Aussie Scrap Source

weekend inspiration: paper trunk

There really isn't much left to do on the Paper Trunk paper as the beautiful and bright patterns have done it for you, and Jaimie has worked those patterns beautifully here.

Jaimie wanted to add just a little dimension to her page so she cut around the main orange swirl of the Boogie down paper and adhered it with double sided foam tape to her background page. Jaimie placed the adage tickets under an old film strip and built a cluster of sticker words, brads, journal spots, rubons and ghost shapes to create little pockets of interest on her page.

A few well placed dots from her white pen on the title gives a little bit of lift and ensures that it wont be lost on the page. Jaimie chose this paper to create this LO of her children at the beach as the patterned swirls replicated the feel of the waves that had her youngest two in awe. Lovely.

 

 

 

For this layout about her son scoring his first ever goal at basketball that she missed, Nicole has used the brand new "Wrangler" range by Paper Trunk released at CHA and expected here in Australia soon.

With a delicious heavy weight and cardstock texture, this range lends itself to all sorts of inking and distressing treatments. Nicole combined the papers with new sticker letters from Paper Trunk along with embellishments from the also-soon-to-be-released "MVP" range by We R Memory Keepers.

 

Not usually known for using brighter papers, we thought Nic H was quite brave having a play with the Paper Trunk Socialite collection. Nic thought the papers were perfect to go with some of the many beach photos she had. The papers are double sided with many of them having a plain side. This meant Nic could create a fairly plain base. Then she went to town cutting embellishments from the many patterns within the papers.

Her embellishing was finished off with a few of the Paper Trunk die cuts, some new Paper Trunk Alphas (aren't they just the perfect size!) and some Heidi Swapp transparency.

 

 

One of those layouts that make you go WOW, this layout by Sherry Steveson from the U.S.A. uses the new Paper Trunk Socialite collection. Sherry's whimsical use of the papers as well as the different alphabets shows just how versatile the collection can be. Thanks for sharing yet another gorgeous creation, Sherry!

 

An explosion of colour is how we'd describe this LO made from the new Socialite range. I think the perfection of Paper trunk is that you can use the patterned paper as is or go to town with your scissors and create extra interest for your page. Such a pretty LO and the addition of bling and glitter only add to the wow factor.

 

Joliene Pienaar has created this sensational page full of hand cut patterns from the Maybe Baby range. We love the layered clusters that Jolene has put together on her page. So much to look at. Beautiful

 

 

A gorgeous layout again from Sherry Steveson, showing off the Paper Trunk 'My Baby' collection just beautifully. Sherry uses the My Baby papers as well as the My Baby die cuts, matting the diecuts on black being an effective way of creating an outstanding embellishment. Thanks for sharing, Sherry!

 

 

 

We are very happy to be able to share the gorgeous work of Jane Jones on our blog once more. Here Jane has used the "Gigi" range by Paper Trunk. We love how she cleverly embellished over the top of the printed flowers to create a stunning base for her photo. Thank you Jane.

 

 

 

Once you get past the solemn cutie in the photograph you will be taken by the hand drawn & cut out splat of the Fashionista paper from the Socialite range. Bird pattern embellishments cut from paper, die cuts and more layering complete this lovely page.

 

 

 

This beautiful LO also belongs to Wendi Manuel-Scott using papers from the Maybe Baby range. We love all the cut outs and layering - especially the scalloped edges.

Finally, a BIG Thankyou to Carrie Postma, Owner & Designer of Paper Trunk for allowing us to showcase the two new ranges created by her talented Design Team.

pow! fabric/velvet

Fabric, unless sewn, is quite an unknown quantity when it comes to scrapbook pages. However, the technique that Steph has used here with the Michael Miller Fabric is not only simple but highly effective when combining with paper scrapbooking. Firstly Steph got an A4 transparency and covered it with an artists' medium called "mod podge". Once a thin layer had been applied with a paint brush, she popped the fabric down on the transparency and lightly tapped the material, smoothing out any air bubbles.

Then Steph painted another layer of Mod Podge over the fabric, and waiting for the white paste to dry clear. Once the material had dried the images can then be cut out and adhered to the base of the layout. In this case, Steph used the fabric elements in a collage style to frame the photo of her daughter Madi.

