GUEST DESIGNER FOR PAIGE EVANS

Good morning, everyone. My name is Nicole Martel and I live in Maryland. You can find me on my blog at www.nicolemartel.blogspot.com or on Instagram as @nicolemartel1978. I am beyond thrilled to be guest designing for Paige this month! I feel guilty that my Silhouette Portrait has been sitting on my desk for awhile now, untouched... This year, I am working on changing that!

For my first layout, I used Paige's Horizon collection along with the Heart Confetti Background digital cut file.

I  set the Silhouette Portrait up so it would print the hearts on half of the white cardstock. I did not want a full page. Less work for me to pluck those tiny hearts out. :) Once I was satisfied with the placement of embellishments, I mounted them down and then I added a few puffy hearts within the hearts to make them stand out more.

For my next project, I created a mini album using photos from my sister's baby shower in June! She's having a baby boy and I couldn't be more excited!! I used pieces from the Heart Confetti Background and the Layered Butterfly to create this adorable mini album!

I used mostly tags for the album pages, but ran out so I had to get creative... I used the tags to trace around the patterned papers to create a template then punched a hole at the top using my hole punch.

I used a few of the butterflies throughout the mini. I LOVE butterflies so I had to use them. :) To decorate the mini, I used lots of stickers, puffy stickers and die cuts. I used several foam squares to pop them off the pages.

I used the cut and fold butterfly cut file to create a fun, whimsical layout! I love butterflies and I love how this looks. I splattered watercolor paint all over the butterflies across the page to add a bit of color. To complete the layout, I layered several embellishments from the Horizon collection. Love how bright and pretty this collection is! It's perfect for scrapbooking those special times with your friends and love ones. 

Initially, I was worried that the butterflies would leave me with enough space for the photo and embellishments, but it actually helped me create this fun design! I decided to work around the butterflies to make it work for me.

I used the circle stamp to create a border of half circles across the bottom of the page. I'm not sure why I felt the need to add some black, but I like it!

I used a few hearts from the first layout to create a card. To begin, I used the floral circle stamp from the Horizon stamps and stamped it on the hearts then layered them together using a foam square. I put those aside then stamped several circles on a 3"x4" card (white cardstock) to create a fun background. Then I covered the bottom corner using a variety of die cuts, trimming the edges so the flowers did not hang over the edges of the card. To complete the card, I mounted the layered heart to the center of the card.

I cut the "hello" sentiment from the Horizon tags to pull the card together. I think it adds a nice touch.

Thank you for visiting today! I hope I inspired you to use your digital cutting machine if you haven't done so in awhile. You just might surprise yourself! It's definitely a great way to kick your mojo up a notch!

LIFE IS A BEAUTIFUL RIDE

Good morning! Hope you had a fabulous week. Nicole here with a fun mixed media layout I created using some Colorations Color Sprays by Art Anthology and lots of  stamps from Precious Remembrance Stamp Shop. 

I was inspired by Pinkfresh Studio's challenge this month so I decided to play with their Out And About collection.

To begin, I sprayed the Colorations Spray onto white cardstock using Salmon, Peacock Feathers and Sky spray. Once the spray ink was completely dry, I used my Big Shot Die Cutting Machine to punch out a variety of stars in different sizes to decorate the layout.

Once I was satisfied with the placement of the stars, I glued them down. Then I placed the photo down on the page and tucked a few die cuts and puffy stickers here and there. I used foam squares to pop up one of the enamel dots within the star to add dimension. I used the New Day Stamp, Sweet Pea and Little Things stamp sets on this layout.

I used foam squares to pop the "yay" die cut off the page.

I used a ruler and pen to add my journaling at the bottom. Then I stamped a few additional sentiments/hearts. I love the tiny hearts!

I really love how colorful this layout is. It's so bright and cheery, perfect for summer!

Thanks so much for visiting today!

TIME FOR A NEW ADVENTURE

Good morning!! I have a fun tutorial to share with you today. For today's project, I decided to experiment a little with my acrylic paints to create a watercolor background using the Vintage Music Note Page. I must admit, I love, love, love how this layout turned out. It is sooooo freaking pretty. I can't stop looking at it. And...I created a video so you can see, step-by-step how to apply this technique the next time you want to get your hands dirty.

Before I applied the paint, I covered the Vintage Music Note Journal Page with Clear Gesso. Once the gesso was completely dry, I mixed a tiny drop of acrylic paint with a teaspoon of water using three different colors of paint: Caution Tape, Sweet Candy Kisses and Drop Dead Gorgeous. Then I covered the background using all three paints, using a heat gun to dry each color one-by-one before adding the next color to prevent the colors from bleeding.



I especially love the stitched trim along the edges. It looks sooo nice with the watercolors and I didn't even have to pull out my sewing machine.

I mixed the Molding Paste with a little of the Caution Tape to add stars in the background.

I used Pink Paislee's Horizon collection to embellish this layout once the paint paint was completely dry!

Here it is! I just love it... I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this video I prepared for you.

Thanks so much for visiting today!

LOVE

Hi everybody! I'm back with a fun mixed media layout I created using lots of pretty Bits and Pieces Love Coupons from the shop and the Happy Art Stamp Set and the Sketchy Alphabet Stamp Set.  I used the scribbles stamp and Versafine-Glamorous Ink to stamp several scribbles in the background. 

Once I was satisfied with the placement of the scribbles, I matted the photo with several pieces of snippets as shown. LOVE THESE!! They are super cute. I added a few more snippets at the bottom to make it more funky. Then I used the heart stamp and triangles to add a few more shapes. I colored them in using markers and jewels. I punched the butterflies from cardstock and used a variety of paint from Bad Girls Couture's shop to paint them. Then I added some black splatters to break up the red a bit.

This layout is something different for me because I am so not a pink or red girl... BUT I LIKE IT on paper... :)

I hope I inspired you today to use lots of snippets and stamps/shapes on your next project. It's super fun! I hope you have a wonderful weekend.