December Documented 2016 Foundation Pages *Hip Kit Club*

Hello everyone and happy Tuesday! 

This past weekend was a busy one! Even with all of the Thanksgiving celebrations, early Christmas shopping excursions, and the kids being out of school for the holiday break, I did manage to get a start on my December Documented album for this year and I'm so excited to share some of my foundation pages with you today!

I used the December Documented 2016 Kit from Hip Kit Club, along with items from the November 2016 Hip Kits for my foundation pages. The album that I chose to use this year is a 6x8 and is made by The Paper Studio. I like to get a jumpstart on my DD by creating my foundation pages right away so when December rolls around I can just print my photos at home and slip them into their designated pockets and add my journaling. Making the foundation pages first is a huge timesaver for me during the busy month!

I always start with a title page using a 6x8 page protector. I layered one of the Holly Jolly Word and Phrase Cut Apart Sheets, designed exclusively for Hip Kit Club by Kim Watson, on top of a piece of patterned paper from the Snow and Cocoa Collection by Crate Paper (available in the November 2016 Paper Kit) and added several embellishments from the November kits including the gorgeous exclusive chipboard alphabet letter stickers that are included in the November 2016 Main Kit.

For the first full spread in the album, I continued using patterned paper from the Snow and Cocoa collection by Crate Paper and embellished my pockets using various items from the November Kits such as the Snow and Cocoa ephemera bits and HKC exclusive 'Tis The Season Puffy Stickers.

I also used a couple of the exclusive journaling cards from the December Documented 2016 Kit to house my journaling when I start to document our festive month. I left the 4x6 pocket available for a large photo and just placed a piece of patterned paper in it for the time being.

I continued adding some of the exclusive journaling cards from the DD kit into the smaller 3x4 pockets and added the numbers for the days in December using a mix of letter stickers from the November kits.

I've created a December Documented album for several years now, so I'm really familiar with the photo content that I usually gather during the month...for those of you just starting out or if you've never done a DD album before, I definitely suggest mapping out a sort of "photo plan" or at least have a few ideas on activities that you will want to include in your album. For the first couple of years, I did more of a daily documentation of our family's December activities, rather than focusing on major events such as going to see holiday lights or decorating the tree. Since my children are growing up and are no longer at home with me all day, I try to focus more on the typical festive events, such as wrapping gifts, baking holiday cookies, etc.

Normally, my photos are the source of inspiration for my creations, so doing it in reverse is sort of a challenge for me. I try to make sure I can easily move or change up my filler card placement in my album until I'm 100% certain where I want something to be after I've added my photos. And if I have more photos than I anticipate, I'll just remove a filler card altogether or place it in a different pocket in my album.

I'm glad I got the first eight pages of my album started and I'll make sure and post another update on the rest of them soon!

I hope I've inspired you to get going on your DD album early and if you've never created one before then I hope you'll give it a try! My December Documented album is my most favorite album that I create all year and my family loves looking through them during the holiday season.

And here's the process video for a few of my foundation pages...

             

Thanks so much for joining me and have a wonderful day!

Feeling Fallish *Freckled Fawn*

Happy Monday, friends!

I shared this layout on the Freckled Fawn blog the other day...

I used the November 2016 "Hello Autumn" Embellishment Kit for this layout! The items are perfect for all of your fall-themed scrappy projects! 

I started by misting some black spray ink on top of a 6x6 stencil for my background design. Next, I added my photo that I layered on top of several different colors of patterned papers from my stash. Then I used some leaves that I cut out using my Silhouette and created embellishment clusters with the wood veneer leaves that are available in the kit. 

I also added a couple of the adorable coffee cup puffy stickers and scattered a few of the gold rhinestone stickers around my entire page for a pretty pop. I completed my layout using the letter stickers that are available in the November Kit for my title, "Feeling Fallish". 

Be sure and check out the Freckled Fawn online shop for a Cyber Monday Surprise!!!!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving this past weekend had a blessed one! 

Reindeer Gifts *Shimmerz Paints*

Hello everyone! 

I'm here to share a winter-themed layout that I created using some lovely Shimmerz products!

When I first chose the photo of my two youngest children wearing their Christmas pj's that they received as a gift from their elves' reindeer, I was stumped on how to create a background that looked like a snowy wonderland. I tried a few techniques using some Coloringz and Shimmeringz, but nothing was turning out like I had envisioned in my head. So I ended up grabbing a skein of baker's twine from my stash and wadding it up in my hand so I could use some "Well Blue Me Down" Coloringz spray ink on it to create a background! 

After I spritzed the baker's twine with the Coloringz, I simply stamped it down on my background cardstock and voila! I think it looks like the frosty pattern that ice leaves on glass when it's really cold! 

After the Coloringz dried, I lightly spritzed some "Heavy Metal" Shimmeringz all over my background to add a light gray tone to my page. Then I used some "Tutti Frutti" Dazzlerz Texture Paste and a star stencil to add some more dimension and texture to my layout. I love the soft pink tones of the Dazzlerz paste and how it coordinates with the pink doily I used on my layout.

I had a couple of tree shapes that I cut out of white cardstock using my Silhouette that I sprayed with "A Shade Of Gray" and "Well Blue Me Down" Coloringz to match the colors in the patterned paper I chose to use.