 

 

 

Fabric is undoubtedly one of Nicole's favourite scrapbooking products and these swatches by Junkitz are no exception. Each packs contains three pieces of co-ordinating fabric and the texture of this set was exactly what Nic was looking for.

She pleated a frayed strip to add interest and texture across the top of her layout and also used the patterned piece to cover her chipboard heart and letters.

The heavy weave of the Junkitz fabric meant that it was easily adhered to the chipboard with a glue stick then was easy to fray by pulling threads away.
Nicole stamped her title words onto a strip of the plain Junkitz calico and used other pieces to cover buttons and as a photo mat. Nic says to stamp easily onto fabric, tape the edges of the fabric down to your desk or board to hold it taught while you stamp. When it's dry you simply peel away the tape and you have a cleanly stamped image or title.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Miller Memories has a great selection of fabric pages. Carole used the Meow range to create this fold out board for her holiday snaps of her daughter in Paris.

Firstly the Meow Fabric pages where used a a background which Carole stitched and then she created embellishments with the gorgeous characters which were in the design. She created 3D embellishments, also created flowers - using ovals to create the petals for the Polka Dot Flowers and stitching them together starting with small ovals for the centre and working up to bigger ovals.

Carole also created little cushions and attached one to the board and another to create a cute little Pin Cushion. She also added dimensional magic to the fabric to bring out the pattern and to create added dimension.

 

 

Chris wanted to create something that could be touched with the Heidi Grace Love Blossoms flocked paper, tags and punchouts. So she created this little collection consisting of an altered photo frame, tiny take out box and a 2009 diary. Chris says the flocked products are so lovely to work with and to run your hand over once the creations are finished.

weekend inspiration: paper loft

 

 

The fun colours and bold prints in the Paper Loft Flip Flops range set off these photos that Caz had taken at Warner Brothers Movieworld 5 years ago perfectly. Caz angled the photo strip to create a bit of interest and added a Warner Bros. logo printed from the internet to finish the page off.

 

 

 

  

Carole used Paper Loft - Grandma's House Pattern papers and alpha stickers to create this layout of her very good friend Lauren, who was in England, she is outside Dover Castle.

Carole wanted something with brown tones and these papers worked so well, she cut out the pattern and then layered the pieces, she also teamed it with a little blue using the l'il Davis Silk Flowers. For the journaling Carole used a Jenni Bowlin Label.

 

 

 

Nicole is a huge fan of Paper Loft. She loves how it looks familiar and time-worn like old fabric, and how it makes her photos stand out. For this layout she highlighted the hand-made theme of the subject by making a base of Paper Loft squares, and then layering the photo and title over the top of her paper 'quilt'. Adding twill letters by Carolee's Creations and some handstitching further emphasised the hand-made feel of the page.

 

This week we welcome the lovely Claire Daly to our post. Claire's layout uses the unmistakable distressed Paper Loft background demonstrating how these papers are as soft and familiar as a favourite pair of jeans. Thankyou Claire, beautiful photos and a gorgeous layout!

 

We welcome to our blog Susan Stringfellow who has used her base of Paper Loft papers to showcase her photo fabulously. The time-worn look of the papers reflect the feeling in the photo perfectly! Thanks Susan.

 

We're very happy to be able to introduce Niki Willaert to our post this week. Niki created this adorable accordion book just waiting to be filled with gorgeous photos. Thankyou Niki.

12345 photos - summer memories

The shapes in these gorgeous We R Memories Nonsense papers (Zig Zag & Ding Dong) were calling out to be used as waves and splashes on a fun Summer page. Caz cut them out and used them as quick and easy page accents around the photo of her son and his friend building sandcastles on the beach. Some We R Memories chipboard alphas and letter stickers from the Nonsense 12x12 Scrapbook Pad complete this fun, eye-catching page.

 

 

 

When one thinks of summer layouts, images of bright fun papers might come to mind. Not so in Nic's layout of her son's favourite summer past-time, fishing. The more muted blues and greens in an old favourite Basicgrey, Periphery, were perfect for these pictures. Nic embellished using flourishes cut from SEI Alpine Frost paper and various other paper pieces from SEI, BasicGrey and Cosmo Cricket.

