Workin’ Hard or Hardly Workin’

It’s time again for another Blog Hops with Heart Blog Hop! This month we are featuring a Workin’ Hard or Hardly Workin’ theme and I’m kicking things off! Be sure to make your way around the entire blog hop by clicking the link at the bottom of my post.

Andy and I were so fortunate and asked to attend the Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists conference this year in New Orleans. The doctor I work for, his wife, my office manager, her husband, Andy and myself headed off for a long weekend in New Orleans! Neither Andy or myself had ever been to New Orleans and it was such a fun experience! The theme for this month’s hop fit in perfectly with our trip because the trip was both for work and for pleasure!

I started by cutting The Trendy Trellis Background Cut File from The Cut Shoppe on a sheet on White Cardstock. I then backed a few areas of the cut file with patterned paper from the Pink Paislee – Paige Evans – Take Me Away 6×6 Paper Pad. I stitched each of the trellises on my yellow cardstock background to ensure they would stay attached to the layout. I loved how adding the stitching straight down the center of the cut file images allowed the leaves to lift naturally off the page. This added so much texture and dimension to the layout!

Then I moved onto my photo. This photo was taken when Andy and I were walking around the French Quarter. I loved the brick buildings with the terraces and all the flowers and ferns. I added tissue paper behind the photo to help separate the photo from the background. Then I tucked in numerous die cuts from the Pink Paislee Paige Evans Take Me Away Ephemera Pack. I also added one of the Epoxy Paperclips to the bottom of the photo and a few chipboard pieces from the same Pink Paislee Collection.

I really, really struggled for a title. I tried numerous Thickers alphas, phrases from the Pink Paislee – Paige Evans – Take Me Away Thickers and more. I finally settled on spelling out ‘New Orleans’ directly on the photo using pink glittery letters from Heidi Swapp Memory Planner Stickers, but that just didn’t feel like enough. I ended up grabbing the phrase, Take Me Away, from the PP Take Me Away Thickers. This phrase started as gold, but I felt like it was just too bold. I’ve seen Paige Evans alter these phrases in her YouTube Videos with acrylic paint, so I thought I’d give it a try. TBH, I have 2 sets of these Thickers which helped with my bravery! HA!

I applied a layer of White Gesso to the phrases first. The texture of these letters is very slick so I thought by adding gesso to the letters first it might help the paint stick better. After the gesso was dry, I added multiple layers of white acrylic paint-allowing each layer to dry before applying the next. I had really wanted to add mixed media to the background of this layout (and I did have 2 failed attempts! HA!) but I ultimately decided on just adding white acrylic paint splatters to the background.

I have a process video for this layout and will be posting it soon! Be sure to check back here or subscribe to my YouTube Channel so you don’t miss it!