Guest Designer At American Crafts

hello! i'm excited to be featured as guest designer on american crafts blog today! i was happy to be able to work with rise & shine by amy tangerine, fine & dandy by dear lizzy and true stories by shimelle! they are all so lovely and i had a fun time playing with the goodies... do drop by and take a look!

have a wonderful weekend everyone and thanks so much for dropping by!

xoxo

Walden Reveal

hello again! studio calico november kit - walden is now available! love the woody and fall colours in this month's scrapbook kit. the add ons are amazing as well! my favourite kit has to be concord (add on 1)! its packed to the brim with lots and lots of goodies! celine will be using this kit for her upcoming mini book workshop, so if you are taking the class, another reason why you wouldn't want to miss out on this add on! this month, we also have a christmas theme add on - pine hill (add on 2)! love the mix of pretty christmas papers and the lovely washi - i am planning to use this one for my christmas wrapping! and lastly, baker bridge (add on 3) that is full of exclusive items! now let's take a look at what i made this month!

you are my favourite hello
(main kit only)

there is something romantic about the colors in the main kit this month so i made a gift for my cousin using his wedding photo. not my usual colors that says romance but i love the soft colors of grey, peach, green and gold...

for the floral wreath above my photo, i first created a border using the washi tape. i used the walden scrapbook digital stamp to create some die cut flowers and leaves with my silhouette cameo. then i painted the die cuts in coordinating colors to match the washi tape and added the deer and badge as embellishments. i love the brush script hello designed by wilna so i made it into a cut file, paint it with black acrylic paint and used it as my part of my title. and to complete the layout, i added some ink splatters with gold mist and a big round brush. i usually create the ink splatters with the tip of the bottle nozzle but this time with the big round brush, i could see the shimmer of the mist and it's beautiful!!!

a happy day at little big
(main kit only)

i wanted to use all the pretty papers in the kit so i thought a grid design would be best! i used one of the squares for journaling, 2 for photos and the rest, i decorated with embellishments and die cuts. a quick and simple layout to put together. something new i tried with this layout was using a small brush to draw a border to frame the layout. i used gold mist here and used my precision pen to define the border. love how it turned out so i think i will use this technique again!

lucky
(main, concord, baker bridge)

this layout is a gift for my dear friend's wedding! i used gelatos to create a rainbow and layer lots of pretty embellishments over it to create a border above the photo. for added interest, i added some stamp leaves and flowers in coordinating colors. i used color theory ink pads - coral bay, blush crush and something blue. i will be posting a tutorial for this layout soon so keep a lookout for it!

hello lil king

(main kit, concord, pine hill, baker bridge)

this hello stamp designed by wilna is my favourite this month! i stamp the hello in different yummy colours to create a background paper. i used color theory ink pads - sunny day, blush crush, orange country, glass slipper, going green, lime light and clean state. after deciding on the placement of my photo, i added the title - 'lil' using the woodgrain transparent alpha from baker bridge and stitched 'king' on another piece of card stock using the amy tangerine embroidery set.  then i fussy cut each alphabet and adhere it to the layout to add more dimension.

that's all i have! i hope you enjoyed the layouts i made for this reveal! if you are interested in finding out more about studio calico's scrapbook kit, click here.

happy shopping and thank you so much for dropping by!

xoxo
lilin 

Sandlot Reveal

sorry i'm late this month! my little boy turned 3 last weekend and my in laws were in town to celebrate! we spent the last few days together hence i didn't have an opportunity to pop in here... we had a celebrate for ethan in school on friday and a family dinner on saturday. a double celebration for our little monkey! love you lots darling and here's wishing you a very happy birthday!

so, today i finally found time to sit down and i can't wait to share with you the reveal of studio calico's sandlot kit! i've had so much fun working with sandlot scrapbook kit, the scrapbook add ons hercules, jet and smalls. they are filled to the brim with lots of pretty papers and embellishments! 

here's what i made this month...

be happy

(main kit only)

i love love love the 'be happy' stamp designed by talented ct member shanna noel so i grabbed my color theory ink pads and stamped in different colors to create a background for my black and white photo. what i love about the color theory ink pads is that it always coordinates very well with the colors of the kit! i always use the mood board for the month and pick out the matching colors from my ink pads. so for this layout, i used well red, blush crush, coral bay, orange country, sunny day, yes peas, emerald city, mint hint and clean state. then i decided the placement of my photo and layered it with the colorful dot washi tape, ribbon and vellum. to complete the title, i stamped the 'be' accent on the circle metal tag and adhere it to my photo.

