MWL DT: LO | Love

Hello crafters! Happy 2018! I can't believe it, 2017 has wheezed past so quickly, and I am writing my first blog post of 2018! Here's wishing all of you a blessed, happy and healthy 2018 ahead!

Today, I'm am inspired by the pretty Crate Paper - Good Vibes collection available at Made with Love! Just a walk around the shop gives me great inspirations!  

The elements and vibrant colors in this collection are gorgeous! I was so excited and nearly fussy cut 3 pieces of the pattern paper! Adding elements of fussy cutting does give me much joy. I find that the layout becomes less rigid, and the variation of shapes makes the layout look more alive. Here's a couple of the fussy cutting. I do them while watching TV or waiting for my food to arrive. After all, it's a much better activity to do than using the handphone all the time!

Another inspiration I got off from the collection was to use some thread / twine and hook them up so that they look like tassels all around my photo. To do this, I made use of the Sizzix Framelits Die Set 9PK - rectangles, dotted and die cut a rectangle. Then I used the dotted markings to pierce a hole and attach the thread.

Adding layers behind the photo helps to enhance it. Here, I've cut some tags from the collection and randomly added some fussy cuttings to accompany the layers.

Lastly, to finalize the entire layout, add journaling. I tend to forget the details of the photo after some time, so I make sure to add some details. Sometimes, the photo says it all, and in that case, I would add the date. Journaling is one of the most important detail for a layout, yet also the most commonly forgotten by a lot of people. I make use of my WRMK typewriter to do my journaling. It is not only a pretty sight, but also my favorite tool for layout journaling.

Supplies used are from Made with Love:

• Crate Paper - Good Vibes Collection
• Sizzix Framelits Die Set 9PK - rectangles, dotted
• WRMK Typewriter, Mint
• American Crafts Thickers

Thank you for joining me on this new year, hope you have enjoyed the walk through. Have a blast in 2018 and stay creative!

MWL DT: LO | You are Here

Hello! Wheee, time is passing by fast, and school holidays are over. It is the start of July, second half of 2017 already! How has the school holidays been for everyone? Perhaps you have that vacation photo at a beach resort or some outdoor fun? Time to document those pretty photos!

Today I am sharing a stitched layout on Made With Love design team! I am inspired by the Summer Days Collection by Simple Stories, this collection brings me much joy! I am always a sunshine kind of girl, so this collection is really perfect for my outdoor shoots!

When I do my layouts, I really love to add a flair of stitching to the layout. No matter how simple the stitch is, it always brings a good texture. I always find that the stitches make the layout look complete. In this layout, I first did some die-cutting with the Sizzix Framelits Die Set - Dotted Squares. Basic dies like these are important, they make the crafting work much easier. Then, using the Maya Road waxed Hemp (Lemon Yellow and Tangerine), I did some blanket stitches around the perimeter of the die-cuts. 

Another element I love using are wood tokens. These are the Maya Road wood tokens which you can find an array in Made With Love. For the ring wood tokens, I corded the waxed hemp through on both ends. That little loop around the ring wood tokens looks like little hearts on either sides extending out. Little details like these brings a smile!

In addition to wood tokens, acrylic tokens are also another embellishment I used on this layout. Subtle, but it gives a good texture and gives a highlight to other embellishments.

The materials used for this project are available at Made With Love. Hope you like the walk through and perhaps try your hand with stitching on layouts! It is addictive and therapeutic!

Don't forget to also look out for more book binding projects / classes available only with Made With Love. You can also use book binding stitches on layouts! 

Thank you for dropping by my blog today! 

SS DT: 12x12 Layouts | Travel Faith

Hello friends! I am sharing 2 layouts on the Simple Stories blog today using the Simple Stories Faith Collection. 

When I laid eyes on this collection for the very first time, I thought of all the travel photos I could craft with it. Travelling to me is always a new adventure, setting foot on foreign soil and not knowing what could come next. Every culture has its own unique characteristics so each experience is special. Every time I travel, I get inspired. There is always a new perception to grow my knowledge or inspire me on a different level. Every trip I go, I let God decide what is good for me. This faith keeps me wanting to go travelling often, to explore and be inspired.

Love Today

The recent trip to US for the Creativation 2017 show was an eye opener. I had never flown halfway around the globe before, and this trip gave me new experiences I would never forget. For my first layout, I decided to document the trip to San Francisco just before heading to Creativation 2017.

Love Today

The sun was up that day despite it being extremely cold. The weather was a blast! Love this picture taken at San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf, the background in the photo gives me a lot of memories to remember!

Inspired by the weather and the logo of the Fisherman’s Wharf, I used a sunburst digital cut just behind the photograph to give it a spotlight. I also did some regular back stitching to highlight the rays of the cut. I left some of the negative spaces intact. On alternate sunrays, I punched some circles in different sizes to fill up the spaces in order to give it some colors. The Faith collection has a good range of pattern papers! The colors appeal very much to me, so I could not help but to showcase some of the lovely colors in the sunburst die-cut.

