Guest Contributor – Angie Pond

Happy Monday everyone!!  We have been so thankful this month to have our April Guest Contributor Angie Pond sharing so much inspiration with us!  Today I have another layout Angie created using the April kit!  Make sure to follow Angie on her blog to see more of her fabulous work!  Now lets get into her layout using the April kit and the fabulous printables designed by Creative Director Gia Lau!

For the April challenge, I drew inspiration from the different blocks of paper that are shown in the sketch. I used many of the beautiful papers from the Jelly Bean kit and treated each block of patterned paper almost like it’s own little layout.

I used one of the exclusive cut files under my photo. I cut it on white card stock and painted it with watercolors. Then I simply cut it apart and used it as an additional layer under the cute photo of my nephew on his first Easter. 

Most of the embellishments on my layout are from the printable files that come with the kit each month. I adore that cute bunny and I even used the “Happy Easter” printable as my title.

The flags in the upper left block of my layout are from the printables as well and they make a great addition along with my journaling.

In the section where my title is, I hand cut a few clouds and used that printable doily shape almost like a sun. The pink cloud comes from one of the Bella Blvd. clips that came in the kit. I simply cut the clip part off and adhered it to my layout.

I did some stamping on the block with the pink polka dots. I used just some black ink and a circle outline stamp to add some more interest to the paper. I pair the word labels and the circles from the exclusive printables with a few enamel dots from the kit to complete that section of the layout.

Thank you Angie for another awesome project using the April 2017 Kit!!   I love all the details in your page and love how you used the exclusives!!  Here is a look at Angie’s completed layout!

Thank you all so much for stopping by today!  Please remember to leave Angie some love down below!  We still have a few April kits left in the shop right now and we also have a great kit sale going on!!  Have a wonderful day!

Mixed Media Monday On Youtube: Playing along with the April Challenge

Aloha My Scrappy Friends!! It’s Hannah with you today. I am using the April “Jelly Bean” Kit to make this Pocket Page Spread today.

This pocket Page Spread I made for the April Challenge using Latina Crafter Stamps. I had a small almost 3X4 size alpha stamp. It is the perfect size for Pocket Page cards or smaller titles. From the minute I saw the stamp I know this was how I would use it. Let me tell you, it was fun, I had a hard time not using this stamp on every card in my spread.

For my pocket page spread, I am doing it monthly. This means for me, I just think about filling pockets. I don’t worry about having two protectors per week. This means that some protectors have two or three days and some have more. This all depends on what is going on in my week. This time period I am documenting is March 1 and 2nd 2017. I am using Design A and then I add a 6X12 protector to go with the one side of the Design A. There was a lot going on at the beginning of the month and I also like to make sure I have enough journaling for my pictures.

I also like to really pretty cards in my pockets especially when I use a kit on my spreads. Using a kit helps keep my selections limited which I really need. I will way overdo it. This year I am really working on keeping it simple to make sure I focus on the stories and photos that happen throughout the month.

Even though I am using a kit, I still love to infuse me into the kit I am using. This April “Jelly Bean” Kit is so colorful it really inspired me to get creative. Mixed Media allows me to play and add to my kits and infuse me into my spreads. The amazing thing is you don’t have to do much with your mixed media to make it special to you.

I started off by printing off the exclusive printables from the April Kit. These printables are designed and coordinate perfectly with each kit.  I used this as my starting off point and what also inspired me.

I used white cardstock, cut into 3X4 size cards. I decided not to use Gesso to prime my cards, I knew I would try to stamp as well, I wanted my drying time to be shorter. I also wasn’t sure how this stamp would stamp on gesso, would it smudge? I didn’t want to take that chance. I knew I was going to keep my cards simple too. This often helps me decide whether priming the cards is necessary.

I chose to use watercolors. On one card I just spread the top with an orange color. I added small tiny flowers on both ends of the orange paint. These flowers were similar to the ones in the collection. When paint dried I used a black dye ink and stamped the word Joy in the middle.

