Giveaway | Winner and another.
Hello Tuesday evening!
And the winner of the Project Life Date Stamp is:
Chantelle who wrote always love a cute date stamp – can’t wait to see your PL 
Thanks for joining in the fun! XO
Giveaway | Project Life Date Stamp.
Hello Tuesday!
Feel like some free stuff? Over the next few weeks I’ll be giving away a bunch of Beck Higgins Project Life products.
Why? Because I have found my Project Life creative mojo. I am so thrilled that I want to celebrate!
The giveaways are open world wide so spread the world.
To kick things off I’m giving away a Becky Higgins Project Life Date Stamp.
To win this Date Stamp all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Not on my Facebook page. Not on my polkadotcreative Instagram feed (although if you liked and followed both I’d be ever so grateful xxx). Just leave a comment here. Keeping it simple.
The winner will be drawn next Tuesday and the next Project Life product giveaway will be announced.
Good luck and thanks in advance for joining in the fun. XO
‘Creating for you’ by Anna.
Hello Saturday!
Today on the blog Anna shares with us a beautiful message about getting back to basics and creating for you together with showing us some inspiring ideas with circles.
Hi there lovely ones!
I just wanted to start this post off with this quote.
Getting back into scrapbooking again this last year and a bit, has been super fun and inspiring. It has also been challenging and a massive journey of self-discovery. I have learnt so much about myself but I am just going to share this one thing today.
Creating should not be about what other people want from you but about YOU and YOUR STORY and how you want to document it. I say this because I have pulled myself up countless times after catching myself thinking things like ‘it just doesn’t look right’ or ‘it’s just not coming together the way it should’! Now, these are reasonable statements in their own right really – but when I thought about it more closely I had to ask, ‘By whose standards?’ ‘Am I just comparing what I have in front of me to what everyone else is doing?’
It’s ok to be inspired. To check out what everyone else is doing. But when you start thinking everyone else’s way is best and looks better, and focusing on what is currently ‘trending’, it’s only putting pressure on yourself and taking away from what is really YOU. And that is when frustration and dissatisfaction sets in. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing what’s new and using up-to-the-minute products – what I am trying to say is that it is not the ultimate focus…the memory keeping aspect is. Your story IS what is important. However you want to tell it is up to you but don’t lock yourself up in doing what you think everyone else wants to see. This is something I am learning as I live my life story.
I love creating. It’s one thing that makes my soul happy! I also love seeing what everyone else is creating and am constantly inspired! When it comes to creating, I always like the process better when I just let go and celebrate my own style and way. When I start feeling under pressure or getting annoyed at what I am doing, I need to step back – BREATHE – and let go. Find that place in my heart that is JUST ME and start over with a fresh perspective. By all means, draw from others ideas – that’s what inspiration and sharing is all about – but always BE YOU. When I feel light-hearted and free while creating, I know I am in the right head space and allowing myself to just let things flow MY way.
Ok! So that’s my little heart-to-heart deep and meaningful message for you 😉
Now for sharing the creative part…
I am always attracted to layouts that use a certain shape repetitively on a page. Lately, my eye has been drawn to circles – so I have embraced that and have been creating using circles in different ways.
I would like to share with you THREE different projects I have made using circles – a 12”x12” layout, a 6”x8” layout, and a 4”x6” journal card.
Here they are…
12×12” layout
Here I have created different sized circles out of patterned papers and have used my circle cutters to make my photos circular as well. I have gone with a diagonal placement of photos and background papers on the page. Doilies, flair badges, and enamel dots are great circular embellishments to continue the theme. And with it being a beachy layout and showing my girls splashing about, I thought the addition of mist inks splattered in the background brings a nice touch.
I have also used some arrows and wood veneer shapes to break it up just a little bit. And the horizontal placement of the title and journaling also balances the page more too.
6×8” layout
I have downsized the page this time – it’s a refreshing change to the larger sized layouts I usually do. And the page comes together rather quickly. They are a great size to add into your Project Life pages as an insert.
Here I have used circles as my background again but this time, I have cut out some circle shapes from the actual page and popped patterned paper behind it. It’s hard to see in the photo, but in real life the cut-outs add some depth to the page as the paper behind sits back a bit from the surface papers which is pretty cool J
To continue the circular theme I have embellished with flair again but have also added buttons into the mix.
