My Beauty

I've been raiding my past kits again and this time came up with this one to complement my photos. Miss C's dress reflect the colours of these paper lines and flowers perfectly. The unfortunate thing is that as these are products from a few years ago, most of them are either sold out or retired.

The photos were taken last weekend and I can't stop looking at them. I know I'm biased, but my little girl really is turning out to be quite the beauty.

I wanted to keep a "white" space on the top half of the page and just have everything clustered in one corner. I love the punch that I used on the matt papers and anchor line. So happy with this purchase.

I added glimmer mist to the chipboard accents and Stickles to add shimmer to the flowers. Love the tiny little rub-on saying just under the anchor line.

I need more of this alpha sticker. They are just so gorgeous, with a canvas feel to them.

Products Used (most products discontinued or retired)

Papers from Pink Paislee Cupid Collection 2009 (retired) and Fancy Pants Vintage Valentine 2009 (retired)

Rub Ons from Pink Paislee Cupid Collection 2009 (retired) 

Flowers, alpha sticker and crystal flourish from Prima Marketing  (retired)

Mini chipboard accents from Heidi Swapp variety pack (discontinued)

Glimmer mists from Tattered Angels

Stickles from Ranger Ink

Distress Inks from Tim Holtz for Ranger Ink

Deco Fans Punch Around the Page Punch from Martha Stewart

Trim and brads unbranded

Tranquil Ocean Blues

These papers weren't part of my monthly kit but I had to add this to my order when I saw it. Absolutely love this collection, from the papers, to the giant black numbers and die cuts to the cute wooden spool buttons.

The photo was taken in March when her paternal grandparents flew out from the UK to celebrate her birthday with her. This is outside the Disneyland hotel, a stone's throw away from where we live.

Soft blues and pinks combined with punches of black pull this layout together.

Look at the big number 6 and those spool buttons. So adorable.

Even the packaging was gorgeous, and I just had to use it in the layout.

Products Used
Papers, paper die cuts, spool buttons from the Pink Paislee London Market Collection
Flowers selection from Prima Marketing
Distress Ink from Tim Holtz for Ranger Ink
Stickles from Ranger Ink
Crystals and bling sourced locally

Pink Ballet Shoes

Wow, what a trip! This was my second time to New York and it is absolutely, one of my most favourite cities. It has the vibe of Hong Kong but with its own unique twist. From the calm in Central Park, to the hustle and bustle around Midtown and the quaint areas around Chelsea. Love it all. Hubby may have to go back quite often, so hopefully, I'll be able to go again as well. Definitely have to take Miss C with us next time. I know she will have a blast.

So, we arrived back home on Saturday evening, just in time for Father's Day on Sunday and Miss C's ballet performance. Daddy got a home made card, a medal and a large bottle of "man perfume".  At four o'clock, we all got treated to Miss C's very cute dance performance. We weren't really allowed to take pictures or videos so I had one nice one of her outside before the recital. The paper line I used is from Webster's Pages 2010 collection, but you know, don't be afraid to use older papers. I try to match papers to my photos and so sometimes, a paper collection will sit for a while before I find the right photo for it.

So cute

The inside of her card

A simple layered page to highlight the photo and Miss C in her pretty costume.  She was a shimmering firefly.

This is journalling printed on velum and stuck down on patterened paper.

Love this large fabric lollipop flower. The blue tulle behind it (barely seen) is actually a piece of hair ribbon that was part of the costume and thought it was cool to bring that to the layout. A string of pearls mimics what is on the pattern paper underneath.

I love this lace border punch. One of my newest purchases and something that was on my shopping list for the longest time. I crackle-painted the chipboard elements and added stickles to the edges of the flowers for added dimension.

Products Used
Papers and alpha stickers and large fabric flower from Webster's Pages Ladies and Gents collection 2010
Larger rose flowers from Prima Marketing Fairy - Sugar Blooms collection
Smaller rose flowers non-branded
Dress form and bird chipboard Harmonie
Distress crackle paints and distress inks from Tim Holtz for Ranger
Eyelet lace Punch Around the Page punch from Martha Stewart

12 Tags of 2012 - June

Quick posting before bed time. I'm off to NYC tomorrow. YAY!! Not looking forward to the 17 hour flight though and hope I can sleep through it.  Hubby has to go there for business and I had the opportunity to join him, so of course I jumped at it.  This also means that I won't be able to do any work or blog for the next week. I'll be back the week after, so I hope I have lots of photos to share then.

Anyway, back to this tag. This is based off of Tim Holtz's June tag. The photo? That's me at around 18 months. When I look at this picture, I'm always taken back by how much Miss C looks like me at that age. I'll have to post a comparison when I get back.

