SPECIAL GUEST - Stephanie Bryan - Layout and cards using a PL Kit

Today I am here to share another couple of shares from our special guest Stephanie Bryan. Stephanie used the 'Sweet Love' Cherry Flair pack buttons in these projects. 

You can purchase these Flair if you like them by clicking on the image below. 

The first is a layout that she created for Jot Magazine's special Project Life card week. I love how the red heart flair works so beautifully with this layout and really ties in the cards she has used from the Mayfield mini kit which is only available at Craft House, one of the Jot Magazine sponsors. 

Stephanie also embellished herself a set of Project life cards from the same kit. Doesn't our bicycle Cherry Flair look so cute here!?!

And a close up:

I hope you are inspired and can see how versatile our Cherry Flair are. The quality of colour and design is great and they compliment styles from 'simple' or more 'embellishment lover' scrappers. 

I'll be back soon to share more from our designers!

Raquel x

Just me again!

Hi everyone, it's just Eb back again to share another layout with you created with the latest cupcake kit!
I wanted to use all the gorgeous patterned papers this time so I decided to create an old fashioned pie graph design to showcase all the beautiful colours and designs.

                                    I loved the latest flairs too so I used 2 this time!!!!!
To create the aqua background decided to experiment with the gorgeous fluid chalk ink pad.
I rubbed some onto my craft mat and sprayed it with water . Once it became watery I placed my cardstock over the top and gently rubbed it into the colour on my mat. These ink pads have so many uses! I loved the effect it left on my cardstock!

I have added in the title by using a "Mambi" sticker, and added a little more washi tape and enamel dots!

So there you have it! Hope you are having fun creating too!

GUEST DESIGNER - Amanda Hall - Be Fabulous

Today I am here to share with you another layout with our fabulous Guest Designer Amanda Hall. 

Amanda has created a layout and showcased a way of thinking 'outside the box' when it comes to using your patterned paper that comes in the kit.

In the layout 'Be Fabulous', Amanda has cut out arrow/banners from the Glitz paper and highlighted those sections by putting scrap pieces from the kit behind it, really making the layout pop. 

Used from the APOCD August Main Cake kit :
Paper : MME Cut & Paste Today, MME Cut & Paste Story, Glitz Wild and Free Horses, Teresa Collins Family Stories, Glitz Wild and Free small hearts,

Cardstock : black and white

Other : sequins, flair badge, Chalk Studio stickers, Glitz Wild and Free word stickers , twine

Other not in kit : tulle ribbon, peg, flower, red and pink spot + be fabulous paper by Studio Calico.


Here is a close up of the photo/text block which is embellished with the gorgeous chalk stickers, an APOCD exclusive kit flair and the sequins in the kit.

Thanks so much for sharing yet another gorgeous creation with us Amanda! 

Don't forget that we are running a competition at APOCD to win a $30 voucher, for the full details see this post or visit our pinned post on our Facebook Page

COMPETITION TIME! Win a $30 Voucher!!!

Hey everyone, 

I thought it was a fitting time for a bit of a competition and although this is running on Facebook, it can be run via blogging too :) Plus the bonus is that you can win a $30 voucher to the APOCD Store, how cool is that!?!?

I decided to start a Newsletter as a way of communicating with the APOCD followers as I have been finding Facebook less reliable with all of the changes that are happening if you have a page. This will allow me to share the latest news from APOCD, as well as sale events and any coupon codes too :)

So to support me in building a Newsletter base, here is our competition - 

All you need to do is sign up to our newsletter and share the competition image on Facebook, or share about it via your Blog by inserting these pictures and some details of the giveaway. Don't forget to leave a comment here with your blog addy so I know to go and check out your blog !

Here's a little helper if you are unsure about how to sign up to the newsletter:

Good luck, I look forward to contacting you via our Newsletter very soon! 

Raquel, xxx

SPECIAL GUEST - Stephanie Bryan - Layout Share

Today I am here to share with you a gorgeous update from Stephanie. Stephanie has used our 'Everyday Sea' Cherry Flair on this layout. This layout was created for the latest Jot Magazine Mood Board challenge, which is to create a page, card, top project that was inspired by the following image:

You can read more about this current Mood Board at the Jot Magazine blog here

Here is Stephanie's layout. I love how she has bundled the thread under the flair - this gives it a lovely softness. 

Detail Shot:

Thanks so much for sharing this with us Stephanie.

For those who love the look of the Flair you can purchase it in our store by clicking the following image:

I will be back soon with some more shares from our talented designers! 

Raquel, xx

Guest Designer - Amanda Hall - How it starts...

Today I am here to share another stunning layout from our Guest Designer Amanda Hall. Amanda worked with our August Main Cake kit. This kit is now sold out but I must say, it has been one of my favourite releases. I have loved seeing what Amanda has been creating with it!

