Hello and Happy New Year!  I'm  kicking off the all new 2021 challenges on the Paper Issues blog. Have you figured out the January theme? That's right! Games!  So let's get these games started already! First up is the Pictionary challenge. You can call it a mood board, I call it full of ideas! There are games, colors, shapes, pretty much anything!

I was giddy when I saw the Game Boy! Umm, maybe I still have one 😮 My son and I love to play Mario Kart, and yes we still have our Wii. I suck, but we always have fun and laugh while we play.

 I grabbed the last bits of Simple Stories Bro & Co. I never in a million years thought I would use the game controller stickers, but man was I happy to have them! I literally layered a bunch of scrap pieces under the photos, then tucked the few remaining journal bits I had as well. Oh and that banner?  I fussy cut from the Level Up paper! I wanted to make a fun light hearted page with these photos. Mission accomplished!

Thanks for starting the new year with Paper Issues. Join our Facebook group to find all the new January Challenges. Enter one or enter them all. Each entry gives you a chance to win a gift card to the Paper Issues shop! Grab your favorites in the shop and remember to use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. See you next time!

 

Thankful for You

Hey there friends! I'm on the Paper Issues blog  today with a project for the Ties That Bind challenge. So this challenge was bit more difficult than I thought. Yes, yes I know I could have tied a knot or a bow and called it a day but really that is not much a of a challenge for me? 

Well, enter the November Kit! As soon as I opened it the ideas come flooding! It's filled with Simple Stories Cozy Days and, oh, where should I start? How about these awesome chipboard frames! I tied some twine around the pumpkins stems, then a bow around the top of the frame. 

Maybe I should back up a bit...because before I could even lay down any paper, I had to make my background!Yes, that's right, I jumped on the Distress Oxide train. I mixed some colors through an Altenew stencil . I think I am never going to use a solid background again. 

Anyway, I trimmed, layered, tucked and tore a few papers and ephemera, then reconnected the two sides by tying them back together with more twine. And come on, I think we need to talk about how these two young men are the ties that bind, to each other and to me!

Thanks for stopping by today. Head over to the shop fast to grab yourself a  November Kit, some Distress Oxides and anything else that catches you eye. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. Share what you make with us in our Facebook Group where you can find this and all of the   November Challenges. See you again soon!

 

Inspiration is Everywhere

Hello! I'm on the  Paper Issues blog with this weeks episode of Keep It Sketchy. Today's sketch is brought to you by the super talented Stacie. She  designed a beautiful sketch that I was super excited to play with. 

I love that this sketch shows some sort of background. The creative opportunities are endless, right?. Mixed media? Patterned paper? Stitching? Or you can do what I did and use one the FREE cut files available in the shop. 

I started with the Brush Stroke Background cut file.  I can't believe I've never used this before! Altenew Enjoy the Ride has been staring me in the face. I thought it would the right collection for these photos. 

I chose a piece of Vicki Boutin water color foundations paper to layer under the cut file that matched beautifully. I am not going to tell you how long it took me to decide which flowers to use, chipboard or fussy cut and then how I wanted to arrange them... Let's just go with way too long and leave it at that. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Head over to our Facebook group to see more sketches and all of the October challenges. It's crop weekend! Head over to the Paper Issues shop to get some Altenew , Vicki Boutin  and so much more. Remember to use DEVRA at check out for 20% off your purchase! See you next time!

 

Up One, Down Two,

Hello there! I'm on the Paper Issues blog this finest of Scraplift Sundays! Oh my do we have a LO to lift today! Stacie created a masterpiece. Man, I don't know if I can do it justice, but I sure tried!

I don't know what is more striking, the background stitching or the fact that it's on a chalked black background...It's genius. All of it. I wanted to recreate it, but in my own way. Well duh, that's why it's called scraplifting... anyway. I thought of using paint, creating streaks with ink, even layers of paper. Then I saw these photos and realized I had to stitch, but in a different way. At the same time, my August Paper Issues Kit and Swag Bag arrived giving me my colors. 

I have a whole bunch of old stitch templates. I used several of those to hand stitch the background, as well as the Pretty Little Studio Clear Stitch Stickers. Once I was done stitching, the rest was fairly simple. As in Stacies, the background speaks for itself! I layered several swag bag papers under the photos adding a few select pieces of PinkFresh Let's Stay Home ephemera and Chipboard flair.  Really, deciding on the background was the hardest part! ok, maybe teaching my son to sew as, but we won't tell him that!

