Guest Contributor – Tiffany Keronen

Hey everyone, Tiffani here with another layout made with the Hello Sugar January Kit.

Mixed media supplies are by far my favorite to work with. You have so many options on creating backgrounds and your own personal touches. For this layout I started with white watercolor paper. I prepped my page with gesso and then once that dried I used Tim Holtz Distress Crayons. To blend I used water and my fingers. On top of that I decided to do a brick wall using Rangers Texture Paste.

I love all the papers in this months kit. These are 3 of my favorite patterns. I love the torn paper look so I added that to one of the edges of each paper. The pictures I chose for this layout are of my 2 closest friends. They have been there for me through some of the hardest moments in my past year.

I adore all of the embellishments in this months kit. The vinyl stickers and thickers work so well together. I added some twine to the little xoxo tag and added 3 hearts to signify each one of ours.

Thank you for checking out my layout and happy creating.  You can find the January Hey Sugar kit in the Clique Kits shop HERE!  Save 10% off the kit by using the code SAVE10 at checkout!  Have a great weekend and if you are not yet part of The Clique on Facebook you can check it out HERE!

Tiffani

Guest Designer Nathalie DeSousa: Awesome Friends

 

 

Hello everyone!,

I have had so much fun creating a few projects with this beautiful RASKOG kit.     The beautiful papers, cut apart pieces, and all add ons are so easy to combine, that layouts come together rather rapidly.

For this project, I chose to cut the word ‘Awesome’from one of the Pinkfresh Studio paper, and glue it onto the nice colorful striped paper (also from Pinkfresh Studio).  Once glued, i pierced the edge of the letters, so it can be hand stitched.  I chose to use different color embroidery floss, that matched each of the respective color where the letter was placed.

 

 

The picture was printed in black and white to match the letters of the word.  I used some of the 4x4in cards to back the picture, as well as one of the glasine bags included on the kit.  I stitched one of the acetate words to the picture, and created clusters of the cut-apart  pieces, and small cut-outs (created using The Cut Shoppe’s Summer Time Circles cut file) around the page.   The title was completed by using the beautiful yellow alphabet stickers from Pinkfresh included in the kit.

 

 

I love adding small clusters around the page, so i used some of the rubber pieces and a few circle cut-outs to create a small cluster at the bottom of the large word.

 

 

Finally, i added some small details around the page along with my journal lines.  Here is the final layout

 

 

As always, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions  (you can find me in Instagram @tachita55, or Twitter @tachita55, or in my blog “Living An Inspired Life“).

It has been an honor to share a piece of my work with you.  Thank you Clique Kits for the invitation, and the beautiful RASKOG  kit.   You guys are great.  I am a fan!!

See you around!

July Guest Designer Nathalie DeSousa : Love Noted

Hello everyone,

My name is Nathalie DeSousa (aka Tachita55 -my Spanish nickname since birth),  a stay-at-home wife and mom from Toronto, Canada, and this month’s Guest Designer.  I am so blessed, honored and thankful to the lovely ladies at Clique Kits for the invitation to share a little bit of my work with you all.

Upon receiving this beautiful kit, I quickly was drawn to the beautiful plastic paper and the idea for this display layout was born.

First, I used the Cut Shoppe’s Everyday Essential cut file to create the ‘LOVE’ cut-out on the plastic paper using my Silhouette Cameo.  I made sure to erase all lines from the letter ‘o’ as it was where the photo would be placed.

Since I wanted the picture to show as if it was floating inside the ‘o’, I created an  internal offset on the same cut file, and cut just the edges  on two papers (the back paper is just plain paper).  I have added a small video on how the page was built  -just click on the highlighted words-

To frame the picture, a small oval was created using the letter ‘o’ space on the cut file.  Since the picture will be floating inside the space, two pictures were glued together, and large piece of fine crochet yarn was looped in between the two pictures -making sure that there was enough yarn hanging on both sides-.  The looped side of the yarn was left hanging on the top of the layout as a ways to help with the display of the project.  To secure all the pieces, some stitching from  a sewing machine was used all around the edges of the  project.

 

 

To complete the title of the piece,  I added the acetate word “NOTED” to the bottom right of the piece.   The cut-apart pieces of the collection worked nicely to complete the title.

 

 

To add balance to the project,  a small cluster was added to the bottom left corner of the layout.  Using only cut-aparts from the kit and a few pieces of the sequin mix, a small cluster was created.  I was able to fit the date  and occasion when the picture was taken.