and to finish off, i added my date stamp and journaling around my stamped accents. 

this month, the ct gals have a 'lift a member' challenge and I chose to lift a layout - black mountain from ashli oliver - souphousemama. i love ashli's work!!! when i first saw here gallery i am amazed! so much inspiration! i love all the love the layers and details she put every single one of her layouts! i am a new fan...

the first thing that caught my eye in ashli's layout were the 9 decorated circles. i love adding little details to my layouts and thought it would be a fun layout to put together.

and this is my version...

little treasures

(main kit, hercules, jet, smalls)

i started my layout with the grey grid patterned paper as my background. instead of circles, i decided to use the plastic doilies from hercules. the doilies reminds me of my scallop punch so i used it to punch some patterned paper which i used to make up my grid design. 

i also played around with the polka dot stencils from hercules. i am really bad with misting and the result didn't too good but thankfully it still looks alright after i used my scallop punch. i think i need to practice my misting more often :P

with all the embellishments and papers on hand, my grid design came about quickly and i really enjoyed decorating each doily/ scallop.

i decided to scrap this photo of ethan with his daddy's old toys. my mother in law kept them in good condition and ethan had lots of fun playing with them when we were back in kl. hence, i came up with my title - little treasures...

here's a close up shot

that's all i have for you for this reveal...

i did a quick check of the shop and realise that hercules is still available! i am surprised because its my favourite add on this month!

i can't tell you how much i love the papers from hercules because they can be cut and used as embellishment. i cut out the roses from summer floral paper, leaves from laguna palms paper and the cute little deer from blue ridge paper. i am also in love with the black strips paper and am still hoarding a small piece of it. 

another favourite are the plastic doilies, i love doilies and i love them when they are transparent! great for layering. other favourites also include the polka dot mask, ampersand paper clip and of course the fancy stamp! i didn't get to use the pink rub on alphas but they do look cute too!

so if you are considering getting this add on, i highly recommend it! :)

thanks for dropping by and see you soon!

xoxo

Lilin

A Closer Look - Here and Now

it's the weekends! i am still waiting for my studio calico august kits to arrive so i thought i should use the spare time i have now to share a tutorial of how my layout using penny arcade came together... here's the layout i am going to share today! 

so here we go...

i selected some gelatos and colored on a piece of white cardstock. i love gelatos, they are creamy and are like a combination of crayons and watercolors. i color the gelatos the same way i would with crayons and i use a wet brush to blend the colors and the end results looks like a more vibrant version of watercolors. when i am working on studio calico kits, i usually decide on the colors to use base on the mood board. this way, i am sure that the colors would coordinate perfectly with the kit. 

source

i used this subjective moodboard by ania maria and decided on the different shades of yellow and pink and some mint green.

i do not have a mint green in my set of gelatos so i usually use blend green, white and a bit of blue and yellow. however, this time, it didn't turn out as well as i want! in fact, i thought it will be better without the mint green. so i decided to cover it with a piece of patterned paper. 

here's how it looked after covering the green.

next i decided on the placement for my photos and added a die cut i cut using my silhouette cameo. this floral die cut is an exclusive for studio calico july kits designed by kim steward.

i wanted to layer my photos a bit, so i added some vellum. next i added some stickers base on the background color. there are no embellishments that can match the bright pink so i cut the butterfly from one of the patterned papers - under the boardwalk. 

at this point, i thought the page doesn't look so balance with the butterfly at the top so i shift it down and felt it looked better. i also added another strip of black and white patterned paper on the left side. i used the water-colour die cuts - here and now as my title. added more stickers, some buttons and enamel dots. lastly, my journaling and stamp date and the page is complete!

all products used are from studio calico penny arcade main scrapbook kit, skee ball (add on 1), fortune teller (add on 2) and spun sugar (add on 3)

thanks for dropping by and i hope you enjoyed this simple tutorial. have a great weekend!

xoxo

lilin

Celebrate

hi! it's mid week and i hope that the week has been good for you so far! today i thought i will pop in here to share a layout i made as a gift to my cousin and cousin in law for their wedding.

since its a wedding gift, i wanted to make a layout with a romantic and whimsical feel to it. so i thought of the ruffled crepe paper from dear lizzy - polka dot party collection . however, i am unable to find it in my local scrapbook store so i decided to make one myself using a piece of white card stock and sometissue paper. i first cut the tissue paper into strips then slowly adhered each piece to the card stock with my tape runner. i started from the bottom of the page and worked my way up. 

