Yearbook: Music on my Titles

Hello! This is Caroli again and today I want to show you one more project using lovely January kit Hey Sugar, which features Crate Paper, Fancy Pants and Simple Stories goodness.

When creating a layout I think a lot about the title and journaling, this is something important because it’s essential for documenting the feeling and stories behind this layout, and music for me is really helpful when deciding what title to use.

I love including parts of my current favorite songs, because this also helps me documenting the feeling of that moment  and complements my memory keeping process. Sometimes a song holds a lot of feelings and memories of daily life, so I love to use them in my layout, whether on title or on journaling.

This time I’ve made this layout using the title of this pretty song by Beyoncé, I love you Like XO. I specially love the version by John Mayer, it’s a beautiful song and I used it as my title because I love these two like XO 🙂

 

 

I had in mind placing lots of horizontal stripes of different sizes and textures, so I used some tiny circle grids for creating some of those stripes. I loved how this idea came out, I’m certainly using it again in other projects!

 

 

 

 

I also used some fringes because they are fun and add a lot of texture. I love the XO paper by Simple Stories included on the kit and of course I fussy cut some of the XOs for my title.

 

I simply adore this hearts with faces papers, it’s just so cute ♥ I used a stripe and some extra hearts and adhere them with foam dots, which I complemented with some puffy stickers of the same heart, arent’ those the CUTEST EVER!? ♥ Love the effect.

 

I hope you like the idea of using songs in your layouts, let’s treasure those happy moments as much as possible 🙂 Have a nice day!

XOXO – Caroli

Art Studio – Love Everlasting

Hello Clique Kits Fans!

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend.

 

Today I am back with a new project using the gorgeous “Hey, Sugar” kit (have i mentioned how much i love this kit).   It is packed with beautiful papers from Crate Paper’s Heart Day collection, and Simple Stories’ Love and Adore collection, and lots of beautiful and colorful embelishments.   Since the colors made me think of love, I chose to translate the inspiration into a sweet layout about my sister and her love for her son.

 

 

For the focus of this layout, i used the Just Nick exclusive cut file  for Clique Kits from February 2016.  I cut only the outlet of the heart on water color paper, and used  the pencil attachment to lightly draw the triangles inside the heart, all this was done using my Silhouette Cameo.

 

the heart cut out was colored using the watercolors.

 

To make sure to  leave a white edge around the heart image, I simply used masking tape to attach it to the silicone mat.  Next I sprinkle water inside the taped lines, followed by varying shades of pink watercolor.  Using a lightly wet brush i connected the splatters together allowing the watercolor to run into the water splatters.

 

 

Once the heart cut out dried, a paper piercing tool was used to make holes in each corner point of the triangles of the original  cut file (you cannot see them in the picture, as I used a 2H pencil to draw them in the Cameo).   Using simple back stitching,  all the triangles were completed.  Here is a few close ups to the heart piece.

 

A few splatters of Metallic Prima watercolor were also added to the center of the heart

 

This heart is the focus of this layout, so it was attached using a large piece of fun foam to the layout.   Next i fussy cut quite a few flowers from the Crate Paper’s Adore You paper included in the “Hey, Sugar” kit, and tucked them behind the picture and lower edge of the heart.  The clusters around the picture  were formed using chipboard stickers from the Heart Day collection, and card stock stickers from Simple Stories’s Love and Adore collection, these can be found in the Clique Store.

 

 

 

To complete the layout, the title was formed using the beautiful black and White alphas included in the “Hey, Sugar” kit, and one of the word stickers from last month’s Wonderland Kit.  Here is the final layout:

 

 

 

The beautiful papers and embelishments in this month’s, “Hey Sugar” kit worked seamlessly to construct this layout about my sis and her little one.  Remember you can still purchase the kit, just click here, or better yet check the limited edition “Love, always” kit available at the Clique Kit Store.  You can use one of the DT’s codes to obtain a discount at checkout.

Let me know if you have any questions on how this came together.

Thanks for visiting today!

 

Delight

Here I am today, to share a layout I’ve made using the wonderful Hey Sugar January Kit.
Even if I have three boys, this kit is one of my favourite so far… so many fun embellishment and I love the bright colours! These colours are perfect for happy moments with my sons!
And I have quite a few of them to document!

