#favorite

#theseareafewofmyfavoritethings

These days, it's hashtag this and hashtag that in this social media frenzied world, with Instagram, Twitter and Facebook users finding #allsortsofcleverphrases to make hashtags out of. Even Jimmy Fallon and JT have #themosthilariousskit spoofing this trend.  Watch it at the end of my blog post. So #what'sagirltodo but create a layout using mostly hashtags. And the #November kit was #theperfectchoice.

I love the bold, dark colors mixed with the softer shades in this month's kit. I just knew I wanted to feature them together in a striking way so I chose to create a background paper using several of the patterns.

This page was actually a #happylittleaccident. I just #lovewhenthathappens. I was trying to cut certain angles that I had in mind and I learned after making the first two cuts that I had cut them wrong. The angles at the bottom left of the page didn't match up. Never one to waste paper, I went ahead and adhered them to the page, right next to each other and then I added a filler to help close the gap where the two patterns didn't line up. I went about cutting the rest of my papers however I wanted, which felt much less stressful and I just filled in the open spots here and there. I did have a method to my madness and still had to put thought into each cut but I didn't have to worry about exact matches.

If you want to recreate something like this, you could measure everything out perfectly and align them next to each other or you could do what I did:

1. Choose 6 - 8 different pattern papers that coordinate well but also constrast each other.
2. Use a 12x12 scrap piece of cardstock as the base of your layout.
3. Starting on the left side of the background, choose 1 pattern paper. Keeping one side straight, cut the opposite side at an angle so that it's 12" long and has a smaller side at the bottom and larger side at the top but keeping a straight edge at the bottom and top, like how I did the pink hearts paper above. Lay it on the background paper.
4. Next, choose another pattern paper and cut it each side at the same angle, leaving a stright edge at the top and bottom. Lay it on the background paper, tucking the top portion under the pink pattern paper.
5. Continue to do this with all your patterns until you reach the right side of your background paper.
6. For the final background piece, cut the left side at an angle and keep the right side straight, or trim it once you've adhered it down.
7. Now add little snippits of pattern paper at the top and bottom, where you think it looks best, or where you have gaps.
8. Once you've tucked papers under each other and like the way it looks, adhere them down. I chose to stitch over many of the seams.
9. Now just add your photo(s), title and journaling. Depending on how busy your new background is, you may or may not choose to add a lot of other embellishments.

I used two additional pieces of pattern paper to mat my photos but they just weren't popping off the bold backgrounds like I wanted them to so I layered 2 of the Crate Paper canvas frames over the paper mats and stitched a little bit up at the top.

As I mentioned earlier, hash tags are all over the social media world so when I spotted one in the alphas in the kit, I knew exactly what to do next. I chose to title my page as a hash tag word AND do my journaling in hash tags phrases.

To complete my visual triangle, I added a little banner, which I cut from another canvas frame, to the top right and then added their ages in a collage on the bottom right. I realized after I took these photos that I didn't add a hashtag in front of their ages. I have since added this to the layout.

Don't be afraid to mix those bold and soft colors together and use a variety of patterns in your next project. You might just like what you see!

Thanks for stopping by today. Now, #watchthishilariousskit. It'll have you saying:
#showmethecookie
#imtherealcookiemonster
#nomnomnomnomnomnomnom
#lololololololololololololol
#orangeisthenewblack #purpleisthenewblack
#lifedecisions
#isitworthitletmeworkit
#isitfridayyet
#classic