4×6” journal card
Here I have cut down some scrap paper to the 4” by 6” size. I have used different items – such as washi tape roll, adhesive tape roll, circle cutters – to trace circles onto the paper. I then grabbed my trusty needle, popped the card onto a folded tea towel and pierced holes around the edge of the shapes. Then I threaded the needle and started stitching. I love it! It adds a great effect to the paper – do try it J
As you can see, I have made the card into my Week 9 title card for my Project Life album. The cork ‘week’ stickers are from the PDC ‘xo’ mini kit. I really love cork – it’s getting up there with wood veneer for me 😉
SUPPLIES LIST
- Bazzill 12×12 cardstock – white
- Crate Paper Maggie Holmes ‘Click’ 12×12” patterned paper
- October Afternoon ‘9to5’ 8×8” paper pad
- Amy Tangerine ‘Cut & Paste’ DieCut Cardstock shapes
- A Piece of Cake Designs flair badges (12×12 layout)
- Flutterby Designs flair badges (6×8 layout)
- Wood Veneers
- Powder Blue, Mister Hueys spray mist
- Chipboard letters and number
- Echo Park ‘This & That’ Instamatic 12×12” patterned paper (cut down to 6×4”)
- Vellum shapes
- American Crafts Thickers
- Dear Lizzy Accent and Phrase Stickers
I had so much fun putting these pieces together.
More memories recorded, my way. 😉
Hope you have enjoyed and feel just a little bit inspired. Remember, each piece is open for interpretation – if you do happen to try creating layouts inspired by my pages, please share! We would love to see what you come up with!
Happy creating…
Anna xx
Anna has a beautiful, bright blog called One Big Sunshine Spritzer. It’s full of inspiration and messages to make you feel good. Visit her HERE.
Blog Spotting | When too much is just enough…by Elle Roberts.
Hello Thursday!
Elle Roberts has started a blog called Seeking More – Staying Grateful. I love Elle. I love her positive energy. I love that she is open to helping, nurturing, supporting and guiding other creatives. I love that she is real. A mum. A daughter. A friend.
On Monday I read one of her blog posts called ‘When too much is just enough’. And I found a title for myself.
My name is Jodie and I’m a MULTI-PASSIONATE. (Cue the corny Oprah audience clap of support…).
Like many of you, I am passionate about so many things in my life.
I love being busy – with my babes, with my family, with my friends, with my work.
I love feeling like I’m constantly moving forward. I love that I don’t have time to ‘sweat the small stuff’. I get excited. I get on a high. And when I’m lying in bed, at the end of my day, I love that feeling of utter exhaustion knowing that I have had a ‘full’ day.
BUT…every now and then I reach ‘a point’. That point when I feel completely overwhelmed. That point when I think I’m going to pop under stress, pressure, deadlines and the tasks of everyday life. That point of feeling alone.
I’m a single Mum. I’m running my own business. I’m it.
If I could quickly back it off a notch, before I feel like I’m going to pop and release pink mist into the world, that moment, to me, would be bliss. That, too me, would be my ultimate happy. (I’m working on it.)
Elle’s post gave me encouragement. I am not alone. We are both single mums. We are both living our dreams. We are both trying to make the most of our ‘every day’ while doing what we love and believing in ourselves.
We are MULTI-PASSIONATES.
I think that’s what creatives are. Don’t you? We observe so much. We are open to so much. We feel so much. We take on so much.
We are all MULTI-PASSIONATES.
I love that title. Do you?
xxxx
Visit Elle’s blog, Seeking More, Staying Grateful and be inspired to embrace and find joy in your everyday life. x
Stitching and stamps and ants in my pants.
Hello Wednesday!
Lately I’m having trouble just sitting and doing nothing. I think it’s from constantly being on the go and I’m simply out of practice. While my house was quiet last weekend when my babes were visiting their dad and with my determination to ‘relax’ and watch and movie from start to finish (a real treat for me) I pulled out my collection of Amy Tangerine embroidery kits, embroidery threads and played – while relaxing of course. Here is one of the projects I did.
Not every part of the image has to be used. I chose the circle out of the centre of the camera from the ‘Capture’ embroidery stencil kit. I love the result.
The back isn’t pretty but don’t worry. No one will see it once it’s placed in our Project Life albums or on top of a card.
The next day I added some stamps from Kellie Stamps.
This is such a quick and easy little project.
xxx
PS | the movie that I watched was ‘Are We Officially Dating?’. Hilarious!
Up-cycle with Ellie.
Hello Monday!
Ellie is back and she is beginning her Art Journal BUT while she waited for her preparation of her pages to dry she got busy and made some fabulous cards with the off cuts from her journal. I LOVE this. Using what you have. Bouncing from one project to the other. WONDERFUL, and just how a crafter should be.
Hello PDC friends, it’s Ellie here!
Today I’m sharing my process of how I came to make these cards, when I actually set out to make and start my Art Journal. Sometimes I start out with an idea or a plan in my head of what I want to do, but often I go where the creativity leads me and I end making something else.