 

 

 

Finally, I added a few more details along to finish the layout, and now it sits nicely on top of my bedroom dresser, amongst my most  loved pictures of my family.  Here is a last look at the completed layout…

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy the layout, it was easy to build with this beautiful kit.  You can pick this kit up in the Clique Kits Shop HERE!

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the layout.

Till next time,

Happy Crafting!.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May Guest Designer – Meredith Turner

Hello! I’m Meredith, and I’m so excited to be a Guest Designer for Clique Kits this month!  I’m usually a Project Life scrapbooker, but after moving a few months ago I’ve gotten really behind.  So instead of using this kit for my weekly spreads, I thought I would use it for a special mini album of a trip I recently took with my sister to Boston.

For the base, I started with the grey corrugated paper from the Northern Lights – May 2016 kit. I cut the 12×12 sheet almost in half to 6.5 x 12, so that the ridges were running up and down (vs. left to right- this is really just a personal preference) and folded it in half.

When we were on the trip we tagged all of the images we posted to Facebook/Instagram with #MorganAndMeredithInBoston so I thought it was a fitting title, using the Fancy Pants alpha stickers and tags from the kit.  I love these striped stickers! I attached the tags to the cover using my mini stapler.

For the pages, I cut up different 12×12 sheets from the kit into 6×6 pieces. I picked some of my favourites (which was pretty much every paper in the kit) and tried to use both the front and the back to co-ordinate with the images.  The colours and sayings on these papers were perfect for a girls weekend!

The ‘breathe it all in’ was originally a 4×6 card, but I fussy-cut it with scissors to fit better on the page.  Boston was beautiful, and we definitely spent some time just breathing it all in!

How gorgeous are the papers in this kit?? The colours, the patterns… I can’t get enough.  I couldn’t bring myself to cover up the beautiful colours on the left so I left it as an accent page.

And for some pages, all it needed was a selfie!  I love the ‘me’ flair- perfect for any selfie!

One of my favourite parts of Boston was visiting the Mapparium.  You’re not supposed to take pictures inside, but I am obsessed with all things map so I may have broken that rule a bit… It resulted in a terrible quality selfie, but I love the picture too much to leave it out!

I tried not to repeat the papers too many times, so that I could still use them in future projects.

 

Being from Canada, of course we hit up a Blue Jays vs. Red Sox game- actually, that was the whole point of the trip.  The Girls Night Out card was perfect for a drink before the game!

 

I wanted to add a little something on the back, so I used one of the flair pieces to act as a bit of a latch to keep the album closed (it’s a bit bulky with all of the pages and embellishments).  To keep the pages together, I placed them all neatly inside the cover and stapled it together with some blue staples to make it pop. Be sure to keep this in mind when you are making the pages (I found it easier to put the pages together before binding) so you don’t put images too close to the inside edge, since they would end up being covered.

I absolutely love how the album turned out! Thank you so much to Clique Kits for letting me be a Guest Designer this month.

May Guest Designer- Jennie García

Hello Clique Kits Fan! I’m Jennie García and I will be guest designing for Clique Kits during the month of May!  I made these pocket pages using the Northern Lights- May 2016 Kit!

Every week or two I print my photos at home, cut them and slip them in the pockets. That way, when I have a little creative break I can start creating right away. I pick a day when I don’t have to scrap because editing and printing photos for some reason dulls my mojo. I select journaling cards first and then I use paper to fill the spots that were empty or where I need to mat photos. Some of these journaling cards are exclusive from Clique Kits.For the title card I used one of the Fancy Pants Tags, the Fancy Pants Alphas and the super cute iPhone die cut from Clique Kits.This is my favorite card from this spread. The frame die cut is perfect for wallet size photos (2″ x 3″ )  and that “Hey Chica!” die cut is the best! This is my favorite way to journal. I like to put a number in the corner of the photos and pick two cards where I write a few sentences about each photo. I love the colors in this kit! They are so fun and different! If you want to see how I made these pocket pages don’t miss the process video! Thank you so much Clique Kits for letting me join the team this month!

Take Care Everyone!

