acrylic paint

Adventure | Great Escape collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I am sharing another layout using the fabulous ‘Great Escape’ collection that documents a photo of Zoe and I on our trip to the USA back in 2019. This pic was taken the day we went to the Grand Canyon, and it definitely rates as one of my favourite days EVER – I am so happy we got to share it together.

I started this page with a sheet of white cardstock and added some ‘Naples Yellow’ acrylic paint to it using a brayer. I chose this colour because of it was a lovely earthy yellow, and I knew it would work well with the other colours of the collection. I then chose a selection of patterned papers for my papery layers, including the green compass print from the Direction paper; the mustard yellow crosses from the A5 Paper Stack; and the orange chevron pattern from the Happy Camper paper. I distressed the edges of the green one to add some texture, before layering the other two on top.

Once the papers were in place I then added some frayed gauze before placing my photo on top of the layers. You can see how I cut the orange chevron print into an arrow shape to run behind my photo from left to right, which helps draw the viewer’s eye in and across the panoramic photo.

For my embellishments, I started by adding three main pieces around my photo – the compass on the left edge from the Die Cut Ephemera pack; the get outside and roam badge (also from the same pack) at the top; and the group of trees from the Chipboard Sticker sheet in the bottom right corner. These three pieces created my visual triangle around my photo and gave me anchor points to work from for the remainder of my embellishments. The other reason I started with these embellishments is because they were all larger pieces and it is always easier to get the biggest things on a page first.

The next piece I added was the ADVENTURE title from the Chipboard Sticker sheet. I knew I wanted to run this piece along the bottom edge of the photo because it is quite a long title and it mirrored the shape of my photo. With all those large elements in place it was then easy to go back and add a few extra embellishments to finish it off. I used the so much fun banner piece and a few stars from the Chipboard Sticker sheet, along with some tiny words and a label from the Accessory Sticker sheet.

I was determined not to over-embellish this page and detract from the photo, so I finished it off with only a few tiny black ink splatters and my handwritten journalling on the label.

I am loving creating with this collection so much, and I have another project with it in the works at the moment that I can’t wait to share! I’ll be back in two weeks with some more inspiration for you.

Until then, happy scrapping!

Wild Thing | Great Escape collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

I am so happy to be back on the blog today and sharing a mixed media layout with you using the brand new ‘Great Escape’ collection. To say I was excited when I opened this box is an understatement. As a mum of two active pre-teen boys, I can see many projects coming up with this one! I had this first layout completed within a couple of hours of first opening the box…

This layout documents a funny story about one of my boys, who is currently obsessed with all things military. I chose the compass print of the Direction paper to be my page background, and added some dark grey acrylic paint with a brayer to define the focal area.

I then added a wide strip of the B side of the Happy Camper paper horizontally across the page to serve as the anchor point for my design. This was topped with a narrow strip of the B side of the Horizon paper to further help draw the eye across the page. The larger of my two photos was matted with the darker green print from the Journey paper and I also added some frayed gauze for texture underneath it.

I then took the same Horizon and Journey papers again, and cut two tags from them, adding hole reinforcement stickers and bakers twine to each. The tags were then tucked alongside the smaller of the photos and I used the twine to join them together. This was to keep with the military theme, and were reminiscent of the dog tags worn by soldiers. I added a small phrase sticker from the Accessory Sticker sheet to one, and used the second to stick my typed journalling onto. (I’ll post a longer explanation of the back story of this page at the end of the post for those who are interested.)

To embellish the layout, I used a number of pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera pack, including the get outside and roam badge, which I mounted on some foam tape to pop it up from the page. I also loved the arrow signpost from the Chipboard Stickers sheet that I placed along the yellow horizontal strip too.

At this point I went back and added some white acrylic paint using a stencil and brush. The purpose of this was to bring a bit of added lightness to the page over the darkness of the grey paint and it also helps add depth to the design as well.

I finished off by adding the wild thing Chipboard Sticker along the bottom of my main photo for my title; a large yellow star from the Die Cut Ephemera pack near the top of the page; and then scattered smaller stars and circles from the Puffy Stickers pack.

I really love how this page turned out, and my son does too! The ‘Great Escape’ collection will be hitting the shelves of scrappy retailers very soon. Look out for a pre-order at your favourite store – you’re going to love it!!! Thanks for joining me today, I’ll be back with another project to share soon.

Now for anyone who has stuck around this far and wants to know the story of this page….

