Mixed Media Monday: Boy Layout!

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There is literally NO paper line or scrapbooking kit that I could NOT find a way to use for either gender even though I hear all the time that certain kits are “too girly” and the August Clique Kit is no exception. In addition to choosing the black and white grid paper from Kesi-Art in the kit, I used the Alexandra Renke “blobs” stencil included with the Main kit with some black embossing paste to add texture and contrast to the background of the collage.

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When I saw this Alexandra Renke ribbon like paper design it inspired me because the words with it were about action and motion. I cut out just some of  the ribbons which give a dynamic effect to the composition of my collage layout. I propped the fussy cut photo against the background using some foam tape. This separated the silhouette from aa noisy background. It is not a technique I use often, but once in a while it can be fun.

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I wanted to add a pop of this beautiful blue in one of the exclusive cut apart cards included in the kit, but didn’t want it to be obvious that it was an illustration of some flowers (too girly LOL). Tucking it behind the Heidi Swapp rolodex watercolor card from a past Clique Kit was the perfect solution allowing the color to pop through the die cut word “Happy”. I used just a few stickers from the August Travelers Notebook kit which features the Crate Paper Here + There collection. The puffy stickers are all black and white and were just what I needed together with the Heidi Swapp Hawthorne words included in the kit to form my title and journaling. Believe it or not, the black scraps layered to the left of the photo behind the word “Happy” were exclusives in the very first Clique Kit which debuted in April of 2014. I guess I had been saving them for a reason. #ScrapbookingHordersAnonymous.

What I learned from this layout is that sometimes the emotion a layout evokes is just as important to tell a story as lengthy journaling or themed supplies. There are many ways to convey movement, excitement, and the pure joy of a child running to make a basket ! After all, mixed media is first and foremost a way of using art techniques in our memory keeping, and often the more abstract pieces express what words do not.

-xGia

Saturday Morning Art Kids

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Welcome to another edition of S.M.A.K. where I show you an arts and crafts project to make with kids using supplies from my craft room! Here is a very short film introducing this project! We up-cycled some plastic toys we picked up at our local Salvation Army (you may even have some laying around- we would have if we had not moved so many times and given away old toys so many times already) by painting them with acrylic paints and then embellishing them with all kinds of sparkly things.

 

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My daughter Gigi made this parade of fantasy animals as a decoration for her room. The steps are easy!

  1. Make sure toys are clean and dry
  2. Paint with at least 2 coats of acrylic craft paint. Dry thoroughly.
  3. Use a low temp. glue gun (safer with small fingers) to embellish with pom poms, sequins, and any other trims you would like to use!

 

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I think they would also make really cute party favors, toppers for glass storage jars, or to decorate birthday gifts!  Lately anything with pom poms and tassels seems to be trending.

 

I hope that this column inspires you to share your crafty stash with some kids in your life. For more ideas, search keywords Saturday Morning Art Kids for more posts.

-xGia

Stretch a Kit Mixing Kit + Stash

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Here is a really simple layout using one of the Alexandra Renke papers in the Meadow main kit in combination with some items from my stash. 6×6 Paper pads are great for adding layers of color to matte a photo and add texture to a multilayer design. It can be overwhelming to dig into your stash sometimes and I find it easier to decide on a color palette before doing so. In this case, I was looking for some bright hot pink and orange to tie in the pink tapestry in the photo and the orange and yellow watercolors on the background paper. The Amy Tangerine Hustle & Heart pad from the Clique Kits shop fit the bill exactly! It happens to be on sale right now if you want to pick one up!

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The alphabet in the kit is called “light box letters” and they are shaped like the trendy translucent block letters used to spell out words on those very popular signs. They are also made of a translucent vellum and I love the way the background peeks through them. The embellishments in the kit mixed and matched really well with another collection in my stash where I found the tropical bird puffy sticker and the little rosette dimensional sticker (I think this is called Wild Heart by Crate Paper)

Picking up a la carte add ons from the Clique Kits shop allows you to stretch your kit contents even further and saves $$ on shipping! And even if your budget does not allow this don’t forget to shop your stash!

