“Perfect Day” for Scrap The Girls September 2018

Hi Creative Friends,

September has arrived and I’m here to share the latest challenge for Scrap the Girls.  This month we are all creating using this sketch called “Grunge Princess”.  You will all know I’m a LOT more “Princess” than I am “Grunge” but I was sure to include some mixed media ‘mess’ and some pops of black in my embellishments.  Oh yes, I also flipped the sketch upside down, just for something different.

So, here is my take!

I began with my background, pushing some Whipped Spackle through a stencil and letting it dry.  Then I’ve added a stack of Shimmerz Inklings for some shine.  I love how soft and shimmery it is.  The whipped spackle also resists it a little, so pools of colour sit in the grooves of the stencil which I LOVE!  Next up, I worked on my photo stack.  I really wanted to stay true to the sketch with the three photos as I normally only scrap with one or two. I’ve mounted each of my 3 x 4 photos onto some black and white scraps from Crate Paper and positioned in a messy row.

I’ve also added in a few layers of Pink pattern paper here as well just to add to my paper stack.

At this point, it was all looking a little soft and pretty but a little wishy-washy (is that even a word??) – I mean, a little pale, and needed a pop of “something”.  So, going back to the inspiration this month, I pulled out some black elements to add a touch of “grunge”.  The chipboard pieces were a great match with my stencil, I simply coloured with some black Distress Oxide Ink.  I also had the title piece ‘perfect’ from Cocoa Vanilla Studios.  I love these as they are more a dark grey than deep black and suited this project perfectly.

I then took the Floral Cluster 01 Custom cut file from the CUT to YOU store and added that as another background element to my page.  I used the sketch as a guide and added in where the marked mixed media should be.  I was never going to add a big paint splatter to the back of my page, that’s just not my style, but the cut file, with my background mixed media added in the same position draws the eye across the page in the same way as a paint splatter would.

Here you can see how the cut file sits on top of my mixed media and adds a lovely layer to the page.

The bones of the page were coming together now, it was time to add in a few more embellishments.  I’ve gone with some fussy cut butterflies.  I especially love how these match my colour scheme including a little pop of black for their bodies.

I also found a few other bits and pieces going through my stash, this black and white heart and pink paper flower.  These challenges always allow me to use up my stash of goodies and I love mixing and matching a stack of collections and manufactures for these pages.

I also found this cute little fabric bow in my stash and some black enamel dots and that was the page done.

I love how this page turned out… I know it is hardly “grungy” however, I was really inspired by the “grungy” components of the sketch to add a real pop to my page and it was so fun to work with AND, I love how it turned out.

Be sure to upload to the Facebook group for your chance to win a fab prize from our sponsors – I would love to see what you create!

This months sponsor: Colour Blast

Until next time,

 

CHERISH THE CHALLENGE | VARIOUS | GWEN WRUCK

Hi Creative Friends,

Here today to share my latest Cocoa Vanilla Studios project and this week, I was given the *cough* *cough* “CHALLENGE” to use Black and White plus one.  I just love love love creating pages with these types of colour schemes, they always end up so striking!  I’ve done a few like this one, so I jumped straight into this challenge. I’m wondering if you can guess what colour I went with…

The idea for this page began with my photo… I have been documenting more about myself of late and was itching to update my progress on the goal I have set for myself to get back “en pointe” with my Ballet.  Next, I wanted something really pretty to go with my pretty Pointe shoes and I was really drawn to this cut file by CUT to YOU (named Floral Heart 01) which I have designed.  You can find this one and more on my cut file store here.  I have a few of these floral hearts, but I will admit, this one is my favourite!

I began by backing the flowers of the file in the More Than Words ‘Darling Buds‘ paper.  Next, I backed the black of tiny leaves in the Hello Lovely ‘Life Story‘ paper using just the black portion of the paper.  The black/white of larger leaves were backed with the More Than Words ‘Gossamer‘ paper and lastly, the background spot used for the balance of the file is the More Than Words ‘Radiant‘ paper.  Once that was all finished off, I stitched around the edge of the heart and mounted the whole piece onto foam tape.

