Happy Arty Days

Deer & Fawn Designs: October Challenge: About Me

Hi Lovelies!

Super excited to be sharing my very first Guest Designer post with

Wow!

Thankyou so very much to Debbie, and her amazing Deers for inviting me to join in on the fun!

Now, speaking of fun let's get straight into the good stuff!
The challenge for October is..... "About Me"

Here's my take....

"Hello Happy Days"

Yep. That's me, just a few weeks back....

Hmmm... weird to scrap myself but we'll talk about that in a minute.

First up, I wanna talk pretty pretty papers and all things lovely because that is part of who I am -

a lover of all things girly and pretty, lol!

This page has been created with the gorgeous Hello Lovely collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio. Just so stunning!

Really soft, feminine patterns with gorgeous coordinating ephemera, bitty bows,

sequins, and flair - divine!

& Hello Lovely really reflects my personality......

If you know me, a lot of my greetings start with Hello Lovely! (pure coincidence)

I truly believe that this life IS pretty wonderful!

I am into affirmations, positivity, and yoga.

I believe each day I have the potential to sparkle & shine - and to make each day a happy day.

So you can see why I chose this paper collection to create with.

Let's take a closer look at that very pretty ephemera....

How cute is that bitty bow?!!! Gotta love girly accessories ;)

Yep. Pretty wonderful indeed!

Hope you like my page and getting to know 'me' a lil more!

Now, let's quickly chat about scrapping yourself -

For me, it's not something I normally do & it felt awkward :(

But, don't let that put you off - it's so important for our story to be told too! Your children and grandchildren will be so pleased you did!

So my Top Tip: Use a photo of one of your darlings while planning your page, & then just switch to your own image at the end - that helped me!

Now, what are you waiting for? There's an awesome prize up for grabs -

so go scrap yourself!

You can find out more at the Deer & Fawn Designs blog here.

Hope you liked my take on the challenge & that I have inspired you to join in!

Thankyou for leaving a kind comment

til next time,

Happy Arty Days,
Amanda xo

Imaginarium Designs: Paper Cues & A Tutorial Too!

Hi Creative Friends!

Today I wanted to share with you a rather simple, but somewhat effective,

idea on how to take cues from your patterned paper.

Sounds a bit odd to take tips or clues from your papers, but please keep with me....

The result is always a fun and contemporary page that only takes minutes to create.

Here's the layout I am referring to....,.

"Sweet Happy Things"

I know - such a bright, happy and striking page!

& it really did take only minutes to assemble.

So let's talk paper!

This gorgeous new paper collection is, "Happy Things" from Pinkfresh Studio.

I immediately fell in love with the bright pop colours & the geometric shapes - cue!

Yep. Look carefully - I have literally cued the colours and repeat patterns to 'build' my page.

Circles, triangles, hearts.... Well, it's all part of the Imaginarium Designs chipboard family, isn't it?!

Let me step you through how I created this page......

Firstly, once I had played 'matchy match' with my paper & chippies, I did a quick flat lay shot to make sure my design worked. This gave me a chance to play with photo placement, consider colour arrangements & add on a few sticker embellies too!

Secondly, I machine stitched my two patterned papers together - just to add interest and a little texture to a fairly 'clean' look.

Tip: You'll note I left my stickers attached to my page - I often do this to aid as position markers, ensuring everything gets attached as per the plan.

Next, I prepared my chipboard.

Remember we're taking cues from that patterned paper, so colour matching is a must!

I applied Island ink as per the above image.

I then applied a complimentary green Faber-Castell Gelato and smudged it on the chipboard, as per above.

Finally, I applied Bo Bunny Glitter Paste in gold, to my focal circle.

I added the gold feature circle to really draw attention to my photograph. - breaking up all those bright and busy elements!

Next, I inked up the remaining chipboard in matching colours.

To provide balance to the feature golden circle, I also used the gold paste on a few of my chipboard hearts.

Attach photo, and then glue circles flourish into position.

You'll notice that I also embellished the chipboard with the Pinkfresh Studio wood veneers & puffy stickers - just adding more repetition & depth to the page.

Glue remaining chipboards into place & voila!

A super simple, striking page that was 'built' entirely from playing matchy-matchy and taking cues from paper!

Hope this lil tutorial has given you a new idea to try with your chippies and patterned papers!

Imaginarium Designs Products Featured:

*New* Circles Flourish & Natalie's Hand drawn Hearts coming soon!

Triangles in a board

Trouble Beautiful Sweet

Here's another layout I've created using the same 'taking cues' concept,

"Remember"

I know, it looks nothing like the patterned paper -

I actually took my paper cue from that sweet little tag tucked beneath my photo.

Minty greens, aqua, blue and yellow - such a fresh and pretty combination!

Yep, taking cues from your papers is quite a fun game to create with, I hope you'll give it a try!

------------------------

Such a pretty page, isn't it?!

I've literally been scrapping my stash here - using up my Crate Paper Style Board papers and ephemera- to create a fun, whimsy layout of my two darlings!

You'll spy a mix of my fave butterfly chippies with some gorgeous new designs too; that frame is divine!

And let's not forget Loolabelle's funky hearts!!! Too cute!