As the journaling says, this photo was taken last year.
After the school, I went to a park with my older son to take some pictures of him. He’s not always happy when I do that, but this day, he was so delighted to do that!
We spend a wonderful time together, playing under the tree, finding new angles to take beautiful photos. And he literally played with the camera.

This is really a very nice memory for me, and I had to document it.
It was Spring and we were surrounded by beautiful colours and flowers.
I created this environment by cutting the Crate Paper flower paper.
I’ve used them to create a border under my photos
to separate the journaling and the photos.

After placing my photos over the black and white paper, I’ve stitched (with my sewing machine) a white frame to highlight the pictures. I love how delicate it is!

Don’t forget to check out the Hey Sugar Kit in the Clique Kits website.You will also find the new specialty Valentine Day Kit in the Clique Store.

I am sure you’ll love it!
Have a wonderful day,

Magali

 

Study Hall: Amazing 2016

Hello Clique Friends!

Melissa here with you today and I’m sharing a page that is highlighting my Top 10 moments of 2016. I’m using the gorgeous January kit… oh my lands I love this kit!

So, before I show you the page, I just have to say I really enjoyed the whole process of making this page. I found that going through my Instagram feed was the best way to remember all the fabulous memories of 2016. For me, it was a great year! Full of blessings. Full of new adventures. Full of amazing friends and opportunities. Every year has it’s hardships but, the blessings outweighed those and I’m so thankful!

Truth be told, I had a very difficult time narrowing it down to 10 things but, that seems to be the magic number. And I feel like any more and it would just crowd the page. Once I finally decided on the 10 moments, I printed out my photos super small. I wanted to create a partial collage with lots of journaling. So, here is the finished product…

I kind of like the “authentic scrapbook page” feel of this. What I mean by that is, after glancing through the old scrapbooks my grandmother kept, everything was usually just placed together in a collage type manner. Sometimes little memorabilia was tucked behind photos and such. While I didn’t add that, I did use the embellishments from the kit to help add texture, color and interest to the layout. I just really love the look of a collage. All my memories connected and placed together.

I had to think of a way to add a title. My pages always need a title. And since I had a vision to place my journaling all on the right side, I thought of doing something sideways to visually split the design areas up. Those title words from Fancy Pants work perfect! Add in the thickers to create the year and, it’s perfect!

When I make layouts, I love to journal. I like to talk so, it would make sense I’d have a lot to say on a written page, as well. Ha! I decided to get a little fancy (not really) with my journaling by sometimes printing and sometimes writing in cursive or my half print/half cursive type handwriting. That was one of my favorite things to see in my Grandma’s scrapbook – her handwriting.

Here is a little collage with a few more close-ups of my page:

 

Thank you so much for joining me today!

Grab your January Hey Sugar kit HERE. I hope you find time to document all your favorite memories from 2016!

Locker Room: 2016 Wrap-up

 

Hello Clique Friends,

Happy New Year to you all!   As we begin this new year, it is also time to  look back at the last 365 days, and reflect on what we hold most dear.   So with that in mind, I set up to create a wrap-up layout using the beautiful “Hey, Sugar” kit.  All the beautiful and colorful papers are the perfect to create a layout about your most beloved memories.

 

 

To begin, i created a cut file/sketch that will allow me to add my top ten memories from 2016 without crowding the project.   After playing with a few combinations, i decided that circles will be the best option for the pictures, with a large title to balance the page.  Here is the sketch/cut file -feel free to download it-

 

 

 

First I transformed all the pictures to black and white, and printed them to fit into 2.5 in squares.  Once i had the pictures cut to 2 in circles, I set the size of the circles to 2.25 in on the my Silhouette software, and had the circumference edges perforated.    A little bit of hand stitching along the perforated edge created a textured, and colorful background for my pictures.

 

 

For the title,  I used the top part of the cut file to cut one of the Simple Stories papers included in the main “Hey, Sugar” kit.   The numbers were backed using papers from the kit, as well as the Heart Day 6×6 pad (this month’s kit add on – available in the Clique store).  To ensure continuity, I hand stitched around the number cut-outs.

 

 

Before attaching the cut out to the page, I used my new typewriter (my Christmas present) to type the list of the top ten moments of 2016 -in chronological order- on the top part (above the circles) of the layout.  I had decided that the number cut-out will become a flap over the typed list.

 

The pictures then were attached to the layout.   I used the alphas included in this month’s kit to number the pictures.

