I Love That...

...Blazonry stencil by Balzer Designs.

Oh, yes I do. I use it all. the. time. Like on this page...



...and this one.



And it's all over my art journal, too.





I've always wanted to try paper piecing with this stencil and finally took the time last week to try it out.  I traced the pod shape on some patterned papers from Dear Lizzy's 5th & Frolic and Maggie Holmes' collection. I used both the 12x12 ad 6x6 Blazonry stencils. I also added some stitching with my sewing machine.



Then I grouped the papers together and layered them up.



And, of course, some Studio Calico Clay splats and a few other embellishments.



And here's the final page.



I love how many different looks I can get from one stencil. And the paper piecing was both a lot fun and a lot of work. I don't think I'll do it all the time but I know I'll do it again.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie

A Wedding Layout

Hey Friends!

I'm back today to share a really quick and easy layout I made with some leftover pieces from The Paperie's March kit.

It all started with the background paper by Creative Imaginations.  The paper is a beautiful, heavy-weight cardstock  and has a resisting image printed on it. - perfect for mixed media techniques. I took out my favorite stencil, Blazonry by Balzer Designs, and my favorite mist, SC Mister Huey Clay and spritzed. I thought this was going to be the first of many layers but I loved how it looked so much I stopped right there.



I added a sheet of vellum to soften the pattern...



...and thought, "wow, I'm done". I've never ever made a background so quickly.

I grabbed a sheet of kraft paper and typed a favorite quote by Mary Anne Radmacher.



It reads:

Live with intention.
Walk to edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.

And here is the whole page.



A super simple layout but I love it.  And, as it turns out, this page is just perfect for this week's challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Vintage Challenge blog. The challenge is Quotable and everyone who makes a project and posts it on the SSS Vintage Challenge blog is entered to win a $50 gift certificate - sweeet! So, quote the quotable (or unquotable) and post your project. I'll be looking for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie

Workin' the Stencils

Last week in this post, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer inspired me to make a page with lots of stencil layers. I usually play it safe with stencils and use one or two on a page but I wanted to stretch myself.  So, I grabbed my stencils and headed to my desk. As you can see, I didn't bother to tidy it or crop out the mess in Photoshop. This is what it looks like...all the time.

I started with a spread in my Dylusions Journal and I covered it in Tim Holtz Tissue Tape.



The green paint underneath is a leftover experiment that didn't work out. So, I didn't mind covering it up. Then I added some blue craft paint...



...and covered the whole page.



I let it sit for a few minutes. I wanted it to dry a little but I had no intention of hiding all that Tissue Tape so I grabbed a baby wipe...



...and wiped until I had brought back a lot of the Tissue Tape.

Then I added some orange craft paint through one of my all time favorite stencils - Blazonry by Balzer Designs.



The paint was thick in places so I added some texture.



Then I added a few more stencils. I got caught up in the process and forgot to take pictures of each layer. I don't remember what order I added the stencils but I used Jenni Bowlin for Ranger Paint Dabber in Lemon Drop with the Chevron Arrow stencil, gesso with the Chunky Chevron stencil and Dylusions Black Marble ink spray with my alpha stencil.



Finally, I added some dots with the Dylusions Dotted Flower 5x8 stencil and Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint in Classic Teal.



And here's a look at the final page.



How about a closeup?



Honestly, I cannot believe I made this page. I only used paint, stencils and Tissue Tape but I didn't feel limited. I love the variety of images and the overall feel of this page. In the end, I layered up 5 different stencils on this page. If you add the paint layer and Tissue Tape that's a total of 7 layers.

So, now I'm layering up stencils like crazy. I'm trying to figure out what I like and how much is enough and how much is too much. It's a lot of fun.

I hope you have a weekend full of inspiration and creative time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie

I made a page without blue!

Check it out, my friends! A whole layout without the color blue anywhere.



Well, there is some blue in the picture but I didn't use any blue supplies. Not a single one. I think it's a record. It's definitely odd.

And yet it feels like me, don't you think? There's some Studio Calico Fab Rips from last year, some AC Thickers, and SC wood veneer cameras and stars, of course. A page just isn't a page without some SC wood veneer stars!

And how about that background?  I made it myself and will be sharing the tips and techniques I used to make it at my next Paperie class on March 2nd. Hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie