CVS Retreat | Vicki Boutin

Hi there friends! 

Today I have a bright and colourful layout to share with you, featuring the Vicki Boutin Color Pop paints! I was lucky to be able to attend a creative retreat recently and it was so lovely to be able to meet some of the ladies that I’m friends with online, in real life. I documented a photo of all the girls that I shared a table with at retreat. They were such a fun bunch of ladies, and we definitely had some good laughs over the weekend! 

I started my layout off with a sheet of the Vicki Boutin Foundations Paper, and then I created a rainbow of colours on my background using the Color Pop paints. I watered them down quite a bit, and I also misted the background with a bit of water before applying the paint. This allowed the colour to move more freely on the cardstock, and it also gave them more of a watercolour look. I think I’ll try something like this again, because I love how it turned out! 

Next I matted my photo with a couple of the patterned papers from the ‘All the Good Things’ collection, as well as some vellum. I added some craft foam in between the layers to give the photo some extra dimension. I also added a cardstock sticker across the bottom of the photo that says ‘Do all the Things’. Underneath the photo I added my title, using the chipboard Thickers from the collection. I added some machine stitching through the Thickers to secure them to the page, and to add some texture. 

Around the photo I added some of the watercolour stickers, tucking them into the layers. You can also see here that I added a little bit of stamping to the background. I used one of the Vicki Boutin stamp sets, along with the Color Wheel inks. I tried to keep it tone-on-tone, matching the colour of the ink to the colour on the background. 

I fussy cut some of the beautiful butterflies out of the Social Butterfly patterned paper, and adhered them to the page, once again trying to match them to the colours on the background as closely as I could. I also added some machine stitching through the middle of the butterflies, and then lifted the wings up a little to give them some dimension. 

I finished the page off with some black ink splatters and enamel dots. 

Thanks so much for joining me today! I hope that you enjoyed taking a look at my layout! If you’d like to see how it came together, you can check out my process video over on my YouTube channel… 

Supplies Used: 

Foundations Paper 

Color Pop Acrylic Paint – Set 1 

Color Pop Acrylic Paint – Set 2 

Color Pop Acrylic Paints – Set 3 

Color Wheel Pigment Ink – Cool Tones 

Color Wheel Pigment Inks – Warm Tones 

Stamps & Dies – Set 2 

Brushes 

Mister Bottles 

Cardstock Stickers 

Thickers – Alpha/B&W Chipboard 

Watercolor Stickers 

Double-sided Patterned Paper – Pretty Words 

Double-sided Patterned Paper – Social Butterfly 

Double-sided Patterned Paper – The Little Things 

Junque Journal | Here | Vicki Boutin

Hi friends! 

Today I have a new junque journal page to share with you for the Vicki Boutin design team! I used a few of the beautiful Color Pop paints, along with some stamping and stencilling, to create this Summery page! I documented a selfie of me with my youngest daughter at the beach… 

This page actually came together very quickly because I already had the painted background ready to go. While I was creating my previous DT layout, I had some excess paint left on my craft mat, so I simply grabbed a page out of my junque journal and ‘kissed’ it onto my mat to pick up the paint. It was that easy! Sometimes unplanned backgrounds work out the best! To add a little bit more interest, I decided to add some stencilling to the background using one of the newer Vicki Boutin stencils, along with an art crayon and a stencil brush. I really love the depth that this adds to the background! 

On this page, I also used some flowers that I had previously stamped onto a leftover piece of cardstock. I had added some mixed media to the cardstock, and then cut a title out of it, and I didn’t want to waste the leftover bit, so this is what I did with it! 

I decided to add my title, journaling, and photo down the centre of the page. The black die cut frame over the photo really helps it to pop! I also clustered some of the flowers around the photo, and I added a water color sticker across the bottom. To complete the photo cluster, I tucked a little bird in behind the larger flower. 

I added my title, using one of the foam Thickers from the ‘All the Good Things’ collection, and then wrote my journaling underneath the title. I finished the page off with a few more of the die cut flowers, and that was it! 

I love how this page turned out with the gorgeous bright colours, and the pops of black! Here's how it looks all finished and in my VB Junque Journal...

If you’d like to watch my process video for this Junque Journal page, you can check it out over on my YouTube channel… 

Supplies Used: 

Junque Journal 

Junque Journal Refills – White Paper 

Gesso 

Color Pop Acrylic Paint – Set 1 

Color Pop Acrylic Paint – Set 2 

Color Pop Acrylic Paint – Set 3 

Art Crayons #1 – Warm 

Art Crayons #2 – Cool 

Stencils 

Stamps & Dies – Set 2 

Watercolor Brushes 

Paint Brushes 

Stencil Brush Set 

Mister Bottles 

Thickers – Phrase/Glitter Foam 

On the Edge Paper Embellishments 

Cardstock Die-Cuts – Frames 

Watercolor Stickers 

Serenity | Vicki Boutin

Hey friends! 

