Geek Lab with Hannah

Aloha!! It’s Hannah here with you today.  The fresh and bold colors in the “Jelly Bean” April Kit have me thinking about Spring. Where I live it’s still pretty green and damp. It has me dreaming about my flower bed from the summer and all the beautiful colors they wore proudly. I knew this kit and the exclusive flower cut file would fit perfectly together to make an awesome layout.

Maybe by making a layout about my flowers will entice them to grow faster! If only scrapbooking brought on the season change and made the weather behave?!! While I dream about wearing old sneakers and dirty garden gloves, lets take a look at what I created.

I really wanted to go BOLD so I used my silhouette to cut the exclusive floral cut file with pattern paper. The cut file is really intricate so it really helps this busy paper pop. The flowers come alive. It will work well on my layout because I am using white cardstock that I made several stripes with dark grey acrylic paint. The color against the dark and white really help them stand out.

I cut one set of flowers big and left them open. I also cut a couple of other sets in plain white cardstock.  I like to use smooth cardstock with my cut files. I find they look better and the thicker quality helps them hold up better in the silhouette. These smaller sets I backed with some of my left over “Paint Me” patterned paper and some of the dotted vellum. I used some tiny staples in gold from my tiny attacher to attach and hold the paper together. I wanted to create shadows by attaching them this way. I wanted the cut file to lift up a bit from the paper to add dimension too.

To me this really helps makes an impact on a layout when you use dimension and shadows in your favor. The bright colors in this kit and paper really help with that as well.

I used 3 3×4 size photos that I matted with white cardstock. With all the color in the cut file and in my photos I didn’t want to go crazy. I also knew I would finish off the layout with some splatters of the Shimmerz Acri-tonez Paints.

I added a couple of the cut aparts from the “Daily Details” Paper for some extra layers. I love the writing on them it’s so fun and said perfectly how I felt. The gold foil on some of the cards is gorgeous and I couldn’t help myself not to use that on this layout.

I lightly embellished this page. The color and intricacy of the cut file really helped fill the page up. I used a few of the Freckled Fawn foam word phrase stickers. They are really fun. I also added some of the Bella Blvd Puffy Stickers and Epoxy Stickers from the Clique Store.  These stickers add just the right amount of extra color to tie my layout together.

For the title I used the Elle Studio White Alphas and one of the Heidi Swapp Acetate words in gold. I love when I have word phrases in my kits to help me with my title. I don’t really mind if I don’t have the most thought out title. As long as it helps capture the feelings I have when I see my photo that’s all that matters to me. I know I will have journaling somewhere on my layout eventually so my family and I can remember all my thoughts about these photos.

Though truth be told, I just really enjoy taking photos of my gorgeous flowers. They are all mine and they are beautiful! I just want to remember how beautiful they are, especially during the middle of the winter when it has been raining for ten days straight and you can see your breathe when you wake up in the morning. It’s times like this I want to remember there is color and beauty that grows right in my own back yard. I don’t need a fancy title this time for that!

To finish off my layout I added Freckled Fawn enamel dots and shapes around my cut file. That is intact what I want my eye to go to first when I look at this layout. I added the year for a date with more of the White Alphas by Elles Studio. Since the date really isn’t important I don’t need it to stand out. I also finished by adding splatters with the Shimmerz Acri-tonez Paints. I just let the paint fall out of the bottle as I lightly squeezed it. I really love the look it gave adding them this way. The paint made really raised spots around my layout and have great dimension. I made sure I put my layout off to the side while it dried so the paint didn’t get touched, or settle down.

I hope you are inspired today to create different looks using just one cut file. It really makes a cut file be versatile when you can get different looks just by changing a few things, like color, shape and what is behind the cut file itself.

Have a great day and I hope you are excited about playing with your April “Jelly Bean” Kit when it shows up at your door. When it does arrive be sure to tag us and share what you creating with your kit!!

Also Check Out my Process Video on the Clique Kits Youtube Channel for more details on how I made this fun layout.

Yearbook – Moments

Hello, Clique friends. Enza back today to share a new layout featuring the gorgeous Hey, Sugar January kit.

I’m excited to show you how I put together my top ten moments of 2016. By looking at my layouts, you have probably noticed I’m not a multi-photo scrapbooker. One or two pictures at the most, unless it is a series of pictures, is way enough for  me. To be honest, I struggled a little bit with this one, but I love a good challenge and am very happy with the result.

The past year was a very good year, both personally and professionally. We had our rough times, like anybody else, but I feel blessed for everything life has brought us.

