Strong Together | Ericka Strange

Happy Monday Shimmerz Fanz and I hope the start of this new week finds you healthy and well. Ericka here with another card I made for the Shimmerz Spring Forward Challenge. The challenge is all about making a layout or card WITHOUT using PATTERNED PAPER!! I made a fun background using Tidy Widy Texturz with some Sprtiz and Coloringz.

I started with some Bristol Smooth cardstock and sprayed a couple of layers of Chick-a-Dee Spritz. Once it was dry, I mixed some Tidy Widy Texturez with some 4 Leaf Clover Sprtiz. Texturez have a grit or snady texture in the paste and I used my palette knife to spread it around my background. I sprayed some In Deep Coloringz on some plastic and added smooshed it on the background to give it additional texture.

I knew I wanted to use this Strong Sentiment from Ellen Hutson but my card needed something else, so decided to include the Bear from the All Inside set as well.

I sprayed the bear with Grey Flannel Vibez and added a little colored pencil for additional details. I also added some white gel pen to his eyes and a little pink to his cheeks. I painted the bunny with Ride the Tide Creameez and added it to my bear.

I made a little sign by attaching the Together sentiment which is part of the Be Strong set and added a little handle for him to hold.

I finished my card with a die cut sentiment and Glossy Accents for shine!

Thanks for stopping by and check out my blog Strangely Creative for more information on the products I used.

Two things -
1) The Shimmerz Shop is still running at full pace and we want you to have confidence knowing that everything you receive is safe. There is also a sale running till March 31st. 

If you make a purchase, type in ERICKA in the comments and you'll receive a freebie with your order!

2)Don't forget we have a Spring Forward Challenge and a chance to win a $50 store credit. I look forward to seeing what you create! You can simply share your creation on the Shimmerz Sharez Facebook Group or anywhere on social media using the hashtag #shimmerzspringchallenge.

 

Have a wonderful day and stay healthy and well!

Cardstock Only Mixed Media Layout | Missy Whidden

Hello again, friends!  Missy here with a new layout for the Spring Challenge, which is to create a layout using NO patterned paper.  I love this challenge...it's my favorite kind of page to make!

To play along with us:

 

1. Create a layout, card, watercolor canvas or journal process background using Shimmerz Paints products. Any color, any technique, any texture. Just try not to use pattern paper at all. Watercolor, textured and smooth cardstock of any color is welcomed. Ephemera, embellishments and cut files are welcomed as well!

2. Upload your project to our Shimmerz Paints Facebook group Shimmerz Sharez or any other form of social media using the hashtag #shimmerzspringchallenge 

3. The challenge begins March 1st and goes through March 31st. One winner will be chosen on April 1st, 2020 to receive a $50.00 Shimmerz Shop store credit. Our winner will be tagged and contacted via social media.
*********************************************************************************

I accepted the challenge and created this tropical page using only white cardstock and lots of gorgeous Shimmerz.I began with a beautiful cut file from AnettsDesigns. I just love the tropical flowers and leaves, so I cut it on white cardstock twice.  I coated it with clear gesso to prep it for painting.  My background is thick white cardstock, which also has clear gesso on it. 

Colors Used:

Shimmerz:

Pip Pip Cherry-O, Berrylicious, Pink-o de Mayo, Marigold, Rita on the Rocks, Evergreen, So Sappy, Orchid-Stra

Inklingz:

Old Yeller, The Holly & the Ivy, Blue Lagoon

Spritz:

4 Leaf Clover, Plum Pudding, Sapphire

Coloringz:

O Say Can U Sea, Vivacious Violet

Vibez:

Palm Reader, Elfin Magic, Seas the Day

Creameez:

Boogie Boardin' Blue

I used a variety of these colors to paint the cut files.  I started with the large pink flowers.  I blended a few of the pink colors together with a brush and a bit of water.  I moved on to the yellow/orange & purple flowers, then the leaves.  I love mixing and matching colors to get lots of depth and variation.  I wanted the leaves and flowers to have lights and darks.  I lightly added some pink color to the petals of the large flowers and popped them up with adhesive foam.  I love how that looks!

