Kiwi Lane's August Blog Hop!!

Wahoo! It's blog hop time!  You should have hopped over from Charity's blog, but if you happened to wander over from somewhere else, I highly recommend that you scurry on back to the beginning of this Kiwi Lane blog hop!  There's lots of fun to be had, a few prizes along the way and some awesome inspiration you won't want to miss!  If you happen to get lost along the way, here's the entire line-up:

1. Kiwi Lane Designs 

2. Barb 

3. Alicia 

4. Charity 

5. Gail (You are HERE!!)

6. Connie Wallenbrock  (Go HERE next!!)

7. Brittany 

8. Christina

Make sure you comment at every stop along the way- you'll be entered to win a $25 for the Kiwi Lane Shop (Yippee!!).  You have until 11:59 pm MDT Sunday August 24, 2014, to leave your comments.  One random commenter will be picked from one of the blogs on the hop.  The winner will be announced on the Kiwi Lane Blog on Monday, August 25th.  And there might be another little prize given away on this blog, too.  You'll just have to read all the way through to find out... :)

So, I always have a hard time picking a project to make for blog hops.  I feel like I need to show you some fun and new or exciting way to use the templates.  I was struggling to come up with something this time, so I started sorting through photos.  I found some that we took while visiting the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City a few years ago and it got my creativity going.  I decided to use my templates to create a wetlands scene, complete with birds.  You ready?  Here it is:

Supplies: cardstock (Bazzill, American Crafts, Provo Craft, DCWV, We R Memory Keepers); patterned paper (My Mind's Eye, Scenic Route, Imaginisce, American Crafts); alphabet stickers (American Crafts); enamel dots (My Mind's Eye); ink (Ranger); pen (Staedtler)

I'm so in love with those little birds!  I made them using the paisley and banner shapes in the Tiny Celebrate template set, and the wings were made using a leaf template from the Tiny Nature set.  I added black enamel dots for their eyes and drew some legs.  Cute, no?  I used the circles and ovals from the Tiny Shapes template set and the grass was done with the ice crystal shapes from the Winter and Tiny Holiday sets, along with a Tiny Wildflower template.  I used Martha Stewart fringe scissors to make the grass blades.  Here are some close ups of the birds:

And there you have it!  Don't forget to comment for a chance to win a $25 gift code to the Kiwi Lane Shop!

And as an added bonus, I'd like to giveaway a brand new pack of Tiny Celebrate templates (pictured above) to one lucky commenter on this blog.  Just make sure you tell me what the best part of your summer was (in your comment) to be eligible to win!  You can also follow my blog, if you'd like.  If you do, I'll give you a bonus entry in my giveaway- just tell me you are a new follower in your comment (or tell me that you're already a follower).  You have until 11:59 pm Sunday, August 24, 2014 to get your comment submitted.  I'll announce the winner here on my blog on Tuesday, August 26th.

Thanks for stopping by!  Head on over to Connie's blog to continue hopping!

Templates:
Tiny Celebrate 5T, 7T, 8T
Celebrate 5
Tiny Nature 1T
Tiny Wildflower 5T
Tiny Shapes 3T, 4T, 7T, 8T
Tiny Holiday 3T
Paisley Place 1A & 1B
Sunnybrook Lane 1A & 1B
Winter 1
Photos

Home Decor with Mon Ami Gabby and Kiwi Lane

So I'm stepping out of my box for my post this time.... or maybe I'm stepping off my page... I don't know.  

