Shimmerz Paints: August Color Kitz Inspiration & Process Video!

Hi Shimmerz Friends & Fans!

Amanda here, & today I am sharing a lil inspiration 

(complete with process video) 

with our gorgeous August Color Kitz!

This month's Color Kitz is absolutely stunning! 

Such pretty colors! &  just check out that exclusive ice cream cut file!!!

Colorz featured are:

 Vibez Hermit the Frog

Coloringz Heidi Ho Blue

Inklingz Sunkissed

Shimmerz Pink

Plus Sprinkle Time! sequins from our friends at SpiegelMomScraps.

If you're super quick, you *might* be able to snare one still before they completely sell out!

Shop August Color Kitz HERE

I couldn't wait to get creating with this beautiful kit! 

Here's what I came up with.....

"Bloom & Grow"

Oh my heart! Isn't this so pretty!

And before you ask about the ice cream cut file, let me tell you that my moody cutting machine ate every single one of those ice cream cones! I know, right?! So frustrating!

On the upside, digital files keep forever, & I'll try cutting it again after I've updated my software, lol!

I've also opted for a 'clean look' mixed media page - lots of controlled painting for this sweet page!

Here's a closer look at my layout.... 

Whoa! So.much.pretty!!!

Turns out you don't have to use the cut file to maximize the awesomeness of this kit! 

I began my layout by painting a bunch of blooms and leaves from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio "Sophisticated" pattern paper (Midnight collection) using ALL the colors! 

Where's the Heidi Ho Blue, I hear you ask? 

Well, to create those darker green leaves I mixed Coloringz Heidi Ho Blue with Vibez Hermit the Frog - so you kinda get a bonus 'extra' color in your kit ;)

Once dry, I fussy cut all the florals and arranged onto the 12 x 12 white cardstock base.

Next, I sprayed some scrap paper with pure Coloringz Heidi Ho Blue. 

With this newly created blue paper, I punched a few butterflies, and even backed it to my photograph for added interest. 

In keeping with the butterfly adornments, I just couldn't resist using the beautiful

 Butterfly Beauties Dotz

Aren't they the perfect embellishment?! 

You can shop them HERE

Here's a closer look at them on my layout....

Beauties, indeed! 

The pretty yellow & lime butterfly coordinates perfectly with the Vibez Hermit the Frog painted leaves. Love it!

For finishing touches, I add my title Bloom & Grow also from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio Midnight collection, & end with scattering lots of Spinkle Time! sequins onto my page....

So many lovelies to look at!

Absolutely gorgeous!!! 

And such a 'clean' approach to using paints on your projects! 

Wanna see how it all came together?

Please watch my process video HERE

I hope you enjoyed watching my process video

& feel inspired to get creating with your August Color Kitz! 

Thanks so  much for visiting!

til next time, 

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo 

Cocoa Vanilla Studio Midnight Layout & Process Video!

Hi Creative Friends!

Welcome back for more Cocoa Vanilla Studio inspiration!

Today I am sharing my take on this week's design team theme post using the divine MIDNIGHT collection. The theme this week is....

creations that "put a ring on it". 

Think rings, wreaths, circles, dots - basically include any round element! Such a fun theme!

Here's what I came up with....

"Love This"

Oh.my.heart!!! So dreamy & divine!

The MIDNIGHT collection is so elegant &  beautiful! It's the perfect collection for documenting stories of my sweet girl!

Here's a closer look for you....

So incredibly beautiful!

I start this layout with pattern paper, CV-MN007 INKY DEPTHS - it's the perfect base! Such a stunning background paper & I just love how it reminds me of the night sky and clouds. To this paper, I trace a circle shape to create a guideline for my wreath (ring) design.

To form the wreath, I fussy cut pattern paper CV-MN001 BLOOM &GROW. I arrange these larger blooms over the traced circle, and adhere with a mix of double sided tape and foam mounting tape. This adds a sense of dimension, soft texture, and brings interest to the design.

I also fussy cut the wreath icon from the CV-MN006 ALL THE THINGS pattern paper, and adhere it to the opening of my ring design (top right corner). 

Here's a close up for you...

SO pretty!!!

Next, I pull out my gel pens, and draw a mix of sketchy leaves that are not dissimilar to that of the BLOOM & GROW pattern paper. The white gel pen is super striking on the INKY DEPTHS paper!

The scribbled leaves serve two purposes - they add a new design element (& visual stimulus) to the layout, plus they also 'build up' the wreath so that it looks full and attractive. In keeping with the whimsical feeling of the page, I add lots of tiny dots in both white, pink & blue pen.

