P.S. I Love You | Flutterby Designs

Hi everyone! Just popping in today to share the latest of my Flutterby Designs creations with you. Today I have a 12x12" layout I created using the 'Mad About You' collection. It features a selfie I took of one of my boys laying some love on me, and is a bit tongue in cheek about how I often feel about my kids.

"P.S. I Love You"

The colour palette for this page was largely decided by the quote on the Everyday Etc card that I wanted to include. I chose to compliment the pink with simple neutral tones and converted my photo to black and white to suit.

I started by brushing some soft pink paint across my cardstock background (I used Colour Blast 'Bubblegum' Colour Spray, which I simply tipped into a cup and diluted with water until I achieved the desired shade). Once the paint was dry, I used the cross stencil from the Flutterby mini stencil set and a lead pencil to add some subtle "kisses" to my background.

My next step was to add a mat for my photo to sit on, so I used one of the 'Mad About You' Everyday Etc filler cards. I also tucked a frame from the coordinating Die Cut Bibs & Bobs pack underneath my photo and popped one of the Tiny Sticky Quotes onto it. On top of my photo I added some messy cotton thread and one of the flair buttons from the 'Mad About You' set #1.

I love using a mix of elements to create long sentences on my layouts, and this one was no exception. I used a combination of both tiny and regular Sticky Quotes; a die cut word; wood veneer 'Ampersand' (which I painted black); and some Everyday Etc cards.

To tie the page together, I added some wood veneer mini hearts (also painted black) and some die cut hearts (repeating an element is a simple way of bringing uniformity to a page). I also added some splatters of Colour Blast 'Road Base' Colour Spray; and stamped the P.S. I love you quote around my page to reinforce my title.

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you, I hope I have inspired you to try something similar yourself. Don't forget if you aren't already a member, to join in our Flutterby Inspiration HQ group on Facebook so you can interact with the team and share your own work.
Til next time, happy scrapping! X

Theming a Photo | Scrapbooking Memories magazine

Hi everyone. Just wanted to pop in and share the two layouts that were published as part of my "Theming a Photo" Creative Team article from Scrapbooking Memories magazine Vol 20 No 1. In my article I discussed my process for how I theme my layouts using my photos, and I hope it gave readers an insight to how my creative brain operates.

Here is the first layout...

"This Makes Me So Happy"

For this page, which features a photo of Zoe and myself on the Cocoa Vanilla Studio stand at last years Brisbane Scrapbook Expo, I used the Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'Love Always' collection. 

For my second article layout, I headed in a completely different direction...

"Awesome You"

This page features a photo of my (crazy, random) kids, and I themed it by using an equally crazy, random mixed media style. I used lots of products from the Flutterby Designs 'Mad About You' collection and some Flutter Colour paint; as well as one of my favourite Colour Blast Colour Pastes and some stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps.

The new issue of Scrapbooking Memories magazine is due to hit shelves this coming week, so be sure to look out for my next Creative Team article inside which is all about feminine style scrapping.

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Love You | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone! Today I have another layout to share using the new Wild at Heart collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. For this page, I opted to focus on the rich, warm tones from the collection and combine them with some photos of my daughter snuggling our kitten. (We've had fish and birds before, but this has been her first furry pet that she can cuddle, so to say she loves him is probably an understatement.)

I used the B sides of both the Fussy Cut and Luscious papers for my background. I love the contrast of the bold stripes against the soft ombre watercolour.

I used two smaller size (3x4") photos for this page, which I layered on top of a paper doily and mounted up higher using some cardboard underneath. I then added some messy cotton thread and fussy cut floral pieces from the Luscious paper which I tucked under and around my photos.

I created a small, layered cluster to the right of my photos using half a chipboard frame; a die cut heart from the ephemera pack; a flair button and some Sparkles enamel dots. Under the corner of the photo I tucked a small butterfly that I fussy cut from the Mariposa paper.

I added another identical butterfly slightly further down my page, and between the two I placed one of the super cute new rubber charms. For my layout title, I used two wood veneer words, which I coloured using a paint pen; along with a small heart. Directly below my title I added one of the small phrase stickers from the accessory sticker sheet.

Next, I fussy cut "hello gorgeous" from the Fussy Cuts paper, and adhered it overlapping the edge of my secondary photo. I then added a heart chipboard sticker and another enamel dot to help balance my left hand side embellishment cluster. I finished off my page by splattering some white ink around. (Just don't forget to cover your photos when you do this.)

