Maori Culture

i came across a few more layouts i haven't shared here yet. Actually, quite a lot. i seem to be in a habit at the moment of 'almost' finishing layouts too. As in, all finished except for perhaps one element, usually the title or the journalling. And then they sit there for weeks whilst i procrastinate. Gah! i also seem to have lost one or two in the black hole that is my craft area...

i did this one back in March with the the Story Hour kit & Encyclopaedia add-on from Studio Calico with a few extras from my own stash. i loved these kits so much! And i love how this page came together, lot's of fun elements but not too crowded & plenty of room for journalling. Having a Selphy gives me the freedom to print whatever pictures i want in the size i want and it's changed my whole style. 


Staying in a Marae & hanging out with a Maori family and learning about their culture was definitely one of the richest experiences from my trip to New Zealand. i also spent some time in the North of the island where the treaty was signed, so there is a mix of photos here. 

Remember This

i've been trying to house my ever growing pile of finished layouts and realised there are quite a few i haven't shared here yet. So here's a couple using the 'Remember This' kit from Scrapbook Circle (which is almost entirely used up now!).

This is my awesome friend Vicki. This page is really personal, hence the hidden journalling. But let's just say she helped me out of a very dark place. i love just using the hexagon paper as embellishments, they are so cute scaled down on 6x6!

This layout actually got chosen by Rebecca from the Scrapbook Circle DT to Scraplift for the 'lift a subscriber' challenge that they run on the blog. You can see her take on my layout in the post here. If you'd like the chance to be lifted too, just share a layout using a Scrapbook Circle kit on their facebook page. 

For this one i used a text stamp on kraft cardstock around the edges. i also added a couple of wood veneer stars from Studio Calico & some Sassafas alphabets. Which by the way, i have a really big hoard of, i will be soooo sad when they run out as they are the perfect size for 8x11 1/2" layouts. Love that the Elle's Studio Tags are pretty AND functional.

These pictures were taken at a film convention last year where i got to meet some of the animals that were in the Harry Potter films. If you know me, you know i'm a huuuge HP fan, so i was totally excited. We also got to see them perform tricks & the animal trainers talked about how they teach the animals to learn new stuff for movie roles. The quality isn't great as they were taken with my phone so as not to freak the animals out, but i'm glad i've got them. 

TMC June Challenge

This month's challenge at the TMC Challenge blog is 'Monochrome'. i liked this challenge a lot and have found myself creating a couple more monochrome layouts since. If you were thinking monochrome means black & white then think again. It just means using different shades of a single colour.

Supplies: Paper: MME, Stamps: MME, Jenni Bowlin Studios, Ink: Jenni Bowlin Studios, Alphabet Stickers, American Crafts, October Afternoon, Other: Twine, Washi Tape, Tiny Attacher. 

To create the 'trees', i used a MME banner stamp, but stamped it upside down. Got to love getting double use from a stamp!

TMC June Kit

i've got some mad love for his month's Truly Madly Crafty Kit, which can be bought in the shop here. It's full of Echo Park's Take Note paper & Jenni Bowlin embellishments (my fav!). There's also some kraft shipping tags in the kit which i put to good use on this page by gathering elements and using some twine from my stash to make a banner. 

There's also some hidden journalling hidden in a pocket behind the photo. i haven't shared photos from my trip in April to the studio tour where they made the Harry Potter films as i didn't want to spoil any surprises for friends who hadn't been yet. But i will tell you it was amazing!!! Being a HUGE Harry Potter fan and a film geek meant i was in utter heaven. i'll share more pictures in time, but right now i'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer number i have & not sure how to approach the documentation. 

There were lots of book/reading themed elements in this kit so i pulled them together for a page about my love of paperbacks. A lot of my friends have kindles and think they are great, but i just don't get it! A new stack of books to read make me happy, i don't think i'll ever want to give up the feel and smell of books. 

These photos were taken at the London Film Museum. There were lots of circular elements in the kit which were the basis of this layout. Then i used my circle punches to make 'confetti' to fill in the rest of the gaps. 

If you're looking to do a little weekend shopping there's also lots of new American Crafts & Echo Park in the shop including the hard to find Dear Lizzy Roller stamp & Amy Tan Daybooks!