 

I used a the puffy heart stickers, enamel dots, and embelishments included in the “Hey Sugar”  kit to add color, and interest along the pictures.   Since all the products in the kit coordinate, it was easy to color block the stitched circle with their respective puffy heart or enamel dot (i love this kit!).    Finally, i dug into last month’s “Wonderland” kit for a little tab as a way to create a marker for the layout’s flap.  Here is the complete layout:

 

 

Though, i am not a fan of multiple picture layouts, I got to say that i was pleased with the balance of picture to white space on the page.  I love how the pictures, and all the pieces from the “Hey Sugar” kit work together harmoniously.

Don’t forget to check out the “Hey, Sugar” kit in the Clique Kits website, as  well as the new  specialty kits  – Love Always, and Traveler’s notebook  – in the Clique Store.  You can use any of the DT’s code for a discount at checkout.

As always, I am only a comment away if you have any questions on how this came together.

Thanks for visiting, today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 2017 Kickoff

I am not gonna lie- I am sorry-not-sorry to see 2016 finally end. Many people I care about  have been bruised by losses of many different kinds this year. In order to get into more of a celebratory mood for Auld Lang Syne I decided to go through my pictures from the past year and reflect on the good times with my family. While doing this, I also took some time to clean out and organize my Photo files on my Mac Book.  I think that the most common theme of welcoming a brand new year is starting fresh, getting organized, and of course determining some resolutions. So with that introduction, my focus in our January kickoff post is to share an idea for a multi-photo Year in Review Layout and also talk a little about getting organized for a fantastic 2017!

I love that the built in photo software from Apple is so intuitive and easy to sort your photos by dates, events, people, places, and customized albums. I find that it helps to be more efficient when I am looking for a photo to scrapbook to have all of the bloopers and bad shots already removed so that I can choose from mostly scrap-worthy snapshots. Of course your digital archives constitute the majority of memory keeping nowadays, and our layouts are the tip of the iceberg thanks to the wonders of digital photography. So one of my New Years resolutions is to take care of my digital photo files with the same care and organization that I put into organizing my supplies. After all, photos are the most important supply.

Rarely, if ever do we a see multiple photo layouts, let alone a layout with 12 photos-yes I said TWELVE! As I went through my photos I decided to pick one memory for each month of the year. It was difficult to narrow them down to one- but another parameter I wanted was to be able to include every one of my children in at least one of the photos-especially if the month included a special day for one of them-like a birthday. This helped me to eliminate photos by having to narrow it down by month AND whether I had already chosen a better photo of one particular child. Once I selected my photos, I printed them in 2.5″ squares on my Canon Selphy and all in black and white for a uniform look and color palette. I cut strips from one of the Hey, Sugar! kit papers to make a frame and then hand stamped a background design of Monstera leaves. I love the color combination of black and white and green. The Thickers alphabet in the kit really made the simple title pop. Finally, I printed a caption for each month’s photo and did some layering of the captions as well as some punched vellum scraps that were laying around from another project.

Last but not least, I had fun creating my own unique embellishment out of resin. I had this random smooshed toy flamingo in my junk drawer. I thought about using it as an embellishment, but then remembered I had some resin I had wanted to play with and if I could make a casting of it, instead of just one embellishment, I would be able to multiply its use by making more resin flamingos whenever I needed one! After creating a silicone mold from the original flamingo, which sets in about 20 minutes, I colored my resin with a few drops of  alcohol ink and poured it into the mold. After setting overnight, it was ready to adhere to my page. I loved the way it came out perfectly imperfect, and flatter than the original toy which made it easier to adhere and less bulky on my page.

Pantone announced their 2017 color of the year and it’s called “Greenery.” One of the trends we are sure to see in scrapbooking like in other design genres this year is the ongoing love of living things-especially tropical and woodland scenery and wildlife. From palms to ferns to succulents, you can’t go wrong with green! The latest pre-CHA new releases are starting to post and behind the scenes Clique Kits is planning upcoming kits and putting together orders for new shop inventory! We know that our 2017 kits are going to continue everything you know and love about Clique Kits, while adding more frequent Traveler’s Notebook add on kits.

If you have not already tried the traveler’s notebook as a way of documenting-and it doesn’t have to be used on a trip- although they are perfect for traveling- please get your pre-order in now for the latest limited edition TN kit.

