scrapbooking – Gia Aloha

Scrapbooking Trends Top 10

Trends in scrapbooking are something I have always had an interest in following. I have been told that I kind of have a knack for recognizing and even predicting the biggest trends that will go viral in the scrapbooking world. This being the case, I thought I would start doing more trend posts on this blog for all of my scrappy crafty friends! So here we go…

Number 10:

Swans are in. Also spotted but completely unrelated are Peacocks and Flamingos. Especially in scrapbooking if you work for Crate Paper and your name rhymes with Baggie Gomes.

Number 9:

More random animals of a furry rather than feathered variety such as llamas, giraffes, and my personal favorite the sloth.

Giraffes have recently been spotted in the newest Dear Lizzy collection from American Crafts!

Number 8:

Boho style and anything with Tassels or Pom Poms! They just give everything a pop of color and je ne sais quoi ! Tassels are also still trending !

Number 7:

Mandalas have been making more appearances such as in collections by Jillibean Soup and in digital die cutting files!

ooooooooh! Pretty!

Number 6:

Black backgrounds! Everybody loves a pretty floral, but a pretty floral on a black background…now that is something else all together! In scrapbooking, look out for layouts on a black background also. Amy Tangerine’s latest Shine On collection is one to look for where black is definitely the new black!

Number 5:

Holographic materials. These have started showing up in everything from alphabets to accents on embellishments and papers. I’m thinking about Shimelle’s recent collections!

Number 4: The colors blue and purple and especially blue and purple together! Pinkfresh Studios Indigo Hills 2 and recent Cocoa Vanilla collections illustrate this trend perfectly.

Number 3:

Modern slang phrases! Here are some I love–

cool AF (where AF means As F@*&$)

Lit up = awesome

Low Key = Kind of sorta

FOMO = Fear of missing out

I know sometimes it’s like a foreign language but it isn’t just for teenagers and snapchat, unless you’re a total NOOB ( that means beginner or newcomer)

Number 2:

Hand lettering and calligraphy. You don’t even have to be that good at it- thanks to lettering stamps, outline hacks, and kind of cool markers.

Number 1:

Buffalo Checks/Plaids! And they are not just for Christmas anymore. Thank you Joanna and Chip for this Magnolia/Fixer Upper trend which seems to really, really be sticking around!

Now it’s your turn to tell me what you think of these trends! Please comment and share your likes/dislikes and any trends I have missed!

-xGia

Dog Mom Mini kit

I have a few traveler notebook spreads using the Dog Mom mini kit in my Etsy shop right now! This kit is designed with the travelers notebook in mind with papers pre-cut and ready to go and is a great value for the price of only $5.95 plus shipping! The main papers featured are from Simple Stories Life is Ruff and there is plenty there to use for multiple layouts or projects!

For this next spread I used some papers from my stash of Gelli-Arts prints as a fun background. These prints were pulled after using acrylic paints with a stencil.

I have some of the Freckled Fawn traveler’s notebook page protector inserts and they provide protection for your pages if you are like me and worry about having your pages exposed to the elements over time. If you are looking for some cute inserts for starting a traveler’s notebook you can find some cute ones in the Clique Kits shop here.

-xGia

Clique Kits October TN Kit & Exclusives

As the month of October comes to a close I thought I would share one more layout using my October Clique Kits Gather. Every month each one of the kits includes a cut-it-yourself page of exclusive designs. For this layout, the TN exclusive inspired me to make a page of my son’s “Top 3” this month–his birthday month. It has adorable little number banners and lots of little journaling spots which I used for my story.

Even though it is called the “traveler’s notebook” kit, this monthly subscription kit with a slightly lower price point and smaller scale is totally usable for any kind of project- including 12 x 12 layouts.

Another fun thing I made for this layout is a sequin shaker out of some ephemera leftover from my main kit. Shakers are a great way to recycle the plastic packaging from supplies.

The washi tape and the botanical ephemera pieces were in the TN kit, while the sequin mixture and the tiny paper clips were an add on this month. You wont run out of supplies all month long with either one of Clique Kits’ subscriptions but if you are like me and a sucker for saving $ on shipping it really pays to check out the Monthly Releases each time a new kit is revealed.

-xGia

Mixed Media Monday

Hi crafty friends! Today I am excited to post about this layout because it was so much fun to make and was inspired by my new Bluprint membership and the “Fresh Techniques for Artful Layouts” class taught by Wilna Furstenberg. How did I stumble upon this?

With the constant overload of stimulation on You Tube I often wondered if I would ever feel I am in the know when it comes to the latest and greatest “stuff” for the hobby I am so passionate about. How do you sort through all the information on Instagram to find the content that will resonate with you and where you are in your journey? How does one go about separating the wheat from the chaff on social media? Enter on the scene: the Bluprint platform with so many artists and makers I admire and follow in one space- I am able to find what I am looking for and make sure that I use my time wisely without getting sucked into a bottomless pit of low yield content. The classes I have previewed so far have been A.Maz.Ing!

