brother love

I am totally in love with the Paige Evans Turn the Page collection. It is so me, bright colours and bold patterns.   I teamed it with one of her new Cut Files from the Silhouette Online store- that fun cloud design.

 I backed the cut file with one of the pattern papers from the collection and then adhered it to the background with some pop dots for dimension.

I added some of my Heidi Swapp Storyline Deck Of Day  cards into the design, tucking some of the cards  around the edge of the cut file and others I fussy cut around to fit inside some of the clouds!

This is definitely one of my new favourite layouts.

Heidi Swapp Gratitude Journal

Working on a gratitude journal has always been one of those things I have wanted to do but never got around to until a few months ago when I decided to bite the bullet and just start. I have always been inspired by my fellow team mates Jamie, Lindsay, Jennifer and Maggie who write deep from the heart and express their gratitude with such grace and purpose. So I just decided to go for it! I decided to start simple - small bits of journalling and a photo or two to help recall the things that I was grateful for.

I began with the Magnolia Jane Kraft Journal and took one week at a time. For the first few weeks I kept the cover blank until I decided how I wanted to decorate it.



I wanted a monochromatic feel to my cover so I decided to paint it with some Metallic silver paint and add a silver Minc butterfly.



Let me share my pages I have created so far. As I said I started my Gratitude Journal about 3 months ago. Each Sunday afternoon I would sit down with my journal, my embellishments and my phone and think about the past week. The pages took me less than 20 minutes each including printing my photos, adding my journaling and embellishing my page.

I would use the same three prompts each week to write in my journal -

I am  thankful for...

I felt happy when...

I learned...

On my first page I used my typewriter to add my gratitude journalling onto one of the ephemera pieces from the Magnolia Jane collection. I attached it to the page with some of the washi tapes also from the Magnolia Jane  collection.



Next  I stamped the word "Unique" from the  Clear Stamps set and added one of the clear words stickers that comes in the Kraft Journal kit above the stamping. I finished off with another piece from the Ephemera pack and Washi.



I added one of my pre foiled butterflies under the circular frame and added another clear sticker over the top.



I used my typewriter again to add my journalling to one of the Magnolia Jane tags and then stapled a clear piece of ephemera over the top before adhering the tag to my page.



Next I again used one of the clear stamps in the center of my journaling and added a Magnolia Jane Clear Floral sticker over the top.



I wanted to add an interactive element to my page this week so I adhered one of the pre laminated tags  with some washi from my stash to create a flap.



The tag lifts up to reveal more of the journaling underneath.



For this week I used one of the Word dies to cut out the word "document" from white cardstock. I then sprayed it with Colorshine for an ombre effect and then adhered it next to my photo.



This week I had a landscape photo that did not fit into the portrait window. For a quick solution I foiled one of the Minc Jumbo Alphas in silver foil and tucked it into the frame. I love the effect this creates.



Here I used  one of the laminated Memory Planner dashboards that I had previously laminated  trimmed it down to create a banner and attached it with some Magnolia Jane washi to create another interactive element for my journaling.



This week I used one of the Magnolia Jane Minc tags to fill the circular frame. I simply trimmed it down to size and slipped it into the page. I added that pretty Love tag and strips of washi tape to decorate the page.



On the right page, the photo lifts up to reveal more of my journalling. The page is simply embellished with Clear stamping and Clear Ephemera.



I trimmed one of the Memory Planner Clear Dividers to size and attached it over my journaling with some washi tape. It can be lifted to reveal my journaling.



This week was embellished simply with a Memory Planner 3x3 card and clear sticker.



My last week I trimmed another Clear Memory Planner dividers to fit over my photo in the window. Again the photo lifts up to reveal my journalling underneath.



As of this week I am up to date. Although my journaling is simple it is still allowing me to record my gratitude each week. I  must say it has been a lovely experience  getting these thoughts down on paper. It has been very fulfilling and has become a favourite Sunday ritual that I cannot wait to continue.



I hope I have inspired you to start your own gratitude journal. It is a rewarding and creative process all in one.

Intentional Scrapbooking - my new Online class!

I am excited to share with you  my brand new class over at Big Picture Classes called  Intentional Scrapbooking!

When you're intentional in your memory keeping, you bring the focus back to the most important parts of your scrapbook layouts—your photos and stories. In my  class, I'll  share how to achieve Intentional Scrapbooking through cut files, ephemera, embellishments, journaling, and more! Go beyond the pretty products and get to the heart of scrapbooking to tell meaningful stories on your layouts!

