Bloom & Grow | StencilGirl®

Hi everyone!

I promised I would be back again soon, and it seems I have some catching up to do! Today I am sharing a project I created for the StencilGirl® Creative Team last year. For this one, the team were challenged with "Gift It or Grid It", so I decided to go with "Grid It" and create a scrapbook layout. Grid designs are often used in scrapbooking, and are particularly effective when creating layouts that feature a lot of photos, as it provides structure and prevents the page from looking too cluttered.

With my daughter just started high school this week, it's an appropriate time to share this scrapbook layout documenting all her "first day of school" photos from each of her seven years at primary school. It's such a lovely way to reflect on how much she has grown.

Because I knew I was going to be using a grid design for my photo placement, I wanted to created a background with less structure to contrast against the squares of the photos. As purpose of the layout was to document my daughter's growth, I decided a floral pattern would be perfect so I chose the Deconstructed Floral Bouquet stencil designed by Traci Bautista. As it didn't entirely fill my 12x12" cardstock, I also used the Deconstructed Zinnia and the Deconstructed Double Zinna to fill the remaining space (both also designed by Traci). 

I used three Distress Oxide ink pads (Spun Sugar, Tumbled Glass and Squeezed Lemonade) and some small make up sponges to dab the inks onto the page through the masks. (I chose a mix of colours that would also blend to create other colours on the page.) Once the page was completely covered, I lifted the masks to reveal the background.

I then used the Numbers stencil (designed by Seth Apter) to add the numbers 1-6 on my background in a few different places using Lovely Lilac Distress Oxide and another sponge. 

I then repeated the process with the smaller row of numbers from the same stencil.

Once my background was complete, it was time to set out my grid placement for my photos. I used squares of patterned paper (this one is from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'More Than Words' collection) as a mat for each photo. I used a small dab of liquid adhesive to hold each square in place. 

I then added some scrap cardboard to the back of each photo (to help pop them up from the page) before sticking them down on top of the paper squares.

With my photos all in place, it was then time to embellish my layout. I chose another paper from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio 'More Than Words' collection, this time it was one that featured some beautiful sketched flowers and fussy cut several pieces that I tucked in around some of my photos.

I wanted some leaves to go along with the flowers, so I used the Leafy Doodle Border stencil (designed by Valerie Sjodin) and some black ink to stencil some flowers onto a sheet of vellum. I love the sectioned design of this stencil as it means it can be used in a number of different ways. 

Once the ink had dried (it takes slightly longer on vellum) I fussy cut a number of them, then added them in with the flowers on the page. 

For my layout title, I used some Cocoa Vanilla Studio foam title stickers, which I placed in the middle section of my grid. I love the way the bold black ties in with the photos and the stencilled leaves; providing contrast against the pastel colours of the background.

I was so happy with how this layout turned out, and the way the theme inspired me to capture these memories of my daughter's progression through primary school. I hope I have inspired you to get some supplies out and get creative too.

Here's a linked list of all the stencils I used in my project:

L352: Deconstructed Floral Bouquet

S290: Deconstructed Zinnia Mask and Stencil

S296: Deconstructed Double Zinnia Mask and Stencil

L184: Numbers Stencil

L736: Leafy Doodle Border

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you. Until next time, happy creating! X

Party Time | Cut to You

Hi everyone!

I was so happy to be asked by Gwen to participate as a guest designer for Cut to You as part of their 1st birthday celebrations last month. This is the second layout I created, and was inspired by the July inspiration board, which (funnily enough) had a bit of a celebration theme to it.  

I was initially drawn to the pink & blue colour palette from this pretty board, so I used that as my starting point, choosing the 'More Than Words' collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio as the basis for my page.

I chose to document a photo of some of my best scrappy friends and I that was taken on our annual weekend away, when we rent a house and then eat, drink and craft all weekend.(It's affectionately known as our "Bitches" weekend. hehe) This is a photo of us that was taken during a trip to a local craft store - right before we went in and shopped up a storm. (They didn't know what had hit them!) 

I began with a pretty pink watercolour style paper for my background, layering it with a small paper doily and pieces of black & white floral and blue & white stripe patterned papers before adding my photo on top.

Next, I chose the 'Let's Party' file, that was sent as a free file recently to CTY newsletter subscribers (so if you haven't signed up for the newsletter yet make sure you do - nobody likes missing out! You can sign up HERE) I cut the file from white cardstock and then coloured it using 'Tumbled Glass' Distress Oxide and added it to my page above the layered papers.

Once the photo mat and my title were in place, it was time to embellish my page. First, I added a small label where I wrote my (tongue-in-cheek) journalling; then began embellishing my page with a sweet little banner chipboard sticker below it. Inspired by the board, I wanted to focus on butterflies as my primary embellishment.

For my first cluster, I chose a flower from the 'More Than Words' chipboard sticker sheet; a small punched paper flower (with an enamel dot centre); and then one of the butterflies from the 'Mixed Butterflies' set. (These are my absolute favourite CTY files!) The butterfly was cut from white cardstock and then coloured with 'Spun Sugar' Distress Oxide. To give it some extra dimension I placed a row of pearls along the body and lifted the wings up from the page.

