Aloha!! It's Hannah here with you today and we are going to be talking a bit about photo taking.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If you are anything like me, when you have amazing pictures I am even more inspired to scrap our memories. When my pictures are too dark or blurry I found it hard to feel the mojo to bring together a good layout that helps tell the story behind the photo. 
Now sometimes I know we only have one or two photos from an event or a certain time in our lives. But I though I would give a few good tips I use even before I take that shot to capture those memories that are happening right in front of me. 
I am also going to show you a layout I made with a cool photo I took a couple of years ago. I am using both the main and the traveler's notebook Rhapsody Kits combined to make this layout. 

As a scrapbooker our picture is a big part of this story we tell, whether it is something that happened yesterday or ten years ago. We may not be able to change our past photos much, we can change the way we approach the next photo we are taking. 
My first tip is to be intentional when you take your photo. This means you really need to get to know your camera, whether you are using a phone camera, a point and shot or a really expensive DSLR. This means you need to take lots of photos. Don't think you need to keep these photos though. Just by taking random photos around your house, your yard, your neighborhood, your life you will get to know your camera and what it does in different situations. This means taking shots in the rain, trying to see how it does with those big rain drops. This means taking pictures in the sun shine when your kids are playing in the grass or at the playground. The more you use your camera you can start to predict what your pictures will look like in different situations. 
This will help you the next time you take a photo. You will know if you want to capture a certain shot you need to this_____ and it will look better and more like what you really see. 

The best thing I have done was taking a photo class. Not one where you just learn how to use that huge DSLR, but one that helps you learn the perspectives you can take in. You can find many classes like this over the internet. I really recommend looking into something that can help test your eye for taking pictures. This will really help you capture images that are appealing. 

For this layout I am sharing today, I used my DSLR. Now you don't need an expensive camera to get good quality pictures. But if you do have a really nice camera, I really urge you to pull it out a bit more and try to capture those moments in your life with it. The more you use it the more comfortable you will get with it. 

In my layout I layered lots of patterned papers from the main kit and lots of ephemera from the Vicki Boutin packs and the Cocoa Vanilla Studios die cut pack.  I even layered the vellum speciality paper up at the top and bottom with pieces of the cut apart patterned paper. I love the way these papers draw your eye to my 5x7 photo. 
Because my layers were busy I floated leaves from both Vicki Boutin and Cocoa Vanilla Studios about and below the photo. I felt like they kinda looked like sea weed and had that beauty feel. 
I really wanted my pieces to have that feel you get when you look at the photo. This photo is really playful. Let me point out here that this is not the perfect photo. My daughter's foot is a bit distorted because she is kicking the water and the waves are crashing over her feet as she is kicking. I used all this movement to my advantage though. I focused on the sand grains under her feet and that is the part that is really clear. 
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This brings me to my next tip, don't be afraid to play with perspectives. When I am taking pictures of things I crouch down, get down to the level of what it is I am capturing. I let the object or person do what they are doing and adjust to that. If that means laying on the ground to get just that right shot. Now I know not every time you can do this, but the more you practice moving to gain the perspective you want to get the better you will get the shots you really want to get. When my kids and dog are running and playing ball, I adjust my camera so it takes a quick shot and I have the run towards me. I get right in their line so I can get that smile or grit of their teeth as they run. I of course need to be aware of what they are doing so I can move out of the way too. I find capturing things especially kids, and animals look better when you let them do their thing and you find the angle that is going to best show that. 

For this layout I added minimal words for the journaling because I really wanted the picture to do the talking. I love how when I look at this picture it really reminds me, of getting my feet wet in the ocean. I can still feel the big sandy grains rubbing between my toes. I still feel the undertow pull against my feet as it heads back into the ocean trying to pull me with it.  
I think if I didn't focus on the bottom of the ocean floor and the sand under my daughter's feet I don't know if I would get that feeling when looking at it. 
I might capture a whole new feeling, that of joy as she smiled trying to kick the water back out to sea. I might capture the feeling of contentment of knowing there is nothing better to do than feel of the sun smoking into our skin and the coolness of the water sprinkles as the waves splashes against her legs. There are lots of perspectives and you as the camera holder get to pick those emotions you can capture when you choose the ones you want to highlight. 

I loved playing around with a mixed font title. I love the shine of the gold, and the coolness that the purple gives off at the end of the title. These things that are very little choices really help carry through the feeling and emotions I want to share and work along with my photo.

