Digi Store Saturday- Belinda Griffin: How Sweet It Is

Hi Everyone!

Belinda back with you to share another layout created with the fabulous current cupcake kit, featuring one of the fantastic phrase cut files available in the digi store here.

As you can see I kept this layout nice and simple, I really wanted the title to be the main feature and take over most of the page! I use a variety of the papers from the kit to back behind the cut title, creating a fun bright title.

I then used some of the pink washi tape from the kit (I like the cut the edges of mine into little banner style ends) to create a base for my sub title. I cut around my photo to complement the edges of the title to again make sure the title really remained the focus.

I loved the bright stickers from the kit so made sure I included a few of those around the page, and of course those adorable wood veneer. Finally, some splashes of pain (some of which I ended up turning into a painted heart to fit the sentiment) and the page was done. Quick and simple.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Friday Faves - Amanda Baldwin: June Cake Delights

Hi A Piece of Cake Connoisseurs!

Hope you've all had a fabulous week!

Amanda here today, & I am so super-dee-duper excited to be sharing my very first post with you.

As a devout APOCD fan, 

I have been creating with my June kit for a little while now and I just have to say it's jam-packed full of paper pretties & delights!

Here's a quick reminder of what it looks like....

I know, so many scrappy yummies in one kit! 

Cocoa Vanilla Studio are one of my absolute favourite scrapbook companies of all time, so it seems only appropriate that today's Friday Favourites features their gorgeous products!

I thought I'd share something from my personal scrapbooking collection today, as a sort of getting to know me.... 

It's all about my two beautiful children - the reason I memory keep  - but enough chattering about it.

 Here's my page,

"She & He" 8.5 x 11" layout

Naww! How cute are She & He?! 

They truly are my everything!

 I love capturing the everyday, here & now moments and that's exactly what this page is all about.

Because of the smaller layout size, I tend to write little notelets for my journaling. I pop them in handmade envelopes & attach them to the back of my pages for my children to read later on in life -keeping more of the memories alive!

How do you like to journal?

Speaking of journalling- how sweet is that journal card?!

Let's take a closer look....

An oh-so-simple card that sums it up perfectly, these are the moments to remember forever.

Love all the delicate features of this page - the soft colour palette, the repeat pattern of polka dots, the stitching and those very pretty embellishments. Check out that doily - heavenly!!!

The sequins and gold dots vellum add to that 'special' feel and add balance to all those pretty pink embellishments too.

Yep, a really pretty page dedicated to She & He!

I hope it has inspired you! 

Have you been creating with this Kit lately too?

Please join us at the Facebook Group: APOCD Cafe & share your creations with us - it's a really wonderful place to post in & get inspired too!

Thankyou for visiting, & leaving a comment -

I really appreciate it!

til next time,

Happy Arty Days xo

FRIDAY FAVOURITES - Guest Designer; Jodie King

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Hello, Happy Friday, and welcome to Friday Favourites! It's Jodie with you today with my third project using the gorgeous January Cupcake Kit.

Does anyone else have trouble getting their man in front of a camera? Mine really does not like his photo being taken, and so rarely makes it into any of my scrapbook pages. I snapped this pic while we were at lunch on a recent holiday and I think it's kinda cool. So he finally gets to have a layout (probably the first ever) featuring just him, hence the title Hello Handsome.

Some of my very favourite pieces from this kit are the woodgrain and navy striped papers, the navy embellishments ('best ever' and 'that was so fun' tags), the gorgeous flair buttons, the cloud die cut, and the die cut shields. I've also saved the scraps of my favourite yellow polka dot paper from my last project, and seriously, who doesn't love a turquoise doily!

Hello 2015 is one of my favourite digi files from the Digital Shop January Releases and I've used it both as part of my title and as a background layer for my layout.

I duplicated the word 'hello' from the digital file into a grid pattern on a Silhouette Studio page, and cut it on my Cameo from white cardstock. After trimming it to size I adhered it to another piece of white cardstock and machine stitched the edge in white thread. By using all white products it adds visual texture to the background without becoming too busy for the other bright colours used in the layout.

There are quite a few black & white doodling elements to the My Minds Eye Jubilee Tangerine collection, including this smaller shield. To cut back on some of the busyness of the geometric lines, I've used my Mango Gelato from the kit with a watercolour brush to colour parts of it in.

The antler flair is just delicious and I've used it to reinforce the masculine feel to this page.

To build the title I've used one of the 'hello' scripted words that was left over from creating the background, and simply recoloured it.

One of my favourite things to do on a layout is to fussy cut.. I'm always looking through patterned papers to see what I can cut out. Once I had tucked in the cute cloud die cut, of course I needed to cut some hot air balloons from one of the 6x6 papers.

Even after three separate projects there's still so much product in my Cupcake Kit. The only things in this layout not included in the kit are white and blue cardstock, a few enamel dots, some twine and a tag that was a piece of memorabilia from our weekend away.

And that brings to an end the sharing of my Guest Designer projects at A Piece of Cake Designs. I'm so thrilled to have been creating with the Cupcake Kit this month, and can't thank Raquel enough for having me along.

The kits are always perfectly coordinated and have such a great mix of papers, embellishments and exclusive flair. Can't wait to see the February kit sneaks!

Jodie

Digi Store Saturday ... with Natalie May

One of the boys my hubby works with had a baby last week..... So Trev comes home and asks me to whip up a card! Yep - no worries ... I have the PERFECT papers!

