Loved | Stuck?! Sketches September 15th Challenge

Hey scrappy friends!

It's time for a new challenge over at Stuck?! Sketches, and we have something fun planned for you! Along with the reveal of a new sketch challenge, and 2 amazing sponsors, we have loads of bonus inspiration for you, in the form of a blog hop with our generous friends at My Creative Scrapbook!! So make sure you head on over to the Stuck?! Sketches blog where the hop will kick off, and comment along the way for your chance to win the My Creative Scrapbook September kit!

This will also be my last month as part of the Stuck?! Sketches design team. After 2 1/2 years on the team, I decided that it was time to step down and make room for some other talented ladies. I have absolutely loved my time on this team, and I'm so grateful to Laura for giving me this opportunity, and for allowing me to stay on for so long!

So with all that said, how about I share the awesome September 15th sketch with you...

And here's my take on the sketch...

I documented a cute photo of our beautiful cat Sasha. She's very much loved by us all!

I used some lovely Felicity Jane papers and embellishments on this layout, mostly from the August Zoey kit! I love those beautiful florals!

How cute is that Charms Creations Cute Cat embellishment?! It was so purrfect for this page, lol!

On the sketch, the title is at the bottom of the page, but I decided to move it up to sit under the photo, because the banner that I wanted to use for my title just seemed to fit perfectly there.

I fussy cut those pretty florals from one of the patterned papers in the Zoey kit... I love how they look around the photo! I also tucked a tag under the top of the photo, and I added a flair button on the right hand side.

I added a few strips of patterned paper across the bottom of the page, and tucked another fussy cut floral cluster down there as well.

I finished the layout off with a few die cut stars.

We'd love you to play along with us by creating a layout based on this sketch! Link up your layouts on the Stuck?! Sketches blog by September 29th to be in the running to win a prize from one of our very generous sponsors:

Thanks so much for joining me on my blog today, and taking a look at my layout!

Mandy x

Beautiful Moments | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi friends!

I'm back today to share my latest layout for Cocoa Vanilla Studio using the beautiful Wild at Heart collection! The theme this week on the blog is STICKERS!! Who doesn't love using stickers on their projects?! I love the range of stickers that's available from Cocoa Vanilla... From accessory stickers to chipboard stickers to alphabet stickers... There's certainly plenty to choose from! And I had lots of fun using them on this layout!

I documented a couple of photos that I took recently of my Mum with my youngest daughter. I love the seeing the special relationship that they share, and I think these photos of them together are just so sweet!

I started my layout off by covering the top half of the page with the Momento patterned paper (reverse side). I absolutely love the florals on this paper, and I must admit that I've been hoarding it! But it was time to finally get it onto a layout, and I think it worked perfectly with these photos! I also tucked a thin strip of the Patchwork patterned paper (reverse side) under the bottom edge of it, as well as a scallop that I cut out of the Fussy Cuts paper.

To create some dimension on the layout, I raised up the photo on the left with some foam tape and then tucked a chipboard frame underneath it. I also fussy cut some florals out of the gorgeous Luscious patterned paper, and I tucked them underneath the left hand side of the photo. You can also see here that I added a couple of the little word stickers off the accessory sticker sheet. They added the perfect sentiment to the page!

I added another sticker that says 'precious' on the bottom right hand corner of this photo. I love layering embellishments both under the edge of my photos, as well as on top!

Underneath the edge of the photo on the right, I tucked a tag. This was also from the accessory sticker sheet. There are so many beautiful stickers on this sheet! I threaded some cotton twine through the hole in the tag, which I think finishes it off nicely and also adds some texture to the page. On top of the tag I added a chipboard sticker, as well as a couple of the cute bitty blooms.

For my title I used one of the lovely wood veneer words combined with some alphabet stickers from the Hello Lovely collection. I painted the wood veneer word with some Glimmer Mist that I've had in my stash forever, and I LOVE how this turned out! The colour was perfect, and it looks so pretty and shimmery!

Thanks so much for joining me on my blog today! Make sure you head on over to the Cocoa Vanilla blog for some more 'sticker inspiration' from the design team over the weekend!

Mandy x

Live Love Laugh | Stuck?! Sketches September 1st Challenge

Hi friends!

It's time for a new challenge over at Stuck?! Sketches! Here's the fun September 1st sketch, designed by our talented sketch designer, Laura Whitaker...

I love this design, with the strips of patterned paper behind the photo! Here's my take on the sketch, using the Fancy Pants 'Dream Big' collection...

I documented a fun selfie of my hubby and I that we took when we went on a bush walk with the kids recently. It was such a fun and relaxing afternoon with the family, and I think this photo really captures that feeling!

On the left hand side of the photo I added one of my favourite Charms Creations embellishments... a Denim, White & Black heart! I also popped a Kinder Kreations flair button on top.

I love the puffy stickers from the 'Dream Big' collection, and the phrase 'Live Love Laugh' made the perfect title for this page! I also tucked a cute die cut cloud from the collection under the top of the paper strips.

I added more of the die cuts around the page, and I adhered some of them with foam tape to give them some extra dimension.

I finished the layout off with some black ink splatters.

If you haven't done so already, I hope that you'll head on over to the Stuck?! Sketches blog and take a look at the beautiful layouts created by my fellow design team members! We'd love you to play along with us by creating a layout based on this sketch! Link up your layouts on the Stuck?! Sketches blog by September 29th to be in the running to win a prize from one of our very generous sponsors:

Thanks so much for joining me on my blog today!

Mandy x

Sweet Eliza | Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hi everyone!

Today I'm sharing my latest Cocoa Vanilla design team layout with you! This time I used the beautiful Love Always collection to document a photo of my beautiful little niece. I adore the pretty pastel colours in this collection, and I think it's perfect for scrapbooking baby photos!

Here's my layout...

How sweet is my little niece, Eliza?!! I love being an auntie, and I just adore her so much!!

I wanted this layout to feature a minimalist design, and let me tell you, it was so hard to not add more things to the page! Sometimes I think a minimalist design is harder to achieve than a layout with more on it because you have to be more deliberate about what you add to the page. But I'm so happy with how it turned out, and the soft pinks and greys in the Love Always collection were so perfect for this layout!

The first thing I did was matt my white cardstock background with the reverse side of the Lovely Things patterned paper. I also added some machine stitching around the edge of the white cardstock which adds some subtle texture to the page.

Because I was keeping the embellishing to a minimum on this page, I wanted to add lots of layers behind my photo to create some extra interest. Included in the layers are a couple of patterned papers from the collection, including Note to Self and Frolic (reverse side), as well as a doily from my stash, a scallop die cut from the ephemera pack and a film strip die cut from the Wild at Heart ephemera. I also added some foam tape behind my photo to lift it up off the page and give it some extra dimension.

I tucked a wood veneer flower underneath the left hand side of the photo. I absolutely LOVE the wood veneer pieces in this collection - they're so beautiful!! I also popped a chipboard sticker on top of the left hand side of the photo. How pretty is the scripty font on that sticker?!

I created my title using a wood veneer word combined with the Love Always Alphabet Stickers. I love how soft and pretty these alphas are!

I finished my layout off by adding a couple of die cut hearts to the page, as well as a bitty bloom. And lastly I added a few grey ink splatters.

Thank you so much for joining me on my blog today!

I also have a process video for this layout if you'd like to see how it came together.

Mandy x