My last tip when it comes to getting good photos you want to use, is to know when to put away your camera and live in the moment. When I am taking photos at an outing or of my kiddos playing, I have my camera ready at the beginning. I set all my settings before or at the beginning. I take some shots then I put down my camera and be in the moment. As much as I want that perfect shot, sometimes it doesn't happen and seeing the smiles, and hearing the giggles of real life really doesn't get any better.  
So if my photos end up not being exactly what I want I use black and white. This helps when your picture is a bit pixelated from low light. It also helps when there are lots of crazy colors. I have saved lots of pictures from inside my house because our peachy walls make evening photos so yellow. Also know the power of the lighten tool. Many photos look better when you play around with the white and dark sliders. These simple editing tools can help save a photo you think is not useable. 

I hope I have inspired you to play and learn how to use your photos to help tell the stories of your lives. Tell the stories you want to remember for a lifetime. 
Here is a final look at my layout for today. with some layers and a few bold dies cuts I really love how my photo is enhanced. This Rhapsody kit was perfect for this summery memory. Use my code Hannah10 and you can get 10% off any of the add ons you add to your kits!! 
Until next time Stay inspired and take some amazing photos that capture your life!!

I started out by using my scraps from my first layout to back the cutfile.  I also used a few other papers from the TN kit and one of the cut apart sheets from the  main kit.  I pulled some vellum from my stash as well to add to the cut file!

So pretty..right?  I just love the colors in this kit!  This kit is very very feminine but I wanted to show that you can use for boy layouts as well!  Especially little sweet baby boys like our Liam Jay!

Once I had my photo picked out I started adding lots of layers behind the photo.  First using scrap pieces and then cutting into more of these beautiful papers!  Of coarse adding some vellum from my stash!  I just love the look of vellum!  I did crinkle up the edges of the papers a little bit to add a little bit of texture!

I really love the alpha that comes in the kit but I wanted to use a different font for this layout.  I found the perfect one in our November 2017 kit!  You can find it HERE if you are interested!  I just love how this alpha flows and just feels softer to me with this layout!

I added Liam's name to the bottom left corner of the photo where I had some white space!  I just love how it looks!  Once I had his name down I glued down the photo and began embellishing my layout!  Since I really want the background to stand out I like to keep the embellishments simple so I added some of the flowers from the main kit and also pulled out the Simple Stories sticker book from the January TN Kit!

I found a 6x12 Cocoa Vanilla Studio sticker sheet in my stash from a past kit and the colors went perfect with this kit!  I added a few of these stickers to my layout as well!  This came together very quickly once I had the background cutfile backed!  Here are some more close ups and the final layout!

We would love for you to use this cutfile along with usthis month!  Share what you create on Facebook or Instagram!   We would also love for you to join us in The Clique Facebook group!  Grab your free file HERE and I hope to see you in the Clique!

Products Used

January 2018 Travelers Notebook Kit
October 2015 Background Cutfile 
​November 2017 Main Kit

Aloha!! It's Hannah with you here today and I am loving the Main Rhapsody Kit this month. The colors are my favorite to work with. That is what I as my inspiration for creating the layout I want to share with you. 
I am often inspired by colors and use that to guide my layouts and spreads. There are a few ways you can use color on your layouts to really help elevate your spreads and make something visibly pleasing but help tell the story of your photo. 
​Here is a look at my full layout. 

The First thing I think about when I am using color, is am I sticking to a certain color combo or use whatever colors are in the papers and embellishments in my kit. This will help guide me to picking my patterned papers and embellishments as well as help me decide the media I might want to add to my background. 
For this layout I decided to try to stick with a Teal and Purple combo with black accents.  This color palette is just calling to me lately. Maybe is makes me beckon warmer weather and sunshine or maybe I just love them. 
I used Shimmerz Acritonez and other acrylic paint from my stash to create that really fun and graphic background. 

After my background is finished I think about if I want to mat my white card stock. Sometimes I decide to just leave the white and doodle a line around the layout to frame everything in. This time I used a watercolor patterned paper from Cocoa Vanilla Studio in purple and pink to highlight the purples on the background. 
I layered some of the frames on the top and bottom of the layout in between the card stock and the patterned paper mat. I then sewed around the whole layout in a light teal. Still thinking about color, I decided to use the light color to give a variation on the teal color. The background has a really bright teal and I thought the light color would help tone it down a bit. 
This is the point where I really decide am I going to pick patterned paper to compliment my photo or my background. I still haven't picked a photo and this decision will help me decide what photo I want to use too. 

