Hey there folks! It's Isa on the blog today and I am thrilled to be here to show you one of my favourite projects to make; a coptic book with the Abril collection by Lora Bailora. You can find all the products of this wonderful collection here. It is one of the most beautiful Spanish collections that I have worked with. 

The size of this coptic book is 4x3. I like creating them in this small size because the results are cuter and you have space for tons of pictures in a very small album. For the cover I cut two pieces of wood and then I made the holes for stitching. I painted them in two colors, trying to imitate one of the papers from the collection. The color of the thread I used is also chosen to combine with the chromatic selection of the collection.

Although we cannot appreciate them very well in the pictures, on the inside of the coptic book, I have used all papers from the collection. They are one sided but all of them are from the Abril collection. For the cover I have used also decorations from the collection and some die cuts and I used also the dies for the Big Shot to add more flowers. I love them so much!! 

Now it comes my favourite part. The spine. I love adding all kinds of decorations when I am stitching these books. I have added buttons, beads, die cuts and even puffy stickers!! I think that they are the heart and soul of this kind of projects. And I could not love more the result! I hope you like it too!! 

That's all for today! I hope to be back very very soon with new projects! And I hope that you enjoy creating with this wonderful collection!! Take care and see you soon! Love,
​Isa

 Hi there friends and yay for Friday! Gia here with another BIG photo layout! You may recall last month I showed you this one where I used a HUGE photo of my son and friends on the beach with the Studio Forty Bom Día Sampler. Today I have Part 2 of my experiment playing with bigger photo layout designs. You know how they say, "Go big or go home", right? Why not be bold and really give a special photo center stage? This time, however, I used a big photo not so much to dominate the page, but more to offer balance to a really bold paper pattern. Some people find bold, colorful patterns difficult to work with and one of the ways to offset the heavy weight of a demanding pattern is to offer some counter weight to level the playing field. A big photo with a major impact won't get lost in all that BIG color, right?

"Taffy" is one of the 12 x 12 patterned cardstocks in the recent Maggie Holmes Sweet Story collection from Crate Paper and as soon as I saw it I knew that I would design a layout just to feature it!  Some of the embellishments from Sweet Story, like the ephemera and the butterflies were included in the New Normal kit from this summer so I decided to pull those out and use them up! 

On Father's Day I got my wish of being one of the subjects in a photo shoot of a mural in our little town of Wailuku, Maui. I love taking mural photos, but I am usually the one taking the photo and not in it. I will never forget that my 12 year old boy was willing to take the time to be photographer that day and I will always cherish the photos we got that day! 

First I cut out the large arch that takes up the left 2/3rds of the paper and I enlarged my photo to about 8x8 so that it would be able to fill the entire space under the arch.  After that I went to town with the dimensional butterflies and used a piece of acetate ephemera for my title! Since the big arch photo takes up the majority of the layout, there was not much left to do to finish it off! The butterflies really add movement around the page!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you took away some ideas for the big photos and bold patterns in your life!

Hi Clique fam! Rita here with a new project, using the Story Documented Project Life Kit | Studio Forty, the Documented Stamp Set (also by Studio Forty) and some bits and pieces from other kits. If you follow me on Instagram, you maybe noticed my love for pocket pages. When Gia sent me the new Project Life Kit I was super happy and excited to use it right away. So here it is, my latest project! The cool thing about Pocket Pages is that you can't do anything wrong. You just need some photos, journaling cards, some (preferably) flat embellishments and stamps. Why stamps? Because they're perfect for making flat embellishments if you don't have any stickers handy. 

As you can see, I took a lot of pictures of flowers. I was just so owerwhelmed by all the beauty during one of our walks and made sooo many photos with my phone. And of course I didn't want to leave them there, but print them out and put it in my album. They are too pretty not to. I used my Canon Selphy to print them out in different sizes, so it would make the spread a little more interesting and one of the cards I even cut out, so the focus would be on the flowers only. I stamped on white cardstock, cut them out and used them as embellishments. Also I still had some stickers from Paige Evans' "Bloom Street" collection left. They were perfect for my pictures. 

