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! 

May Colour Challenge winner

Thanks to everyone who joined in with our May colour challenge. All your entries were very beautiful! Congratulations to our winner Melissa Vining, she entered with the layout below. It so beautiful! 

Melissa please contact us with your mailing info.

Thanks again for playing along and we hope you will join us for our next challenges! You can still join us for our May Inspired By... challenge   and keep an eye out for our June colour challenge which will be up early June. 

May inspired by...

Earlier this month we mentioned that we will be holding 2 challenges every month and I know many of you were curious as to what our second challenge might be. Well here it is... we wanted our second challenge to be a bit different from the many other challenges that you can find around. We have called it the " Inspired by..." challenge. For this challenge we will post things that can inspire you in many ways, could be an image, a song, a video clip... whatever we think might be inspirational.  You can take what you want from it and get creative! Here is your inspiration for May.... 

Image Source

Our guest designer Josie Teh was inspired by it in many ways. Here is what she created with her inspiration....

Josie:  "I did a layout using pictures from my travel adventures around the world. I was inspired by the colours in the image so I used grey & bright colours like red, yellow & blue in both my photos & embellishments. I used multiple photos on my layout as it reminds me of the hanging gondolas on the ferris wheel. Heidi Swapp Magic Chipboard alphas were the perfect addition to represent the lights on the ferris wheel and I inked these with gold ink. I also love the chipboard stickers from Pink Paislee Hello Sunshine Collection."  

I love all the different ways Josie reflected the inspiration piece in her layout! Her photos of her travels are truly amazing and fit so perfectly with the quote.

After some feedback from our fans regarding our last challenge we decided to run this challenge a bit differently...  the winner of the prize will be randomly drawn but we will also vote on our top 3 favourite projects to be featured on the blog as well. So show us how you were inspired by....

Link your layout here by May 30th and you could win a Heidi Swapp prize pack!

Here is how to play along: 

- You can submit ANY kind of project that you were inspired to create such as layouts, cards, project life fillers

- The winner of the prize will be randomly drawn and our 3 favourite layouts be featured on the blog. 

- Our challenge will run until May 30th at 11:55pm Hong Kong time. 

- Link your creation below by entering a link to your blog post or online gallery sharing your work.

- Please no back-linking.  This is for newly created projects only.  Any back-links will be be disqualified. 

- If you don't have a blog or online gallery, alternatively you can post a photo of your work on our facebook page. Please make sure you include " Mei Li May colour Challenge" somewhere in the post. 

Materials Josie used for her layout available in our shop: 

Heidi Swapp Color Magic Chipboard Alphas

Pink Paislee Pen Pals Chipboard Alphabet

Pink Paislee Hello Sunshine Chipboard Sticker Set

Dear Lizzy Daydreamer Wood Epoxy Buttons

LilyBee Design Destination 12x12 Letter Stickers

BasicGrey Micro Mono Alpha Stickers Grey

BasicGrey Micro Mono Alpha Stickers Black

Studio Calico Essentials Wood Veneer Stars

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!   

Our 1st Guest Designer call!

Mei Li Paperie is looking for some talented Guest Designers to help us breath new life into our blog and social media! We are looking for crafty people (card makers, scrapbookers, pocket-page scrappers) who love to share their passion for creativity and can’t help but be social about it! We will be picking people for one-month terms to be our featured guests.

We are looking for people who:

• Are passionate about crafting and want to shout it from the roof tops.
• Have a fun and fresh style
• Have strong photography skills
• Can create projects for 2 challenges, one tutorial and one additional guest blog post of their choice for their guest month
• Very familiar with and active in the art of blogging.
• Comfortable with Instagram and willing to participate in a new series of Instagram photo challenges we will be starting soon.
• Can commit to a one-month term in May, June or July.

Designers will receive the following benefits:

• A big box of fun products from our shop that we would like you to use and showcase with us.
• Sneak peeks and early access to exclusive Mei Li Paperie digitals.
• $30 Cash voucher for Mei Li Paperie’s shop
• A fun blog badge to direct people to the party!

Here’s how to join us…

Send us an email to info@meilipaperie.com please have the subject as- ‘Guest Designer Post’

Be sure to include:

• A short bio about yourself
• Your contact details – name, address, email
• Links to your blog and Instagram url and if you have any online gallery we would love to see it as well.
• Current design team commitments {we ask that you not be participating in another retail shops DT during your term with us}
• Links or attachments of 4 to 5 projects that represent you and your style. These can be cards, layouts, pocket pages, mini albums or even home décor.
• If you have a preference between May, June and July for your month’s term please include this as well.

This call is open to anyone anywhere. All submissions must be received by April 14^th, 2014. Chosen guest designers will be notified by April 18^th, 2014.

All applicants will receive a confirmation email from Jen within 24 hours of application receipt. If you have any questions please email Jen at jen@meilipaperie.com  

We are looking forward to see some fab and creative submissions. Good Luck!