Best Buddies | Lottie Loves Paper | Stars Challenge

Thursday 26 May 2022


I’m playing along today with the Lottie Loves Paper challenge which is STARS! I love stars so this was definitely the challenge for me! I’ve used the No Limits collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio and a cut file by Peartree Cutfiles.

I made a background using Distress Oxide inks and layered the backfilled cut file on top together with the photo, then make a big cluster around the right side full of stars! I have fussy cut stars, ephemera stars, stamped stars and Bramble Fox stars!

Enjoy playing along with the challenge over on the Lottie Loves Paper Community Facebook group

Happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

[ad] 

 





Love You Always | Lottie Loves Paper | Pinkfresh Studio Happy Heart

Friday 20 May 2022



Hi everyone, here is a new layout for Lottie Loves Paper using the very beautiful Happy Heart collection by Pinkfresh Studio.
I have used the pink frame paper and fussy cut out the middle around the scallops to create a frame for my white background. I machine stitched around the outside of the frame too. I’ve also used a Floral Frames cut file by Peartree Cutfiles which I have backed in vellum.
I created two clusters on the two points of the cut file using lots of pretty embellishments from Happy Heart. I used the chipboard frames under my photos, some of the ephemera, puffy stickers and one of the wood veneer pieces. I also fussy cut some of the butterflies from one of the papers to use as extra embellishments.
I’ve used multiple Bramble Fox Perspextives on this layout: Love you Always as my title, the ‘amazing’ banner, lots of pink leaves and a most adorable cupcake, as this layout was about going for Afternoon Tea.
I hope you like this layout, I think it has turned out quite pretty. I'm also going to enter this one in the Pinkfresh Studio monthly challenge, which is 'spring'.
Happy scrapping
Niki xx
@nikiclairecreates







 

PARTY | Simple Stories | Celebrate collection

Monday 16 May 2022

 


Hey everyone! Here is a new layout for Simple Stories using the Celebrate collection. This collection is great for all sorts of celebrations and isn’t just birthday themed. I love the neutral colours and all the fun icons and patterns. The party hats, cakes and gifts are super cute!

My boy has just turned 9 and had a ‘laser tag’ party to celebrate his birthday. For this layout I attempted to replicate the laser beams from the lasers…but what I ended up with was a pretty starburst design!

I cut lengths of patterned paper for the starburst using different papers from the celebrate collection. I deliberately left gaps in between them. I distressed the edges and folded them in half, then stuck them in place and machine stitched them all.

The middle of the starburst was a bit messy so I covered that with some circles of more patterned paper. I then used this as a place to add my photo and title. The title ‘party’ is from the Foam Stickers.

I added number 9s from the Number Bits pack (these are the 9s and 6s) and then punched stars from more papers, and added those too.

I finished off with a few more embellishments around the photo, foam stars from the Foam Stickers, Decorative Brads and ephemera from the Bits and Pieces pack. I also added journaling and some white paint splatters.
Thanks so much for joining me today and happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

[ad]





You're My Person | Lottie Loves Paper | Pinkfresh Studio Happy Heart

Wednesday 11 May 2022


Hello everyone, here is a new layout for Lottie Loves Paper using Pinkfresh Studio Happy Heart. I'm also playing along with the Pinkfresh Studio NSD 'Anything Goes' challenge.

I loved the paper with the rainbow colours on it and spent a bit of time cutting out that piece. I distressed all the edges and cut in between the stripes.

I wanted to extend the colour down from the striped paper so grabbed my Distress Oxides and set to work. I just kept offering up the strips to ensure I had the ink in the right place. I tried my best to colour match of course and I think it came out pretty well!

I took a piece of white card and created another area of ink in the same colours. I used this piece to backfill the You’re My Person cut file from Peartree Cutfiles.

I embellished the layout in a colour-on-colour fashion using ephemera, floral ephemera, labels, phrase ephemera, puffy stickers and lots of enamel dots. I also added a few splatters to the layout in the same colours.

Thank you so much for joining me today and happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

[ad]

 







 

GoGo Getaway Mini Album | Simple Stories | Let's Get Crafty Collection

Tuesday 10 May 2022


Hey everyone! I have a new mini album to share today for Simple Stories using the Let’s Get Crafty Collection.  I was so inspired by this collection and knew exactly what I wanted to do the moment I saw it. I have been attending scrapbooking retreats since 2011 and have many many great memories and photos to scrap. My time at these retreats gradually evolved as I started as a delegate, was asked to join the Design Team and then took over management and ownership of the company. Now it is my full-time job! It was wonderful to go back through the archives, right back to the beginning and re-visit all those moments.

I have used a 6x4 Flipbook. I decided at the beginning that I wasn’t going to use the page protectors and have all the pages simply bound within the Flipbook on their own. The reason for this is because I wanted to make my pages interactive in such a way that wouldn’t have worked within page protectors.

For the front cover I fussy cut some flowers from one of the 6x8 Paper Pad papers and added them to the bottom right corner. I also added foam flowers from the Foam Stickers, Bits & Pieces and puffy stickers. On the left side I created another smaller embellishment cluster with a pencil pot – so cute! For the title I cut the name of the retreat company on my Silhouette machine from black cardstock and stuck this on together with an acrylic arrow, which is part of the logo and had been custom made a few years ago.

