Mini-Vacay Pocket Page Spread | Hip Kit Club

Hi friends!  After working in a 6x12 album for my project life for the first half of 2019, I've decided to switch back to a 6x8 for the second half.  I really liked trying the different size of the 6x12, but I've realised 6x8 really has my heart.  

A couple of things I love about it are that if there are weeks I have barely any photos it doesn't look out of place (and lets face it, I work full time and have no kids at home, so yes it happens); I love being able to add little 3x8 or 6x4 inserts as I go; and I really love having an album that almost feels like holding a book rather than a photo album.

So here's my second spread back in a 6x8 album (if you missed the first one you can find it on my Instagram account).  

This week we had a super-fun mini vacay day cruising our local waterways for a work party.  We had such a great time on a beautiful sun-filled winter day, so of course I used all the bright and happy colours from the June 2019 Hip Kit Club kits to document the week!

The colours from Heidi Swapp and Vicki Boutin that feature heavily in this month's kits as well as the gorgeous 3x4 and 4x6 cards in the Pocket Life kit work so well together.

I wanted to use this fun 3x4 card to list out 3 different things, and since we have 3 favourite afternoon walks to take with our two Cavalier King Charles pups, I listed all 3 walks on this card, and ticked the option we took on this Saturday afternoon.  I added the rest of my journalling, a sticker from the Heidi Swapp sticker book and a Vicki Boutin chipboard piece to the card and called this one done.

I used the Starburst Squares June 2019 exclusive cutfile, enlarged it to focus on just one of the starbursts, and cut it from white cardstock.  Then I used the offset tool in my Silhouette software and cut that piece in a turquoise patterned paper.  I layered those together over my  base patterned paper and stitched all of the starburst 'arms' with silver metallic thread on my sewing machine.

To finish the title card I adhered a circle label sticker from the Heidi Swapp sticker book over some white cardstock (I seem to be doing that a lot this month ha!), spelled out the month with alphas from the same book, printed the dates out on my printer and then added a couple of layers with stitching, quotation mark stickers, and then I pulled a gold paperclip from my stash, adhered a cute chipboard button and tied some lime green embroidery thread in a bow to make it super-cute.  The uneven backing to the label sticker is actually a Vicki Boutin flower ephemera piece that I turned upside down, and I love how the more freeform look to this shape turned out rather than using a regular circle.

My right page came together really quickly since most of the work was done for me with this gorgeous 'relax' 3x4 card, and a full 3x4 photo beside it.

This group photo wasn't looking awesome in colour after me pulling it from someone else's social media (also after their filters/edits), so I converted it to black and white and I think it worked really well.

Again I've layered the Heidi Swapp stickers on this 6x4 card over white cardstock to give them extra structure, and also to give the colours a little extra depth.

Thanks for stopping by today guys, I hope I've given you some inspiration to use your June Hip Kits in some pocket page spreads, or to use a cut file in a slightly different way than it may have been designed.

Hip Kit Club | Sketch in a Traveller's Notebook

Hi friends!  Today I have a traveller's notebook layout based on this week's fabulous sketch over at Hip Kit Club.

Here's my take, and I love that the photo element is so large, and that title is right over the top of the photo.

This sketch is  designed for a traditional layout, but there's nothing stopping me from using it in a traveller's notebook.  Here's a look at the sketch.

Really there's nothing too tricky about converting a regular sketch to work in a traveller's notebook, all it takes is to split the sketch right down the middle.

I used just a little mixed media on this page and applied some splatters in the Lindy's Starburst mists from the March 2019 colour kit in Tiffany Lou Blue and Mad Hatter Mint.  

Then I printed the photo out on my Epson Picture Mate. I cropped my full sized photo in half in Photoshop so that one half would fit on 6x4 photo paper and printed that out, then clicked undo and reversed the cropping so that I was left with the other half of the photo to print.  That saved me a bunch of time printing at home, since I didn't have to go to the shops to print a larger size photo.