Either way, I got to work with some splendiferous products from Mon Ami Gabby!  Have you ever heard of them?  Chances are, if you've ever gone to a Scrapbook Expo or Creating Keepsakes Convention, you've seen them! They are the company that has embellishments galore- and tons of super cute stuff!  Every time I've seen them at a show, I've had to hold back to keep from buying everything in sight (which they would have liked, I'm sure, but my bank account would have cried.).  Anyway, I was given a whole plethora of pretties to work with in shades of blue, yellow and white.  So much fun!  I wanted to showcase Mon Ami Gabby's products along with Kiwi Lane's templates and I wanted to step off the page, so here's what I came up with:

Supplies:  paper (Making Memories); burlap (DCWV); stamps (KI Memories, Hero Arts); ink (Ranger, Tsukinedo); paint (craft supply); jewels (Doodlebug); flowers, buttons, ribbon and crystals (Mon Ami Gabby)

Templates used:

Tiny Celebrate 3T, 4T, 6T

Paradise 4

Mini Scallops 2A

It's a little hanging tray with the following quote: 

"Shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half sorrow. -Swedish Proverb"

I've had this quote hanging around my scrap space for a while (ok, more like YEARS!!) and had always wanted to use it on something and never had.  This seemed to be the perfect opportunity!


So the tray that I started out with was something my grandma game me a few years ago and had gotten buried on my desk.  I found it recently and had it fresh in my mind when my Mon Ami Gabby stuff arrived, and an idea was born!  Here's what the tray looked like before:

(Sorry for the icky picture.  It was late at night and I couldn't get the lighting right.  One of the hazards of midnight crafting, I suppose.)

I sanded it and put a coat of ivory acrylic paint on it, then scuffed the edges and corners for a shabby look.  Then I hand stamped the quote.  And that's why it's kind of funky.  I know the spacing is uneven and nothing is in a straight line.  It adds to the charm, right?  Or it reveals that I'm still a novice stamper, even though I've been doing it for 12 years....

Anyway, once the paint was dry and the quote was stamped and trimmed, I started to layer... and layer.... and layer!  That is one thing I really like about Mon Ami Gabby and Kiwi Lane- they encourage layering!  Mon Ami Gabby has this super cool burlap ribbon that has wired edges and is printed with a chevron pattern and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.  Only it seemed to be too overwhelming for my small scale project.  So I used my templates on the ribbon to break it up and keep some of the cute ribbon, without an onslaught of pattern.  For the top banner, I folded the ribbon in half and used part of the Tiny Celebrate 6T template to cut small triangles out.  I then used hot glue to attach it to the wire that I cut off the ribbon.  

For the bottom part, I used the Mini Scallops 2A template along one side and kept the wire on the other side so I could do some pleats. 

I loved how the Kiwi Lane Templates added some more depth to the layers of flowers, buttons, ribbon and crystals from Mon Ami Gabby!  I also liked that I combined rough burlap, delicate paper roses and elegant crystal teardrops on this project and it all worked together to make a shabby chic decor piece.  I hope you try some layering on your next home decor project- especially mixing elegant with rustic. You might just love it!

And if you have loved looking at the fabulous products from Mon Ami Gabby, they have a wonderful Pinterest board you can follow HERE  and you can follow them on Facebook HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrapping!

"Detour" 2 Page Layout with Kiwi Lane and The Paper Loft

Hello, hello!  I'm here today with a two page layout featuring The Paper Loft's "On the Go" collection.  Here's what I came up with:

Supplies:  patterned paper, card stock, word cut outs (The Paper Loft); alphabet stickers, twine (American Crafts); wood shapes (Studio Calico); buttons (Doodlebug Designs); ink (Ranger); date stamp (7Gypsies); pen (Staedtler)

Templates used:

Chestnut Drive 3A & 3B

Aspen Court 2A & 2B

Happy Trails 3A

Adventure 1,2,3,4,5

Tiny Wacky 3T

Journey 5

Photos

There's not too much to say about this layout- it went together super fast with the help of my Kiwi Lane Templates!  And I was loving how well the "On the Go" collection went  with the photos I had from one of our stops along Route 66 a few years ago!  

