Your Creative Wings - Love You Beautiful

I'm up on the Your Creative Wings blog today, and I'm super excited to have had the chance to play with the gorgeous new release designs, they're simply stunning!

I snapped this lovely photo of my Grandma and cousin on the way home from my Uncle's wedding a couple of years back.    With various shades of purple currently making a return to favour in scrapbooking products, it was the perfect opportunity to dedicate a layout to this favourite photo.

I've used the two March papers from Graphic 45's A Time to Flourish collection, and a soft Pion Designs paper as a neutral background.

The new YCW Damask Background chippy is just gorgeous!  It's so detailed and so very pretty.  I've also used the largest of the new Doilyz Nest and the Love You scripted title.

I've drawn inspiration from both Sue's and Rikki's techniques from their recent blog posts for my title.  I've dripped Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist straight onto the chipboard for a beautiful shimmery effect (Sue's technique), and layered the title directly over my flower cluster (Rikki's technique).

I wanted the Damask Background to really pop off the page, and used Versa Colour Ink in the bright and rich Boysenberry to ink directly onto the chipboard.

I always seem to get glue everywhere, but found an easy way to adhere the Damask Background to my layout was to use a sponge to apply PVA glue to the back of the chippy before adhering it to the page.  I found this gave good coverage without any excess glue seeping out from the edges of the intricate design.

I've used the largest of the Doilyz Nest pieces.  This is a great value chippy, with 6 individual Doilyz in one piece of chipboard.  I applied two coats of a Jo Sonja's background paint in cream.  Jo Sonja's background paints are specially designed for base coating and give great coverage, so I didn't need to prime this piece with Gesso.  I then heat embossed with clear embossing powder for a nice gloss finish.

Your Creative Wings Products Used:  Damask Background YCW16016, Doilyz Nesting YCW13005, Word - Love You YCW1062.

Other Products Used:  Graphic 45 A Time to Flourish patterned paper, Pion Design A Day in May patterned paper, Bazzill cardstock, vellum, Prima Marketing Inc flowers, Green Tara flowers, lace, ribbon, gauze, twine, Prima Marketing Inc stamp, Versa Colour Ink in Boysenberry and Bamboo, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Frayed Burlap & Antique Linen, Jo Sonja's background paint, Kaisercraft pearls, clear embossing powder, Fiskars edge punch, thread, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pop Rocks & Silver Sugar.

My second layout features my beautiful niece Milly on her third birthday.  She was dressed as a fairy and even had a special fairy braid in her hair.  I wanted to create the soft and gentle feeling of a fairy garden around her.

I've used the ornate clock as a base and added several layers.  I've heat embossed it in white and then added a butterfly punched from turquoise vellum, another butterfly stamped with black Stazon Ink over acetate and then fussy cut, a heart charm, a teeny tiny banner and a flower.  I've then added some bling and tied some satin seam binding to finish it off.

The Beautiful script title I've treated in one of my favourite ways with two layers of gesso and some Kindyglitz in Crystalina.

As with so many YCW chippy pieces, the heart charm can be separated so that different mediums can be applied easily to different parts of the chippy design.  I've separated out the inner piece of the heart and base coated in gesso before applying Mod Podge and white glitter.  Once pieced back together I've added one of the Mini Butterflies to the top of the charm and added some bling.

To create the marbled effect on the Ornate Frame and Charm I base coated in gesso before applying pink acrylic paint.  I wasn't happy with the colour at that stage so added a few dabs of gesso with my fingertips and this created the two toned or marbled effect.  Once dry I added Glossy Accents for a beautiful gloss finish.  I love how these pieces turned out.  

Your Creative Wings Products Used:  Wrought Iron Clock YCW16017, Ornate Frame 17 Medium YCW6020, Key to My Heart Charm Set YCW12013, Word - Beautiful YCW1012, Corner Scroll YCW7011, Butterflies Mini YCW 2042.