I love the papers in the January Cupcake kit. Double sided and super easy to use.

I'm not one to make baby cards out of soft pastel colours - I'd rather use something
more suitable to the parents so these were great!

 

I had the idea in my head that I wanted to do some paper weaving so I cut a star frame from 

the Teen Embellishment Cut Files set 2 and used it as a frame to put my woven paper behind.

This is such an easy technique and really effective too!

I also cut the LOVE word from Teen Embellishment Cut Files set 1 and used it inside the 

card along with a cut of the baby's name - just for that personal touch!

I hope they like it!

Have a great day

Natalie May

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY - Guest Designer Jodie King

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Every now and then you'll come across someone who makes your day with their thoughtfulness. While we were setting our DS up in his unit recently, we came across a lounge suite on Gumtree that was free. The owners wouldn't accept any payment for it, they just wanted to help someone out that needed some furniture. And you know what? It's a really great lounge suite!

I knew straight away that I would send these lovely people a card and some Instant Scratch-its as a small measure of our thanks.

I've been playing with the gorgeous January Cupcake Kit again, and I've pulled more of the bright and happy colours from the My Mind's Eye Jubilee Tangerine collection for this card.

The background came together with some basic paper piecing. I cut multiple 4 x 4cm squares in two different patterned papers and then cut each square in half on the diagonal. I arranged them so that each triangle became part of a larger diagonal line. I then stitched each straight and diagonal line on my sewing machine to give a quilted look.



I've used the Hello 2015 design by Polka Dot Creative from the Digital Store, love Jodie's scripting! I've cut the heart in white cardstock on my Cameo, then coloured it using the Mango Gelato from the kit. I've adhered it to the card base and then stitched around it a couple of times in orange thread. Because there are some fine areas on the heart, it stitches more easily when it's adhered to a solid base.

To pretty up my little parcel I used patterned papers from the kit to add a liner to the envelope, and a gift card holder to house the Instant Scratch-Its.

You'll find a bunch of envelope liner tutorials on Pinterest, and they are really quite simple to do but add that extra personal touch. I used a corner rounder at the top to get a clean, straight curve without any stray scissor cuts.

You'll also find plenty of gift card holder templates on Pinterest. I found one that I liked and resized it so that it fit my Instant Scratch-Its perfectly.

A couple of embellishments and a sentiment using the Webster's Pages woodgrain Little Letter Stickers from the kit and it looks as cute as a button!

Now I just need to write a message of thanks in my card, pop in a photo I snapped of the three boys on their new lounge suite, and send this little parcel off in the post!

Thanks for dropping by today,

Jodie

TUTORIAL TUESDAY - Guest Post, Jodie King

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Hi friends, it's Jodie here today and I'm so excited to bring you my first post as Guest Designer for APOCD's January Releases! I've used the Cupcake Kit and a January release Cut File & Brushes from the Digital Store.

Our DS is about to start Uni, and this weekend he moved out of home so that he can study in Brisbane. I wanted to create a layout to celebrate this incredibly exciting time for him, a time when the whole world just seems to open up and anything is possible.

The January Cupcake Kit has two gorgeous Double Scoop Gelatos, and I've used the Mango Gelato in three ways to create my background. Here's a quick step by step on how I've created it.

Start with a piece of white cardstock and prime it with Gesso. Priming allows the Gelatos to blend more easily over the surface and gives a smoother finish, and it also prevents the cardstock from curling and distorting quite as much.

Allow the Gesso to air dry. When dry apply the Gelato across the page where you want the most vibrant colour to be. As you can see you don't need to be super neat with this step at all.

Take a baby wipe and rub over the Gelato to blend the colour, this creates a watercolour effect. When you have blended where you'd like the most vibrant colour, go over the edges with a clean section of baby wipe for a lighter shade, blending back to the white cardstock.

To use your Gelato to create a droplet or splatter effect, put a very small amount of water into a glass or small container. Rub the Gelato in circles on the bottom of the container to release the colour into the water. This may take a few minutes, but the more you rub the more concentrated the colour becomes.

When you have your desired colour, use a small paintbrush to apply splatters to areas of your background.

The final element to our Gelato background is to use a background stamp for subtle visual texture.

For this technique you will need a background stamp, a Gelato and a spray bottle of water (I've used a background stamp from my stash).

Apply the Gelato directly to the stamp in random sections (to create an imperfect edge). It's okay to get a fair bit of colour onto the stamp as it will be a darker layer over the already-coloured background. Spritz the stamp with water and let it sit for a minute while the Gelato activates, then stamp it on the already coloured section of the background. Repeat to create a random pattern.

And here's the background with our three Gelato techniques.

I've pulled a lot of the brighter papers and embellishments from the kit to match the vibrant Mango Gelato background. These pennant die cuts from the My Mind’s Eye Jubilee mixed bag come together as a quick and easy banner.

I've cut the word "Celebrate" in black cardstock from the Clink Clink Cut Files and Brushes. It doubles as my title and also as part of my journalling. I was curious if the scripty font would cut cleanly on my Cameo and I'm super happy with how it turned out - a beautiful clean cut.

There are lots of woodgrain elements in this kit, some of my faves being the Studio Calico Heyday frame stickers and the Jillibean Soup woodgrain frames.

To finish the layout I've added some black ink splatters using Mr Huey's (from my stash) and a few of the metallic sequins from the kit.

Thanks for dropping by today!

Jodie