Vicki Boutin

iNSD 2021 Stencil Challenge with Nathalie

Hi there, and Happy NSD!

Today we are celebrating, what Vicki calls Christmas for Scrapbookers, interNATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY.   While Vicki is busy sharing a new Color Study class with a large group of attendees.  Mari, Nicole, and I want to share a bit of inspiration, fun, and a chance to win prizes.

 

 

My challenge today is all about using a stencil on your project.   I just love the new stencil designs from Color Study, and wanted to use them to add a bit of texture to my page.

 

I used one of the new premade mixed media backgrounds as the starting point for my page, then added pops of color with art crayons.  To add texture on my page,  I chose to mix gesso and gold glaze and use the pie chart stencil to create the impression on the page.

 

 

I have created a fun cut file for my page, and you can download a free copy of  in the Vicki Boutin community page.

 

I have created a process video to show you how this page came together. 

 

VIDEO

 

Remember to join in the challenge.   All you have to do is create a project using stencils, post it in the Vicki Boutin Community page ( under the comment section for this image).  One winner will be chosen from all the entries to the challenge.  The winner will be awarded a $25 Gift Certificate to Vicki's shop.  The deadline for the challenge is Friday, May 7th ( 10 am EDT).  All winners will be announced in Vicki's Friday Night live

Cannot wait to see what you create!!

XO

 

Materials used:

 

Best of 2019 | Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today with the last post of the year.   It is hard to believe 2019 has come to an end... so many memories, tears, laughter, triumphs, and  losses to celebrate.  It is always fun to look back to the year and see how we have grown and evolved through the past 365 years.  So, you can imagine how hard it was for me to consolidate about 60 projects into just 4.  I can say that my journey with Vicki started in 2018, and i think we both have evolved and learned together; which makes it harder to choose just a handful of the pieces of your heart, so i added 2 extra projects to my Best of 2019 (still not enough for me!)

 

 

I have been blessed with getting all of Vicki's products to help me document my life, and I love VIcki for having asked me to join in her adventure, so it is hard to pick and chose from my projects but these are some of my most favorites from the year.

 

THIS PHOTO

 

 I think this is one of my most favorite pages of the year!  I created using Color Kaleidoscope (right after it was released!) and based on a mood board.  Having the premade mixed media pages helped to create the page, especially cause it was my first time working with the glitter glaze.  I love the colors, the shine along with the pops of black, plus my nephew is pretty cute, too!

 

 

LIFE IS SWEET

 

If you have seen my work before, then you know that our Boston Terrier baby is a huge part of my life, i love Fall, and photographing leaves.  Now, add to that a super pigmented background and lots of texture, and you have this page!  This  was one of my first pages working with Vicki's Powder pigments, and i was amazed at the colors i could create with it.  Then, i discovered that gold glaze and texture paste create matte gold glaze, and then there is the papers!  Just a perfect combo page!

 

 

HELLO COLORFUL SMILES

 

 

This is another of my favorite projects of the year! My favorite color combination is Black and White with a hint of Rainbow, and this page has it all!   What can i say,  I love working with mixed media and playing with products to see what i can create, so discovering how to create the illusion of Alcohol inks with watercolor markers was the highlight of this page, and then there is the butterflies ( i might still have a few sheets of this paper in my stash!)

 

 

THIS DAY

 

 

This was one of my first pages using the new Wildflower and Honey, and i loved the rich pigmented colors and metallic touches in the collection.  I love the leaf stamp of the collection and when paired with the new metallic ink wheel, it was just perfection for a Fall layout.  My two babies are always my inspiration, and this design just made them the focus of the page.

 

BEST EVER CAR RIDE

 

 

Another of my favorite pages of 2019!  This time i used the watercolor markers and design a rainbow background to look like an illustration.  Just love that i could translate my ideas to paper using Vicki's products!  There is so much of Vicki and a bit of me in this page, that it is hard for me to pick it apart.

 

 

 

MERRY DAY

 

 

I cannot finish my list without including this page.  When VIcki sent the cut file, i loved the chilling gnomes and quickly pulled the picture of my family waiting for Santa.   I had so much fun piecing the gnomes together, and adding small touches to their clothes using embossing, glitter glaze, and matte acrylic gel. I love this page!

