Layered stamping with the NEW Stampz | Shimmerz Education Team

Have you seen it yet? Shimmerz Paints is coming out with stamps! I was so lucky to play with some of the before the release date. This layered flower stamp set called "Fresh Start" was very intriguing: I had never tried my hand at layered stamping. Have you? What should I do? Go ahead and try, of course! So I grabbed the next piece of paper which happened to be a graph paper, some ink and a stamping block and tried. And it worked. And I really loved the texture. So I decided to try some more and create a journaling background for my weekly traveler's notebook spread.

I stamped more flowers on the graph paper and then used my scissors to fussy cut the flowers and leaves. Then I used some Inklingz to add color to the background before adding the flowers to my pages. I simply adhered them with glue after the paint was dry. I had found a cute tea tag that read "The difference between a flower and a weed is a judgement" and I thought it would go perfectly with all the pretty flowers, so I added that to the bottom cluster.

Here is a closer look at the top cluster. If you are afraid your ink will bleed through the pages or are concerned of messing up your pages, it is always a great idea to stamp your images on an extra sheet of paper. It is also easier to change your design and create more dimension. By using a patterned background for the stamping like I did when using graph paper, you can even add more texture to the spread.

After I was done creating the background, I went ahead and added my journaling. There are lots of different ways you can do this and there is no right or wrong way. I had just read a quote by Stephen Hawking who had passed the day before, so I chose to feature it prominently in the middle of my page and arrange my journaling around it. I added some things in a list format. I wrote whole sentences and little paragraphs for other snippets of my life. Some of the things are deep and meaningful and some are the mundane, routine tasks of everyday life.


Here is a link to my process video on youtube. If you place an order in the Shimmerz Store, don't forget to mention my name Simone in the comments at checkout to receive a free mini surprise product! Thanks for stopping by today!
SUPPLIES:
Inlingz - Green Goddess, Beets Me, French Kiss
Stampz - Fresh Start

"Lucky You"- Stuck?! Sketches

I cannot believe that this is already my last layout for the Stuck?! Sketches Design Team. Time sure has flown by! Here is the March 15 sketch that Laura Whitaker created. During the past 6 months I usually started looking for photos and stories that would suit the sketch. Asking questions like: How many photos do I need to tell this story? Can I use several smaller ones or should I use one large photo? After finding the right photos I then built a page kit around those always checking back with the sketch. Laura's sketches are very detailed and (if you choose to read them like that) even suggest the volume of each paper.

After I had assembled my page kits, I then went to create and most of my layouts came together so quickly. Except for when I chose to use mixed media. Which to my surprise I used fairly often with these sketches. One reason could be that I felt secure knowing the layout would come together due to the sketch and so I could focus all my energy on trying out new techniques with mixed media. For this layout I used my Distress Oxide inks and stencils and started adding some texture to the background. Unfortunately, most of it got hidden by the embellishments I added later on. And then I built my layers according to the sketch.

When I started embellishing I went all out. And I loved adding all of the different die cuts and chipboard pieces everywhere. Sometimes I have such a hard time just placing one die cut and finding the perfect spot for it, trying it in so many different places. But this time, I went with quick decisions and stuck them down as soon as I thought it would look nice. And I love the how much dimension the many embellishments add to the layout.

The original title placement is to the bottom left of the photo cluster. I chose the top right instead for two different reasons: the title was quite large and bold and would have put too much weight to the bottom of my layout and with the added journaling the layout wouldn't have been balanced properly. The other reason was a lot more practical since the chipboard banner made it quite hard to place a title there nicely without a lot of adjusting and tweaking.

Here is a link to my video on youtube where you can see how this layout came together. Please make sure to check out the Stuck?! Sketches blog and have a look at all the other layouts by the Design Team. We would love for you to play along and link your layout to the link up to win some lovely prizes!
Thank you so much, Laura for having me on your team, I had such a great time in the past six month and find I created some of the best layouts with the help of your amazing sketches. I'm so sad my term is already over!

"... and I love you" - Stuck?! Sketches

It's March! How did that happen so quickly? Let me share this new sketch with you today that was created by Laura Whitaker for Stuck?! Sketches. Look at all the possibilities the sketch offers: you could stitch the circles, layer different patterned circles behind each other. Use washi tape for the stars, replace one of the photo spots with a journaling card or do something completely different. My first idea was to use differently colored embroidery thread and stitch the circles.

But then I accidentally stumbled across this free cut file from Paper Issues, I think what made me connect this file with the sketch was the circle obviously but also the stars in both. I was excited about using another cut file (you might have noticed that I am really starting to like them) and so I decided to go "that route". I kept the whole layout very simple: I used five different patterned papers, three photos, black card stock for the cut file, water color to do some mixed media on the background, a star stamp from feed your craft, alpha stickers and a date stamp. But even though I really love heavily embellished layouts, I don't think this layout is missing a thing. It is perfect just the way it is.

The title consists of two parts and is placed along the outer edge of the circle. Before adhering the cut file circle and photos onto the colorful background, I added tiny star stamps to several places along the circle to emphasize those areas where the photos and star embellishments would be. I really love this effect. The star cluster is from the feed your craft Plattern Play stamp set.

I love how the watercolor mixed media background turned out. I started using the packaging technique but then went in with my brush and just added color and water where I thought it looked right. Since I'm still in the beginning stages of using mixed media on my scrapbooking layouts, I'm still excited about it every time I use it and curious to see if what I envision in my head will come to life on paper. Luckily, it is just paper and the worst case would be a paper that ends up in the trash can instead of my album.

Here is a link to my video on youtube where you can see how this layout came together. Please make sure to check out the Stuck?! Sketches blog and have a look at all the other layouts by the Design Team. We would love for you to play along and link your layout to the link up to win some lovely prizes!