Yep. I think the monotony and isolation of this never ending quarantine has finally gotten to him. He's like me and cant sit and do nothing. He asked me to teach him how to sew. He came home a few weeks ago to visit and that's what we did. He found it calming and relaxing. Mission accomplished. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! You can find Kits, PinkFresh Studio and so much more in the Paper Issues shop.  Don't miss out! Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. Then make all the thinsgs and head over to our Facebook Group for all the fun, games and September Challenges. See you next time!

 

Buzzed Bros

Oh Boy! It's a new month of challenges and I'm sharing my first one on the Paper Issues Blog today. Did I already say Oh Boy? I meant Oh Buoy! No, there will be no boats or anything nautical. This page is all boy! My boys and their freshly self done haircuts that is. 

I've been so inspired by Danielle and her mixed media mayhems that I decided to give it a try myself. I created the background using Vicki Boutin foundation paper, art crayons, both wet and dry and stencils. 

Once I had finished the background, I had to figure out the rest. Well, I had already chosen Simple Stories Bro & Co to use.I grabbed a couple of papers, mostly Live Out Loud. I even used both sides! I combined some Combo Cardstock Stickers and Journal Bits to created some cool embellishment layers. The Foam Phrase Stickers are ready made titles. Who doesn't love that? 

There you have it.  I hope I inspired you to try mixing the media! I loved it! Head over to the Paper Issues shop to get yourself the things I used here and so much more! Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. Find this challenge as well as many more in the August Challenge album in our Facebook group. We cant wait to see what you make!  See you next time!

So Cheesy

Hey there! I'm on Paper Issues Blog the today with this little number I made for the Make A Splash challenge. Nobody said this had to be about the pool or ocean did they?  This is all about water, or in my case, watercolors. 

I've been sitting on my Dina Wakely gloss sprays. Do I know how to use them? Nope. Was I going to give them a try? Yup. And so I did. I sprayed at the top of Vicki Boutin Foundations paper, then used a paint brush to dribble the paint down the page. I wanted it to look like melting cheese. Cheesy right? 

Then I took some Vicki Boutin Art crayons and stencils to create the rest of the background. I was inspired by CassieBox and Kelly Feldman, the way they used the drips on their paper.  The only thing left was paper. What could be better than all the food themed pieces from you guessed it, Vicki Boutin's Let's Wander

This was easy peasy and so cheesy! Head over to the Paper Issues shop to get yourself all the things I used here and more! Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. Find this challenge as well as many more in the July Challenge Album in our Facebook group. We cant wait to see what you make!  Until next time....

Master & Apprentice

Oh hello! I'm up on the Paper Issues blog today sharing my layout for the Grill Skills challenge. 

We have so many jokes about grilling in my family. I couldn't pass this one up. We call my Dad the Grill Master, and my husband the Burn Master. 

This was the perfect opportunity to cut into Simple Stories Summer Farmhouse. I'm a sucker for anything with primary colors as it is. Throw in a summer theme and I'm all in! I started with the Sunnies and Sandals paper for the background. Woodgrain background? No brainer! I knew I wanted to make pinwheels out of the Simple Pleasures paper. So that's what I did. They worked perfectly as a border between the photos and the title! Speaking of the title, if you don't have any of the Simple Stories Foam Alphas, you are missing out. I have them in every color, I used navy today.  The finishing touches are layers of Journal Bits and Combo Cardstck stickers. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. When I'm not here, you can find me on Instagram @thebeachygal. See you again soon!

Besties

Hey there I'm on the  Paper Issues Blog today with a project for the That's Was Random Challenge!  This, is a challenge I can get behind! I love throwing random bits of stuff onto my pages!

I started with the new PinkFresh Super Cool collection. I started with the Fun Times Paper as the foundation foe the whole page. Those tags down the side make this super cool and super easy! From there I grabbed all of my PinkFresh. Yes, all of it! I rifled through all the paper scraps, stickers, acetate, chipboard and ephemera and just started adding bits here and there onto the page.  It worked!

This was so fun! Now you should try this too! Find this and all of our challenges in the March Challenges album in our Facebook group!  Shop the store for all of your paper crafting needs including new PinkFresh, Shimelle and Amy Tangerine now! Use DEVRA at checkout for 20 % off your purchase. See you next time!

I'm Fondue You

Hello there!  I've been waiting impatiently to share this project on the Paper Issues Blog. Well, today's the day! Want to take a guess which challenge it's for? Well, I made this for the Sweet Talk challenge.

I'd been thinking about Conversation Heart Candy. I buy a box of them every year for my son. I have no idea if he eats them, but it started when he was little and he still smiles when he sees them.

