The Story of One

Following on from my post about the extremely yellow page I did the other day, I must have subconsciously continued on with the monochrome idea when I whipped up this layout on a whim soon after. It's not truly monochrome though, there are lots of other colours in here, but certainly pink is the dominant colour.

I tried to balance it out a little with some cream colours, and I ended up using the pop-out letters from the Fancy Pants stencil that was in my original yellow page. I didn't consciously plan that similarity either!

What I did have in mind when I thought about the design of this page was the idea that I should cluster cluster cluster everything in the bottom half, and then leave the top fairly plain. After I had layered up my papers (Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm collection) I started hunting through my embellishment box for anything and everything I thought would work. So there's quite a mish-mash of older product here which I just love because it means it's finally getting used!

Another fun moment came when I stood back at the end and looked at my finished page and decided the original white stickers that spelled "one" weren't as prominent as I needed them to be considering it was the key word for my layout. The little photo collage here on this page is from my niece's first birthday party last year, so I wanted the "one" to be rather obvious. After thinking red might be a better choice I wanted to try it out first before I committed so I lightly stuck them over the top so I could see how it looked. Happy with the result I then figured why bother with the fiddly task of trying to remove the original stickers and I just mooshed the red ones down over the top! 

I was also still feeling very glittery following my glitter binge as the American Crafts Guest Designer and the letters got a bit of a sprinkling to finish off! Speaking of which, I really must be back here soon to share all those projects I made. Can't wait to show you.. and there's also the countdown for the next Studio Calico reveal so that'll be coming real soon too :-)

The Story of My Monochrome Fear

I'm sharing this layout today over on the Jenni Bowlin Studio blog. You can see it here! But meanwhile I thought I would share some different thoughts about it here on my blog too.

Do you think this counts as a monochrome layout? Ignoring the pops of red of course. But the rest is pretty much all white, cream and yellow. I'm pretty sure most monochrome 'rules' allow you to include neutrals like the black and white too right? I only ask because the idea of creating a monochrome layout scares me, and if I had sat down to scrap with the intention of monochrome then this layout never would have been born. The panic would have set in and this would probably end up a jumbled mess that wouldn't make it to my blog (let alone the JBS blog!)

I think the fear originates from my early scrapping days where I attempted monochrome before I was ready. I didn't understand the 'rules'! Dull and boring layouts were the result! I still don't think I know good principles for their design (something about small, medium and large patterns perhaps?) although I do know that you need to include a lot of texture, and that's something I like to do anyway.

So what I did sit down and have in mind when I created this layout was the brief for the JBS blog this month which is to create something about your Love Lists (reasonably obvious for February right?!) Share something about the people you love, the things you love, the activities you love etc etc. Now that's a brief that I can get on board with! And it's only because the August Papercrafting Kit and August Artisan Kit (these are on massive sale at the moment by the way!) that I decided to use were absolutely packed full of fabulous yellow and white heart motifs that this layout almost assembled itself ;-)

I particularly fell in love with the Fancy Pants Stencils from the Artisan Kit and decided it would make a great title just as it was. I popped out the letters though and you're going to see them on an upcoming layout too! No way they were going to waste, so stay tuned for that. And guess what? That layout is almost monochrome too when I come to think of it. Pink though, not yellow. Oh my... I guess I've just conquered my fear! 

Sugar Rush Reveal Part 1

Are you ready for this? Because the hype is real! The Studio Calico Sugar Rush kits are some of the most anticipated and talked-about releases in a long time. I know I claimed they are my most favourite kits ever! And they're ON SALE right now for subscribers, and in another 12 hours for everyone else. You'll need to be quick because these babies are going to sell out for sure!!

Because I've made a record 6 layouts with this kit so far (they're definitely be more over the coming month) and I didn't want to overload you with all my detail in one post I'm breaking it up into two separate posts. One now with the Pre-Sale and the other for the general Release. I'm blogging my layouts in the order I made them so you can also see how I approach these things ;-)

1. "Engaged" aka "Hello Happy Girl"

Firstly I want to make my two Sugar Rush Main Kit Only layouts. After those I know I have a little more free-reign with mixing and matching from all the Add-Ons so I want to make sure I have the supplies from the Main Kit that I want to use fresh and available right at the beginning.