Here is Amanda's layout:

 I love Amanda's knack for creating a unique layout design for a page that is always so beautifully balanced. It all just works so well together :)

Amanda has created a beautiful cluster of patterned paper, chalkboard stickers, glitz words, our exclusive flair and sequins. So pretty!

Used from kit :
Paper :
MME Chalk Studio Pictured, MME Cut & Paste Today, MME Cut & Paste Story, Glitz Wild and Free Horses, Teresa Collins Family Stories,

Cardstock : black and white

Alpha : Glitz Wild and Free Alpha and word stickers

Other : sequins, washi tape, photo corners, flair badge, Chalk Studio stickers, twine

Other items not in the kit : black and grey ribbon, flower stick pin, Echo Park paper, circle punch.

Hope this has inspired you to get creating! Why not try a new layout design which you would not normally do?

We will be back soon with my designer shares.

KIT RELEASE UPDATE: UPDATE:

Our September kits have hit a little bump in the road due to the gorgeous new release American Crafts products being held up (out of my suppliers control). I am looking at alternative suppliers at the moment so I can get this kit to you ASAP. Both the Main and Cupcake are packed full of these gorgeous products so I can't wait to share them with you. PLUS, the Cupcake kit has an exclusive product designed by myself at APOCD and available no where else!

Take care, xxxx

SPECIAL GUEST - Stephanie Bryan - xoxo

Today I am here to share a layout for you from our special guest Stephanie Bryan. Stephanie created this layout using Elle's Studio products and added one of our Cherry Flair buttons from the 'Sweet Love' pack available in our store here. 

I love how Stephanie has used pink watercolours to create this gorgeous background, it is just so striking!

Here is a close up:

I hope you have found the first share from Stephanie inspiring. 

I will be back very soon with another share from Amanda Hall using our August Main Cake Kit

xxx

SPECIAL GUEST - Stephanie Bryan

I am pleased to introduce our latest Special Guest Designer who will be creating with our Cherry Flair. The lovely and very talented Stephanie Bryan! 

For those who do not know Stephanie's work, she has a stunning 'dreamy' feel to her layouts. I find that because of her distinct style I can easily identify her layouts or mini books when viewing galleries on sites such as 2 Peas and Studio Calico. It is amazing how much Stephanie has achieved in the short space of time that she has been scrapbooking, this is such a credit to her.  

Here is a little bit about Stephanie, in her own words:

I'm Stephanie and I live in North Carolina with my husband and two adorable children. I love all things creative and have a slight obsession with paper and photography. It's safe to say that I play with paper way more than any adult should!! I started out with memory keeping through Project Life in 2011 and have not looked back yet. My style is simple, but classic with occasional fun pops of color. As of January this year, I found a love of recording memories through traditional scrapbooking after taking a class at Studio Calico. I currently serve on the Design Teams for Glitz Design, Chic Tags, Elle's Studio, Jot Magazine, write.click.scrapbook, Gossamer Blue, My Mind's Eye and Color Combos Galore.

I am so excited to share Stephanie's beautiful work with our APOCD followers. 

You can check out her blog here:

Just to whet your appetite, here is a gorgeous sneak using the 'Sweet Love' Cherry Flair set.

Ebony van der Starre - Peek a boo!!!

Hi its Ebony again to share another layout created with this months cupcake kit! 

Once again I sewed some messy stitching on my page and then with some glimmer mist and a spray bottle I created the blue effect on the background but dropping droplets of the mist into water on my cardstock.

                                       

 I LOVE these new "Real life " cherry flairs too!!!!!

So this was a funny photo for me as I thought at first glance it was a photo of Maya with some friends of ours and then in the back I spotted a little head!!! Will was peeking around the corner and I had a little chuckle to myself as I was scrapping it!!!

I have added a few wooden veneer items once again saved from previous kits but I love how you can use the minimal of items from the kit and still create a fun layout with still HEAPS of product left over!!!!

ITEMS IN KIT USED:
Real life cherry flair
Jilliebean soup alphas
Teal damask fluid chalk ink pad
Glitz design roller stamp
Echo Park patterned paper and journalling card
sequins
washi tape

Be back soon! Eb x

Guest Designer - Amanda Hall - Snapshots of You

For my first layout this month for APOCD, I have used a massive photo and used the doily and chalk studio banner from the kit as the base. As soon as I saw the banner I knew that was going to be my starting point and the layout grew from there.

The Chalk studio paper with the cameras on it was ideal to use in conjunction with my photo, and i lightly splattered a few drops of Mister Huey's 'Dewey' mist onto it to tie in the doily (also sprayed lightly) and the colour pops from the dotty paper, alphas and sequins.

I gave each punched patterned paper circle a black backing to give added impact against the main paper and they were offset to one side for a shadow type of effect. This also helps balance the page with the black / chalk board type elements.

