Hey there, friends!  Missy back with you today.  I couldn’t wait to dig into the Carpe Diem collection and create some fun and bright layouts with it!  For my first layout, I focused on the theme of the collection, which is Seize the Day.  My youngest daughter comes to mind when I hear this phrase, so I used these two adorable pictures of her doing just that.  I used my Silhouette Cameo software to create a large title on some white cardstock.  I backed all the open letters with various patterned papers and had so much fun embellishing around them and the photos.  I love every piece of this collection!

Creating this big title gave me a lot of opportunity to use lots of patterns and colors without being overwhelming.  I used the 6x6 Paper Pad to fill in the letters and then went over parts of the page with white gesso.  I like to apply that first before adding watercolor to give the background a textured barrier.  This helps the watercolor blend better.  Here, I combined a few of the Chipboard Stickers, Expressions Cardstock Stickers, Clear Stickers, Illustrated Life Stickers and a Brad. 

Here you can see some of the watercolor and ink splatters.  I fussy cut that gorgeous floral cluster from the Brand New Day paper.  I just couldn’t resist using it as layering piece under my photos.  I also layered in more chipboard and stickers here and stitched through them with my sewing machine.

Here’s a close-up of that gorgeous floral piece.  Isn’t it just gorgeous?  I love how it looks against the pretty watercolor background.  Sometimes fussy cutting something from patterned paper gives you a fabulous embellishment.

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For my second layout, I was inspired to use one of the 6x12 page elements.  I love the quote on this piece and I simply cut it in half and adhered it to the black polka dotted Total Chaos paper. I was also itching to use some of the adorable Chipboard Frames!  I pulled three of the small ones and printed out three small photos of my daughter.  I printed them in black and white to really allow them and the bright colors to pop.  I smudged some white gesso with my finger along the center edge of the black paper.  Once it was dry, I used some watercolor paint to create a fun colored smoky look.  I stitched down the center and then began arranging the frames on the right side.  Once they were in place I went through all of the fun embellishments and did a bit of fussy cutting again.

Although the quote could certainly serve as my title, I decided to add another title on the right.  I combined a die cut from the Snap Pack with alpha stickers from the Expressions Cardstock Stickers.  I stitched through the Illustrated Life Sticker and added cute little hearts from the Word Label Stickers.  These bright colors look amazing on a dark background!

Here you can see some of the texture created by the gesso and paint.  These frames are so fun!  I added pop dots under them to give them dimension.  I fussy cut the striped cloud and yellow circle from a card in the Snap Pack.  I added this so there would be some yellow in that area.  I try and get all the main colors equally around the page.

By adding pop dots under the frames, I was able to add some tangled thread very easily underneath them.  I love the messy look this gives.  I also added those cute balloons from the Word Label Stickers.  They were the perfect colors!

Here’s another fussy cut cloud paired with a cute sun die cut from the Bits & Pieces.  I couldn’t have clouds without a sun! 

I hope these layouts inspire you in some way!  Be sure to check out this amazing Carpe Diem collection.  It has something for everyone!