Cardstock Only Mixed Media Layout | Missy Whidden

Hey there, friends!  Missy here with a fun and bright layout featuring a whole bunch of Shimmerz goodness :)  I love making layouts "from scratch," which means I make most of it using only cardstock and Shimmerz.  I began this page with a light minty teal sheet of cardstock.  I wanted to create lots of texture and color, so I covered a lot of the center area with white gesso and went from there.

I used a very old dotted stencil and some modeling paste to first create some background texture.  Once that dried, I came in with lots of blue paints.  My first thought was to create a monochromatic page, but that went out the window when I decided to add in a big sun and some flowers :D

Colors used on the background:

• Shimmerz Ultramarine
• Shimmerz Tickle Me Turquoise
• Shimmerz It's Mint to Be
• Inklingz Blue Lagoon
• Shimmerz Celery

Colors used on the sun: 

• Vibez Mustard Seed
• Vibez Rollin' in the Hay

Colors used on the flowers:

• Inklingz Lover's Lips
• Inklingz Plum Crazy
• Inklingz Naughty or Nice
• Inklingz A Rose (by any other name)
• Inklingz Hot Stuff
• Coloringz Pretty in Pink
• Vibez Sweetheart
• Vibez Pink Moscato

Other:

• Vibez Grey Flannel
• Inklingz Miner Miner 49er

Once the paste dried, I used all of the blue & green shades to add color.  I added some paint to a brush, swiped it onto the paper, added a bit of water and then watched the colors blend.  My pool photos were the perfect match.  I decided to brighten things up with some pink flowers, so I got brave and hand drew some.  They are totally wonky, but I love how they turned out!  I used all the pink, purple & red colors to add color to them.

I love mixing and matching Shimmerz together.  They just create the most beautiful shades!  After making several pink flowers, I fussy cut them out.  I then decided to add in some orange, so I pulled out an old Heidi Swapp stamp set and used some orange ink pads from Pinkfresh Studio to make those.  I also fussy cut those out and tucked them all around the pink flowers.  I topped them off with some SpiegelMom Scraps sequins.

To create this sun, I used the Paige Evans Sunburst Rays stencil.  I laid it over some scrap white cardstock and sprayed Mustard Seed & Rolling in the Hay over it.  I took the actual stencil with all the color on it and stamped it down on the back of the cardstock and loved how it looked.  So I cut it out :)  I popped it up using adhesive foam.  I love how splotchy and imperfect it is!  And what is a sun without clouds?  I hand cut those from white cardstock and used a bit of Vibez Grey Flannel to add some color around the edges.

I added some darker pink thread in a few places.  On the tiny orange flowers, I added a drop of light pink Nuvo Crystal Drops.  I love how cool this background turned out!  It feels so rough and bumpy.

I wound up adding some gold splatters, which is Miner Miner 49er...my favorite Shimmerz gold.

The only other embellishments I pulled from my stash were from the 2016 Simple Stories You Are Here collection.  I added in this orange dotted chipboard frame.

And I added these white clear stickers...they're visible yet subtle and don't distract from the photos.  I went short and simple with the title.  I used some shiny gold Thickers.  I toned down the shine by smudging some white gesso over them.  It just makes them have more of a matte finish.  I used a metallic gold pen to write my journaling.

Here's a few more just because :)

I really love how this came together.  How often do you make layouts using primarily cardstock?  It's a lot of fun for me!  I hope this gives you some ideas and shows you how you can make your own backgrounds and embellishments with only cardstock & lovely Shimmerz :)

Check out my process video over on the Shimmerz YouTube Channel :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!