The best part about using flowers and leaf cut files is it is really easy to get dimension.  The petals and leaves curl up naturally, so nothing is flat.  I dug through my stash and found some very old dew drops, which are these little clear beads.  I don't even remember where I got them, but I used them in the centers of each of the flowers.  I also tucked in some matching tangled thread in a few places for extra texture.

I blended a few of the pinks and the yellow together to get this orange color...I love blending to get new colors!  To add more flowers, I pulled out an old flower punch.  I punched six flowers on white cardstock and painted them using lots of the same colors already listed.  I didn't add gesso to those.

See what I mean about the edges curling up?  If you like dimension, these shapes are wonderful.  Adding some adhesive foam behind larger shapes gives even more depth.  I did add some behind the punched flowers.

I'm not a huge green fan, but when it comes to leaves, I LOVE IT.  And I really can't choose a favorite green Shimmerz.  So I blend them all together...haha.  I really can't talk enough about the beautiful shimmer these paints give.

My photo was perfect for this design.  Believe it or not, the layout was pretty much finished before I chose my photo.  This is a shot of my oldest daughter out by the pool.  We have lots of plants and palm trees out there, so this one was a great match.  There is a lot of empty space in the photo, so I was able to overlap flowers and leaves on top of it.  I went short and simple with the title and used some old Thickers from my stash.  I toned down the gold by smudging some white gesso over them.

I did add some vellum behind these leaves to try and make them stand out a bit more, but in the end the vellum really didn't make a big difference.  I did add some white gesso behind the cut file on top of the blue because I felt like the cut file was kind of getting lost.  It was blending in too much against all the blue, so I whitened it up a bit to create some separation.

One more...because I took a ton of close-ups :)

Whew!  That's a lot of photos.  I hope this inspires you to create a layout using only white cardstock.  Or colored cardstock.  Just no patterned paper!  I truly love making layouts "from scratch" like this.  It really allows you to make your own things, make your own color schemes...it's so fun!

Be sure to check out my process video of this HERE.  Its has alllll the details!

Thanks for stopping by today.  Stay safe and healthy, friends!

Shenanigans are Afoot

Hello Shimmerz friends!

I sincerely hope that you and your families are doing well as we manuever through these unchartered waters. As a teacher, I am home for six weeks but truly wishing I were back in the classroom with my students. However, since I'm not, I have been spending a lot of time in my craft room creating. I suppose I'll suffer through it.

Today, I want to share a layout I created using the following Shimmerz products:

Dazzlerz Puttin' on the Glitz

Coloringz Heidi Ho Blue

Coloringz My Bleeding Heart

Coloringz Ahoy Matey

To create the background, I quite literally poured small amounts of the paints onto a mat and smeared a bit of the Dazzlerz in random places. Next, I took a piece of Vicki Boutin mixed media paper and pressed it onto the mat several times and in several places. 

The next step was to paint the same colors in different areas to add more saturated color. Once the background was completely dry (this took a while), I used some Elle's Studio stamps to add sentiments on top of the paints. After stamping the sentiments, I used a stencil with black ink to add the triangle shapes.

With the background done, I went to work layering papers and embellishments from Carta Bella's Family Night collection around the photo. I have to say that the quality of my picture is not the best, but it captures my kiddos perfectly.

I added the title using Thickers as well as enamel dots from the same collection. 

I love how the background looks with the bright colors of the papers and embellishments.

Here's one last look at the completed layout.

Remember, if you need supplies, stop by the Shimmerz Shop! Type JENNIFER in the comments at checkout to receive a freebie with your order!

Thank you so much for stopping by today - I hope you are inspired to create.

