Vicki Boutin

A Little Bit of Wildflower and Honey Inspiration with Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today with a new layout that combines a bit of Wildflower and Honey with some mixed media.   Even though, i have not yet received my entire order of the new collection, i have all the papers and some of the embellishments at hand.   However, Vicki's collections are easy to mix and match with some mixed media help.

 

It all started with a pre-gessoed foundation paper.    First, i added a bit of watercolor marker (Juicy Pear and Blueberry Pie) to the background to take some of whiteness of the paper.   

 

 

Once it dried, a mixture of iridescent and gesso was  used to create texture on the page.   For this, the mixture was pushed through a Color Kaleidoscope collection's stencil, and set aside to dry completely.

 

 

To add color to the  page, i mixed a few of the colors from the watercolor marker collection and added splashes of color to the background.  I tried to create a triangular shape with the splatters, and then set this aside to dry completely before assembling the page.

 

 

I used a cutfile (designed for Citrus Twist Kits) to help define the triangular shape of the paper layers in the layout.   I mixed a few pieces of paper from Wildflower and Honey with ephemera pieces from the Color Kaleidoscope  to frame the pictures.

 

 

To embellish the page,i used some fussy cut floral images as well as ephemera and stickers from the two latest collection.   This clusters were placed so that they form the visual triangle on the page.

 

 

To finish the page, i added a few drops of diluted Gold glaze and a few lines of journal.  The following video will show you how it all came together:

VIDEO

 

I hope this has inspired you to mix VIcki's collections and mixed media in your next project.   Remember to share with us what you create, we love to be inspired by you!  If you have questions on how this came together, please do not hesitate to contact me!

XO

 

 

 

Materials Used:

 

Hello again! I am Nathalie...

Hi there!

I think most of you know me, but i want to take the time to introduce myself again.  I am Nathalie (aka Tachita -my nickname since the day i was born and what my family and friends calls me).  I  am blessed to be a Stay-and-work-from-home wife and mom to two teenagers and our Boston Terrier dog.  We live in Toronto, Canada but i am an export from Ecuador (born and raised there). My journey with Vicki started about 2 years ago, when she contacted me about joining her first design team, and i took the opportunity; since then, i have learned so much from her, got to play with her amazing paper collections, but above all gained a friend.   And now i am embarking on another term with new designers, and i couldn't be happier to work with Vicki's new collection, Wildflower and Honey.

 

One thing that i love is documenting my everyday in  Traveler's Notebooks ( i have kept a journal my entire life), so today i decided to incorporate some mixed media and the new Wildflower and Honey collection into a few entries.

 

 

The rich tones in the collection are the perfect background to bring the memories of my brother-in-law's wedding to live.   I chose to fussy cut some of the vellum butterflies from the specialty paper, and used them as the decorations for the pocket pages ( i am loving the Citrus Twist Kits Life Crafted albums as they are the size of a standard TN, but since it has rings,i can easily work pocket pages in it). 

 

 

All the holographic gold foil just shine on the rich tones of the collection, but the star of this collection has to be the paper designs, they are just exquisite.  So for the second part of this layout, i chose to fussy cut the paper  and use it as embellishments on the page.

 

 

All the florals in this collection are amazing, but having an entire page of florals that i can fussy cut is just amazing.   Since i wanted to marry the two side of this page together, i chose to add a bit of mixed media to the background ( unfortunately, when i preordered the collection, just the papers and embellishments were available) by using a few of the older stencils, gold glaze and the stencil brush.

 

 

A simple stencil impression combined with some gold splatters is all that was needed to warm up the page, and married the both sides of the pocket pages together.   The combination of the gold sparkle with the neutral fussy cut flowers makes this page pop.

 

 

 

I hope that this inspires you to add a bit of mixed media to your pocket pages/TN/scrapbook pages, i have created  a short video to show you how easy this came together:

 

VIDEO

 

Remember to stop by and meet the new DT members, they are amazing designers that will sure inspire you to add a bit of Vicki's flair on your projects.  You can always contact me with any questions on how this came together.

