MR DT: Mini Album | What I Like

Hello! I am back on the Mayaroad blog today with a mini album to share! Making this album had been fun! The design team has been sharing many ideas on how to use chipboards in our projects, and today, I will also share how I made use of chipboards in my mini album.

I wanted to make an album to house some of the things I love, and here is my mini album:

First way I usually like to use the chipboards - as album covers! There are many chipboard albums available in different shapes and sizes, great for use to construct mini albums! I used the 5x5 tabbed chipboard album to construct this mini album.

Like always, I always like to spice up the spine of my mini albums with some stitching! This time, I am using the Ken Oliver Waxed Hemp (Tangerine) for the long stitch binding on my spine! I love this waxed hemp for stitching, and it comes in a variety of colors!

Another way I used my chipboards is to paint them white, and draw some stitching lines on them! This is a fun and easy way to decorate the chipboards, and give it an interesting look too. Try dry brushing gesso onto chipboards, I like how some of the pieces give a weathered look!

Of course, adding acrylic paints gives the chipboards an entirely different look. With a base coat in place, I have also added some shimmer with some glitter glues on top. It gives a shiny coat and highlights the title.

Of course, I really love to dress up my chipboards! One of my favourite ways is to add some stamping on top of the base coat. Try it with raw chipboards as well, this gives a different texture and feel to the entire embellishment! On the top right corner, I have also tried coloring the chipboards with brush pens / markers.

Last but not least, use the chipboards as they are! Raw chipboards are pretty as they are - so feel free to use them directly on your projects. Raw chipboards gives a very good background to your embellishments, they are not cluttered or too colorful. On some chipboards, I also used some foil papers to back up the negative spaces for a little glow amongst the raw chipboard pieces.

Chipboards are the basic materials everyone needs for that next scrapbook project! Hope you find some inspiration! You will also be happy to know, that Mayaroad is having a promo this month for chipboards! Use the coupon code CHIPCHIP for 30% off all chipboards during your checkout! Enjoy the promo code!

Supplies Used:

• Lucky Stars Chipboard Set
• 5x5 Tabbed Chipboard Ring Album
• Love Chipboard Banner
• Ken Oliver Waxed Hemp (Tangerine)
• Hexagon Chipboard Set
• Camera Chipboard Set
• Speech Bubble Chipboard Set

MWL DT: 5 Questions (and a hand stitched wedding album!)

Hi everyone! I am joining alongside with the other Made with Love design team members who will be answering 5 questions for our DT posts. This marks a special edition and hope you get to know us better!

For first, I would like to share a recent project I have done. I believe in simplicity- so cardstocks, some simple/basic pattern paper and diecuts aid the creating process in most of my works. 

Here is my recent work:

In this 8.25" album, I used primarily cardstocks for the album cover and spine. The navy blue cardstock really helps to enhance the stitching. Here I used single coptic method to stitch the names. Since I was going to use the Sizzix Plus Ampersand die set on the front cover, I decided to use a smaller N in the stitching. The front and back covers were embossed by the Sizzix Plus Embossing Folders - Botanical Swirls. Embossing is a beautiful method. It gives texture and yet not too much detail. It is just enough for other decorations to take place above it! 

Here is a closer look at the front cover:

Using the Big Shot Plus machine really expands my possiblities of crafting and book binding! Want to know more about the Big Shot Plus? Be sure to make a trip down to Made with Love and the friendly staffs will be able to show you a demo.

All products used are available in Made With Love.

Ok, now its time for the 5 Questions (and 5 answers) :

1) Who am I ?

This year marks a new beginning to my life. I am a new wife to my dear husband, who is super supportive of my other love life - paper crafts and book binding. I began book binding as little as age of 5, but concentrated on it more during my teenage years (up till now and beyond!). It was by chance I got to pick up scrapbooking 10 years ago, and I never looked back since. It has been a wonderful journey merging 2 things I love in my projects. Currently, I am on a few design teams - Made With Love, Simple Stories and Maya Road. I am also an instructor at Made With Love alongside with the creative brains. 

2) What is my creative style ?

I was known to many for my browns and vintage style in the earlier days. Throughout the journey, my style has changed towards brighter tones. I really like the changes along this journey, it helps me explore more into the creative process and experience different moods. Embrace the changes! It is fun to look through the past works and see how different your style will change! Afterall the creative process is one filled with joy and experience!

3) What inspires me ?