Here is the layout:

I used a cut file I have had in my stash for a long time and thought it was perfect to document all the sweet moments we experienced. Film strips are a lot of fun to use. They remind me of the good old times. They remind me of my childhood. Such a nostalgic feeling! I used the Simple Stories Happy Together patterned paper to cut the circle and the Crate Paper My Love one to back it.

I also passed some thread through the holes of the circle to add more texture to the page.

The embellishments in this month’s kit are so adorable. The wooden buttons and the gold tiny hearts are just perfect. I used some of the exclusive printables to create several layers behind my flowers and give more dimension to the clusters.

As always, black splatters and enamel dots finished the layout.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my process and felt inspired to use your January kit to document your top moments of 2016. I can’t say enough how beautiful these kits are. So many goodies to work with. Exclusive products, add-ons, digital elements and cut files.

Until next time. Have a great day!

Enza

 

Locker Room: Simple Layout with Flowers

Hello! Happy Friday, how are y’all? Caroli here and today I want to show you step by step how I made this simple and quick layout using January kit Hey Sugar. don’t you just love all the color on it? 🙂

 

I started my layout by throwing some splatters of black mist on a sheet of white cardstock I got from Clique Kits Shop.

 

Then, I used as background this flowery grid designed by a good friend of Clique Kits, Nicole Nowosand owner of Just Nick Studio. I cut the grid on my Silhouette Cameo and filled just some of the flowers using patterned papers included on the kit.

 

Next, I placed my photos and adhered them using some foam dost, this way my layout gains volume and looks more fun too.

 

Now it’s time to use some embellishments! I love this flower paper by Crate included on the kit, the colors and beautiful watercolored flowers are just perfect. I fussy cut some flowers and used them to mebellish my page.

 

Agin I used some foam dots to adhere the flowers, I love my pages to have a lot of volume so foam dots are my best friends!

 

These puffy stickers by Fancy Pants are so pretty! Love specially the font of the words, so I used word “amazing” for creating my title.

 

I complemented my title with the Thickers included also on the Kit. I really love these Thickers, the shade effect on them is pretty and since they are black & white they combine perfectly with any other color. My title is finished, and I also added some more puffy shapes from Fancy Pants here and there, just to make my layout more colorful.

 

Finally I wrote my journaling and there you go, a super fast layout but still pretty and interesting. One thing I love how about working with CK kits is how easy is to create beautiful projects in minutes. All products are so well coordinated you just have let your creativity go.

Hope you have a great weekend! XO – Caroli

Geek Lab: Typewritting with my Silhouette Cameo

Hell there!! How are you? Caroli once again with my last post of the month using beautiful Swan Lake kit, featuring Gather collection by Maggie Holmes.

Today I want to show you a simple trick that I am using a lot these days. Since I dont have a big scraproom and my crafting area is quite limited, I don’t have a 12×12″ typewritter. They are so cute and trendy, but I managed to have that typewritter look without a real typewriter by using my Silhouette Cameo machine.

For making this you have 2 options: you can use sketch pens or you can use the pen adapter holder. In both cases you will just use your Cameo for writting on your 12×12″ page, just like you would do with a typewriter.

You just have to use the text tool and write your journaling using a typewritter looking font, in my case I used a font named “Courier New”, which is very similar to a typewritter.

When sending the file to the machine, instead of cutting I chose “sketch pens” and write the words.

 

Here is the layout I made using this feature. As you can see, you need to design your layout in advance so as to make the available space to match with the text you will write.

My layout is super clean and simple and with a lot of white, I love it. I used this cute cutfile from Just Nicks Studio, and of course this gorgeous flower from the ephemera pack included on the kit.

 

 

Here you can see how my text came out perfect and exactly where I wamted it to be, isn’t that cool?

 

In order to make it fit precisely I recommend to make a test in another paper first, so you can check if elements in the page can be placed as you want or you need to move the text a little.  Here is another closeup of my typewritter wannabe text 🙂

 

I hope you like this idea and give it a try. We need to make the most efficient use of our resources so as to save money and can buy more pretty kits, LOL! Have a fabulous day!

XOXO – Caroli

PILES OF SMILES -Adding hand stitching to a layout

Hello!,  I am back today with a new layout featuring the beautiful Swan Lake Kit.  I love all the papers, die cuts and extras included in the kit, but mostly i am amazed at how versatile it is.

 

One of my favorite techniques to use, when creating a layout, is hand stitching.   There are many ways to create a “stitching guide/pattern” on  a layout, but when there is a lot of stitches to add, I use the Silhouette Cameo to do a big part of the work for me.