I love how the colors and designs of the Studio Forty journaling cards compliment each other. It's so easy and fun to combine them. And again it's nice to see that you don't need a lot of supplies to create something beautiful. Let's take a look at the whole spread: 

 I hope you feel inspired to take a chance at pocket page documenting. There are some new and fun flipbooks by Simple Stories in the Clique Kits shop by the way. They are perfect to document fun adventures, events and weekend getaways. And they are the best way to start and for trying out this technique. You can find them in various colors here. I highly recommend them and will show you how I used one of them in September. So stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by today and happy crafting! 

Hi friends! Dana here sharing a tropical themed layout that I created using the 49 and Market Lilac Vintage Artistry Add-On Kit and the Miss Mamamint Give Me Color Acetate Specialty Paper. I found the specialty acetate paper while browsing in the shop and thought it would be fun to pair it with the gorgeous floral patterned paper in the 49 and Market kit. My favorite way to use acetate is as an overlay to add an additional print to my projects. Whether starting with a store bought specialty paper or my own design, it is important to use the correct mediums for a permanent finish. Today I'm sharing how to color, stamp, and write on acetate, plus how to remove any mistakes.
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When coloring designs printed on acetate it is important to use a waterproof permanent marker or paint marker. I used both water-based (Posca) and oil-based (ZIG Painty) paint markers to color the printed design on this acetate sheet. Both formulas of paint work great on acetate. Sharpie permanent markers and Sharpie paint markers are also a great option. Use what you have in your stash! I like to add color to the inked side of the acetate rather than the smooth side to help keep the color inside the lines. The water-based paint is a bit thinner than the oil-based formula and is easier to spread and blend. The oil-based paint marker provides more coverage with one coat and a more shiny, or wet looking, finish. As shown above, both the water-based and oil-based paints give vibrant color. Both paints dried quickly without added heat. Any small imperfections can be scraped off the acetate with a fingernail or plastic scraper tool.
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Solvent ink is oil-based and perfect for use on non-absorbent or slick surfaces. Solvent ink is also fadeproof, waterproof, and scratch resistant. I used StazOn ink to add butterflies to my layout using the 49 and Market Springtime Harmony Clear Stamp. If you like to keep your stamps clean, a stamp cleaner will be needed to remove the solvent ink from the stamp. Soap and water will not work. 
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Sharpie permanent markers are a great choice for writing on slick surfaces. Any permanent marker will work. I like Sharpie for the variety of colors and tip sizes and relatively low cost. Paint markers similar to the ones used above will also work.
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Permanent marker and StazOn ink can be easily removed from acetate if necessary. Simply color over the undesired ink with a dry erase marker and wipe away with a tissue.
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Adhering acetate to projects is tricky because it is transparent. I like to use clear adhesive to have my layers be as seamless as possible. I applied Adhesive Dots to each of the painted flower centers on the acetate sheet and then pressed it onto my base piece of patterned paper. I attached the acetate to the patterned paper with the painted side facing down to protect the color from being scratched. Then I used the washi tape included in the kit to secure the top left and bottom right corners of the acetate to the patterned paper.

Once my colored acetate was attached to the patterned paper base I topped it with layers of ephemera, paper leaves, and my photo.
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I added a glittered wood title from my stash to finish the page. I took this photo while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. The Starburst or Shooting Star Clerodendrum is named for its flowers that resemble delicate white stars shooting forth with a pink tail in their wake. Definitely bella!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope I have inspired you to try incorporating acetate into your art.

Clique International Supplies:
49 and Market Lilac Vintage Artistry Add-On Kit
49 and Market Springtime Harmony 4x6 Clear Stamp
Miss Mamamint Give Me Color Acetate Specialty Paper

Other Supplies: Glittered Wood Veneer Word (Heidi Swapp); Leaves (49 and Market); Stitched Die-Cut Frame (49 and Market); Paint Markers (EK Success, Posca); StazOn Ink (Tsukineko); Chalk Ink (Clearsnap); Permanent Marker (Sharpie); Adhesive Dots (Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L)
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Hi CK friends, Rachel here and today I have a pretty Flipbook album to share. I have used Paige Evans Bloom street papers , puffy words and die cuts. For the cover I used the acetate speciality paper from the same collection.

To use acetate as a cover machine stitching is the best way to secure your folds and it still looks good on the other side (I have never found a tape that doesn't show on the other side even vellum tape). Don't be afraid to machine stitch, it does not need to be perfect but keeping it on the slowest speed is the best advise I can share especially if you are sewing around corners/bends etc.