My son had dressed up in his dad’s old camos and had his big Nerf gun wrapped in plastic when he went for a stroll around the block. (Disclaimer: my son is not a big boy, and is clearly recognisable as being a kid.) Upon being spotted by someone on a street nearby, they called the police to report “a man with a gun”, and two police cars were immediately dispatched to the area. (One containing police in tactical response gear.) The police cars came rolling down our street, spotted my son and sounded the siren, who immediately panicked and ran. Luckily, my hubby had gone outside to see what was happening and he was able to speak with the police to explain. The officers all had a good laugh about it and were surprised they had been called as he “was clearly a kid”. It will definitely be a funny story for him to tell his own kids one day. Document your stories!

So Awesome | Happy Days collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here and I am SO excited to be sharing my first design team project using the brand new ‘Happy Days’ collection. I am sure by now you have seen the collection in full (either here on the blog or in person), so I know you will agree with me when I say how gorgeous it is! All those bright, vibrant colours really do make me happy.

For my first layout I decided to document some recent happy photos I took – my daughter on her 15th birthday. She was ecstatic to receive her first pair of “Docs” (Dr Marten boots) as a gift – definitely a happy day for her.

I chose to start with the yellow plaid pattern on the B side of the “Feel Good” paper, which is the cut apart sheet for this collection. I didn’t really want to sacrifice the cut apart first up, but I could not resist that gorgeous happy yellow for my background. To add a little extra colour I added some teal acrylic paint using 2″ wide brush and the dry brush technique. Initially I had planned for the brush strokes to be horizontal on the page, but after spinning the page, I decided I like them better vertical.

Next, I started building my paper layers. I matted each of my three photos using the sweet strawberry print on the B side of the “Lush Blooms” paper. I also used an extra piece of this paper to place horizontally across the page as an anchor point for my photos. I tore along one edge to add a textural element. I topped the strawberry paper with a thin stripe of plum purple, which was cut from the top edge of the striped pattern on the “Sunshine Lollipops” paper. I then added some frayed gauze and an aqua paper doily before adding my photos on top.

Now it was time to start embellishing my page. I couldn’t resist reaching for the gorgeous florals from the collection; so I used a mix of flowers fussy cut from the “Lush Blooms” paper and pieces from the Floral Ephemera pack. The first cluster I created was around the top left corner of my photos. I also used a small banner piece from the Die Cut Ephemera pack across the top edge of my photo.

The second cluster I created was below the centre photo and here I used a larger fussy cut floral piece with foam tape behind it to add a little height. (I had already planned at this point that my title was going to go alongside it, even though I hadn’t added it yet.) With two clusters in place, it was time to add my third cluster to balance my page.

The position of the last floral cluster was alongside the photos on the right edge. The positioning of this final cluster completed my visual triangle around the focal point of my page. Again, I used some foam tape to create dimension.

With all the flowers in place, I then set about adding some text to the page. I chose the die cut hello flag from the ephemera pack to place along the bottom edge of my main photo. This formed the first part of my subtitle, which was Hello 1st Docs, with the letters for the second part coming from the Mini Puffy Alphabet Stickers pack. The main part of my title, So Awesome, was using words from the Chipboard Titles pack.

At this point it was simply a matter of a few finishing touches. I created a small cluster along the bottom edge of the page using a scrap of paper, a flower, a phrase stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet and a sweet little heart shaped Puffy Sticker. I added a couple of extra phrase stickers and heart puffy stickers to the page as well. I also added a die cut butterfly (I am sure you already know how much I love them) and the final finishing touch was one of the gorgeous Puffy Hearts stuck directly onto my centre photo. Oh, and a little black ink splatter.

And that was it!! I hope you love my layout and it inspires you to get creative too. Even if you don’t have the ‘Happy Days’ collection yet, grab out some other Cocoa Vanilla goodies and get busy! ‘Happy Days’ is already shipping to retailers so keep an eye out at your favourite store.

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Happy Easter | Make a Wish collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. As we are currently enjoying the Easter break and counting down to the arrival of the bunny tomorrow, I wanted to share a layout featuring one of my favourite Easter photos of my kids. This one was taken 10 years ago, when my boys were still babies – I miss those little squishy faces!

For my layout I decided to dig DEEP into my stash and pull out a collection that I have used for Easter projects before – ‘Make a Wish’. Although this collection was originally designed as a birthday collection, it had the perfect colour palette for my cute Easter page.

Although I was working with ‘Make a Wish’, I did borrow the background paper from the ‘These Days’ collection as I wanted to start with a yellow base. I then applied some blue acrylic paint with a brayer to help define the focal area.

As I had some of the chipboard sheet left, I decided to use one of the frames to frame my photo with. (This is not something I often do, as I usually prefer to use frames for layering around my page.) I also added a couple of layers of patterned paper behind it, along with a small yellow paper doily and some frayed gauze for texture.