Here is the cut lines  of the leaf being used in the layout; note how they show as full lines as they are ready to be  cut

 

The key to creating a stitching guide with your Silhouette Cameo is to use the “PERFORATE EDGE” function when setting your cut style for your project.  As you can see in the picture below, the machine will not cut a solid line across the edges of the image; instead, the blade will  make small indentations/holes along the edges of the cut-lines which can be used to hand-stitch the design.

 

Once the image (Geometric Autum Leaf cut file from the Silhouette store) was perforated on the card stock (i am using water color paper for this layout), I used the Prima watercolor palettes to  fill the inside of the leaf image ( i tried to match the colors of the paper, “Beautiful” from the Swan Lake kit).  As soon as the watercolor dried, I used embroidery floss to hand stitched the perforated edges of the image.

 

 

The starting point for the stitching (it is easier to appreciate the perforations of the image once the paint has dried)

 

A close up to the finished stitching on the layout

 

To complement the colors of the leaf, the edges of the layout were trimmed, and the layout was then attached to the “Beautiful” paper from Maggie Holmes’ Gather collection  which is featured in this month’s Swan Lake kit.

My choice of a black and white picture for this layout was made mostly to highlight both the background, and my little niece and nephew on our Thanksgiving walk.  I used papers from the kit as layers behind the picture, as well as the Gather collection chipboard stickers, and exclusives to create a cluster around the picture.   Also, I picked the die cut pieces from Simple Stories Posh collection from the Clique Store, and used some of the pieces in the picture’s cluster.

To create the title, I cut the “Piles of Smiles” card from this month’s exclusive printables, and attached the small chipboard sticker frame (from the Swan Lake Kit add ons) to it.  I cut the small  top left corner of the chipboard, and placed a small chipboard heart from last month’s Sapphire kit.

To finish the layout, I scattered some of the sequin around the page, added my journal lines and a few black ink splatters.  Here is the final layout:

I really love the texture the stitching adds to this layout.  Trust me, the Silhouette Cameo is a great help when creating a stitching pattern, and the beautiful and soft papers in this month’s Swan Lake kit are perfect for  a bit of stitching.

Thank you for visiting today!  I look forward to seeing a bit of  hand stitching on your layouts.

See you all soon!

Layering cut files.

Hello there, friends! I’m back today with a new project using the gorgeous Swan Lake kit. I’m totally in love with it. The colors, the ephemera pieces, the exclusives are absolutely beautiful.

Cut files have always been my favorite tool when it comes to creating a page. They add a lot of extra texture and dimension without being overwhelming. The Clique Kit store has many cut files you can choose from (some of them are free!). My inspiration for today’s layout came from the beautiful Dream Catcher cut file included in a previous kit, Moon Child, which is still available for purchase if you are interested.

Here is my layout:

As soon as I saw this patterned paper included in the November kit, I thought it would be perfect paired with the Dream Catcher cut file. I knew I wanted to add more dimension, so I decided to outline the image in my Silhouette software by using the Offset function, and create a small border around it. I repeated this step twice, so that each extra layer would be slightly bigger than the previous one (I hope it makes sense). I cut one shape out of white cardstock, one out of vellum, which I used as a middle layer, and the other from one of the patterned papers included in the kit. By simply layering cut files you can add a lot of texture and more interest to your page.

To add an extra element of interest, I also stitched the top portion of the cut file.

How adorable are these mini tassels from the Gather collection!!!!

I hope you felt inspired and will give this technique a try. Visit the Clique Kits store to check this month’s kit and all the fun cut files available.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a great day!

XOXO, Enza

 

Hello Card: Geek Lab

Hi everyone,

Melissa here with you today for my very first post as a CK Varsity Team member and I’m excited that it’s Geek Lab!

I love using cut files and my Silhouette Cameo to create projects. One thing that has been interesting to adapt is, utilizing cut files that are meant for layouts, on my cards. I’ve learned a couple of things by watching You Tube videos and just pushing buttons in my Silhouette software. I thought I would share with you today a card I made and how I made a cut file work for my card.

I used one of the exclusive cut files you can find, in the shop, that are part of the Swan Lake November kit. (Isn’t the kit a beauty???) I used the large background cut file. Man, I love a good background cut file!

Once I uploaded it into my Silhouette Software, I had to do something called ‘Release Compound Path’. This allows me to separate all the little pieces and shapes of the cut file. I’ll show you why I need to do that in a sec but, here is a screenshot of this looks like:

 

The reason I do this is because I’m going to take out the majority of this file to make it work for my smaller canvas – that is a card. If I were to shrink down this cut file, in it’s entirety, those cut lines would be way too tiny.