I have also added Faith Collection Washi Tapes at the joint between the white cardstock and the pattern paper. It is a good way to mildly eliminate the contrast between the 2 sections!

On the lower half of the layout, I have cut a bracket shaped element from the pattern paper. This time, I had a lot more journaling which I wanted to add to the layout, hence the choice of this element to fulfil my journaling purpose. I later added elements from the Bits & Pieces pack. I like to stick butterfly embellishments by folding it halfway, and only applying foam dots to the centre of the butterfly. I find that it gives the butterflies some flexibility and it looks like it is fluttering away!

There are so many new experiences in the trip where I felt inspired! So, I could not help but to add the light bulb chipboard piece, marked with the inspired sticker. I have also added a little digital cut arrow as the background for the sticker piece.

Travel Joy

For the second layout, I have used a photo taken at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts.

It was a beauty and quite a sight to breathe in, and every walk around this palace was calming and inspiring. It was always a joy to travel, and especially so with a great crafty friend like Aida!

I started the layout by first doing some random stitching on the background. I like the wood grain background, smoothing and calming suitable for this photo.

I love the Sn@p pack! It is great for many different reasons, and I used it as part of the layering behind the photo to create contrast. There are so many wonderful pieces in this pack! In here, I have layered it up with chipboards and embellishment pieces.

In this layout, I have tried to layer embellishments with foam dots over the journaling cards in order to complete the picture. I find that it gives dimensions to the layout.

Here, I have completed the layout with a title “Travel Joy”. The mint alphabet stickers are available in the sticker pack. It is also a good size for subtitles, or naming the places where you have visited.

Hope you get some inspiration from the layouts, and thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:

Faith Collection

·       https://simplestories.com/product/collection-kit-67

·       https://simplestories.com/product/faith-4x6-stickers

·       https://simplestories.com/product/faith-clear-stickers

·       https://simplestories.com/product/faith-snp-pack

·       https://simplestories.com/product/bits-pieces-29

·       https://simplestories.com/product/6x12-chipboard-20

·       https://simplestories.com/product/you-are-loved-washi-tape

·       https://simplestories.com/product/grace-washi-tape

·       https://simplestories.com/product/home-sweet-home-washi-tape

·       https://simplestories.com/product/bless-mess-washi-tape

For those residing in Singapore, Simple Stories is available at Made With Love! :)

 Visit Simple Stories for more inspirations!

Blog / Facebook / Instagram

SS DT: 12x12 Layout | Sweet Domestic Bliss

Hello everyone, welcome back to the blog! I am on the Simple Stories blog today, sharing 2 layouts using the Domestic Bliss collection. I am in love with this new collection, the colors and embellishments really fit my recent photos!

Sweet

The sweet colours of this collection made me think of my niece, Sophie! She is the first niece in the family, and therefore very much doted by everyone. This photo was taken at the age of 2 months, and I really love how comfortable she looks, sound asleep with 2 guardian angels taking care of her! Therefore, for the first layout, I just had to use a photo of my dear niece.

Such a sleeping beauty isn’t she? I decided to use a dream-catcher as the background, since I often wonder what she is dreaming of when she is sound asleep.

I added some enamel dots of the same collection onto the dream-catcher; they add dimensions to the background! Next, I rummaged through the bits & pieces pack – there were some awesome looking callout signs which suited the story I wanted to tell. The sticker sheet had complementing stickers too which I could not resist!

Some more ephemeras selected in conjunction with my story. This pack is really handy in a lot of ways.

The feathers and title were also cut using my silhouette cameo. I love the array of colours on the feathers! This collection has the best colour combination ever! Here I am using the pattern papers Mom Rules & Bless this Mess.

Chipboard embellishments are another of my favourite decorations. They add dimensions and layering to the entire layout. Try layering the chipboards to create different dimensions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This Home is Filled With Love

This uses the same collection, Domestic Bliss. The photo was taken recently during a family gathering, and I knew I wanted to use this photo with this collection. I started planning the page with circles and a home cut file. 

The title was inspired by the elements found on the chipboard pack and the combo sticker. While going through the supplies, this title literally jumped on me and I thought it might work well with the house as the background.

I wanted to prevent the layout from looking too squarish, and at the same time flowing with the circular elements which I wanted to add. Therefore, I did some simple running stitches in circular form, highlighting parts of the layout. Here I have added some ephemeras from the Bits & Pieces pack, and I deliberately cut the lower part of the circular element (from one of the pattern paper in the collection) to be used on another part of the layout. There are really no rules about cutting up ephemeras, use it to suit your layout!

On the lower part of the layout, I laid out the embellishments so they look like my living room in order to tell the story. The elements in this collection are perfect! I did some fussy cutting on one of the pattern papers for this couch. There is a part of me that yells “Stitch it!” when I looked at the couch, so I went ahead to do some simple stitches! I love how different it looked before and after the stitching! Stitching does give some added dimensions, and that is why I enjoy doing some stitching on layouts. Just below the couch, I have added the part of the circular element.

