HK Memory Chest Kit Club - November 2013

Hi all,

How is everyone doing? It's been a slow month, scrapbooking-wise, for me. After the retreat, I was bogged down with cakes and then we went away for ten days. Wow, what a great time we had: Rome, Sicily, Greece and Turkey; cruising around the Med. Three days in Italy and seven days on the cruise. I love cruises, but they're also the worst things - for your diet (that is). So much food on board and everything is five minutes walk of each other. I think I had to spend more time in the gym than anywhere else. Mind you, we had mini golf, ice skating and rock climbing to keep us active as well.

Right after coming back, I had to dig right into making my cousin's wedding cake. A beautiful three tier ivory creation that took 20+ hours to complete. I think the most hair-raising challenge was to get it to the venue in one piece, which, luckily it did.

I did, however manage to get two November kit club layouts done. Funnily enough, I did both of them before we went away and for the Roma layout, left the photo areas blank until we came back.

November 2013 Kit
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Pattern Paper - Guide Book
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Pattern Paper - Subway Token
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Pattern Paper - Journal
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Pattern Paper - Train Case
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Designer Brads
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Border Stickers 12"
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Tin Pins
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Cardstock Die-Cuts
Prima – Flowers
American Crafts - Little Bo Peep Thickers Alpha Stickers Lullaby Foam (Grey)

Add-On Options
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Label Stickers
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Word Stickers
October Afternoon - Travel Girl Washi Tape
Hero Arts x Basic Grey Carte Postale Clear Stamp Prima – Flowers

November Sizzix Die
Sizzix Bigz Suitcase Die

Here's the sketch and layouts I did.

 Look To The Horizon & Beyond

For some reason, these papers spoke to me for the photo. I kept this one simple, showcasing the papers and elaborated on the title instead.

I had these glass pebbles that I used to create a bit of oomph to the plain chevron.

I masked off the sunburst stencil and sprayed it orange to give a sun rays effect.

Create your title with different sizes and colours of alphas to add interest.

Extra Elements: Sunburst Stencil by Crafters Workshop, EK Success notebook punch, Prima mini alphas, brown cardstock, glass pebbles of various sizes

Roma

This was the layout I put together before we left on holiday. I used blank cardstock cut to size as my "photo holders" until we came back and I had actual photos to swap them out for. I only have five photos here, so I may expand this layout to a double page with more photos when I have time.

 This the cutest suitcase die. I really had fun die cutting this one and putting it together. Whoever thought of this die is a genius.

I looped the baker's twine around the page and across my title so that your eye will follow it to the tiny little plane on the top right of my layout. I had to dig in my stash for a geotag. I love them.

Another little accent square to break up the photos.

Extra Elements: Baker's twine from Doodlebug, wooden geotag from Studio Calico


Here's a few of the layouts from the rest of the team.

Central Park by Angela Collingwood

Travel Log by Angela Collingwood

Home by Angela McDaniel

Oh, The Places You'll Go by Angela McDaniel

Travel by Angela McDaniel

 Get Lost by Erika Lui

 Have Fun by Erika Lui

Sheung Wan Crop
19th November (Tuesday)
10:30am - 12:30pm
Hosted by Grace Wong

12th November (Tuesday)
7:30pm - 9:30pm
Hosted by Erika Lui

Discovery Bay Crop
14th November (Thursday)
10am - 12pm
Hosted by Angela McDaniel

Note that my Tuesday crop is on the third Tuesday of November, not the second week. Reason being, I'm off again tomorrow to NYC. Yes!! Gallivanting around the globe with the hubby, yet again. Yeah, yeah, I know. Such a hard life.

See you soon,

Three For Two

Hey there,

Finally getting round to posting on the retreat layouts I did. During the spring retreat, I got through four layouts in two days; this time managing to get through three full layouts and finishing off one I had been working on, so I'm not counting that one in my production count, although I will post it on here. Hopefully, this is not becoming a downward trend, or else I'll be coming away with just two layouts for the next retreat. Hope not!

Here's what I got through in the two days.

Lush Picks

 I was working on this at home and couldn't quite get it the way I wanted, so it was kept on the back burner for a few weeks. In the end, I got mad at myself and just told myself to finish it. All it was really missing were a couple of extra embellishments and the title. So here it is.

 I love the words strip and felt it would have been a shame to cut it all up, so left it whole. I do like the little postcard behind the photos. The title took forever to choose. We go fruit picking every time we're in the UK for the summer, so I was running out of suitable titles.

This paper collection is a lot of fun, with so many colours and cute embellishments.

Cute little 3D stick bike that I just had to put somewhere on the layout.

Products Used

Papers, chipboard, stickers from Simple Stories I [heart] Summer

Yellow cardstock
Yellow foam Thickers from American Crafts

Be Free

Chalkboard is a huge trend this year. Seems like all the paper lines have incorporated black/chalkboard papers or embellishments somewhere in their collections, and I am loving it. Any layout with a little (or a lot) of black really makes what ever you put on it pop.

I used a few fussy cut and sticker flowers and leaves to frame the photo.

I splattered on some Celadon and Ginger Flower Silks Acrylic Glaze on the background paper to add another dimension and bring out the colours of the paper line.