 

XO

 

 

 

Materials Used ( images contain affiliate links)

 

Add A Splash of Rainbow with Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today with a new simple but colorful idea for your next layout.   I have always said that my favorite color combo is Black and White with a hint of rainbow, so today, i want to show you what this looks like.  What better way to illustrate my idea than to use Vicki's Watercolor Markers to create the background for this page.

 

 

 

I wanted a simple but striking background so, i pulled a foundation paper and the entire watercolor marker set and my heat gun to create the splashes of color.    My choice for the background was to recreate the look of alcohol backgrounds, but using the markers.   I started with a small splash of water on a foundation paper, followed by a bit of watercolor marker. 

 

To create the drip lines, i chose to lift the paper and then tap it onto my table, this creates the small drip lines. It is at this moment that i use my heat gun to dry the ink and also push the ink around.  This sets the watercolor in place, thus creating the  look of alcohol inks.  Just love how this came together so easily and filled with  color.

 

 

Though i used my heat gun to create the background, i set the page aside to dry completely before building the layout.  That gave me time to fussy cut a few butterflies and a rainbow of hearts from the 6x8 paper pad.  The picture was backed with a a black and white paper from the collection, and then attached to the page using a bit of foam adhesive.   

 

 

To accent the colors of the background, i color block the embellishments - this just means i added embellishments of the same color as the one in the background-.   I added all the fussy cut hearts, a few puffy stickers and the small butterflies.    To bring more of the colorful background,  i added a few splatters of the pigment to the butterflies -making sure that the color corresponded to the one in the background-.

 

 

 

For the title of this page, i used a mix of puffy word stickers from Vicki's Color Kaleidoscope and Field Notes collections. A few extra stickers, followed by the lines of journal complete this page.   The following video will show you how it all came together:

VIDEO

 

I hope this inspires you to add a splash of rainbow to your next layout using VIcki's products.  Remember, i am always around if you have questions on how this came together.

 

XO

 

 

Materials used:

 

Working with Glazes | Nathalie DeSousa

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today with a new layout that focuses on using Vicki's Iridiscent glazes to create a  fun layout.  I love working with glazes, and Vicki's are some of the most versatile ones that you could use in your projects.   Let me show you what i have created:

 

 

This was such a fun page to put together as i used the glazes in different ways for this page.   This time i started with a gessoed foundation paper for the background.  I wanted a soft color as the base of the page, so i  mixed a bit of Iridiscent glaze with a little drop of Blueberry Pie watercolor marker and some water.

 

The mixture was diluted and then applied to the  page to form a lose watercolor background.   While this set on place, i started working on creating a few embellishments for the page using Gold Iridiscent glaze.

 

 

To lighten the golden tone of the glaze, i chose to add a bit of iridiscent glaze and then apply the mixture to one of the pre made mixed media papers.   My choice was to create a few butterflies using one of the Field Notes collection stencil.   I used the stencil brush for a few of them, and then added glaze using a palette knife to form a large image. Once they glaze dried, these were fussy cut and set aside for later use.

 

 

To finish the background, i once again mixed a bit of iridiscent glaze and Blueberry Pie watercolor marker to obtain a darker shade of the glaze.  This time, i used the stencil brush to add the impression of the butterflies -using a stencil from the All The Good Things collection- to the background,followed by a few splatters of the diluted glaze.

 

 

As soon as the glaze dried, i started building the layout by backing the picture with a few papers from the Color Kaleidoscope collection.  I used the drying time to fussy cut flowers from the specialty paper and some hearts from the rainbow heart paper.  

 

These pieces were used to create clusters around the picture along with some embellishments from the Color Kaleidoscope collection.   A combination of puffy and chipboard stickers were used to create the title, and then added the butterflies around it and the picture.  Using the cool Ink Wheel set, and various Vicki's stamps, i added a few sentiments around the page followed by a few lines of journal and gold glaze splatters.  The following video will show you how this came together:

 

VIDEO

This page was a joy to put together, the soft colors of the background are the perfects shade to bring this memory of my niece to life.