Anyway, I wanted to have a pile of hearts on the page. Lucky for me, I found just what I was looking for with the  Mason Jar Fresh Picked free cut file. I got to work right away using Pink Paislee Lucky Us. OMG I love this Valentine collection. It's so happy. And colorful. In other words, right up my alley. I used 5 different papers, including Paper 10 for the background.  Then I cut the pile of hearts outline from of Paper 2, and filled them with Paper 12 and Paper 6. The best part was using and all the candy shaped stickers I could find on the  6x12 Stickers and Lucky Charm Phrase Thickers. With all of the colorful hearts, they were all the embellishments I needed to add.

We'd been talking about making a dessert fondue the entire month of December. For one reason or another we never did. We left it to that last possible moment to finally make it; the day we took him back to school. Better late than never right? 

 Mason Jar Fresh Picked

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. You can see more of what I've been up to on Instagram @thebeachygal. Head over to the Paper Issues Facebook Group to see all of the February Challenges . You can find more Free Files, Pink Paislee,  new PinkFresh Studio and more in the Paper Issues shop. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase.

Winter Wonderland

Hello there! I'm up on the Paper Issues blog today. You know Sunday is our favorite day of the week right? It's not just Sunday, it's Scraplift Sunday! This week we are lifting A bright and colorful layout by Manda Jane. 

I love a good diagonal design. There are so many ways to make one design look unique. That's exactly what I did. I lifted this design and made it my own. I narrowed it down to two photos, used stars as my primary shape, adding splatter instead of spray mist. It's a cleaner look, which is definitely my style! The best part for me is I don't have to think about a design. All I have to do is decide what paper I want to use!

We got a little unexpected snow a few weeks ago which meant I would have a chance to use Crate Paper Snowflake! I started with the Wonderland paper for my background.  I layered die cut ephemera and stickers all around and under the photos, then created a cascade of stars and snowflakes.  I even used some little bits from Swag Bags as well. 

Thanks so much for stopping by tmy creative view today. You can also find me on Instagram @thebeachygal where I post when I'm not here.  The Paper Issues shop is fully stocked on new releases from PinkFresh, Shimelle and Doodlebug. You can get all of that and more for 20% off when you use DEVRA at checkout. See you again soon!

Good Things

Hey there! It's Scraplift Sunday at Paper Issues and I'm sharing my lift of Cassie W's page on the Paper Issues Blog today!   You can check out her layout below.

I am totally in love with the Paper Issues Monthly kits.  I couldn't wait to tear or umm, cut into it. They are pure heaven. Have you noticed that each month kind of mixes well with the previous month?!?! Genius!  

Anyway, I love that Cassie's LO is on an angle but I was not feeling that. Nope. I straightened out the design. Other than that. I pretty much lifted the entire thing. Well. ok, I made some changes because that's what I do! I moved the title to the bottom and journaled between the photos on one of the Pink Paislee Again & Again ephemera. I added some sequins from the November Swag Bag , and also lots of Again & Again stickers. Did you know pieces of the monthly kits are usually stocked individually in the shop? Well you do now!  Lastly, Nuvo drops. Always Nuvo drops.

I have a thing about cherries. I think it stems from a  poem my Grandma used to read to me. At one time I could recite it from memory. Since moving here, all I've ever wanted to do was go cherry picking. This year we finally did. The day was awesome from start to finish. We met up with one of my Paper Issues friends, picked many pounds of cherries, ate blueberry donuts, took some amazing photos, then went out for Mexican food for lunch. I can't wait to go back again next summer. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today.  You can also find me on Instagram @thebeachygal more often than not. Cant wait for you to come back here again soon. Check out the Paper Issues Monthly kitsand so much more in the Paper Issues shop. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. You'll be glad you did. 

Special Moments

Hey there! I'm on the Paper Issues blog today sharing my project for the Keep It Sketchy challenge. This is such a fun sketch with so many possibilities! Let me tell you, when I first looked at it, I most definitely did not see Halloween for my page. I had all kinds of ideas. 

I had a few outdoorsy photos of my son and I.  Vicki Boutin Wildflower and Honey was sitting on my desk. I love the large flowers and natural pieces in the ephemera! I kinda thought they were made for each other. But what was I going to use for the shaped part??? Ohhh, I thought I remembered there was a wood grain or tree something or other cut file in the shop. Yup. There are actually a couple! I used the Rings of Life  FREE cut file, trimming the edge off after I glued it down.  I've been playing around with sequins and Nuvo drops lately. I think they pair nicely. I like that there are so many colors to play with.  So there you have it. A super fun sketch that can be used in a bunch of different ways! How will you use it?

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Catch me on Instagram @thebeachygal to see more of my stuff. Grab Vicki Boutin Wildflower and Honey and so much more in the Paper Issues Shop. It's 20% off when you use DEVRA at checkout. Join the fun in our Facebook Group where you can find this and all our  October Challenges. See you again soon!