 There are 6 layouts and 6 videos sharing how I use the elements such as cut files, ephemera and  QR codes to bring my layouts together.

I hope you will join me over at Big Picture Classes...I would love to see you there!

Celebrate Spring with the Heidi Swapp red Letterboard

Spring is in the air in Australia and what better way to celebrate the new season with the brand new
( coming soon) Red Letter board from Heidi Swapp.
The red Letterboard is going to be perfect for the upcoming celebrations such as Christmas but is also perfect for any celebration be it big or small. The red with the white frame really makes a gorgeous statement.

I have teamed the red letter board with the new white 1 inch letters and the yellow 2 inch letters that I spray painted previously! The yellow and white just pops don't you think!

The new letter board will be available at your local and online Scrapbook store soon!

DIY Minc foiled QR coges

Today’s Minc It Monday edition over on the Heidi Swapp blog   shares a fun new technique  to create foiled QR codes to use in your layouts or planners, and also includes One Canoes’s Creekside Collection, Maggie Holmes for  Crate Paper's Carousel collection  and  the Minc Foil and applicator. I have recently renewed my love of using QR codes in my Memory Keeping! I am using them in my scrapbooks and planners. It is so easy to just upload a video from my phone straight to You Tube and then create a QR code with my QR reader app on my phone. Today I want to take it a step further and add a little zing to my QR code with some Minc foil! How cool is that!

Let me share a little about my layout before I show you how to create the QR code and foil it in the video below. I began with my back ground using the One Canoe Creek side "Mountain View" pattern paper.  I then trimmed up the "Radiant" pattern paper for my "This" part of my title and adhered it to the left side of the base pattern paper.

I then used some Black foil and ran the  Minc  Jumbo letters through my Minc machine. I adhered them in a haphazard fashion on the left side of the page. I then layered my photo and pieces of the Carousel Chipboard and sheer stickers in and around my photo.

I then created my QR code on my phone and then Foiled it with some Teal foil. Watch the video below to see how easy it was!

Once I foiled my QR code I trimmed it and matted it over some white cardstock. I then attached it to some white floss with my Tiny Attacher. I can now scan my QR code anytime I want and watch the video. What a fun concept right! Can you imagine the possibilities now with all the different Foil colors!! Expect to see a lot more of these foiled QR codes  on my projects in the future!

Heidi Swapp Letterboard Celebrates book week

It's book week here in Australia and I wanted to celebrate the week with my boys and my Heidi Swapp Letterboard.
After I spent a few hours creating my son's costumes for the book week parade I then set about creating a great quote to put on my Letterboard to inspire my boys all week.
 I began with the Extra Large Letterboard, I  then combined the Black, Gold and White (which I spray painted yellow previously) 2 Inch letters and the black 1 inch letters to spell out my quote. I added the word Celebrate from the Celebrate Word set to complete my quote.

I just love this photo of my boys. As I was taking photos and asking them to stand in certain places and poses, my youngest who has recently found a love of reading literally kept on reading through each photo snap...it is my new favourite photo, if I had tried to set up this photo I am sure it would have been a failure....but the fact that it is real life and epitomises the essence of Book week it  just makes me so happy.

They were dressed in the favourite book characters - my oldest - Minecraft of course LOL and my youngest Geronimo Stilton.

A close up of the Letterboard. I love the black, gold and yellow letter combo combined with the glasses and stars from the Every day Icons set. I now have my letter board sitting on our stair case and hope it inspires my boys to continue their love of reading way past Book week!

DIY Banner in my classroom

As you may know, by day I teach kindergarten here in Brisbane Australia. I recently shared a peek into my classroom decor here on the blog. I love that I can use all of Heidi Swapp  goodies to help motivate my  class. I want to share another fun idea I am using in my classroom this time with the DIY banner that you can find at your local Michaels!

I started by using some colored paper from my classroom and trimmed them to fit the  shelf on the banner. I then simply glued the strips to the banner.

I then grabbed my  mini lightbox letters and word phrases that fit the banner perfectly and spelt out my quote. I wanted a bright fun feel so I combined different fonts and colors.

 

I finished off by hanging my banner with the enclosed gold clip. Each week I change out my letterbox letters and my class look forward to finding out what the new quote is!

Find the DIY banner and mini Lightbox letters at your local Michaels now!