Niki Rowland

About Niki Rowland

I’m Niki, I live in the UK with my creatively challenged husband and my three children. I’m a pretty paper addict who makes the occasional cupcake and likes coffee and shortbread biscuits. I love turning bright colours and floral ephemera, into scrapbook layouts, with a few mini albums along the way too. I currently create for GoGo Getaway, which is my own scrapbooking retreat business. That keeps me pretty busy but because I wouldn’t want to get bored, I also am a governor at my children’s school and somehow, I also ended up leading the PTA as well…so now I can add ‘fundraising’ to my list of skills too! Creating feeds my soul and I try to do something creative every day. I hope you enjoy my creations.

Posts by Niki Rowland:

Best Day Ever with Happy Days | Niki Rowland

Hey everyone, this is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) with a new layout and process video using Happy Days! I love the Definitive paper with all the words on and used a large strip of it at the top of the layout. I cut two more narrow strips of colourful patterned paper and layered these below the word strip and I wrapped some pink embroidery thread around this area too.

I had three photos to use, one large and two smaller. I mounted the larger on onto yellow patterned paper from the Happy Days A5 Paper Stack to make it stand out. I tucked the photos under the word strip at the top of the layout to almost make them look like they are hanging from the strips.

I then built up some clusters of Floral Ephemera and the Die Cut Ephemera shapes too. I adore the Floral Ephemera, there are so many flowers and leaves in a packet and they are so cute and colourful!

For my title I used the ‘Best Ever’ chipboard title but I separated the words on opposite sides of the layout. I also added the little word ‘day’ in the middle of them so the title reads ‘best day ever’.

I added a few phrase stickers from the Accessory Sticker Sheet, handwrote my journaling, then added a few sequins and finally some splatters of white paint.

I love how the layout turned out and I’m super pleased to have scrapped these photos!

Thanks so much for joining me today, happy scrapping!

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

Origami Christmas Trees Layout using Heart & Home | Niki Rowland

Hey everyone! This is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) and I’m still determined to be festive throughout December even though I don’t have any Cocoa Vanilla Studio Christmas Collections! For today’s layout and Process video, I’ve used Heart & Home. I picked out some of the pinky-red tones and a green paper and a blue paper.

Out of the two papers, I cut squares in increasing sizes, and then folded them into triangles, then folded the corners down to make ‘trees’ – layering the three together really looks like branches! I made two of these origami trees, one in blue and one in green. I arranged them across the layout together with my photo in a horizontal like.

I embellished the trees with red and pink flowers and I punched pink stars to go on top of the trees. I felt the top of the layout was looking a little sparse, so I added a strip of pink paper and a flower and phrase sticker.

For my title I used a mixture of Gold Title Ephemera ‘let’s stay’ and then the word ‘home’ I made from the Mini Puffy Alphabet Stickers.

I finished off with my journaling on the left side of the layout, splatters of gold paint and a few Puffy Stickers. I’m really happy with how this layout turned out and even though it’s not a Christmas collection, I think that it does have a Christmassy-feel about it!

Happy scrapping and Merry Christmas everyone!

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

The Most Wonderful Time! using Happy Days | Niki Rowland

Hey everyone! This is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) with a new layout and process video.  I was determined to make Christmassy layouts in December but I don’t have any Cocoa Vanilla Studio Christmas Collections anymore – I loved them so much that I used them all up at the time! So I’m using the two latest collections, Happy Days and Heart & Home and getting Christmassy with those! For this layout I’ve mostly used Happy Days but the big green stars are from Heart & Home.

I love 3D stars and stars are perfect for Christmas. I also love modern Christmas colours, so pink & turquoise mixed with greens and golds so it was absolutely no problem for me to make a Christmas layout with these colours!

I settled on a horizontal design across the layout but I also added a little pink ink as a base colour and some splatters of the pink and gold paint too. I used several of the specialty paper Gold Frames from the Happy Days collection.

I picked out my papers and then used metal dies to make lots of stars. I then scored them at all five points, and folded them to make the 3D stars. I added flowers and hearts from Happy Days in the same colours.

For my title I used a mixture: ‘wonderful’ and ‘time’ were the chipboard words from Happy Days, ‘the’ and ‘of’ were the gorgeous gold word Ephemera from Heart & Home. The little letters are the puffy mini alphabet stickers from Happy Days.

I love how it turned out and I think it is very Christmassy! You can see the process video below

Happy scrapping!

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

Back to Summer using the Happy Days Collection | Niki Rowland

Hey everyone, this is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) and today I am missing summer so have gone back to using Happy Days! I’ve used photos from my little boy’s 5th birthday this year when we spent the day at a water park having lots of fun.