Other Products Used:  Webster's Pages Nest Collection patterned paper, Coredinations Cardstock, Maggie Holmes Open Book gold foil vellum, Doodlebug Design vellum, EK Success edge punch, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Prima Marketing Inc & Kaisercraft stamps, Stazon ink, acetate, acrylic paint, gesso, white embossing powder, Glossy Accents, Kindy Glitz in Crystalina, Prima Marketing Inc Say It In Crystals, My Two Angels crystal circle and heart, satin seam binding, Prima Marketing Inc flowers, Green Tara flowers, Manor House Creations leaves, gold thread, Whipped Spackle, Caran d'Ache Neocolour in Golden Yellow, Gelato in Watermelon, LuminArte Twinkling H2O in Peppermint Taffy, Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabio in Chateau Rose & Bonjour Butter, lace, ZVA Creative pearl flourishes, white glitter, Tim Holtz Distress Ink.

Thanks for stopping by today!  If you haven't visited the YCW shop recently be sure to check out the new release designs here.

A Piece of Cake Designs - Friday Favourites

My third and final project as Guest Designer for A Piece of Cake Designs is all about Friday Favourites!

Does anyone else have trouble getting their man in front of a camera?  Mine really does not like his photo taken, and so rarely makes it into any of my scrapbook pages.  I snapped this pic while we were at lunch on a recent holiday and I think it's kinda cool.  So he finally gets to have a layout (probably the first ever) featuring just him, hence the title Hello Handsome.

Some of my very favourite pieces from the Cupcake Kit this month are the woodgrain and navy striped papers, the navy embellishments ('best ever' and 'that was so fun' tags), the gorgeous flair buttons, the cloud die cut, and the die cut shields. I've also saved the scraps of my favourite yellow polka dot paper from my last project, and seriously, who doesn't love a turquoise doily!  

Hello 2015 is one of my favourite digi files from the Digital Shop January Releases and I've used it both as part of my title and as a background layer for my layout.

I duplicated the word 'hello' from the digital file into a grid pattern on a Silhouette Studio page, and cut it on my Cameo from white cardstock.  After trimming it to size I adhered it to another piece of white cardstock and machine stitched the edge in white thread.  By using all white products it adds visual texture to the background without becoming too busy for the other bright colours used in the layout.

There are quite a few black & white doodling elements to the My Minds Eye Jubilee Tangerine  collection, including this smaller shield.  To cut back on some of the busyness of the geometric lines, I've used my Mango Gelato from the kit with a watercolour brush to colour parts of it in.

The antler flair is just delicious and  I've used it to reinforce the masculine feel to this page.

To build the title I've used one of the 'hello' scripted words that was left over from creating the background, and simply recoloured it.

One of my favourite things to do on a layout is to fussy cut.. I'm always looking through patterned papers to see what I can cut out.  Once I had tucked in the cute cloud die cut, of course I needed to cut some hot air balloons from one of the 6x6 papers.

Even after three separate projects there's still so much product in my Cupcake Kit.  The only things in this layout not included in the kit are white and blue cardstock, a few enamel dots, some twine and a tag that was a piece of memorabilia from our weekend away.

And that brings to an end the sharing of my Guest Designer projects at A Piece of Cake Designs.  I'm so thrilled to have been creating with the Cupcake Kit this month, and can't thank Raquel enough for having me along.

The kits are always perfectly coordinated and have such a great mix of papers, embellishments and exclusive flair.  The February kit sneaks are looking amazing!

A Piece of Cake Designs - Guest Designer

Every now and then you'll come across someone who makes your day with their thoughtfulness.  While we were setting our DS up in his unit recently, we came across a lounge suite on Gumtree that was free.  The owners wouldn't accept any payment for it, they just wanted to help someone out that needed some furniture. And you know what?  It's really a great lounge suite!

I knew straight away that I would send the these lovely people a card and some Instant Scratch-its as a small measure of our thanks.

I've been playing with the gorgeous January Cupcake Kit from A Piece of Cake Designs again,  and I've pulled more of the bright and happy colours from the My Mind's Eye Jubilee Tangerine collection for this card.

The background came together with some basic paper piecing.  I cut multiple 4 x 4cm squares in two different patterned papers and then cut each square in half on the diagonal.  I arranged them so that each triangle became part of a larger diagonal line.  I then stitched each straight and diagonal line on my sewing machine to give a quilted look.

