Down Time

Hi there. First day of the summer holidays and it's too hot to go out. Miss C is enjoying her off time and can be found clutching her iPad, watching youtube videos and playing Minecraft. She has extra lessons and sleepovers planned for the next two weeks, so I'm happy to let her have some free time to just relax.

I based this layout on the My Creative Sketches June challenge.

Down Time

I love the dark wood background contrasting with the brighter pinks, greens and blues. The photo was taken one morning when I found Miss C hiding in her reading corner on the iPad, complete with bedhead.

I cut out some flowers to soften the page and to provide the accents as per the sketch. I like the large wooden plaque as it adds a bit of neutral colour to the page.

I added a layered top border to add more colour and balance to the page and to ground the right corner accent. I was happy to see the black and white striped paper in the kit as it matches the bean bag in the photo. I finished the page with a few splatters of white paint.

 I pulled out the sewing machine for this layout. Just felt it needed that little something extra. I stamped and gold embossed the camera stamp that came in my kit and sewed the silver 'happy' on top.

Products Used

Papers by Chickaniddy Crafts 365 collection

Frame and die cuts by Amy Tangerine

Wooden accent and camera stamp by Shimelle

Thickers by American Crafts

Gold embossing powder by Ranger

White paint by Golden

Thanks for dropping by,

Summer Time Is Here

Hi there. Only one more day to the start of the summer holidays. Miss C is of course excited to not having to get up at 6:30 every morning for a few weeks. There will still be regular piano and mandarin lessons though to fill up the two plus weeks we have here before our holiday and then we're off to Tokyo, Vancouver and Alaska! It's going to be amazing. Can't wait.

On a different topic, this past weekend, we went down to the beach for a couple of hours to watch the dragon boat races. OK, we weren't really watching as we were having more fun digging in the sand than watching the races.

And Summer Begins

This was super quick page and easy page to put together. The kit was easy to work with with all the bright summery colours. I chose a blue background to make the other colours pop.

 I added Mustard Yellow distress paint and gold perfect pearls to some molding paste before stenciling in the sun ray design. I then layered the photo on several patterned papers.

  I love the stickers that came with the kit - so cute and easy to work with.

I finished the page with a splatter of paint and a little corner accent. Those flip flops are just too cute.

Products Used

Papers and various stickers by Echo Park Sunny Days Ahead collection
Chipboard stickers and brads by Echo Park Summer Bliss collection
Other stickers by Doodlebug Designs Sunkissed
Rays stencil and Mustard Yellow Distress Paint by Tim Holtz for Ranger
Gold Perfect Pearls by Ranger
Light molding paste by Golden

Thanks for dropping by,

Feed Me

Hi there. This week I've been feeling a little under the weather. A sore throat which doesn't seem to be developing into a cold or cough yet but seems to be stuck. I've been experimenting with essential oils instead of using over the counter meds. A drop of Young Living Thieves and three drops of lemon oil with a tablespoon of honey in water. It does seem to help a bit.

Also stubbed my baby toe last night getting into bed after a trip to the loo. Ouch. It's still smarting, although I don't think it's broken. Just bruised. Supposed to go to a zumba party tonight but I think I will give it a miss and go to my regular session tomorrow instead - depending on how I feel. 

One thing didn't change today and that was our regular Thursday crop. Today, I made a layout of my Molly cat. She is the cutest fuzz ball and every morning, will sit next to her bowl waiting for her breakfast. Occasionally, she will lie down and hug her bowl, giving me these "puss in boots" eyes, begging me to fill her bowl.

Feed Me

I love the contrast of the black and white background paper with the colourful patterned paper. Sweet Molly giving me her pleading look.

I love the cute chipboard accents that come with the collection and the nice black and white stickers.

I added lots of splatters of gelato colour to the background - it is a lot of colour but still stays subtle enough for the other elements and accents to shine.

Products Used

Papers, chipboard, stickers and alphas by Bella Blvd Color Chaos collection

Ribbon from kit

Thanks for dropping by,

London Day Trip

Hi there. Only two weeks left before the summer holidays begin and everyone is running around trying to get all those end of school year things done before they go away on holiday. We managed to squeeze in a crop session this Thursday. Here's what I came up with.

London Day Trip

I love the ledger background and it's a good neutral pattern to add other papers to. The used this sketch for the layout.

 I machine sewed a large circle on the background page, before dry brushing on a thin layer of gesso and then splattered the page with some glimmer mist.

Just a small cluster of accents to anchor the page. I love the little printed flower to add some dimension.

I love the ready made pre-stitched vellum label on the left. 

Products Used

Papers, embellishments and mini letter stickers by Crate Paper Open Book collection
Printed flower by Prima Marketing
Thickers letters by American Crafts
White gesso by Golden
Glimmer spray by Smooches

HK Memory Chest Kit Club - June 2015

Hi there. Here it is. The last kit of the 2014/2015 year, but no tears. We have even better news about the next HKMC scrapbook kit year.

The next kit year starts in September and will run for 12 months instead of the normal 10. Yay! That's a kit every month! Subscription is for one year and you can start your subscription any time.

Apart from the scrapbook kit, HKMC will also have a project kit each month; a separate kit for a project created by Belly Lau every month: a mini album, home decor or 3D paper craft.

Subscribe and pay before 15th June, you can benefit from the early bird discount of HK$2,980.00 for a twelve month subscription. After 15th June, the price goes back to the normal price of HK$3,160.00 for a twelve month subscription, so it pays to join early. Another option is to pay in two instalments of HK$1,670.00 (pay every half year). Subscription price is the same for both kits.

So, don't fret - the coming kit year will be even more exciting and jam-packed with goodies. Get more information here.