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-xGia

Clique Kits Digitals: Cut Files

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Have you seen the exclusive cut files in the Clique Kits shop lately? They are available for the public and you do not have to be a subscriber to pay only .75 cents for most cuts!

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I used both of these cut files on this layout of Sunrise on Haleakala volcano summit ! I have been sharing a lot of layouts using my photos from this adventure- we actually went twice- once in the winter to see the sunrise and once to explore and hike when it was warmer. It is a magical place, so I gave it a layout all its own.

One of the newest collections from Pinkfresh Studio Simple & Sweet paper collections is still available in the Clique Kits shop. I used some of the gorgeous papers to back some of my cuts, and left some plain for texture.

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Thanks for visiting!

-xGia

 

Mixed Media Monday

 

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Mixed media Monday…I haven’t done one of these in a while! I used bits and pieces from the Clique Kits July kits: Regatta. I absolutely killed this kit- it was so easy to use and I had so many photos it worked with. In this one, however, I created a white on white textured background with a stencil from my stash and some texture paste. This contrasted nicely with the bright colors and the alphas background and numbers in the washi tape worked well as it was an elementary school graduation photo.

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After my textured background was dry I splattered lots of colorful red and yellow splatters of ink in the area where the photo would be. Then I added some more spots with the enamel dot stickers in the kit, layering with embellishments in the kit and a couple from my stash.

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I don’t often use primary colors and this kit really inspired me to use lots of blue, red, and yellow.  This combination is great not only for summer but also for school and boys in general. You can pick up the Regatta kit in the Clique Kits shop while supplies last!

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-xGia

In the mood for Meadow

August Mood Board

Hey friends! Today I am sharing a mood board that I had fun creating from Pinterest pins I was collecting in anticipation of the reveal of the gorgeous and unique August Clique Kit Main Kit: Meadow. I wanted to post this over on the Clique Kits blog on Kickoff Day, but since that day was my birthday I was a little behind on my squad goals! I hope you like this board, and feel free to share it with your friends!

Here is the layout that I posted on the CK blog last week. The Meadow main kit starts with the spotlight designer Alexandra Renke from Germany and all of the papers feature either her amazing calligraphy or her amazing watercolor illustrations or artwork or a combination of both. The kit includes themes of not only florals and botanicals but also the artist behind the scenes. Thus there are many different facets to Meadow. It is inviting creativity on so many levels, and also invites us to think outside the box!

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I really enjoyed being the designer on the CK creative team to add some exclusive designs to this kit. I wanted to add lots of color using the kit paper colors as a starting place and also add some of my own watercolor illustrations with floral and botanical themes. It is definitely fun to use die cuts made from my own designs.

-xGia

New brand! Studio Forty

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Clique Kits is probably the ONLY U.S. vendor at least that I know of carrying an amazing new brand from Poland called Studio Forty The first time I saw one of their posts on Instagram I thought to myself- I need all the things! Much of the first shipment to the Clique Kits shop has flown off the shelves, and I can’t wait for more stock to come in!

To create this layout I used one of the newest cut files in the shop August release designed by Cecily Moore called “Stained Glass.” This design was perfect for my layout of my two youngest boys sitting on the top of the peak of Haleakala volcano- which literally means House of the Sun, a very sacred place to native Hawaiians. Haleakala summit is deceiving in that it is rarely seen from the ground because it rises about the cloud layer! This means that from about 10,000 ft above sea level you are literally walking on ground above the sky- much like what you see from an airplane window in flight.

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If you do not have a die cutting machine, you are in luck because this file is available from the shop pre-cut!

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I also love the flair that says ” Nothin but blue skies” from the exclusive photoreal flair set. It is available in the shop here. This flair set is perfect for summer vibes whether you are taking vacations, weekend getaways or even staycations- you will use every one of these. Don’t forget to pick up one of the Studio Forty stamp sets which you will use on layouts and in your travelers notebook over and over!