The Vicki Boutin Kaleidoscope chipboard thickers in the June Embellishment kit are such a great thickness, they're not as thick as a lot of other chipboard pieces, and that's awesome when you're using them in a traveller's notebook. 

I've used a mix of them plus the Vicki Boutin ephemera, puffy round stickers and cardstock stickers from the Main kit to embellish this page.  There's so many different elements that work so well together.

To create the title for this spread which is 'This Wonderful Life', I used a combination of a Vicki Boutin semi-circle chipboard piece, a holographic scripty word over the photo, and finished up using the navy thickers from the main kit stitched over a label from the Heidi Swapp sticker book.  To give the label sticker more structure I adhered it to some scrap white cardstock and trimmed it to size.

I always love using the Hip Kits weekly sketches and I definitely recommend this one, it's not your average sketch, and I totally love how this one turned out with a large photo.

Be sure to stop by the Hip Kits Facebook Group to see more sketch inspiration from the design team, and to share your take on it.  I hope you join in for your chance to win the weekly sketch prize!

Thanks for stopping by today guys xo

Week 13 Project Life | Hip Kit Club

Hi friends, today I'm sharing my last project created with the May kits for Hip Kit Club.

My project life spreads will usually include some patterned papers, but there are so many beautiful PL cards in the May Pocket Life kit that I didn't even need to reach for my patterned papers on this layout.

This week was our son's 22nd birthday and I have lots of photos of that.  He asked if I could make him Bao buns for his birthday dinner and I was so happy with how they turned out for my first time making them that I had to include a photo of one of them too hehe.

I used a beautiful floral 3x4 card as my title card this week.  I printed the 'week' text out on my printer, added a bow sticker from the Simple Stories sticker book and the pretty blue Shimelle Thickers for the week number.  I also picked out a few coordinating sequins to dot around the printed oval and adhered them with embroidered french knots in hot pink embroidery thread.

This 6x4 family photo had a lot of distracting colours going on in the background that didn't really fit with the rest of my spread so I converted it to a black and white image.  This is a really handy tip if you're finding it difficult to make your PL layouts cohesive.

As a happy little birthday themed element I made a flip pocket underneath my family photo.  I've cut the word Happy out on my Silhouette, which is one of the May cut files, added some texture paste through the stencil from the colour kit, and then added a wash of the Alpine Ice Rose Magicals from Lindy's Stamp Gang that was also in the colour kit this month.

Then I've pulled lots of happy, birthday themed stickers from the Simple Stories sticker book to place around the card.  I also stamped it with the date of our son's birthday.

The base of the 3x4 card on the bottom right comes very similarly to this one in the kit.  Truth is, I made a little boo boo on the white section but I still wanted to use it in the same way.  So I just trimmed the white part off the card that I made my mistake on, and backed the bottom left corner with some white cardstock instead.  I also added some hand stitching in a pretty yellow embroidery thread as a border.

I finished off the card with a few layered stickers and added a sequin with another cute french knot for the centre of the flower.

Thanks so much for stopping by today guys!

Sketch Challenge in a Traveler's Notebook | Hip Kit Club

Hi friends, this past week I was able to play along with the weekly sketch challenge for Hip Kit Club, which is always so much fun!

I totally recommend joining in over on the Hip Kits Facebook Group (did you know there's a $10 gift certificate up for grabs each week!?)

This is the awesome sketch by DT member Christina, and I'm loving all the circle elements to this sketch.

And here's my take on it in my traveler's notebook, using the May Hip Kits.  I used five different sized circles, and placed my photo inside one of them.

This spread is about an amazing breakfast we had at a cafe called Operator 25 in Melbourne.  The food (and coffee) there is so, so good, and their theme is based around an old fashioned telephone switchboard.

I added some very gentle mixed media to the page before I went too far, mixing just a tiny amount of the Alpine Ice Rose Lindy's Magical Shaker with some texture paste, and adding it through a stencil that was in the colour kit a couple of months ago.

Of course I had to use one of the super sweet fabric 3D bows from the May main kit, and I pulled a few embellishments to place around the spread that tied in with the switchboard and cafe themes, like the mobile phone, the hello speech bubble, and a take away coffee cup.