- Jennifer

This Moment

Hi everyone! Melissa here with a design team page for the amazing Shimmerz Paints. I love these                                paints, the colors are so rich and fun to work with! Photo credit: Alvin Mahmudov.

Who wants to win a $50.00 Shimmerz Shop credit? Heck yes! Learn how today on the Shimmerz Paints blog!

https://shimmerzpaints.blogspot.com/2020/02/spring-forward-challenge.htm

To make this page I put the layers under the photo together first,including taping water color paper under the image to make it stronger. Below that is a mat of watercolor paper, and at the bottom is corrugated cardboard. I tore off most the paper from the surface of the cardboard, and painted it with gesso. I put two layers of cardboard between each of the layers to add dimension, and taped it to the background paper.

I applied texture paste with a stencil and a credit card on Blue Fern paper. I sprinkled it with Ultra Thick Embossing Powder(UTEE) and heated it.

I picked out Reneabouquets Beautiful Board,arranged it around the page, took it off, and prepped it with gesso. I painted them with Christmas Cheer Shimmerz, then topped them with a thick layer of Clear Rock Candy Crackle. I brushed on white gesso, then some gold mica powder. I painted the mat with a mix of Emerald City, Steely Blue Eyes, and Olive U Truly Inklingz, but pretty much covered everything with gesso. The page had a huge amount of product on it, it was too busy. I took almost everything off, and brushed on gesso on almost everything. I used Pixie Dust Shimmerz on the corrugated. 

To add visual interest I added micro beads, seed beads, glass shard glitter,gold leaf,glass beads, pearls, Swarovski crystals, rhinestones,sequins,glass marbles,tulle,flowers from Reneabouquets, and metal from Vintaj. I added green tulle to try and tone down the background.

Thank you so much for looking, and have a great week!

Super Heroes Enjoy Splash Time And Sunshine | Mixed Media Layout with Large Title w/ Process Video

Hello everyone!

It's Lorimar, sharing this "very-much-outside-my-comfort-zone" layout today. In keeping with the Spring Forward Challenge, I haven't used any patterned paper, but I compensated that by adding a large title and lots of mixed media. Link to process video: https://youtu.be/zC09VZlZSSE

The inspiration for this layout came from leftovers I had from some cutfiles. They are the negatives of titles cutfiles that I had used in other layouts. So decided to put them to good use; these words were "Super Heroes", "Splash", and "Sunshine". To add some proper grammar into the mix, I added the words "enjoy", "time", "and" by using thickers from my stash.
If you are interested, those cutfiles were designed by Virginia Walker for Confessions of a Paper Addict.

Now let's jump into how I made it all come together. I selected white cardstock as my base and covered it with clear gesso. To add a bit of texture and dimension, I added stars unto it using a 12x12 stencil and modeling paste. Once it was dry, I sprayed Heidi Ho Blue (Coloringz), Jenni B Bleu (Vibez), and In Deep (Coloringz) unto the background and tilted the base here and there to allow the colors to blend a bit. Setting my base aside, I worked on the negatives from the cutfiles. "Super Heroes" was sprayed with Granny Gray (Vibez), "Splash" was colored with Jenni B Bleu (Vibez), and Sunshine with revamped with Lil' Yellow School Bus (Coloringz) and Tuscan Sun (Vibez).

I set everything aside to dry and, in the meantime, began to look around my stash for embellishments. Since I had 4 photos and a big title, I knew that my embellishments had to be on the smaller side. Finally, to bring everything together, I popped the bigger words of the title on some craft foam, trying to work the photos in around them. Added thickers in to finish off the title and then added in an embellishment cluster for each of the photos.

And done! Thank you so much for looking; I really hope that I've inspired you to use up anything you may have on hand. I also hope that you join for the Spring Forward Challenge and share your project with us over on the Facebook Group.

Also, you can receive some free paint by typing "LORIMAR" in the comments section of your next Shimmerz order.

Take care friends!
- Lorimar