I cut the card down and backed it on the Bella Blvd Daily Details Paper. With my journaling, a roller date stamped on and a puffy sticker, this card is so cute and matches my spread.

I also mixed the exclusive designed pocket page cards in my spread as well. I loved this card with the hearts at the top.  It had the right amount of space to journal about the Blog Hop we had on March 1st.  I added some Freckled Fawn Enamel Dots next to the hearts for a little extra something and left the card alone.

I have found with my pocket pages less is more.

For my other mixed media card I added half circles with watercolor on the bottom half of the card. I used the exclusive printable as inspiration. There was a similar card but I wanted to change up the colors and make them match more of what I had used. This is the cool thing about mixed media. You can tweak and alter your kit and make it work for you.

I Used Joy again with my Latina Crafter Stamp. I stamped once in full ink and then continue stamping until the ink was all gone. This ombre look looks really cool on the different color paint.

After I finished the card I outlined it with my black pen and added this card with an image of a text message I had with a friend. This is a fun way to add conversations and interactions with family and friends without having a major picture.

Throughout my spread I added lots of stamped words with my new Latina Crafter Stamp.  Seriously it was so much fun.  Added with this Freckled Fawn Foam word and some exclusive printables my coffee photo is really fun. It makes a simple photo and gives it some piazza.

I also used the Stamp on my Photo that I had a longer story/journaling on in my pocket page spread. This is why I used a 6X12 protector. It took a bit to figure out the arrangement on the page but it was fun designing on a different size layout. I printed my journaling from my laptop in a funky typewriter font. this allowed me to add more journaling than I could write out. I also was wanting to use journaling I had right from my FB acct, which is a simple copy and paste for journaling. I had already wrote the words earlier, sometimes there really is no need to re write the journaling.

I keep the 6X12 layout simple, with some epoxy sticker add ons and some printables.  

I hope you check out the april challenge blog post and see all the details and join along. Make sure you tag us so you can be entered into the drawing for the sponsor’s prize. We love to see all you in the Clique have made using your kits!!

Make sure you also check out my process video for this spread.

 

Can’t wait to see you around!! Have an Inspired Day!

Clique Kits April Challenge – Latina Crafter

Hello Everyone!  Erica here with you to bring you our April challenge!  But first a big congrats to our March challenge winner Claudia!

Claudia please email erica@cliquekits.com to claim your prize!  Thanks so much to everyone who linked up and we hope to see you linking up again this month!  A big thank you to our sponsor The Cut Shoppe for providing a fabulous prize!  You can check out their shop HERE!

This month we have Latina Crafter as our sponsor!  You can read about Latina Crafter and the woman behind the company HERE!  Diana has provided stamps for each of our team members to use and also a prize of $25.oo to her shop for one randomly selected winner!  We also have another fabulous sketch designed by Kristine Davidson for inspiration!  This month the challenge is to use stamping on your project!

Here is a look at what our Design Team has created has created for the challenge!  You can see some fun Latina Crafter stamps in action!  I love how I design team used them in their projects!

TUROCZI REKA

VICTORIA CALVIN

MELISSA ELSNER

HANNAH LEMIEUX

ENZA GUDOR

CANDACE PERKINS

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR ANGIE POND

We can not wait to see what you create!  If you are not already in the Clique Facebook group we would love to have you!  You can join HERE!

Here are a few details about the challenge!

• You may combine our challenge with other challenges
• You may enter our challenge up to 3 times
• Link up your projects by April 30th, 11:55 pm CST
• You are not required to use a Clique Kit or sketch to link up.
• Create any type of project
• Link directly to your challenge project entry post

This month you can also link up your project to our Clique Facebook Group for an extra entry into our challenge!  Beginning next month all our challenges will be held in our Facebook group so now is the perfect time to check it out!