Shimmerz Paints Used: Dazzlerz - Tutti Frutti; Shimmeringz - Heavy Metal; Coloringz - Well Blue Me Down, A Shade of Gray

If you get stumped or are wanting to use a new technique on a project, just look around your craft space and think outside of the box like I did with the baker's twine! I hope I've inspired you to try something new...thanks so much for joining me and have a wonderful day!

Brrr...brr! *Hip Kit Club*

Hello crafty friends! 

I shared this layout on the Hip Kit Club Facebook page the other day using the gorgeous November 2016 Hip Kits! 

I started with the Crate Paper Snow and Cocoa black and white patterned paper and grabbed some markers from my stash and colored in some of the phrases to make a sort of DIY background. I layered the photos of my daughter sipping on some yummy hot cocoa at her brother's football game and placed one of the adorable rubber charm paper clips from Crate Paper beside it using my Tiny Attacher. 

I typed my journaling on my computer and printed it off to fit inside one of the HKC exclusive die cut frames available in the November 2016 Main Kit. I added a strip of pink washi from the Embellishment Kit and layered a few more of the exclusive die cuts around it for added dimension.

I also painted the "BRR" wood veneer letters from the Snow and Cocoa collection using a black marker and placed them on top of the patterned paper piece where they fit perfectly!

The November kits are so amazing and are filled with so many items that are great for winter and holiday themed projects! Be sure and check out my process video for this layout on YouTube.

Thanks so much for joining me today!

A Fall-Inspired Project Life Spread and A Layout! *Hip Kit Club*

Hello crafty friends!

I hope you're having a fabulous weekend! I'm here today to share two projects that I created using the October 2016 Hip Kits that I shared on the Hip Kit Club blog the other day.  

First up is a Project Life insert I made to document some of our recent fall activities. 

I didn't include these photos in my monthly spread, so I decided to create an extra insert to highlight some of my family's recent activities during our favorite season. 

I used the HKC Exclusive Project Life cards from the October 2016 Project Life Kit for my spread and layered lots of embellishments from the October kits on top of them for personalization.

I like to keep my embellishing to a minimum for my spreads, but by adding several different layers on the PL cards using items from the kits, I'm still able to give my spread lots of color and dimension.

I focused on my photos and balanced out their brown and green color scheme by using items that had lots of aqua and pink in them.

I also added a few gold accents such as the enamel dots and Jen Hadfield letter stickers that are available in the October 2016 Embellishment Kit.

Next up, I have a 12x12 layout that I created using a large title from one of the October cut files (available here and free to subscribers!) along with other items from the October 2016 Hip Kits.

I was really inspired by the lovely geometric patterned paper from Simple Stories, available in the October 2016 Paper Kit, and the large title that I cut out using my Silhouette Cameo.

I added three fun photos of my two youngest kiddos playing outside in our yard and embellished around them using the We R Memory Keepers wood veneer pieces from the Honey, I'm Home Collection as well as some coordinating die cuts and stickers from the collection.

I accented around my large title using some of the Jen Hadfield gold rub-ons and some of the gold Thickers hearts available in the Main Kit.

Be sure and check out my process video at the end of my post for more details about how I created these two projects.

              

Thanks so much for joining me! I hope you have a great day!

Hello Adorable Girl *Shimmerz*

Hello!

I'm here today with a simple and easy background idea using some Texturez and Vibez paints from Shimmerz that I used to create this layout that I shared on the Shimmerz blog yesterday...

I started by choosing my favorite colored Texturez paste and a stencil. I used a piece of white cardstock for my background paper, but this could also be done on patterned paper or vellum as well. 

I placed my stencil on top of the white cardstock and adhered it by using a little washi tape. Next, I used a small spatula to add The Tide That Binds Texturez paste on top of the stencil. I did this twice...once at the top of my page and then again at the bottom, reversing the stencil. 

After the Texturez paste dried, I spritzed a few areas around my page using some Razzledazzle Berry Vibez spray ink. And there you have it...a simple and easy background! 

I added photos of my daughter from this past Halloween to my page and used lots of items from the Cute Girl collection by Crate Paper for my embellishments.

I love how I captured her Halloween costume (a unicorn) on this page without using any orange or any of your typical Halloween-inspired colors.

I also added a few circles that I created for a previous Shimmerz post around my page to add some color pop and texture.

Shimmerz Paints Used: Texturez - The Tide That Binds; Vibez - Razzledazzle Berry

I love using Shimmerz items to create fun and easy backgrounds for my layouts! It helps me experiment with colors and ideas and helps me push my creativity a bit further, too. 

Thanks so much for joining me today...I hope you have a great weekend!

Cute Carver *Hip Kit Club*

Hello, everyone! I shared this layout I created using the October 2016 Hip Kits from Hip Kit Club on the HKC Facebook page the other day...

I started by grabbing the lovely diagonal patterned paper from the October 2016 Paper Kit and a few of the HKC Exclusive Project Life cards from the October 2016 Project Life Kit and got started!

I made a few DIY accents for this page with the exclusive Project Life cards available here. I fussy-cut the feathers and punched out a circular accent so I could create a large embellishment cluster on the left side of my page. 

I used some of the gorgeous gold rub-ons from Jen Hadfield available in the October 2016 Embellishment Kit for part of my title and to accent several other areas around my page.

I also have a process video for this layout so be sure and check it out below!

              

Thanks so much for dropping by today!