Cheer Captured | Adrienne Alvis

Hello crafty friends! I'm here with a festive layout that I created using one of my favorite holiday photos and some beautiful Shimmerz paints! 

To begin, I used a piece of white card stock and some Acritonez, which is a self-priming acrylic paint with a matte finish, in "3 Sheets to the Wind" as a base for my design and to help the Vibez and Coloringz colors pop! I used a piece of leftover packaging to create the design that you can see below...

I chose the Coloringz, which are non-shimmering, in "Pretty in Pink" and "Oh Say Can U Sea" because the colors coordinated so well with the patterned paper that I chose for my layout! I also added some Vibez in "Cold As Ice", (which is currently unavailable) because it was the perfect shade of blue and added some shimmer to my page.

As you can see in the photo above, I also added some Texturez shimmering, dimensional paste in Crushed Coral to my design by spreading it over a stencil that matched the design of the patterned paper that I chose to use.

I completed my design by adding a title to my photo and by placing some glittery pops of red around my page. I really love incorporating non-traditional Christmas colors on my holiday layouts!

I hope everyone had a fabulous and festive holiday season! Thank you so much for joining me today!

Crazy Fun | Adrienne Alvis

Hello, crafty friends! I'm here today with a layout that I created using some lovely Shimmerz Paints products including Acritonez, Vibez, and Coloringz! 

I prepped the thin blue and white striped patterned paper that I chose to use for my background with some Acritonez in "3 Sheets To The Wind" and swiped it in thin layers across the paper using an old gift card. After it was almost dry, I lightly spritzed some Vibez, a pigmented spray with shimmer, in "Blue Jeans" around my page and then added a few spritzes in some "Pretty In Pink" Coloringz spray that is non-shimmering. I love a healthy mix of both! I also added a little bit of black to my background using some Acritonez in "Shimmerz Tar, Tar" and some bubble wrap to create a little more texture. Simply swipe the Acritonez on a small piece of bubble wrap with a dry paintbrush and lightly press it onto your paper!

Once that was dry, I layered a few pieces of patterned paper under my photo and placed the grouping in the middle of my layout. I also stuck a journaling card to the left side of my photo and punched out some different sized hearts in coordinating pieces of paper to add an extra shape element to my overall design.

I had some white foam stickers and phrases that I wanted to use for the title of my page, but since the white was sort of washed out for my color combo, I took some Acritonez self-priming acrylic paint in "Shimmerz Tar, Tar" and a dry paintbrush and altered the color of the foam letters.

I also added the rest of my title using a stamp and some black ink to coordinate with the rest of the letters. I added a few splotches of black Coloringz in "Night Moves", too.

Thanks so much for joining me today and don't forget that you can alter other items to go along with your color scheme just by using some Shimmerz! Have a great day, everyone! 

First Day 2017 | Adrienne Alvis

Hey, hey Shimmerz fans! It's Adrienne here today with a layout that I created using some of my favorite Shimmerz products documenting my kids' first day back to school! I seriously can't believe how much they grew this summer and are starting another year so soon!

With most of my layouts, I usually choose a piece of patterned paper or cardstock first and then add some Shimmerz to create or enhance the background. For this layout, I swiped some Acritonez self-priming acrylic paste in 3 Sheets to the Wind across the stripes on the patterned paper using the flat end of an old gift card and then chose some Coloringz spray inks in No Yoking, Pretty in Pink, and Oh Say Can U Sea to lightly mist on top of the Acritonez after it dried a bit.

I also lightly dabbed some of the excess Coloringz ink up using a paper towel so it muted the effect of the color a little bit.

I felt like my page needed some more dimension, so I grabbed some Dazzlerz texture paste in Tutti Frutti, which is a beautiful light pink color with just a hint of shimmer, and a stencil so I could add some smaller confetti style dots around my layout. I also accented my page using some punched out stars and enamel dots to mix up the dimension and detail.

I love how well the colors turned out using the Shimmerz and how fun and happy the overall design of my page turned out!

Thanks so much for joining me here on the Shimmerz blog and I hope you have a great day! 

Cute Kings | Adrienne Alvis

Hello Shimmerz Paints fans! I'm here today with a colorful layout that I created using some Coloringz and Acritonez!

I took my two youngest kiddos back-to-school shopping recently and we stopped at a Burger King on the way home, which was a treat since our hometown doesn't have one. I snapped a cute photo of them wearing their BK king hats and printed off three of the same photo, but using different color combinations...black and white, full color, and one that was more muted.

I grabbed a piece of patterned paper from my stash and took some Acritonez in "Pinkadelic" and an old credit card and swiped the color on in different areas. I spritzed some Coloringz in "Mandarin Mai Tai" and "Peachy Keen" on some larger strips of black and white patterned paper and dabbed off the excess using a paper towel.