I cut a strip measuring 12x6 inches and then fold using a bone scorer at 1 1/2inches, 6 inches and 10 1/2 inches. Your inserts at the largest can be 6x4 1/4 inches. The 1/4 is the fold needed to adhere. Fold each page you want to insert at the 1/4 inch and then adhere to the second page of your cover, once you have added everything you want use a 6x4 1/2 inch strip and cover the folds and back page. This is the point where I added machine stitching to hold all folds. There are lots of Youtube video tutorials to show you how to do hidden binding which is the technique used here.

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The fun part is decorating your album! I added a vellum page which I used a polka dot embossing folder, die cut pages, tags and journal blocks (folding at a 1/4 inch), having your pages different sizes and textures really adds visual interest to your album. I have left lots of space to add photos and journal. Remember what ever element you use on acetate or vellum on one side you will need a similar sized element for the other side. These types of albums are perfect for an event, a special day out, you can add tickets or memorabilia in the front and back folds, journal memories and add the highlight photos. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope you give a flip album a go, they are quite addictive and there is so much in the cliquekits.com shop to start your new project!

Hello scrappy friends!
Nicole here and today I'm sharing a 12x12 cutfile layout featuring the Pinkfresh Studio Let's Stay Home kit from Clique International!  What inspired me to create this was a combination of combining older cutfiles with newer product and also the monochromatic square paper in the Pinkfresh kit!  The cutfile and paper worked so perfectly together that I knew I needed to use them together on a page!
Here's a look at my completed project:

I began by backing my cutfile with the squares from the Pinkfresh kit.  If you notice, the squares are two different colors and on a diagonal, just like the houses.  I chose to glue the squares on the opposite diagonal than the house. This is really noticeable on the bottom two green houses in the photo above.
After the entire cutfile was put together, I, of course, had to add mixed media. There isn't a project that goes by that I don't incorporate it in some way! So I took the hearts that were left on my cutting mat, removed them, painted them with gesso, then painted them with Lindy's Magical Shakers in California Poppy Gold.  (This was a shaker that was included in our fall kit from last year, so if you have it, break it out and use it with this collection!)  This yellow matches the yellow/gold in this collection perfectly! Once they were dry, I used foam adhesive to pop them up on my layout.

Once my background was complete, it didn't take much more to complete the layout.  The background did a lot already!  I added two photos, title and a few embellishments, including a small embellishment cluster in the top left of the page, and called this layout done!

Here are a few more photos and there is a YouTube process below! I would love for you to stop by and subscribe!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you've been inspired!

Hello everybody!!

It's Isa today on the blog and I am thrilled to present you a new project made with the Imagine collection by Wilma Rodriguez for Mintopia Studio. You can purchase the collection here. It's a wonderful collection, created for any scrap lover here and it does not miss any detail or scrapbook tool that we may need when creating our projects. 

The covers of this mini album are made with the acetate of the Imagine collection. For the spine I have used cardboard paper and one paper from the collection, and obviously one of the wonderful ribbons of the collection. They are one of the best complements that I have found to scrap in a very long time. 

Going on the inside of the mini album, I have to confess that I add a bit of everything! Tabs, torn paper, envelopes, pockets, buttons, everything with the embellishments of the collection. I even added a waterfall mini album inside! And each block of the album is a pocket so you can add extra pages or tags inside. 

As you can see, all the pages have different details and flaps to add pictures, and all of them are pockets for extra pictures. It is a project with a lot of space for lots of pictures! So I hope I have inspired you to create a mini album for tons of pictures and that you like the Imagine collection that is absolutely brilliant! I will see you soon on the blog with new ideas and projects! Take care and stay healthy. Love,
​Isa

Hello there, it's Piroska here  today with my latest layout for Clique International. My task was to make a layout in the Inspired by... category, and I have to admit, that I've been thinking about this challenge for weeks! :-P
Scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest I always find some amazing macrame wall decors. I really like them, and would love to try to make something like that once. But this time I thought why not trying it on paper and with paper?

I got out my Lora Bairola - Abril - Sampler Kit and chose two pastel papers from which I cut some monsterra leaves with a die from my stash.

