(Freaky) Bavarian Man | ScrappyNerdUK (Claire) | November/December 2017 (Catch Up)

Who doesn't love a bit of woodgrain paper!!?!!

It is my favourite background paper to use (if i'm not using white cardstock of course?!)

I have this photograph of the huge Bavarian Man inflatable at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and thought it would work well with this wood grain paper.

So I created a "shelf" for my photo and embellishments to sit on. I used the floral/bird paper from the Good Vibes collection and set about fussy cutting a few of these elements ready to use as embellishments around my photo.

I tucked some of these into the black and white paper that ran across the bottom of the layout.

I even added some enamel dots into the centre of the flowers to add dimension.

I love how these birds and flowers surround the bottom of my photo. And birds were apt as the bavarian man was holding some sort of bird on its hand. (This huge inflatable freaked me out as it was huge - I still get weirder out thinking about it now - Have you ever been to Winter Wonderland and know what inflatable I'm on about? Were you freaked out too?)



I then added another cluster to the right hand side of the black and white strip of paper and added a little tag sticker from the Good Vibes sticker sheet. To this I threaded some pink twine (from my stash).

That bird you can see, was fussy cut out of one of the custom cards and it it works so well in that little cluster. Again a couple of enamel dots were added for dimension.

Oh year - and those little plus signs were on the Pink Fresh alpha sheets too and worked perfectly in the clusters.



I finished this layout by using the PinkFresh alphas and simply titled it Bavarian Man - now I look back at it I think I might go back and add a sub title  - maybe add in Hyde Park or Winter Wonderland - It will save from adding in journalling to state where we were.

Thanks for visiting the blog and I can't wait to come back to share some more inspiration with you.




Claire xxx


It's All Good | ScrappyNerdUK (Claire) | November/December 2017 (Catch Up)

I loved making DIY embellishment clusters and used one on my last layout and again on this one. It really helps the layout come together so quickly and is great if you don't have much time for scrapping and want to get a quick layout done in-between cooking dinner, sorting the kids out or even when you are lacking inspiration!!




So I grabbed one of my DIY clusters for this layout and this had the title already done for me too!! This is just a layer of custom cards, a tag and some stickers - all co-ordinating from the same kit (November/December 2017 kit).


I added in some stamping using a stamp and some black Versafine ink from my stash.




I was running low on papers from this kit when I made this layout so decided to cut all of my leftover papers into strips to use as my main design feature.

I layered these over each other and created a vertical strip down the page, adding in labels and stickers as I went.

I even ran a few of the strips through my sewing machine to create some extra texture but you could add some hand stitching instead if you don't have a sewing machine.

A few enamel dots were doted around also to add some dimension.





The layout was looking very "straight" so to combat this I added in some circular elements. I found a yellow circle sticker from the Good Vibes sticker sheet and a matching custom card which I punched out using a circle punch. You could always use a circle die for this or hand cut one of your own design. I then added in a third circle which is a label sticker to add some more ghost stamping.

I layered my photo on a contrast paper (I used the black and white stripes paper to make it pop against all the colour). And hey presto - layout complete!!

LOL!

Hey everyone, as you may or may not have seen..I shared the second layout i'd be uploading to here on Instagram yesterday. I was hoping to get this post up last night, but as usual, life got in the way! But I am here now, kind of...My partners bearded dragon almost set fire to our flat!!! I won't go into detail so to cut a long story short...She'd knocked her basking log onto her bulb and it was burning filling her tank with smoke. I got her out straight away and you'll be pleased to hear she is safe and well...I'm just waiting for my breath to return!

But anyways, the layout!
Here is what I used and how I created my page - I hope you like it.

From the Main kit
  • PFS Let your heart decide - Caper Paper (B side)
  • 1 Sheet Black Cardstock
  • Pink Paislee Pick me Up - Paper #13
From the Lite kit
  • Kaisercraft sticker sheet
  • Vicki Boutin All the Good Things - Social Butterfly paper
How I made the layout...

I started this page off by trimming a quarter inch off both the bottom and one of the sides, and adhered it to the black cardstock to give it a border. I felt it needed something heavy as it was a busy patterned paper.
After I had done that I got the blue doily like border strip from the Kaisercraft sticker sheet that came in the main kit and lay it across the page knowing I wanted to adhere my photograph on top of it. Before I stuck the picture down I mounted it onto some of the packaging from the Joy Parade alpha that came in the main kit, because I liked the washi tape style packaging and thought it went nicely with my background paper and also allowed me to bring some yellow into this page.