 

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your support throughout the year!  Vicki and I work hand in hand to try and bring you inspiration and introduce you to the wonderful world of Mixed Media.   I am so blessed to have met Vicki and get to work with her outside the camera ( she definitely is a keeper!), but also to be able to share a few of my crazy ideas through my pages and process videos ( still learning to slow down when speaking with my Spanish accent!).  I cannot wait to see what next year will bring, but i can tell you that Vicki has been hard at work with her new collection, and you are going to love it ( it is a new kind of sparkly!).

 

We wish you all nothing but the best for 2020, and cannot  wait to share more of our adventures with you all!

 

 

Circles and Mixed Media with Nathalie

hello everyone!

Nathalie back today with a new layout that focuses on a few of Vicki's Artful Technique Prompts to create this layout.  As it is my norm, i start with no plan in mind, my only idea was to pick the Circles and Cut it Up prompts and go from there.    Once i pulled some of Vicki's products it all came together super easily.

 

This page was built mostly with layers of mixed media for both the circles and the background. Let's get started:

 

I used waterproof ink (staz-on, memento, or archival ink) to stamp a few images along a column of a pre-made mixed media paper.   I used different color inks and chose stamps from three of Vicki's collections.

 

Next, i used a stencil brush and some texture paste to create a circle impression on top of the stamped images.  I set this aside to dry completely.

 

 

A mix of Sugared Strawberry Powdered Pigment and Iridescent glaze was diluted and then splattered on the page.  This was set to dry completely, then i used a set of circle dies to create the circles for the page.

 

For the background of the page, i created a watercolor background using Blueberry Pie Pigment powder and water.   I used the kissing technique and splatters to complete the background.

 

 

Once the watercolor dried, i used Rose Gold glaze, the same circle stencil and stencil brush to add a bit of color and texture to the background.   Though this dries quickly due to the thin glaze layer, i made sure it was completely dry before building the page.

 

 

I clustered the circles on the watercolor background, and used dimensional adhesive to attach the circles so that they create dimension on the page.   Along the way, i added a few stickers and phrase embellishments so that they repeat the pink color of the circles and shape of the picture.

 

 

To finish the page, i added the title (the circle ephemera piece under the picture) and connected the two areas of watercolor in the page with the chipboard banner and phrase sticker.   I love how this came together,and have created a video with the process video.

 

VIDEO

 

Remember to check Vicki's products, there is an infinite number of possibilities when you mixed the products and Vicki's Artful Techniques.

 

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions on how this came together.  

 

MATERIALS USED:

 

Documenting Gratitude with Mixed Media | Nathalie DeSousa

HI there!

Nathalie back with you to share a new layout all about combining a few of Vicki's Artful Technique Prompts and Gratitude.   We are working all our projects this month using some of VIcki's Artful Techniques.   For my page, i decided to use the KRAFT, BOOK PAGE, TEXTURE and GOLD.  Just in case you missed Vicki's challenge announcement, then the following list will give you a better idea of what is included in the challenge:

 

 

There are 50 prompts to get you started into practicing mixed media, or in this case  mix a few of them to create a project:

 

 

To create the background of this page, i opted for a Kraft cardstock and a combination of the new VB Texture past with a an Iridiscent glaze to create the impression of the beehive on the page.

 

 

 

 

Once this first layer of mixed media had dried, i starting adding color to the page. For this i mixed a bit of the Powdered Pigments with Iridiscent Glaze, then diluted the mixture with a bit of water, and splattered the mixture around the stencil impression.  Then repeated the process using Gold Glaze, and adding it to the small cluster at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

In addition, i chose to work with the Book Page prompt; this time i used the Powdered Pigments and some water to add color to a page of an old book.  I simply splatter some of the diluted  watercolor to the corners of the page, and set it aside to dry.

 

Once all the mixed media had completely dried, then i started to assemble the page.  First i backed the pictures with papers from the Wildflower and Honey paper pad, and also fussy cut a few of the flowers from the Full Bloom paper.   These were all glued to the Book page and then a few extra embellishments (stickers and ephemera pieces from the collection) were added around the page.

 

 

 

I made sure to add a bit of distress to the page by folding some of the edges of the book paper, this ensures that the background and fussy cut flowers show

 

 

To finish the page, i used a stamps set from the Woodland Grove kit from Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine and Altenew black ink.  A small chipboard sticker completes the title.   All was left to do was add my journal and added those cute fussy cut bees.   The following video will show you how it all came together:

 

VIDEO  

 

 

My hopes are that the project has inspired you or given you some ideas on how to use Vicki's products and Artful Techniques to document your gratitude in your next project.  Remember we are always around if you have questions on how this came together.