Everything. I like to stare at building structures, artwork of posters or a stitching design on a sweater. They give me the inspiration I need. It can be in the form of structure on a layout or a stitching pattern I use on my books.

4 What I love about being Singaporean ?

The harmony of different races living in one country. This is especially special for me since I have travelled to countries. Because of the racial harmony, there is also a well balanced spread of food choices in the food courts! Oh well, where else can one find such a spread of food just in one place? I am super proud to be a Singaporean!

5) What do I wish for ?

Health. For my family and for my friends. There is nothing more important than health. With good health, everything else is possible.

There you go! Hope you got to know a bit more about me. Do stay tuned to the DTs who will be sharing their answers to the 5 questions too!

MWL Workshops: Cross my Heart (Aug 2016 ~)

Yes, I am up with another binding! This time round, I am using cross stitch to construct this album, sure to make your receivers go "wow!"

Class schedules are already up on Made With Love FB page, do check it out or pop over the store to see the class sample today!

Description: Who doesn't love a beautifully stitched named album? Color your love with a chunky album filled with loads of pop ups for that special occasion! This time, we will construct and stitch this sturdy album in 4 different colors!

Techniques Learnt: Cross Stitch Binding, Album construction, spine construction

Looking forward to seeing you at Made With Love! Limited classes and kits available. Don't miss out! Check out MWL facebook page for more details!

MWL Workshops: Wedding Album (July - August 2016) & Chunky Star Album (Last Call!)

Exciting! This month, Aida and I are collaborating on a wedding series for you! Here at Made With Love, we are inspired by theme Wedding!

In Singapore, most couples like to get married in September. This is a hot wedding season, since it coincides with the 8th month of the lunar calendar. For the Chinese, the 8th month is an auspicious month. So we thought, why not come up with a wedding series?

While Aida is working on the wedding ang bao box, I am working on the wedding album to complete the theme! Want to know more about what Aida is making? Go check out Made With Love page for more details!

Here is my wedding album:

Sized at 8x10", this is one album which packs a punch! Check out the samples at Made With Love today!

Here is the reason why we got so inspired with the wedding theme. Recently, Aida was very kind to help me with my wedding box for my traditional wedding. Boy it took my breath away! Both hubs and I were over the moon with it! Here's a look at the wedding box she had made for me for my wedding:

Gorgeous! I am so in love with it! Yes, and this was what sparked off our wedding series idea!

On another note, I will be having 1 last class for Chunky Star Album in august 2016 due to some requests for additional class slots! Thank you so much for your love! I enjoyed this workshop very much. There is only very limited kits left! 

This had been an inspiring and creative season of love! Looking forward to seeing you at Made With Love! Limited classes and kits available. Don't miss out! Check out MWL facebook page for more details!

MWL DT: Binded Album | Grow

Hi crafters! It feels good to be back after a short break. Been missing some crafty time and today I am sharing a mini album which I had been working on. 

I had been on a short break due to my traditional wedding. During this time, loads of ideas popped into my mind and that's how this mini album came to place. While digging for childhood photos, I came across many photos which I have not even seen myself. Therefore, I wanted to document down the growing up process in the form of a mini album.

The paper collection I chose this time is from Simple Stories "Bloom & Grow" collection. The elements fit the theme of my mini, and I love the vibrant colors to tell the story I had in mind!

What is a mini without stitching? This time, I am inspired to do some cross stitch on the spine of the album. 

Now that is exactly what I do with my mini albums! I kept the soft spine this time, as this album houses 14 pages and I can keep many photos within this album! Here is a look at some of the pages:

I really looked like a boy when I was a baby! Even my parents had problems recognizing if it was my brother or me in the photo. I must tell you how much I loved the enamel dots! They helped to fill small areas and not over cluttering. A must have for all projects! Sometimes these small touch to the page can create a big impact! It always works!

I was very close to both my dad and my brother at young times. I guess that is why I have a boyish nature! 

Such a typical photo isn't this? Try searching for a childhood photo with you and the phone. It is such a common phenomenon with our parents last time! Funny! I added a sentiment "Gnome what I'm saying?" - totally apt!

There is no need to place photos in every page. I decided to let 1 photo be of special importance, so I let the other page contain a sub-title instead. I am going to add some personal journaling later on, and may want to use the space behind the subtitle to add a tag. The words in this collection are so cute! This one writes "I love you from head to-ma-toe" and I couldn't stop giggling about it!