I decided I really wanted to use similar colors to the background. I then found this photo that I thought really complimented the papers and colors on my page. I haven't actually picked the paper layers but I know that it won't be too hard at this point. I really liked how my shirt was a bit of a different blue/teal than the background. This kit actually had a bit more blue in it so I was thinking it would bridge and connect the media colors and the collection together. 
Another thing to think of is if a black and white photo makes more sense. I really love using black and white photos on really colorful layouts like this one. it really helps focus on just color and the only the colors you want on your spread. 
I used quite a bit of the papers and the vicki boutin ephemera as the layers behind my photo. It was really fun picking and choosing shades of purple and teal. I also stuck in some black pieces to tie in the black dots on my background. 

I added some of the black words in the Vicki Boutin ephemera pack right over my camera lens for something fun. The picture isn't really a need to see everything in the photo type of photo. It's a self portrait and I just love what it represents. I also added a small alpha font in white to pop against the black. These Elle's Studio aplha's from an old Clique Kit were the right size.

When using color, when you repeat the same colors throughout your layout intentionally it really helps tie everything together. It helps your eye go to the area's you want to highlight. I did this with keeping my embellishments above and below my photo and on left side. 
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I scattered Maggie Holmes hearts and bows around the layout. I also added the exclusive sequins around my layers. I love the little bit of shine they add to my layout. 
Adding embellishments in the same color palette also help your embellishment clusters tie into the whole layout. Like using green mini staples on ephemera to the layout, adding tiny purple sequins in the big sequins, and adding black and white pieces to your clusters. 
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I even tucked in pieces of the Dear Lizzy Ribbon in the layers and on one of the Vicki Boutin journaling tags. I love the texture they add as well as different tones of purple. 
Being really intentional with my colors I was able to create a beautiful layout. Using color can really help tell a story of a photo or a feeling. Here is one last look at my layout. 

Be on the look out for the process video over on my Youtube Channel where you can see me put this layout together.  Also don't forget you find some really cute Valentine's day add ons in the Store as well. Use my code Hannah10 and you can get a 10% discount on them too. 

For today’s project, I decided to use a photo of my sister. She loves to cook so I decided to document a photo of a little photoshoot I did to her some time ago. ​

Hello everyone! Donna here with another project using the January "Rhapsody" kits. I mixed the Main and TN kits again because I love little bits and pieces from each kit. 

I used one of the papers in the Main kit and kept the background pretty simple. I made a cluster of die cuts/ephemera/washi tape/gold trim in the upper left side. I cut the gold trim in half and stapled it to the cluster of feathers and then covered the stapled part with a small floral die cut.

I used the papers in the TN kit to mat the photo and adorned the corner with a couple of heart rhinestones/sequins.

I used a couple of journaling spot/floral ephemera/stickers to embellish the bottom part of the spread. 

This notebook is filling up pretty nice! 

That is it! I hope you liked it as much as I do. See you again next time!
Happy crafting,

Hello, Réka here. First of all ... happy 2018 to all! I hope your New Years Eve celebrations were fantastic and you have a lot of new goals which you would like to reach in 2018 and I hope it contains lots of crafty time.
Today I have a new scrapbook layout to share with you that was really quick and easy to put together.
When I saw the gorgeous ephemera pack from Cocoa Vanilla: Bohemian Dream collection I knew I would like to use them for this photo.

The first thing I did was drop some mists using my Prima Watercolor palette onto the white cardstock. You don’t forget to can find some  Prima Watercolor paint refills in the shop and remember you can use my code Reka10 to get 10% off your total purchase.

​Than I have created one cluster under the photo and there is the other one on the top of my layout. 
​I love using different material on may layout, so I have made one bow from the Dear Lizzy: Ribbon and  placed it under the photo.  

​When it was ready I have chosen the Cocoa Vanilla: Bohemian Dream - Gypsy Heart paper and added it to my layout.
In the end I added white machine stitching around my page.

​And done! I really like how it turned out.

​I hope you are inspired to create a quick layout using these stunning ephemeras. Thanks for joining me today. Réka

Hello Clique Fans!!  Erica here with you today and I am so excited to be back on the blog sharing!  I have had a nice break after having baby Liam Jay and I am ready to get back to work!  Today I am sharing a layout I created using both January 2018 kits!  Both kits feature Cocoa Vanilla Studio's  Bohemian Dream collection!  The Travelers Notebook kit compliments the main kit perfectly and is the perfect add on  kit if you do not use it for Travelers Notebooks!  The smaller paper packs are perfect for backing cut files and that is exactly what I did!  

