Scrappy Blog Tour

Hi everyone! I was honoured  when  two of my favourite  scrappy friends, Heather Leopard and Chantalle McDaniel  tagged me recently  to participate in a Scrappy Blog Tour. I am always  inspired by both of them for their attention to detail and fun elements they add to their layouts.

As part of the scrappy blog tour, I will do a little Q&A and then tag three scrappers who inspire me. After all, it's all about lifting fellow crafters up, right? I just wish I could list more than three!

What am I working on right now?
This week I am working on a back to school project that I am going to be sharing later in the week on the Heidi Swapp blog.

How long does it take me to create a project?
MMMMMM that's a hard one. I am a bit of a perfectionist so I can sometimes work on a layout for several hours. In general it takes me about 2-3 hours to complete a layout but that's on a good day! I am big on matching colours of the photos to my products so that usually takes me a while to get the colour combos just right. One thing that I cannot do is start a new layout or project until I am finished with the one I'm working on....I just can't do it!

What are my favourite things to create with at the moment?
Anyone who knows me and my work knows how much I love the colour yellow so one of my favs at the moment is Heidi Swapp Colorshine in Mustard!  I seem to use it on almost every second layout I create. The other two favs are the new Heidi Swapp Project Life Kits -The Gold foil and
 Favorite Things Core kits. I love that I can use them on my 12 x 12 layouts a well.

How does my creative process work?
I always start with a story or Memory I want to record. Usually one from my boys, a little memory -something they have  said or done, an everyday moment that if not recorded will soon be forgotten. As I said previously I like to match the photos to my papers and embellies I like to tell more of my story through my embellishments, patterns on a paper or through the feeling conveyed by the colours and tones I have chosen... all help to build and consolidate  my  story. Most of my photos are taken on my iphone, edited on my iphone and then emailed to my self to print off. Once my layout is complete I ALWAYS add my journaling so in the future those stories can be re read , and "re"membered , for me the purpose and inspiration for my scrapbooks!

How do I become inspired and stay inspired?
My family and friends keep me inspired, I'm listening and watching every day to stories I want to record. Creatively I try to keep on top of trends by visiting Pinterest and Instagram and my favourite blogs but I also just like be inspired by the products I am using as well!

What is my signature style?
I love bright bold patterns and colours, usually always with a touch of yellow somewhere on my layout. I like clean lines with little clusters of embellishments throughout, and you will always see journaling as well. I like to add quirky bits and pieces to my layouts as well to make them "mine"!

 Enough about me , how about some of those gals who have inspired me over the years.

Laura Vegas- My first scrappy crush!  When I found the online site 2peas back in 2000 one scrapper always jumped out at me when I was scrolling through the pages on the gallery. I would follow Laura's blog religiously , I loved and continue to love her clean lines in her projects . I had the pleasure of working with her last year on the Bella Blvd DT, and I know one day we will just have to meet in person!

Nancy Damiano- Another 2peas scrappy crush, when she became a Garden Girl a few years ago I just fell in love with her style, I loved her layouts, her videos and her Disney inspiration! I love the fact that like me there is always journaling on her layouts, her boy layouts  always inspire me as well!

Jamie Pate- This girl is like the crazy crazy crazy epitome of elegance and attention to detail in her projects. A few years ago I was like soooo chuffed when she made a comment on my blog and we started commenting on each  others blogs, we then ended up unbeknownst to each other participating in the Art Of Observation class with Heidi Swapp and then  by some incredible fortunate coincidence  we ended up on Heidi 's media team together ...and the rest is history, I can say she inspires my every day with her beautiful projects I am in awe every time I visit her blog and I am lucky to call her my friend.

Be sure to stop by their blogs to be inspired just like me!

Hidden Mickeys....

I'm back to share another instalment in my Disneyland album. Today I'm showcasing some of the new Heidi Swapp Project Life collections, have you seen these kits  around? If  you are a project lifer or if you are not -the cards and elements in each kit are to die for and are perfect for any type of memory keeping!
Let's see how I combined a 12 x 12 page along side a Panoramic Photo Pocket page to showcase a lot of photos.
Oh and be on the look out for some hidden Mickeys on my pages...How many can you count?
I built this page on 2 pieces of  Favorite things pattern papers. I then added in one of the 4x6 glitter cards from the Glitter Value kit vertically to the right of my photos.