 

Student of the Month – Hannah Lemieux

Aloha!! This is Hannah here and I am so excited to be one of the Guest Designers for March!! The “Hell Yeah “ Kit is so much fun to play with. I am loving all the black and white with pops of colors. For the layout I made I decided to go with that concept. Since I love making my backgrounds unique I took one of the Pattern papers and altered it. Yes, i know that sounds kinda scary, right?! I picked the Seven Paper Goldie paper002, which has Amazing black doodled stripes. Now I messed up there definitely was no going back. I broke out my watercolors and started painting more stripes. The Inspiration I had for my background was a shirt I recently bought that was a black and white plaid. I love the the stripes on my plaid shirt are different widths. On my background I played with this thought of making some of the lines wider. Since I had already picked out my papers, I went with twisted citrus in distress ink (watered down to look like watercolor) and some hot pink Heidi Swapp Color Shine for some of the other stripes on the background. I splattered the access of my paint brush in a couple of spots too.

 

I love how it turned out, even though it isn’t perfect. I find that is the key to homemade backgrounds. Embracing the imperfect!! The imperfections often adds to it’s uniqueness.

Now it was time to build the rest of my layout. I knew that I wanted to use three 3×4 size photos that I took recently during a unexpected trip back to visit my family. I took some nature shots of things we definitely don’t see much of in Hawaii, like sumac and birch tress. I knew I wanted to create this layout so my kids could see a little of what I used to see growing up but is so foreign to them.

Because my background was so busy I tried to pick just a few papers that were mostly black and white with pops of colors that were either in my photos or in the background paper I created.

I layered some of the exclusive die cuts pieces made by Pink Fresh Studios in a few areas to draw your eye around my photos. The wash tape also added a nice layer without being to much because you can kinda see through it.

For my title I used one of the pocket page cards from the Paper add by Photo play. The word Wonderful just looked so pretty. I couldn’t help but use it on my layout. I added the word Nature in the Red alphas by Studio Calico. I love these alphas, they are just the perfect size for titles. I only wish they had more of each color.

For my journaling, I waned to do something a little different. Plus with this busy background there wasn’t a lot of space on the main part of the layout to see what I wanted to write. I cut a little off the the sides of the layout and added the patterned paper on plain white card stock. This gave me a little edge around the layout for journaling.

I think it turned out really cool and adds something different to my layout.

Here is a look at the full layout completed.

Thanks for joining us today!! I hope you were inspired!! Don’t forget to come back and see what the other designers are doing with their March “Hell Yeah” kits too.

Aloha, Hannah

February Designer in the Spotlight – Nicole Nowosad

Today I am so excited to be bringing you are February Designer in the Spotlight!  This month our kit featured the Shine collection by Maggie Holmes with exclusive cut files designed by Just Nick.    Just Nick is a digital cut file shop that offers unique and fun cut files that can be used on varies digital cutting machines.  Nicole Nowosad is the owner and designer behind all these fabulous cut files.  This month she created exclusive designs for our February kit Hot Mess and they have been extremely popular!

We are very thankful that Nicole took some time out of her day to answer our Q&A for February Designer in the Spotlight.  Please say hello to Nicole!

1. Tell us a little bit about your creative process and what inspires you?

I am really inspired by graphic design and colour/pattern. I really start a page or design with a shape in mind and go from there. I like to keep things fairly simple, but layered.

2. Where and when are you most creative?

Definitely in the evening and I usually scrap better when gathered with other scrappy friends.

3. What are some of your must have supplies?

Well, I can’t live without patterned paper. That and my digital die cut machine.  Most embellishments and titles can be made with just those two things!

4. Have you always had a love for design?

I have loved to tinker on computers and draw on them. It is much easier for me than actually physically drawing on my own 🙂

5. 3 things people probably do not know about you.

I am pretty much an open book, but for sure one thing is that I am quite shy in person. I like to talk  A LOT once I get to know someone, but at first, super shy. Hmm, what else.

I worked 18 years for a pizza fast food chain and believe it or not, although I hated it at the time, I miss the job quite often.

I was a drum major for the high school marching band. I know, I was a band geek 🙂

6. Favorite:

● Book  – Outlander series

● Movie – Pitch Perfect

● Candy  – Hot Lips or Swedish Berries

● Drink  – Slurpees

● Music – Maroon 5, Adele, anything mainstream

● Color  – Aqua/Teal and Mint Green

● TV Show  – Days of our Lives. I have watched it since the 6th grade 🙂

● Smells  – Cinnamon, vanilla. Anything with a yummy spice

7. How did you get started with scrapbooking and designing cut files?

I started scrapbooking at a home party about 17 years ago. Cut files came much later obviously, but as soon as I came across the Silhouette, I was hooked. Like I mentioned earlier, I have always liked to tinker on the computer. I took a desktop publishing course in college and so maneuvering the software came easily to me. It was a natural fit and I love it!