Added ephemeras to form my living room scene with some potted plants and of course, Winston!

Hope you have enjoyed the walk through today, and thank you for joining me today!

Supplies:

• https://simplestories.com/product/enamel-dots-29

• https://simplestories.com/product/bits-pieces-30

• https://simplestories.com/product/collection-kit-68

• https://simplestories.com/product/6x12-chipboard-21

• https://simplestories.com/product/roller-stamp-1

MWL DT: Products I love & 12x12 Layout | Stay Lil'

Aida & I are on the MWL blog today!

How has the Chinese New Year been for you? Chinese New Year has always been one festive season I have loved since I was a kid. In the past, it used to be for the food and red packets, but it has much more meaning to me now. Seeing my nephew grow up over the years, I can't say how much it made me feel older. It is also this season where I see the other members of the family. Yes, it is a tiring affair, having to need to visit every single household in the family ( I have a large family of 7 households). But nothing beats the family bonding sessions and the jokes my uncles crack over a game of cards. 

Yes I love the CNY season, though now it means I have to give red packets. But I enjoy every visiting session and the laugher it brings.

Today on MWL blog, Aida and I are sharing our favorite products this week! 

I am inspired by a recent scrapbook basics class I taught recently in Made with Love and the beautiful products to come up with a layout. The pattern papers are from Amercian Crafts - Shimelle Little by Little Collection and the background is colored with Tim Holtz distress crayons.

Oh how I wished my nephew would stay forever little and always hugging me close like this. This sweet young man is always making my heart melt away.

First I started the page by doing some prep work. The white cardstock is primed with gesso, and later colored with Tim Holtz Distress Crayons. It helps to enhance the background cut piece which I laid behind my photo. Love the colors which fade below my background in unison.

Afterwhich, I have done quite a bit of fussy cutting, most of which was done on a bus ride. Well, I figured better doing fussy cutting than looking at the handphone in the 40 minutes of bus ride right? The hearts are sewn on with a sewing machine to the layout. 

I have also done some zig zag machine sewing to the matting of the background.

In that 40 minutes ride, I have also managed to fussy cut these critters! Ain't they super cute? (In fact, i did the fussy cutting for the entire 2 pieces of pattern paper on that 40 minutes bus ride) Was not sure which element I would use on my layout, but since I enjoy fussy cutting, I might as well prepare all for later use. Who knows? I may have another layout soon!

Here I layered the embellishments up around my photo. I used to fear writing on layouts since my handwriting is awefully square and small. But I realised over time that the writing is also part of documenting the story and I overcome the fear quite soon. In fact, I almost always insist on documenting on all my layouts, because it warms me to read it 5 years or 10 years down the road. 

Hope you like this layout, and inspires you to experiment with your own style. 

Supplies used from Made With Love Sg:

• American Crafts Shimelle Little by Little Collection
• Tim Holtz Distress Crayons

My second favorite product has to be the Simple Stories 6x8 paper pack.

It is versatile enough for use with almost anything! This size is wonderful!

Document your stories in the 6x8 Binder with the 6x8 paper pack. It is that simple. Life documentation need not be complicated. On another note, you will need this paper pack for home decor. Just use it as it is! I am looking forward to decorating my room soon with the collection!

Needless to say, the collections are taking my breath away. Faith and Domestic Bliss collections are now available in MWL. (Hang in there! Emoji love and Say Cheese III are coming to store really soon!)

Hope you have enjoyed the products so far, and keep feeling inspired for more crafting!

Made With Love Singapore

B2-08, 313 Somerset, Orchard Road.

Tel : 6733 7630

[Feb 2017] Upcoming MWL Workshops / Kits

Busy busy busy! This month is coming waay too fast especially after my recent trip to US! This month also marks the Chinese New Year , which meant I had to spend time visiting my relatives. Time is really short! It had been project after project and I barely had the time to breathe this month. Thankful for the understanding husband who gave me a whole load of support and help!

Still, the creative juice is flowing and I am so thankful for that! 2 kits up and the 3rd kit is on its way - how awesome is that!

Made With Love Kits

First up is the explosion box kit. This is the 13th edition since its debut! I am always enjoying new ways of making an explosion box, together with markings of my signature. Don't miss this! It is filled with loads of goodies and prepared with a lot of love!

Next up, accordion flip album. How sweet is this album for your loved one? It is also the best gift to document memories of friendship and love. Not only is this an album but it is also fully functional as a photo display. You can choose to obmit the embellishments and just add photos! I love how this kit came along!

For the 3rd kit, it is in its process. I am always in love with versatile albums, so look out for this pocket album coming up real soon!


Made With Love Workshops
I had to run this for another time in Feb due to popular requests! Not much kits left, this was a super popular class. A 10.5" album is a very versatile and useful one! Make yours today from scratch and get to learn how to construct an album from scratch!

Don't forget to check out this workshop 'Chic Love' and many other workshops available at Made With Love here. Do take note that these are limited classes and kits available. Don't miss out!