If you've never had the opportunity to use a collection from The Paper Loft, I thing you should fix that- their paper is a great weight (sturdy but not so thick that you have a hard time getting your scissors through it) and they have beautifully coordinated patterns in their collections, along with solid white-core double sided card stock and sheets of fun words and images that you can cut apart.  Seriously- give them a try!  I loved working with this collection and I have plenty left to make quite a few more pages about more stops on our trip down old Route 66.  I'll make sure I post those here on my blog when I have them done. :)

Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Scrapping!

"Happy" Layout with Hazel and Ruby and Kiwi Lane

Hello, hello!  I'm here today with a layout I made using Hazel and Ruby's Celebrate Word Masks, Pass the Tissue Quote Collage, Sequin Tubes Green with Envy and Gone Typo collection kit.  Here's what my layout looked like after I framed it using my Kiwi Lane Design Templates:

And here's my finished layout:

Supplies: cardstock (American Crafts, Core'dinations); patterned paper, tissue paper, sequins, masks (Hazel and Ruby); buttons (Basic Grey, October Afternoon); alphabet stickers (Making Memories); spray ink (Studio Calico); ink (Ranger)

Templates used:

Chevrons 1A, 3A

Mini Madison 3A, 3B

Tiny Accents 4T, 5T

Accents 4, 5

Photos

Photo Mats

I used my Hazel and Ruby masks and some spray ink to have two of the word "happy" remain white and I used them as a layer of my title.  I used a few ink colors- blue, green and yellow.  It helped bring in the patterned paper and broke up some of the white background.  Here is what my background looked like after I sprayed it:

Then I just peeled off the reusable masks (and they were super easy to use, by the way!) and started building my layers.  I used both sides of the Mini Madison templates together to make a longer border for the tissue.  Then I tore the tissue against the edge of the templates to get a funky and messy look.  

The look was finished up with a few sprays of my yellow ink and left to dry for a few minutes.  I used double sided tape and the smashing method to attach it to my page as a border under the two larger photos.  The smashing method is pretty much what it seems- I put one side down on the tape and smashed and folded until I got a look I liked.  The last layer of my page was the brown letter stickers to finish off my title and some buttons and sequins. 

And there you have it!  I'm so loving these Hazel and Ruby masks!  As soon as I started using them, a plethora of ideas and uses popped into my head- can't wait to use them again and make more pretty stuff!!

Templates used

Chevrons 1A, 3A

Mini Madison 3A, 3B

Tiny Accents 4T, 5T

Accents 4, 5

Photos

Photo Mats

Envelope Mini Album with Kiwi Lane and Fancy Pants Designs

Hey there!  It's my turn on the Kiwi Lane blog today with a simple album using my Kiwi Lane templates, Fancy Pants Designs Nautical collection and manilla envelopes.  Yep, as in office supplies.  

I've always been a fan of using office supplies in my scrapbooking, and I've found that using manilla envelopes is a fun and inexpensive way to make an album.  An added bonus is the extra storage you can get by using the envelopes as pockets.

For my album, I wanted storage for some of the larger memorabilia that we picked up on our trip to Tybee Island (maps, brochures, post cards) and I didn't want to glue them in an album or cut them apart. I considered a few different sizes of envelopes to use that would fit the bulky papers and finally settled on 10" x 13" cut in half.  Like this:

I cut the envelope in half so I had a more manageable album size that would still have pockets large enough to store my maps, etc.  (Don't worry about things falling out of the cut through the middle of the envelope- it will be closed off enough after you bind it to keep larger items in the pockets.)

After deciding on my envelope/album size, I set to work building one page at a time.  I used just one pair of border templates through the whole album and just a few tiny templates for some embellishment and color.  I only put the paper and photos on the album pages at this point.  I used patterned paper from Fancy Pants Designs' Nautical collection, along with some of the pockets, flair and stickers from the same collection. I loved that I could get a slightly different look for each area of the island we visited and I was still using the same collection!  

After all the paper and photos were on, I used my Zutter Bind-it-All to punch the pages for binding.  It looked like this:

I could have done holes down the entire length of the book, but I kind of liked the look of two different sections of binding.  