for this layout, i purchased some digital cut files from fresh cut illustrations and cut them with my silhouette cameo. these lovely die cuts are designed by amazing talented kim steward and you can purchase them from wilna's shop iheartstudio. the rest of the page came together easily as i layered some pink tulle from my studio calico camelot kit, and some die cuts and vellum shapes from maggie holmes styleboard collection and other bits and pieces from my stash. 

here are some detailed shots...

i'm glad that my cousins love this layout and here's wishing them a blissful and everlasting marriage!

thanks for dropping by!

xoxo

lilin

Penny Arcade Reveal

hello! i'm back to share my layouts for studio calico july kits - penny arcade! i'm sorry that i am late in sharing this blog post as june has been a very busy month for me! this month's kit is one of my favourites! i love love love the colours! and the papers from ashley goldberg! and the exclusive cut files are just as amazing... glad i cut a whole bunch of die cuts with my silhouette cameo!

i was happy to work with the main scrapbook kit, skee ball (add on 1), fortune teller (add on 2) and spun sugar (add on 3). if i have to choose one favourite this month, it will be the main scrapbook kit! love the ashley goldberg papers, the lovely brush script travel journal paper, cute cloud paper by life-love-paper and stamp stickers! the kit is filled with lots of exclusive papers and embellishments!

here's a look at what i came up with...

london 

(main kit only)

the patterned paper in the kit are so pretty, i wanted to use as many as i could on a layout so i decided on a grid design. i printed 3 photos in 3 x 3 inch and cut 4 patterned paper into 3 x 3 inch squares. after deciding the placement for the photos, i layered each one with a piece of vellum. 

for the first square, i used some pink thread and hand stitched the city - london since my photos are of my trip to london! i love the stamp stickers so i cut part of it and used it as one of the squares on my grid. i wanted to keep the design simple so i decorated the rest of the patterned papers with a doily and some die cuts from kim steward and in a creative bubble. then i thought this page could do with more yellow, so i trim a 3 x 3 square from white card stock and colored it with some gelatos. i used lemon and buttercup yellow here. then i stamped "the sky's the limit" with color theory sunny day. to finish off, i added my journaling, date stamp and a small strip of white crepe paper.

hello world

(main kit only)

when i saw this cute cloud paper, i thought it's perfect for scrapping ethan's first photos! love how well the clouds die cuts by paige evans complements the cute clouds on the paper. after i decided on the placement for the photo, i layered it with vellum, a doily and patterned paper. i place some white crepe paper beneath the photo like a little banner. i also added a cluster of embellishment at the side of the photo with the stamp stickers, flower die cut by hello forever and xo metal circle badge. to make the die cut clouds stand out, i outline them with my precision pen. 

you are my favourite

(main kit, fortune teller, spun sugar)

used mostly fortune teller in this layout. just like my london page, i wanted to use as much of the pretty patterned paper as possible so i cut the papers into little rectangles and place them together with my photo, some crepe paper and journaling card by hello forever, something like a jigsaw puzzle. this is why i love working with a kit for such a design, because the papers are well coordinated and i don't need to spent time making sure they look good together. then i started layering the october afternoon stickers and used the heart shaped die cut by kim steward to frame my photo. to make the words 'you are my favourite' stand out, i cut strips from the patterned papers and layer it beneath the journaling card.

here and now

(main kit, skeeball, fortune teller, spun sugar)

i started this page by coloring some gelatos on white card stock. then i added some black and white strips of patterned paper on the left hand side of the page as a contrast to the colourful background. i place my photos in the middle of my painted background and added a floral die cut by kim steward. this die cut is my absolute favourite! love how the colors peep through the die cut. to add more interest to the page, i layered some stickers, gold enamel dots, buttons and the little butterfly i cut from under the boardwalk paper from fortune teller. lastly, i added the now and then watercolor die cut, journaling and date stamp. 

i hope you have enjoyed my reveal of penny arcade and i will be back soon with a tutorial for one of the layouts!

also, the enrolment for inked 2.0 is almost closing, if you are interested to find out more about the class, click here!

xoxo

lilin

Elle's Studio June Inspiration Gallery

you will be happy to know that elle's studio june kit and inspiration gallery are now live! i hope you are up for some big shopping spree this month because there are lots of goodies stock up for you!