I fussy cut 3 of the butterflies from the Social Butterfly paper, that came in the lite kit. 1 blue 1 yellow and 1 pink/red colour. These formed my triangle of embellishments. From the Kaisercraft sticker sheet also in the main kit I used the washi style border strip and cut it in half and laid that above and below my photo and also added the laugh out loud tab, which was perfect for this photo of my partner and I goofing around on Snapchat.
I then cut the happy flag from the Pink Paislee pick me up paper #13 and mounted it on double sided foam tape to give it some dimension and popped the yellow butterfly with it to finish off that small cluster.






































I wanted to make the layout more bottom heavy so I grabbed the long "fall in love with as many things as possible!" sticker also from the same sticker sheet and lay that above my photo. This gave the grounding effect I was looking for.
My last cluster in the top right hand corner consisted of a circular sticker, another one of the sentiments from the pick me up paper, also mounted on foam, and the last of the 3 butterflies, and that completed my layout!






































Here is the completed project! I hope you like it. For myself and my partner, there are no better times than when we are having fun and just making pure idiots out of ourselves. Lifes far too short to be serious all the time. Have fun letting your inner child out :D






































Until my next post...Happy Scrapping xxx

Think Happy | ScrappyNerdUK (Claire) | Various Kits

So....I have been too busy creating with the kits.....that I had left myself little time to get these all up on the blog for you.




 This layout came together so quickly..... and thats all because of the  pre made embellishment clusters that I had made. Heres one that I had made previously and grabbed to use on this layout.







I loved this ledger paper and the problem is I just hoard paper I love. But I have learnt to use it or lose it as you can fall out of love with that special paper you have been saving!!

I fussy cut this banner piece from one of the cards in the custom cards kit and added in a few tiny word stickers, a few star wood veneers and a flair button (all from my stash).






A few splashes of Heidi Swapp colour shine and a custom card to compensate for the lack of journalling and this layout is finished. 


See you all again soon for some more inspiration.

Claire xx



Monkeying Around | ScrappyNerdUK (Claire) | Jan/Feb 2018

Facebook Live has been my recent jam and I love bringing these videos to the Quirky Kits group to share some inspiration.

I wanted to use the leaf ribbon and it popped so well against the black cardstock. This was a fairly straight forward layout to bring together. The hard work is already done with the co-ordinating products already chosen for us.

I used the heart paper from PinkFresh Studios to add decoration to my layout by fussy cutting these. Although they weren't all full hearts, you can still use them by layering them under each other.

I added in a couple of stickers from previous kits (and this feels liberating using up older stash too!!).

Look at how pretty that ribbon looks above and below the patterned paper. It fitted thematically too as I had lots of trees in my photo. This was not planned but worked really well.




I decided to add a title and sub title to my layout as I loved both alphas in the kit. I used the black and white ones from Fancy Pants to create my title of Monkeying Around and added a sub title with the PinkFresh alphas (in grey) by adding At Monkey World. I loved this as a design element and will look to do more of this on future layouts.


And the complete layout is here. Loved the addition of that little bird sitting on the ribbon, looking down at the photo. I completed the layout by adding a faux stitch border around the whole page using a white gel pen.



Thanks for stopping by and i'll see you very very soon for more inspiration!!

Claire xx

Love is in the Air

Hey everyone! I am here with my the first layout I created with the Jan/Feb Main kit 2018.
This year has already been a whirlwind with lots of changes taking place...but for the better! My main goal for 2018 was to move out of home (as I'm 32 and was still living at home) Well after a couple of weeks into January, I can happily say I have already smashed that goal. I have gotten together with my best friend of 10 years and we are now a couple and I've moved into his flat with him... I really couldn't be happier!
So with some hints of valentines in this kit I can FINALLY create my first valentines day layout. Here is what I used and how I created the layout, I hope you like it xx

From the Main Kit:
  • Echo Park I'd rather be Crafting - Supply List 12x12 paper (b side)
  • PFS Let your heart Decide - 1 frame
  • PFS In The Mix #2 - Grey puffy alphabet
  • Kaisercraft Finders Keepers - Sticker Sheet
  • Kaisercraft Wooden Embellishments
  • Paige Evans Pick me up - #13 
  • Sheet of white cardstock for matting my photo's
From my own stash:

  • The clouds were left over from a cut file I used for another project.
  • The hearts on the clouds were from a previous Quirky Kit, its the Paige Evans Oh My Heart paper full of hearts.

Here's how I created the layout!