When all the holes were punched, I bound it with some wire binding and the Bind-it-All once again.  

When my book looked like a book, I added my "hard" embellishments like buttons and brads.  The reason I wait until my book is bound to do this step is to avoid accidentally placing something hard where the holes for the binding needs to go.  Let's just say I've learned that one the hard way and I want to pass on my knowledge. ;)

Now my book is done and I can add my memorabilia to the pockets like so:

Here's what the entire book looked like, page by page:

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day and Happy Scrapping!

Templates used:

Sunnybrook Lane 1A & 1B

Tiny Brackets 1T, 2T, 3T, 4T

Tags 2, 4

Tiny Tags 5T

Adventure 1,2 

Tiny Sweetheart 4T

Cards with Kiwi Lane and Fancy Pants Designs

Howdy peeps!  I just thought I'd pop in with a few cards I made... if you're here from the Kiwi Lane blog for a few more details on the "how-to", keep on reading... :)

This month for Kiwi Lane, I was able to work with the super versatile Nautical collection from Fancy Pants.   I love the colors in this collection- it's filled with red, orange, yellow, navy blue, black, sky blue, turquoise, gray, white, cream... do you see why it's so great?!  And I love that, even though there are a lot of different colors, they all mix and match really well.  Now, don't be put off by the "Nautical" title... some of the papers have a very nautical feel to them, but others are summery, some are beach-y and all of them are fabulous!  It was a fun collection to work with!!

Here are the cards I made:

"Happy Travels"

Card size: 5" x 7"

Supplies: paper, letter stickers (Fancy Pants Designs); washi tape (Freckled Fawn); twine (Lillybelle's Paperie on Etsy); pearls (Doodlebug); button (craft supply); ink (Ranger)

I used the airplane that was already printed on the paper to my advantage, making sure to leave it in the top left corner of the card when I was trimming my paper.  I then used a large Floral template to do the bottom layer of the sun (the orange with white dots).  I took of strips of washi tape, folded the strips onto themselves and used those for the next layer of the sun, followed by a yellow sun shape from the Tiny Accents accessory templates.  I made a washi "flower" on top of the yellow sun (you can watch THIS YouTube video to see the gist of how), then finished off my layers with a button and twine.  I made my "sun" look like it was setting over the ocean by using the wavy border from the Sincerely template set.  Note:  the card border template sets are only 5 1/2" long and this card is 7" long. To elongate your borders, match up the ends of a set to make one longer, continuous border.  I then added the tiny alphabet stickers that were in my packet of Fancy Pants goodies and some golden colored pearl dots and.... TA DA!!  One card that has lots of layers, but not as much bulk as you'd think.  And super cute, no? ;)

Templates used:

-Floral 1

-Tiny Accents 4T

-Sincerely 3A & 3B

"Enjoy"

Card size: 5 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Supplies: paper, sticker (Fancy Pants Designs); flower (Prima); pearls (Doodlebug, Pebbles); ribbon (Offray); ink (Clearsnap); die cut machine and embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

This is a gate fold card and opens in the front- to achieve this look, layer your flowers and only adhere half of the bottom flower to the front of the card over the seam to open the card.  For the ribbon, I figured out how much I needed and cut that amount.  I started layering my flowers and tied the ribbon around the card after I'd adhered the two red flowers but before the white one was attached.  I tied the ribbon around the card, adjusting until I had the bow where I wanted it, then adhered the white flower over the ribbon, thus attaching it to the card without a ton of adhesive.  Make sense?  I hope so!  If you're ever confused about my instructions, please feel free to email me!!  glo(underscore)owens(at)man(dot)com 

Templates used:

Tiny Bracket 1T

Tiny Accents 2T

Tiny Floral 2T

"Oh, the Places You'll go!"

