Thanks Sharmaine & Josie!!

Hey everyone, Jen here! 

I just wanted to pop on and say a huge thanks to Josie Teh and Sharmaine Kruijver for joining us as our guest designers over May and June. 

They have created amazing and inspiring projects, and we love that we could share them here with our readers. 

If you don't already make sure you follow Josie and Sharmaine on their blog or instagram to keep seeing their amazing work. 

You can find Josie on her blog Hearts & art and Instagram @josieteh

Follow Sharmine on her blog 4 squirts & a dallop of cream or on Instagram @4quirts

We have another fab designer guesting here starting July 1st... here is a hint.. any guesses who it will be? 

The wondrous 6x6 paper pad...

Hi everyone! Josie here, and today I would like to share with you one of my favourite scrapbooking product, 6x6 Paper pads. I love how much I can do with only just one. (Although, I admit, one is never enough for a hoarder like me). In this post, I will show you how versatile  6x6 paper pads are with 3 different I have created with one pad. This tiny paper size it not sure for card making! The paper pad featured today is from Styleboard Collection by Maggie Holmes. 

Don't let 6x6 paper pads size fool you... they are great for creating large 12x12 projects! First, I would like to share a layout I made. The 6x6 papers are great for layering. I always love it because the size is just perfect and you don't have to do much trimming. :) I added some embellishments mostly from styleboard collection as well.

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6x6 paper pads are also perfect for project life. I did this Project Life spread for April entirely with the paper pad. I just trim the papers to 4" x 6"  and 3" x 4" and fit them right into the sleeves. You have less waste and guilt about cutting into large 12x12 pieces and the small leftovers are great for layering and embellishing. 

The paper pad came with 2 pieces of this great accent cuts paper, which are perfect as embellishments for my Project Life inserts.

​Last but not least, I made a mini card as well... This card measures only 4"x 4". 6x6 paper pads are perfect for cards as the designs are usually printed on a smaller scale. 

So you can see 6x6 paper pads can be very versatile and fun to use on a variety of projects. Plus, its a great way to get all the patterns in a collection. Want to get some great 6x6 paper pads for yourself? Head over to the shop and use the code josie6x6 to get 15% off 6x6 paper pads (excludes those on clearance).. hurry because the code will expire Midnight on Sunday May25th (Hong Kong time). Happy shopping! 

Tutorial ~ All that glitters is gold...

Hi everyone,  Josie here! Today, I'm going to give a tutorial on misting and different ways I like to do it. I absolutely adore Heidi Swapp's Color Shine in Gold. I'm so addicted to it that I use it on almost every layout these days. I'm definitely struck by the gold bug :) I have created a classy layout of black and gold, mostly using misting & Maggie Holmes Styleboard Rub Ons & Stickers. I also created my own glitter gold alphas which I will explain how to DIY below.  

 

Washi isn't just a great way to decorated your page, have you ever tried to use it as a mask? I used thin washi tapes as my mask. This is a method that you can use if you don't own a mask/stencil. I cut the tape into small strips and stuck them in a zigzag manner, repeating them about 0.5cm apart. Then, I cover the sides of the mask with paper using washi tape to hold it down.

​Next, I spray the mist onto the washi mask I made. Here I'm used Heidi Swapp's Color Shine - Gold Lame. Make sure you let the mist dry before you carefully remove the washi tapes or else you may not get crisp clean lines. You will want to remove it slowly so you don't tear the paper (some washi tapes tend to be a bit sticky). 

After removing the washi tape mask, it will look something like this. 

​Next, I used a mask that I from a cut that I had created for my Silhouette Cameo. If you would like to use the same mask, Mei Li has put it up as a free digital download you can grab it here. Similar to the washi mask earlier, I placed the mask where I wanted it to be, then cover the sides with paper and spray the mist over the mask.

Let the mist dry then remove the mask. Here's what it looks like. 

Next, I begin arranging my photo & embellishments so I know roughly where I want everything to be. These gold Maggie Holmes Styleboard rub ons are so great for gold addicts like me! A tip on using rub-ons: Cut out only the image that you wish to use instead of placing the whole sheet of rub-ons on your layout. This way you can plan where to place it and also not accidentally damage the layout.

Another great tip for rubons is, after applying the rub ons, slowly remove the transfer sheet to ensure that all areas are properly adhered. Else, slowly place it back down and rub on the area that didn't adhere properly.

Another great things to do when you can't find an alpha that is just right... create your own! I made my own gold glitter alphas by applying gold stickles to Basic grey's Micro Mono Alpha Stickers (Kraft). When working with alphas, I like to arrange the alphas on a transparent acrylic block so I can estimate where I want to place them (you can use a clear ruler as well). By doing this, you don't have to stick the alphas down just to realised they are slightly out of place, then have to remove them and stick again. Make sure you let them dry before sticking them down. Then, Wala! You have some gold glitter alpha stickers.

To finish the layout by spraying mist from about half a metre away to get that subtle starry look. I added a few more embellishments such as Maggie Holmes Styleboard Vintage Frames, Maggie Holmes Fleamarket Chipboard (I used the gold photo corners) and Maggie Holmes Styleboard gold label maker stickers. I am totally in love with the gold label stickers by Maggie Holmes, you will be seeing these on many more of my layouts! I also bet that using the same techniques with Heidi Swapp White or Silver tinsel on black would work pretty awesome as well! 

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial & I can't wait to see what you create with the techniques I have shared.

Materials Used Available at Mei Li Paperie :

Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Gold

Maggie Holmes Styleboard Gold Rub Ons

Maggie Holmes Styleboard Gold Label Maker Stickers

Maggie Holmes Styleboard Vintage Frames

Maggie Holmes Flea Market Chipboard (Photo Corners)

Basic Grey Micro Mono Alpha Stickers (Kraft)

Chickaniddy Gold Foil Specialty Paper

Free Dots Mask cut file - designed by Josie Teh

Introducing our fabulous May Guest Designer

We are really excited to be getting back in the groove of blogging here and have picked 4 fabulous guest designers from our call to be joining us over the next 4 months. We have loads of exciting things planned with them including challenges, tutorials, product features and sneak peeks into their lives all around the world. So without further ado please say hello to Josie Teh, our fabulous May guest designer. Fiona and I have been super fans of Josies work for while and are so happy she will be joining us for May! We asked Josie to tell us a bit about herself so heres what she had to say. 

My name is Josie Teh. I’m from Penang, Malaysia, where I live with my loving husband & my 2 year old son. I’m currently a stay-at-home-mum and also a wedding photographer but have now toned down on photography since my son was born. I’ve always loved art since my school days and it all started in 2009 when my friend introduced me to the scrapbooking world, I was instantly hooked. I have been crafting since then, and never looked back. I first started out as a cardmaker, but have worked more on layouts & mini albums over the recent year. Last year, I've also hop on Project Life's bandwagon & am enjoying the process of recording the everyday life! Getting to work with beautiful papers, embellishments & different tools is truly a blessing. I don’t really have a style in particular & it keeps changing over time but I love working with layers & creating dimensions on my creation. Being selected by Mei Li Paperie to be their guest designer is truly an honour, & I'm excited to be part of the team for May.

Isn't Josies work amazing?!? Josie will be with us all month to inspire and we can't wait to see what she has to share.You can also check out her blog to see more of her work. Make sure you check back on May 3rd for our first challenge with Josies where we will be giving away a great prize!