Making Lemonade #4 - Pattern Inspiration

I'm finally back with another instalment of my Making Lemonade series, which is all about finding your creative flow when its lacking!  For this layout I was inspired by the pattern on Brielle's top, and she just happened to be wearing the shirt in the photos too!

I used my October Clique Kit "Funfetti", and I was down to the scraps of the kit.  Sometimes my favourite layouts come from making something out of nearly nothing!  I used lots of old punches and stamps for this layout too!  The background border paper is from my stash, because I had no full sheets left to use.

 Here is a close up of the shirt that inspired this layout:

I started with stamping flower and butterflies, then used my punched shapes.  I didn't think too hard about where I placed everything, just went with the flow.

I did the packaging technique on the background with Distress Ink in Picked Raspberry.

And here is my process video:

Thanks for looking!

Sing Me a Rainbow (Clique Kits)

Hello!  Today I'm sharing my first 12x12 layout and process video for with my November Clique Kit "Tapestry".  This kit is stunning, and features We R Memory Keepers Wildflowers collection, as well as Pink Paislee's Cedar Lane and some Dear Lizzy.

Last Friday my early Christmas present arrived, a Silhouette Cameo.  Shaun and I had saved up all year and it was so exciting to get one!  Of course I had to play with the CK exclusive files for November, and this cut file was perfect with this Instagram photo of Brielle last year at Autumn Festival.  

I kept my layout very simple to focus on the photo and the cut file title.  I chose to use the negative of the cut and backed it with a beautiful Wildflowers paper that had an ombre or gradient effect.  Some paper layers, embellishments and ink splatters finished it off.  

A close up pf my layers, the tag is from Wildflowers cut apart sheet, and the flair is exclusive to the kit, and designed by Lora Bailora (and is so pretty).  The ephemera pieces are a mix of Wildflowers and Cedar Lane.

And here is my video:

Have a lovely rest of your Sunday.

Arrowtown Autumn Festival Pocket Page (Clique Kits)

Happy long weekend!! Its labour weekend here in NZ, and I've spent today (Saturday) with hay fever and a head cold - not the best start, but tomorrow is a new day so onwards and upwards!  

I'm up on the Clique Kits blog for the first time, and I'm sharing an Autumn pocket page with the beautiful November Kit "Tapestry".  

Head on over to the blog for all the details of this spread!

Have a blessed weekend!

Clique Kits November Kit Reveal - Tapestry!

Hello!  As well as yesterday being our Clique Kits October Pep Rally, it was also the November Kit reveal!! This month we have an amazingly gorgeous kit called Tapestry featuring goodies from We R Memory Keepers Wildflowers collection, Pink Paislee's Cedar Lane and beautiful gold Dear Lizzy puffy Thickers.

Here is a look at the kit:

Isn't it just stunning!  So many gorgeous pieces, and of course Clique Kit exclusives designed by Lacey, and exclusive fair by Lora Bailora!  You'll want to subscribe here so you don't miss out!  If you do, please tell them I sent you!  Also, you can get 10 percent off in the store using my code MELISSA10.

Here is my kit reveal video:

See you again real soon with some projects made with this kit!

October Pep Rally (Clique Kits)

Hello and welcome to my blog!  It's my first Pep Rally with Clique Kits and I'm super excited!!!

This month we all got to play with Pink Fresh Studio's Happy Things, which featured as our main collection, and some Crate Paper Wonder.  The kit was called Funfetti, and was full of gorgeous Clique Kit exclusives!

Here's another look at the stunning kit:

I was totally inspired by the October Mood Board for my layout, its just so beautiful and totally representative of the Funfetti kit!

I knew that I wanted to fussy cut out all parts of the Dream Big paper, but I also loved the background, so I decided to recreate the paper with vanilla cardstock from my stash, gesso and white acrylic paint.  It worked really well, which made me very happy indeed!  I grabbed my favourite triangle stencil (by Happy Scatter) and got to work with some texture paste.  My final mixed media element was to work with the amazing Brush Grunge Alpha stamps by HoneyBee Stamps (from the CK store) for the "My Girl" which I stamped with Stazon, and the pink hearts with black outline, which are a double stamp!  

My layout features my middle darling Azaria, and the journalling is a letter to her from a loving Mum (me)!!  

I had so much fun finding a creative way to use the Pink Fresh Studio rubber charm. I decided to feature it appearing from under a doily (from my stash) and then have it anchoring the clouds and feathers, inspired by the balloons in the mood board!

The Clique Kits exclusives are truly exquisite, and this flair badge is no exception, the sentiment was so perfect for the theme of my layout!  The "Beautiful" is an acetate card by Pink Fresh Studio, and you can find it as an add-on in the shop.

I popped up some of my fussy cut pieces for dimension and interest!