April Challenge by Evi

Hello Scrappy friends!  Today I this colorful layout for the April Challenge.  I was challenged to use a lovely stamp available in the shop that reads “May your coffee be strong and your Monday be short.”  A feeling I am sure we have all felt from time to time.  I decided to create my own background paper with it and heat embossed it repeatedly on white card stock paper.  I used black embossing powder cause I wanted to add color and I wanted the embossing to add a resist to my mixed media.

I then took a few colors of blues and aqua colors of inexpensive acrylic paint and add water to have a light wash of color. I did horizontal stripes.  I cut down my paper to be an 11×11 inch square and matted it on a piece of patterned paper from the April 2017 kit from Bella Blvd.

 

 

I then continued to use the elements of the kit to continue scrapping this wonderful photo of my mom and me in our WICKED leggings.  I am a new consultant for LuLaRoe and I am all about the leggings these days, so when we saw leggings being sold we immediately bought two pairs.

I used the cut apart sheet for the added blue element on the page and love what it read, ‘something tells me Im going to cherish you forever.’  I then added the last pieces of die cuts and my last two flairs from the April add on.  The colorful hearts were punched out of the scraps of paper from a previous layout I made this month.

I think I put the stamp to good use.  Think outside the box when it comes to your stamps and create a wonderful background for your next layout.

Till next time,

Evi

Clique Kits March Designer in the Spotlight – Shimelle

Hello Clique Fans!  We are super excited about this months Designer in the Spotlight!  Our March 2017  kit featured the Little by Little collection designed by Shimelle!

We want to thank Shimelle for taking the time out of her busy day to share a little bit about herself with us!  So grab your drink of choice, curl up in your favorite place and say HELLO to Shimelle!

Tell us a little bit about your creative process. Where and when are you most creative? 

I work (and play!) from a studio space that is a room in our home with the outside ‘wall’ actually a floor to ceiling window. The light is beautiful even on grey days, which we have plenty of here in London. For many years I was a night owl, but my son is not on board with this plan and likes to get up far too early, so my most creative time is whenever I have five minutes uninterrupted really, almost matter what time of day that may be.

What are some of your must have supplies?

My giant scissors have been on my desk for so many years that they feel like an extension of my hand. I could give plain cardstock a miss entirely but you will have to pry the patterned paper, little tiled letter stickers, and glitter Thickers from my cold dead hands.

Who are some of your influences?

I was a film and theatre student when I first discovered scrapbooking, and much of my inspiration comes from that visual world: Wes Anderson, Mary Blair, and even Busby Berkeley.

3 things people probably do not know about you.

My family tree is a long line of performers in one way or another. My mother is a musician and my grandmother still sings several shows a week.

I take great joy in the extremely trivial craft of coordinating-but-not-exactly-matching family clothing.

I grew up in Kansas and came to England as a student but knew within the first two weeks that this would be home. 

 Favorite:

Book Alice Through the Looking Glass
Movie Romeo and Juliet.
Candy do they still make Butterfingers in America? They do, right? I’ll say that.
Drink coffee. Except I haven’t had caffeine since 1996. Sometimes this is frustrating.
Music there is little I don’t like but I have a serious passion for Sigur Rós.
Color really? I have to pick? Aquapinkgreenpurpleredblack. That’s just an unfair question so I’m giving an unfair answer.
TV Show Buddy the Vampire Slayer (though for current things, I’m glad Designated Survivor has come back!)

Can you share how Glitter Girl came about?

I was at the end of a year-long video series for Two Peas in a Bucket (an online shop that has since closed) and we were happy with what we’d done with a series of twelve videos over a year but at the same time, it didn’t always feel right to lock into a single topic for a whole year when trends can change so much over that time. I really liked the idea of working with the community and involving them, so I pitched the idea of a scrapbooking superhero who kind of flew down to the message boards to give a surprise video response each week to one of the discussions. I pitched it totally out there bonkers hoping they would say yes to something, even if it was less – like once a month could work so I said once a week. They loved the idea and took it on board pretty much exactly how I pitched it. I think we did 122 episodes with the store? Then a while after the shop closed I was able to start the series again and now the questions come from those who watch and comment on YouTube or post on the Scrapbook Like a Superhero Facebook group. There’s no single shop involved and everyone is welcome, no matter the style you scrap.
We love the little by little collection! Can you tell us what inspired you when creating this collection?

