingerbread House this year? Pebbles has an adorable Christmas collection that is perfect for scrapping those snapshots and more. I have an amazing friend that creates several gingerbread houses from scratch every year (30-40 houses!). Then she and her daughters host gingerbread decorating parties. She supplies all the candy and frosting too. It was such a fun time I had to scrap a layout about it. 

I used the Imaginisce Milk Paint to make this awesome die cut from 17Turtles look like peppermint candies. You just mix a little bit of the pink powdered paint with some water and apply with a paint brush. Save your packaging as they make awesome paint trays! Note...I painted my die cut before I adhered it to my layout and took this picture afterward. Go check out the 17Turtles etsy shop to see more of Juliana's cut files. You won't be disappointed.

I didn't want to cover up too much of my peppermint candy die cut background, so I created an interactive layout using some washi tape. The photo flips open, like a book. This way I could add more pictures underneath. Look at my decorated Gingerbread House, complete with a sleigh, snowman, trees, a little doggie, and Santa climbing down the chimney! 

 

It was so great to get together with my girlfriends. 

 

Supplies:

Pebbles: Pattern Papers, Stickers, Die Cuts (Home For Christmas)

American Crafts: cardstock

Imaginisce: Milk Paint

17Turtles Peppermint Parade cut file

Love My Tapes washi tape

October Afternoon Alphas

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

~Marcia

You + Me = Us Clique Kits Challenge

Hello blogging friends! I played some more with my November Clique Kit. Did you know that Clique Kits has a monthly challenge and anyone can participate? plus there are fabulous prizes!! This month the sponser is 17Turtles.

Juliana Michaels created 4 fabulous digital cut files to coordinate with the November kit Homecoming. I could not wait to scrap this photo from my daughter's wedding and used the Grateful Fall cut file to frame my photo. The papers are from the Webster's Pages Nest collection...SWOON!... I LOVE this collection. Have a look....

@CliqueKits

That gorgeous photo was courtesy of Amanda Plucker Photography. She does really gorgeous work, check her out local peeps. Here are some close-ups of my layout...

This cute little heart flair does not have branches on it, lol. That is a reflection.

I was bound and determined to use this journal card with these cute birds on my layout but I just did not have enough room, so I partially fussy cut out the birds and layered them on top of my photo. My daughter has a thing for birds. Check out those Lawn Fawn wood veneer leaves.... you can still pick those up in the Clique Store. Use coupon code Marcia10 and save 10%.

I hope you will join us at Clique Kits for our November challenge. One lucky person will win a $20 gift certificate to the 17Turtles store!!!

Enjoy your weekend
~Marcia

One Last Selfie .... Clique Kits

Hello blogging friends! I have been so, so busy in the last week with last minute wedding errands, hauling my hubby to Dr appts after he threw his back out, and trying to work my 9-5. Thankfully hubby was well enough to walk his daughter down the aisle. Well I could not wait to play with my November Clique Kit when all the chaos subsided.

You can see why, right? Look at the gorgeous papers from Lemon Owl and Websters Pages! Plus those awesome embellies. While I am patiently waiting for photos from the wedding photographer, I scrapped this selfie my daughter took of herself and then posted on Facebook and Instagram as I was driving her to the wedding.

I used the latest Creative Scrappers sketch... Perfect for a big title.

Here are some close-ups ...

I love the transparent butterflies in the kit. And did you know Clique Kits come with digital cut files every month? This month the talented Juliana Michaels created these gorgeous rose flowers and other cut files, They are available in her shop 17Turtles.

This cute felt deer from Freckled Fawn is available in the Clique Store. Use coupon code Marcia10 and save 10%.

Even this cool washi tape is in the Clique Store....

Thanks for stopping by,
~Marcia

Al's Breakfast - Clique Kits

Hello blogging friends!  I’m very excited to be up on the Clique Kits blog sharing a layout I created with the fabulous October kit, Masquerade Ball!  I just love all the colors and patterns in the Second City paper collection by Basic Grey. I also love the digital Print and Cut files that were included in the kit. These are tangibles you can use over and over again even after your kit papers are gone. Here is my layout ...

 I thought I would focus on triangles in this layout about a favorite place we like to go to eat with my daughter when we visit her at college. It is just off the campus where she attends school in Minneapolis. Now because I hate my writing, I prefer to journal on my layouts using my computer. So I used one of the printables from the kit to create a journaling spot. I did this with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Here's how...
 

 Repeating shapes throughout gives my layout a cohesive feel. It pulls everything together. Here are some close-ups...

 I just love the flair and the PinkFresh Studios chevrons in this kit! The washi tape is the only thing on my layout that was not part of the kit. That came from Love My Tapes. If you shop the Clique Store, use my coupon code MARCIA10 and save 10%!

Thanks for stopping by. If you are ever in Minneapolis, be sure to check out Al's Breakfast. The pumpkin pancakes are amazing! You won't be disappointed. Bring cash, they do not take credit cards. Your order is actually tallied by hand! (Yes, this wait staff does math!) Since they are only open for breakfast, be sure to check the hours. The line starts to form outside at least an hour before they open :)

~Marcia