 

 

Remember to check Vicki's Wildflower and Honey collection and the Artful Techniques challenge, you will love both!

Til next time!

 

 

 

Materials Used:

 

 

 

Combining Artful Techniques in a layout with Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today with a new layout that combines a few of Vicki's Artful Techniques Prompts to create a new layout.   In case you have not heard about Vicki's new challenge;  she has created a list of about 50 prompts that can be used to kick start your mixed media mojo.

 

 

The DT will be using a single or combination of the prompts to create their projects.  So, today i will combine DECOUPAGE, TISSUE, WATERCOLOR, TEXTURE and GOLF in this page.

 

 

 

I started this project by DECOUPAGING a piece of Tim Holtz's TISSUE paper to a foundation paper using Matte Acrylic Gel.   For this, i applied a thin coat of the gel to the paper, then glued the tissue paper and added a coat of the gel on top of the paper. 

 

 

This coat secures the paper and covers the tissue, thus preparing the page to more layers of mixed media.  Once the background had dried, i added splashes of WATERCOLOUR using the Powdered Pigments and water.

 

 

After the watercolor had dried,  a bit of black art crayon was added to the edges of the tissue, so that it darkens some of the background images.    I chose, then,  to add TEXTURE to the page by running some ROSE GOLD and GOLD glazes through the  bee hive stencil  on the page. Once again i added the impression just to some areas of the background. I diluted the remaining gold glaze and use it to add splatters to the page.   To finish my mixed media layers,  i diluted a bit of gesso and add splatters all around the background.

 

 

 

 

I kept the layers of paper simple as i want the background to shine in this page, but chose pieces from the WIldflower and Honey collection to add embellishments and layers to the picture.

 

 

 

To create the title for this page, i chose a simple phrase from the puffy stickers , and then placed some of the layered butterflies as a means to join the title to the picture area of the page.   I made sure to place the butterflies on  areas that will guide the eye through the layout, thus creating movement on the page.  The following video will show you how this page came together:

 

VIDEO

 

The layout is filled with Artful Techniques and layers of mixed media and WIldflower and Honey goodness.   I really hope that it inspires you to join in the challenge.

 

 

As always, remember you can always contact us if you have questions on how this came together.   I hope you can join in the challenge and take a few minutes to try a new of the techniques.  I cannot wait to see what you create.

 

Til' next time,

 

 

 

Materials Used:

 

Moodboard Inspiration with Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today to kick off our September Mood Board.   Now that the kids are back to school (here in North America), we hope that all of you can take some time to play with VIcki's awesome products, and what better way to get inspired than a mood board.

 

 

Lots of color, patterns, rainbows plus bees and butterflies are all included in this board!  With so much to chose from, it was easy to pick a few of the images to inspire this page...

 

The first thing that caught my eye was the hexagons, so used a hexagon shape and a fine tip sharpie to recreate one on a foundation paper.   I made sure to add some broken lines throughout my design.

 

 

What is not to love about rainbows? and then there are those splatters in the the mood board!  I used the watercolor markers and my heat gun to add very pigmented color to each on the hexagons.   I mixed the watercolor with a tiny bit of water and splatter it in each hexagon, and quickly dried it with the heat gun to get the alcohol ink look on the page.

 

 

With all the splatters dried, the hexagon shapes needed to be resketched; so, i used VIcki's marker and  the sharpie to retouch the lines but this time i freehand the lines, and give them a bit of distress (scribble).  Love how the pattern shows between the paint splatters.

 

 

To stretch the hive pattern, and to bring the shine from the gold stars in the mood board, i stamped the hive patterned from the new stamp set using a combination of the gold and pewter inks to the side of the hive, as to create a frame for the picture.

 

 

I chose this picture of some of my youngest cousins (after a car ride) to document.  I layered some paper from the Wildflower and Honey collection behind it, as well as cut pieces from the packaging.   For the title, i simply mixed a sentiment from the sticker book with a few alphas from my stash.

 

 

To finish the page, i added my lines of journal, a small cluster of embellishments at the bottom of the page, and then sprinkled gold stars and bees (think ZZZs) around the page.  The following video will show you how it all came together:

 

VIDEO

 

I love how this turned out.   This background will go to my list of my favorites, as it it colorful and easy to construct, but then there are all the small details from the WIldflower and Honey collection that just stand out.

