Let's Go Explore! - Clique Kits

Hello blogging friends!

I am so excited to be a passport guest designer for Clique Kits. If you've been a follower of mine for a while you might remember that I designed for Clique Kits for 2 years when they first started out. They are known for featuring artists in their kits from all over the world. They have a knack for finding unique embellishments to pull a kit together beautifully. I received the February Base kit called Wonderful World. It's full of Vicki Boutin, Heidi Swapp, and gorgeous papers from a German artist Alexandra Renke. You can see a kit unboxing here...

I couldn't wait to dig in! I pulled out some vacation photos and decided on one of my daughter on a hiking trip to Zion National Park in Utah. The Clique store also has digital cut files you can download. This cut file was FREE and is perfect with this kit!

These wood veneer butterflies from the kit are so pretty! The background paper is one from Heidi Swapp ArtWalk.

I used the Pretty Little Studios alphas for my subtitle the Narrows placing it on top of a journal spot cut out from the Heidi Swapp Storyline collection. The Vicki Boutin Let's Wander ephemera die cuts are perfect for travel pages. I found an Explore sticker on the Heidi Swapp sticker sheet to layer here too. I wanted more contrast and color for the Zion portion of my subtitle. These alphas have been in my stash a long time. I also added an expoxy flair from Scrappin Happy Studio. These flair are pure epoxy so they won't rust like tin pins.

Here is a closer look at my cut file title. I created a shadow effect by layering kraft cardstock on top of a darker green cardstock, offsetting it slightly. Some ink on the edges gives it more dimension as well. I layered more Vicki Boutin ephemera pieces here and another Heidi Swapp phrase sticker; Good For The Soul.

Want to see how this layout came together, check out my process video ...

Thanks so much for stopping by! Check out the Clique store for more than just kits. They also carry other fabulous scrapping supplies!

~Marcia

Vroom - JustNick Studios

Hello blogging friends!

I am hoping it warms up enough here in Minnesota where the kids can be outside again riding their bikes. In the mean time, my Spring fever has me scrapping a photo of my nephew from last Spring. I thought the JustNick Studios Tread Background was perfect for this bike riding photo. I used the Simple Stories Cool Dude collection as well as some Cocoa Vanilla Studios Flying High and Totally Rad.



To get the tire treads to stand out, I backed the black tire tread design with a grey cardstock. I placed a red patterned paper circle between the layers before gluing them together. I didn't want to cover up too much of that tread design. Then my photo and embellishments went over that circle. I may have gotten a little carried away with the embellishing, lol.



I repeated the circle, adding a few more smaller circles in the opposite corner. Again, I went crazy embellishing the tops of these circles.



For my title, I warped the Vroom from the Planes Trains & Autmobiles cut file. I wanted the word to be larger starting out and get smaller. I thought it would help show movement. Here is how you can warp an object in Silhouette Studio.

1.  Right click on the cut file and select Ungroup. Move the items you are not using off the grid.
2.  Select the object to warp and click on the warp icon (last icon on the right).
3.  Select a corner edit point and drag it outward. On the opposite end, select a corner edit point and drag it inward. Play around with the edit points until you like how it looks.

I didn't like how the stars looked warped so I trimmed them off. I replaced them with other stars from an ephemera pack. I edged the word with a black marker. This helps it pop as well as gives it a grungy feel.



I love how this turned out.



Check out the tutorial on how I warped my title in my YouTube process video.

Here are the cut files I used today ...





Thanks so much for stopping by.

Vacay - Pebbles Chasing Adventures

Hello blogging friends!

I am so excited to be sharing my first post for Pebbles with the fabulous Chasing Adventures collection by Jen Hadfield. This is such a fun collection! Perfect for capturing your adventures whatever they may be. The tropical elements in the collection were calling to me to scrap a photo from our Hawaiian vacation a few years ago.

This layout design was inspired by the washi tape in this collection. I added strips of washi tape all along one edge of a 8.5"x11" piece of white cardstock.

I mounted my white piece of cardstock with the washi tape onto some pretty blue pattern paper that coordinated so well with my photo. A sun tucked behind my photo helps it to stand out against the busy patterns of the washi tape. The Vacay phrase sticker and palm tree from the Adventure Thickers made for the perfect title. I couldn't resist adding those cute sunglasses from the puffy sticker pack too.

Hawaii has beautiful tropical flowers, just like these gorgeous floral die cuts I arranged opposite my title along with some wood veneer and that 'Let's Get Lost' sign. I included a tag, tucked under the top of my photo, so that I could add journaling.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you'll try creating a layout with a washi tape background too.


~Marcia


Supplies

Chasing Adventures 12x12 Paper Pad
Chasing Adventures Washi Tape
Chasing Adventures Ephemera Die Cuts
Chasing Adventures Ephemera Tag Die Cuts
Chasing Adventures Thickers
Along The Way Wood Veneer Shapes
Chasing Adventures Puffy Stickers

You Make My Heart Smile - JustNick Studios

Hello blogging friends!

This week we are focusing on using the Words/Phrases in the JustNick Studio store. There are so many awesome phrases that could be used for titles. I wanted to scrap this fabulous photo of my son. Weekend vibes gave him such a great smile. I decided to use the You Make My Heart Smile cut file because seeing him smile makes me so happy.



Here is a closer look at my title. I cut it out twice, once with my pattern paper and again with a black cardstock. Layering the two really helps make that title pop.



Behind the title you can see the Star Background 5 digital cut file. I love stars for my guy layouts and the circles here repeat the circle pattern in the pattern paper on the left side of my layout. Those rings are delicate, be extra careful removing it from your mat.

Here are the digital cut files I used today ...





Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you have some fantastic weekend plans!

Skipping Rocks - Jillibean Soup | PageMaps

Hello blogging friends!