I started off with the turquoise paper which I cut into a large circle, and I added this to a white background. I mounted my three photos and added them to the circle together with two colourful stripes from A5 paper stack. I also added that gorgeous tassel ephemera from the Die Cut Ephemera.

I then added some floral clusters using a mixture of Floral Ephemera and fussy cut flowers. For my title I used one of the Chipboard Titles and the lovely Mini Puffy Alphabet Stickers. I added some puffy stickers and handwrote my journaling as well as adding some white paint splatters.

I hope you enjoyed this layout, it was fun to go back to summer time, I adore this bright happy collection so much!

 

Enjoy watching along with the process video below

Happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

Paper Weaving with Heart & Home | Niki Rowland

Hey everyone, this is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) and today I’m doing something a little different and am having a go at some paper weaving! I’m using the Heart & Home collection and started off with that beautiful stripy paper called Harvest. I spent a bit of time cutting out all the coloured stripes. They are quite narrow which is why I had the idea for the paper weaving.

Once my stripes were cut, I then cut them all in half. I then took a spare piece of cardstock and arranged the stripes in colour order, onto the cardstock in a vertical orientation. When I was about happy with the order and the size of the stripes altogether, I taped one end of all the stripes to the cardstock. I then took the horizontal stripes and began weaving them into the vertical ones, under, over, under, over etc. I repeated this until all stripes were weaved.

To secure the weaving I carefully peeled the taped ends from the cardstock and turned over the weaved piece. I then made sure the weaving was quite tight and then I put tape all over the back so the stripes couldn’t move. I ended up with a beautiful piece of paper weaving about 6” square.

I then set about making my layout. I added the weaved paper piece to a white card background, added two mounted photos and then added several pieces of Floral Ephemera. I also added a title using the beautiful gold foiled Title Ephemera and a few phrases cut from the Golden Fields paper.

I finished off with a few Puffy Stickers and some splatters of gold paint. Enjoy watching the process video below.

Thanks so much for joining me today and happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

Moodboard Inspiration with Heart & Home | Niki Rowland

Do you love or loath moodboards? I love them but I know some people struggle to interpret them. I tackle them by making a list of all the things I see and then I try to incorporate as many of them as possible into my layout.

For the beautiful October moodboard set by Sophie, this is the list I made: acorns, check print, web, leaves, wooden round, circle shape, flowers, words (script font and regular), knitted yarn/wool, pumpkins, woodgrain, the colours (green, orange blue, brown, pink, peach, yellow), Autumn theme. That’s a long list!

 

I was mostly inspired by the central photo of the wooden round. I used the A5 paper stack sheet of woodgrain paper and cut out the largest circle possible. I distressed the edges. I mounted my photo onto a check print.  I arranged my photo and Floral Ephemera to the right of the circle together with a Ephemera frame. The frame has acorns on it. I arranged all these elements as per the central photo of the wooden round, together with my title too over on the left. So far I’d incorporated: acorns, check print, leaves, wooden round, circle shape, flowers, words, woodgrain, the colours and an Autumn theme. Lots of boxes ticked there!

I added some ink under the area where the flowers would sit. I used a peach shade and then added some darker ink splatters over this area.

I wanted to incorporate the knitted yarn so took some white embroidery thread and cut three long lengths. I then plaited these and make a piece long enough to go around the edge of my wooden round. I just stuck it in place. I also added a doily under the wooden round, which could (at a stretch) represent the web on the moodboard. So now I could also tick off: web and knitted yarn. That’s pretty much everything except the pumpkins.

I added a few more fussy cut acorns, handwrote my journaling, and added some puffy heart stickers. I also created a little torn area on the left side of the layout backed with patterned paper, to balance out the very large cluster that was over to the right side.

So I think I nailed the moodboard and I hope that you have enjoyed seeing how I tackle a moodboard! Enjoy the process video of this layout.

Happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

Love This Autumn Scrapbooking Layout using Heart & Home

Hey everyone! This is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) and here is my latest creation with the beautiful Heart & Home collection. I have made a process video too, which is below.  I love gingham and check prints so was drawn to the check side of Flurry paper. I cut it into squares by following the lines on the paper and then layered these up in diamond formations onto a white background.

I added in additional squares but with the other side of the paper showing, I love that dark blue. I mounted my photo and placed this on the bottom diamond.

I added floral clusters using Floral Ephemera and the Die Cut Ephemera. I pinch the flowers first to give them some curl and then also raise them on foam pads too so there is lots of dimension.

I added a title using the gorgeous Gold Title Ephemera ‘love this’ but I also wanted to include a sub title ‘ticket to ride’ which I did using the Mini Puffy Alphabet Stickers – these are so cute and great for titles and subtitles.

