Ray of Sunshine: Start-to-Finish

I really enjoy watching videos and reading blog posts that feature start-to-finish projects.  Other than Shimelle, (of course!), one of my new favorite creative-process bloggers is Ashli Oliver (www.purplemailbox.com).  Her start-to-finish posts never fail to inspire me and teach me something new. I love her artsy style! Check her out!  

Anyway, I love that there are bloggers who are not afraid to put their selves out there and share their creativity.  I want to be like that.  So, I hope you enjoy viewing the creative process of my "a ray of sunshine" layout. 

 Caran D' Ache Neocolor II Watersoluble Pastels, are the bomb!  I just added some color to the top portion of the pastel container (scribbled on it!) and mixed in some water.  I get the brush saturated with the watercolor and splatter it at a diagonal  across the page.  Note:  The water will cause your cardstock to buckle a bit.  That doesn't bother me too much, because I know once it goes into it's final resting place (album) it will flatten out somewhat.  If this really bothers you, you could use watercolor paper as a base.  It is just a little more expensive.

I have had these AC Dear Lizzy rub-ons for several months and decided to either use them or loose them! I just started randomly adding the rub-ons to the edges of the paper.

 I overlapped them and angled them in three different spots around the page.  This is my "visual" triangle... so far.  You will see at the end of this post, that a lot of the rub-ons end up getting covered up some.  That is okay with me.

 I found some coordinating papers (most are from the AC Dear Lizzy- Neapolitan Collection) and started cutting some rectangles in different sizes.  The largest rectangle at the bottom is a cloud pattern on vellum, that piece is going to serve as my anchor for the rest of the layers.  On top of that I created a mat by angling and stacking the other rectangles. Lastly, I use a couple of the decorative-sides of the branding strips to run vertically through and across the other layers to create some balance.

 Added the photo of my precious grand-baby, Emery.  I gave it a white mat, which helps it "stand-out" amongst the other lovely colors and patterns.  Next, I started playing around with placement for some embellishments (Bingo Card and Jar) and cut out some of those darling little vellum clouds.  I move stuff around the page, as I am creating... a lot!  Which is why I only add adhesive to the center of things, that way I can layer and move stuff around pretty easily.

 These are a few things I pulled out of my stash for the "texturing" portion of the layout. :)

 I gathered the lace as I stitched to add a little dimension.

 More adding ...

 and more...

 and more...

 A little subtracting...  I covered up the "Contagious Laugh" sticker, which was VERY stuck, with some Washi Tape, because I decided that this is where I wanted to add my title.  I also removed the "All Smiles" sticker on the Jar embellishment.

 Had to take a lunch break, because I was STARVING! :)  By the way, this is left over Quinoa Tabbouleh, I made for supper yesterday.  It is DELICIOUS and very nutritious!

 Back to creating...  I added a few stickers and my journaling.

Well, that is the final layout!  I hope you found some inspiration!  Thanks for joining me on this creative journey!