8. A piece of advice you would give your younger self.

Definitely take more risks earlier. Travel before settling down. Stay in college. Live alone for a while.

9. What advice would you give someone who is a new cut file user?

Start slow. Take a basics class. Learn a few favorite tricks like welding and tracing. Try to edit shapes on your own to create your own unique things yourself! And, of course take advantage of all the great freebies out there!

10. If you could visit any manufacturer who would it be (any industry)

Honestly, I think I would like to check out a fabric manufacturer. I would love to dive into the patterns and color!

Thank you so much Nicole!  It is always so fun to learn a little bit about the designers we love!  If you are not already following Just Nick or Nicole on social media please take a minute and visit the links below!  If you are new to cut files or have been afraid to get started now is the time!  They are so fun to use and once you get the hang of cutting you will be hooked!  Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you all have a wonderful day!  To get your hands on the February kit please CLICK HERE before they are gone!

social media links:

Instagram: @nicolenowosad & @justnickstudio

JustNick digital cut files: http://www.justnick.myshopify.com

Pinterest: @nicolenowosad

My personal blog: http://www.justnicks.blogspot.com

Twitter: @nicolenowosad

Facebook:

JustNick = https://www.facebook.com/JustNickstudio/

Nicole Nowosad = https://www.facebook.com/Nicole-Nowosad-783962564983273/

February Student of the Month- Marybeth Hancher

Hi, everyone!  I’m Marybeth, and I’m oh so happy to be here with you as a guest designer this month.  I’m a happily married mama to one sweet little lady named Nadia, a journal shop owner, blogger, and very messy documenter.  😉

I fell in love with documenting my every day life in 2012- I’m a photographer, so I’ve always taken my fair share of photos, but I never really did much with them in terms of archiving in anything but the standard photo album.  It wasn’t until my husband’s final deployment in the Navy that I intentionally printed and journaled the day next to all the photos I took.  He was going to miss our daughter’s first birthday along with every other milestone she hit during the 280 days he was out at sea, but I was determined to capture as much as I could each day and welcome him home with a book filled those memories & stories.  After I did it for that long, I simply couldn’t stop.  I enjoy making Project Life albums, filling homemade smash books & junk journals, and basically anything else I can get my hands on.  I typically don’t work in traditional scrapbooks or make large layouts for them, but I have a hunch I’ll be trying it out in due time.  😉

SO, now that you know a little about my story, let’s get on with it.  Shall we?

The February kit is AMAZING, isn’t it?  I just couldn’t wait to play with all the bits and pieces in that beautiful collection.  I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to make first, but I decided to start off with a mini album.

I’m a big fan of using my We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board whenever I have the opportunity, so I knew it would be fun to use some of these papers to make some fun envelope pages to be scattered throughout.For the cover, I used a couple pieces of chipboard that I had on hand, and after dribbling some of that beautiful Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Peacock that came in my kit, I just layered on some scraps left over from the pages, ephemera from the pack, and a wood veneer + sticker.  Easy peasy.
For the pages, I just mixed up some of the journaling cards, created some envelopes, and using the scraps of paper left over from them, I also cut out some tags.  And don’t you just love that acetate sheet?  SO fun!I also wanted to make the envelopes have a velcro closure, so I cut an adhesive velcro oval in half for each envelope…. it’s a little sloppy because my scissors got stuck!  Note to self:  Invest in those non-stick scissors you’ve had on your wish list for years.I also took a 4×4 page from one of my small Project Life albums and filled the 2×2 pockets with sequins from the kit.  I used my Fuse tool to close the pockets into little triangles & then filled the other two with ephemera from the pack.One of my favorite things about my albums are having all the little bits and pieces sticking out all over the place.  I enjoy watching people look through them in person and seeing their faces when they discover all the interactive pieces on each page.  It’s like watching them go on a treasure hunt.  😉I thought this “Awesome sauce” cut-apart was appropriate for this photo of Nadia looking like a cool kid in her big heart sunglasses.I also used the little scraps to punch out a couple tabs to staple on a couple envelopes.  I think it adds a nice touch and also uses up even the tiny pieces of paper.After I made this (and took the photos!), I gave it to sweet Nadia.  She LOVED it!  🙂  If you would like to see a process video, you can watch it here.