I knew before I started this layout that I wanted to include an egg shape on my page, so I decided to create a broken egg from patterned paper and position my photo as though it had come from inside the egg. I used a simple template and traced around it onto the paper, then cut it and positioned the pieces on either side of my photo, adding a little foam tape underneath to help pop it up from the page. I also cut out a strip of hand drawn grass which helped anchor everything on the page.

Tucked amongst the grass on the left side of my page, I added a sweet little chipboard bunny from the ‘Joyful’ collection. As the bunny was wearing a small sprig of mistletoe on its head, I covered it up with a small heart from the ‘Make a Wish’ Die Cut Ephemera pack.

From the same ephemera pack, I used a number of floral and leafy pieces to add some clusters around my page; plus two hearts, a pink bow and a butterfly. (You didn’t really think I’d have no butterflies on this page did you? haha) I added text to my page using a mix of stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet and a couple of chipboard pieces. (I especially loved the fact the small phrase stickers featured a mix of different coloured text.)

A tiny arrow from the puffy sticker sheet was the only other embellishment I used, then some pretty blue splatters around the page and I was done.

I hope you have gained some inspiration for scrapping your own Easter photos, and enjoyed the walk down memory lane using one of our old collections – I certainly had fun using it again after so long. Wishing you & your families a fun and safe Easter break with plenty of treats from the bunny!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Best Ever | Storyteller collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here today to share my latest design team project with you.

I have to admit, things have been super busy in my world lately, and I have really found myself pushed for both time and inspiration to create. In times like these, I often find it helpful to reach for a sketch so I have somewhere to start and can get going quickly. It was for this reason I decided to use a Page Maps sketch for this page, along with the beautiful ‘Storyteller’ collection.

And here is the sketch I was working with…

As you can see, I stuck fairly closely with the overall sketch design. One of the greatest things about using sketches though, is that they are designed to inspire you, so you have the ability to interpret different elements of the sketch however you want.

This is exactly what I did when it came to my background. I began with a sheet of patterned paper (Fly Away), just as the sketch suggested, however instead of layering this with another piece of paper or cardstock, I chose to add acrylic paint to define the focal area of my page. I then added a piece of the rainbow striped Brighter Days paper that I had leftover from a previous project.

The sketch had a couple of vertical elements, so I used one scrap strip of paper I had on hand, plus the heart strip from the Story Time cut apart paper. For my title, I used the best ever card from the Pocket Cards pack and in keeping with the sketch I punched along the top edge of it using a notebook style punch. Before sticking down the photos of my daughter and I; I added a small paper doily and some frayed gauze to create texture behind them.

With all the main components in place, it was then simply a matter of adding my embellishments. Again I stuck fairly closely with the design of the sketch, but instead of using stars, I substituted flowers instead. I created three clusters using a variety of pieces from the Floral Ephemera pack, and I topped one of the flowers with an Epoxy Wood Button. Other embellishments used included a small banner and heart from the Die Cut Ephemera pack; some Accessory Stickers; and Puffy Stickers.

You can watch how this layout came together in my process video below:

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this today. If you have found yourself short on time or mojo lately, try using a sketch like I did for this layout. You can stick close to the original design or use it as a jumping off point – just get those memories documented!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

Love You | Storyteller collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I am sharing a layout I created for our focus on sketches this month, and I chose to work with a sketch from Page Maps. I actually started with my photos for this layout, and then searched for a sketch with two photos that I could use.

This is the sketch I chose…

And this is my take on it, using the gorgeous ‘Storyteller’ collection…

I couldn’t help but be drawn to that gorgeous blue that features throughout this collection, and I decided to pair it with the wood grain print from the Cross It Off paper. I also threw in a touch of green from the Fly Away paper for a bit of contrast.

I wanted to create a distressed look on the wood grain, so I added a little white acrylic paint using a brayer, then used a wood grain texture stamp and black ink to add extra subtle detail.

I stuck to the basic sketch design and kept my journalling in the centre, with my two photos placed on either side. My journalling was typed onto one of the Pocket Cards using my old typewriter. The extra layers of paper underneath my photos and journalling helped to separate them from the background. I used a frame from the Die Cut Ephemera pack that I cut in half to tuck in on either side of my photos to help frame them in.

Beneath my journal card, I added a row of three die cut hearts, and at the top of the card I added a die cut tab and a small wood button. I added several staples to the page to add an extra masculine touch.

I added an embellishment cluster below my photos using a due cut camera (popped up with some foam tape), a die cut flower and another wood button. I flanked this cluster on either side with the two words of my title, which came from the ‘These Days’ Foam Title pack.