Here is the line up of lovely ladies in the pep rally this month. If you get lost please return to the Clique Kits blog.

Clique Kits https://cliquekits.wordpress.com/
Gia http://www.giaaloha.wordpress.com/

Erica http://ericarosecreates.blogspot.com/
Leeann Pearce http://thepaintbrushgoesspottie.blogspot.com/
Maryam* http://maryamperez.blogspot.com/
Aliza* http://peopleofthescrapbook.blogspot.com/
Megan Blethen http://www.craftymeggy.com/
Emma Pescott http://emslifedocumented.blogspot.co.nz/
Melissa* http://yesterday2day4ever.blogspot.co.nz/ <<Hello that's me!>>
Kim http://krodesigns.blogspot.com/
Leigh http://www.artfulleighcreative.com/
Renee Aslette http://www.reneeaslette.blogspot.com/
Kat* http://kraftykat9.blogspot.com/
Sandy Gonzalez craftythought.com/
Tyra Babington http://justtyra.com/
Marcia* http://www.onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/
Kim Allen http://kimsscrappyblog.blogspot.com/
Candace* http://findingeverydayperfection.com/
Rhonda Van Ginkel http://snapwhiz.blogspot.com
Hannah http://scrapbookpagesandcupcakes.com
Evi  http://lifewithevi.blogspot.com
Janet Zeppa http://janetsjoy.blogspot.com/

Melissa Goble http://mgphoto89.tumblr.com

*Design Team Members on Kit Duty

Thanks for visiting, please subscribe to my blog to see more of my work, and if you're loving what you see in this kit make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out!

QT (Clique Kits)

Good morning!  Today I'm sharing a layout I made with some of the exclusive cards in the October Clique Kit "Funfetti".  I may not do project life anymore, but I still scrap pocket pages to provide  variation and interest in my albums, and its a fabulous way to scrap multiple photos.  

I had these three photos of my kids left over from last Summer, and as I'd already scrapped lots of similar photos from the same days, I decided to scrap the three of them together in a pocket page.  By the way "QT" stands for Queenstown (the town here in New Zealand that we live in), not cutie, although my kids are cute!!

I kept this spread very simple, and focused on my favourite cards.  The ice-cream cone is a printable, and the gold "yes" is an acetate card from Pink Fresh Studio. 

The "Wonder" card is another exclusive from the kit, and I just love how perfect it was as a prompt for my journalling.  I wrote my journalling as a letter to my three, reminding them to alway appreciate how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful place.

Cutting a 4x6 photo in half is one of my favourite techniques, and it was perfect for this photo of Sam on the trampoline.  The little cut apart label was perfect!

I kept my embellishment super simple on my photos, this way my kids weren't overpowered and could each feature in their pocket(s).

I hope I inspired you to scrap your extra photos in a different way!

Epic Gifts (Lets Get Sketchy)

Hello, hope you had an awesome weekend!  Its time for the third reveal of October over at Lets Get Sketchy, and this week we had a fabulous sketch by our wonderful boss Brenshevia Baker.  I was keen to get some more photos of Sam's 8th birthday scrapped, and this sketch was perfect for a multi-photo layout.  My supplies are a stash kit made from older product in my stash.  

At first I found the sketch challenging, so I had to adapt it to my style.  I knew I wanted to go with the placement of the three photos, and the cluster at the top right, but then I played around with extra layers, and the position of the embellishments.  Just remember, you don't have to stick 100 percent true to the sketch, but we do need to see that you created off it!

The majority of papers are from October Afternoon's Sasparilla, which has been literally sitting in my stash untouched for years!  Perfect for these boy photos.  Sam has been loving dinosaurs and expressed an interest in being a Paleontologist or Scientist, hence my parents gave him appropriate presents!  Of course I also wanted to record in the journalling how he gets passionate about his interest, a lot like me!

And here is the sketch.

We love it when you play along, so make sure you link up your creation with this sketch over on the blog!

Thanks for looking!

Today & Everyday (The Crafty Maven Getaway)

Good evening lovely people!  Its Friday evening here and while the kids watch tv I'm catching up on writing this post.  Yesterday I was up on The Crafty Maven Getaway YouTube Channel for Free Flow Wednesday.  Free Flow Wednesday is all about Traditional layouts in the style of the creator, so perfect to show my style!

I made this layout about Azaria and Brielle entirely from scraps and older embellishments from my stash!  When I first saw this week's mood board I was concerned that I wouldn't have enough goodies to use, so I was pleasantly surprised.  Love it when that happens!!  Just like the mood board I wanted grey, black and white to be the main colours, with pops of aqua (or is it teal?).  

I wanted the ampersand to be a huge feature of the layout, and I fussy cut out a really old Glitz Design card.  The "today" is from an old packet of Heidi Swapp ephemera that I "just had to have" at a crop.