I purchased this heart cut file from Inna Morevas Etsy shop Handipaper awhile ago and it has been sitting on my desk ready to be backed with pretty paper!  I pulled papers that had blues or blue tones in them since I wanted to scrap a photo of our new addition Liam Jay!  Once the cutfile was backed with papers I started working on a little mixed media! 

The Shimmerz Frost Bite goes perfect with the collection so I added this to my white 12x12 using the packaging technique!  I also pulled out my Prima watercolors to add more blues and a little purple splatters!  If you are looking for the perfect little watercolor set this is the one for you!  It is small but mighty!  The colors are beautiful and creamy and it comes in a great little storage tin!

I added the cutfile to the 12x12 paper using some foam tape to give some dimension.  Once this was down I began to add embellishments around my photo.  I pulled out die cuts and frames that had blue tones and some that were black for some contrast.  I also added some black thread for some texture!  In the TN kit there are some paper clips from Vicki Boutin and instead of using them as a clip I fussy cut one of the birds out and added it as an embellishment!
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This layout came together very quickly after the cutfile was backed and I love how it turned out!  

Our January Main kit is not sold out but we do still have a few of the Travelers Notebook kits available in the shop HERE!!  This kit is perfect for all paper crafting projects and I highly recommend picking one up!  You will not be disappointed!  Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today!  Below is a photo of my completed layout!  I hope you enjoy it and are inspired to create and maybe even get some watercolors out and get a little messy!  Don't forget to stop by the Clique Kits shop and check out all the fun new products that have arrived!  Have a great day!

Happy Tuesday! The holiday hangover is real over here and my kids are enjoying their last few days before school starts and baseball tournaments are in full swing. We had some really fun adventures over winter break and I can't wait to start documenting them all. One of the stories that is playing a big role in our family right now is my daughter's love of all things mermaid. Today, I decided to create a 9x12 project life page to showcase that love of hers and how it came out in her Christmas gifts this year. The colors in this kit are just perfect for all of the things that she is into right now! Who says that holiday memories have to be documented in red and green?! 

For this page, I knew that I wanted to have three 3x4 photos and I printed those at home using the Project Life app to make it quick and easy. Then, I knew that I had a long story to tell which would take up more space than just a 3x4 so I decided to create a tag element out of two 3x4 spaces and used the patterned paper from the traveler's notebook kit as my journaling lines. Adding some twine and a tag topper at the top of that section created a little bit of a different look. 

For my title element, I knew that I wanted to use the gorgeous purple patterned paper from the traveler's notebook kit and layered it up with a doily from my stash as well as one of the die cut pieces from Vicki Boutin. The gold thickers from the main kit worked as a perfect title element in combination with the die cut word "love" that also came in the ephemera pack. Then, it was just a matter of adding a couple more pieces from the cut-apart sheet and two of those gemstone pink hearts. Simple, easy, and fun...just perfect for the holiday hangover days. Do you use your kits to create pocket pages? I would love to see! 

Today we kick off the new month and new year! From all of us at Clique Kits we want to wish you joy, peace, and prosperity in the coming year. We hope your New Years Eve celebrations were happy and safe and you are feeling excited about the possibilities a new year brings. We are certainly excited to have so many new subscribers joining us for the upcoming months-please welcome new friends when you see them in the Clique.  We are anxious to attend Creativation in just a few weeks to see first hand all of the new products coming out and get your feedback on the must haves and trends for the next season of kits. Most of all we are excited to continue constantly striving to make our kits and your experience as a member of our community better and more relavent in your day to day crafting life. One thing we have learned in this industry like in life trends may come and go but when we go back to the reason why we started it is always the same...to share our passion for memory keeping and paper crafting with like minded friends around the globe.  You will see new Clique Kits handmade partners contributing to our kits and add-ons. We love to be unique and offer something to our friends you can't find in a big box store or online retailer. We love to seek out up and coming new designers and nurture their talents. We love to keep it real inviting our own subscribers and fans to inspire others with their creativity and authenticity engaging others and showing the projects they are working on in their real lives. And we love being part of this club- using our kits and products along with you and learning from you all. We are so glad you are here to join us on this amazing adventure... let's start 2018 with a bang!