This kit is coming out with perfect timing-whether for a holiday break from winter weather or if you live in the Southern hemisphere or the tropics already like here in Hawaii where Christmas is always green and bright- this kit is going to be perfect for using as an on the go smash book type album, an album  to document a special trip, or just as a daily documenter that is relaxed and smaller scale than large layouts. Be on the lookout as we add more TN product bundles to the school store, as well as inserts, and accessories!

Clique Kits has already been experimenting with the idea of hosting pre-orders for our subscribers and followers for hot new products -and many of these will be bundled to provide even deeper discounts for pre-ordering. However, once we close out ordering for shipment with the following month kit, these items, or whatever is left of them, will be transitioned to a la carte items, and priced accordingly. Just wanted to make sure that we keep everyone in the loop about how we adjust based on the crafting and buying patterns of our community!

Thank you so much for being part of The Clique- we love the diversity and varied talents of our community and value each individual member as a personal friend. And on that note…

 

We’ll take a cup of kindness yet for Auld Lang Syne!

-x Gia

 

 

Study Hall: DONUT DELIGHT

Hello Clique friends,

Happy New Year to you all!  May 2017 be full of love, peace and blessings.

Today, i wanted to share with you a new layout created with this month’s “Hey, Sugar” kit.   Isn’t it lovely?  All the beautiful papers and embelishments are so fun to work with, but there is also a set of cut files that is included with each kit.   One of this month’s cut files features an image of a donut;  once i saw the cut file, I knew that it would work perfect for what i had in mind.

 

 

I started by printing the image of the donut, using the Silhouette software, in my printer.  I  used a pencil to transfer onto trace paper the image of the donut.  Using the Prima watercolor palettes, i created a few circles on watercolor paper to look like the dough of a donut.

 

 

Using the trace paper image as a guide, the watercolor circles were cut to obtain the donut shape.  At the same time, I isolated the icing image of the donut, on the Silhouette software, and cut it from some of the papers in the kit, as well as the Heart Day 6×6 pad (this month’s kit add on) available at the Clique Store. 

 

 

Once i had the “donut icing” cut outs, i glued the pieces together, and added a bit of hand stitching to secure the pieces, and add texture to the donut shapes.  Putting the page together after that was so  simple, and fun!

 

The donuts were attached to the page using adhesive foam (in different thickness), so that they create dimension on the page.   All the sprinkles in the donuts are the part of the Joy Parade (from Fancy Pants) puffy stickers included in the kit, I simply cut the triangles to create the sprinkles for the donuts.  I created a photo strip  of my nephew eating only the sprinkles of a donut, and nestled it amongst the donuts.  This month’s exclusive printables were perfect to create little clusters along the photo strip.

 

 

For the title, I used the circumference of the donut to create a playful design with the Crate Paper’s Heart Day Alphas  included in the kit, and one of the word stickers (from the Joy Parade collection) also included in the “Hey, Sugar” kit.  I love the color combination, and the retro vibe it adds to the page.  To finish the project, I simply added my journal lines along the circumference of the donuts, and added the date to the project.  Here is the complete project:

 

 

I love when i can bring my ideas into a reality, and this is the case with this layout.   It was all possible using this month’s “Hey, Sugar” kit.  This is a must have, even if lots of pink is not your thing!.   Trust me, you want to make sure to subscribe for it, and get all the add ons at the Clique Store, just use one of the DT’s code to obtain a discount at checkout.

I am always a comment away, if you have any questions on how this came together.

Thanks for visiting, and have a great New Year!

 

Study Hall: Let’s Use Printables!

Hello friends!

Melissa here with you today and I’m sharing a card I created using the gorgeous printables from the January kit. Have you truly utilized all the wonderful digital product that is available to you in your kits??? Cut files and printables that coordinate perfectly with the kit contents, can add to your projects so well!

I’ve been wanting to play with the printables but, have been lazy and did not have ink in my printer for almost a year. Yes, you read that right. A year. But, I finally got some and was so excited to add the printables to my cards.

I cut apart the pennants to use on this card and they were the perfect way to complete the design of the card.

I loved using the printables to add a pop of color to the design of my card. The vellum is so pretty with the shiny gold and the hearts on the pattern paper have a really pale pink. So, to help give the card a little boost, the pennants really helped to balance the overall design.

And one more close-up for you…

Thanks for joining me today and I hope you take advantage of all the awesome things your kit includes – like the printables!

Happy creating!

 

Traveler’s Notebook – My Journal

Hello Clique Friends!

I hope you all had a great Christmas!,  and are getting everything ready to receive the New Year.