Before I had a chance to even see these sky blue thickers from the May Pocket Life Kit in person, the lovely Shimelle told me she was in love with the dark blue foam that backs them.  And she's absolutely right, they are so, so sweet.

Thanks for stopping by today guys, I hope I've inspired you to use some circles on your layout today, or maybe even to document a recent visit to a favourite cafe!

March Project Life | Hip Kit Club

Hi friends!  I'm excited to bring you a project life spread today in my 6x12 album for 2019.

I'm totally loving the purple elements in the April 2019 Hip Kits, and you can see I haven't held back on them in this spread.

I really didn't have enough photos to fill a whole spread from each of two quiet-ish weeks in March, so I decided to combine two weeks into one layout.

When I put together my title card I tried not to focus on the fact that this was more than one week, so I typed out the days of the month separated by some forward slashes.  

I typed up some journalling on this 3x4 card and added an exclusive phrase puffy sticker from the April 2019 Pocket Life kit and it fits just perfectly.

I loved the orange ruffled element from the Dear Lizzy layered embellishments and pulled it apart so that I had just the layer I needed, and re-added some extra layers of a Paige Evans flower, a cardstock tag, some tulle and a puffy sticker to finish off another of the journalling cards.

Do you ever try placing journalling on a 90 degree angle?  This 3x4 Hello card was the perfect opportunity to do that and I love how it looks on the overall layout. 

I have a process video up for this spread on my Youtube channel, and you can find it here:

Thanks for stopping by today!

Just Peachy Traveler's Notebook Spread | Hip Kit Club

Hi guys!

Sharing my latest DT project for Hip Kit Club today, a traveler's notebook spread with some mixed media fun!

Traveler's notebooks are so popular right now, but not everyone has used mixed media in their TN.  Here's a simple way to try it out!

The April Color Kit has a gorgeous exclusive Hip Kit stencil designed by Paige Taylor Evans, and three pots of  Lindy's Gang Magicals. 

To create an ombre effect on the right page I mixed texture paste with each of the the Fuzzy Navel Peach and Pink Ladies Pink Magicals, and then a third that I added both colours to. 

Then I applied the pink texture paste through the stencil at the top of my page, the mixed colour through the middle portion of the page, and the peach at the bottom of the page. I love the pretty ombre effect that this created!

The super fun exclusive acetate alpha was perfect for my big title on the left page, and I pulled a lot of the Dear Lizzy pieces from the April Embellishment Kit to embellish my spread.

Thanks for popping in today, and I hope I've given you some inspiration to try mixed media in your traveler's notebook!

Week 8 Project Life | Hip Kit Club

Hi friends!  This bright and fun project life spread was up on the Hip Kit Club blog over the weekend and I thought I'd pop in and share it here with you as well!

This spread uses the beautiful April Hip Kits, and stays true to my PL style, which is to use a combination of pocket page cards and some elements made with patterned papers and embellishments to really make any spread 'my own' if that makes sense.

 

I love the extra little challenges that we get with each DT project, and for me today that's to use a cut file, and to add some stitching and some sequins.  Can you spot each of those elements in my spread?

Okay, so I might have a slight addiction to shaker pockets.  I made this teeny tiny sequin-filled shaker pocket for one of my 3x4 cards, and added some hand stitching in embroidery thread as well.

I can't even tell you how much I love the Maggie Holmes charms in the April Embellishment Kit, and this one sits just below my shaker pocket, and is tied with some twine from my stash.

This awesome 3x4 journalling card from the Pocket Life Kit has journaling spaces from 1 to 7.  You could totally use that for the days of the week, but instead I used it to document our adventurous morning trying to see the effects of TC (Tropical Cyclone) Oma on our coastline.

My title card came together easily with February spelled out with the exclusive alphas that come with the Pocket Life Kit this month.  I also printed the days of the week out on my printer in an old fashioned typewriter font.