I adhered the black and white patterned paper strips on top of the pink and yellow patterned paper and then added some Acritonez in "Shimmerz Tar Tar" to a piece of product packaging and used the bubble wrap technique to create the black splotches at the top left of my page.

After I placed my photos on my page, I used a few wooden embellishments for added dimension and some gold Thickers to create my title. I love how fun and happy this page is! The orange, yellow, and pink really set off the black and white accents, don't you think?

Thanks so much for joining me...and I encourage you to get out your Shimmerz in your favorite color schemes and create a new layout using some of your favorite photos today!

Stay Wild | Adrienne Alvis

Hello, crafty friends! I'm here today to share a layout that I created using some beautiful ocean-hued Coloringz and Vibez paints!

I love summer-themed layouts, so I knew that I had to document my daughter's favorite new toy that she got this year for the pool! A mermaid tail!!! I wanted the background of my page to emulate the water and the scales on the mermaid tail, so I grabbed a piece of white card stock and some Coloringz in "Well Blue Me Down" and "Oh Say Can U Sea", as well as some Vibez shimmering spray ink in "Jeni B Blue" and some old product packaging to create my design...

I simply spritzed the Coloringz and Vibez inks onto a piece of bubble wrap and pressed it against the white card stock in a random pattern. I love how the Coloringz inks are non-shimmering and how the Vibez inks are shimmering so it gives my page a great mixture of shine!

After the inks dried, I took some Coloringz in "Pretty In Pink" and dropped a few splatters around my page for added color contrast and to coordinate with the pink in my daughter's mermaid tail. For my title, Stay Wild, I blended some Acritonez in "Pinkadelic" and a little bit of "Pretty In Pink" Coloringz with a small paint brush and sewed it to my layout. 

I love the effect that the bubble wrap technique gave my background and I think the colors of the paints match perfectly with the colors in my photo! 

Thanks so much for joining me here today! I hope I've given you a little inspiration for your next project...have a wonderful day! 

Love Letters In August.

Welcome to our Love Letters post for August.

I am setting up spreads in my Planner this time.

I started with my 'Brain Dump' / monthly log for August.  I added some simple Lettering and a 'glaze' type technique for adding a graduating colour border to my pages.....really pretty!!!

See the Video below to watch how I did the background and the title in this one

You can see how easy the doodles are.  Straight stems with different shaped flowers on top!

Add a few touches of shimmer here and there with a gel pen and its done!

 I used a Kuretake Fudengokochi brush pen, which makes the lettering pretty easy.  Like regular brush lettering with a paint brush or waterbrush you just press heavier on the down stroke and nice and light on the upstrokes.  Keep that rhythm and you have it!  This particular style of font in the hand lettered quote is a mix of letter styles in the once piece, adding capitals in with cursive and some serifs as well.  Looks really cute mixed up like that!

Some other sample spreads that are coming up for this month......

This has to be my favourite way to use Acritonez yet I think.  Painting florals with my fingers!

I dip my finger in pink, and swirl it around in rough rose petal shapes, then dip again into white and swirl some more into the still wet pink paint, adding highlighted area to the petals.  You can go back in with pink or a darker red tone and end up with a pretty cool looking, slightly textured rose.  Very pretty!!!

ANOTHER TECHNIQUE.....

This one was done by 'smooching'  (technical term, I know.....lol)  a piece of heavy plastic onto some watery paint on my craft mat and repeatedly pressing it onto my planner pages.  Its a great artsy way of applying paint that you don't want too strong....ie in areas you want to add writing to!

the next few pages are created this way!

I hope you find some fun ways to use Acritonez in the future.  This is seriously an awesome product.  You need to give it a go!!!

See you again soon!

Lydell :-)

Lovely | Adrienne Alvis

Happy Tuesday, Shimmerz fans! I have a layout to share with you today that I created using Acritonez, Coloringz, and Aqua Huez! 

I started by choosing a black and white patterned paper sheet that had small hearts on it from my stash. I used some Acritonez in "3 Sheets To The Wind" and a dry paintbrush to drag the self-priming acrylic paint across the main part of my background paper. This helped add a little texture and prepped the paper for some Coloringz spray ink and Aqua Huez.

Next, I used some Aqua Huez watercolors in "Little Lily", "African Violet", and "Green with Envy" and blotted them around my page using a paper towel and some water for a subtle effect. I also added a little bit of Acritonez self-priming acrylic paint in "Pinkadelic" for a bolder pop of color.

I layered an all white cut file on top of my background design and placed the photos of my blooming Red Bud tree near the middle. I also used some Coloringz spray ink in "Punked Up Purple" and "No Yoking" to add some accent color splotches around my layout.

I added a few floral die cuts from Pink Paislee, some enamel dots, and some chipboard stickers for my embellishments to complete my page!

Don't be afraid to mix colors and different Shimmerz products! Thanks so much for joining me and I hope you have a great day!