I was beyond thrilled to find the 'of' which is in the title in the kit washi tape - it is quite simply cut out and stuck down. Too easy!!

I also trimmed the photo corners from the kit to give some funky little strips which can be seen on the top right of the photo with an enamel red dot.

The journalling is a 'snapshot' of my girls personality right now - the good and the bad. This text block was made very simply in Photoshop and typed using a white chalk board font (called - A song for Jennifer) onto a downloaded blackboard image to get the tone of black to match the My Mind's Eye Chalk Studio elements.

This page is a good example of the versatility of the kit for those of us who are not pink lovers. Even though the kit has some fabulous pink papers and embellishments (which I am itching to use as well), in this layout I have used red pops of colour instead. 

The design of the layout is something I call 'blocking' and is a great, simple way to use a big photo and also a lot of text without the page being overwhelming or too busy.

Used from kit : 

Paper :

MME Chalk Studio Pictured, MME Cut & Paste Today, Glitz Wild and Free Horses, Teresa Collins Family Stories, Glitz Wild and Free Small Hearts, 

Cardstock : black

Alpha : Glitz Wild and Free Alpha and word stickers

Other : sequins, washi tape, photo corners, flair badge, twine, doily, epoxy heart

Other not in kit : cotton thread, acrylic rose, enamel dot, Mister Huey's Dewey mist, Scenic Route paper, staples, Jillibean Soup 'you' silhouette cut file.

***************

Wow Amanda! What a stunning page! Thank you so very much for sharing. I am sure you have inspired a lot of our followers with this post. It was great to read you explain your process in creating the layout, xx

R.E.S.P.E.C.T

Hi again!
I'm back to share a layout created with this months "CUPCAKE KIT".

Once I again I loved this kit!!! You will see in my first layout that I haven't used any of the papers , just the embellishments.
To create this layout I used white cardstock and sewed some messy stitching in the form of two rectangles. I then misted with yellow mist. I then used a small dot template with chalk fluid ink pad from the kit and dabbed it onto the template.
TIP: I found the ink pad very wet to begin with so go carefully and I think it would work better with a larger mask or stencil. But I love the colour!!!

 Another TIP: When using your roller stamp only roll one way. Don't go back and forth!
So I then added my two photos and underneath I drew some hearts in black pen. I used various colour mists with a paint brush to colour mine in but you could also use your watercoloured paints from a previous kit :)
I then used the various washi tapes from the kit and some from previous kits.

I then cut out the "ONE WORD" speech bubble from the patterned papers in the kit and added a gorgeous flair from this months releases! 
The title is using the funky alphas from the kit too!!!

Throw in some sequins and some stamps and there you have it! Ans still HEAPS of supplies left over to create many more layouts!!!

ITEMS IN KIT USED:
Chalkboard camera flair
Jilliebean soup alphas
Washi tapes
sequins
Teal damask fluid chalk ink pad
Glitz design roller stamp
Echo Park Journalling tag

I will be back soon with another share!
Eb x

Introducing our new Guest Designer...Amanda Hall

I am so pleased to introduce our latest Guest Designer, the lovely and talented Amanda Hall. I have admired Amanda's pages for a while now, she has a unique and simple but perfect style.  I love that her scrapbooking is about the 'photo' and memory, not about how many products can be thrown onto the page. The products on her pages have a place and her pages always seem so well planned and thought out. I cannot wait to see what Amanda creates with our August Main Cake Kit. 

Here is a little bit about Amanda, in her own words.

Hi.
I live on a farm in a small rural community in South Australia with my husband and three girls. Fourteen year old twins Georgia and Kelsey and Piper who is 9. I began scrapbooking in 2004 and am passionate about documenting everyday life. I believe it’s important to remember all the little everyday details that otherwise would be easily forgotten. My theory is that the imperfect moments and photos are as equally important to scrapbook as the perfect ones. Motivation and inspiration to scrap comes in many forms. A photo that ‘speaks’ to me, a particular story that I want to share or some design element or colour combination that is begging to be tried. In the past I have been published in For Keeps Magazine, Scrapbook Creations, Scrapbooking Memories, Australian Cards, Stamping & Papercrafts, Scrapbook Trends, Scrapbook Magazine UK and Creating Keepsakes. In 2008 I was lucky enough to be named as a Scrapbooking Memories Magazine Master. I am also a very proud to be a part of the Jot Magazine creative team. In between work (Registered Nurse) and being a mum i am a co-organiser of our local and only SA retreat , escape2create, which I am very proud of. Thank you so much for having me as a guest designer here at APOCD kits.

Thanks for being our guest this month Amanda! 

Our DT member Ebony has been creating up a storm with our August Cupcake kit and will be sharing her creations very soon :)