My favourite trick with Snapchat photos in a 3x4 card (since they're totally not 3x4 size) is to print them in their original ratio, which leaves a small strip on the side to add some journalling and/or embellishments.  The 'ta-dah' flag from the embellishment kit was perfect to make my home made pizza look pretty special ha!

If you're counting, the only challenge I haven't covered yet is to use a cut file.  But this rainbow and couple of clouds from the April Rainbow Kites freebie cut file was perfect to fit into a 6x4 custom card.

I cut the rainbow on my Silhouette in three coordinating colours, and then cut the clouds in white cardstock before backstitching just inside the edges with sky blue embroidery thread.

And that's my weekly spread done!  Thanks for stopping by today, and I'd love to hear if you ever incorporate any of these three elements onto your pocket page spreads.

Sweet Mother's Day Mini Album | Hip Kit Club

Hi friends, all this week the Hip Kit Club design team are sharing beautiful Mother's Day projects in honour of those that mean so much to us, our Mums!

My kids are in their early 20's and the first few years of their really adult lives have brought me so much joy and admiration for the people they've grown into. So I decided to make a mini album using photos of just them and me (since the theme is Mother's Day), and add some meaningful quotes from Pinterest, and also use some of the Paige Evans 2x2in phrase tags from the April Pocket Life kit throughout.

Just a quick note before we go any further that the ribbons, lace, embroidery thread and sequins in this project are from my own personal stash. Everything else is from the beautiful April 2019 Hip Kits, and yes that does include those exquisite charms from the Maggie Holmes Sunny Days collection!

Since my photos were all taken at different times and in different situations, to create cohesiveness throughout the album I printed them all in black and white. I also printed them all at 1.5in wide on their shortest side, and layered vellum behind nearly all of them. Because my mini is well, mini, this creates a soft layer without being overbearing on such a small scaled project.

There's a lot of photos from here on in, so I won't talk too much further, but if you have any questions please leave them in the comments and I'll come back to you!

One of my challenges for this project is to use the negatives of cut files. These sweet clouds are part of the April Freebie cut file, and I separated them out from the rest of the cut file and moved them close to each other. So that I could make a shaker pocket out of them I duplicated the clouds then flipped the second set horizontally. Then I spaced them far enough apart so I would have enough room to die cut the heart pages. 

Once the clouds were cut on my Silhouette I placed my two pieces of card together, aligning the clouds (this is the tricky part which is why we flipped one set horizontally!) A little piece of washi helped to hold them in place while I ran them through my Big Shot. Then I pieced them back together in the usual shaker pocket-making method. I think they turned out pretty cute in the pink cardstock!

This is another negative of a cut file and it looks just as pretty as its positive! I trimmed the cardstock I cut it from into a strip and placed the very middle of the letters back inside. It didn't quite fit into the heart but that's okay, I just trimmed a little extra corner piece around the 'H'. That's what's so great about mini albums, the little bits and pieces sticking out from the edges!

To make this interactive element I folded some patterned paper in half horizontally and ran it through my die cut machine so that it didn't quite cut the entire heart out on the left side. This is important to make the flap to hold it together. 

There are some papers from Shimelle's Sparkle City collection in this kit, and Shimelle does the most ahmazing branding strips!! The pink and purple polka dot in the photo above and the tiny bunches of flowers in the photo below are both branding strips from Shimelle's papers.

I tucked in the photo for this page with a few extra pieces and held everything in place with a paperclip.

I created a little pocket for this page to place a few bits and pieces into. I cut strips from one of the 2x2in Paige Evans swatches and folded them in half to make tabs to pull out each of my two photos.

I also trimmed down two cards from the Pocket Life kit as fun elements. I stitched some pretty lace onto the end of one, and will add some journalling onto the 'afternoon' tag (both of these photos were taken in the afternoon of their given day).

I thought this was such a great quote to finish off my album. It's so true that raising children is a busy, crazy, frustrating, rewarding, fun, challenging time. But by the time they get to be adults you'll look back and wonder where the time went.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope if you're a Mum you have a wonderful Mother's Day this Sunday, and I also hope you have someone in your life who is a Mum that you can make feel special too!