Thanks for stopping by today. I will be back soon with another project to share. Until then, happy scrapping! X

You Wouldn't Believe It | Flutterby Designs

Hi everyone! Back again today with another Flutterby Designs layout to share. This time I have gone back to revisit an old favourite release of mine, the 'One of Those Days' collection. I was prompted to dig this one out when I came across this photo of Hunter as a baby. I am sure it is a moment almost every mum can relate to. You know, when you leave the room for ONE minute and walk back in to a scene like this. Argh!!

I started with a white cardstock background for this one, and brushed some orange watercolour over it using a wide brush; then drizzled with the 'Stormy Grey' Flutter Colour paint from the Monochrome set.

I fussy cut the main portion of my title from one of the 'One of Those Days' Everyday Etc cards; which I complimented with some black Tiny Sticky Quotes and some 'Bright' enamel dots.

Underneath my photo I layered some Everyday Etc Filler cards to add dimension, and used a punch to add a notebook edge. I also added a paper doily, the shit has hit the fan page tab; and some messy cotton thread.

Underneath my photo I added a Blackboard Sticky Quote; my favourite "sentence enhancer" fuck wood veneer word (which I painted black); a quote cut from an Everyday Etc card; and another black Tiny Sticky Quote.

I finished off by embellishing directly onto my photo using a wood veneer geotag (painted white); a monochrome flair button; and a grey Snippet Strip. Then I splattered around a bit of black mist, added a few stamped phrases and I was done.

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I will be back again soon with another project. Until then, happy scrapping! X

Shine Bright | Colour Blast

Hi everyone!
Today I have another design team project to share using the fabulous Colour Blast products. This layout was inspired by a beautiful candid photograph I snapped of my daughter and niece recently. It was taken during the Matilda musical intermission while the girls were eating icecream overlooking Brisbane city. I absolutely LOVE the colours in this photograph and wanted to try and replicate them through my background.

Before I added any colour, I wanted to start by adding some texture to my page. I used Snow White Colour Paste, which I applied through a Dusty Attic stencil. (I chose the stencil as the pattern reminded me of the building lights we could see across the river.)

Once the Colour Paste was dry, I chose 3 coloured sprays I wanted to use for my background. I used two Colour Shimmer Sprays (Deep Water and Apple of my Eye) as well as Violet Colour Spray. I was aiming for a muted, pastel look to replicate the colours in the photo, so I first spritzed the background with water. Then, as I applied each colour where I wanted it to go; I spritzed with a little more water and then mopped up some of the excess with paper towel. I did allow some parts to remain quite fluid and run together slightly where they overlapped. I then set it aside to dry.

Whilst my background was drying, I took some Cocoa Vanilla Studio and Flutterby Designs wood veneer pieces and gave them a coat of White Heavy Gesso using a brush. I then used the gorgeous Cool Mint Mica Powder to colour them. (I used a water brush dipped straight into the pot.)

Then it was time to construct my layout. I used a paper doily, as well some as Flutterby Designs Everyday Etc filler cards for the layers under my photo.

The title words, die cut ephemera pieces, puffy stickers and enamel dots were all from Cocoa Vanilla Studio (most from the Free Spirit collection).

I love how I was able to achieve the subtle colours of the background I was after simply by adding a little additional water before and after applying the Colour Shimmer Spray.

As for the Colour Mica Powder when applied to the wood veneer pieces - wow! You will find that once the water you have used as a carrier to apply the powder completely dries, that the shimmer left behind is simply stunning!

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I hope I have given you some inspiring ideas for ways of using the Colour Blast products (and that you are now running off to get your hands dirty!)
Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Happy Trails | Scrap the Girls March Challenge

Hi everyone!
Popping in to share my design team layout for the March challenge at Scrap the Girls. First, here is the mood board for this month's challenge...

Who doesn't love a selfie these days, right? My selfie features both myself and my sister, and I took it on the plane just before we flew off to our first ever scrap retreat last year.

"Happy Trails"

This layout was a bit of a stash-buster for me. I had been hoarding that floral paper from the Heidi Swapp 'September Skies' collection for entirely too long! Luckily, I also had lots of the coordinating ephemera in my stash as well, so putting this page together was a snap! I love the fact this ephemera pack came with a mix of paper and acetate pieces.