Of course any opportunity to add a bow, and this black and white stripe was perfect!

The quote of this Dear Lizzy Project Life Card is perfect for my layout about the relationship between my two girls.

And of course here is the process video:

Thanks for looking and have a blessed weekend!

She Hearts Him (Clique Kits)

Hello!  I'm back today with  layout I made with my October Clique Kit "Funfetti".  This kit is so gorgeous, and I'm determined to create with it until there is nothing left (well close enough anyways)!!

This layout is also featuring a stamp set I purchased in the Clique Kits store, an amazing alpha stamp called Brush Grunge Alpha by Honey Bee Stamps.  Melissa designs the most beautiful stamps!

I also wanted to feature the beautiful Pink Fresh Studio stripe paper, and I backed it on kraft cardstock to make the colours pop!  The photo is of Brielle as a baby giving an adoring look to Sam! 

Oh how I love that tassel, pure eye candy right there!  I attached it by punching a hole through the puffy sticker.

The alpha stamp was perfect for my title, and I love love that ink splatter stamp!

Thanks for looking and make sure you use my discount code MELISSA10 for 10 percent off in the store!

Dream (Sketchabilities)

Good morning!  Today I'm sharing a layout I made for the latest and last (for a while) sketch over at Sketchabilities.  I just love their sketches, and of course I had to play along with this one!

I used my August Hip Kit (I'm nearly finished!) and scrapped this photo of my friend's gorgeous newborn baby boy who was born in February.  I decided to keep this layout monochromatic, and really focused on the beautiful photo.  The "Dream" Dear Lizzy title is from a previous kit, I was so happy to use it on this page!

I cut the leaves with my favourite Stampin Up die in my Cuttlebug.  They were the perfect finishing touch!

My little embellishment cluster featuring a felt heart from the Crate Paper Wonder ephemera.

Lovely layers, I even included the glassine bag which contained embellishments for the kit.

And here is the amazing sketch:

And I made a process video:

Thanks for looking!  Can't wait for Sketchabilities to be back!

"Making Lemonade #3" - Scraplift Yourself

Hello!  I'm finally back with the third instalment in my Making Lemonade series, which is all about staying creative and re-finding your scrappy mojo in the times you have no creative flow.  In this video I'm looking at scaplifting myself, which is something I've only ever down once before!

The layout that I chose to scrap lift is one that I've never shared on my blog before, and is one that I created for The Crafty Maven online crop that we had a few weeks ago.  It was for Tanya Hubbard's Challenge "Tackle the Terror" in which we had to take on something we found scary.  Like Tanya, my challenge was machine stitching circles.  The layout is all about the first day of school this year (in January), and how Azaria really wan't happy.

I loved this layout, and decided to scraplift it, this time with photos of Azaria on her birthday.  I used my August Hip Kit again.  In terms of scraplifting, I didn't recreate the original layout, but used it as a starting point and inspiration.

The photos aren't that great, but they definitely get the memory recorded.

I love the chipboard and wood veneers in this kit!

The "Hey!" and "Love" were originally cut apart cards that I cut into circles with my Cuttlebug.

And here is my video:

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  Its Sunday right now, and tomorrow is the first day back at school for my older two (and Shaun) after two weeks off.

Our Bebe (Clique Kits)

Hello!  Today I'm sharing another layout I made with the Clique Kits October Funfetti kit!  I'm loving this kit so much because its full of gorgeous Pink Fresh Studio.  This layout is about our youngest Brielle, and I just had to use this background paper!

I know some people struggle with backgrounds that have this much pre-printed detail, but I love them!  When I first saw this paper I knew that I would use it to scrap one of my girls, and this photo of Brielle with her book was perfect!  I started by adding some machine stitching in white thread, and then added the letter stickers under each of the printed words.  Then it was just a matter of adding embellishments and my photo.  I added the vellum triangles at the end to anchor the layout.

The gold sequins were perfect as a finishing touch, and of course I had to add some gold Colour Shine too!

I was so keen to use the macaroon cut apart, and it was perfect for our sweet girl, and I added doily from stash.

I loved using the Pink Fresh Studio alpha stickers for my title!

Thanks for looking!

Cake Time (Lets Get Sketchy)

Hello again, yes thats right, two posts in one day!  Its our first week of October reveal over at Lets Get Sketchy!  And before I get to the sketch and layout, make sure you head over there and check out the new look of the blog!  Brenshevia is so awesome at keeping it fresh!  

This week we had a sketch from the lovely and super talented Laura Whitaker (whose sketches I just love working with).  I decided to make another layout about Sam's birthday with my stash kit, and I'm so happy once again to be using up really old stash!