I started by placing one of my photo's behind the PFS frame and the other one on top slightly and next to it. I then collected all the leftover hearts I had from a cutfile which I used on another project, and lay them out here and there, where I thought they looked good. I mounted them on double sided foam tape to give them a 3-d effect and cut out a small heart from the Paige Evans Oh my Heart paper from a previous quirky kit, to lay on each cloud.





















I then decided on the title I wanted, and knew I wanted to incorporate the Acrylic LOVE which is gorgeous! So I settled on Love is in the Air, because of the clouds hehe..
I adhered this slightly on top of the photographs, and finished the title off with the PFS Grey Puffy Alphas, which are perfect size for project life or subtitles etc I love the size!




















On top of the framed photograph I used one of the wooden word embellishements which reads Smile, and used another reading Dream Big in the top right hand corner to balance out the page, along with one of the cut outs from the Paige Evans Pick me up paper, which says you're special.





















I finished off by adding a boarder strip from the Kaisercraft Finders Keepers sticker sheet as well as some of the circular sentiment stickers which I backed onto white cardstock.
That's the layout completed!





















My partner really likes it and said he wants to get some frames for the layouts I make of us together, and pop them on the wall. It's so nice to be able to share this, once dreaded day for singletons, now happily together with my bestie for life as a couple. Here's to more loved up layouts lol.
I hope you like the finished result and I will be back soon, with my next layout...Until then Happy Scrapping!
   x Zoe x

Social Butterflies | ScrappyNerdUK (Claire) | Jan/Feb 2018

So - as soon as I saw that Vicki Boutin paper full of butterflies and moths, I knew that it was destined to be fussy cut. So I sat in front of the TV one evening with an episode of Walking Dead and set to fussy cutting out the whole paper.

Next I look at the photos in my stack that need scrapping and I found the perfect photo to use.


This photo had the same colours as the butterflies and knew that this was the photo destined to be scrapped.


The green, blue and orange that we were all wearing matched perfectly with the colours, and the black and white from the alphas covered the black and white in the photo also.

It was almost like this paper had been made for this photo!!


Look at those butterflies (and moths!!). I love them!! I staggered them up the page in a slight diagonal but keeping the colours together and almost in a rainbow order.

I used the paper from Paige Evans with all the sentiments on to add in colour on colour embellishment and again, the colours matched perfectly. I drew around each of these banner pieces with a fine line black pen to help them pop a little and to add a little more black into the layout.

You can probably spy some splashes of Gold Heidi Swapp colour shine (from my stash) and this set the whole layout off nicely. The only thing I would do differently if I were to recreate this is to put the splatters down first and then add the butterflies and embellishments on top. But hey ho!  I did sneak in a few little star wood veneers too from my stash.


And here is the final layout. Butterflies and rainbows really work well together and the Vicki Boutin and Paige Evans papers that are in this kit work perfectly together. I chose a title that would tie the photograph and the butterflies together and this layout is finished.


Stay tuned for plenty more inspiration coming your way very very soon!!

Full Heart - Natalie - Jan/Feb 2018 Kits

 Hi everyone, 

I'm here today with my next layout created with the Jan/ Feb Kits.

Supplies used:

Main Kit:

- Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide - Caper 12x12 Paper 
- White cardstock

Lite Kit:
- Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide - Instinct Paper

Extras Shop:

- Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide - Cardstock Stickers
- Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide - Epoxy Heart Stickers
- Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide - Puffy Heart Stickers 



For this layout I started with the PFS Caper 12x12 paper (the one with the hearts). This is such a gorgeous piece of paper, but I felt it was just too busy to be used as a background by itself. 


So I decided to use 3/4 of the page, but rather than just cut along the bottom line of the hearts, I decided to fussy cut out all of the spaces between the hearts, giving the hearts a cool 3D effect. This took a very long time using scissors and my craft knife, but I think it's worth it! After fussing cutting out the hearts you could then place them on a coloured background but I decided to go for white cardstock. I used foam pads to lift the hearts up off the page. 





To the fussy cut hearts I added a few of the epoxy heart stickers, which have a lovely gold finish on them. 


With the hearts finished, I just had to add my photo and a few embellishments, to finish the layout. I printed my photo at approximately 3.5 x 3.5 inches and matted it first on white cardstock, and then the PFS Impulse paper, and then the back of the PFS Caper paper (from the bottom 1/4 of the paper that I cut off). 
I added a phrase sticker and circular sticker from the cardstock stickers, and an epoxy heart, drawing in the pink and blue colours of the big hearts above. 


I always like to work in triangles when making my clusters, so I added a small cluster to the bottom left of the layout. I used a thin strip of the PFS Caper paper to base the cluster on. I then added the "Full Heart" puffy sticker which acts as my title, and a puffy and an epoxy heart sticker. 


