"Hello Clique Friends!

It's Isa today on the blog and I want to present you a new layout that I have made experimenting with tons of things that I had at home and wonderful products from the Clique Kits shop. 

First of all, for this layout I used as a base 12x12 precision white paper that you can find on the shop here.  And then I played with the collection of my friend Mima Molina "Love on Top".

What I have done first for this layout is to create the background. I love splatters so I have in my scraproom prepared several pots of acrylic paint (mostly black) mixed with water so I can start playing with the background of my layouts. As the base paper that I used is very thick I did not add any gesso before putting the paint in the first place. Once I have the black base of paint, what I do then is to add some drops of paint of different colors that are included in the colors of the papers of the collection I am going to use. I always try to combine these elements so everything is in good tune. 

 Once prepared the first splatters, I decided to play also with other elements. I used a stencil that you can find in the "Find me" kit here with some modelling paste to give more volumen to the elements of the background. I also added the stamp that is included int his kit to add diferent elemetns. I stamped the rainbow in black and grey with eome amazing inks you can find on the shop too. 

As you can see here, creating a background has different phases, but it is so fun to dirty your hands and play with different elements! I really recommend you to do it without thinking and enjoying the process. The result will be amazing for sure!! 
Once everything is dry I added more pink to the background as I consider that it is a bit dark and the papers are quite colorful to have such a blackish background.

The procedure I have followed is the same as with the black acrylic paint. I have mixed it with water and then I have splattered without thinking on the paper. And I have enjoyed it so much! Then to add more details to the background I have taken a black pen and I have added some details in one corner of the layout and some dots where I included all the paint in the first place.

Meanwhile this is getting dry I have prepared a cluster of layers with cloth, papers, tags and my sewing machine!

I added also some butterfiles that are in the papers, flowers, black thread (as it appears also on the papers) and buttons. I hope you like it!

As a title I have used some thickers that I had from past kits, you can take profit of everything! And I have included some words that are included in the papers of collection Love on Top. Here you can see the complete layout. I hope you like it! The picture was taken after I made a photoshoot to change my images in social networks, it was such a beautiful day that I wanted to take thousands of pics! I hope you like it! 

I hope to be back soon with new inspirations with all the new things coming to the scrapbook universe! Take care! 
Lots of love, 
​Isa

Hey y'all!!  Michelle here bringing you a layout that I made inspired by this picture of my hubs hanging out on the banks of the Cane River in Natchitoches, Louisiana.  I was inspired by the weathered wood of the table and I was brought back to the feeling of sitting on the water that evening.  Even though it was late November, they still had the most beautiful green landscaping and flowers along the banks of the river and everything was so lush and green.   

I knew when I saw the beautiful weathered wood patterned paper (O Bois Fleuri 12X12 Patterned Paper Les Ateliers de Karine) in the Dawn Blooms Kit, that it was perfect for this picture!  The weathered wood and all the leaves in the die cut assortments reminded me of being on that deck taking in the sights that evening.  
I distressed the weathered wood paper with some black ink along the edges and dripped some ink in spots along the page as well.   The colors of the geometric graphics on the paper reminded me of the water which made me reach for a transparency I had in my art scrap pile when I was experimenting with some alcohol inks some time back.  The combo of the alcohol ink covered transparency overlaid on top of the patterned paper just evoked feeling and memories of water dancing along the side of the pier.   (I attached it to the patterned paper with staples along the top)
I loved adding the gold accent with the Maggie Holmes adhesive resin heart.  It really tied in the gold alcohol ink and the gold leaves that I cut out of the pattered Prima paper (Prima "Peaceful Bliss" from the Watercolor Floral Collection).  

I finished it all off with some great gold Thickers from American Crafts for the title.

It was a fun page that came together fairly quickly.  
Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you were inspired to make something beautiful today!

Hi friends! Dana here today sharing the layout I created for the Clique International Stamp-tember Event which is happening in The Clique Facebook Group. There is a different stamping challenge posted each weekend of the month. All challenges are open until September 30th with prize winners for each. We'd absolutely love to have you join us! I used the Limited Edition Ciao Bella Wind Beneath My Wings Kit for this project, plus the Catherine Pooler Explore and Learn Series Flutter Bundle Kit and the Flora + Fauna More Stamp-tember Add-On Kit. All of these kits are currently on sale and only available while supplies last from the Clique Shop.