I first pick my favourite papers and embellishments that I want to use. In this case it was the Summer paper (with the sunrays) and those awesome glitter Enamel Dots. Also, the Fancy Pants Sentiments paper (with the vintage Valentine images) was amazing even though I covered it with a sheet of vellum to soften it, you can still see the underlying images. I needed some special photos and a great story to tell to go along with it. I decided my sister-in-laws' recent engagement party would be perfect.

This is the February kit right, so it has a bit of a romantic Valentines Day theme. It's not overpowering though and it can easily be used for more general themes too. However, in this instance I wanted some lovey dovey elements to suit my page so I used things like the B-side of the OA paper with all its cut-apart squares ('Happy Girl' and '2') , and the Prinatables to add a finishing touch. That includes bits like the 'Love This Moment', 'Love' and 'Epic' labels.

2. "You & Me"
Going with a completely different colour-scheme for my second layout! This is still made only with the Sugar Rush Main Kit only, but has quite a different feel doesn't it?

My approach to this layout was based on colours. I picked out all the blue/green/teal bits starting off with that fabulous background paper by Little Butterfly Wings, and then matched it with some red/pink highlights. A black and white photo was going to be important when using a colour-scheme approach so I chose this one of my sister and her son because it fits with the idea of love, without being romantic.

I was inspired to splash around some paint in my background for this one. I do love getting a bit messy from time to time! I used two different colours of Gelatos, swirling them and blending them together. But you can achieve a similar look with watercolours or Mister Huey's. I interchange all 3 mediums for the same effect all the time - it just depends what my hand reaches for at the time!

Once again the Printables came into play, this time in a much more dominant way. The "Love You Always" journal card is from the Hello Forever set (which I accidentally printed in A5 size instead of A4 but it worked really well anyway!!)

3. "Happiness"
And now I get to play with the Add-On kits! I can usually work out which is my favourite based on the product images in my Inbox before I get the kits in my hand, and that's why I initially stated I loved Gum Drop the best. However the real test is what gets used first and what gets used the most. Ultimately the title went to the Rock Candy Add On which is what I've used here.

Firstly, the butterfly paper caught my eye. It's actually from the Lemon Lush release (which is scattered throughout the Add Ons this month) so if you don't manage to score a whole kit you should still pick up these bits from the shop as they should hopefully be available in time for shipping.

Next I broke out my Silhouette with the February Cut Files! I cut the heart speech bubble image from the "Love You" Cut Files in different sizes repeatedly across some white cardstock (More White finds it's way into my basket most months) And then I took to it with my Mister Huey's in order to add the blue and green colours. Told you it was just a matter of whatever medium I reach for first!

Even the photo of my youngest got some special treatment with the addition of a sentiment from the Sugar Rush Card Kit Digital Stamps. I think even just these little touches make a big difference right? Plus it was too cute to pass up. I realise in retrospect I really should have added some glitter and sparkle to this page. That would have been the perfect finishing touch!

Even if you're not a subscriber you can go over to the shop right now for all the extra basic and coordinating supplies (I've linked you up to what I've used below. The links for the kits will be up as soon as they're released to the general public). Plus, all the DIGITAL PRODUCTS are already on sale! And there's some pretty exciting new products to hit the shops too such as a variety of fun dies!

Stay tuned for my next installment real soon!




Sugar Rush Kits and Coordinating Supplies:

Sugar Rush Scrapbook Kit Rock Candy Add On Gum Drop Add On Jelly Beans Add On Sugar Rush More Colour Sugar Rush Printables by In a Creative Bubble Sugar Rush Printables by Hello Forever Love You Cut Files by Hello Forever Sugar Rush Cut Files by Life Love Paper Sugar Rush Lili Niclass Digital Stamps Sugar Rush Card Kit Digital Stamps Sugar Rush Project Life Digital Stamps More White More Vellum Mister Huey's Inky Black Mister Huey's Garden Mister Huey's Ocean Mister Huey's Double Yellow StazOn Black Hero Arts Shadow Ink: Pool Hero Arts Dye Ink: Blue Dew Drop Ink: Platinum Planet Prima Chalk Ink: Old Rose Versamark Watermark Ink Zing Embossing Powder: White Tiny Attacher Martha Stewart Glue Pen Precision Pen Glossy Accents This to That: Foam Circles

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