Hello Everyone, it's Piroska here today with my latest post for Clique International. I hope you are all doing well! For my post for today I had a special task, I had to scraplift a layout of one of our followers. Well, I chose a layout of @scrapperinlove, which she made for our October challenge. I love the background and the painted leaves Rossana Lapalombella made, so I thought I give it a try.
So here is Rossana's layout:

And here is mine:

First I used clear gesso on a white cardstock, then after drying I used some watercolours to paint the background. I tried to paint with softer colours, just like Rossana did, altough I wanted to add some red too.

While I let it dry, I handpainted some candy canes and cut them out. I also played with watercolours on a sheet of white cardstock and when it was try, I cut some stars with my 3D star dies set, and pine branches with my Sizzix.

I also cut some stars from the 6x8 patterned paper pad of the Mistletoe kit. Because I missed colours, I matted my photo with some patterned papers.

Then I started to make my layout. I added to photo in the middle, I glued a heavy cardstock underneath to add some dimension to it. I added the branches, the stars and the self-made candy cane cut outs around the photo.

Finally I added my title in the bottom right corner. I used a title sticker from the  Simple Stories, and added a candy cane shaker sticker from the Mistletoe Trims Add-on Kit.
What do you think about my scraplift? I am not quite sure whether I like my version. It was far out of my comfort zone, that is for sure! ;-)

Hi there, it is Piroska here today and this is my very first post at Clique International. I am very grateful to Gia who invited me to join this team of amazingly talented crafters! I hope to be able to inspire you with my works.
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For the first time I got an interesting task to fulfill: I had to scraplift a layout of one of the followers of Clique International. I chose Kim Allen and her layout made for the challenge of Marcia Dehn-Nix last month. Kim's layout is bright and colourful, and I really loved the idea of the triangle composition. But before I show you my scraplift, let me introduce you Kim who was ready to answer some questions:

Q: Kim, I've just seen in the Clique International Facebook Group that you make many layouts. Why do you love scrapbooking?
A: I started scrapbooking when attending a creative memories show done by a friend. I started just because I wanted to support her. Fast forward 20 + years later, I have fallen in love with this hobby. I love that there are NO rules for scrapbooking. I can create whatever makes my heart happy and that is OK. I have just started to dabble in mixed media pages and I am really loving the effects of all the different mediums on my pages.

Q: Why do you love Clique International?
A: I found Clique Kits a few months after it started and I have been a fan since day 1. I love that the kits are such a variety of different companies put into the most amazing kits. I have been introduced some of the most amazing manufactures and independent companies. I LOVE that there are kits to introduce me to new techniques or different holiday kits. I really LOVE that there are so many choices at Clique kits and you can mix and match to your hearts content.
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- Thank you, Kim, I am so happy to get to know you a little better :-)
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​Here is Kim's layout:

And here is my scraplift:

As I have mentioned before, I was inspired by the triangle design of Kim’s layout. I chose the Design Team announcement photo and paired it with the beautiful So Romantic Base Kit  which you can now pre-order in the shop. It has so beautiful colours, and I love the floral paper so much, I had to fussy-cut some of the flowers.

I cut the Floral Heart Frame 1 cut file of CUT to YOU from smooth white cardstock - I didn't want to paint a rainbow, but wanted to keep the heart from Kim's layout as an element.

I got my Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections Pastel Dream watercolours and painted a background for the photo, the cut heart and my title as well. As a base I used Florence Watercolor paper so I didn't need to use gesso.

I backed my photo with patterned papers of the collection, and started to arrange the fussy cut flowers. I only glued them  on one side so that they can be lifted up from the background paper. I also added adhesive foam to some of them, and used the stickers of the collection to get dimensions.

Finally I added some more stickers, chipboards to the layout.