 

 

i hope this inspires you to reach for your glazes and create a page of your own.   Remember to check Vicki's stuff and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions on how this came together.

 

 

 

Materials Used: 

 

   

Documenting Summer with Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today with a new layout that is all about those sweet golden summer memories.  With so many mixed media products and beautiful paper and embellishments in the Color Kaleidoscope collection this layout came together in a very short amount of time.

 

 

It all started with a gessoed foundation;  strips of watercolor  were created using the watercolor markers, iridiscent glaze and water.   The colors used were:  Juicy Pear, Mint Julep, Crushed Pineapple, Cotton Candy,  Sugared Strawberry, Orange Slice and Color Macaroon.  

 

 

Since the application is so thin, it took no time to dry.  Next, i added a mixture of iridiscent and gold glaze  (3:1 ratio) using a stencil brush through one of the Kaleidoscope stencils.   To finish, i added a few splatters of the diluted glaze around the stenciled background.

 

 

To construct the layout, first papers from the Color Kaleidoscope collection were used to backed the picture.   I pulled a few of the botanical frames from the ephemera pack to build the clusters around the picture, and then added stickers and puffy embellishments -mostly circles as it is the repetitive shape in the page-.   The hand sign ephemera was just the perfect accent on this page.

 

 

To finish the page, the title was added (using the word puffy stickers)  followed by a few banners ( i love how the banners created that soft motion look on the page), and a few lines of journal.   The following video will show you how it all came together  (my apologies on the voiceover, i dropped the microphone while cleaning, and might have to buy a new one!)

 

VIDEO

 

I hope this inspires you to pull some of your Summer memories and use Vicki's products to create a project of your own.  Remember you can always contact me with any questions on how this came together.  

 

XO

 

 

Materials Used :

 

 

Simple and colorful documenting with Nathalie

Hi there!
Nathalie with you today.  It is always a struggle to find time to achieve all that needs to be accomplished in a day, that the last thing on your mind is documenting your day.  Trust me, our last two weeks have takes us through a roller coaster of emotions and then prepping for a wedding! So emotions have been raw and time has rapidly disappeared.   However, i have managed to squeeze a few minutes of crafting here and there, and that is how this layout came together.  

 

 

This layout took a short time to come together over the space of a week (so there is not a video attached), but it came together  during car rides (lots of fussy cutting and hand stitching).   I wanted something colorful for the background, and decided to use blush cardstock as the base for the layout. I hand stitched a few strips (12x0.75in) of the Side Note paper to the center of the page.   

 

 

I mixed a bit of Rose Gold and Iridiscent glaze and then pushed it through one of the Color Kaleidoscope stencils.   Then diluted the left over glaze and splattered it through the page. The glaze smeared a bit in the center because i mistakenly fluffed the edges of the paper strips before adding the glaze, so it was not an even surface for application.  This was set aside to dry completely.

 

 

While driving around shopping for suits and dresses, i fussy cut all the flowers from the Flower Shop and a few butterflies from the Flight of Fancy papes to  form the clusters behind the picture.  First, i backed the picture with the pieces from the Paper Hearts and Kaleidiscope papers, and add it to the page with foam adhesive.

 

 

The flowers were placed behind the picture as a series of clusters that create a cascade of flowers.  Along the way, i used some foam adhesive between the flowers to create some dimension on the page.   I added just a few embellishments to the picture -all from the Color Kaleidoscope collection-.

 

 

 A few of the fussy cut butterflies were attached to the page -as to elongate the flower cascade-.  Then added  a small title using the puffy stickers from the Field Notes collection.  

 

 

To finish the page, i simply added a few more embellishments and a few lines of journal about the page.   I really love how this turned out even when it took stolen minutes here and there.  I hope this inspires you to check all of Vicki's products.  They are truly amazing!   Remember to check all of the Color Kaleidoscope collection before the new Wildflower and Honey starts shipping to stores.  You can always contact me with any questions on how this came together.

 

 

Materials Used:

 

Layering Mixed Media with Nathalie

Hi there!