I hand cut and stitched my title before printing out my journaling on one of the 3x4 cards from the Favorite Things Core kit. I trimmed it to fit before adhering to my page.

I misted that chipboard Mickey head with Black Velvet Color Shine and finished off with a touch of Disney Washi that I got at my local Typo store!

Now you can see how my pages will sit in my album. The 12 x 12 page on the left with the Panoramic Pocket page on the right.

What's a Panoramic page you may ask??
Do you see those extra pockets on the right...

The  Panoramic Photo Pocket Pages  have an extra 6x12 flap for even more photos and space for embellishments! How cool is that!

Close ups reveal more cards from the Favorite Things Core kit as well that stunning Foil over Lay that can be found in the Foil Photo Pocket Page set. I simply took it out and slipped it into my pocket.

I also used some of the Foil Value kit cards ( these might be my favourite ). I simply added another misted chipboard Mickey head in the centre of the card. I also  created my own 3 x 4 Disney card by drawing a Mickey Head with Gold Lame Color Shine on one of the Journaling cards.

Turning the Pocket Page over you can see I added in even more photos.

 

 

This card below  originated from the Favorite Things kit with just the bold triangle pattern and the large circle in the centre. I punched two circles from white card , adhered them down to form the ears then  machine stitched over the whole thing to look like it was "meant to be"

I added in the QR code for a video I made with my iphone during the performance , adhered over one of the Glitter cards and lastly I used one of the Clear cards from the Overlay Value kit on top of the 4x6 striped Favorite Things card with some sequins I found at my local bargain shop that looked just like Mickey!

Are these Project Life kits not divine!! I am so excited to be using them in my scrapping, they really are fabulous.
Did you spy all my Mickeys??? I hope you did. It's kinda cool to add that Disney touch using items I already have and not theme specific!

reflect...

Sharing a couple of projects that were up on the Jillibean Soup blog recently!
This layout uses the new Cool as Cucumber  collection, I adore the bright bold patterns.

I hand cut the cloud shape from pattern paper!

and stitched my title on!

....and a birthday card using the Birthday Bisque collection.

Disneyland meets Colorshine...

I've finally worked up the courage to work on my Disneyland album and today I want to share my opening page for the album!
I started with some plain white cardstock and then grabbed some Heidi Swapp Colorshine in Sweet Cherry, Mustard and Black Velvet and free hand drew my Mickey Mouse head. It took a couple of tries getting the size and shape correct. I allowed it to dry then stitched around it several times with my sewing machine. I then matted it on that bold black and white pattern from Favorite Things!

I then grabbed my 7x10 Polka Dot stencil from Joann and laid it over the circle shape and misted randomly with Mustard ColorShine.

I also misted the Water Colour Star tag with Gold Lame and the pattern stencil from the
Stencil bird set to create some subtle texture.

I then went ahead and adhered small embellishments around the painted edges of the Mickey shape. Including chipboard shapes and buttons from Hello Today, Epoxy Words and Chipboard Words from the Color Pop collection, sequins, wood veneer and a few elements from the Simple Stories Say Cheese collection.

I'm kinda liking this start I've made. I am  now working on some pocket pages using the New Heidi Swapp Project Life kits to include in my album and I can't wait to share with you soon!

Hero

Today I am sharing a new layout with a old photo. A favourite photo  of my boys playing in the mud....and my oldest being a hero and helping my youngest! I used the yummy Dreamy collection from Heidi Swapp.

I free hand cut my title and stitched it to my layout.

Added a touch of mixed media with a stencil and matt medium.

...and added stickers and die cuts throughout my layout.

Something Stripey...

Have you spotted the new Challenge board over at Jot Magazine? This month we have changed it up a little and created a "something" board with these beautiful prompts!

I used the delish Chic Tags collection to complete my layout!

 

There is a fabulous prize up for grabs so head on over to the JOT Magazine blog to find out all the details, I hope you get a chance to play along!

Roller coaster!

Squeezing in my last couple of projects from last months Scraptastic Summer Nights Kit!
The bright and bold patterns drew me in immediately!
I utilized the lines in that pattern paper to enhance my design!

I used some left overs to make a quick and easy Birthday card too!