There was still tons of the kit left over, so I decided to make a quick pocket letter to share some of that gorgeous collection with a friend who just sent me some happy mail.  I don’t usually make pocket letters (this is only my 3rd one), but I couldn’t resist trying- especially since some of my scrap papers left over from the mini album fit well into the baseball card sleeves!The 12×12 cut-apart sheet in the Shine collection already has some great background images for Pocket Letters, so the only thing I had to do was cut them down slightly smaller so they would fit into the sleeve.  Worked out great!I decided to sew together a tiny vellum pocket and fill it with a bit of the sequins from the kit.  I embossed the front of it with “Sparkle & Shine” in my own handwriting to make it more personalized, and then put the pocket, well, in the pocket.  😉Then I glued one of the flair buttons onto a gold paperclip to make a fun little embellishment that she can use in her planner, journal, or wherever!Now all that’s left to do is stuff it with some more personalized things, write my letter, and then fold it up & mail it!

Thanks so much for taking a peek into how I’m using the Hot Mess kit!  I still have TONS left over, so I’ll be working on some more things throughout the month.  Be sure to keep in touch if you want to see more- plus I love meeting new crafty friends.  😉  You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Until next time!  XOXO

 

 

January Student of the Month – Bernii Miller

 

Hello there Clique kits fans, Bernii here with you today to share with you my very first layout that I have created with this month’s Alegria kit as a guest designer.

I am so in love with this kit and as soon as it arrived on my door step here down under I instantly started planning out what pages I wanted to create. So today I actually have two layouts to share with you. The first one was based on the 6 x 6 ” Happy Place” paper pad that I grabbed as an add on from the shop. I simply pulled out the papers that I loved and cut them down to 3×3  squares.

 

 

Before adding my watercolour to the back ground I made sure that I brushed those areas with clear gesso so that the cardstock would not buckle and bend. It also helps the black fine line pen to adhere and write better over the watercolour which can tend to be a little glossy.

I just had to add in this exclusive flair to the layout somewhere. It is one of the cutest little foxes I have seen about.

 

 

Here is my second layout I also managed to make on the same day with the same kit, although this time i used the Putty My Colours cardstock that I also purchased as an add on from the store. You can find it HERE. To prep this page also I used clear gesso in a thin layer as I knew I wanted to create a mixed media background.

 

I based this layout on the Hero Arts arrow stencil that I used modelling paste with smack bang in the middle of the layout. I wanted this to act as an anchor point / photo mat for the little 2 x 3 photos that I wanted to use. I then went around the stencil with yellow thread and sprayed over some yellow color mist.

Here is  a closer look at how I created that centre stencil.

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope I have given you some inspiration to play with your Alegria kit.

 

January Student of the Month – Kelly Barron

Hello everyone!  I am so excited to bring you our first Student of the Month for January!  I have been following Kelly on YouTube for awhile and I love her style!  I am so very excited to have her as a guest for Clique Kits using the January kit!  Please make sure to check out her YouTube channel and subscribe to see more work from her using the January kit!  Please say hello to Kelly!

Hi everyone! I have loved all things crafty for as long as I can remember.  My mother taught me to cross stitch and latch hook, and that was a love throughout my childhood.  I have also dabbled in cake decorating and crochet.  I stumbled upon scrapbooking after my son was born in 2000 and have been in love with the hobby ever since.  There is just something so special about playing with pretty papers and embellishments that is just therapy for my soul, with the added bonus of documenting our lives. I also love to knit and usually have a couple of projects on needles at all times. I have been married to my husband for 17 years and we have two teenagers who keep us on our toes! 

Hey guys, it’s Kelly and I’m so excited to be sharing my first layout using the Alegria kit!  I love the bright colors of this collection.  I have been working quite a bit on my December album, so when it came time to make a 12×12 layout, I chose one of my favorite page designs.  I find that when making the first layout with a new kit it is easier for me to stick with something that I like to do in regards to the design.

On this close up you can see the dimension of the various layouts.  Save your glassine envelopes!!  They make great layering pieces on your pages.

I love to journal on tags and place them in the glassine bags, especially when I use mixed media on my layout. I have a process video if you would like to take a peek at my process. I’ll have some more videos to follow using this kit!

 

To see more of Kelly’s work and follow her on social media please check out her links below and as always have a wonderful day and for our friends in the states have a Happy New Years Eve!

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