I free-handed the "be" to match the paper line. I like the added white acrylic paint accents around the elements. I think it adds movement and visual interest.

Products Used

Papers, stickers and quote card from We R Memory Keepers Chalkboard collection

Celadon and Ginger Flower Silks Acrylic Glaze

Black foam Thickers from American Crafts

White acrylic paint

   Lovely

Using the same paper line as the above layout, I used the ombre peach paper as the background this time, with black as a secondary colour. I love the shabby chic look of this page.

For the background paper, I added Carmen Silks to molding paste, before spreading it randomly through a circle lattice stencil. I then highlighted them with gesso. I rough distressed the edges of the papers before stacking them down, lacing ribbon around two of the pieces.

 Lots of pretty Prima flowers frame my cutie on both sides.

I added a gorgeous resin heart which I found locally, placing it in a chipboard frame. I also love the little bird and nest. I finished everything with a brush of gesso to highlight.

Products Used

Papers from We R Memory Keepers Chalkboard collection

Chipboard frame and decorative brads from My Mind's Eye Chalk Studio collection

Flowers from Prima Marketing
Black glitter chipboard Thickers from American Crafts

Circle Lattice Stencil by Heidi Swapp

Carmen Silks Acrylic Glaze

Enamel dots by My Mind's Eye

Heart, bird nest resin and ribbon sourced locally

White gesso from Golden

Zoommm

Here's something different from what I usually do. The colours are super bright and were perfect for these photos. I laugh every time I look at them. In the first one, hubby is driving with a fierce look; in the second, Miss C is driving, hence his scared look. I've decided that I really do need a line or two of journaling on the layout about this.

I wanted to complement the photos with all the accents - using frames to look like race tracks and arrows to suggest speed.

I love the cute tags and cameras. Again, another paper line with chalkboard papers and accents.

Love the little speech bubbles - they match the fun aspect of the layout.

Products Used

Papers and stickers from Echo Park Here & Now collection

Paper frames, arrows and arrow button from Fancy Pants What A Wonderful Day collection

Grey cardstock from Bazzill Papers

There you go. Three (and a half) layouts done. Wish there were more, but I guess I will have to challenge myself on that next retreat.

Now it's time to finish off my November HK Memory Chest kit club samples before we go away this Thursday. Miss C has her mid term holidays next week and it's also our 10th wedding anniversary on the 18th, so we're off to Rome and onto a cruise through the Mediterranean. What a trip that will be. Can't wait!!! Right after we get back, I'll be doing the biggest and most challenging cake ever for my cousin's wedding.

I'll see you back in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for dropping by,

HKMC Retreat Reveals - Kaisercraft True Romance

Hi all,

This paper line features beautiful soft colours, flowers and birds. Very romantic and soft, although it doesn't have to be for romantic photos. For my sample layout, I used a father/daughter photo instead.

Sky High

This collection let me indulge in my flower obsession to the max. Lots of fussy cutting and flower layering. The filigree frame was cut from a Spellbinders frame die, painted copper and clear embossed to give it a metallic effect.

I cut out thin black circles which adds a simple but effective contrast to all the pale colours and help balance the page. I love the jewel branches which I stuck in and around the flowers.

Here, I dangled the bird cage from a hand-sewn chain.

Lots of fussy cutting, flowers and doilies enhance the papers.

Extra Elements: Spellbinders frame die, copper paint, clear embossing powder, Prima and Petaloo flowers, Petaloo butterfly, Prima canvas alphas, Magnolia Stamps wired crystals, doilies in various sizes, black cardstock, lace trim, pink ribbon

Hope you enjoyed seeing the reveals. Next post, I'll show you the layouts I got through at the retreat itself.

See you next post,

HKMC Retreat Reveals - American Crafts Mayberry

Hey all,

On to the sample layouts I did for the paper line reveals.  This was part of the retreat class pack which was handed out to all participants. Funnily enough, I'd already done another layout with this collection in May, which was part of  a My Creative Scrapbook kit I received.

Country Walks

This line is full of beautiful bright colours and patterns with a summery feel. The photos were taken during a long walk around a loch in Scotland this summer. Well done, Miss C for keeping up for the whole hour.

Look at those colours on the scalloped strip. I also love the little tickets - so versatile.

For the faux canvas paper, I added gold embossing powder over a floral stencil to add a little texture and interest.

Extra Elements: American Crafts Thickers, Prima Floral Stencil, Fancy Pants chalkboard tags, gold embossing powder, Studio Calico wood veneer pieces, buttons and die cut leaves, white acrylic paint

Gorgeous Smiles

I love how this collection has such a variety of colours and patterns; gingham against flowers, numbers against chevron - and it all works so well together. When I saw the flower paper, I knew which photo I wanted to use with it, and I'm sure you can see why.

For the background, I added molding paste over the same floral stencil I used in the first layout above. I then splattered on a dark pink ink and a "tea cup stain" effect with black ink in strategic places. The black chalkboard tags were stamped with white acrylic paint.

I edged all the papers with black ink to make each layer stand out.

Extra Elements: Prima floral stencil, Black Soot distress Ink, pink spray ink, Fancy Pants chalkboard tape and tags, American Crafts thickers, light molding paste

Next post:  Kaisercraft

See you soon,