I started off by cutting the Let’s Get Crafty patterned papers into 4x12 strips. I then scored them all at 7.5”. This created a page, with a fold out piece at the end.

I also folded some of the 4x12 strips in half, creating a 6x4 pocket page (after sewing the sides together) which were shorter pages after punching the holes, but this has worked really well with the shorter pocket pages being interspersed amongst the longer fold-out pages.

I had a LOT of photos to squeeze into this album. The good thing about Flipbooks is that they can expand a great deal. Even with that though, my ‘mini’ album is bursting at the seams! I had 84 photos to fit in! I may get another of the same style Flipbook and split this out across two albums as it is so huge! But even though it is pretty chunky, I LOVE that these stories have been told and are altogether in one place. It is actually a wonderful memory book, and I may even take it to future retreats so that the delegates can look through the history.

Embellishing the pages was the most fun part of making this album. I have included big spaces for journaling and I have lots of different sized photos. It was impossible to make them all the same size so there is a real mixture in there and I just made them work on the pages with what I had got.

I embellished with ALL the things! I’ve used Cardstock Stickers,  Foam Stickers, Bits & Pieces, Journal Bits, Puffy Stickers, Decorative Brads, Enamel Dots, most of the Sticker Book, as well as fussy cut items from papers.

There are flip out pages, flip up pages, pocket pages, tags that pull up or out, a mini book made out of tags, another mini book made from concertina paper, and a shaker pocket page…this mini album has it all!

Thank you so very much for joining me today. I’ve been on a real journey back in time making this album and I just love the result so much. Scrapbooking is such a special hobby and it’s even better when you can share it with others who get it!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing this album and that the Let’s Get Crafty collection inspires you as much as it inspired me.

Happy scrapping

Niki xx

@nikiclairecreates

[ad] 


 

























So Cool | Lottie Loves Paper | NSD Scraplift Challenge using Cocoa Vanilla Studio No Limits

Saturday 7 May 2022


Hey everyone! Happy National Scrapbooking Day 2022!

Over at Lottie Loves Paper we have a series of scraplift challenges. Head over to the Lottie Loves Paper Community Group to play along.

I'm scraplifting the fabulous Rebecca's layout. I went for a black background and used the No Limits Collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio, and some Bramble Fox Stars. 

Happy scrapping
Niki xx
@nikiclairecreates 
[ad] 

 





Create | GoGo Getaway NSD Challenge | Simple Stories Let's Get Crafty Collection

Happy National Scrapbooking Day 2022!

Over at GoGoGetaway we have an epic Tic Tac Toe challenge board for you to play along with! Each square of the board contains a challenge: pick a line and make a layout with those elements!
I choose the vertical line on the right side so: sketch, moodboard and technique. 

To see the details in each square more closely, head over to the GoGoGetaway Facebook Group, where you can also play along.

I've used the Let's Get Crafty Collection by Simple Stories for my layout.
Happy scrapping everyone!
Niki xx
@nikiclairecreates 
[ad] 



 




Summer | Simple Stories | NSD InstaHop using Summer Lovin' Collection

Thursday 5 May 2022




Tonight I'm taking part in the Simple Stories Instahop to celebrate NSD!

Happy International Scrapbooking Day from all of us at Simple Stories! Join us all weekend to celebrate by following along on our Instahop! Hop along to each participating member’s account, follow each person, and prepare to be inspired! Make sure to leave a comment letting us know that you stopped by and to be entered into the @simplestories_ GIVEAWAY! (Comments close on Sunday, May 8th at 11:59 pm MDT. One comment per team member’s post, please.)

We will be giving away three paper packs to each winner: one each from the Let's Get Crafty, Summer Lovin' and Celebrate collections. Isn’t this EXCITING! The five winners will be announced on the Simple Stories Instagram account on Monday, May 9TH, 2022. (Note: Giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram.)

I have used the Summer Lovin’ Collection to make a layout using an enlarged photo: 8x12”! I used a patterned paper for the background and then embellished the photo with lots of Bits & Pieces, Puffy Stickers, Chipboard, Foam Stickers, Cardstock Stickers and Enamel Dots of course! It was fun to use such a large photo and document this summer holiday memory!

All stops of the Insta Hop are below. Start at Simple Stories and follow the links. Once you make it back to Simple Stories, you know you have completed the loop! Have fun and Happy International Scrapbooking Day! Happy scrapping everyone!

All stops of the Instahop are here:

@simplestories_

@loredanabucaria

@andreamarvillalake

@beckiadams

@thedailylifeofcreativity

@cherylgerhard

@suzlee72

@emiliechamel

@handmade_picks

@tachita55

@jeannejachna

@vickiscraps

@brilepper

@dorymar_pl

@beckiadams

@nikiclairecreates

@secretbees_studio

@scrapbykarlladauer

@bambidearr

@anya.l.studio

@papierfetiche

@simplestories_