For my second cluster, I started with a floral die cut from the 'More Than Words' ephemera pack, which I layered with the happiness label from the same pack and another small punched flower. Below those, I added a second butterfly from the 'Mixed Butterflies' cut file set, which was again ct from white cardstock and coloured with Distress Oxide. This time, instead of a row of pearls, I added a small fussy cut butterfly from one of the Cocoa Vanilla patterned papers layered over the top.

To complete my "visual triangle" and finish off my page; I added a third butterfly from the 'Mixed Butterflies' set, which I inked with 'Tumbled Glass' Distress Oxide to match my title and placed on the bottom right corner of my photo. I also added a couple of enamel dots to the body for dimension. Below it, I added another fussy cut butterfly (the same as I had used on the layered butterfly); and then, because I had to have three, I added a final one near the top of my page.

The finishing touch was to stamp the word "priorities" a few times around my page and stamp the date in the bottom corner.

Thanks so much to Gwen for asking me to be part of the birthday celebrations. I loved being able to share how I use some of my Cut to You files and hope I have inspired you.

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Precious | Cocoa Vanilla Studio for the CSI Challenge

Hi everyone!
I hope you have been celebrating {inter}National Scrapbook Day this weekend and have been participating in some online challenges.
Today I am sharing a layout that I created on behalf of Cocoa Vanilla Studio as a guest designer for the CSI Challenge.

Here's the case file I was working with...

And here is what I created...

I drew lots of inspiration from the image and from the list of additional clues provided. As soon as I saw the colour scheme I thought it would be match perfectly with many of the pieces from the 'More Than Words' collection, so that is predominantly what I used for my page.

I started with the spotty pattern on the reverse side of the Radiant paper as my base, and added some yellow watercolour to it (using a Faber-Castell gelato) where the focal area of my page was going to be. I also added a few small pieces of torn washi tape that featured a script design. 

I then took my two photos and framed the main one using a matching spotty frame from the Die Cut Ephemera pack. I added a grey doily from my stash under the photos, cutting it in half and placing the two halves above and below my photos. Then it was simply a case of building all the floral layers under and around my photos.

I used a combination of large cut file flowers (these were from the Caite set by Cut to You and were cut from white cardstock); which I layered with some smaller flowers (from the 3D Flower Stackable cut file by Paper Issues that I cut from the Collage paper). These were mixed with fussy cut flowers from the Precious paper; die cut flowers from the ephemera pack; and a few vellum blooms I had left over from the 'Love Always' collection. 

On top of my layered flowers I added some messy cotton thread topped with a flair button. I also added a few 'Hello Lovely' Enamel Dots as flower centres, some fussy cut butterflies from the Collage paper; and the precious Chipboard Accent Sticker for my page title.

To balance the "heaviness" of my title at the bottom of the page, I created an extra embellishment cluster at the top of my page using pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera pack an an extra fussy cut butterfly. 

For my journalling, I created a small pocket behind the main photo that I could tuck my tag into, and embellished it with a vellum heart and a small piece of twine.

I managed to tick off lots of extra clues provided by CSI, including dots; black and white print; hearts; (flair) button; string (on my tag); lots of white space; cursive fonts; and things that look hand-drawn (the sketch style butterflies and flowers); a pocket and also used the word "precious".

I had so much fun playing along with this challenge, thanks for having us CSI. If you would like to join in with one of this month's challenges head over to the CSI blog or CSI Facebook page

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Life is Good | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone!
Popping in today to share my latest Cocoa Vanilla Studio design team project with you. Recently some of the CVS design team were challenged to share projects featuring some form of stitching - either machine, by hand or faux. For my take on the theme, I created a layout using a mix of collections, along with machine and hand stitching.

I started with a photo of myself and my hubby that was taken on a (very) rare date day for us. As the colours in the photo were quite neutral, I wanted to keep my layout largely neutral to match. I started with the grey circular pattern on the reverse side of the Stripped paper from the You Rock collection as my page base. I then cut a sheet of white cardstock down to measure 11x11" that would go over the top, so that the base paper would show a 1/2" border all the way around.

Next, I took a sheet of the Good Times paper from the Boys Rule collection and cut a piece measuring approximately 7" and adhered it to the left side of my cardstock. I then added machine stitching along some of the radial stripes. This was going to help draw the viewers eye into the focal area of my page, as well as adding subtle texture. I then took some of the Abundant paper from the Bohemian Dream collection, and another piece of the Stripped paper I had used as my page base; and created a double layered mat for my photo. I also tucked a paper doily under the two layers before adhering them to my page.

I had a small piece of the Stripped paper remaining, so to further tie into the "Sew Good" theme, I cut a stitched tag using a metal die, tied it with some twine, and tucked it into the layers under my photo. Now it was time for some fun stuff! I took the gorgeous Sketchbook paper from the More Than Words collection and fussy cut some of the sketched flowers to tuck in around my photo. I also added some sketched flowers from the More Than Words vellum accents pack. I love how soft and pretty these are!

For my title, I used the words life is good from the Bohemian Dream chipboard title stickers sheet. In keeping with my page palette, and my choice of placement directly on top of the white cardstock, I left them plain white for a clean, simple look.