Card size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Supplies: paper, stickers, flair (Fancy Pants Designs); pearls (Doodlebug, Pebbles); ink (Clearsnap)

I used the edge of the chevron template in the Delight template set on the card base to create the chevron bottom.  Here's a little bit of a better view:

To make sure the chevron design on the edge stood out, I used the leftovers from another cut to add to the inside of the card for another layer of interest.

I could have used just a straight edge on the inside of the card, but I already had this cut, and who doesn't like to use every little bit? :)  I used some more of the tiny stickers to spell out "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"  I thought this card would be a great one for graduation- 'tis the season, right?

Templates used:

Tiny Brackets 1T

Delight 4, 6

So, even though this "Nautical" collection of scrappy supplies is "supposed" to be focused on water-related events, you definitely don't have to use it for that!! In fact, we should probably try to use our scrappy supplies beyond the invisible parameters set for them a little more, doncha think? 

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrapping!

Write From the Heart with Kiwi Lane and My Mind's Eye

It's my turn to do an installment of Write From the Heart from Kiwi Lane- yay!  I will say that it feels like it has been a looooong time since it was my turn for this segment, though.  Hopefully I'm not too out of practice and can help you with your journaling.

Sometimes when I scrapbook, I feel like there needs to be some long epitaph to convey the story behind the photos, or even the story behind the people in the photos.  And this is true in some cases.  It's nice to tell a long narrative about how much we admire a person or how something came to be.  It's nice to tell part of our family's history by combining our new thoughts with a photo from long ago. But sometimes, just sometimes, we need to let loose and share more of our personality in our journaling.  If you're a fun person, shouldn't you tell the stories that show just how much fun you have?  I think so, too!  So today I'm going to focus on that-

Tell the silly stories!

Here's a layout that I did using the Milo collection from My Mind's Eye's Now & Then-
Before, using my Kiwi Lane templates to "Frame" my layout:

After:

Supplies: patterned paper (My Mind's Eye); brads, die cut, epoxy shapes (My Mind's Eye); epoxy dots (Teresa Collins); letter stickers (My Mind's Eye, American Crafts); ink, glitter glue (Ranger)

Templates:

Wacky 1

Tiny Wacky 1T

Paradise 1

Celebrate 7

Tiny Celebrate 7T

Photos

I love that these photos are part of a silly story about kissing some fish!  And I wanted to make sure that we remembered that we are part of a fun and sometimes silly family that likes to do strange things and have a good time laughing!  It's not a long, sentimental story.  And that's ok.  It's still a story that helps tell who we are.  And isn't that what scrapbooking is about?

And since we're here anyway, here are a few design tips:

- Use your photo templates as a crop tool, along with planning your layout.  They are translucent, so you can see exactly where you need to cut to make that perfect page.

- Cut down a shape to make a smaller shape.  If you notice, I have three sizes of water drops/splashes. I made the smallest one by tracing the Tiny Celebrate 7T template and drawing the same shape inside the traced shape.  It was about 1/4" smaller all the way around.  This made a smaller shape without needing a smaller template.

- Add interest to your pages using lines.  All my photos are on an angle, as are the bits of patterned paper. But, my words (title and journaling) are all on horizontal lines.  And my embellishments (the wave shapes and splashes) are all in vertical lines.  By having each element of the layout moving a different way, your eyes move around the page.

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrapping!

Ideas to Inspire with Kiwi Lane

Good Morning all!  It's my turn for the latest installment of Kiwi Lane's Ideas to Inspire.... So are you ready to be inspired?  Good!  Let's get started!

This month at Kiwi Lane, we have the awesome privilege of working with the fabulous My Mind's Eye!  Eeeek!  I'm so excited!! Hence, the "Eeeek!"  Now, if you have never worked with any of My Mind's Eye's stuff, I suggest you find your nearest crafting/scrapbooking store and get your hands on some- you won't be disappointed! 

