Hey there, friends!  Missy Whidden here, and I’m really excited to be sharing a layout here on the blog.  I love using mixed media on my projects, so I pulled out some of my favorite Shimmerz Paints sprays and the new Vicki Boutin Color Kaleidoscope collection and went to work.  I’ve been wanting to fussy cut some of those rainbow hearts, so I started there.  I chose my sprays to match and used a small grid stencil to create a fun rainbow design on some white cardstock.  I first coated the cardstock with clear gesso to prep it, and then simply sprayed each color and moved the stencil as I went.  Once it dried, I cut a portion of the paper and then adhered it to another sheet of white cardstock.

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Supplies Used: Cardstock—Bazzill; Patterned Papers, Epoxy Stickers, Chipboard Stickers, Puffy Stickers, Stickers—Vicki Boutin; Sprays—Shimmerz Paints

I decided to add more color underneath the sprayed cardstock, so I used the same sprays and some plastic packaging to smoosh down some color.  I also added some splatters using the nozzles of the spray bottles.  Once that was dry, I machine stitched along the edges of the design using black thread.  I also machine stitched through each of the fussy cut hearts using matching threads.  I love the texture this creates!  I placed the hearts in the color coordinating places to create a sort of tone-on-tone effect.  I wanted to add even more texture, so I layered in some matching colors of tangled thread.  To add more pops of black, I fussy cut some butterflies from one of the Vicki Boutin papers.

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I love creating layers and texture, and sewing is great for doing just that.  Also, bending up the edges around the sewn thread creates depth as well.  I continued embellishing with some of the Color Kaleidoscope Chipboard Stickers and Epoxy Stickers.

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I fussy cut this piece from a patterned paper, and I love how it nestles around my photo.  I decided to go big and bold for my title.  I used one of the larger pieces from the Epoxy Stickers.  I love the pop of black it gives down at the bottom of the page.

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How often do you use stencils to create a background?  Using spray links through a stencil like this made it very quick and easy to get a bright and colorful design.  Using rainbow colors made it easy for one color to blend into the next.  I felt like the top of the page needed a touch of black, so I trimmed a stripe of a black & white patterned paper and tucked it in above the mixed media page.

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I hope this inspires you in some way!  I love creating mixed media backgrounds to coordinate with certain collections or papers.  This gives you lots of ways to create your own design while incorporating already made products.  I hope you give it a try!  Thanks for stopping by!

~ Missy Whidden

Visit Missy on her blog or on Instagram @missywhidden!