 

 

 

Using multiple photos has always been challenging for Steph, but she was really happy with the way her layout turned out. She used three 6 x 4" photos and manipulated the Technique Tuesday Wave Chipboard around them. This acted as a frame and point of interest. The black Little Yellow Bicycle Flourish Transparencies were used to anchor the layout and give it depth.

 

 

 

To create this layout Mel used four 5.5cm X 7.5cm horizontal photographs, evenly spacing them amongst a selection of Scenic Route Appleton diecut alphas, Lil Davis Chip-Art tag (summertime) and a Sassafras Lass journal tag sticker (Happy Place). The photos were random snapshots combining a few of the activities that Mel's family have been busy doing over summer. A little splash of machine stitching around the curved patterned paper (Sei Oasis, Petra) finishes off the layout nicely.

 

 

 

   

Want to save time when scrapping multiple photo pages? Then go digital! Jaimie created her 5 photo collage instantly in Photoshop and you can too. First open up a new file which will give you a blank canvas for you to add your photos. Then choose the photos for your page and using the 'move tool' click and drag each photo and arrange them on the canvas. Once happy with the arrangement all that is left is to print out the photo collage for your layout.

Jaimie embellished her page with alphas, journal tags, rubons and brads to finish off this 'cool' page about her families January Summer Snow day.

pow! templates and stencils

 

Carole used the 2" Better Letter Template to create her funky looking title. She created the title from the Queen & Company Felt Solids in Blue. She then cut them out and stuck them onto transparency so she could place them onto foam tape to give them depth.
Carole also used Basic Grey Offbeat pattern papers and chipboard sticker shapes, the colours gave the layout a very fresh feel, she also stitched around certain elements to highlight their shapes.

 

Here is Suz's favourite new discovery - Deluxe Designs "Pages by Design" Templates Set.  What it gives you is a heap of transparent shapes, complete with dimensions of each, that you can arrange into any layout design you like.  You then crop or print your photos to fit, cut out your patterned papers to fit, and put them together just as you planned.  Fundamentally, it's just like working from a sketch, but it's your original sketch!  It takes all the guesswork out of designing a page, and you don't cut into precious photos or a full sheet of patterned paper until you're confident that your design is going to work. 

Suz loves it!  Here she takes you through in pictures (in reverse order) how she achieved a perfectly balanced layout quickly and easily, without a single mis-step.  The beginners pack contains the clear 12x12 sheet to work on (which by the way is also brilliant for laying over a masterpiece in progress when you need to walk away), a folder with ziplock satchel to store your shapes, and a heap of shapes to get you started.  There's extra packs available in a huge range of different shapes and designs to build its versatility even further.

 

 

 

 

To make this cute little post-it note holder Chris used the 3.5 x 3.5 tiny scrapbook kit template by Deja Views. It was the perfect size to fit a standard size post-it note pad. Chris just created the 'cover' part of the kit as per the instructions, tied it together with some Heidi Swapp ribbon and added Heidi pink daisy silhouette shape for a cute accent. 

Chris said that she had originally thought she would create mini scrapbook album with this template kit until she started having a play with it and discovered that it would make a great 'star' hanging album instead.  Chris used all Heidi Swapp products including the very girly 9x9 Sassy Sweet papers, perfect for using on this mini creation.

For more details on how to recreate this with the template kit, see Chris' tutorial here.

 

     

Nicole created this gorgeous little keepsake to detail the story behind her wedding dress. Using pocket and tag templates by Deluxe Design meant Nic could put this little album together quickly and with ease.

All she had to do was trace through the grooves on the template sheets then cut along the lines. It only took Nicole minutes to make the entire album, including creating the accordion fold spine. Slipping tags into the pockets meant that the album became interactive and there was room for additional or hidden journalling.

weekend inspiration: crate paper

The Mia range of papers and embellishments by Crate Paper bring such a pretty and girly feel to this layout. Mel has used a combination of Whirl, Sparkle, Mingle & Hooked patterned papers and added a journaling block and flower embellishment from the Glitter Diecut pack to add interest to the page. A few Mia Textured Brads were scattered over the flowers to add dimension to the finished layout.

 

 

The earthy tones to the new Crate Paper Lemongrass are lovely. Carole used it to create a layout on her trip to New Zealand, and the colours went perfectly.
The diecuts and journaling tags were a wonderful addition to the range, and finished of Carole's layout perfectly.