I just LOVE how effective the gel pen looks!

Design Tip: If you like this look, but are nervous about drawing on your  layouts, you could always achieve the same look using stamps and white embossing powder.

Next, I tuck my photo into the left hand side of the wreath and decorate around it with a few ACCESSORY STICKERS. I also embellish with that fabulous FLAIR BUTTON (which also features a pretty wreath on it!). Lots of rings and wreaths and pretties on this sweet page!

With the ACCESSORY STICKERS handy, I also add some butterflies to the wreath and add a subtitle to the bottom right corner, Love you so....

For finishing touches I foam mount the Love this DIE CUT EPHEMERA title to the fussy cut ALL THE THINGS wreath, and sprinkle a few HELLO LOVELY sequins!

Voila! Beautiful creating in a matter of minutes!

Wanna see more of how this pretty page came together? 

Please watch my process video below...

Thanks so much for joining me today!

I really hope that I have inspired you to not only 'put a ring on it',

but also to make some marks & get doodling on your memory keeping projects!

'til next time,

Happy Arty Days,

Amanda xo

Citrus Twist Kits: 3-to-Inspire!

Hi Creatives! 

Welcome back for another inspirational installment of the CTK 3-to-Inspire challenge post! 

The August Citrus Twist Kits are simply STUNNING! 

& I just had to use both of them for my layout today! 

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, you better head over to the CTK store now before they're completely sold out!)

Before I share my layout, here's the 3 things you'll need to feature in your projects to play along too....

1. Use floral pattern paper  I love a good floral & to be completely honest, both kits are sporting some very pretty designs! Infact, it was hard to pick which floral paper to use!

2. Put a heart on it  There are a myriad of heart embellishments, digtial items and even stamps  for August. Show us how you like to feature hearts on your creations.

3. Make it messy  Feature any form of mixed media on your project - be it stamping and inks (the stamps this month are aaah-mazing!!!), watercolors, or even some texture paste. Whatever medium takes your fancy - just be sure to include it on your finished project.

Now with the formalities outta the way, here's my layout to inspire you with...

"Hello"

Isn't this dreamy & divine?!

As I mentioned previously, I couldn't decide on which gorgeous August Kit to create with, so in the end I combined both the Life Crafted Chasing Rainbows Kit with the Scrapbook Add-On Kit. I think they coordinated pretty well together! You'll also spy that I used this months Traveler's Notebook Stamp, and some of our wonderful Digital Cut Apart Elements too! Simply stunning!

Here's a closer look for you....

I used the divine floral pattern paper, New Thoughts from Pinkfresh Studio that was included in this month's Scrapbook Add-On Kit. I just LOVE the colors in this pretty floral paper - they complimented my photograph beautifully, & became the color scheme for my entire design. I used the white cardstock as my layout base, and then created a painty, watercolor background using the Pinkfresh Studio Liquid Watercolors. The colors I used were Lavender, Sapphire, Bubblegum & Sky Blue and you can find them all in the shop HERE! To this background, I also repeat stamped the heart icon from the Life Crafted Traveler's Notebook Stamp. Gorgeous!!!

In keeping with my color scheme, I decided to print & fussy cut a number of the Digital Cut Apart Elements. Believe it, or not, my larger lilac banner base is actually the same banner as the tiny one with the blue rose on it (simply enlarged and printed singularly).

 So cool! I just love how versatile the Digitals are! 

Over this banner, I built my photo cluster using lots of lovelies from the Life Crafted Chasing Rainbows Kit. If you look carefully, you'll even notice that I fussy cut the Kit Title Note Card, & used it both above, and to the side, of my sweet photo! To complete this cluster, I adorned my photo with that fabulous printed cork embellishment. 

The hello acrylic word included in the Chasing Rainbows Kit was too amazing not to use! I positioned mine over my mixed media base so that it was more visible on the white cardstock. 

For a finished look, I added cotton floss & Strawberry Tart sequins from SpiegelMomScraps, as well as the blue puffy alphas & acetate hearts from the Life Crafted Kit. Voila!

There you have it! My take on this week's 3-to-Inspire challenge! 

Now it's your turn! I can't wait to see what you'll create! 

Be sure to upload your creations to the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page HERE.

Haven't shopped your kits yet? 

If you're super fast there *might* be one or two still available in the store HERE 

but, to avoid disappointment be sure to sign up for a subscription 

& never miss a kit again - YAY!!!