Thanks so much! Little by Little is inspired by British children’s literature, and you’ll find references to Harry Potter and Peter Pan if you take a look. I wanted the colours to be a real highlight of the collection, that you could work just with pastels for one look but switch it up to primaries on your next page and then again with black and white plus a bold colour of your choice. I hope the variety gives you so much versatility while you craft.

Have you always had a love for design?

Perhaps an appreciation for design is a better term for me. I never took an art class after elementary school (until the last few years when I’ve done some study to broaden my skills) and although handwriting and lettering were something I can see developing in the notebooks I have from my youth, I didn’t know where to start with drawing or painting. I could see it in my head and then just nothing would come close on paper. I was quite embarrassed about it so I just stopped doodling, which is really the worst you can do in terms of keeping your sketches improving. But I did use the time to absorb so much visually so I developed a much stronger idea of what I liked. I don’t regret that chain of events though, because it has been quite enjoyable to learn essentially a whole new aspect of the craft at this point in my life, just since working with American Crafts.
What is one thing you love about the scrapbooking industry and what is one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting out with scrapbooking?

I love how the industry creates products that become a neverending mix of unique pieces on unique pages. I dabble in crafts that ask you to follow a pattern and I can enjoy a sewing project, something to stitch, and so on. But scrapbooking is my passion because every page is its own creation, from start to finish. I love that feeling when your words come together in a way that you wonder if anyone has ever said that before in the history of the English language, and I love that same feeling when mixing and matching supplies de new and old collections across dozens of manufacturers.

If you’re just starting now, be true to yourself and don’t stress. Today’s photos can easily be reprinted if you decide you don’t like something and want to start again. Don’t be scared out of something that feels right to you- for years I printed all my journaling with fonts because someone told me I should. It’s been ten years since I did that on a single page and I’m so much happier for it. Whatever it is that makes it joyful for you, keep doing it no matter what trends tell you.
How would you describe your style? 

Relatively simple at the core, but filled with colour and pattern, and always created with a story in mind. In fact, that’s how I design products as well as my pages: if I can think of ten different stories scrappers might be able to tell with a particular product, then I know that’s something I want to include.

Shimelle thank your for being a creative superhero and connecting with our readers!  You can check out the Scrapbook like a Superhero Facebook group HERE and also find Shimelle on Instagram and Twitter!  Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful rest of your day!

Field Notes – Colorful and fun

Hello Clique friends. I’m back today to share a couple of spreads in my traveler’s notebook. The super fun March Play kit was perfect to give my pages lots of color and a happy vibe.

For my first spread, I decided to use a couple of pictures of my daughter playing in the snow.

I always start by covering the pages with cardstock, as it makes them thicker and more difficult to tear. I picked white for the left side and patterned paper from the Little by little collection for the right side. I then fussy cut two of the wreaths out of the Clever Little Fox paper to use them as a base for my photos.

For the opposite side, I went for a tone-on-tone look. Ephemera pieces and stickers match the colors in the background. To bring the spread together I used a branding strip across the bottom of both pages.

My second spread took a little bit more time as I decided to add some stitching to it.

One of the patterned papers in the kit has several words in different colors that I absolutely love. I picked the ‘heart’ one, as the color matched my daughter’s shirt in the picture. I glued the letters onto the polka dot patterned paper and stitched around them using the same color thread. The texture it adds is what I was going for. I completed the page with some ephemera pieces.

For the right side of the spread, I went for a simple look and only used a few embellishments that matched the colors on the opposite side.