Pure Honey

Hey there! I'm on the Paper Issues blog today sharing my layout for the Take 5 challenge. I was really looking forward to this challenge. So many choices! So many ideas!

Well, Let me start with my 5, well, 6 items from the list: Patterned Paper, Orange, Stickers, Stencils, Layers and Leaves. There. Now let me tell you how it came together. Vicki Boutin WildFlower & Honey has been staring at me since it first arrived in my hands. If you don't have this, I don't know what you are waiting for! Get it now while there is still some left!

Anyway, I kind of knew exactly what I wanted to do. That's not always the case!   First I used the stencils with some gelatos and art crayons to create the background. Next I cut the Bud Wreath cut file.  Then is was a matter of deciding which combination of flowers to use, ephemera or stickers, or well, both! I really can't decide if this collection fit the challenge or the other way around. A lot of the Take 5 items are in this collection. I guess it doesn't matter. I love the end result.

I finally had the chance to spend some time with my newest cousin. She was mush more interested in my sister than in me. That's ok. She's as cute as can be and I was happy to see her.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Head over to our Facebook Group to find this and all of the  October Challenges. The Paper Issues shop is fully stocked with your favorite Fall and Halloween goodies. Shop using DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. 

We like Cake!

Hey there! I've got the last post of the month on the Paper Issues blog today. My project is for the Rolling with the Punches challenge.

You know what's funny. I get ideas for using my punches all the time. But when it came to using them for this challenge, I hit a wall. No ideas whatsoever.  So I stopped overthinking and just started creating. I figured they'd find a way on to the page somehow.

First, I grabbed the September Kit. There's got to be some ideas in there right? Yup. I mixed in some Amy Tangerine Slice of Life Thickers in there as well. I was just putting papers and stickers together but it wasn't coming together. Well, thank you border punches. I used the bunting border punch with the blue watercolor paper from the kit. I punched 3 different lengths, glued them in 3 places and now the whole things feels finished. I didn't reinvent the wheel with my punches, but it definitely made a difference.

I spent a few days with my sister over the summer celebrating her birthday. It was a special one, and deserved a special cake. We love cake! Being the cooking show nerds that we are, I ordered her a cake from Christina Tosi's bakery, Milk Bar. OMG, I'm so glad I did. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today.  It may be the last day of September, but all that means is a whole new month of challenges begins tomorrow. Better stock up for the amazing challenges coming your way! Use Devra at checkout in the Paper Issues shop for 20% off your purchase. Head over to the Paper Issues Friends and Fans Facebook group for the last week to enter your projects in the September album. 

Chill Out

Hey there! I'm sharing this project on The Cut Shoppe blog today. It features the Chill Out cut file. This is such a fun cut file and it can be used in so many ways. I could have used it for a page about my son reading, or my other son making a mess with his toys. Nope, not this time. Today I used it for a page about ice cream. Get it? Chill out!

The hard part for me was deciding how big to make the file. The bigger the file, the smaller the photos. I also didn't want to cover it up, I wanted it to stand out.  Cutting it out of dark paper, backing it with light paper helped do just that.  I was able to trim the photos before tucking them underneath. I love using large cut files like these. I don't have to add a lot of embellishments. Just some stickers, and a few pieces of A Flair for Buttons flair and it's done!

Going out for ice cream is a given in the middle of summer when it's super hot out. It's extra special though to go out to Basking Robbins with Papa and Grammy. It reminds me of going out with my grandparents when I was young. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Head over to The Cut Shoppe to get this and so many incredible cut files! See you again soon.

Sea You Soon

Hey there! I'm on The Cut Shoppe blog today. I'm featuring the new Sea You Soon cut file on my project. But I gotta tell ya', it has nothing to do with the ocean or Sea!

Well, here's the scoop. I live in the Seattle area. Sea is the abbreviation for Seattle as well as the airport call sign. So, I did a play on words creating a page of a recent trip to Pike Place Market!

What to do for a background for this page had me stumped. In the end, white cardstock won out, but with some watercolored splotches painted randomly. I still wasn't sure how this would turn out....

I cut the design out of a dark patterned paper, then backed the SEA with one color and the other 2 words in another. I love the way the SEA stands out. Next, I trimmed the photos before tucking them behind the letters. Lastly, I grabbed some embellishments from Shimelle Sparkle City. They are pretty perfect. Coffee, birds and a city scape with a ferris wheel. I couldn't have put this together any better if I tried.

My family decided to do a summer bucket list this year. We hadn't been down to Pike Place Market in a few years. It was a gorgeous day, there were lots of people and we checked this off our list.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Come back again soon. I have more to share.