Happy Creating!

Thanks so much for visiting, 

til next time, 

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo 

Elle's Studio: August Kit Inspiration!

Hi Friends!

Welcome back for more Elle's Studio inspiration! 

The August Kit and New Release items are nothing short of AWEsome!!!
I mean, like seriously, so good!
Here's a quick look at them all.....

August Kit



Told you it was all kinds of awesome!!!
And the Add-Ons are just as good....


So many must-haves here!
And as usual, the Elle's Studio stamps have my heart!

And last, but by no means least,
here's a peek at the August Digitals....

Wow! August is jam packed with fabulous products!

***Shop ALL the new releases in the Elle's Studio shop HERE***

Fabulous products means even better creative possibilities,

here's what I came up with....

 "Back To School"

How sweet is this back to school theme page?!

Elle's Studio Supplies: August Kit, Back To School Stamp, Be Yourself Phrase Stickers, Makes Me Smile Cork Circles, Back To School Puffy Stickers, TGIF Wood Veneers, Sunshine 6 x 6 Paper Stack, Noteworthy 12 x 12 Paper Collection.

Other Supplies: White cardstock, Scrapbook.Com Exclusive Premium Hybrid Inks - Rubber Ducky & Postal Blue, Machine Stitching. 

Here's a closer look....

With so many school themed products available, I just couldn't resist documenting my son's first day back! Such a happy moment, and one for his milestones album! 

I selected primary colors for my layout palette. 

The warmth of the red & yellow really make the blue pop, and they offset one another beautifully. 

As a secondary theme to my page, I also featured stars - especially loving the stamped ones from the Back To School Stamp! 

The repetition of color, shape, texture and pattern really makes my design 'easy on the eye' and the white space ensures that my photograph remains the focal point. Love it! 

Here's a couple close ups...

Those veneer!!! And that super cute apple puffy sticker!

So many awesome embellishments from this month's new releases!

And let's not forget the fabulous cork circles....

Such a terrific kit (& add on items) to document Back to School! 

For my second layout today, I have created a an 8.5" x 11" page documenting a favorite Summer memory of my two darlings a few years ago....

"Favorite"

Favorite, indeed! 

I remember this moment like it was yesterday! 

Elle's Studio Supplies: August Kit, Be Yourself Phrase Stickers, Makes Me Smile Cork Circles, Title Builder Vol.3 Stamp, Title Builder Vol.3 Acrylic, Shine Die Cuts, Beautiful Day 6 x 6 Paper Stack.

Other Supplies: White cardstock, Staz-On Black Ink, machine stitching, sequins. 

Here's a better look....

Isn't this bright & fun?! 

I just love everything about Summer!

For this layout, I used repetition & white space again to maximize attention to my sweet photo!

I used a scalpel to cut the circle from the 3 x 4 note card from the August Kit, and then used the circular 'color burst' card to frame my photo.  To add emphasis, I then foam mounted my framed photo onto the larger 6 x 4 note card of the same pattern. So effective! 

I combined the Shine Die Cuts and Title Builder Vol.3 Stamp & Acrylic to create my mixed title. 

The variance of  materials & fonts added so much interest, don't you think?

Love the bright colors and repeated hearts! Gorgeous!

And there you have it! 

Two super fun pages with the new August Kit & Add ons!

*Remember to shop ALL the Elle's Studio products in the store HERE*

You can see more inspiration from me with this kit a lil later in the month. 

Thanks so much for visiting!

til next time, 

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo  

Citrus Twist Kits: Sunday Sketch!

Hi Creative Friends!

Welcome back to the Happy Arty Days blog!

Today I'm presenting this week's installment of the

Citrus Twist Kits Sunday Sketch feature!

This sketch is tons of fun, and I hope I can inspire you to play along!

So, without further ado, here's what this week's Sunday Sketch looks like...

Told you it was a fun one! Such a cool design, and really easy to take inspiration from!

Here's my twist on it...

"Weekend Happiness"

Isn't this pretty?!! 

As you can see, I have altered the sketch (Or kinda trimmed the right hand side off) to create an 8" x 11" layout page. That's the wonderful thing about sketches, you can edit them to suit your creative style! 

Plus, after creating quite a few projects this month I really didn't have any 3"x 4" cards left over to 'perfectly' follow the sketch. Realistically, I could have cut my own 3" x 4" card from one of the Best Of This Life Pattern Papers, or used one of the July 2019 digital printable 3 x 4 Journaling Cards but I still needed to fit the sketch into a smaller page size. So, I decided to use the 2nd photo as the card, and replaced the paper clip with an embellishment or 4! 