Today, I will share with you a few entries of my traveler’s book (also known as my personal journal) created with the beautiful January kit, “Hey Sugar”.  This kit is so gorgeous, and full of beautiful papers, and colorful add ons.  It is perfect to document all those loved holiday memories.

 

I don’t know about you, but i love coffee.  During the holiday season, I am partial to the Starbucks’s Peppermint Mocha; needless to say, i had to add an entry on my diary to remind me the rest of the year of this wonderful drink.

 

To start, i used a piece of the packaging tissue paper (the kit comes wrapped with) to cover one side of the traveler’s note book, and added a picture of my daily addiction .  The coffee cut tag comes from the 6×6 Heart Day paper pad, which is available at the Store as an add-on to this kit;  the little enamel glitter heart comes from the embelishment package in the kit.

 

 

This year Starbucks chose to have decorated cups for the Holiday season, let’s just say that the friendly staff was glad to give away many cups to one of their frequent customers.   In order to preserve my memories,  i broke apart the cup, and cut it to look like a smaller version of it.  A small hole to the top of the cut-out transform it to a tag, and i used a Sharpie marker to write some journal lines on the back of the image (the paper clip comes from my stash).  Since i also kept the cup’s sleeve, I decided to create a small pocket from one of the papers in the Simple Stories Love & Adore collection included on the Hey Sugar kit.   A little bit of hand stitching holds it in place, and the Fancy Pants “Golden Days” stamp available in the Clique store, along with some small embelishments and add ons to the kit complete the page:

 

 

The next entry on my journal, was put together while I waited for my son to finish his hour  soccer training.  I traced a large heart over the next two pages of the notebook, pierced the image, and hand stitched a large heart.  I also punched a few holes in the center spine of both pages,  and used the needle to create some string art inside the heart.

 

 

This month’s exclusives printables are perfect to use when documenting in a traveler’s notebook.  I used one of the tags to serve as a layer behind the picture of my hubby decorating gingerbread cookies.  I used another of the printables to create a small cluster on the lower left corner of the page, using the branding strips from one of the papers from the kit, a label from Simple Stories Love & Adore collection (an add on to this month’s kit), and a few pieces from last month’s kit.

 

 

Since the heart took most of the space of the page, i added my journal around the heart’s edge.  I added a few of the Fancy Pants puffy stickers included in the Hey Sugar kit to add interest on the heart.  Here is the completed page:

 

 

Aren’t the colors in this month’s Hey Sugar kit so gorgeous?  Like I mentioned before,  they are perfect to document all your beloved memories.    Don’t forget to visit the Clique Store and Market to find more details on this kit, and all the add-ons available for purchase.  You can always use one of the DT’s code to obtain a 10% discount on your order at checkout.

Thanks for visiting today, and may you be blessed in the New Year!

 

Locker Room: Always

Hello everyone! I’m back today to share a new layout featuring the gorgeous Hey, Sugar January kit. I love everything pink, so you can imagine how happy I was when I received my awesome box of goodies.

I always try to include different elements on my projects, so to achieve as much texture and dimension as possible. The idea for this layout came from one of the fun cut files available with the January kit.

The cut file on its own is very versatile. So many  possibilities! You can use it as it is on top of some patterned paper or vellum, you can use different patterned papers to back each section, you can even cut out the individual elements to create your own background.

The first thing I did was use the Crate Paper Heart You Gold foil heart vellum to back some of the sections and the Crate Paper Lovely patterned paper to back others. I also included some stitching to add an extra element of interest.

Once my cut file was ready, I prepared the background paper that I wanted to use as my base. The packaging technique is the simplest way you can add some mixed media to your pages. I used pink and gold mist to match the colors in the kit.

Next, I worked on my layers.

I used both side of the Happy Hearts patterned paper to back my picture. The bottom layer is just some mint tissue paper I had in my stash. I think it makes the photo stand out more. The fussy cut flowers come from the Crate Paper Adore You patterned paper, while the black enamel hearts are from Bella Blvd. I love the contrast between all the pink and the black accents on the page.

The embellishments included in the kit are so cute! I also love the Fancy Pants Joy Parade Sentiments Puffy Stickers. They are perfect for any type of project.

That is it, my friends! I hope you enjoyed reading about my process and feel inspired to use the January cut file to add some fun elements to your layouts.

Thank you for stopping by!

Have a great day!

Enza, XOXO