Jillibean Soup | This is Us...

Time spent with family is always a blessing in this household. And especially at Christmas time. At every opportunity I love to gather the people for photos. Even if it is just an ordinary, everyday lunch!! This layout was create for Jillibean Soup.

"This is Us"

products used: cs - American Crafts; pp - Jillibean Soup Garden Harvest; alphas - Jillibean Soup foam stickers; embellishments - Jillibean Soup pea pod parts, enamel shapes, 3x4 placemats; other - paint, sharpie pen; tools - metal tag die, typewriter.

Lots of fun fussy cutting on this layout. For more detail, feel free to visit the Jillibean Soup blog here. Thanks for visiting..x

Bella Blvd | The Gingerbread...

Do you have special traditions you like to complete each year? We certainly do. And one of those fun things is always making gingerbread!

This layout was created for Bella Blvd using the new Santa Squad collection.

"The Gingerbread"

products used: cs - American Crafts; pp - Bella Blvd Santa Squad, Bella Besties; alpha - Bella Blvd Florence Alphas; other - paint, textured paste; tools - typewriter, machine stitching.

Be sure to check out all the Santa Squad inspiration created by the team this month! Thanks for visiting the blog..x

Jillibean Soup | Wish...

Hey Friends! Have you gat a stash of wood veneers just lying around begging to be used? Well It is time to break them free and create.  This layout, created for Jillibean Soup shares some fun, yet simple ideas on how to make the best use of wood veneers.

"Wish"

products used: cs - American Crafts; pp - Jillibean Soup Spoonful of Soul; alphas - Jillibean Soup; embellishments - Jillibean Soup wood veneers & shapes, pea pod parts, wood dots, enamel shapes, adhesive sequins; other - embroidery thread; tools - typewriter, metal tag die.

Fussy cutting and hand stitching are all part of the design to draw the eye towards these fun embellishments.

Don't forget to head on over to the Jillibean Soup blog for more ideas. Thanks for visiting..x

JoAnn's Guest Designer | Park Lane Sunshine & Rain...

Hello Friends! I am excited to share a little cross promotional guest designer role with you here today. I was generously sponsored by JoAnn' s recently to create some projects using the gorgeous Park Lane Paperie 12x12 paper stacks!

These paper stacks really do have something for everyone! It is chock full of beautiful patterned papers (front and back) as well as, glitter, linen glitzy and textured cardstock!

 What more could you ask for!!

For my first project, I started playing with the Sunshine & Rain paper stack. You can get your own from JoAnn's here.

To bring this layout together, I carefully selected a photo to match the colour tones in the paper stack. I have been wanting to document this photo of my daughter for a while now and because of the glittery nature of her shirt, it was the perfect reason to use the glitter cardstock as a feature on my page.

The banner across the top of my page is a combination of textured white cardstock, vellum and glitter cardstock, layered together.

Using a border punch, I've added a small strip of decorative patterned paper to the top of the glitter banner. The rest I have just layered with images fussy cut from the patterned paper in the stack.

Journaling was typed directly onto the back ground patterned paper after I had a good idea of where my photo placement would be.

For the title I grabbed the glitter cardstock once more and using a Heidi Swapp "document" die, I ran it through my bigshot.

To complete my layout, I have added fussy cut flowers, some mounted onto foam dots, in a cascade across the photo. This placement is to mimic the way her hair falls over her shoulder.

I hope I have shown a fun way to use glitter cardstock in a simplified manner. Please be sure to stay tuned for more projects to come over the next week.

Thanks for visiting..x

Jillibean Soup | Introduction...

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to share a few creative projects from the Jillibean Soup blog last week. 

These projects are a combination of goodies I had in my stash (some - like the corrugated chocolate alphas - are VINTAGE!!!) and some are fairly recent collections.

"Glamorous"

Peapod Parts are always a fun item to have in my stash! And I certainly had fun with this design! Apart from the Soup Staples II/navy salt patterned paper, the rest of the layout is all Happy Hues, Alphabet stickers and Peapod Parts.

 "In Every Today"

The Shaker Cards from Jillibean Soup are simply divine!! I created this quick and easy card with strips of patterned paper and a cloud full of gems!

If you get  the chance, please visit the Jillibean Soup blog and share some love! Thanks for visiting..x

Pebbles Inc | October Sketch...

Hey Friends! There's a new challenge up on the Pebbles Inc blog. We have started to introduce a few sketch challenges! Have a look at our very first inspiration sketch..

My layout has stayed pretty true to the overall positioning of elements on the page. However, I simply replaced the hexagon shapes with fussy cut butterflies from the new Midnight Haunting collection.

supplies: cs - American Crafts; pp - Pebbles Inc Midnight Haunting; other - Simple Life Embossed Stickers.

Head on over to the blog and seek out the inspiration shared from the amazing DT. Two winners will be chosen from the submissions sent in. Good luck!

Pebbles Inc | Heart of Home layout...

Hey there friends! I'm just trying to get this blog up and running once again! Life keeps interfering and it is a struggle to even get to the computer at times! LOL! But here I am, starting over. Again. :)

Today I have a share using the Pebbles Inc Heart of Home collection. I think I fell in love withthese patterned papers, almost instantly! *sigh*

My first project was to create a layout featuring my crazy kids!