Now, I don't know about you, but I seem to put off scrapbooking birthdays... I think it has something to do with the feeling that I do the same thing over and over.  Well, this time I took that feeling of doing things over and over and ran with it.  Here's the theme for today's ITI:

~Use numeric repetition as a theme throughout your page.~

Here's the layout I came up (using My Mind's Eye's Now & Then Milo):

Supplies: patterned paper (My Mind's Eye and Scenic Route (background)); die cuts, chipboard, washi tape, letter stickers, epoxy stickers (My Mind's Eye); stamp (7gypsies); ink (Ranger, Tsukinedo); twine (Lilybelle's Paperie on Etsy)

Templates:

Spook Alley 3A, 3B

Wacky 3, 3T

Celebrate 1, 2, 5

Tiny Shapes 6T

The photos are from my son's 3rd birthday.  I used the number "3" in the title, but also used other three's throughout the page... can you find them all? ;)  Here's the list, in case you missed any:

- Three "3"s- one in the title, one at the top of the right page and the candles on the cupcake that resemble III (Roman numeral 3)

- Three burst shapes from the Wacky Accessory set along the bottom of the layout

- Groupings of three things: 2 balloons and a cupcake; small burst shape from the Tiny Wacky set (top of left page), "3" and "cute" die cut; title grouping that has a chipboard shape, the large "3" card and the tiny letter stickers

- There are three groupings of three things

- Three lines of journaling

That's right, peeps!  I even went so far as to emulate the theme in the number of lines for my journaling!

I will point out that I didn't use three photos on my two page layout (and really, when have you EVER seen me use so few pics on a two pager??).  But, I did keep the number of photos in an odd numbered grouping, which is aesthetically pleasing and worked well for the layout.

While the method of using numeric repetition can be quite effective, use it in small doses.  Meaning, it works better for small single digits, rather than larger numbers.  I love the look of this, but I'm certainly not going to use it for my hubby's thirty-something birthday pics. ;)

Now, can I just mention the paper and embellishments from My Mind's Eye's Now & Then Milo collection!  It is SUCH a versatile collection!!  The colors of blues, grays, greens and yellows make it pretty much the perfect pallet for both girl and boy themes, not to mention everything in between.  There's also a touch of metallic silver in the collection- both on the paper and in the embellies (brads, die cuts, printed chipboard, epoxy shapes).  It's not that over powering blinged out silver, though.  It's a soft, subtle touch of silver.  And it works for everything!  The paper itself is that heavy card stock that we have come to know and love from MME and, let's face it, we expect it from them.  The prints in the collection range from classic damask to small floral to geometrics to anchors- seriously.... so versatile!!  I LOVED working with this collection!  So much so, that I chose to use my leftovers from this project to do my Write From the Heart with Kiwi Lane  at the end of the month.  So be watching for that one!

I hope this inspired you to do something repetitive on your pages!  I'd love to see what you come up with-don't forget to post your creations to the Kiwi Lane Facebook page!  And link it here in the comments, too, please!

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrapping!

Winner, Winner!! April Blog Hop Winner!

And the winner of a set of templates is......

 Linda C. said...

I love your layout - especially the funky flag banner at the bottom. I scrolled down to see some of your earlier blogs and found so many great ideas. The Fall Mini Album from Oct. 16, 2013 is beautiful. I had thought these albums would be too hard to do, never thought about using Kiwi Lane Templates to make the pages of the books. I keep changing my mind on which Kiwi Lane set I want next but I think they would be the Cascade Trails and the Tiny Floral

Linda C.- please email me at glo_owens@msn.com so I can get you a list of templates to choose from.  You have until Monday, April 21st at 11:59 pm MDT to do so, or another winner will be drawn.

Thanks to everyone for all your lovely comments- it sure does make a girl's day! :)

That's all for now, but I will have a post on Wednesday for Kiwi Lane's Ideas to Inspire!  Have a great day and Happy Scrapping!