I hope you like my layout and it inspires you to use your heart paper!! 

Natalie xx

Amazing - Natalie Jan/Feb 2018 Kits


Hello everyone,

I'm here today with my first layout created using the Jan/ Feb Quirky Kits.

Supplies used:

Main Kit:

- Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide Impulse 12 x 12 Paper
- Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide Stitched Frames

Extras Shop:

-  Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide Puffy Stickers
 - Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide Cardstock Stickers
- Pinkfresh Studio Let Your Heart Decide Epoxy Heart Stickers



When I opened my kit I knew immediately that I wanted to use the beautiful stitched frames to create a layout. I tried a few different arrangements but decided to use them in a simple grid. The aperture of the frames is 3x3 inches, but I wanted my photos to have a white border around them so I printed them slightly smaller than this. I printed in black and white as the frames are very bright and wouldn't match the colours in my photos. 

I used the Impulse 12x12 paper as my background as it is subtle enough but adds more interest than plain white cardstock.


Because the frames are already embellished and have stitching, you can make this layout super simple and quickly. However I decided to add a few extra embellishments, trying to keep the same colours together. So to the red frame I added a red flower and wavy border sticker both from the puffy stickers, and an epoxy heart. 


To the beautiful blue frame I added a puffy bird and heart sticker, and an epoxy heart sticker.


To the yellow frame I added a puffy heart and wavy border sticker to the bottom left. The top right had a blue heart stitched on but this did not match my colour scheme, so I removed that heart, and added a puffy flower sticker to hide the holes from the stitching. So if the frames don't work for you, you can always adapt them! 



For the final frame I decided to add my journalling and title rather than a photo. I wanted to use the puffy "amazing" sticker as my title but it was quite small alone, so I decided to incorporate it into my journalling. I added an epoxy and a puffy heart to the bottom right. 
Again I edited this frame because there was a hanging terrarium in the top right, which didn't match my layout at all, so I removed that and added a small tab from my stash to hide the stitching holes again!




So overall a very simple and easy layout, I hope it inspires you to use your frames up! 

Natalie x 

Journalling, (it's a) Challenge

This March I want to look at journalling on layouts, specifically the handwritten kind. I struggle a lot with adding journalling. I worry about it 'messing up' a page especially as I tend to leave it as the last thing to add. It's important to me to try to use handwriting as much as possible because I just think it makes the pages feel more love. Typing is great but it's also kind of impersonal - like writing in a book. For me handwritten things are always more intriguing to look at. One of my favourite heirlooms is the stash of letters and postcards looking back over 100 years into family life past and I hope that a small portion at least of the pages I make get to be looked back on in some way in the future. Maybe no one will handwrite any more in the near future, (I mean who doesn't love voice controlled stuff now, it's so going to take over the world!) so it could be something that's looked back on down the line in wonderment! I digress. So yes handwriting, important stuff. So onto the actual process. I did a double challenge with this. I looked at photo's I've had difficultly looking at for a while because of a lost family member. When I did get the photo out I just didn't know what to write so that gave me the idea to do kind of a stream of consciousness thing where I just looked at the photo and wrote down the first things that popped into my head to get my feelings both out and to put something down onto the page.
 
Writing it out on a scrap piece of paper first also gave me a chance to make mistakes off my page so I could then copy it out. In the main kit this month we've got these small alpha stickers and I decided to mix some of them up in my handwriting to really make a feature of the journalling.
 
 
 
I didn't like the floatyness of my writing so I then decided to add some stitching underneath the writing to ground it and also it'll help to keep the little letters down too.
 
 
The background I built up using squares of paper, (both from the Jan/Feb 2018 Quirky Kit Lite) I'd made with a paper punch and added across the centre of the page. I added two of the Jan/Feb 2018 Custom Card kit cards then my photo over the top. Then over the top of those I added one of the frames from the main kit with foam pads to give it some dimension off the page. I finished it off with a few of the stickers from the lite kit, (picking out all those blue/green jewel tones from the kit).


 The title I made up from the acrylic word in the main kit I added by hand stitching it down with embroidery thread along with some of the leaf trim from the main too. The dotty bit is washi tape from last years' May/June kit.

 
Hope you'll have a go at creating your own layout with lots of hand journalling. I'll come back next week with another style journalling filled layout and process to share.
Challenge
Try out incorporating some word or alphabet stickers in with your journalling if you'd like to play along with these posts as challenges and pop in the group to share or if you're on Instagram use the hashtag #quirkykitgallery to add your page to the website gallery.