 

 

I hope you are inspired to use the moodboard to create a project of your own.  You can always contact me if you have questions about this page.  Remember to share with us what you create, we love to see and be inspired by you too!

 

Til' next time,

 

 

 

Materials used:

 

Monochromatic Layout by Nathalie

Hello everyone!

Nathalie here with a new project that centers around one color.   Monochromatic layouts are probably the easiest to construct as it lets you use one single color - plus a few neutrals (black, white and kraft/tan)- but lots of layers and textures in the same color tone.   Well, then add to that VIcki Boutin's mixed media products and her beautiful paper collections, and you are ready to create a beautiful project.

 

 

For my layout, i wanted to use -probably one of my favorite Vicki palette color-  Blue Hawaiian as the focus color.   So, i pulled the Acrylic Pop paints  (Blue Hawaiian, Daiquiri Ice, and Watermelon Burst)  and used them to create the feathery/distress look on  a foundation paper.   A few accents were then added using stamps (Field Notes collection), watercolor markers and white acrylic paint.  These shapes will be the ones repeating in the design of the page.

 

 

Once the background was dried, a bit of the edges were trimmed and then machine stitched to the b-side of the Side Note paper from the Color Kaleidoscope collection.   The pictures of our baby were then backed and layered with papers that have the same tones and colors as the background.

 

 

 

Since i used a circle stamp to add the details on  the background, the same shape was also used as part of the clusters that embellish this layout.   Like mentioned previously, black, white and kraft were the neutral colors used in the cluster pieces.

 

 

To create the title, i chose to play with the repeating shapes, and add large ephemera pieces to balance the pictures  on this page.   The title is made up of Chipboard stickers and a cut-apart Puffy word sticker.  

 

 

To finish this page, and balance the total page, a small cluster of ephemera and stickers was added to the top right corner of the page.   The shapes are repeated throughout the page, even the small dashes are repeated as they are also part of the mixed media background.   The following video will show you how it all came together:

VIDEO

 

I hope this inspires you to create a page with a monochromatic look.  The key is to add texture and different tones of the same color so that they break the color monotony.   Remember to check VIcki's products as they are a rainbow of inspiration. AS always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions on how this came about.

 

XO

 

 

Materials Used:

 

 

Sketch Challenge with Nathalie

Hi there!  Nathalie with you today to wrap up Sketch week.  WE are so thankful to Jana for providing the fun sketch for us to play this week, and it is such a fun sketch!  So i pulled my Color Kaleidoscope papers, watercolor markers and set out to create this page:

 

and here is the sketch that served as inspiration:

 

 

The main focus of this sketch is the large burst in the background, in my case i used mostly papers from the Color Kaleidoscope to build it, but added a bit of mixed media to the background.

 

 

It started with a bit of  watercolor markers (Blue Hawaiian, Blue Berry Pie, Crushed Pineapple, Mint Julep) to a piece of foundation paper so that lots of splatters stretch out from the center of the burst.  Once the layer dried, a bit of silver and iridiscent glazes were mixed and used to create the impression of large splatters at the end of the watercolor, this was achieved using one of VIcki's stencils and stencil brushes.

 

 

 

Next was all about creating the burst, so i created a template so that it would help me piece the background together,  and set to cut the triangles from papers from Color Kaleidoscope and Field Notes.   I stayed with a very masculine color palette, and chose to replace two of the triangles with a series of stars made from washi tape.

 

 

All these stars were created by adding washi tape to white cardstock, then using dies to cut the shapes.   I decided to replace the two triangles that form the diagonal line with the picture with all this stars, and then added my title at the bottom of the line.

 

 

Love how this came together very easily once the template for the background was created, and the colors are perfect for the picture.  The following video will show you how it all came together:

VIDEO

 

I hope you are also inspired by the sketch, and use it to create a page of your own.  Remember to share your creations with us, we love being inspired by your projects.   As always please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions on how this came together.