Caz has combined many of the patterned papers from the Crate Paper Lemongrass range to create this fresh background which complements the orange in her daughters school dress perfectly. The layout focuses on what a warm giving person her daughter Jordan her grown into, matching the line in the old rhyme perfectly.

Chris said she was rubbing her hands together the minute she saw the Prudence range and she fell in love with the glitter die cuts and borders. Chris's friend had asked her to put together this layout for a gift for her mother. The colours in the photos were all a little different, but the earthy tones of the Prudence range were just what she needed to bring this layout together.

Chris has done lots of layering with the die cuts and borders and says she left the circle punch outs in the swirl shapes for something a little different and instead added some green circles that were punched out of the border die cut onto the swirls.

 

 

The Static range by Crate Paper is the perfect mix of grunge-charm with a soft side. The colours are fresh and clean but the texture softens the bright colours beautifully. Here Nicole has scrapped a layout about her son's love of art.

For some boys, the extreme nature of boy-focused papers just don't suit their personalities. With this range, just about all boys are covered and it would certainly suit a huge age-range as well. Nicole said she would use it happily on girl-themed pages as well if the subject was right.

Kathie Link shares this beautiful layout with us using the Prudence range of papers by Crate Paper. We love the selection of photographs down the side of the layout with corresponding hand written journaling on the right. The gentle placement of Prudence flowers scattered throughout the layout really tie the photos and journaling together beautifully. Thanks for sharing Kathie!

A big thank you to Christine Drumheller from Michigan for allowing is to share this beautiful layout with you of a little boy and his walk with his Grammy. Christine has used the gorgeous die-cut paper and glitter die cuts from the Prudence range.

We'd like to thank Jane Jones for sharing this layout with us. Jane has created this wonderful layout using the Prudence collection and shows us how terrific the papers and die cuts look when layered.

Jane was so excited to be asked to share her previous layout and loves Crate Paper so much that she so kindly offered to create another layout just for our blog using the Mia collection. Jane has done so beautiful hand cutting of the Mia papers to put together this stunning layout. Many thanks to you Jane for your inspiration.

Sharing her layout with us, Anthea Peterson shows us how to create a fabulous page using the Lemon Grass collection. We love how Anthea has cut down the die cut paper and mounted it on black cardstock. Very effective. Thank you Anthea.

Ann Lederhose shares the very cute layout with all the beautiful flowers from the Crate Paper Kaitlyn Range of Pattern paper, thank you so much Ann this is a wonderful layout.

12345 photos - reasons i love you

We've started another new series we love - it's called 12345 photos.  Each of the participating design team choose a number of photos to work with from one to five, so each week we will be showcasing ideas using different numbers of photos on a page.  We also decided to have an assigned theme.  This weeks theme is reasons why we love ... someone in our lives.  In anticipation of Valentines Day most of them are about our other halves, but Mel shows we need not be limited to that - she's created a tribute to her gorgeous son.

We hope you enjoy.

 

When looking at the photo Nic H wanted to use for this theme she quickly thought of a design with bracket papers - after all with the theme of unity and love, the bracket papers seemed perfect. Nic used a Jenni Bowlin paper as a 'template' to create a background from coordinating Pink Paislee and Sassafras Lass papers.

Journaling was added on Aussie Scrap Source Kraft cardstock and various embellishments were made from patterned papers and rub-ons. nic finished with BasicGrey Chocolate Chip alphas for her title and a few Queen & Co gems for that added sparkle. Nic placed the whole layout on black cardstock to make it pop.

 

 

 

Mel used two photos of her son James for the 1,2,3,4,5 'reasons i love you' challenge. Her journaling was completed on an old typewriter and adhered onto the page using a long strip of BasicGrey, Phoebe, Coit Tower patterned paper. A Technique Tuesday frame (Tile Toppers, Classic) was then painted and clear embossed to create an interesting background for the title to be placed onto.

 

 

 

 

 

Want an easy way to journal about your adored one? Write a list, just like Nicole did here. She wanted to keep her journalling light-hearted and fun to reflect how she views her relationship with husband Nathan and their silly photos.

Nicole used a pre-printed die-cut label from the Extension range by Jenny Bowlin to hold her journalling and layered it with papers from the brand new Love Letters line by Little Yellow Bicycle.