April BLOG HOP!!! with Kiwi Lane

It's time for a blog hop!  Who's excited? Me, ME!!  Are you excited, too?  Well, you should be!  Why?  Because you're going to have crafting inspiration coming out of your ears AND there's a prize!  Here's the scoop- ONE random commenter from one of the blogs along the hop will win a $25 gift code to the Kiwi Lane Shop.  How's that for incentive?!  So make sure you start at the Kiwi Lane Blog and comment along the way (including the Kiwi Lane Blog)!  You have until Sunday April 6, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. MDT to make you comments.  The winner will be announced on the Kiwi Lane Blog on Thursday April 10th. 

Here's the line-up of blogs, just in case you take a wrong turn along the way:

1. Kiwi Lane 
2. Gail Owens (You are Here!!)
3. Catherine Povec  (Go Here Next!!)
4. Jennifer McDermott 
5. Kristy Lee 
6. Heather Conklin 
7. Misty Buck 
8. Jennifer Nicholes 
9. Barb Rapp 
10. Christina Steel 

For this month's blog hop, we were asked to create something using the Celebrate and Wacky template sets from Kiwi Lane.  Here's the two page layout I came up with:

Supplies: patterned paper (The Pier by Crate Paper); brads (Echo Park); alphabet stickers (American Crafts); wood shapes (Studio Calico); plastic flower (Queen and Co.); stamps (Autumn Leaves); pen (Staedtler); ink (Ranger)

Templates:

Photos

Wacky 1, 3

Celebrate 3, 5, 6, 8

Tiny Celebrate 3T, 4T, 5T, 6T

Tags 1

Tiny Tags 1T

Here's what it looked like when I "framed" my layout:

And a few detailed photos:

I loved the look of this paper for these photos- and I couldn't resist using a collection called "The Pier" to document our walk down the pier at Tybee Island in Georgia!  I loved the look of the weathered wood with the distressed colors that were reminiscent of wind tattered beach umbrellas and canopies.  I wanted to add some whimsy and almost a celebratory feel to my layout and I accomplished this with layering two shapes (the long triangle/pennant from the Celebrate sets and a tag from the Tag sets) in two sizes.  I also tucked the ticket shapes under the photos on one side to add to the fun feeling of the layout.  To add a hint of the sun and sea to the layout, I used a template from the Wacky set to make a "sun" shape on the left page, layered with "clouds" from the Celebrate and Tiny Celebrate sets.  I added a splash of blue in a wavy shape from the Wacky set to mimic the water on the bottom of the right page. 

Sometimes when I get everything on the page, I feel like some of the shapes are blending into each other, when I really want them to stand out from each other.  When this happens, I use a pen to highlight the shapes that I want to stand out.  This time I used a fine tipped black pen to do some quick outlines of the cloud shapes, the tickets, the pinwheel and the banner where I put the title.  I made my outlines quickly and didn't worry about perfection- an added bonus of using shabby-looking paper!

To make my journaling spot, I stamped a lined image on my left page using distress ink.  I thought it looked too neat for the feel of the layout, so I stamped it again- the same image just slightly askew from the original.  Then I used my pen to write my little story.

This layout turned out almost exactly like what I framed it to look like using my templates- and it's exactly what I had in my head!  Don't you just love Kiwi Lane Designs Templates?!  I do!

And for an added bonus for getting to the bottom of my long-winded post (Sorry, kids.  I'm wordy.  It's not gonna change anytime soon.), how about another giveaway?!  In the comment that you're going to leave on this blog post (ya know, the one you need to leave so you can be entered to win a $25 gift code to the Kiwi Lane Shop...), please tell me what template set you've had your eye on.  Or which one is your fave, if you happen to have them all.  You have until Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. MDT to leave your comment.  I will draw a winner and announce it on Monday, April 7th.  The lucky commenter will get to choose a template set of their choice from my stash!  Hooray!

That's it for now- don't forget to comment!  Happy Scrapping!