 

XO

 

Materials used:

Mixed Media:   

Foundation Paper Pad

Silver and Iridiscent Glazes

Watercolor brushes

Watercolor Markers

Mister bottle

Stencil brushes

Color Kaleidoscope collection:

12x12 paper pad, 6x8 paper pad, washi tape, chipboard stickers, puffy word stickers, cardstock stickers, sticker book, ephemera packs

 

Field Notes collection:

12x12 paper pads, stencil

Color Challenge with Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie here with a new layout  that was totally inspired on this week's color challenge.  I love color, and this  week's color board is vibrant, bold and so super fun, and it was the perfect palette to document a not so happy time in my life,but before i show you how i used VIcki's products, let me show you the color inspiration

 

And here is what i created using the colors as inspiration:

 

 

Let's talk about vibrancy, boldness and color -we will chat about the coffee and medicine combination other time ;)-.   The idea of the background was inspired by the coffee shape and the Pop Dots paper (Color Kaleidoscope).  First, i used a circle template to pencil in three sets of circles on the foundation paper, and then used  watercolor markers to add color to each of them

 

 

Once the watercolor dried completely, i used the Ink Spill stencil to create a few rings on the page using a combination of gold and rose gold glazes and a stencil brush.   Once it dried, it was time to put the page together.

 

 

 

 A few papers from the collection were used to  back and layer the picture, and then a few hearts were fussy (Paper Hearts) so that they match the colors of the background circles.

 

 

A few stickers, and embellishments were added  around the hearts so that they form clusters around the picture. I chose to keep the embellishments to black and white so that they stand out from the background.

 

 

The last grouping of hearts was then used to mark the title positioning. The title comes from the Color Kaleidoscope collection, and is the perfect color to bring the stencil images and the embellishments together.   A few lines of journal and black art crayon splatters complete this page.  Here is a small video that shows you how it all came together:

 

VIDEO

 

I love how this came together, and how a not so happy moment in my life shines in this colorful page:

 

 

i hope this inspires you to use the colorboard to create a project of your own using Vicki's products.  Remember to share with us what you create, and if you have questions on how this came together, please do not hesitate to contact me!

 

Materials Used:

Mixed Media:

Foundations paper, watercolor markers, watercolor brushes, gold iridiscent glaze, rose gold iridiscent glaze, Ink Spill stencil, stencil brush, art crayons (neutral set)

Field Notes collection:

12x12 paper pad, chipboard stickers

Color Kaleidoscope collection:

12x12 paper pad, 6x8 paper pad, chipboard stickers, puffy stickers, cardstock stickers

 

Watercolor Marker Color Challenge Layout with Leigh

Hello friends! I have a fun layout to share with you today, featuring the color challenge posted in Vicki's Facebook Group. We are using a bright and cheery color scheme today. Cobalt, violet, magenta, orange, yellow and aqua are our colors to play with. 

 

 

 

 My layout features a watercolor painting I made for my grandma for Mother's Day, so a happy and colorful color scheme is perfect for this celebration. I used the watercolor markers in a new way today, and I cannot wait to share it with you. There is also a process video for you at the bottom of this post. I kept my colors in the same order as the sample photo.

 

 

 

Color scheme photo.

 

 

 

 First, I added water to an acrylic block, and used the lid from Vicki Boutin White Gesso to stamp using the clean water. Then, I touched the tip of the Watercolor Marker to the clean water to bleed the color around the ring. You can add more than one color to each circle, and I chose to keep the order from the challenge photo to keep it simple. You can add a second color before the first color dries, to get a nice blend. I ended with the aqua color, that coordinates with my photo.

 

 

 

I added punched circles to coordinate with the colors of the rings. I punched several different sizes of circles and a few different patterns for each color. I added them and folded up the edges, overlapping some and adding color coordinated embellishments. I punched the acetate sheet from the cover of the Ready To Use Mixed Media Paper Pad. The black and white flower, and the pink butterfly are from the acetate. It was fun to add lots of the epoxy Thicker elements, and puffy stickers.  

 

 

 

I added the paint brush and the pen die cut in a criss-cross fashion under the photo, and over the text print layer beneath. I added the teal butterfly to draw attention to the photo. The movement on the page leads your eye directly to the photo and the butterfly die cut gives your eye a place to pause. I added a floral branch as well to give some more weight to the photo cluster. 

 

 

Have you tired this color challenge, and Vicki Boutin Watercolor Markers yet? I can't wait to see what you create! Share it with us in the group here:

Vicki Boutin Mixed Media Community of Facebook

 

 

 

Enjoy the You-Tube video above. 

 

 

 

SUPPLIES:

Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Collection: Patterned Papers

Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Collection Embellishments

Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Die Cut Embellishment Pack 

Vicki Boutin Mixed Media Watercolor Markers

Vicki Boutin White Foundations Mixed Media Art Paper

Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope Epoxy Thickers