I added some cut apart words from the Golden Fields paper manufacturing strip, all of which I distressed the edges and raised up on foam pads.

I finished off by adding my journaling, and some Puffy Stickers, as well as some splatters of white paint.

Thanks so much for joining me today and happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates


Celebrate Layout with Layered Hearts | Heart & Home |Niki Rowland

Hi everyone, this is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) here today with a new layout and video. Do you like layers on your scrapbook layouts?  On this layout I have used lots of different patterns from the Heart & Home A5 Paper stack to cut lots of hearts in different sizes. I love doing this as it means I get to use lots of patterns on one page!

I started off by cutting multiple hearts – I did this using metal nesting dies and my Big Shot. I then spent some time layering the hearts together, I also distressed the edges of each one before sticking them together. I arranged the hearts down the right side of my layout, on the edge of a large square of the Fall Beauty patterned paper, pink heart side. Once I was happy with the positioning of the hearts, I stuck them to the pink square and then trimmed around them. I added the pink square and layered hearts to a white piece of card for my background. I then added some machine stitching: through the middle of all the hearts and around the edge of the pink square.

I then added my photo, which I framed using a piece of Die Cut Ephemera and I also added a title using one of the Gold Titles ‘celebrate’ because in the photo we were out for my daughter’s birthday.

I kept the rest of the layout embellishments fairly simple as I didn’t want to overpower the stacked design so I just added a few pieces of Floral Ephemera, a few phrases from the Die Cut Ephemera and a few Puffy Hearts. I finished off with a few splatters of gold paint.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing this layout, have a happy scrappy day! My process video is below if you would like to watch how it came together!

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

Gather Together Layout | Heart & Home | Niki Rowland

Hi everyone, this is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) and on this scrapbook layout I have used the new beautiful Heart & Home collection to create a design with circles, stencilling and a cute little sequin shaker pocket out of a piece of ephemera. There is a process video for this layout which can be found lower down.

I started with the beautiful Flurry paper which is dark blue with multicoloured leaves on one side, and has a multicoloured check on the other side. Of course I loved both sides! I cut some circles and positioned these onto a white background together with some patterned paper stripes too.

I made a sequin shaker pocket out of the wreath from the Die Cut Ephemera. I cut a piece of white card to back the wreath with, and cut a piece of acetate the same size. I then machine stitched the two pieces together trapping some sequins inside. I then added the wreath ephemera on top of the sequin pocket – it looks so cute!

I embellished the layout with Floral Ephemera and also added a small amount of stencilling around my circles and photos using a sun beam style stencil.

For my title I used one of the gorgeous Gold Titles ‘gather’ and then added the word ‘together’ using the Mini Puffy Alphabet Stickers.

I finished off with puffy heart stickers and splatters of white paint!

Thank you so much for joining me today and happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

Awesome | Happy Days | Niki Rowland

Hi everyone! This is Niki (@nikiclairecreates) with another layout and video using the Happy Days collection. I decided to make ‘medals’ out of my photos on this layout using those fabulous colourful stripes from the Sunshine Lollipops paper.

I started off by gutting the middle of the Sunshine Lollipops paper, in order to preserve the outer edge: I can use this for a different layout (I have a tendency to be a bit of a thrifty scrapper sometimes!). I then cut apart the stripes from the gutted piece. I chose 7 stripes to use as a main feature on this layout, and I distressed the edges of all of them, folded them in half and also machine stitched down the middle of each one.

I then decided that a white background just wasn’t doing it for me…and went looking for what patterned papers I could use for a background instead. I settled on the B side of the Rainbow Bright paper, I love the white with ditzy hearts and this was perfect to add some interest to my background. I trimmed it down, distressed the edges and added it to a sheet of white to give it a boarder.

I arranged my colourful stripes onto the background together with my large photo which I cut into a circle shape. I cut three more smaller photos into circle shapes too. From the offcuts of the colourful stripes, I created little ribbons to add to the bottom of each photo – making them into ‘medals’ or ‘rosettes’. I also did this with a fussy cut frame from the Specialty Paper.

I added my photos to the layout together with Die Cut Ephemera ‘Amazing’ rosette. I then added small embellishments to each one: Floral Ephemera, Chipboard Phrases, fussy cut words from the Definitive paper, Chipboard Shapes, Puffy Stickers and phrase stickers from the Accessory Stickers.

I finished off with a few splatters of white paint over the colourful stripes and also handwrote in a few lines of journaling. If you would like to watch how this layout came together, you can watch my process video below! I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you so very much for joining me today, I am really pleased with how this layout turned out!

Happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

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