DIY Gift Wrap

Use your craft stash to create the perfect wrapping paper for any occasion! I'm a huge fan of only buying plain/neutral rolls of gift wrap (or art paper like pictured here) for wrapping presents. I have everything I need to decorate my packages right in my craft stash. This is a great way to use up that extra washi tape, or those embellishments you have lying around. 

I started out by wrapping my gift in white textured art paper (the kind that comes on a sheet at the art store) I like the feel of the textured paper and it gives the finished package a little bit more interested than if I would have just used smooth paper. 

My first step was to grab my new Studio Calico neon mists and layer a couple of colors on top of one another for a cool splattered paint look. 

The key to layering mists for splatter is to start with the color you want to see the most of. Open the bottle of mist and carefully hold the nozzle over the gift wrap and tap the top with your fingers a couple of times; drops should fall down. Experiment to create different sizes and splatter patterns. Once you're happy with that color, move onto the next mist and repeat the same steps as above, using about half the mist as you did the first time; repeat with more colors as necessary. 

I added black and white polka dot washi both horizontally and vertically to mimic the traditional look of a present wrapped up with a bow. Instead of a bow, I added a chipboard star. I finished off the box with bold glitter thickers to really make my message stand out.

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Social [Media] Butterflies July Blog Hop

Welcome to the Social [Media] Butterflies Blog Hop! Each month on the 29th day, we're going to be sharing projects that have been inspired via each other and various social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Message boards, etc. Join us for awesome inspiration, new friends, & great prizes each month. You can check out last month's blog hop project here. 

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Misting and Whimsy

Hi Hi Everyone! 

Today I'm sharing this awesome layout I made last week for Basically Bare, and a step-by-step tutorial to go along with it. 

Because my style is generally colorful and graphic -- I tend to be sparse with my bigger/bulkier embellishments; but when I first saw the new faniciful frames, I knew they would make perfect masks to mist with.

 Today I'm going to show you step-by-step how to use basically bare chipboard and/or acrylic to make your own masks for misting.  This technique can be used with any of the chipboard or acrylic embellishments and is a great way to get a bunch of uses out of your product before gluing it down on a final project!

**Warning: VERY photo heavy** 

Post Continues After the Jump

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Tutorial: Ombre Misting

Today I'm sharing a how-to how to create an ombre-misted background for your layout! This is definitely one of those techniques that looks better in real life, and super duper easy to replicate.

Materials Needed:
- White Cardstock
- Mist (any color will do)
- Misting box
- Paper Towels

Step-by-Step:

1. Start out with a blank sheet of cardstock in a misting box (or on a bunch of newspaper/craft mat/etc).

2. Place a paper towel (I find paper towels are best because they soak up the extra mist and don't drip onto the project at all) over the top of your cardstock, leaving 1-2" uncovered at the bottom. 

3. Take the mist and evenly spray over the sheet of cardstock. Don't worry if it looks really light, the color will get darker as we add more layers. 

4. Move the paper towel up about 1-2" and then mist again. Try to mist evenly, over the entire layout every time. Keep moving the paper towel up 1-2" each time. 

5. Let the cardstock dry for a few minutes (or use a heat gun to speed drying) and then it's ready to go!

The finished layout again with some closeups:

I placed a silhouette-cut background over my ombre-misted background. The lines from the misting are totally covered and you just get the cool ombre effect in the back.

Using a similar-colored transparency as the photo mat reinforces the background color without detracting from the background effect itself. 

This pic shows a little more of the actual ombre look. Looking at the left side of the picture and the right side of the picture, you can really tell the difference in shade, even though it might not seem obvious when looking directly at the layout itself. 

This technique isn't just for layouts, it can easily be adapted to tags, card backgrounds, etc -- the sky's the limit. 

Let me know if you try it out! 

Lots of love, 

K

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Get Messy: The Me Book

Today I'll be sharing a canvas album with you.  This is the album that I orginally designed my Get Messy class around.  Get Messy is currently running again over at ScrapFreak.com, new lessons are posted every Thursday.

Each page is written about in detail with step-by-step photos in each of the lessons. You can download all the lessons here: Get Messy
Thanks for taking a look at my project and participating in Get Messy!

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Get Messy Lesson Two: Scrap Freak

Lesson Two is up at ScrapFreak!


Today's lesson is all about misting, different types, different techniques, etc. Head on over there for some great misting conversation. 


I also talked about a recent layout with a bunch of misting techniques (modified from a Studio Calico CKC class): 

-- for the blue dotted paper card, I punched out a couple of stars to use as a mask; lifted up the stars and outlined the star shape. I then took the stars that had been my mask, trimmed them a bit and stuck them on pop-dots for a bit more emphasis
-- the next card one was also very simple. I stuck down the word 'you' with thickers, misted, and then lifted up the thickers and placed them on the top of the card
-- the bottom left card was stamped and heat embossed with American Crafts Zing (any embossing powder will do) and then misted over. The embossing powder acts as a resist and gives a cool effect.


Thanks very much for stopping by!

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Quick Layout

This was a layout I started at a Studio Calico misting class at CKC-Valley Forge. It was originally supposed to be a two page layout with a bunch more photos, but I really like how it came out on a single page. All products are Studio Calico.

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Get Messy! - Day Two: Misting

Day two of Get Messy! is up and running.  Today's lesson is all about misting.  I talk about the various types of mists, a couple of different techniques for getting mists to do what you want, and a bunch of great samples from the Creative Soup CT. 

I also show a step-by-step tutorial on how to mist a background with masking and multiple mist colors. Here is my final product: 

Here is the link for today's lesson: Lesson Two: Misting

Remember all Get Messy! lessons are .pdf files, so you can save them, print them out, even view them on your iPhone, and please feel free to ask any questions!

Come over to www.thecreativesoup.com and join in the conversation about misting! 

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