Today I have a new layout to share featuring some Vicki Boutin mixed media products and the ‘All the Good Things’ collection! I had a play with the Color Pop paints on this page, and I also did some stamping and stencilling. The photo that I documented was one that I took when we were on a family holiday recently. We found this lovely creek, and it was such a peaceful and serene spot. It was the perfect day! Here’s the layout that I created… 

To start my layout off, I applied some white gesso through the script stencil in three different places on the background. I wanted to add some texture to the background before I added the paint. 

Next I mixed the Saltwater Taffy paint with a little bit of the Plum Pudding to get a colour that matched the blue sky in my photo. Then I added some water to it to make it more fluid, and I painted it over the top of the stencilling. My idea was to add some colour behind the photo, and also to create a smaller cluster in the top left hand corner of the page. (I end up changing my mind though and the mixed media in that top corner gets covered up with patterned paper.) 

Once that was dry, I decided to add some stamping over the top of the paint, to give it some more depth and interest. I used the new circle stamps, along with the color wheel inks, to add a few stamped circles. 

I also stamped some smaller circles using black archival ink. 

To finish off the mixed media, I added a little bit of the Daiquiri Ice paint to the background. I watered it down the same way that I did with the blue, and applied it using a paint brush. The reason I decided to add this colour was because the other colours on the page were very bright and bold, and I wanted to soften the colour palette a little. 

Once my background was done, I was ready to start embellishing! I added a few of the die cuts from the ‘All the Good Things’ collection around the right hand side of the photo. I tucked some under the photo, and then I layered one over the edge of the photo. I also used foam tape underneath some of the die cuts to give them extra dimension. 

I painted a few of the butterflies from the watercolor sticker pack, once again using the color pop paints. I love that by doing this, I was able to customise them to my page, and they matched perfectly to the other elements on the layout! I adhered the larger butterfly using foam tape, to make it look like it was floating off the page. 

As I mentioned before, I decided to add some patterned paper down the left hand side of the page. This helped to bring in more of the yellow and aqua. I added some machine stitching down the edge of the yellow patterned paper, and I also distressed the edge of it a little which gave the page some nice texture. I added my title vertically along the edge of the patterned paper using the chipboard Thickers from the collection. 

To finish the page off, I added a couple of enamel dots. 

Thanks so much for joining me today! If you’d like to see how this layout came together, you can check out my process video over on my YouTube channel… 

Supplies Used:

Foundations Paper 

Gesso 

Color Pop Acrylic Paint – Set 1 

Color Pop Acrylic Paint – Set 2 

Color Wheel Pigment Ink – Cool Tones 

Stencils 

Stamps & Dies – Set 3 

Brushes 

Mister Bottles 

Thickers – Alpha/B&W Chipboard 

Cardstock Die-Cuts – Icons 

Cardstock Die-Cuts – Frames 

Self- Adhesive Finishing Embellishments 

Watercolor Stickers 

Double-sided Patterned Paper – Blossom to Awesome 

Double-sided Patterned Paper – Social Butterfly 

Life is Good | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi friends!

Today I have a new layout to share for Cocoa Vanilla Studio featuring the gorgeous Bohemian Dream collection! This is definitely one of my favourite collections from Cocoa Vanilla Studio - I just keep coming back to it again and again! I was lucky to be able to attend the CVS retreat earlier this month, and this was one of the layouts that I created over the weekend. I documented a recent selfie of my youngest daughter and I...

I started my layout off by layering some strips of patterned paper across the page. The patterned papers that I used were...

Dreamer

Abstract (reverse side)

Gypsy Heart

I also matted my photo with the reverse side of the Gypsy Heart patterned paper and I tucked the piece that says 'You were born to Shine' under the bottom edge of the photo. (I cut this piece out of the Boho Bits patterned paper). I adhered my photo using craft foam, which helped it to really stand out against those patterned papers and gave it some lovely dimension.

To the right of the photo I added my title, and I also created a pretty cluster of embellishments around the photo. For the title I used a combination of puffy alphabet stickers from my stash and one of the chipboard titles. The floral die cuts in this collection are so beautiful, and I added quite a few of them to this layout. To finish off the cluster to the right of the photo, I added a flair button and a couple of chipboard stickers.