The Love Letters range is rich and beautiful and screams romance on every piece.  Note also that Nicole was able to create a gorgeously textured felt heart by stamping on an Inque Boutique plain felt heart with black Stazon Ink.

 

   

 

 

Suz mixed up Scenic Route Sumner patterned papers with a little Pink Paislee and SEI Dill Blossom to create this tribute to her other half. 

Her challenge was to use four photos, and even numbers of photos often don't work as easily in design as odd number, so she grouped them and linked them with colour blocks and journalling blocks.   She mixed up black and white shots with colour for added interest (and because the colours in the black and white shots would have jarred with her colour scheme!)

Suz finished the layout off with a few embellishments and some handstitiching - a little out of character for her but she wanted a bit of a homespun look.

 

 

 

 

 

Caz has used the beautiful Teresa Collins Crush range to create this layout for her husbands desk. She asked each of her children why they love their daddy and added some of their answers to the page. It will make a perfect Valentine's Day present.

scraplift: keisha campbell

  

We're starting a fun new series for a limited time only here on the Aussie Scrap Source Blog.  We're saying it's not only ok to scraplift, it's downright fun.  We've chosen some of our favourite artists (outside our own design team of course!) and asked their permission to scraplift some of their layouts.  We start with a master of the elegant and feminine - Keisha Campbell.

 

 

 

Keisha's original...

Chris' lift...

Chris says: I just adore Keisha's style. I was first drawn to this layout because of it's fresh look and beautiful colours. I really wanted to emulate this look and I chose the SEI Oasis range to create this effect. I also added a bit of glitter by using the We Are Memory Keepers Foil, Glitter, Flock rub-ons. Keisha loves to sprinkle her layotus with a few buttons and I have copied this effect with the buttons that come with the Oasis range. I loved trying out your style thank Keisha!

 

 

 

Keisha's original...

Steph's lift...

If there is one thing Steph has found out about Keisha, it is her attention to detail and meticulous design skills. This scraplift - although fun, had to be cut exact so that everything fit together. More than once her measurements didn't make the cut!! Steph now has a new appreciation for clean and simple and Keisha's beautiful designs.

Steph has used the Basic Grey Range of Bittersweet in this scraplift, because the colour pallete is so rich and feminine and really caught her eye when she was searching for product to use for this post.

 

 

Keisha's original...

 

 

Suz's lift...

Suz loved the clean intersecting lines of this layout as well as the contrast between the kraft and heavier patterns.  She has used Little Yellow Bicycle Delightful patterned papers here, alongside My Mind's Eyes cutest die cuts, resulting in an apparently simple layout, but perfect for giving equal weight to a number of small photos.

 

 

 

 

 

Keisha's original...

 

Carole's lift....

Carole found this a challenge, firstly she finds any type of scraplifting hard but also being such a three dimensional scrapper it was impossible for her not to add embellishments that were not 3D. (and why would we want her to?!)  So this is Carole take on Keisha's gorgeous layout.

Keisha's layouts are also very crisp and fresh looking, and Carole has captured this in her layout of her daughter Sarah. Carole used Teresa Collins Bella Collection of patterned papers as well as Little Yellow Bicycle Delight.  For the embellishments used BasicGrey Sugared Chipboard and Heidi Swapp Chipboard Clocks  - lots of different mixtures of products, that all went really well together with pink and black being dominant colours.

pow! sheer and transparent

  

Using a transparency as her background Jaimie built her LO around one of the photomats on the overlay where she placed her photo. Her main embellishment is the rather large Heidi Swapp butterfly overlay which she cut out and folded down the body making the wings spread open in an arc so when added to her page Jaimie's LO now has dimension.

So the overlays wouldn't get lost on the page Jaimie kept the white backing paper behind the background transparency which also gives the page some lift, when it comes to overlays all the hard work is done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carole created this transparency frame for her wedding photo, using a LUXE Transpareny Ornate Frame, these are so very elegant and ideal for this sort of project.

Carole teamed it with Basic Grey Wassail pattern paper and Element Stickers instead of using the paper for Christmas projects, it was just so very elegant and went really well with this project. Carole stuck the stickers onto transparency and then stuck the pieces onto the LUXE Transparency with foam tape, the effect is gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transparencies are such a beautiful product, especially shown here in this layout by Steph. Steph has used the elegant Hambly Frame 12 x 12 Transparency and sewn it onto Kraft paper. She has downloaded the image of a peacock feather from the internet and printed that onto clear acetate. By placing the feathers both under and over the 12 x 12, she has created a beautiful look, highlighted within the white frames.