I added a third wood button to the left of my photos because I needed the third one for balance. I also added a scattering of the heart Puffy Stickers around my page (one of my most favourite items from this collection!)

I finished off with some extra stamping and a few phrases from the Accessory Sticker sheet and placed them to help draw the viewer’s eye down through the journalling.

If you would like to see how this page came together, you can watch my process video here:

Thanks for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I hope you enjoyed my take on our sketch theme and that this sketch might be able to inspire you too! Until next time, happy scrapping!

So Sweet | Storyteller collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. This month we are focusing on the reason we all scrapbook, and that is telling stories. For today’s layout I decided to document the story of my son and his friend. These two have known each other since they were babies, and it is so lovely to see that their friendship has lasted. I decided to use the gorgeous Storyteller collection for my page, and kept my photo black and white so that it wouldn’t clash with any of the colours of the collection.

I began my layout by creating a mixed media background, using a combination of pale peach acrylic paint and ‘Prize Ribbon’ Distress Oxide ink. I applied the acrylic paint with a brayer over an area approximately half of my page, leaving a white border around the edge. I really love the effect the brayer creates, and it also helps the paint to dry fast because the coat is so thin. On the other half of the page I applied the Distress Oxide by mixing it with water and using a wide brush, before setting it aside to dry. I love the contrast using two different mediums give the page – both from the colours and the effect of the different techniques.

Whilst my background was drying, I turned my attention to the paper component of my page. I cut a piece of the vibrant Oh My Heart paper to sit horizontally across my page where the paint and ink met. This provided separation between the lighter colour at the top and the darker colour at the bottom. I also added a very thin strip of the green pattern on the the reverse of the Fly Away paper behind where I planned to sit my photo. My photo was matted with a blue paper from the A5 Paper Stack, and I also tucked in a small yellow doily and some frayed gauze underneath it. In the top right corner of my photo I added the so happy banner sticker from the Accessory Sticker sheet.

Alongside my photo, I added one of the Pocket Cards which featured a coordinating strip of coloured hearts, and I used my typewriter to add my journalling to it. I then topped the card with the the story behind the photo die cut from the Die Cut Ephemera pack, which was mounted on some foam tape to help it stand out. Along the bottom edge of the card I added another die cut, this time a small banner which read happy little moments, that was also mounted on some foam tape. A Wood Epoxy Button with a sweet little camera completed my cluster on that side of the page.

 

Near the top edge of the page along the border of my paint, I added a second strip of the Oh My Heart paper, which I used as the anchor for another embellishment cluster. This one featured two die cuts – a camera and a floral piece, which were both adhered using foam tape. I also added another Wood Epoxy Button, this time the smaller size, over the lens of the camera. Alongside that was the noteworthy banner piece from the Chipboard Stickers sheet.

Below my photo I added yet another piece from the ephemera pack – a beautiful strip of bunting which provided a lovely underscore for my photo. This was also popped up on foam tape to ensure it sat up at the same height as my photo.

At the bottom of the page I added the words So Sweet from the Foam Title Stickers pack to form my page title, and a small foam heart from the same pack nearby. I finished embellishing my page by adding three butterflies from the ephemera pack and then last of all I added some small black ink splatters to tie it all together.

I am so happy I documented this story of friendship for my son and I know this layout will mean so much more to him with my words included on it than if it was just another pretty page. I know we can all be guilty of not including enough journalling on our layouts from time to time, so hope you are feeling inspired to get a story told on your next page.

If you’d like to see exactly how this page came together you can watch my process video:

Until next time, happy scrapping!

I Am A Story Teller | Storyteller collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I am super excited to be sharing my very first layout using the brand new ‘Storyteller’ collection! And as with any new collection I receive, the first layout is always the hardest. This is partly because there are SO many pretty things to choose from, and partly because they are just so gorgeous you don’t want to use them up. haha (I know I am probably not alone on this one.) I decided the best way to “break the seal” was to just get stuck straight in and create something quick and simple.

My daughter is quite a talker. She loves nothing more than to entertain me with hilarious stories and she gets very animated when she tells them. I knew I had a great set of photos taken during one of her storytelling sessions and I decided they would be perfect to match with this collection.

I began my layout with a very simple background – some dark grey acrylic paint applied to a sheet of white cardstock with a brayer. The reason I chose to apply dark paint first instead of just working on the white background, is to help the colours pop against it.

I wanted to have a vertical style design for my layout, as I thought it would work well with the size and shape of my photos. I also wanted to keep the focal area of my layout confined to a central strip. I chose the stunning Brighter Days paper with its painted stripe pattern and cut it in half vertically. I then tore along the vertical edges to give an uneven edge, then I cut away the red stripe at the top to shorten it. I used scissors to make a small incision (about 1-2cm) from both sides along each of the painted lines. I then used a wooden skewer to roll up the edges of the paper.