I created a second cluster up in the top left hand corner of the page. This one includes another floral die cut and a chipboard sticker. You can also see here that I added some subtle texture and interest to the page by applying some texture paste through a stencil.

I created a final cluster down in the bottom right hand corner of the page, which gives the layout a diagonal flow, drawing the viewer's eye from the top left, down to the bottom right. This cluster includes a couple more die cuts, and you can see that I used some foam tape to adhere one of the elements in the cluster. I love the dimension that this adds!

I finished the layout off with a few little enamel hearts from the collection.

Thanks so much for joining me on my blog today! I hope that you've enjoyed taking a look at my layout, and that you've found some inspiration!

Mandy x

Junque Journal | Happy Memories | Vicki Boutin

Hey everyone!

Today I have a junque journal spread to share with you, created for the Vicki Boutin design team! I wanted to make a pretty watercolour background for this page using my art crayons, so I used the watercolor Junque Journal paper. I documented some photos of my youngest daughter and my nephew playing in the pool… 

First I applied a layer of gesso to the background, as I wanted to be able to add lots of water to the page to blend the colours together. Next I chose some art crayons in different shades of blue and purple and got to work creating my background. I wanted it to look ‘watery’ to match the photos. I used some plastic packaging and a water-brush to apply the colour. 

Once that was dry, I added some subtle stencilling using the art crayons with the large stencil brush, and the circle stencil. I love that this gives the effect of ripples in the water! To finish the background off, I added some stamping using the circle stamps and the ‘cool’ color wheel inks. 

I printed my three photos off in a filmstrip, and matted them with one of the patterned papers from the ‘All the Good Things’ 7x10 inch paper pad. I created my title using a couple of cut files from JustNick Studio (Words 3 and Words 4). I love that the word ‘happy’ has open letters so that I could back them using more patterned papers from the collection! I adhered that word using foam tape to give it some more dimension. 

I created a cluster of embellishments in the bottom right hand corner of the spread to balance out the photos and title on the left. I used some die cuts from the collection to create the cluster, and once again I used foam tape under certain elements to create more interest and dimension. 

I added a few of the watercolor stickers around the page, and then I finished it off with some splatters of white gesso and a doodled border around the edge. 

Here’s a look at how it looks all finished and in my Junque Journal… 

If you’d like to watch my process video for this Junque Journal spread, you can check it out over on my YouTube channel… 

Supplies Used: 

Junque Journal 

Junque Journal Refills – Watercolor Paper 

Art Crayons #2 - Cool 

Color Wheel Pigment Ink – Cool Tones 

Gesso 

Stencils 

Stamps & Dies – Set 3 

Watercolor Brushes 

Paint Brushes 

Stencil Brush Set 

Mister Bottles 

7”x10” Paper Pad 

Cardstock Die-Cuts – Icons 

Cardstock Die-Cuts – Frames 

Watercolor Stickers 

Double-Sided Patterned Paper – Blossom to Awesome 

Double-Sided Patterned Paper – Pretty Words 

Double-Sided Patterned Paper – Birds of a Feather 

Double-Sided Patterned Paper – Happy Thoughts 

Double-Sided Patterned Paper – Good Vibes 

Perfect | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi friends!

Today I'm here to share a new layout using the beautiful Cocoa Vanilla Studio ‘More than Words’ collection! I love the florals in this collection, and I wanted to create a layout that really features them! I documented a photo of our sweet Archie when he was just a tiny little kitten…

I started my layout off by trimming down my white cardstock and matting it on the reverse side of the Treasure patterned paper. I also added some machine stitching around the edge of my white cardstock to give the layout some more texture.

Next I got busy fussy cutting the beautiful floral clusters on the Precious patterned paper. It took a bit of time, but it was totally worth the effort because I love how they look arranged behind my photo!

I matted my photo with the Noteworthy patterned paper, and then adhered it using craft foam for extra dimension. I embellished the layout with a couple of chipboard butterflies and hearts. I kept the embellishing fairly simple as I wanted those beautiful florals to really stand out!

For my title, I used one of the chipboard words, and I added some small pieces of foam tape underneath it to raise it up to the same height as the photo. Above the title I added the die-cut piece that says ‘Love this face’, and I positioned it so that it was pointing to Archie’s cute little face.

I finished the layout off with a few of the little phrase stickers, as well as some grey ink splatters.

Thanks so much for joining me today! I hope that you’ve been inspired to play with the lovely ‘More than Words’ collection as well!

Mandy x