Next, I decided on my background paper.  I wanted something bold that would add to the design and could work well with the floral elements.  I went with the black and white stripe of the Love Always ‘Twin Set‘ paper.  I’ve run it horizontally across the page rather than vertically as I knew at this stage I had a pretty bold title planned and thought it would work better to have your eye be drawn across the page rather than up and down the page.

It was now time to mount my photo, I’ve used some more of the More Than Words ‘Darling Buds‘ paper to do this.  I’ve also stitched around the edge as I normally do.  I placed the photo on the right-hand side of the heart as to not cover up any of that hard work I did backing the file and those pretty pretty papers!!

Now was the time to place my large title, for this I’ve used the word “cherish” from the More Than Words Chipboard Title pack.  I’ve added the word “challenge” using a plain black alpha from my stash.  With the largest elements now in place, it was time to add some smaller details.  I started with a pretty little flower cluster on the right-hand side of my photo using elements from the More Than Words ‘Die Cut Ephemera‘ pack.

Next, I added some of the  Colour Me Happy Snip-its typed sentiments, these come on a thicker card sheet that you fussy cut out and are slightly larger than the ones available on the Accessory sticker sheets. I love these and can’t believe there are still some available in store!

I’ve also added a flair button to my photo, this one is from one of the Limited Edition Flair sets and then got to thinking about something down the left-hand side of my photo.  After a bit of fussing, I decided to die cut out some pretty bows in the More Than Words ‘Darling Buds‘ and ‘Gossamer‘ paper scraps and that finished off the page really nicely.

Thanks for popping by today, I hope you’ll give something like this a go, I do really love how my pages with these kinds of colour schemes work and this one with all the florals, pink and bows, well it is very girly and I love that about it!

Until next time,

AWESOME ADVENTURE | BOYS RULE | GWEN WRUCK

Hi Creative Friends,

Here today to share my latest Cocoa Vanilla Studios project and this week I have another layout featuring the  “Boys Rule” collection.  It also features my hubby “on location” at one of his many photo shoots.  He gets to see so many beautiful parts of our country and take pics of some super crazy fit people and he LOVES it!

The idea for the page began with two selfies my hubby took “on location”.  I was inspired to use the photo frames included in the Miscellany pack, to ‘frame’ the pictures and play on the fact that in just one shoot he will take up to 10,000 pics!  There are a bunch of frames in this pack, none large enough to actually frame my 3×4 photos, so I thought I’d use them to create a background feature instead.

For my background, I’ve used the Boys Rule ‘Star Fall’ pattern paper and mounted that onto the ‘Fun & Games’ paper on the woodgrain side.  I’ve stitched around the edge and love the pop of white on the darker colours.  Next, I took my photo frames and layered them up in the top left-hand corner and right bottom corner.  Once I was happy with their position, I stitched around the edges of some and through the middle of others.  I love how the white thread really stands out on the navy background.

Next, I matted my 2 photos using the “Good Times” paper and mounted them on foam for dimension.   I’ve also sewn around the edges of the photos in keeping with the stitching I’ve already done in the design.

I then went through the embellishment packs in search of some other shapes for my page.  At this point it was filled with squares and harsh edges, so I wanted to mix things up a bit.  I found three circular elements (2 from the Accessory sticker sheet and one chipboard piece) to add to my page.  I also added this cute flair badge in the same wood grain colour as the border of my page.

I’ve then added in some stars from the Accessory Sticker Sheet and Ephemera pack as well as some sentiments.  The “AWESOME” and “LOL” below are from the Ephemera pack.  There is also a sticker “You are AWESOME” from the Accessory Sticker sheet I’ve used.

I’ve pulled arrows and banner pieces as well from the ephemera packs and Accessory sticker sheet.  I’m pulling out anything really that fits my colour scheme that could work and seeing what everything looks like.

I’ve also pulled out more chipboard, below you can see the “Hey you’re pretty rad” and “THE BEST” pieces.  I love the generous size of these pieces, they really help fill out my design.  Here you can also see I’ve added some typed sentiment stickers from the Accessory sticker sheet to finish off the page.

Thanks for popping by today, I hope you’ll give something like this a go, there is a stack of frames in this pack and lots of other cool bits and pieces.  I will also be teaching this layout at The Stampers Hut this week, so if you’d like to come along or grab a kit, be sure to give Karen a call… Don’t wait for them to go on to the online store, they never last that long!