the new shine collection...

exclusive june kit with coordinating stamps, wood veneer and snippets... and of course cut files!

these kits are going for $9.99 from now until the end of today (after 12.01 am on the 11th, it will retail for $11.99)! so grab yours now!

and... an exclusive foodie mini collection! how cute are these? this collection includes tags, a stamp set and wood veneers...

here's a look at what i made this month!

today is your day to shine

i created this layout by layering all the goodies from the new shine collection and june's exclusive kit! love the transparent hearts in the kit and the cute wood veneers from shine. to make my title stand out, i added some hand stitching to the word shine...

sand in my toes

for this layout, i gathered stamps from the shine collection, june kit , everyday moments and love you more collections to create a black and white background. when i was stamping, i didn't worry too much about where to stamp, or how it would turn out. i had lots of fun creating the background and i love how it turned out! once the background was done, i layered my photo with journaling cards from the june kit, doily, a piece of vellum and some tags. i also added the heart shaped wood veneer and label for my title and my page was complete. 

sunshine documented mini album

when i first saw the wood veneer mini album covers, i knew i had to make use of them! I printed my photos in 2 sizes - 3 x 4 inch and 3 x 3 inch. my mini album came together easily as I filled it up with journaling cards and transparent tags. for final touches, i added some die cuts, tags, labels, wood veneers, clips and washi tape.

here are some of my favourite pages...

my favourite pieces of shine are these cute ice cream wood veneers and the transparent tags! 

i cut this journaling card from shine lil'snippet - highlights. love how easy is it to add my journaling on one of these cards...

and i couldn't resist using these fun tags from shine - bits and pieces...

i hope you enjoyed these projects i created for elle's studio june inspiration gallery. to see more pictures of my layouts and mini album as well as the list of products used, visit my gallery here... do check out projects by the rest of the talented design team too!

oh and while you are shopping at elle's studio, do remember to enter these promotion codes to enjoy free shipping till 17th june 2014! happy shopping!!!

thank you for dropping by and see you soon!

xoxo

lilin

Elle's Studio May Inspiration Gallery

elle's studio exclusive may kit and inspiration gallery is now live! here's a look at the may kit! as always, i love the colors of the kit this month! love the combination of red, pink, yellow, green and some navy blue!


you can purchase these lovely kits from shop now!

you will also be pleased to know that coordinating stamp, wood veneers and cut files also available!

and for this month, a patriotic mini collection where you can find tags, stamps and wood veneers is also available! 

here's a look at what i made this month!

happy happy!

love this happy card and the star stamps from this month's exclusive! hence, i used stars as the main element of this page. i picked out the red star banner from may's kit and a circle tag from everyday moments collection. i also added some watercolor stars which i painted with mister huey's mist and watercolor set.

i'm in love with paper bows now, so i used a patterned paper from everyday moments collection to make this origami bow and used it to embellish my page. to add more interest to the page, i also hand stitched the white stars at the bottom of the page.

a lazy day

i love transparencies so i'm thrilled to find it in this month's exclusive kit. I used the 'a lazy day' transparency as an overlay for my photo and as my title for this layout. i created a grid using pieces from the kit, pieces i cut from "today's photos" paper from everyday moments collection and squares i painted using watercolors. the fun of creating this layout is i get to decorate each square. i am inspired by stitched class i attended at studio calico so i added lots of hand stitching here. i also added some tags, wood veneer, stamps and journaling for the rest of the squares. 

you're the best!

this card is inspired by this mood board i found on pinterest where paper bows are hang on some twine using clothespin. 

source

i made some origami paper bows with papers from Love You More collection and created this mother's day card.  since my choice of papers are grey and white, the ribbons didn't stand out from the white card. so i added this bright yellow die cut from dear lizzy as a base. love how it instantly makes the ribbons pop! i also added a hand drawn border to soften the edges of the card. the wood veneer is from this month's exclusive add on! i love gold, so i colored it with my trusty gold leafing pen. since the bows are quite dimensional, i was afraid i would crush the bows if i place the card in a envelope, so i recycled a glassine bag i had lying around and tied some twine around it.

  

that's all i have today. i hope you enjoyed these projects i created for elle's studio may inspiration gallery. to see more pictures of my layouts and card as well as the list of products used, visit my gallery here... do check out projects by the rest of the talented design team too!

have a great week ahead and see you soon!

lilin