The other day Jodie asked me if I art journaled, and I have not for a long time. It got me thinking and itching to use/make one again. I was going to use a regular visual art diary, but I love to up-cycle so I headed down to my local Salvos store and grabbed a hardcover novel/book for $2.00.
Later that night I stared cutting out rectangles on multiple pages to make an internal frame. I then had all the sheets of paper I had cut out, my next thought was to paint and mist these and make flowers. I made flowers (using dies) and painted some extra sheets with watercolour paints. I had a whole plan to use these paper flowers in my art journal, and I also wanted to put some of my favourite quotes in there. Not being a huge fan of my lettering (I’m so out of practice) my next plan was to use the sketch pens on my Silhouette, which are great as the lettering looks hand drawn. What I wanted to do wasn’t quite working, so I decided to put my art journal aside and go on with my next idea, using the sketch pens to draw word art greetings for cards. Knowing that if I tried to draw onto the printed book paper the words would be hard to see, I opted for hand painted drawing paper. The paper had to be painted first before using the sketch markers as they would smudge with water. Once dry I then used the silhouette to draw/sketch my greeting on and cut around the design.
While I was waiting for the watercolor paint to dry I had some sheets of book paper that had been misted/painted already. I used some texture paste mixed with white paint and a Mr. Huey’s chevron mist mask to add some textural interest to my cards.
These cards were quick and fun to make. I will get back onto my art journal later, but I feel that I’m not ready to keep going with it yet. If something is not working for me the way I planned, and I feel I should go in a different direction by trying something else, then I do. Yes I do have a few unfinished projects, but do get onto them, when I’m ready!
Ellie xxx
I have used Mister Huey’s mists and masks from Polka Dot Creative. You can find them HERE. For my full materials list please visit my blog, My Little Bunny Cupcake.
Creating Outdoors | Stitching.
Hello Monday!
While visiting Amy Tangerine’s blog I came across this post called Craftcation Photos. Lots of gorgeous pics showing what her students created using her embroidery stencils and patterned papers. Totally inspired I took what I had on hand from Amy’s Cut & Paste and Yes, Please collections outside on our little verandah in the sun and set to work.
I had some fluffy company.
So now I have a cut little stack of 3×4 and 4×6 cards to use in my Project Life album.
Here is what I used, all of which is available in my store.
The ‘Capture’ and the ‘Inspire’ embroidery stencil kits. Both on sale now. The kits come with three different colour of embroidery thread, the piercer, a needle and piercing mat together with two fab stencils.
‘Awesome Sauce’ patterned paper by Amy Tangerine from her Cut & Paste collection.
‘A-Lister’ patterned paper by Amy Tangerine from her Cut & Paste collection.
There are lots of co-ordinating embellishments, die-cuts and stamps etc too. You can find those HERE.
Kraft patterned paper called ‘Trust’ from Amy Tangerine’s Yes, Please collection.
You can find co-ordinating embellishments, stickers, chipboard, stamps, etc of the Yes, Please collection HERE.
It was so refreshing and inspiring being outside, rugged up, on top of an old quilt and creating in the cool autumn air. Beats being cooped up in a studio especially when the sun was out. Try it. You’ll love it!
Have a great Monday all! x
Hand Painted Cards by Ellie.
Hello Wednesday!
Ellie is back today to share with us some scrumptious hand painted cards she created and then used in Project Life album. They are truly beautiful!
xxxx
Hello PDC friends!
It’s Ellie here and today I’m sharing a project life page I made using hand painted cards.
I was inspired by Jodie’s brush script and Amy Tangerine’s Plus One mini kit. I loved playing around with water colours and painting on Project life cards. It was fun and therapeutic just doing what ever I liked. I made more than I needed for a single page spread so I could pick and choose to match my layout. I used the mists as paint (great idea from Jodie) as well as water colours to paint each card. Anyone can give this ago. Grab some plain and grid Project Life cards from Polka Dot Creative and give it a go yourself!
Ellie has used:
Days of the Week Brush Script cards available at Polka Dot Creative
XO kit xo card by Polka Dot Creative
Christian themed Project Life cards – Becky Higgins
4×6 Textured Cardstock Project Life cards – Becky Higgins
Grid 3×4 Project Life cards – Becky Higgins
Plus One mini kit – Becky Higgins
Project Life Journaling Pen – Becky Higgins
Mister Huey’s mists in various colours
Various brand mists used as paints
Dear Lizzy Date stamp
Koi water colours
Ali Edwards and Amy Tangerine Stamps
Stazon on Black ink
Silhouette software
Follow Me