To accent my chippies on this layout I coated them in rich, colour intense ink, & then sprayed them with the corresponding colour Kaisermists.

Kaisermist adds a very slight and subtle sparkle to the chipboard.

Here's a closer look....

Love this cluster! How cool are the lime butterflies?!!

But it's that stunning new frame chipboard that really gets me....

Isn't it just darling?!!

Another super simple, but really lovely page created from taking cues from papers!

Imaginarium Designs Products Featured:

*New* Circular Flourish Frame & Loolabelle's Hearts coming soon!

8 Butterflies in a board

Thankyou for stopping by, I really hope I've inspired you today!

til next time,

Happy Arty Days,

Amanda xo

Happy Dance Time!!!

Hi Happy Arty Days Friends!

Thankyou for stopping by -

just a super quick post to share some exciting news.....

I am delighted to announce that I will be a Guest Designer for

Yep. I will be a Guest 'Deer' for the remainder of the year - YAY!!!

I know, happy dancing news indeed!

If you haven't visited their site before,

they're a gorgeous bunch of scraptastic people who provide fun challenges, prizes/giveaways, and tons of paper inspiration!

You can follow Deer & Fawn Designs here.

I will be posting creations with them every Saturday - so be sure to stop by and leave me some love!

(I would really appreciate it!)

Thankyou so very much and have a wonderful rest of your day!

Happy Arty Days,

Amanda xo

Cocoa Vanilla Studio: Life Is Beautiful: Sweet, Happy, Wonderful

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back for more Cocoa Vanilla Studio deliciousness!

& boy oh boy have I fallen in total love with

It is just aaahhhhmazing!!!

But instead of raving about how much I LOVE this collection, here's a look at another gorgeous page I've created with it...

"Sweet, Happy, Wonderful"

I know, isn't this so precious?! Such a delicate and feminine page for my darling, Miss M!

So many paper pretties here - I don't know where to start!!

Although, I will say that Bitty Bow is the sweetest embellishment yet!

Have you seen these delightfuls? They're a packet full of happiness...

So very, very pretty! And a perfect adornment to my layout! Here's a closer look.....

Oh, while we're talking sweet and pretty embellies, that resin flower has made the all-time favourites list too, lol ;)

Apart from being fabulous on layouts, I am using my Little Pretties in my planners too! Love that mint one....

Just divine!!!

But there's more embellishment goodness to this layout, check out the fabulous ephemera flowers and hearts....

Oh, and those wood veneers are pretty darn cute too!

And let's not forget those simply stunning patterned papers...

When it comes to pretty pages, Life Is Beautiful is the go to Collection!

Thanks for joining me today,

I hope I have inspired you to get a lil crafty with the stunning new Cocoa Vanilla Studio products!

til next time,

Happy Arty Days,

Amanda xo

Charms Creations: September Challenge: A Lil Sketchy

Hi my Creative Friends!

Welcome back for more Sketchy Challenge fun!

Today I'm joining in with girls over at Charms Creations and their September Challenge looks like this....

What a terrific sketch from the talented Amanda Hartmann!

Totally fun & so easy to play along with!

& did I mention that there's a $25 Charms Creations online store voucher up for grabs too?!!

I know, great incentive to get scrapping!

But before you disappear to go and create your own entry - here's mine,

A simple, but I think very sweet, 8.5"x11" layout of my two fave boys!

"Keeper"

I know, how divine is that photograph? Quite literally, a keeper!

And while we're talking all things divine - how good is that Charms Creations Teal Star?

Love it!!!

I've also been trying to scrap my stash lately - so this page is created from all my left overs from Amy Tangerine's, Rise & Shine Collection.

Love the puffy stickers, ephemera and coordinating washi tape too!

Here's a closer look at all those lovelies.....

That teal star & title really adorn my layout perfectly!

I love the happy feel the yellow and aqua tones create together - really enhances my photograph!

Such a beautiful moment captured!

Speaking of captured, here's a closer look at that too cute camera ephemera too....

A really fun and playful element!

The journal stickers are Bella Blvd, and the wooden veneers are from my stash!

All gorgeous and partner so well together!

Anyways, that's my take on the September Sketch challenge - hope you liked it!

Thankyou so very much for taking time to view it!

If you're feeling inspired, and want to join in on the fun click here to get started.

Til next time,

Happy Arty Days,

Amanda xo

Guest Designer: Couture Creations

Hi Everyone!

I am super delighted to be returning to Couture Creations as a Guest Designer this month!

Boy-Oh-Boy,

How I've missed being part of this incredibly talented and inspirational team!

So a huge thanks to Kerrie, & the team, for inviting me back!

Today I am sharing this simple, but very beautiful, contemporary 8.5" x 11" layout

featuring the gorgeous new Christmas Emporium papers and Christmas Eve Intricutz Dies....

"Merry"

I know, just gorgeous!!!

Here's the products I used to create it....

Loving that Christmas Emporium paper! Vintage, versatile and very, very pretty!

And those dies are divine!

Here's a quick step-by-step on recreating this page

1. Pre-cut the above featured Christmas Eve Intricutz Dies, Be Merry & Cardinal Wreath in white cardstock and Dasher in kraft. Place aside for use later.