Once I release the compound path, you can see in the screen shot how I now have a bunch of pieces. I’m going to delete most of those until I’m left with the following:

Now, I’m ready to Weld the pieces back together and resize to what I want for my card. After selecting all the shapes, I’m going to head to the bottom-left of my Studio and select ‘Group Selected Shapes’. I don’t have an arrow pointing in this screenshot but in the bottom-left, you can see the little pop up bar saying just that. When I click on that, it will all be one shape again and will resize properly.

Here is another trick I use in my Studio software. For cards, I like to create a shape that measures the size of my actual card. This helps me figure it out the exact size I would like my cut file to be. Here is a screenshot of that happening:

Once I get it just right, I delete the card shape and cut out my file!

Here it is cut out and ready to go:

I did make a boo-boo when I resized the cut file and ended up having to cut it all the way out to adhere to the top of a new card base. It actually worked out just fine!

Now that my cut file is ready to go, I can finish my card by adding various papers from the GORGEOUS November kit. I mean really, you gotta love those Maggie Holmes papers. So beautiful!

Here is my finished card with some close ups:

Thank you so much for swinging by today!

To get the November kit, Swan Lake, and see the exclusive cut files, head over here.

Art Studio -You are my person

Hello everyone! Donna here to share another page using the August kit “Rio” featuring Fancy Pants Designs’ Millie and June collection

This is my fourth page already and I still have quite a few left from the kit.

Let me show you a couple of first steps how I made my page. I’ve been loving using the watercolor set I bough recently, so you are gonna see me using it a lot in future projects. You can purchase similar set of watercolor in the CK store.

I brushed a light teal watercolor and splattered a bold navy blue afterwards. The splatters doesn’t have to perfect. Just make sure you know where you want things first before doing this.

After the watercolor has dried, I started placing everything. One at a time, of course 🙂

I stacked two of the same cutfile for a bit of dimension

From there, I placed the photo and the rest of the embellishments. I matted the photo with a couple of patterned papers. I also used a few August addons on this page

Notice the bow? You only get one kind of pattern in the kit and I got the polka dot gold in mine. Since I like to add a bow with a different pattern, I traced the sheet the bow came from. It’s not the same but I still liked it. It’s so cute!

I also like scattering bits and pieces of word arts as you see here.

I hope you liked what I shared today!

There is still a few August kits available so don’t forget to use DONNA10 for a discount if you like to snag it or anything in the Clique Kits store.

Thanks for dropping by!

Happy crafting,

Geek Lab: Fresh

Hello Clique Friends! Leigh here, to share a Geek Lab tutorial using one of the citrus cut files for this month! So perfect for summer!

 

 

The August 2016 Clique Kits Rio Kit is just so perfectly fresh! Can’t you just taste the citrus flavors now?

 

 

This exclusive cut file is one of many available in the Clique Kits Store for August!

 

 

 

Simply add patterned paper behind the half slices and vary the colors across the page. I love the way this cut file looks when some of the spots are left open, and it is lifted up on foam adhesive.

 

 

 

Here you can see the strips of patterned paper were stitched on at the top, and the dimension and texture added by lifting the cut file up off the background card stock.

 

 

 

Close up of the title, also from the Clique Kits August Exclusive Cut files. Those translucent sequins included in this month’s kit are perfect for repeating the transparency of the ice and drink in the photo. The variety of embellishments included this month make it easy to add interest to your page with different textures. LOVE this kit so much!

 

 

Supplies: The Rio August 2016 Clique Kits kit and the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Colour Me Happy Enamel Dots from the Add-ons for August.

 

 

Thank you for stopping by today and enjoy some summer freshness for yourself!

 

 

Geek Lab: Cutting Half a Shape

Hello everyone! Caroli here again, and today I want to show a little trick that I love when using my Silhouette machine: cutting just half of the a shape.

You may wonder why cutting just half of something? Well, because you can fold the cut part and thus create the missing part, giving an interesting effect, specially if you sew over it, like I did here:

 

The way for cutting just half of a shape is quite simple: just open the software of your machine and draw the shape you preffer. It must be a simple shape like a heart or a square. In this case I used a circle because I love circles 🙂 Then, I selected Erase Tool on the left of the screen and simply used it to erase half of the shape, as simple as that!

 

Once you’ve erased half of your shape you will have something like this. Then, you just need to copy it and paste it as many times you wish and place them whenever you feel like within your layout.

 

In my case I cut few half circles here and there and then fold the paper completely, placed some patterned paper behind it and then used my sewing machine to give a beter effect of this technique. Here is the full layout I made:

The colors and patterns of Life Noted collection are so happy and vibrant, perfect for documenting this pic of my and my best friend. Here you can see some more closeups of my project:

I hope you liked this idea, as for me I love it and used it when I want to create something simple and embellish mainly with patterned paper. Have a nice day! 🙂