I've used the Hello 2015 design by Polka Dot Creative from the Digital Store, love Jodie's scripting!  I've cut the heart in white cardstock on my Cameo, then coloured it using the Mango Gelato from the kit.  I've adhered it to the card base and then stitched around it a couple of times in orange thread.  Because there are some fine areas on the heart, it stitches more easily when it's adhered to a solid base.

To pretty up my little parcel I used patterned papers from the kit to add a liner to the envelope, and a gift card holder to house the Instant Scratch-Its.

You'll find a bunch of envelope liner tutorials on Pinterest, and they are really quite simple to do but add that extra personal touch.  I used a corner rounder at the top to get a clean, straight curve without any stray scissor cuts.

You'll also find plenty of gift card holder templates on Pinterest.  I found one that I liked and resized it so that it fit my Instant Scratch-Its perfectly.  

A couple of embellishments and a sentiment using the Webster's Pages woodgrain Little Letter Stickers from the kit and it looks as cute as a button!

Now I just need to write a message of thanks in my card, pop in a photo I snapped of the three boys on their new lounge suite, and send this little parcel off in the post!

Thanks for dropping by today,

A Piece of Cake Designs - Tutorial Tuesday

Hi friends, I'm so excited to share with you my first post as Guest Designer for A Piece of Cake Designs January Releases!  I've used the Cupcake Kit and a January release Cut File & Brushes from the Digital Store.

Our DS is about to start Uni, and this weekend he moved out of home so that he can study in Brisbane.  I wanted to create a layout to celebrate this incredibly exciting time for him, a time when the whole world just seems to open up and anything is possible.

The January Cupcake Kit has two gorgeous Double Scoop Gelatos, and I've used the Mango Gelato in three ways to create my background.  Here's a quick step by step on how I've created it.

Start with a piece of white cardstock and prime it with Gesso.  Priming allows the Gelatos to blend more easily over the surface and give a smoother finish, and it also prevents the cardstock from curling and distorting quite as much.

Allow the Gesso to air dry.  When dry apply the Gelato across the page where you want the most vibrant colour to be.  As you can see you don't need to be super neat with this step at all.

Take a baby wipe and rub over the Gelato to blend the colour.  This creates a watercolour effect.  When you have blended where you'd like the most vibrant colour, go over the edges with a clean section of baby wipe for a lighter shade, blending back to the white cardstock.

To use your Gelato to create a droplet or splatter effect, put a very small amount of water into a glass or small container.  Rub the Gelato in circles on the bottom of the container to release the colour into the water.  This may take a few minutes, but the more you rub the more concentrated the colour becomes.

When you have your desired colour, use a small paintbrush to apply splatters to areas of your background.

The final element to the Gelato background is to use a background stamp for subtle visual texture.

For this technique you will need a background stamp, a Gelato and a spray bottle of water (I've used a background stamp from my stash).  

Apply the Gelato over random sections of the stamp (to create an imperfect edge).  It's okay to get a fair bit of colour onto the stamp as it will be a darker layer over the already-coloured background.  Spritz the stamp with water and let it sit for a minute while the Gelato activates, then stamp it on the already coloured section of the background.  Repeat to create a random pattern.

And here's the background with the three Gelato techniques.

I've pulled a lot of the brighter papers and embellishments from the kit to match the vibrant Mango Gelato background.  These pennant die cuts from the MME Jubilee mixed bag come together as a quick and easy banner.

I've cut the word "Celebrate" in black cardstock from the Clink Clink Cut Files and Brushes.  It doubles as my title and also as part of my journalling.  I was curious if the scripty font would cut cleanly on my Cameo and I'm super happy with how it turned out - a beautiful clean cut.

There are lots of woodgrain elements in this kit, some of my faves being the Studio Calico Heyday frame stickers and the Jillibean Soup woodgrain frames.

To finish the layout I've added some black ink splatters using Mr Huey's (from my stash) and a few of the metallic sequins from the kit.

Thanks for dropping by today!