It was so fun to scraplift Kim's layout! I'm rarely paint on my layouts but it was so good to get out of my controll zone. Thanks, Kim! :-)

Aloha!! It's Hannah with you today!! I hope you all have wonderful plans this weekend. Today I am going to be using the November Cornucopia Traveler's Notebook Kit. This kit is so cheerful, these supplies really help lift my spirits. 
We have been back to school and getting into our school time routine for a little over a month now. I won't lie, I am really missing the summer and my extra free time. This time of the year though, just has something that draws me in. Preparing for the winter, getting back into a daily routine, new seasons of tv shows to watch and lots of reading and writing, are going on in my house. 
I really love the idea of documenting this big change this time of the year. I think every year I expect something a bit different, and to have that in some journaling is really nice. At the end of the year it really helps you see how far you have come. But back to school layouts and spreads really have a bad rap. Whether it's sleepy cranky faces, whether it's the change in the lighting , the lack of enthusiasm about the upcoming times, it sometimes is hard to capture this season change in a good light. 
I think for me some of it is that the info can be generic. You want to make sure you have facts on the layout. 
Hopefully today I can give you some small easy tips to make documenting your back to school and season changing that help you share your families stories. 

My first tip is to make your layout fun, whether you have little kiddos at home or some not so little kids. use a fun design to document your daily routines. Today I am going to scrap lift myself. I made this above layout 2 years ago for a back to school challenge.  I love how there are elements that point to autumn but that I used my favorite technique, layering. This design is so much fun. Scrap lifting myself means I don't have to come up with a design but can focus on other elements on my layout. 

I did lots of fussy cutting for this layout, but it meant I didn't have to raid the main kit for too many die cuts, just a few that helped tell my stories. 
My next tip is, Use your paper as embellishments. There are so many papers now days that have flowers (In fact our kits both have lots of florals and cut worthy pattern papers), or other elements to cut out. Use these pieces as embellishments to layer on your page. Whether you like a clean and simple layout or a busy layout, you can cut a lot of just a little.  This is so helpful when you have really bold patterns too. 
I used the little 2x2 squares to draw leaves and cut them out. I also fussy cut the flowers in the patterned paper in the TN kit. I got so much from just a little paper. 

My next tip is to use those word die cuts as part of your title. If you are anything like me, I struggle coming up with awesome titles. Thankfully these die cut words can help me with that. It also helps draw interest to the title when you vary the size font and font look. 
In this layout I even used one of the journaling cards with beautiful hand script words as my title.  Now my title isn't quite the same as two years ago back, you know it is a back to school layout. 

My next tip is not be afraid to use all your themed pieces together on the layout. But don't let this stop you  if you don't have themed die cuts. A couple of themed pieces go a long way mixed in with what might feel like a lot of non themed pieces. 
I know I tend to stay away from the traditional items but I don't want a really themed layout, but you know it's ok to have that kind of spread every once in a while. But by mixing themed pieces with items that don't say Back To School it really helps to balance the theme. 
Remember to mix up colors, shapes, sizes and textures. This will help draw interest to you layout. 

I had fun layering all the beautiful colors of this kit. The Main Kit's die cuts were perfect for cutting that brightness too. I also love this October CK exclusive Flair badge. It works so well. 

My last tip is to change up your journaling. This layout I decided to write it like I was talking to my kids. They may not fully understand it all now, but later years down the road, they will be able to hear my voice as they read my words to them. 
Another suggestion is to add your kids favorites, and see how they change from the beginning to the end of the school year. You could even have you r kids write their own journaling, changing the tone by them telling things about this time and how they feel about it. As a mom, we can only tell part of the story, so adding your child's voice it really can change the way they remember that day, that year. 
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Here is a finished look at my layout. I liked using my Traveler's notebook Kit for something other than my Traveler's Notebook. I love how this cheerful kit, helped my back to school layout be fun and helped captured my kids personalities. They are so playful, goofy and they really were enjoying this photo time, even if they laughed during most of the photo shoot. 
I hope I encourage you to document these special moments in a different way. Also don't forget to share with us all the layouts and projects you make with your Clique Kits!! Use the hashtag #click_connect_create and #cliquekits on social media and we will be able to see it!!
I hope you check out all the November Add Ons. They will ship out with your November Clique Kits at the beginning of the month. Use my code Hannah10 an you can get 10% off your Add Ons. 

I can't wait to see you later next week!! Until later Stay Inspired!!
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