Document December Prep Week Two: How To Get Organized For This Project

I am so excited to be a guest designer for Elle's Studio and create projects to Document December 2019. For week two, I am sharing some easy organization tips to help you play in your December albums.

I made a distressed toolbox into a farmhouse caddy to hold all of my Document December supplies for embellishing pages. The front sections store my die cuts and shapes as well as stickers, acrylic and wood veneer and the large back section stores puffy stickers and stamps. Having everything divided by type helps me locate it quickly. Keeping my supplies out and easily accessible helps the project along with a dedicated place for everything. 

The second container holds all the base supplies: 6″ x 8″ paper, 4″ x 6″, and 3″ x 4″ tags from the Document December 2019 Kit. I divided the 3″ x 4″ tags into two sections: journaling tags on the right and filler cards on the left. I divided up the cards based on the way my mind works, and the way I use these supplies. 

With my containers gathered together, I can play with the Document December products from left to right. First, my 6″ x 8″ album with pocket pages inside, then the container of base pages, then the tool caddy of embellishments. Having the products out and visible helps me to stay on track. You could also add a notebook to track things you want to journal, or note that in your planner like I do!

Thank you for joining me today, and I hope this organizational idea helps you. 

Leigh

Crate Paper Memorydex Cards in a Farmhouse Style Box: Gratitude

Hello friends! Have you enjoyed seeing a farmhouse trend in DIY creations? I have been so inspired by the farmhouse trend, and made some new Memorydex Style cards for my Farmhouse Dollar Store DIY Memorydex Dupe! 

I used the dies from Heidi Swapp to cut the Heritage line from Crate Paper for the background. Then added on heritage cupboard, die cuts, and some Washi tape from Crate Paper.

So, here is the card in my Farmhouse Style Dollar Store DIY Memorydex Dupe! I will link a video below where I make the box.

Farmhouse Dollar Store DIY Memorydex Dupe Video above.

Brand New Wildflower And Honey Glaze Mixed Media Layout

Hello friends! Leigh here, with a layout featuring the brand new stencils in the Wildflower and Honey collection! I always love to see the new patterns Vicki comes up with for each new release, because her stencils are such a good value, and they add versatile patterns to your stash! 

I added Vicki's gesso, paint, and then Iridescent Glitter Glaze to a large chipboard letter that starts my pet's name. My Pomeranian, Peanut, is captured in the photo here. Peanut is a tiny guy, but I wanted a big element on the layout to add the glaze technique! :) The White Foundations paper is the perfect base for this layout.

Start with a large bare chipboard letter, or cut your own. This letter "P" is almost 12 inches tall. First I added Vicki's gesso, and after that dried, I added a mix of the three paints in the photo to create the base color on the letter. I mixed Watermelon Burst, Saltwater Taffy, and Blue Hawaiian on a mixing palette to get a good blend, then applied it to the letter. Once that dried, I mixed Blueberry Pie Watercolor Marker, with Blue Hawaiian and added in the Iridescent Glaze. Mix with Vicki's Palette Knife and apply through the new Wildflower and Honey stencil.

While the glaze on the letter dried, I worked on the layout background. You can cut a three and a half inch wide strip from the Happy Spirit paper and attach it to the White Foundations paper. Then, I stitched between each color on the Happy Spirit paper. I like the diagonal line this adds, because there are diagonal lines in the photo. I also like the bold color the Happy Spirit paper adds to this layout.

The right side of the page, began with the mixed media splatters. I mixed Blueberry Pie, and Blue Hawaiian with water on an acrylic block, then splattered them on with Vicki's Water Brush. Next, pick out die cuts that coordinate with the colors on your page. I chose turquoise, orange, and coral die cuts, and layered them around the photo. The Pure Honey die cut with the brushes sticking out of the jar, was a fun element to add to the left of the photo, and serves as the title of the page. I made sure to add diagonal lines with the placement of the leaves, and elements on both sides of the photo, so it is the focal point of the page after your eye follows the large stripes and the letter on the left.   

The finished layout is complete with some hand-written journaling at the bottom right, and different layers of die-cuts on foam dots for dimension. I added the holographic gold chipboard heart circles in three different areas on the page. The two butterfly stickers on either side of the photo balance the layout. Do you have a favorite pattern noted from the new Wildflower and Honey collection? I can't wait to see what you guys do with the new designs in this gorgeous new collection! Share with us in the Vicki Boutin Mixed Media Community on Facebook.