The sketch uses three photos of the same size, but because I had one 4x6 and two 3x4 photos I needed to make the sketch work for me.  I trimmed my 4x6 photo down a little, and just made all the layers proportionately larger.  I stayed true to the sketch with my paper layers, and then went to town embellishing!  It was especially rewarding to use up lots of old stickers.  And then I was in the mood for outlining, so added this after I'd adhered my layers!

And here is the sketch:

Make sure you play along and link up your layout!

The Wait (Artfull Crafts)

Good morning, today I'm back to share a layout I made with Kaisercraft's lovely Holly Jolly Collection for Artfull Crafts.  This collection is totally my style, its colorful, has awesome script fonts, and lots of stickers!  

I've already scrapped a similar photo to this one, but as both Sam and Azaria are in this photo, I wanted this memory to be recorded in both of their scrapbooks.  Its another photo of them on Christmas Eve enjoying some technology time under the tree (which was up high to keep Brielle away from the presents!).

I stated with the gorgeous craft paper with stars as a background, and then built my layout on top of some gesso that I spread with an old credit card.  As always I matted my photo with white cardstock, and then added my paper layers and embellishments.  

As always I had to add journalling to tell the story of the photo!

I really wanted to focus on the cut apart card, and used the red border to add red sequins and the red glitter ampersand.

The word and phrase stickers are so on trend at the moment, and these ones were perfect for this layout.

You can purchase the Holly Jolly collection in the shop here.

Thanks so much for looking!

Clique Kits - Meet the New Team Blog Share

Hello and welcome to my blog!  Today is an exciting day because we are having a bog share for the   new 2015/2016 Clique Kits Design Team, and we would love you to hop along and get to know us all!

For those that don't know me, I'm Melissa and I'm from New Zealand, also known as Middle Earth for Lord of the Rings fans!  I'm blessed to live in Queenstown which is an alpine ski resort, and the home of bungy jumping (yes I've done it!).   I've been married to Shaun for 12 years, and we have three beautiful children Samuel (8), Azaria (6) and Brielle (18 months).  

I've been scrapbooking for over 6 years now, and started to make a baby album for Sam.  My style is clean and fresh with extra added detail.  My all time favourite product is patterned paper, I love the look, the feel and the prettiness.  Of course the first cut is always the hardest!!  I also love ephemera, and stickers,  and my favourite techniques are machine stitching, layering, ink splatters and I always journal.

For this blog share we were asked to create a layout about ourselves.  This was a challenge for me because my kids dominate my photos, and it made me realise I need to get in front of the camera more often!  Luckily Shaun had taken this photo of me on his parents 4-wheeler motor bike last snowstorm.

I used the gorgeous October Funfetti for my layout.  It's packed full of Pink Fresh Studio's Happy Things collection and some lovely Crate Paper. I wanted to focus on using the exclusive printables, and started with at beautiful pink ombre printable.  Once I had all my paper layers down I added my photo and embellished.  

I was saving that lovely Pink Fresh Studio Acetate card for this layout, and the bow behind my small title was cut with the die (add on).

"Think less do more" is made from one of the printables with a clear epoxy sticker over the top.

So here is the line up of talented ladies that I'm super blessed to be designing with, make sure you leave some love on their blogs (one lucky person will win a gift certificate to the Clique Kits Store).

Elisabetta Margini-https://abcdeliblog.blogspot.com/

Carolina Schultz-http://www.carolinaschulz.com/

Donna Espiritu-http://scrappydonna.blogspot.com/

Justyna Skowron-http://made-by-justt.blogspot.com/

Melissa Vining-http://yesterday2day4ever.blogspot.co.nz  >> thats me :) >>

Kat Benjamin-http://kraftykat9.blogspot.com

Marcia Dehn-Nix-http://www.onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/

Candace Perkins- http://findingeverydayperfection.com/

Kim Oedekoven-http://krodesigns.Blogspot.com/

Leigh Ann Odynski-http://www.artfulleighcreative.com/

Sandy Gonzalez-https://www.craftythought.com

Amanda O'Banion-http://amandaobanion.typepad.com/

Aliza Deutsch-http://peopleofthescrapbook.blogspot.com/

Maryam Perez-http://maryamperez.blogspot.com/

LeeAnn Pearce-http://thepaintbrushgoesspottie.blogspot.com/

Sandra Spitaleri-https://www.starsinpalm.blogspot.com

Make sure you visit and follow the Clique Kits blog where we share daily inspiration.  If you love these kits as much as I do make sure you subscribe here to ensure a box of delicious goodness arrives at your door every month!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, make sure you follow me, and also check out my YouTube Channel,      Instagram, and Pinterest.  Its a dream come true to design for Clique Kits and I'm looking forward to an awesome year.  

Love & blessings