Until next time,

“Sweet Moment” for Scrap the Girls Aug 2018

Hi Creative Friends,

August has arrived and I’m here to share the latest challenge for Scrap the Girls.  This month we have another stunning mood board to be inspired by.  I thought I’d draw inspiration for this month purly from the colours.  The images themselves didn’t lead me to any ideas but I did love the colours, they are just so vibrant and not colours I’d normally use so I ran with that!

The colours in the mood board are just so striking don’t you think!  I began by digging through my stash to find goodies to coordinate and first up I found a Thickers word “MOMENTS”  by American Crafts.  I really liked how it featured a combination of the purple/blue and that stunning dark red.  This piece has been in my stash for a while now, so it was a great place to start my page.

Next up, I went about choosing a photo and found this one of my little miss.. isn’t she the sweetest! To go with her pretty flower I wanted to incorporate one of my new CUT to YOU cut files.   This one is called Geo Floral and I love the hand drawn feel it has to it!

I backed the cut file in papers that matched the colours in the mood board, all of these are from Illustrated Faith – Gratitude Documented collection.  Sure, it’s for Bible journalling, but also has a stack of basic designs perfect for scrapbooking and the colours fit the mood board perfectly!

As my cut file was an extra large element to my design, I locked this into position first.  I wanted the leaf design to stem out from my photo leading the eye across the page.

Next, it was time to position that large title of mine as well.  I decided to run it along the bottom edge of the page and added “Beautiful” and “Sweet” to make the title “Beautiful Sweet Moment”.  I used a chipboard piece and foam Thickers which I have coloured with Shimmerz paint.

So, at this stage, the cut file, my photo and the big title were all locked in.  Time to embellish!  I’ve added 2 of the pretty hearts by Charm Creations who is also the sponsor for this month, some pretty bows, a butterfly and a die cut piece from Cocoa Vanilla Studios and the page was complete.

I’ll leave you with one more close up of that CUT to YOU cut file, so so loving the colours teamed with the fresh white!

I love how this page turned out… yes, they are colours I wouldn’t normally use, but that’s why it’s so fun to be a part of these challenges and I do love the result so I may even do this again!!

Be sure to upload to the Facebook group for your chance to win a fab prize from our sponsors – I would love to see what you create!

This months sponsor:  Charms Creations

Until next time,

 

“Mister Wonderful” CUT to YOU is sponsoring Scrap the Boys August 2018

Hi Creative Friends,

Super excited to share that CUT to YOU is sponsoring Scrap The Boys this month!  It’s been so fun to partner with the Design Team to not only design a cut file inspired by the mood board but also create a page to share with you all.  Here is the mood board…

and here is my layout… I was super inspired by the colour combo and that Zebra print!  I had the perfect set of Thickers to use and these candid shots of Mr Wruck.

Here is the cut file I created called “Wild Geometric”.  I’ve designed it as one joined piece of 3 of the leaf shapes as well as a separate pieces of each of the designs so you can mix and match.  Available in both Custom Cut file which is cut at HQ and as a Digital Download for Silhouette owners.

I began by pulling out some pattern papers from my stash including some for the latest Cocoa Vanilla Studios collection, some from Bella Blvd Secrets of the Sea collection and a black and white spot that had been in my stash for a while, sorry I’m not sure of the manufacturer on that one.  Once I was happy with my pattern paper combo, I went about backing the CUT to YOU cut file.

I then layered up the cuts to create a base for my photo mat.  I’ve layered some of the cuts side by side and others on top of each other for interest.  I then added some fussy cut pieces in an arrow style shape cut from the Maggie Holmes Carousel ‘Dazzle‘ paper which was the perfect colour for the mood board.

Next, it was time to add my title, I’ve used Thickers in 2 styles for this and some Snip-its from Cocoa Vanilla ‘Colour Me Happy’ collection.  Lastly, I’ve added a black fabric bow and some enamel stars and enamel dots.

It was so fun to play along with Scrap The Boys this month and I’m super proud to be able to sponsor this great Aussie challenge blog so I do hope you get your entries in!

Lastly, a quick reminder that our Facebook group – CUT to YOU HQ has more inspiration from the design team and lovers of our files so be sure to join us 🙂

Until next time,