Hope you liked what I shared with you today. There are many ocassions which you could do a mini album. It is special yet not time consuming, and receivers will be so happy with the photos and story!

All materials used for this project are available at Made With Love. Don't forget to also look out for more book binding projects / classes available only with Made With Love. 

Thanks for dropping by my blog today! 

MWL Workshop: Double Star Chunky [June 2016~]

Oh it's June already! One of my favourite months of the year! This month I have installed some fun and easy album binding for all! 

Project Title : Double Star Chunky

Description : Special chunky album edition allowing multiple layering possible! Let your album spine shine with a new book binding technique which Stacy has created - Double Star Stitching!

Techniques: Album construction, Double Star Stitching

Looking forward to seeing you at Made With Love! Limited classes and kits available. Don't miss out! 

Check out MWL facebook page for more details!

MWL DT: Button Hole Stitching

Hello! It's my turn on the MWL design team to share a project with you! 

Book binding is a great skill to learn and a craft that has been around for many years. It takes practice and understanding the steps to bind, but book binding can also be made simple. As an instructor, I like to study the traditional methods of book binding so that I can infer from these traditional methods to something that can work with my albums or notebooks. Book binding techniques can be used on its own or mixed with other stitches to give a different feel to the entire project - and this is exactly what I like about book binding.

Today, I would like to introduce a mini album featuring Button Hole Stitching, which is a well known book binding method.

This is the basic form of Button Hole stitching, which I adore. The main advantage of this binding is that it does not require any glue for the sections to the spine. It allows me to also expand or contract each section with different page height to enclose more or lesser page layering.

Another advantage is the ability to add designs to the project spine. Because the middle section is open, it allows the flexibility to include designs to enhance the project. There is also a possibility of changing thread colors and adding beads to the project. I like this kind of variation possibilities, so I can change the outlook of my entire project with 1 book binding skill!

Book binding adds a flair to the entire album. Coupled with a few other embellishments, and your mini-album is good to go! 

Supplies used are available at Made With Love.

- Simple Stories: Life in Color Collection, Enamel Dots, Elements pack, chipboard frames
- Sizzix Tim Holtz: detailed butterflies die cut

Want to learn more about book binding?  Do check out Made With Love FB page for more book binding class schedules! :) I will be conducting Button Hole Stitching and Lattice binding (Last call!) this month and hope to see you around!

Cheers!

Maya Road: Faith & Love - Mini Album

It's my turn on the Maya Road DT Blog again! This time, I am sharing a mini-album made from scratch using lattice stitch binding. I love how special the album becomes with a sewn spine!

For the album title, i made use of MR Faith Script die on foam. Foam comes in many different colors and has a certain thickness to highlight your font. I love MR dies because they cut these thick materials at ease too!

Another of my favourite new product is the MR Vintage Crafting Tassels. In this case, I used the milk white tassel. Just cord it through a twine and stick it to the back of the pattern paper or backing. What I love is that it creates an interaction on the front cover! The dangling tassel does make the album more "alive"!

On the other side of the album, I layered MR resin deer, silver and pink star pins, pink paper flower, milk white felt roses, round jeweled center, and my favourite geometric feather die as a base for the felt flower. I like just how versatile the die is!

Here's a look into the album:

The mini embroidery hoop is another embellishment which I love. This time, I layered it onto the stitch circle charm. For both wooden embellishments, I used my Tombow brush to color them in order to highlight the title "love".

On another page, I decided to enclose some hidden journaling behind the photo. In order to keep it in place, I made use of the question mark clip. Super useful embellishment! Oh and did you see the beautiful doilies die-cut?

Here, I share with you another 2 pages in this album using MR embellishments. It is always easy to construct the pages with the products!

Hope you like what I shared with you today, and don't forget to drop by the MR blog, facebook or instagram for more inspirations!

Maya Road Supplies Used:
• Corrugated Kraft Mail Tags

• Geotag Love Clip• Resin Mini mums - Turquoise Sea
• Framed Sayings Kraft Pieces - White
• Shine Gold Twine Cording
• Faith Script die
• Vintage Crafting Tassels
• resin deer
• silver and pink star pins
• pink paper flower
• milk white felt roses
• round jeweled center
• geometric feather die
• mini embroidery hoop
• stitch circle charm
• Fanciful love die
• question mark clip
• doilies die-cut