In addition to the Heidi Swapp goodies on this layout, I also added some of my fave bits and pieces from D-lish Scraps. The paper doily and green spot tissue paper I used for layering under my photo were both from my D-lish stash.

Some handwritten journaling, the date, and a bit of stamping with my one of my roller phrase stamps was all it took to finish this page off.

Make sure you pop over to the Scrap the Girls blog to see what the rest of the design team has created for their take on this month's "Selfie" challenge. This month's sponsor is the fabulous 2Crafty Chipboard, so if you would like to be in the running for some fabulous 2Crafty goodness, then make sure you get your entry linked up before the end of the month!

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Hello Lovely | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone! Hope this find you well? Popping in today to share my latest layout using the fabulous new Wild at Heart collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. This page was designed to showcase some specific embellishments from this collection - the brand new chipboard frames and the chipboard stickers.

The photo I have used on my layout was a selfie that features myself, my sister and both our daughters on a recent girls night out together to the theatre to see the Matilda musical. (Which was amazing - if you get a chance to see it, do it!)

Here's what I came up with...

"Hello Lovely"

I also wanted to combine a variety of contrasting papers from this collection and managed to use SIX different patterns on this page! I love that there is such a huge range of patterns to choose from in this collection with the increased number of papers. (Because when it comes down to it, it's allll about the paper, right?) 

I created this cluster at the top of my layout using two chipboard stickers for the title, along with a heart that I cut from the Fussy Cuts cut apart paper, a chipboard sticker heart, and one of the Sparkles enamel dots.

I included another chipboard sticker heart and more Sparkles enamel dots in the corner of my photo. (I love embellishing in the negative space on my photos.) You can also see how I have layered several contrasting patterned papers behind my photo, along with a paper doily.

I made a feature of the chipboard frames by layering them under and around my photo, and stamped the date directly onto the date frame using Staz-On ink. I also used a couple of the small phrase arrows from the chipboard stickers pack to help draw the eye into the photo.

I added a couple of the tiny phrase stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet directly onto one of the frames, as well as the stunning butterfly flair button which I nested on some messy thread. (And a couple more of the Sparkles enamel dots - because you can never have too much sparkle, right?)

I love how much dimension this layout has, largely due to the layering of the chipboard frames.

That's all from me today, thanks for stopping by. The Wild at Heart collection is currently available from selected retailers (who were able to get their hands on the first shipment) but the good news is that it will be more widely available soon! If you have the chance to grab some, then do - it really is stunning!
Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Dig! | Scrap the Boys March Challenge

Hi everyone!
Popping in with another design team layout to share today, this time for Scrap the Boys. Those who have been following me for some time, will know that I didn't start out the most enthusiastic of boy scrappers when I first started creating boy layouts. (But with twin boys, what can you do?) Fast forward to today and I LOVE creating boy layouts, so I am super happy Amy kept me on the team at Scrap the Boys this year.

So, the March challenge theme is...

And it turned out that I had the PERFECT pics for this challenge! My biggest problem was narrowing down which ones to use. In the end I chose four, so I ended up with a layout that is pretty busy. I do love it though - there is plenty of action!

"Dig!"

We were so lucky that when we visited my sister and brother-in-laws house shortly after Christmas, that he had his backhoe home for the holidays on their property. Let me just say that my boys (especially Hunter) are "digger mad", so they thought it was awesome to see one up close. Imagine where Uncle Wil went to in the popularity stakes when he got the boys to climb up inside with him, started it up and let them use the controls to dig in the dirt!! (I seriously thought Hunter's smile was going to split his face open! haha)

I used the Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'Totally Rad' collection for this layout. (I couldn't go past that yellow chevron print paper for my background!) To embellish my page I used some of the coordinating accessory stickers and die cut ephemera, many of which which I tucked in around my photos.

The rad flair was stuck directly onto the corner of one of my photos (and for once, I did not add any cotton thread under it.)

Another embellishment I used several of on this page, was woodies (wooden buttons with epoxy centres) and they are awesome on boy layouts!

The black alphabet stickers I used were actually from the Colour Me Happy collection, and I simply added some brief handwritten journaling below my title.

A few splatters of Colour Blast Colour Spray (in Road Base); a little stamping and my layouts was complete. I am really happy this challenge pushed me to get these photos scrapped. If you have any dirt-related photos of your boy waiting to be scrapped, then make sure you pull them out and get them done for this challenge! You have until the end of the month to get your entry linked up and be in the running for this months prizes.

Until next time, happy scrapping! X