Here's a better look at my page...

Happiness, indeed! Ain't nobody loves the weekend like my sweet girl! In her own words, "Mondays be like, Meh! & when FriYAY calls I'm like, so there!" Ummm... yeah, teen lingo and whatever that means, lololol! 

Seriously though, such a super fun and playful page! 

I've used the Best Of This Life July Life Crafted Kit, the Life Crafted July 2019 Digital Cut Aparts & the Joyful Day Phrase Stickers (Pinkfresh Studio) from the July 2019 Scrapbooking Add On Kit. 

I have foam mounted the photo cluster to add a little more interest and some dimension to the design.

Speaking of clusters, how fantastic are all those embellishments in the top right of my photo?!

The puffy stickers in this month's kit are so fab! I'm loving the bright Summer colors and the sentiments are totally on point!

And let's not forget to mention my mixed title....

I have combined the bright colored WEEKEND ephemera with the Pinkfresh Studio Joyful Day phrase sticker, happiness to create my title. I love how effective this looks! 

You'll spy that I foam mounted the ephemera for added 'pop' against the phrase sticker. 

And there you have it!

Simple. Pretty. Lazy Sunday creating!

I wonder how you'll interpret this sketch?

Please be sure to add your projects to the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page HERE so we can be inspired by your awesomeness too! 

We LOVE seeing what everyone creates with their Citrus Twist Kits! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today, 

til next time, 

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo 

Cocoa Vanilla Studio: Stay Unique!

Hi Crafty Friends!

Welcome back for more Cocoa Vanilla Studio inspiration!

Today I am sharing another butterfly theme layout with the gorgeous HAPPINESS collection. 

This time I've taken some inspiration from fellow teamie,

  Anna Komenda ('cos she's one awe-inspiring creative!) 

& I just love how it turned out - hope you like it too!

"Stay Unique"

Wow! Isn't this super pretty?!!

I love a good grid design, & when I saw Anna using butterflies for the 'boxes' I knew I'd have to lift her design! It's seriously SO cool! I've mixed mine up a bit though, & created a fun new look with our beautiful HAPPINESS pattern papers, LOVE!!!

I started with the fabulous polka dot pattern paper, CV-HA002 SPRINKLES as the 12inch base. I used my silhouette software to arrange the butterfly cut file ( Butterfly Wings courtesy of The Cut Shoppe) into a grid design. I cut out all 9 butterflies and saved the 'off-cut' negative to create my background with. I trimmed the white cardstock 'off-cut' to 11" x 11" and then proceeded to back all the butterflies. I selected pattern papers, CV-HA009 MEADOW & CV-HA004 FRAME OF MIND and alternated them throughout the white cardstock background. I love how pretty the pink and blue/green silhouettes look! Simply stunning!

Next, I used a sheet of 'fun foam' to back the entire 11" base, before gluing it onto the SPRINKLES base. This gave my layout a little lift and added some subtle dimension too! With the base of the layout completed, the rest of the layout was all about my sweet photo and embellishments!

On the pink butterflies, I layered one of the cut file butterflies, followed by a fussy cut pink butterfly from pattern paper, CV-HA008 BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL.  

Here's a closer look for you....

Simple and yet, oh so effective! Beautiful!

I chose to leave the FRAME OF MIND butterflies free from embellishments, as the detailed design on the pattern is just too pretty to cover, don't you think? That said, I did end up covering two of them with my CARDSTOCK TITLES, Stay Unique, but I tried to keep that lovely pattern visible. 

Next, I applied a few painty splatters of color in the center of the page, spreading out towards the butterflies. This subtle hint of colour breaks up all the white and adds that extra point of interest. Once dried, I built my photo cluster over the center butterfly....

You'll spy that I used the brush stroke CLEAR STICKERS (complimenting the previously applied paint splatters) beneath the cluster, & then added in some DIE CUT EPHEMERA blooms. I foam mounted my sweet girl's photo, and then embellished it with a DIE CUT EPHEMERA sentiment label & 2 pretty butterflies. I tucked in the beautiful sentiment from the ACCESSORY STICKERS, and finished off with that awesome FLAIR BUTTON.  For final touches, I added a few more CLEAR STICKERS around the page.

And there you have it!

Super beautiful creating with the HAPPINESS collection!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my project today, & feel inspired to get creating today!

Thanks so much for your kind comments & support!

til next time,

Happy Arty Days, 

Amanda xo