For her title / sentiment, Steph used the Heidi Swapp Page Transparencies and cut it down to size and then placed kraft paper underneath. The Basic Grey Ambrosia line is a perfect accompaniment to finish off this stunning work.

 

 

 

Nicole is loving acrylic right now and these funky Tim Holtz fragment charms are easily one of her favourite acrylic products right now. Their perfectly clear finish lends itself to a diverse rang of applications as Nic soon discovered while having a play with them.

For this layout Nicole started off by creating a grungy background by sticking down masks from the Timeworks pack by Tim Holtz and rubbing gently over the top with Tim Holtz Distress Ink. The beauty of these masks is in their clarity, you can see exactly where you are applying them.

She then used the leftover negative (background) mask left from the Borderline mask set also by Tim Holtz to create the barbed wire border strips - start with a light watercolour wash and then add an extra darker line along the bottom edge to give the illusion of shadow and dimension.

Her journalling elements are the charms from the fragments charm pack and also clear buttons - by Tim Holtz of course. Nicole simply glued them straight over the top of patterned papers and photos before trimming, creating her own unique embellishments.

Once all trimmed she was able to apply random rub-ons, stickers and stamps plus some Heidi Swapp ghost elements for good measure.
Using the thick acrylic in between the papers and journalling has given the layout energy and made the words "pop"

 

 

 

 

A quick and easy keyring or charm idea using Tim Holtz's fragment charms is to attach two photos back to back and then sandwich them between two identical charms, sealing everything together with the clear adhesive of your choice. Here Nicole attached her key-ring with a bead chain by Junkitz but you could use any attachments that you choose.

Nicole also used these charms as bag tags for her children on their school bags and pencil cases stamped with their initials.

weekend inspiration: luxe designs

Bright, fun, fresh and funky - Luxe Capris was the perfect backdrop for Jaimie's LO of her daughters passion for dance. By cutting around the pattern on the Luxe Capris Chives paper Jaimie then inverted the 'offcut' and used that as an overlay on her page. By layering the jotters she has created an interesting embellishment which is brought out even more by the addition of a button frame. Highlighting key words in her journaling with Rose Moka alphas gives emphasis to her daughters love of dance.

 

 

 

 

 

The new LUXE Sprinkle pattern paper is very vibrant and colourful, used with the colour Me Cozy pattern paper and Blendable Markers makes for a very creative layout. Carole also used the papers to create hills and rainbows, and the cute photo of Carole's son Chaise was just too cute, and finished off the layout perfectly.

 

 

 

 

 

Chris said she loved how bright, funky and fun the Sprinkles range is. The flowers were perfect for cutting out of the pattern paper and adding as accents to her page and rather than use the journal jotter die cuts for journalling, Chris has place her title on it so it can easily be seen amongst the colourful papers.

 

 

This eye catching layout is from Tatum Woodroffe. Tatum is another rising Aussie scrapper who has caught the eye of an international manufacturer and now proudly creates for the Luxe Design team. Here is what Tatum had to say about this layout. "I have used the sprinkles range again, this time with black cardstock to make the colours pop. I hand cut circles from the rollerskate paper and cut the wavy strip from the polyester paper.

The picture is one of mum and I from 1979 scanned and printed onto canvas paper with the edges torn. I love the texture you get from printing onto canvas paper. I finished off with a Simply Lime jotter and journal sticker and some stitching and buttons."

Thanks for sharing your creativity with us Tatum.

 

 

Please thank Anne Jo Lexander for sharing some of her creations with us. Anne has used the Luxe Sprinkles range to create this simple, yet striking set of cards. Thanks Anne!

layouts of substance: back to school

It's hard for Nic to comprehend Abby as a school girl and the day Abby put on a school uniform and headed off to school came all too soon. It's such a special moment for both parents and child, as is shown by the sheer delight on Abby's face. It's certainly a moment well worth documenting, as Nic did here with this layout created with Collage Press and Heidi Swapp papers.