For my tag, I've used most of the same techniques that Tim has, although my embellishments are different. I don't have half the stuff he has and like anyone else, I simply improvise. I'm not going to list out the products I used as most of it was sourced locally and has been in my stash for a while. I do like how this has turned out.

Gel Medium Transfer Class

Hey there. I finally got to teach my mini album classes where I used gel medium over canvas to create these unique pages that look like they have been printed on. It's so lovely as you can see the canvas pop through and yet keep the image you want nice and clear. Everyone learnt how to use the gel medium as a transfer technique and also got to play with lots of flowers and trim.

I brushed on a layer of medium on the canvas before covering with paper, right side down. Let it dry completely and then, using water, soak the paper before rubbing it to reveal the underside, which has transferred to the canvas. Seal it with another layer of medium and you're good to go with the embellishments.

I added lots of flowers, bling, trim and doilies to my pages. The pictures were taken at Disneyland where Miss C got to dress up and get some pro pictures done. Look at her pose.

Miss C = Miss Cuteness

Here's Pam who's done with her cover.

Pam's cover. Isn't it gorgeous?

Angela, who is also one of our instructors at HKMC layering on her embellishments.

Another cover from my first class. I love the way she's cut around her photos before sticking them down.

I have one more of these classes on 19th June from 7:30 to 9:30pm so if you'd like to join, please email info@hkmemorychestonline.com to book.

Products Used
Canvas albums from Maya Road
Papers are from a range of companies
Multi Medium from Claudine Hellmuth for Ranger
Flowers, ribbons and trims sourced locally. (For my own album, there is a mixture of generic and Prima flowers)

Father's Day Layouts

It's less than two weeks to Father's day and for once, I am on top of it, with regards to layouts anyway. Still need to take the little girl out shopping for a nice present.

I decided to do two layouts. One of her daddy and one of her grandad. Both use the same paper collection to tie in with the theme. It's quite a cutesy paper, so I tried to work that into a mainly "male" theme. Of course, I still have to add my girly touches. Just can't help it.

For this, I cut out a border to frame the plain background. I drew a scalloped edge around the photo matt before cutting it out. As the patchwork paper already had a faux stitched detail to it, I repeated it on most of the other papers and embellishments.

Look at this cute little sticker tag from Miss C. A nice touch.

These pictures were long overdue to be scrapped but it took a while to find the right papers. The papers and embellishments are so cute and tie in with the pictures. Is that not the cutest gate? Great place to hide some journaling.

Hidden journaling.

Products Used
All papers, cutouts and stickers from Crate Paper Neighborhood Collection
Distress Inks from Tim Holtz for Ranger
Baker's twine from Hemptique

Bringing a Little of the Fifties

I remember from my childhood when my mother used to make some of her own clothing and I remember those dress patterns on crispy tan paper. Unfortunately, I never did learn how to use them and for the life of me, I cannot remember any of my sewing lessons from home economics.

I've had this collection sitting in my paper stash for the longest time and although I'm not a child of the fifties, looking at them does bring back the nostalgia.  The photo was taken at the winter CHA this year where we got to mess around at the GCD Studios booth. Fitting then, that these papers are from the same company.

I straight cut the ladies from matching papers, leaving a little of the background around them to make them pop. Don't you love the ladies? Betty Draper, eat your heart out. Lots of layering and balancing out the blues, reds and pinks around the page.

I sewed a double curved line around the back sheet to tie in the sewing theme.

Layering different elements and the rose paper trim to anchor the photo.

Products Used
All papers, paper trims and cards from GCD Studios Homespun Chic 2009 Collection (sadly retired)
Distress inks from Tim Holtz for Ranger

New Sign for the Door

I had a kid's class today making name plaques, so I got to decorate one too. Carla asked if I could do one for the shop's front door as the current one is looking a bit tired. The one for the kid's class is much simpler as it was for eight year olds. The girls worked with pink based papers but I wanted to use a blue tone on mine.

I painted the wooden plaque with a mixture of crackle and acrylic paint, before adding different distress inks to give it a weathered look. The paper was sprayed, inked and stenciled before being stuck down on the plaque.

I brushed on two coats of crackle paint on the chipboard letters before adding a darker ink around the edges. Flowers, trinkets and pearls are bunched around before being stuck down with hot glue.

I used UTEE to stiffen the paper butterfly before adding pearls and antennae. Flowers were either inked or trimmed in Stickles to make them pop.

Products Used
Wooden plaque from Kaisercraft
Paper from the My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart collection
Chipboard alphas cut with Word Play Die from Tim Holtz Alterations for Sizzix
Flowers and trinkets are a range from Prima, Kaisercraft and locally sourced
Crackle Distress paint and Distress Inks from Tim Holtz for Ranger
Timber Brown Staz On Inks from Tsukineko
Stickles and Perfect Pearl Mists from Ranger Inks