So getting back to Wilna’s class…I followed along one lesson which covered creating layers with patterned paper, gelatos used with water, rub ons, ribbon, and making frames by stamping in air dry clay. WOW- that is a lot of objectives for one class- and yet it was very simple and super fun!

Screen Shot 2018-10-07 at 10.58.38 PM

The patterned paper I used was from the Bloom Kit from The Paper Curator. The stamp set that I used to create the frames were from Altenew. I used these because they worked with my photos and layout and made it my own even though they were different from the ones Wilna used in the class.

After rolling out the air dry clay like dough the frames are “stamped” into the clay and cut out with a craft knife.

After adhering some paper to the middle of a white cardstock I scribbled on and off the paper with gelatos, added water with paint brushes, and then once dry, layered on a bunch of rub ons from my stash. I did not have as many rub ons that worked well as Wilna did so I ended up doing a little stamping too.

And there is one last look at my final layout! I know that I am going to use all of the ideas I learned in other layouts too. Thanks so much for stopping by!

-xGia

Other products used: Pink Paislee Auburn Lane rub ons from the October 2018 Clique Kits Travelers Notebook kit, and the acrylic Memories title piece from Bella Blvd which was in the June 2018 Clique Kits Main kit. The velvet ribbon was also in the October 2018 Clique Kit. Stamps from Ali Edwards and additional rub ons from Pinkfresh Studio.

A Mini Album using the Meadow Kit

Aloha everyone…today I am sharing a teeny tiny mini mini album that I made officially killing my Clique Kits August Meadow kit. At least I do not think I can squeeze out anymore projects but you never know- I still might. LOL. I really don’t want to say goodbye to summer, do you?

For this project I used the little glassine bags that kit contents are sometimes packaged in as a base for the album. I stacked them on top of eachother alternating which end is the open end and then stitched straight down the middle at the fold. The bags were 2.5 x 4 inches I think so the final album measured 2 x 2.5 inches- so cute and teeny tiny!

The embellishments basically all came from the exclusive cut apart sheet included in the Meadow kit (and might look familiar to you since it consists of my designs some of which I have shared on this blog) I love that these exclusive print and cut sheets are included in kits now and do not require you to download and print anything (I almost never have enough color ink to do them justice)

I also used what remained of the die cut ephemera in the kit which included all of the title phrases I used on my album pages. By using this sheet and the matching ephemera it kept the mini album simple and cohesive. Here it is:

In each of the pockets I was able to tuck in a small card with additional photos and journaling to complete my album. I tied it closed with a natural jute ribbon and tucked it inside a small canvas bag for safe keeping. The photos I used for this mini were all from the month of August and reflected nature in our environment. It’s good to slow down and notice things like wildflowers and little creatures living all around us.

-xGia

August Pep Rally

Welcome to my blog and the Clique Kits August Pep Rally. Here is the lineup of talent for you to be inspired by in this hop!

—-> You came from here Clique Kits – (http://cliquekitsblog.weebly.com/)
Gia Lau – (https://giaaloha.com/) <—- You are here
Go here next!—->Lacey Gasper – (https://www.laceyann.com/)
Donna Espiritu – (https://scrappydonna.blogspot.com/)
Nupur Patel – (http://nupurpatel27.blogspot.com/)
Rachel Lowe – (http://inmyworld-scrapbookingourjourney.blogspot.com/)
Jasmin Paar – (https://www.paperandglitter.net/)
Heather Doolittle – (http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/)
Jackie Howell – (https://www.instagram.com/cheekypapercreations/)
Cristina Sales – (https://larcadellastellapiumata.blogspot.com/)

And don’t forget to search our hashtags on Instagram also for even more great projects!

#CliqueKits

#CKPepRally

#CKMeadow

#CKAugust2018

#Click_connect_create

My project today is a 4×4 mini album using the August Meadow Travelers Notebook Kit. I wanted to create a special memory book to document my family’s recent trip to New York City. This kit was perfect!

The little black and white pockets in the kit were perfect for holding tickets and other memorabilia from the trip. The only additional supplies used were the album itself from Close to My Heart and the black and white acetate squares also from CTMH. I have had them in my stash just waiting for the perfect project! My favorite part of the TN kit this month were the black and white Crate Paper Here and There puffy stickers. I was inspired by the B & W theme to create some stamped backgrounds also using a painterly pattern making stamp by Ashley Goldberg.

Leave some love on all the blogs for a chance to win a prize from Clique Kits! And don’t forget to check out the release of the September kit: Farmhouse happening today!

-xGia

Mixed Media Monday: Boy Layout!

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.

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.

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

Stretch a Kit Mixing Kit + Stash

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!

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!

-xGia

Mixed Media Monday

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.

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.

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!

-xGia

New brand! Studio Forty

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.

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

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!

Thanks for visiting today and aloha from Maui!

-xGia