Layered stamping with the new STAMPZ | Simone Schermann

Have you seen it yet? Shimmerz Paints is coming out with stamps! I was so lucky to play with some of the before the release date. This layered flower stamp set called "Fresh Start" was very intriguing: I had never tried my hand at layered stamping. Have you? What should I do? Go ahead and try, of course! So I grabbed the next piece of paper which happened to be a graph paper, some ink and a stamping block and tried. And it worked. And I really loved the texture. So I decided to try some more and create a journaling background for my weekly traveler's notebook spread.

I stamped more flowers on the graph paper and then used my scissors to fussy cut the flowers and leaves. Then I used some Inklingz to add color to the background before adding the flowers to my pages. I simply adhered them with glue after the paint was dry. I had found a cute tea tag that read "The difference between a flower and a weed is a judgement" and I thought it would go perfectly with all the pretty flowers, so I added that to the bottom cluster.

Here is a closer look at the top cluster. If you are afraid your ink will bleed through the pages or are concerned of messing up your pages, it is always a great idea to stamp your images on an extra sheet of paper. It is also easier to change your design and create more dimension. By using a patterned background for the stamping like I did when using graph paper, you can even add more texture to the spread.

After I was done creating the background, I went ahead and added my journaling. There are lots of different ways you can do this and there is no right or wrong way. I had just read a quote by Stephen Hawking who had passed the day before, so I chose to feature it prominently in the middle of my page and arrange my journaling around it. I added some things in a list format. I wrote whole sentences and little paragraphs for other snippets of my life. Some of the things are deep and meaningful and some are the mundane, routine tasks of everyday life.


Here is a link to my process video on youtube. If you place an order in the Shimmerz Store, don't forget to mention my name Simone in the comments at checkout to receive a free mini surprise product! Thanks for stopping by today!
SUPPLIES:
Inlingz - Green Goddess, Beets Me, French Kiss
Stampz - Fresh Start

I only have eyes for you | Simone Schermann

Hello! It's Simone again. Remember my journal background that I created using Shimmerz Coloringz in January?
I loved the effect of the spread and decided I wanted to do a layout based on it. So I brought out my Coloringz and Vibez again and in a first step mixed them with white acrylic paint and created a rainbow effect in the middle of my 12x12 card stock. I did this so that there would be one part of the card stock that was completely covered in paint.

After the paint was dry, I used the mists with a paint brush and dipped it to the top of my colored background and let it drip down the page holding the paper vertically. I mixed the colors as I went and loved the effect that I was able to achieve. I did not treat the card stock with gesso so the mist would run smoothly across the acrylic paint but once it reached the plain card stock it slowed down and started to soak into the paper. I loved how the color started to feather and intensify the individual streaks.

When my background was finished I started working on the layout and used a cut file to create part of my title which is the most prominent part of my layout. I backed each letter with scraps of patterned paper that matched the rainbow background. Then I added my photo and embellishments and called it done.

Ok, maybe this sounds a bit too easy and I should add that I spent quite some time with the decision making process of where exactly each individual embellishment should be placed. And this description also lacks the fact that I didn't like my square photo. But I have a process video where you can see me make all the decisions and find a solution for my photo, which I now like much better!


Here is a link to my process video on youtube. If you place an order in the Shimmerz Store, don't forget to mention my name Simone in the comments at checkout to receive a free mini surprise product! Thanks for stopping by today!
SUPPLIES:
Coloringz - My Bleeding Heart, No Yoking, Don't Citron Me, Oh Say Can U Sea, Well Blue Me Down, Heidi Ho Blue, Pink Stilettos
Vibez - Jeni B Bleu, Blue Jeans

Journal Background in my Traveler's Notebook | Simone Schermann

Hi, it's Simone here with my very first blogpost and video for the Shimmerz Education Team. I have started a new to me form of memory keeping for 2018 in my weekly vertical traveler's notebook insert from Midori. And I love it, I love spending a little time creating a colorful mixed media background before the week starts and I love using stickers, ephemera, practically everything that I can find around the house to decorate the weekly spread when I journal daily about my day! It is so much fun and doesn't take a lot of time out of my day so I have actually kept up with it so far! I hope that I can carry on way beyond the first excitement of January and share my spreads every week on Instagram using the Hashtag #seemownaysweek.

For this spread, I wanted to try the Blow Painting Technique with a straw! I remember doing this as a child and thought it would be fun to try out my new COLORINGZ and see how well the paper takes the mists. I wanted to create a rainbow effect, so I pulled out a piece of packaging as a palette and added the first color. I then took it up with a brush, added a colorful blob to the top of the page and then used my straw to move the color down the page. I actually turned my insert upside down to be able to control the paint better. Then I just went on, adding the different colors and mixing them along the way to get a bigger and more colorful palette.

After prepping the background, I went through my stickers and my ephemera and created a little kit to use throughout the week. Then each night when I sat on the couch I would pull out my traveler's notebook and quickly journal about my day, adding bits and pieces as I wrote. This photo shows the progress after the first days. Isn't the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson on the tea tag just perfect? I love it: "Earth laughs in flowers." I never paid any attention to the tags on my tea bags before and didn't even know they hid little treasures, but that day it fell into the hot water and so I had to get it out with a spoon. And there this beautiful quote was waiting for me. I dried it with my heat tool, remembered that I had just seen this beautiful die cut in my stash, pulled it out and stuck it right into my journal.

Whenever possible, I tried to match my stickers and ephemera to the rainbow background to intensify the rainbow effect! I absolutely love how this all turned out! Unfortunately, this was the week when I had to record my very first trip to the ER since moving here. Luckily, I'm back to walking at the moment and hoping that I can omit knee surgery. The accident happened on Friday night but as you can see, I'm not too strict when it comes to sticking to the given page design: I just add my journaling wherever I think it fits best into my own design.

After I was done with my journaling, there was still lots of empty space left at the bottom of the page, so I decided to add a quote that relates to GO, my word for the year 2018. I love collecting quotes and never know where to put them. Adding them here whenever and wherever possible, makes them more visible, which I love.

Here is another look at the finished page. It's so much fun to do, it doesn't require a lot of material and time. And the best part for me is that I am less intimidated to try different techniques. Often I am paralyzed by the size of bigger projects and don't even know where to start. Now that I have seen how easy it is to create such a fun rainbow background, I am thinking about trying it on a larger canvas. What do you think? Wouldn't this be fun as a a background for a 12x12 layout?

Here is a link to my process video on youtube. If you place an order in the Shimmerz Store, don't forget to mention my name Simone in the comments at checkout to receive a free mini surprise product! Thanks for stopping by today!

SUPPLIES:
Coloringz - Don't Citron Me, No Yoking, My Bleeding Heart, Pink Stilettos, Heidi Ho Blue, Well Blue Me Down, Oh Say Can U See