"We Are Family"

products used: cs - American Crafts; pp - Pebbles Inc Heart of Home; embellishments - Pebbles Inc Heart of Home label stickers; enamel dots. other - machine stitching, typewriter.

The flowers were all fussy cut and adhered to allow the edges to lift from the page.

Machine stitching added an extra detail while the gold foil labels help to draw the eye across my layout.

You can see more details and read about my thought process to creating this layout on the Pebbles blog, here. Thank you for visiting..x

Bella BLVD | Snap...

This week over at Bella Blvd, the design team are looking beyond at the Campout Collection to create projects that possibly don't match up with the Great Outdoors!  I wanted to document Liam's accident on the hockey field which ruled him out of playing for his team during the State Titles... three days later.

"Snap"

Products Used: cs - American Crafts; pp - Bella Blvd | Campout: Under The Stars, In The Woods, Daily Details, Borders, Go Jump In The Lake, Trail Mix; Alphas - Bella Blvd | Campout Treasures&Text; other - Bella Blvd: Color Chaos Clear Cut | Pickle Juice Confetti; water colour paint; tools - silhouette portrait, typewriter.

When using the Campout collection to help convey the story on my layout, I've looked beyond the normal concepts for putting a page together and refocused on the colors and patterns.  My son had a terrible accident during a sporting event leaving him unable to play for the rest of the season but even worse than that, completely eliminating him from participating in State Titles the very next week end. For a 12 year old, it was the end of the world!

I wanted to share his devastation on the page by adding sharp angles, as seen in the triangle paper sharpening the soft lines of the cut out letter 'S' and broken lines which are layered beneath the photo. The stars and spots were also added to relate the idea of what he saw in front of his eyes, at the time of the break, while the flowers signify the many get well wishes.

Sometimes I wonder if I read too much into patterned paper when I put my layouts together. But ultimately everything on my page supports the story I want to document, regardless of the specific collection I am creating with.

If you would like to see what the others design team members are creating, don't forget to head on over to the Bella blog.  Thanks for visiting..x

Bella Blvd | Pinterest Inspiration...

Hi Everyone!  I have a layout up on the Bella Blvd blog today sharing the monthly Pinterest Inspiration challenge.  Here is the photo the design team was provided with...

I fell for the gold.  And the glitter.  Well... It was the gold glitter full stop! *grin*  I loved the shimmery vibe and even though we are experiencing Spring in the Southern Hemisphere, I loved the lightness and magical feel this Autumnal photo portrayed! This is where that inspiration led to.

"Hello Peter Pan"

products used: cs - American Crafts; pp - Bella Blvd (Hello Autumn); Alpha - Bella Blvd; other - Bella Blvd: stickers; gold embossing powder, gold thread, gold colorshine; tools - typewriter.

The leaves and larger alphas were given a gold dipped effect.  And a part from some fussy cutting, I have left a lot of white space.



 For a simple how-to, head on over to the Bella Blvd blog.

Thanks for visiting...x



Bella Blvd | Spooktacular...

Hi Everyone!  This week over at Bella Blvd we are creating all things Halloween!  This caused a bit of a quandary for me, because even though Halloween is becoming more and more popular in Australia, as a family, my kids aren't bothered about celebrating it.  Of course this is bound to change as soon as I type and publish this blog post! *grin*

 

As you will learn over at the Bella Blvd blog, I chose to create a layout about Cameron being inspired to dress up as a "mummy", thanks to endless episodes of Scooby Doo!  Sheesh! Can you relate?  I'm just glad he grabbed actual bandages rather than a roll of toilet paper!!

 

"Spooktacular"

products used: cs - American Crafts; pp - Bella Blvd (Halloween Magic); Alpha - Bella Blvd (High-Five Alphas); other - Bella Blvd: stickers; embroidery thread; tools - machine stitching, typewriter, foam tape.

Halloween Magic is versatile enough to help me capture this memory without too many heavy references back to Halloween!

 

As I mentioned before, this entire week over at Bella Blvd is going to be dedicated to all things spooky!  If you need some inspiration, don't forget to check out what the creative DT have put together.  Thanks for visiting..x

 

 



Scraptastic Club | Pinterest Monday...

Hi Friends!  Today I wanted to share with you a layout I created for Scraptastic Club recently.  It was for a Pinterest challenge/Moodboard that Kim Jeffress and I put together.

 

 

 

Plenty of fun & funky stripes!!

 

This is the layout I was inspired to created...

 

"Loving This"

 

products used: cs - white Kaisercraft; Scraptastic club - Either Way kit, Either Way add-on, Either Way Cut aparts, Either Way Flair Badges; other - watercolour paint, typewriter, Heidi Swapp colorshine (gold).

 

 

I wanted the stripes to go in different directions  to create a little bit of interest on my page.

 

 

I fussy cut some of the larger blooms from one of the patterned papers and threw in some spots for good measure! *grin*

 

 

But before I added all my layers to my white cardstock, I decided that I wanted a subtle hint of colour wash using my water colour paints.  For.the.first.time.ever! LOL!  I wasn't very bold with it.  In fact I was quite timid! LOL!  Maybe next time.  And I will be a little more patient with the drying time too!

 

 

I hope you get a chance to visit the wonderful team over at Scraptastic (ps - There's a DT call going out over there).  There is always plenty of inspiration from the team.  Thanks for visiting me today..x