I'm primarily a 12x12 scrapbooker. I have to admit that I don't use stamps and dies as much as I could because they are generally on the small side and are designed more for card making. I was thrilled when I received the Catherine Pooler Wings of Joy Stamp and Die Sets. This butterfly is stamp is over 5 inches across which means that it is a great size for use on 12x12 layouts. I love butterflies and recently snapped a photo of one that flew into my back porch last week. These stamps and dies were the perfect way to complement my photo. I used the stamps and dies together to make a layered butterfly embellishment that I designed after to gorgeous Vicki Boutin stickers in the Wind Beneath My Wings Kit.
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Step 1: Spray a piece of watercolor paper with water. Press the Catherine Pooler Minis onto a craft mat to release some ink onto the work surface. Use a water brush to pick up the ink and spread it onto the wet watercolor paper. Blend and splatter the ink onto the paper until it is covered. Let dry.

Step 2: Use the Catherine Pooler Wings of Joy Butterfly Die to cut a butterfly from the watercolor paper. Set aside.

Step 3: Apply Catherine Pooler Midnight Ink onto the Wings of Joy Butterfly Stamp and press onto a piece of vellum. Let dry.

Step 4: Use the Catherine Pooler Wings of Joy Butterfly Die to cut the stamped butterfly from the vellum.

Step 5: Use a permanent gold pen to color the body of the vellum butterfly. Attach the vellum butterfly to the watercolor butterfly base using a piece of 3D Foam.

Bonus Butterfly: Use the Flora + Fauna Delicate Butterfly Die to cut a piece of patterned paper and a piece of vellum. Apply adhesive to the patterned paper butterfly body, line up the vellum butterfly die-cut over the top, and press to attach. Fold the vellum wings up towards the center of the butterfly body to separate the wings, creating a 3D embellishment.
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The Catherine Pooler Minis work great with stencils! I sponged Fiesta Blue Ink over a stencil to add more butterflies to the background of this layout.

I created my own file folder from patterned paper, cardboard, and washi tape. I used both of the small Flora + Fauna stamp sets to add a pretty bright blue flower print to the paper.

I wanted to add a contrasting color to the background of my layout to offset the blue. I would usually use a stencil and texture paste for this effect, but used the dot cluster stamp from the Catherine Pooler Wings of Joy Stamp Set instead with the Catherine Pooler Minis Rockin' Red Ink. I love the look! I feel like I should make a note here and mention that the red ink is more of a dark pink.

The Wind Beneath My Wings Kit contains paper flowers but doesn't have any leaves. I used two of the small leaf stamps from the Catherine Pooler Wings of Joy Stamp Set with the Catherine Pooler Minis Grass Skirt Ink to add small leaves around each of the paper flowers on this layout.
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I used one of the sentiments from the Catherine Pooler Wings of Joy Stamp Set to make a small title for the layout.
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I also added a small sentiment along the bottom of the page that I made from the Kesi'art Thanks Die Set.
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I hope I have inspired you to use dies and stamps to create large embellishments. And, if you're a cardstock lover, I hope I have opened your eyes to the possibilities of stamping on patterned paper! I'd love to see your take on this challenge so please upload your project in The Clique Facebook Group by the end of the month for your chance to win a prize!

Clique International Supplies:
Limited Edition Ciao Bella Wind Beneath My Wings Kit
Catherine Pooler Explore and Learn Series Flutter Bundle Kit
Flora + Fauna More Stamp-tember Add-On Kit
Little Birdie 8x8 Cold Pressed Heavyweight Watercolour Paper
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Other Supplies: Gold DecoColor Calligraphy Pen (Marvy); Cardboard; 6x6 Butterfly Stencil (Heidi Swapp); Adhesive (Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L)
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Hello crafty friends! Nicole here, and today, boy do I have a treat for you! How about something different, bright and colorful today?! I'm here to give you just that!

Today, I'm sharing not only my experiment using neon acrylic paints, but also a step by step process of my layout, my thoughts, what I liked and what I didn't like about the process.  I have an accompanying YouTube video that's linked below my photos to share the "real-ness" of this process.  It gets mess (yes, I literally dropped a bottle of paint on my palette), I create something that I didn't like at first that took me three times to fix, and lastly, all the cuteness of these embellishments and the process I took to lay this out just right!
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Here's a look at the close ups and I invite you to watch the video below to share in this experience with me!