For the macrame I chose a paper that has a hand drawn grid design, and I drew the line of the  imagined macrame wall decor with a pencil, then cut it out. I've left long strings for the leaves.

I glued the macrame paper on a darker background paper and left the strings loose. I wanted that they have a floating effect so I glued the monsterra leaves on the strings and not on the background. I also bend them a little to have more dimension.

Then I added my photo and started to decorate my page. I really love this part of the process, the Abril Sample Kit has many beautiful embellishments!

 I added some leaves too, and some cut outs, foam stickers and enamel dots. The title  foam sticker is an older Cocoa Vanilla Studio sticker from the Unforgettable collection.

I hope you liked my Inspired by... inspiration. It is fun to try something new,  so give it a try! ;-) Visit the shop to find new goodies for your next projects!

Good morning! Nicole here. Today I am sharing another layout I created using the Chloe Sampler Kit. This layout wasn't as hard to make as the first one (emotionally). I love the photos and I have been waiting on the Chloe collection just so I can scrapbook these photos I took back in March.

This girl was cracking me up... I was trying to read and she just wanted to go to bed. She would not go to bed until the lights went out, snuggled behind my legs. :)

I used several pieces of the 6x6 papers from the paper pad. I love this size because the patterns are smaller. I decided to scrapbook the design around the cut apart sheet! Then I added a few die cuts and stickers. I created the border at the top using a metal die I had in my stash.

What do you think? It's cute isn't it. I love how simple this looks and that it has a nice and clean look to it. There are a few  Chloe Sampler Kits available in the shop! We have the Cooper Sampler Kit as well.

Thanks so much for visiting today!

Since I used a picture of my Baby Bella at the park, I only used papers with a floral pattern: you can find a lot of them in Clique International kits and also as loose papers in the dedicated shop section (see the end of my post for the complete list of products used).
I backed the picture with glitter black cardstock to make it pop from the busy background.

I also used garden/outdoor themed embellishments: rainbow, sun, clouds, flowers, birds, animals, butterflies, ladybugs...
I mixed up different kind of embellishments (puffy stickers, stickers, die-cuts, enamel dots and shapes, badges, wooden buttons, acrylic...) to create various clusters.

For the title I used a sentiment from a stamp set in Limoncello kit: it is in Italian, it literally means "sweet life" and it refers also to a famous movie by Italian moviemaker Fellini (the whole stamp set has iconic Italian images - Vespa motorcycle, gelato, 500 car and Espresso coffee made with "cuccuma"! If you had the chance to visit my beautiful country  I think this kit is just the best to document your Italian holidays!)

I am in love with this critters cluster: I used snail from Pebbles die-cuts, Paige Evans stickers, bird puffy sticker and the cutest acrylic hedgehog from International Series Add-On Kit | Lila & Elena Embellishments | Creative Studio | Italy

Here you can see almost all the different floral patterned papers I used:

Here it is the finished layout:

I  used these products from the shop:

• ​Icon Ephemera Pack | Jen Hadfield Hey, Hello!| Pebbles
• Base Kit | Zoom Festival
• Limited Edition Kit | Riviera | 5th & Monaco with Les Ateliers de Karine (France)
• Limited Edition | Fika
• Clique Sampler Kit | Hey Crafty Girl | Simple Stories
• Base Kit | Hope | Carta Bella and Pebbles
• Sampler Kit | 5th and Monaco | Pink Paislee
• International Series | Serendipia Kit | Spain: Cocoloko
• Sampler Kit | Dear Lizzy Here & Now| American Crafts
• Add On Kit | My Favorite Story: Sequel | Pinkfresh Studio​
• 12 x 12 Paper Pack | Paige Evans Bloom Street | Pink Paislee

• 12 x 12 Paper Pack | Amy Tangerine's Picnic in the Park | American Crafts
• International Series Add-On Kit | Lila & Elena Embellishments | Creative Studio | Italy
• Sampler Kit | Limoncello | Beatrice Garni
• a lot of loose floral patterned papers
• Sticker Book | Paige Evans Bloom Street | Pink Paislee
• Enamel Dots | Dive into Summer | Echo Park
• Precision 12x12 White textured Cardstock | American Crafts

​Have a good day!
Ciao, a presto.