SUPPLIES:

Vicki Boutin Wildflower and Honey Collection Paper (Happy Spirit #342241)

Vicki Boutin Wildflower and Honey Chipboard Thickers

Vicki Boutin Wildflower and Honey Ephemera Die Cuts

Vicki Boutin Wildflower and Honey Ephemera Embellishments

Vicki Boutin Wildflower and Honey Stencils

Vicki Boutin Wildflower and Honey Stickers

Vicki Boutin White Foundations Paper 

Vicki Boutin White Gesso

Vicki Boutin Watercolor Markers 

Vicki Boutin Water Brush

Vicki Boutin Paint Brush Set

Masculine Layouts with Vicki Boutin Mixed Media

Hello Vicki Boutin fans! This week, the Design Team is focusing on Dad layouts. I chose to start with the mixed media Ready to Use Paper Pad, and create a large title. The Ready To Use Paper Pad allows you to quickly start your layout, and I usually place my page elements over the mixed media area already on the page. 

The large title is fitting, since my Dad is 6 feet and 7 inches tall! I used some generic gold poster stickers for the title, and traced around the sticker onto the Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope paper (Odds and Ends). This pattern has a retro masculine look, and I love the strips it features. I then backed the Vicki Boutin paper letters with the gold stickers to tie in the gold media splatters on the page.

Step One: Create the title. Step Two: Add the strips of torn edge patterns over the pre-printed mixed-media area. I folded up the bottoms of each strip to show the pattern on the back. This adds lots of texture to your page. I chose patterns that felt masculine, and the colors coordinate with the colors in the photos.

Step Three: Add photos and embellishments. I added the fussy-cut cameras, and the journaling die cuts in a vertical meandering line to highlight the photos. I tilted the embellishments at different angles since the photos are also tilted. 

Step Four: Add your journaling and word strip stickers from the Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Sticker Book. I trimmed some of the word strip stickers to fit on the die cuts. The fussy-cut cameras are a nod to my Dad's love of photography. It is so important for me to treasure the connections and relationships in my life. I hope you get to create a page about the Dad figures in your life. Thanks for visiting today, and happy crafting! 

SUPPLIES:

Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Collection: Patterned Papers

Ready To Use Mixed Media Paper Pad

Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Die Cuts (journaling)

Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Sticker Book

How to Watercolor Your Own Floral Page Elements: Video Tutorial

Hello friends! I have a new video tutorial, featuring the American Crafts Sparkle City collection by Shimelle!! I love her tone-on-tone patterns! Below, see how I used watercolor Markers from Vicki Boutin to create custom page elements!

I was inspired by my Mom’s favorite colors, and I painted her the floral truck watercolor painting on the left for Mother’s Day. I wanted a soft color palette, so I created my own custom page elements using watercolors. This technique is easy, and you can recreate it even if you have never painted with watercolor. I found a package of the half circle felted wool embellishment from Amy Tangerine and thought they wound be perfect at the bottom of the paper strips, like a beaded curtain, or a wall weaving. 

The watercolor florals are gathered at the top like a floral swag. I piled them over and underneath one another to create lots of texture and dimension on the page. The watercolor leaves are added in at organic angles to create movement on the layout. I will show you how to easily shade the flowers with the watercolor markers in the video below. 

You can see here that each color of the florals coordinates with the patterned paper below it. I love the tone on tone patterns in the Shimelle Sparkle City collection, because they are patterned enough to create interest but subtle enough for the photos and florals to take center stage. I added lots of embellishments from the Sparkle City Collection too.

In this close-up, you can see how I added some of the holographic circle Thickers from Shimelle’s Sparkle City under the embroidery floss stitching. The stitching went very quickly because it is basically just one long stitch in multiples over the patterned paper. There are eleven large stitches on the page.  The vehicle die cuts add the unexpected element, and repeat the truck in the photo.

This is  a fun way to create custom page elements, in any color you desire. I coordinated the splatters by using the same watercolor markers as I used on the florals. I also added more watercolor splashes near the bottom of the paper strips to create the ombre effect that matches the ombre colored embroidery floss. 

Grab a cup to sip on, and enjoy the start to finish process video below. Thanks for visiting today, Leigh.

SUPPLIES:

Shimelle Sparkle City: Patterned Paper (#351351, #351349, #351346), Sticker and Washi Book Folder (#351332), Card Stock and Lenticular Shapes (#351333), Sparkle Thickers (#351328), Dear Lizzy Clothespins (#346497), Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Patterned Paper (#351091), Amy Tangerine Wool Half-circle Stickers (#341897), Vicki Boutin So Fun Stamps (#351106), Vicki Boutin Mixed Media Watercolor Markers (#348216), Vicki Boutin White Foundations