Hello crafty friends! Nicole here and today I'm super excited to share my first layout with Clique International!  Today, I'm creating a mixed media layout with an experiment theme.  I really loved the Amy Tan papers and embellishments with all the rainbows in the Clique shop, so what a better way than to create my first project with an emphasis of the "aloha leilani" paper!

For this project, I wanted to experiment with bold liquid watercolors and how they would drip on a non gessoed surface. I began using Vicki Boutin Foundation Paper that was not gessoed. I did not prep the paper in any way.  I laid out my rainbow that I cut from the "aloha leilani" paper to see where I wanted my watercolor to start. I drew a pencil line to indicate where I was going to start my color and also where I wanted different colors to begin and end.

Next, I took my liquid watercolors and using a dropper I squeezed color along my pencil line in the same color order as the rainbow.

Once the color was on my paper, I moved the rainbow and started tapping my paper against my desk, using a paper towel to soak up extra color.  The photo below shows one color application.  I did this process twice.

After two layers of color application, this is what my page looked like.  I was happy with the bold colors, the mixing of colors where they met and all of the white space. 
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I let all of the color dry on its own.  Because the foundation paper is this and works well with mixed media, the paper did not buckle. In fact, it was nearly flat!  I added my large rainbow back onto my page using foam adhesive. I then added my photo and lots of embellishments, again in color order to match my mixed media.
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I absolutely LOVE how this color dried! It's bold, bright and beautiful!  I think my favorite part is the combination of the watercolor and the enamel heart stickers and rhinestones that I put at the bottom of the page.

Thanks so much for stopping by the Clique today! Be sure to tag us on social media when you experiment with mixed media!

Hi everybody! It's Gia. I am sure you can tell this already... but I love color. Boy layouts for me can be a challenge sometimes. In this layout I decided to steer clear of  traditional masculine colors and opt for using the bright palette in the Studio Light Art by Marlene Kit. 

I made some freehand wonky circles with some of the gelatos in the kit and used a waterbrush over the lines. I also machine stitched even more wonky circles with black thread for some contrast. I used the same gelatos diluted in water to sprinkle some color all around my background. To add texture to my background I used some modeling paste from Bad Girls Couture in the Bad Ass Art Journal Kit with the Studio Light grunge stencil in the Art by Marlene kit.

Next I fussy cut some of the circle elements in the collage papers  and started to lay out a cluster to surround my photo from my son's first grade back to school photo. I used more black thread stitching to tie in the circular background with the fussy cut circles repeating this texture a couple times. You might notice that by choosing to use repetition of  some elements of your design whether shapes, motifs, or textures the layout begins to come together cohesively even with a lot going on!
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The only items I used on this layout that were not in the collage kit were some On a Whim Thickers by Amy Tangerine which were sold a while back in the Clique Kits shop and a roller stamp by Vicki Boutin to add some messy stamping to my background. When it comes to mixed media collage technique, I have 5 basic "layers" that I tend to incorporate into every project.

1. a media layer
2. a paint layer
3. a stitching layer
4. a stamping and/or handwriting layer
5. a paper layer

You will get different effects of course depending on what order you add these layers but no matter what you will end up with a rich, dimensional and textured design. You just have to play and experiment to find combinations you like.

Finally, I added some washi strips and fussy cut collage paper flowers here and there once I had my photo planted where it looked appealing to me.  Before adhering my paper pieces to the page, I varied the height using foam dots and tape. This layout did not require a lot of journaling because the photo gave away the theme of the memory I am documenting and many of the chipboard pieces served as more of my "story." 

I truly love how this layout came out and most of all the fact that it is one of a kind and no one else will use the collage papers by Marlene in exactly the same way! I think that is what makes mixed media collage a lot of fun for creative scrapbookers! 
-Hugs,
​Gia

Hello Lovelies! Theresa here to share a most fun layout I created using the January Heart Eyes kit! I wanted to create a mixed media background and build up layers on top today, so take a look at what I created.
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One of my favorite things about the Heart Eyes kit and the amazing Whimsical products included, are all the different color options in the kit. You can literally pull any color scheme from these beautiful papers and I always say go with your favorites. For my mixed media background I pulled pinks, yellows, and greens, which are the main colors I see in my photos.
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I wanted to repeat the hexagons in my background, so I started with a hexagon stencil I had in my stash from The Crafter's Workshop/Balzer Designs. I pressed my Versamark ink pad down over the stencil and then heat embossed the design using American Crafts Zing! powder in clear. Then I used Dr. Martin's Bombay watercolor inks to apply my color. I used Yellow Ochre, Cherry Red, and Aqua. 
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When you heat emboss a design and then add watercolors, the design then resists the colors that you apply to your paper. For this layout I applied each color one by one, just dropping a tiny bit of color in different areas and spritzing water to the splotches so the colors would run across the page. I love this method so much! Watching the colors react to the water and leave the beautiful pattern behind is so satisfying!
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Once my background was complete, I layered photos and ephemera on top of a cutout from the hexagon patterned paper. I also created my title from the foam words included in the kit, and added a bit of journaling at the bottom of my page. I also used a label from the kit to add my date above one of the photos.
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My story for this layout is all about my daughter Natalie's first day of Kindergarten. The photos themselves tell the story of how excited and ready she was, and notice how tiny she looks getting on that bus! I had to much fun adding ephemera around the photos, including hearts (because of course!), butterflies, the watercolor palette, a wolf (which is her spirit animal), and a bird (which I include in almost every one of her layouts). Everything about this layout was so much fun to put together!
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Thank you so much for joining me today! Have you had a chance to play with your Heart Eyes kit this month? If so, please share with us so we can see! 
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Hello lovelies! Rita here to share a layout I created using the brand new Cut File „WEEKEND“. 

I chose a pale mint colored cardstock and made a little greenish acrylic painted background with some black and white splashes for the Cut File. Then I backed the Cut File with a white paper with some sprinkles on it (the paper is from an older Paige Evans collection) and fussycut some flowers from a paper in my 6x6 „Amy Tangerine Better Together“ paper pad. ​

Hello, lovelies! Donna here with a new scrapbook layout using the September "Farmhouse" Main kit. This kit is just beautiful, I so love it.

There's still a couple of kits left so hurry and go to the store to grab it!

Here is the layout I made for today. It's really simple but I love how it turned out

I cut the "thankful" cut file several times and adhered it together so i has depth even without foam tape. I used one of the papers in the kit to mat the stenciled/color splattered  white cardstock. I also cut a couple of strips of paper to create vertical edge borders.

Embellished the layout with a mixture of fussy cut and ephemera die cuts.

I love the combination of colors in this kit, super pretty

I hope my project inspired you to create something today!
Thanks for dropping by and happy crafting!

Hello Lovelies, Theresa here today sharing a layout I created following the September sketch! I love a great sketch for how easy it helps pull a layout together, and this month's sketch works beautifully with the September Farmhouse kit.
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This is the layout I will be sharing with you today! I was loving the pinks and greens this month, and I have used the black and white as lovely neutrals as well.
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One of my favorite things about using sketches is that you can re-imagine any of the elements in any way you wish. In this layout, for example, I made one of the background patterned papers my mixed media element instead of paper. I took my Prima Art Alchemy paints plus a really wide, dry paint brush, and painted simple strokes onto my background. 
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Then, once my background was fully dry, I began adding the other papers and elements to complete the layout. I chose patterned papers that contrast against each other, so the black polka dot contrasts against the pink and white background, and another tiny bit of pink and white on top of that.
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I have used some bits of ribbon from my stash as a little embellishment on the side, and it gave me an opportunity to include one of the little gold pin included in the kit!
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I probably have my photos a bit larger than the sketch shows, so my title is going above the left photo. I have used one of the kraft tags, and also layered a few more word strips on top of that to incorporate a bit more color to the tag.
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My photos for this layout are from my daughter's 11th birthday so I definitely wanted a feminine feel to this layout. The floral die cuts in this kit are perfect, so I have layered them over and under this photo. They repeat the pinks in the layout and also lead your eye down and around the page. Here is one more look at this fun, happy page.
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Have you been working with this month's sketch and kit? We would love to see, so be sure to share and tag us. Use #cliquekits. Thank you for joining me today!
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