KaiserCraft Gypsy Sisters and La Di Da 13 comments
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nothing blah about these!

I was drawn to both the Gypsy Sisters and La Di Da lines from KaiserCraft because they contain my favorite color - purple. Purple can be hard to work with, but when you pair it with the right colors it exudes sophistication. When my papers arrived I was a little surprised that the Gypsy Sisters color was less purple and more red. Suprised, but not disappointed - it is gorgeous! The teal that coordinates really makes it pop and lends this classicly styled line a jolt of modernity. (Turquoise is the color of year.) The La Di Da line has a cute whimsical styling but the bright green really makes the clear purple stand out. The other great thing about this line is that the simple designs are very easy to fussy cut and use as embellishments.

Since the CT here teamed up with pagemaps, I have been really into using sketches. I found a few that I liked on the KaiserCraft blog and used them for three of my pages here.

I couldnt resist the framing on the Asha paper, so I jumped right in with that one. I chose these photos of my daughter because her sweatshirt coordinates with the teal accent color. I used the first sketch for this page. Since I didn't want to cut into many of the other papers and I didnt have scraps yet, I used my marth stewart circle cutter to cut circles from the background paper here, where I knew the photos would cover the holes.I also punched circles from the teal patterned accent sheet that I used.

Next I moved on to the second sketch. I chose the more subtle patterned paper from the collection to create the large circle on this page. I wanted to mat the circle on a plain paper to keep this page from being too busy, but after I did that, I realized that the plain cardstock was too plain, so I stamped the flourishes on the 'corners' of the circle and then trimmed the cardstock down to frame it. Of course, then I needed to mat the whole thing on a full sized sheet. I chose another paper from the collection, but not wanting to use up the whole page, I cut the center out before spraying the edges with a aqua glimmer mist. For the flourishes on the corner of the photo, I stamped them on the scraps from the big circle paper, then clear embossed them, then cut them out. For the circle of dots around my DD, I used black stickles. However, I learned that photos (at least the ones from my printer) do not agree with stickles. When the stickles dried they left rings around the black dots. It isnt that noticeable so I left it, but I wouldnt use stickles on my photos again.

Next, I used the center cut from the background of the previous page to start this page. In the end, I glimmer misted the paper here too. I could have saved myself some trouble and done it all at once. I wanted to mat the patterned paper on kraft cardstock, but I never have enough kraft cardstock so I didnt want to waste the inside. Again I cut the middle out. I want to share a quick trick with you for cutting the middle out of a paper like this. I have a metal ruler that is almost exactly an inch wide. Insted of measuring and marking my paper, I just lay the ruler down so that it lines up with the edge of the paper, then I cut from the 1 inch mark to the 11 inch mark, turn the paper and repeat. I end up with a frame that is perfectly straight and even, and the same width as my ruler. The ruler doesnt have to be exactly an inch wide, all that matters is that you know how wide it is, so you know where to start and stop cutting. This works as long as the border you want is the same width or smaller than your ruler.

Here I planned to put the patterned paper over the kraft, but changed my mind and used the kraft as a frame. I also used Cindy's flowers on friday tutorial to create a flower for this page. I started with 1.75inch circles, but my flower turned out much bigger than I wanted, so I saved it for a card, and made another one using my 1.25inch scalloped circle punch.

Now, as if I haven't said enough already about this page, I want to draw your attention to the small turquoise flower on the left. That flower was white with dark blue swirls but I used some of the new smooch inks to change its color. I just want to say how much I love this smooch ink! I originally only ordered the one color to match this reveal, but after I used it here I went back and put a whole bunch more in my basket! It was soooo easy to apply. I love it that it comes with it's own applicator. It reminds me of liquid eyeliner. the applicator is very precise. It dries super fast, and it leaves the best shimmery look! It is just transparent enough that some of the blue swirls show through, but opaque enough that if you put a couple of coats on, it really covers completely. so many options here! I put a little on the paper flower next to the first one too, just because I wanted to use it more!

Now you are probably wondering why I said I used the flower that was too big for a layout, on a card. Well, I just thought that the flower was gorgeous, but too much for the layout. However, it would make a perfect centerpiece for a card. I used the kraft cardstock that I cut from the center of the above layout, and the flower that was too big, along with a scrap of prima paper that I had laying on my desk. Add an embossed sentiment and voila! easy peasy!

Last but not least, I turned my attention to the La Di Da line. Since I went so overboard with the Gypsy sisters, I ended up only doing this one layout with the La Di Da line. I have another half finished on my desk and you can expect to see more from me in the near future. These papers are so bright and fun that they just scream spring! Again I used a sketch from KaiserCraft. I hand stitched around the green with white thread. The bird and flower I cut from another sheet of paper and covered with glossy accents. The bird was a little large to cover with glossy accents, so the tail feathers curled a little, but I kind of like it that way. For the vertical striped paper, I cut slits in the background paper to slide it through so that the pink scalloped 'frame' remains intact.