I was so excited to be asked to create a layout for the PageMaps August reveal! I love working with Becky's sketches. Here is the sketch she sent me...

3 photos was a challenge for me, but I had these awesome photos of my son from our recent vacation on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The beaches are full of flat rocks, perfect for rock skipping.

I mixed Jillibean Soup collections to get a color scheme suitable for my lake photos. I pulled some brown pattern paper from the Shades of Color Soup collection, and blue pattern papers from the 2 Cool For School collection. I used a Jillibean Soup polaroid digital cut file to frame my smaller photos. I helps to keep them from blending too much into the background.

You can also see I added a lighthouse and anchor to my embellishment cluster in the lower left.

Another cluster of embellishments and my title appear at the top right.

There is room for journaling under my main photo. I added a few phrase stickers here too for interest.

Supplies:

Jillibean Soup

Pattern Paper  2 Cool For School / Too Legit, Wild Child;    Shades of Color / Gregarious Glow

Coordinating Stickers: 2 Cool For School

Pea Pods: 2 Cool For School

Puffy Stickers: 2 Cool For School

Mini Alphas in Teal

Digital Cut Files: Lighthouse / Design ID #271306, Anchor / Design ID #271718 , Life Is Better On The Beach /Design ID #271304 , Polaroid Heart / Design ID #39389

Sketch: PageMaps

Other: Bazzill cardstock, American Crafts cardstock, Wood Veneer, Shimmerz Vibez in Frost Bite, hemp twine, foam adhesive, Silhouette Cameo, Brother Sewing Machine, white thread

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
~Marcia

On The Trail - Jillibean Soup

Hello blogging friends!

I have another Jillibean Soup layout to share with you today using the Bohemian Brew and 2 Cool For School collections. I love to include suns on my outdoor summer layouts. They quickly convey the season and invoke warm happy memories of those summer trips I am trying to document. This Jillibean Soup Starburst digital cut file makes for an awesome sun that definitely makes a statement. I added some machine stitching to extend those rays and add a bit of texture.

"Let's Find Some Beautiful Place To Get Lost" ... wish we were back on the North Shore! It is so gorgeous up there.

Bohemian Brew’s Alpha Die Cuts make an impressive title. The large letters compliment the big sun. I embellished with puffy stickers and pretty wood veneer butterfiles.

I created a small cluster of embellishments to add over my photo too. 

I really love how this turned out!

Supplies:

Jillibean Soup

Pattern Paper: 2 Cool For School / Way Cool

Pea Pods: Bohemian Brew

Coordinating Stickers: Bohemian Brew

Puffy Stickers: Bohemian Brew

Letter Die Cuts: Bohemian Brew

Shaker Wood Veneers: Butterflies

Digital Cut Files: Starburst Card / Design ID #32067

Other: Tattered Angels in yellow, foam adhesive, Bazzill cardstock , Silhouette Cameo, Brother Sewing Machine, white and yellow thread, micron pen

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Marcia

Wild At Heart - JustNick Studios

Hello blogging friends!

One of my favorite destinations for a summer road trip is Grand Marais Minnesota on the shores of Lake Superior. The lake is so big it almost like seeing the ocean. It was a foggy rainy day when we were there, but that just added to it's mystic. When scrapping this favorite photo from the day, I wanted a way to convey the greatness of all that water ... Lake Superior is after all the largest of the Great Lakes. I think the JustNick Studio Wave Background digital cut file does it justice! I used the Wild At Heart collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studios.



I still wanted a skyline on my layout so that I could also convey what a cloudy day it was, so I erased the top portion of the background. That left room for me to include some clouds from the Sunny Days digital cut file.





I carefully added some machine stitching to emphasize the waves on the background. I love the effect. To add interest to these wood veneer words, I embossed the lower half with some fine white embossing powder. The two-tone effect is stunning. Washi Tape on the upper half keeps it from being embossed and it peels away so easily.



Here are the digital cut files I used today ...

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great rest of the week.

Adventure Awaits - Jillibean Soup

Hello blogging friends!

Bohemian Brew from Jillibean Soup speaks to my gypsy heart. I love the Volkswagen van, the bright colors, and the graphical patterns ... they remind me of childhood road trips with my family. I thought it would be fun to document a more current road trip with my husband and our own kids. Road trips provide some opportunities to see parts of this awesome country that flying does not. On this particular road trip, we stopped in the Badlands of South Dakota to stretch our legs while on the way to the Black Hills. 

I lifted my Hello You Jillibean Soup layout from June, but flipped it on it's side to change things up. I loved the design with rows of embellishments and paper. The chevron pattern paper was fun to cut up. I added phrase stickers from the sticker sheet and these fun puffy stickers. Machine stitching adds some texture.

I double cut the Jillibean Soup Adventure Awaits digital cut file (available in the Silhouette Store) for my title. The shadow effect makes the title pop against the background paper. I added a little gesso to keep the title from blending into the busy pattern paper.

I added some embellishment clusters of die cuts, stickers, puffy stickers, and wood veneer on and under my photo.

Bohemian Brew is perfect for documenting your road trips too ... and so much more. This is a very versatile collection.

Jillibean Soup Supplies:

Pattern Paper: Bohemian Brew / Peace, Happiness, Love, Content

Pea Pods: Bohemian Brew

Coordinating Stickers: Bohemian Brew

Puffy Stickers: Bohemian Brew

Digital Cut Files: Adventure Awaits Design ID #253432

Wood Veneers: Healthy Hello Soup

Other Supplies: Silhouette Cameo, Heidi Swapp Color Shine in navy, foam adhesive, thread, gesso, Bazzill cardstock, enamel dots, Brother Sewing Machine

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great week.

~Marcia