In the bottom right corner of my page, I added a small butterfly from the More Than Words die cut ephemera pack. To give the butterfly a sense of movement, I added some hand stitched detail using two strands of gold metallic embroidery thread to represent the flight path. I also stamped the date using a grey ink and added some dots from the More Than Words enamel shapes pack.

I love embellishing directly onto my photos, so I added the my darling die cut banner; a Charms Creations handmade heart embellishment (featuring stitching of course); topped with the you are loved flair button from the More Than Words flair button set.

It was then time to add a few finishing touches. A couple of small hearts from the More Than Words chipboard accent stickers sheet; my handwritten journalling; and I also stamped the words love this a few times around the page using a stamp from the More Than Words clear stamp set. After that it was a few splatters of Colour Blast 'Bling' Colour Shimmer Spray, and three hand stitched X's along the left edge of my page border.

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you. I hope it has inspired you to add some sort of stitching to your next project too.

Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Hello Happy | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone!

Popping in today to share my another design team project with you - this one for Cocoa Vanilla Studio. This layout was created for the recent "Geo" theme that the design team were challenged with. For my take on it, I decided to dust off my die cutting machine and use a gorgeous geo heart die to create some feature embellishments for my page.

I used the stunning 'More Than Words' collection for my layout; focusing on a pretty black / white / grey / blue colour palette to compliment the photo of my sister and I enjoying a wine while out to lunch.

I started by choosing the soft blue & white striped pattern on the B-side of the 'Treasure' paper as my background; then cut my geo hearts out from the black and white floral pattern on the reverse of the 'Gossamer' paper so they would stand out from the background. The gorgeous die I used is from Uniquely Creative, and I love how well these dies cut. I then arranged the hearts and adhered to my page using liquid adhesive.

I then created a layered mat for my photo using pieces from the 'Collage' paper and a paper doily from my stash. I arranged all the pieces then stapled them together before fixing the stack onto my page with tape and adding my photo on top. (I used some cardboard under my photo to mount it up from the page.)

Next, I sorted through the Die Cut Ephemera pack and selected a few floral and leaf pieces in shades of blue and grey. I added a small cluster near the top left corner of my photo, using some foam tape to pop up the smaller bloom and add some dimension. I also bent the leaves up slightly from the page. Under the right side of my photo I added a leafy branch; then another flower below the bottom right corner of my photo mat.

To create my title I used the words hello and happy from the Chipboard Title Stickers pack, which I adhered above and below my photo. I also added the little moments die cut from the ephemera pack, which I popped up with some foam tape.

I took 3 small phrase stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet, adding two to the heart at the top of the page, and the other to the heart at the bottom. 

Although I was happy with how my page looked at this point, I still felt it needed another element, so I fussy cut 6 little black and white butterflies from the 'Collage' paper. I stuck the first three flat onto the page, then stuck the second three on top of them, bending the wings up away from the page.

I then took 3 small heart stamps from the Clear Stamp set and stamped them around my page using grey ink, as well as stamping the date. (I chose grey instead of my usual black ink, as I thought the black would be too harsh.) I also added some small splatters of Colour Blast 'Stormy Weather' Colour Shimmer Spray to my page and I was done.

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. Until next time, happy scrapping! X

Precious | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone!

Popping in today to share my page I created for Cocoa Vanilla Studio's recent "scraplift" theme that was featured on the blog. For my post, I chose to scraplift a fabulous layout from former design team member Bea Valint. 

Here is my layout using the gorgeous 'More Than Words' collection...

And here is Bea's layout that inspired me...

Like Bea, I chose to document a photo of my daughter and I together - this was taken right before we went into the Foo Fighters concert (her first concert ever!) I also tried to stick fairly true to Bea's original design.

I started by adding some watercolour to my cardstock background using Faber-Castell gelatos. I used a soft yellow, plus added some splatters of peach and pink. I then sorted through the collection, picking out papers and embellishments I thought would work together to re-create my version of Bea's page.

Luckily for me, the inclusion of feathers in the 'More than Words' die cut ephemera pack meant I was able to replicate the small cluster in the top right corner of the page quite easily. In addition to die cuts, I also used a piece from the 'Treasure' cut apart paper.

For the main part of my layout, I used narrow strips cut from both the 'Sketchbook' and 'Gossamer' papers, then used a punch to add a decorative edge to each one. I then began layering up more die cut ephemera pieces to start building the layers behind and around my photo. I used foam tape under some of the pieces to add extra dimension.

Nestled in amongst the ephemera, I included a flair button; accessory stickers; and a small heart from the chipboard accent sticker sheet. I also used a few hearts from the enamel shapes pack.

For my page title, I used the precious word from the chipboard accent sticker sheet, which I layered with more die cut flowers.

Then I finished off my page using heart stamps from the clear stamp set and some grey ink.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope I have inspired you to try scraplifting a layout from someone else too - it's great fun and sure to get your mojo going if you have been stuck!

If you would like to see more of Bea's layout I used as inspiration, you can find her post HERE

Until next time, happy scrapping! X