 

Watching your child go to school for the first time brings up a myriad of emotions for a mother. They go from baby to toddler and all of a sudden they are at school. Steph delicately embellished these heartwarming recollections with SEI Poppy Paper and beautiful Heidi Swapp embellishments.

"How can I be old enough to have a girl starting high school when I can still remember my first day in high school so vividly?" In this substance layout Caz has focused on how quickly the years are flying by. From starting high school herself, to having her first child start kindergarten and now that same tiny little girl is off to high school .

 

 

 

Mel's son James is starting high school next year, so this challenge was a great opportunity for Mel to look back and reflect over the last few years (in photos) and also include a note for James on the page. A Junkitz Back To School Additionz notepad provided the perfect accetate quote to add to the layout and a piece of notepad style paper was also torn out of the notepad for Mel's journaling.

Suz created this layout for her son who moves into a new class this year without the safety blanket of any of last years friends in it, and his main go-to friend has even changed schools so he's not even there in the playground.  He's a quiet spirit so all she can do is hope and encourage him and believe that some of his new classmates take the time to get to know him.  

She has used an eclectic mix of products here including Scenic Route, Jenni Bowlin and BasicGrey as well as creating her own 'random alphabet' patterned paper with Tim Holtz's Alpha Mask.  The cute gingham foam alphas are Heidi Swapp because surely nothing says 'school' better than a few checks!

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes we have a lot of information to get down about several aspects of one particular subject and this is where mini-albums come into their own.
Nicole wanted to journal the ways things changed for her son Alexander when he moved from the Junior Primary School Campus to the Senior Primary School Campus. There were so many changes to journal that they simply wouldn't fit on a layout.

Starting with a pack of Paper Loft file folders, Nicole was able to create this little album with ease. She cut the folders in half to create pages and used the small file folders as little pockets to hold extra photos and some of her journalling.

She added blanket stitching and inking to emphasise the homely feel and to create warmth. She cut tags from papers in the Paper Loft Well Worn range and also used word titles from the Well Worn Stamped Words tag sheets.

One of her happiest discoveries while creating this project was that the "Spellbound" patterned paper in this range has words that can easily be cut out and used on projects or even cut into seperate letters and used to create new words like Nic did here on her cover.

pow! back to school

As we wave our little darlings off to school and thoughts and stories pop into our minds for scrapbook pages (and we might even find the time to create them now!) we showcase some products ideal for the purpose.

 

Creating gorgeous school-themed layouts is easy with the Appleton range by Scenic Route. The lovely fresh colour scheme lends itself to just about every school uniform available and the embellishments are perfectly themed for all sorts of school topics.

All Nicole added to the Appleton range here was a circle of French Knots to frame her photo and one of her favorite pins, and the product range did the rest!

 

 

 

Junkitz 'Back To School Tilez' are a lovely little collection of teeny double sided chipboard tiles, complete with school themed pictures and sweet words. Mel has used the tiles in this layout as a bottom border underneath the photos, but they would also be gorgeous as a single accent on a school themed page.

 

 

All ready to go back to school.   Caz couldn't resist hand cutting the branches from the Fiddle Faddle paper in this classic We R Memory Keepers range to match the tree in the background of this photo and then cutting out 3 little birds from the Sing Song paper to symbolize each of her children in this classic back to school pose.

 

 

Jaimie decided to take a different approach to her back to school page. She wanted to highlight the joy in her children's faces on the final day of school holidays and asked the question if they realised that they would soon be back in the classroom. Using a mix of BG Recess papers and rubons seemed to be the best choice for showcasing back to school. Jaimie added a Jenni Bowlin die cut calendar with an arrow and small alphas to show the impending date of the first day of school.

Jaimie has added her journaling to the back of her page and it reads:  This photo shows the happy & relaxed faces of three children at the end of 7 weeks holiday. A holiday break that included a trip to Beijing & Hong Kong and a quick getaway to Broome. I wonder if they realise that in less than 24 hours they will be back at school for another year? Judging by these smiles - I doubt it!!

 

 

 

 

Carole loved creating this fun layout of Sarah, using the MME Back to School die-cuts and BTDT pattern papers (Perth and Tasmania), with a little twist on the whole back to school theme. Carole used chipboard board pieces and did some dimensional designs using foam mounting tape.

Carole also embellished using SEI Grandpa Attic Buttons and brads, and a little dimensional magic, to highlight areas on the diecuts.