Adding a Featured area above posts when using Masonry in Genesis. http://sridharkatakam.com/adding-featured-area-posts-using-masonry-genesis/

functions.php

<?php
//* Start the engine
include_once( get_template_directory() . '/lib/init.php' );

//* Child theme (do not remove)
define( 'CHILD_THEME_NAME', 'Genesis Sample Theme' );
define( 'CHILD_THEME_URL', 'http://www.studiopress.com/' );
define( 'CHILD_THEME_VERSION', '2.0.1' );

//* Enqueue Lato Google font
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'genesis_sample_google_fonts' );
function genesis_sample_google_fonts() {
  wp_enqueue_style( 'google-font-lato', '//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:300,700', array(), CHILD_THEME_VERSION );
}

//* Add HTML5 markup structure
add_theme_support( 'html5' );

//* Add viewport meta tag for mobile browsers
add_theme_support( 'genesis-responsive-viewport' );

//* Add support for custom background
add_theme_support( 'custom-background' );

//* Add support for 3-column footer widgets
add_theme_support( 'genesis-footer-widgets', 3 );




// =================================================================
// = Pinterest-like Masonry layout for Posts page and Archives =
// =================================================================

//* Enqueue and initialize jQuery Masonry script
function sk_masonry_script() {
	if (is_home() || is_archive()) {

		wp_enqueue_script( 'masonry-init', get_stylesheet_directory_uri().'/js/masonry-init.js' , array( 'jquery-masonry' ), '1.0', true );


    	//* Infinite Scroll
    	// wp_enqueue_script( 'infinite-scroll', get_stylesheet_directory_uri().'/js/jquery.infinitescroll.min.js' , array('jquery'), '1.0', true );
    	// wp_enqueue_script( 'infinite-scroll-init', get_stylesheet_directory_uri().'/js/infinitescroll-init.js' , array('jquery'), '1.0', true );
    }
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'sk_masonry_script' );

//* Add custom body class to the head
add_filter( 'body_class', 'sk_body_class' );
function sk_body_class( $classes ) {
	if (is_home()||is_archive())
		$classes[] = 'masonry-page';
		return $classes;
}

//* Display Post thumbnail, Post title, Post content/excerpt, Post info and Post meta in masonry brick
add_action('genesis_meta','sk_masonry_layout');
function sk_masonry_layout() {
	if (is_home()||is_archive()) {

		// add_filter( 'genesis_pre_get_option_site_layout', '__genesis_return_full_width_content' );

		remove_action( 'genesis_entry_header', 'genesis_do_post_title' );
		remove_action( 'genesis_entry_header', 'genesis_post_info', 12 );
		remove_action( 'genesis_entry_header', 'genesis_entry_header_markup_open', 5 );
		remove_action( 'genesis_entry_header', 'genesis_entry_header_markup_close', 15 );

		remove_action( 'genesis_entry_content', 'genesis_do_post_image', 8 );
		remove_action( 'genesis_entry_content', 'genesis_do_post_content' );

		remove_action( 'genesis_entry_footer', 'genesis_post_meta' );

		add_action( 'genesis_entry_content', 'sk_masonry_block_post_image', 8 ) ;
		add_action( 'genesis_entry_content', 'sk_masonry_title_content', 9 );

		add_action( 'genesis_entry_footer', 'sk_masonry_entry_footer' );

		remove_action( 'genesis_before_loop', 'genesis_do_breadcrumbs' );
		add_action( 'genesis_before_content', 'genesis_do_breadcrumbs' );

		remove_action( 'genesis_before_loop', 'genesis_do_taxonomy_title_description', 15 );
		add_action( 'genesis_before_content', 'genesis_do_taxonomy_title_description', 15 );

		remove_action( 'genesis_before_loop', 'genesis_do_author_title_description', 15 );
		add_action( 'genesis_before_content', 'genesis_do_author_title_description', 15 );

		remove_action( 'genesis_before_loop', 'genesis_do_author_box_archive', 15 );
		add_action( 'genesis_before_content', 'genesis_do_author_box_archive', 15 );

		remove_action( 'genesis_before_loop', 'genesis_do_cpt_archive_title_description' );
		add_action( 'genesis_before_content', 'genesis_do_cpt_archive_title_description' );

		remove_action( 'genesis_after_endwhile', 'genesis_posts_nav' );
		add_action( 'genesis_after_content', 'genesis_posts_nav' );

		add_action( 'genesis_loop', 'sk_add_home_featured', 9 );
		add_action( 'genesis_loop', 'sk_article_container_closing_div' );

	}
}

//* Helper function to display Post title and Post content/excerpt wrapped in a custom div
function sk_masonry_title_content() {
	echo '<div class="title-content">';
		genesis_do_post_title();
		genesis_do_post_content();
	echo '</div>';
}

//* Helper function to display Post info and Post meta
function sk_masonry_entry_footer() {
		genesis_post_info();
		genesis_post_meta();
}

//* Set the second parameter to width of your masonry brick (.home .entry, .archive .entry)
add_image_size( 'masonry-brick-image', 255, 0, TRUE );

//* Helper function to display featured image
//* Source: http://surefirewebservices.com/development/genesis-framework/using-the-genesis-featured-image
function sk_masonry_block_post_image() {
		$img = genesis_get_image( array( 'format' => 'html', 'size' => 'masonry-brick-image', 'attr' => array( 'class' => 'post-image' ) ) );
		printf( '<a href="%s" title="%s">%s</a>', get_permalink(), the_title_attribute( 'echo=0' ), $img );
}

//* Add more link when using excerpts
function sk_excerpt_more($more) {
    return '<a class="more-link" href="'. get_permalink() . '">&nbsp;&nbsp;[Continue Reading]</a>';
}
add_filter('excerpt_more', 'sk_excerpt_more');

//* Modify the length of post excerpts
add_filter( 'excerpt_length', 'sk_excerpt_length' );
function sk_excerpt_length( $length ) {
	return 10; // pull first 10 words
}



/** Register widget area */
genesis_register_sidebar( array(
	'id'				=> 'home-featured',
	'name'			=> __( 'Home Featured', 'genesis-sample' ),
	'description'	=> __( 'This is the home featured section.', 'genesis-sample' )
) );

function sk_add_home_featured() {
	genesis_widget_area( 'home-featured', array(
			'before'=> '<div class="home-featured widget-area">',
			'after'	=> '</div><div class="article-container">',
		) );
}

function sk_article_container_closing_div() {
	echo "</div>";
}

function load_custom_scripts() {
    wp_enqueue_script( 'my-jquery-additions', get_bloginfo( 'stylesheet_directory' ) . '/js/myjquery.js', array( 'jquery' ), '1.0.0' );
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'load_custom_scripts' );