Happy Monday, everyone!  Missy here, and I’m sharing a fun new layout using the 2017 August Hip Kits.  This layout took me out of my comfort zone a bit, and it was a lot of fun to make!  I wanted to use some of the carousel elements from the Crate Paper Maggie Holmes Carousel collection, so I decided to create a “family circus” layout.  Let’s face it…our family is pretty much like a circus all the time, so it was a perfect theme 🙂  This photo says it all…haha!  I used Kim Watson’s gorgeous carousel cut file and enlarged it to take up most of the page.  It needed to be big so I could use some of the animal embellishments.  I backed the open spots of the carousel with various patterned papers from the Main Kit and Paper Kit.  I also used white cardstock for the background.  I used some of the Shimmerz Paints from the Color Kit to add some color.

This collection has pops of gold glitter all through it, so I had to use some of those pieces.  I tucked in several of the Maggie Holmes die cuts from the Main Kit under the photo as well as some metallic gold thread from my stash.

I added in a Maggie Holmes chipboard zebra from the Embellishment Kit and a unicorn from the Sticker Sheet (Project Life Kit).  I added some machine stitching on the bottom of the carousel to give it a little more texture and detail.  That’s also where I added in my journaling.  I love the dimension from mixing and matching chipboard with flat stickers.

I mixed and matched my title as well.  The “LOVE” is from the Maggie Holmes Puffy Stickers.  “Family” is from the Hip Kit exclusive Puffy Stickers, which are in the Embellishment Kit.  “My” is from the  Maggie Holmes Sticker Book, and “circus” is from the metallic gold Thickers.  This was the only space I had left open for a title after adding the photo & embellishments, and it worked out well.

I tucked in this fun “Tickets” die cut and another smaller circus tent.  The “little things” circle above that is an exclusive die cut.  I love how all these colors work so nicely together.  I also fussy cut out several hearts from the Simple Stories washi tape and scattered them around the page.

Here’s one more close-up of the top area.  I love how the stitching turned out!

I hope this inspires you to get creative with all those fun carousel animals.  You don’t necessarily have to use a photo of someone on a carousel.  I hope you’ll check out my process video for even more inspiration!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!