I hope you felt inspired today to use the beautiful March Play kit in your traveler’s notebook. The Clique store has a lot of supplies to make your spreads come together quickly and beautifully. I can’t say enough how amazing the kits are each month. They are very versatile and can be used for a variety of projects.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day!

Enza

Mood Board – April 2017

Happy  Sunday everyone! It was starting to feel like spring where I live (Minnesota), but something in the air changed this week to have that winter chill. Though with April around the corner I know springtime is almost here to stay. With that in mind, today we are ready to share the April mood board and sneak peeks!

Clique Kits first kit launched in April 2014 and here we are 3 years later with another launch and another great year of kits planned (as well as other surprises!) I’m so excited to be on this journey with an amazing group of women. To share our passion for documenting life’s moments with amazing products. I’m so fueled with inspiration by not only our design team, but the faces behind Clique Kits. April also marks the start of a term for a new Clique Kits design team. So many amazing things happening with Clique Kits so keep your eyes on our social media and your email (subscribe to our e-newsletter here).

Alright, now time for the goods! Our April Mood Board. The April kit is titled, Jellybean.

Now, how about a few sneak peeks of our April Kit: Jellybean?

What do you think about our April Kit sneak peeks? Don’t forget Wednesday, March 15 is our March Pep Rally and the full reveal of our April kit. So be sure to stay glued to our social media.

Have an amazing Sunday everyone and happy documenting!

Clique Kits March Challenge

Hello everyone and welcome to the Clique Kits March blog challenge!  First I want to thank everyone who linked up last month and a big congrats to Timi Biro for being our randomly selected winner for our February challenge!

Timi please email erica@cliquekits.com with February Challenge winner in the subject line to claim your prize!  I also want to give a big thank you to our February sponsor Mommy Lhey Designs!  Please remember to check out thier website and Facebook page for the cutest stamps and planner kits!

This month our challenge is Anything Goes as always but we would love to see a cut file being used in your project!  We also have a wonderful sketch to provide for more inspiration!  This sketch was desinged by Kristine Davidson over at Creative Scappers!

This month our fabulous sponsor is The Cut Shoppe and they are giving our randomly selected winner a $25.00 gift certificate to thier shop!  They have fabulous cut files, digital collections and classes!  Make sure to stop by the shop and check it out and also make sure to follow them on Facebook!

Now here is some inspiration from the Clique Kits Design Team!

We can not wait to see what you create!  If you are not already in the Clique Facebook group we would love to have you!  You can join HERE!

Here are a few details about the challenge!

• You may combine our challenge with other challenges
• You may enter our challenge up to 3 times
• Link up your projects by March 31st, 11:55 pm CST
• You are not required to use a Clique Kit, cutfile or sketch to link up.
• Create any type of project
• Link directly to your challenge project entry post

Thanks so much for stopping today!  You can link up by clicking the blue button below!

Geek Lab | One + One

Hi Clique Kits fans,

I am very happy to be here with you today, to show you a fun way to customize the wood embellishment (one + one = us), that you can find in the March kit (Play kit)
available in the shop.

As you can see, I’ve tried to create the same effect than in the letters from the kit.
I’ve painted half the letters with a new product from Aladine: the Izink 3D Texture Paste.

It’s a kind of light coloured texture paste, very easy to apply.
To obtain this effect, I’ve used washi tape as masking tape. I did not have any more masking tape, but that may be better to use masking tape than you favorite washi tape, except if you want to leave the washi on the letters.

Then, I’ve applied my texture paste directly on the wood with my finger. The best is to follow the lines of the wood, and the embellishment is perfect for that.
Let the texture paste dry at least 10 minutes. Then take off the washi tape and enjoy!

I absolutely love the result!!

Then, this wood embellishment can be used in your layout.
Here are some close ups for you to see the details.


Have a great day and don’t hesitate if you have some questions.
Magali