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Thanks for visiting today and aloha from Maui!

-xGia

 

 

Clique Kits July 2018 Pep Rally

 

 

4Aloha Clique Kits friends! Today’s post is all about celebrating projects made with the July kit: Regatta. I chose this layout to share because it features not only the gorgeous Fancy Pants Designs Poolside collection featured in the kit, but also shows some of the exclusives included in the kit such as the wave cut file by Cecily Moore and those adorable nautical resin pieces. I had my  pom pom frame leftover from a previous Clique kit and LOVE the color combination of blue and yellow. I found many really creative layouts using this exclusive cut file in different ways.

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If you are not a subscriber you can find the waves cut file in the Clique Kits shop for only $.75 right here.

The Poolside paper clips are also available here.

The yellow acrylic word sticker is from a set that must be sold out because I could not find it in the shop but this set from Love + Lemon Craft was available in the shop about 5 months ago and I hope it is brought back soon!

The Regatta main kit or travelers notebook kit are available here a la carte while supplies last- hurry before they are gone! You can also find odds and ends from the kit by following this link.

If you scroll down my blog you will see some more recent posts featuring Regatta kit layouts as well as recent Clique Kits shop purchase layouts, many items still available if you are feeling inspired!

July Pep Rally Line-up:

*Clique Kits* – http://cliquekitsblog.weebly.com/blog
You are here—-> *Gia Lau* – https://giaaloha.com/
*Maryám Pérez* – http://maryamperez.blogspot.com/
*Sara Scraps* – https://rediscoveryourstash.com/sarascraps/
*Jackie Howell* – https://www.instagram.com/cheekypapercreations/
*Hannah Lemieux* – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsFOS-ppvPeFoExVzo-mO8Q
*Jasmin Paar* – https://www.paperandglitter.net/
*Nupur Patel* – http://nupurpatel27.blogspot.com/
*Theresa Moxley* – http://larkindesigntm.com/blog/
*Kayla Webber* – https://colorcraftsandcupcakes.blogspot.com/

For  Instagram don’t forget to use these hashtags:

#Click_Connect_Create

#CliqueKits

 #CKJulyKit

 #CKRegatta

#CKPepRally

If you are hopping today, don’t forget to leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win a prize from Clique Kits! Thanks so much for joining and please check out Facebook and the Clique Kits website for the full reveal of the August Kit happening today!

-xGia

Fun in the Sun!

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The Fun in the Sun cut file was provided with the Clique Kits July Kits: Regatta. I have been doing a lot of white backgrounds lately and almost always start with a white cardstock base when designing a layout but this time I challenged myself to try a different approach! The red white and blue naturally work together and I just had to use some of the super playful die cut embellishments from the Fancy Pants Designs Poolside ephemera.  How cute are those swimming girls!

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A smaller amount of green and pink accents balanced the french nautical palette in the background.

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Last but not least I really love the flair in the kit this month designed by Cecily Moore! Her style is modern and fun and she has been an amazing addition to the Clique Kits graphic design team this term. The Clique Kits exclusives add a unique touch to every kit! I love to see what everyone in The Clique does with them, don’t you?

-xGia

Sisters: Using Savannah Dreams!

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Pretty Little Studios is one of my favorite companies and the latest releases are just beautiful! Like the Savannah Dreams collection designed by Kim Watson! You have to see it in person to really appreciate how beautiful the papers are ! Luckily, the Clique Kits shop allowed me to pick up this paper pack and save on shipping adding it to my July kit box. Are you a subscriber yet?

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To get this look I first designed a repeating pineapple cut, then after backing the negative space with my patterned papers I added some of the positive “leaves” back in here and there for added texture and dimension. The result was something different I ended up liking very much! In addition to some pieces from my July Clique Kits I used some Cute Girl by Crate Paper from my stash- the bright colors worked well with the Savannah Dreams palette. Thanks for visiting!

-xGia