Scrapbook Layout, Water Color Memories Ken Oliver Crafts

Yesterday, I got to hang out with my niece to celebrate her birthday...it's something I do with the kids in our family on their birthdays.  We usually go to Starbucks...

...go to the mall for some birthday shopping, then go out to eat.  It's my mission in life to get all my nieces and nephews to try new foods.  I've made them eat calamari, lamb, hummus, bison, tabbouleh...I tell them that being an "adventurous eater" is one of the great joys in life.

And usually, if the weather is nice, we go for a walk by the river, it's right at my front door, so it's kind of a given that we'll spend some time by the river.

Last night, we had so much fun that I wanted to make one more little gift for my niece so she can remember the fun we had.  And it wasn't so much that we'd gone shopping and went crazy in Hollister, but more that we took a few minutes and just lived in the moment. 

The best part of the night, was sitting by the river and skipping rocks across the surface of the water...

This scrapbook layout isn't one that is overly complicated or fussy to make, it's simple and and tells our story with images.  To be sure, I am inspired by photo collage images that I see on instagram and social media every day...and I thought it was fitting to piece together a collage layout like this since my niece loves instagram.

I tried something a little different with the "journaling" pieces that I think you might like.  I used Color Burst.

I simply sprinkled a few grains of Color Burst powder on my craft mat and spritzed with water. 

Then, edged pieces of torn card stock to create a nice "watercolor" edge.

 the effect looks very "handmade",  very simple and it's easy to achieve. It looks almost like handmade washi tape.

We had a really fun time skipping rocks at the river and created an awesome memory for her birthday...and I can't wait to give this to her.  I am sure she will love it.

 
I used Water Color Memories 12x12 Paper and Color Burst Ultramarine Blue  for this simple collage layout. 

In making this layout, I realized that our time together isn't about all the presents and celebrations, but more about just enjoying the...simple times.

We sat by the river and skipped rocks til the sun went down... 

Spring Monograms-Moss Gardens

Monograms are everywhere these days, paper monograms, diecut monograms, painted and hand-lettered monograms, even lighted monograms are showing up in craft and decor, on every kind of project imaginable...I had a flash of a wild idea...to create a moss garden monogram.  They look very fresh, very springy and will make a cool Easter gift for my nieces and nephew. They're teens and tweens so it has to have some "cool" factor.

Making this project was a snap.  I got monogram letters from Micheal's, along with a bag of sphagnum moss from the floral department. 



Then painted them with Americana Multi-Surface Satin Paints from DecoArt...I used pastel colors since it's spring. 

I applied two coats of paint to each monogram.

 And, when they were dry, glued Sphagnum moss to the front of each monogram.

They turned out so cool! I had a pack of lichens too, so I added a few lichens, just for visual interest and texture. 

I really love how these turned out!  They're perfect for spring and let you bring a little nature indoors. 

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you'll try this project for yourself because it's fun and it looks great in any room!

Happy Easter, 

Ken