Nathalie with you today to share a new project with you that focuses on building your background with layers of mixed media.   Now you might think that there will lots of color and others, but i want to show you how easy it can be to create a background that is soft using lots of mixed media layers.   Let me share with you what i have  created using VIcki's Mixed media products and the Color Kaleidoscope collection.

 

 

Though the background is soft and colorful, it actually is made up of six layers of mixed media.   It all starts with a foundation paper that has been primed with gesso.  This is the most fundamental step when layering mixed media.

 

 

Once the foundation paper was gessoed, the next layer of media is a bit of stamping.  Since i used lots of water in this page, i chose to create the stamping with a pigment ink and the All The Good Things collection stamp set.  This was added faintly around the background, and set aside to dry completely before moving onto the next layer.

 

 

 

A soft wash of watercolor was then added to the page using a bit of diluted watercolor marker.  By adding the color with a brayer, i secured a soft and thin  layer of the color.  This was once again set to dry completely before moving onto the next  layer. Making sure the mixed media layer dries completely will secure definition of each of the layers, in other words, the colors and images will not get muddled.

 

The next two layers of mixed media can easily be interchanged based on the look you want to obtain in the page.  I chose to add dimension to the background by adding a mixture of iridiscent glaze and gesso through one of the color kaleidoscope collection stencils, and set it aside to dry completely.   

 

 

My last two layers of mixed media is all about adding more color to the background ( i wanted the texture to also have color, but you can easily switch the order of the color and texture based on the look you want to obtain).  For this i used watercolor markers and lots of water to make sure to get a soft colored background.  Then finished the background with some splatters of diluted gold glaze.   i left this aside to dry completely before building the layout.   

 

For the based of my page, i build a large envelope out of one of the papers from the collection using my WRMK envelope punch, and set it on the page.   I used one of the journaling  ephemera pieces to add my  lines of journal and set it inside the envelope.

 

 

To balance the large picture and the envelope, i added large embellishments to the envelope and picture, and then used one of the collection stickers to finish the page.  The following video will showcase how it all came together:

VIDEO

 

I hope this has help you to get a better idea on how to layer mixed media on a page.  Remember that practice makes perfect, but in this case,it will lead you to learn how the mediums react with each other, and to  play with other techniques.

 

As always  please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions about how this came together or any of the techniques.  Remember to join in Vicki on Facebook as she takes you through her new collection, it is gorgeous>

 

XO

 

 

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:

 

 

Celebrating Father's Love with Nathalie

Hi there!  Nathalie here to share with you a layout about one of my most favorite and loved man (besides my hubby and kid), my uncle. There is something special about the relationship between a father and daughter, and i see it everyday, but what my uncle and i share is magical.  So, today i am using some of Vicki's magic to tell the story of this relationship.

 

 

This layout is a combination of mixed media layers and paper layers.  For the background, i started with a foundation paper (not gessoed) to which i added some watercolor marker -using the packaging/kissing technique- in Juicy Pear, Mint Julep, Blue Hawaiian, and Blueberry Pie.

 

 

Once the watercolor dried, i used the circle stamp set and the cool color wheel to add a few burst impressions on the background.   Then used a combination of iridiscent glaze and gold glaze to add some texture to the background through one of the Color Kaleidoscope stencils.

 

 

While the background dried, i started working on the paper layers for the picture.  I chose to add papers from Color Kaleidoscope that matched the colors in the background -even a piece of packaging ;) -   These were attached to the page followed by embellishments that complement the circle shapes used in the background.

 

 

• 
• 

 

For my title, i chose to combine the Color Kaleidoscope  Chipboard stickers with some of the puffy stickers from the collection.   All the lines of journal were then added below the title ( the layout was designed so that there was plenty of negative space for the lines to be added).

 

 

To finish the layout, i added a small cluster of embellishments to the side of the story, and then added a few extra details to the page to bring the colors of the page together.  The following video will show you how it all came together.

VIDEO

 

I really hope this inspires you to combine mixed media, paper and your story in your next project.   If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, I will love to help you.

And Happy Father's Day to you all!

 

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