On to this month's kit, full of warm summery colours:

June Kit 2015
Pink Paislee “Citrus Bliss” – Seeds
Pink Paislee “Citrus Bliss” – Sour
Pink Paislee “Citrus Bliss” – Citrus
Pink Paislee “Citrus Bliss” – Fancy
Pink Paislee “Citrus Bliss” – Brunch
Pink Paislee “Citrus Bliss” – Gold Foiled Vellum Welcome
Pink Paislee “Citrus Bliss” – Puffy Stickers Shapes
Pink Paislee “Citrus Bliss” – Chipboard Stickers
BoBunny Double Dot Glitter Paste – Wasabi
Prima Pinwheel Stencil – Petal
Maggie Holmes Confetti Sticker Book – Gold Foil Alpha & Number
Vellum – Assorted Colors
Grass Beads – Dark Green
Maya Road Chipboard – Say What Bubbles
Maya Road Manila Shipping Tags
Mini Painted Metal Spiral Clips

Optional Add-ons
Sizzix Frameworks Border Die By Tim Holtz – Wave
Amy Tangerine Yes Please Calendar Stamp Set
FABER-CASTELL Mix & Match Gelatos Sticks 2/Pkg – Essential-Black & White
FABER-CASTELL Mix & Match Gelatos Sticks 2/Pkg – Metallic-Gold & Silver

Here's the sketch this month:

Happy Besties

I love the bright summery colours in this kit and the fruit theme is just too cute. For the matt, I cut strips of paper into double ended banners. 

 I die cut the flowers and leaves out from the coloured vellum in the kit and coloured in with matching copic markers to give them more definition. I then layered them and dabbed on the glitter paste provided.

For the orange speech bubble, I gessoed and then painted on orange paint before adding gold glitter.

For this corner, I cut off a section and layered with vellum and washi tape.

Padi Trek

I kept this layout quite simple to let the photo pop better. 

I matted the photo with two layers of colour vellum. I splatter Mustard Yellow distress paint on the background paper.

 I stamped the yellow tag with a alphabet stamp for some pattern. I covered the 'love' in yellow distress paint before adding gold glitter glue.

So Pretty

 I love the pink background paper and the contrast with the green accents. I absolutely love the photo which was taken last summer.

 I die cut the circles from one of the papers and placed them across the page.

 The crocheted fruit comes in the kit and are such a cute addition to the page.

 I added a little yellow bow to the corner give a cute pop of colour.

Cuddles & Hugs

 For my final layout, I kept to a neutral background again to let the other summery colours pop.

 I clustered the elements on and around the tags.

I stenciled the petal mask on the background paper to look like water drops instead.

I love the gold sticker alphas and they come in large and small sizes.

Here are the other DT layouts:

 So Pretty by Belly Lau

 Jumping Around by Belly Lau

 Lovely Bear by Belly Lau

 XOXO by Belly Lau

Racing by Belly Lau

So Pretty by Erika Lui

 Beat the Banana by Erika Lui

 Life Is Good by Erika Lui

Discovery Bay Crop 

15th June (Mon)

10:30-12:30

Hosted by Grace Wong

Chai Wan Crop
17th June (Wed)
10:30-12:30

Hosted by Belly Lau

Tuen Mun Crop
2:00-4:00
20th June (Sat)
Hosted by Belly Lau

Thanks for dropping by and after a nice couple of months rest from the kits (not scrapbooking though), we'll be back in September with all new kits.

Carry on scrapping,

Happy Day

Hi. It's the start of another week and Miss C is counting down the days to the end of school. Three more weeks. Still have teacher's gifts to sort out. Any ideas out there?

Happy Day Ocean Park

Here's a quick layered layout for those days when you only have a few minutes to spare. Lots of bold colours and patterns can really make a simple layout look more complicated and layered. And having an enormous giraffe as an accent doesn't hurt either.

 Add strips of patterned paper behind other ones to add to the illusion of layering without actually wasting large pieces of paper. A bit of bold washi adds more even more interest. A small accent corner with some tickets and a gold star balances out the left side of the page.

I placed the gold arrow overlay on the photo for an added interest. I love the triangle pattern paper which I cut to follow the pattern.

Products Used

Papers, vellum accents and stitckers from Crate Paper Confetti collection

Photo overlay by My Mind's Eye On Trend collection

Enamel dots and washi tape from stash

Thanks for dropping by,

Us

Hi. Last week we had my sister in-law and her son, Miss C's cousin over from England and we had such a great time. The kids really miss each other and usually only see each other once a year during the summer. This year we don't have plans to go back until Christmas, so they came over for the week. I love seeing them together; they get along so well.

Them being here did mean giving up my scrap area to make room for a bed so I was happy to get back to it this week. I haven't done a mixed media page for a while and wanted to dabble a bit.

 Us

 I love this romantic background paper with the music notes and lantern. I love the photo, taken at a charity ball - a rare one where both of us look kind of presentable.

 I sprayed and dabbed mist inks on the background before adding molding paste over a rose stencil and then adding some stamping around the area. For the hanging heart, I painted, then crackled and gessoed to give it more texture.

 I then layered on the die cuts and flowers. I love how the yellow spiral flower makes for a bright focal point next to the photo.

 I dug deep into my stash of flowers just to have some different contrast in flowers; fabric, paper, felt and mulberry.

Products Used

Background paper by Blue Fern Studios
Other papers by various brands - Lemon Craft, Crate Paper, AdornIt
Die cut flowers by Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper
Flowers, brads, background stamp and stencil from Prima Marketing
Chipboard dangling heart by Blue Fern Studios

Silks acrylics paint

Ink sprays by Lindy's Stamp Gang

White ink spray by Studio Calico

Clear Rock Candy crackle paint

Sticker letters by Doodlebug Designs

White gesso by Golden

Silver glitter Paper Pen by Viva Decor