Hello friends, In memory keeping and planning, we work with items that are "dry" including stickers, paper, and ephemera. We use photos that must be properly safeguarded and we may include handwritten journaling which requires a certain level of protection too. Mixed media consists of various techniques using "wet" materials like texture paste, watercolor, gesso, and ink sprays. Combining wet and dry materials may seem a bit intimidating to the memory keeper and planner but mixed media is a wonderful way to add texture and interest to your documentation. And you don't need to be a mixed media artist to add an extra bit of color or texture to your design. Brande is sharing a 12x12 design with a touch of texture and its lovely. She explains, "small touches of mixed media tend to find their way into most of my layouts - there is just something I love about the contrast between a little mess and some clean lines!" "For this mixed media layout I used a simple stencil and white modeling paste (I prefer the Liquitex brand) to create a textured background where my photo cluster would sit and a little touch at the top left as an anchor to some of the cute page tabs. Then I used the ink pad in the Acorn Lane kits to create some watercolour touches by rubbing ink onto some plastic packaging, added a spritz of water, dripped it onto the page and used a wet paint brush to spread it out a bit all messy like. A few splatters in that same Cocoa Daisy ink and some splatters in an orange Distress Ink and voila, mixed media!" "From there I went though the Acorn Lane papers, chipboard, die cuts, and more with an orange, yellow, red and brown colour tone to create a layered, clustered, busy focal point over my mercies media. The speech bubble stickers were perfect for adding some cute phrases to reflect my thoughts about this memory using pretty Cocoa Daisy die cuts instead of my messy penmanship." We love the way Brande's simple mixed media background makes her layout pop and they way her ink splatters connect the small top cluster to the main focal point. And we appreciate the layers of paper and other kit elements behind her photo. Our next layout comes from Evy and it's all about color! "For this layout I wanted a 'clean' effect but full of color and I thought of combining a background created with oxide crackling campfire and fossilized amber to which I matched a cut file as a title." "I decided to use 3 different patterned papers to fill in the letters of the cut file by matching the colors to those of the photo. Returning to the clean effect, I didn't want to overdo the decorations so I only inserted 3 diecuts from the planner kit and 2 small stickers along with the date and caption, I couldn't resist a few sequins to give a bright touch." "Being a layout dedicated to myself, I liked the idea that the focus in the project was all in the center. Remind yourself to always love you and shine!" The ink and cut file Evy chose call attention to the kit papers and embellishments as well as the photos. It's a stunning, yet simple mixed media design. Our final design for today is from Melina. She notes, "Life is busy. It can be hard. Sometimes the smallest things like sitting in your favorite chair in comfy PJs and drinking coffee from your favorite mug is all you need." "For my mixed media layout today I wanted to highlight my comfy mocha like picture. I used modeling paste and mixed in brown ink then spread it on both pages of my Simple Dori until I was satisfied with the look. One of the best things about mixed media projects is you can use scrap pieces of anything with it." "I added a strip of vellum, washi tape, rub-ons, torn pieces of kit papers, some stickles, a piece of a doily and Nuvo drops to finish off this spread. The gratitude piece is cut from a page in my Daisy Dori I wasn’t using. I love the stamped image in the top left corner too." "Art journaling, junk journaling, whatever you want to call it, I’m always happy when I can add mixed media to a layout!" The texture paste and ink Melina chose to add to her layout add a soft backdrop to her journaling. And the touch of blue around her design is a pretty accent. We hope you are inspired to try a bit of mixed media in your memory keeping and planner pages. Show us what you are making with our kits in the Cocoa Daisy Fans facebook group or tag #cocoa_daisy on social media. Happy weekend crafting! ~Robin