Once I had the edges rolled, I adhered the patterned paper on top of the paint, then added my photos to the page with some scrap cardboard behind them. With the main elements of my layout in place, it was now time to add some embellishments! I used the pattern on the paper to dictate my embellishment placement by blocking the colours together. I began by fussy cutting some pieces from the Story Time cut apart paper, including the fabulous love this tag, which I tied with a little twine.

I then moved onto a mix of pieces from both the Die Cut Ephemera pack and Floral Ephemera pack and placed these strategically around my page. (I used foam tape under a few of the pieces to give a little more dimension.) I also added a couple of stickers from the Accessory Sticker sheet. I finished off my layout by adding several hearts and dots from the Puffy Stickers pack. At this point I actually had to stop myself from adding more to the page, because sometimes the key is knowing exactly when to stop.

Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you. Please make sure to contact your favourite scrappy retailer if you would like to get your hands on this stunning collection. It’s going to be a big seller, so get in early to avoid disappointment!
Until next time, happy scrapping!

Hey Kid | No Limits collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, it’s Sue Plumb here today to share another project using the awesome new ‘No Limits’ collection. (Loving this collection SO much!) This layout features a photo of my hubby and one of my sons that I took while they were busy doing work in our garden recently. (This boy loves to help his Dad with projects in the yard!) I decided to use the wood grain print from the Big Bang patterned paper as my background for this page, as I thought it would work well for the outdoor theme.

You can see I have added some light mixed media layers to my background paper. I used a combination of acrylic paint, a stencil with ink, stamping, and splatters.

I used a mix of layered patterned papers for the focal area of my page that included Stardust, Orbit and Latitude and I used distressing, tearing and some frayed gauze to add texture. I also tucked in a paint sample card from my stash to help draw in the green on my sons hat, which I thought also worked well with the DIY that was happening on the day.

I used Die Cut Title words for my page title, but then used the always be your awesome self quote card from the Universal cut apart paper below it as a subtitle. Both of these were popped up from the page like my photo to create dimension and help them stand out from the background.

To embellish my layout I used lots of fussy cut stars from the gorgeous Nebula paper, which I combined with pieces from the Die Cut Ephemera pack and Accessory Sticker sheet.

I also added a few pieces from the Chipboard Sticker sheet which also provided some extra dimension.

Of course I couldn’t help but include some of my favourite embellishment from this collection – those stunning Puffy Stickers. (Seriously, I wish I had a million of these things!)

If you would like to see how this layout came together, you can watch my process video here:

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you are feeling inspired to use up those scraps on your desk! Until next time, happy scrapping.

 

 

You’re the Best | No Limits collection | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone, Sue Plumb here today to share my very first project using the brand new ‘No Limits’ collection. As a mum of twin boys, I can’t tell you how excited I was to receive this new collection! There is no arguing that Zoe does THE BEST boy collections and this one is no exception. Besides the awesome colour palette which includes blues, greens, orange, and even a pop of red; it also features some fabulous bold patterns and a bit of space themed imagery. (Not enough that I would necessarily consider this an entirely “themed” collection though, as it could be used for all sorts of creations.)

For my first project I decided to create a 12×12″ mixed media layout combining the collection with Distress Oxide, acrylic paint, modelling paste with a stencil and also some stamping.

You can see that this layout contains many layers – from the mediums on the background, right through to multiple paper layers, texture from frayed gauze and an assortment of embellishments.

The B side of the Orbit paper (which just might be my favourite pattern from this collection) was what I chose for my page border, and I also used the same print from the A5 Paper Stack to mat my photo with.

Torn pieces of the Stardust and Spark papers were used to define the focal area of my page and add texture. A banner piece from the Chipboard Sticker sheet added the sentiment to the bottom of my photo.

Die Cut Ephemera and Accessory Stickers always make it easy to embellish a layout. The ‘No Limits’ ephemera pack contains 64 pieces, providing plenty of choices; and the sticker sheet contains a great mix of phrases, icons, labels, etc.

The Puffy Stickers (definitely my most favourite item from this collection – I need 1000 of these!) and Wood Buttons are both great embellishments for adding extra small details and subtle texture to the page.

You can see exactly how I put this layout together and hear me talk about it in more detail in my process video:

Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you. The ‘No Limits’ collection is scheduled to start shipping to retailers before the end of the month, so please contact your favourite store if you are looking to purchase it.

Until next time, happy scrapping!

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