Helloo there.... Bernii here...

Well today I am sharing something a little bit different from my usual Project Life spreads..I found some time to play along with the main Watermelon Gelato kit and I had so much fun. The kit is still available in the Polly! shop HERE. 

 I usually end up doing traditional scrapbook pages of the all the extra events I do not use in my Project Life album, or want to add more journalling about. So this layout was on of the extra layouts I wanted to create as an extra.. to record this fun afternoon I had with my children..

I loved the really fun and bright colours that were in this kit and the super cute embellishments ..

Hello again, today I am sharing a mini album I made with December's Watermelon Gelato Scrapbook Kit. Mini albums are my new obsession, they are a great size for just documenting a single event and make fabulous gifts. I am going to walk you through the steps I did to make this (I didn't think to take pictures until I was done - sorry about that).
Next step was to adhere the patterned paper to the base, I cut the paper slightly bigger than the album just in case and then used modge-podge to stick it down, once it was dry I trimmed it down.
Next I took some white acrylic paint and a stiff paint brush and lightly painted over the patterned paper, you need to make sure you keep it thin because otherwise you will not be able to see the paper. Then I took a stencil and applied some texture paste. If you don't have a stencil you could cut one with your silhouette or even by hand. Then I added some watercolour paint when the paste was almost set to give the stencilled hearts some colour.
Once the base is complete you can get to decorating it. I cut a frame from the Dear Lizzy paper coloured it with some watercolours, then cut some of the transparency to make a sequin pocket. (These ones are from my own stash but there are some gorgeous wooden ones in the kit). Finally I tied the whole thing together with some seam binding I had laying around.

Hopefully this has given you some ideas to create your own mini using the December Kit. If you make one (or any other project with your Polly Kit) make sure to share it on our Facebook Page or on Instagram with #pollyscrap.

Hello there, happy new year! It seems like a long time since I have posted but I have been working away at some new projects and am looking forward to doing lots of scrappy projects here at Polly! in the coming year.

Today I wanted to share with you a new page I made with the December Main Kit - Watermelon Gelato. This is such a fun, bright kit that instantly brings summer to your mind, perfect for scrapping those holiday pics.

With this layout I decided to try something different by doing an 8.5x11 layout which is something I hardly ever do - I think I have made maybe two ever!
This page is about me gardening which is also something I seldom do because I manage to kill everything. So this year I wanted to grow some tomatoes and other vegetables. I thought the colours in this kit were perfect for this photo as well as the strawberry embellishments. Also I loved the little "The Good Life" sticker for a gardening page (most of you probably don't remember that show, my parents watched re-runs all the time, I think they wanted to go all alternative like Tom and Barbara), I think these Mambi stickers are perfect for adding an accent over blank space on photos.
I used a sketch by Shimelle for this layout but I wanted to add a couple more layers. I also wanted to make the embellishments a little more layered so I cut some of the circles from the Maggie Holmes Fine China Paper.

This page is made completely from the main kit however once I finished I realised I had actually cut my paper 11.5x8, clearly I was having a very ditzy moment, so I needed to strip the top and then mounted the whole layout on some pink cardstock from my stash.

I hope that has given you a few ideas for how to use your kit and remember if you share your work on facebook or instagram make sure you use #pollyscrap so we can check out all your fabulous creations.
Have a great day,
Manda

 

I often hear scrapbookers saying they cannot use this or that product because they have boys.. I get that, really I do! but on the other hand, I really like hot pink! There is heaps of fushia in my favourite new lines and I want to play with cute flowers, butterflies and girly stuff in my hobby that fills a need for me to do something that is for me. But my photo today was my son's birthday party. Should I use the products I have in front of me that are inspiring me right now, the colour palette I wanted to use today or should I go find something blue and boyish? Should I use these products for a different photo, of my daughter perhaps? Is this memory all his, or is this creative play for me? 

I think it isn't a simple answer, and I know that a lot of people will be adamantly certain that this is his memory and about him and it would be wrong to use hot pink. For me it is important that I remember why I am doing this and what makes this hobby continue to bring me happiness. One reason is that I love to write down stories and memories so that I don't forget these moments. Another equally important reason, however, is that this is a chance for me to unwind and de-stress, and I need to be able to make my own rules for that. It makes me happy to use hot pink some days. This was one of those days. This is a happy memory and this pink is so happy that is fit the tone and feel of the story for me. Others might think it's weird, but I'm ok with that. 

This layout is using the colour palette for the Life.Paper.Scrapbook December challenge. Head over to their blog for more examples. I was a little surprised to see that this month, with a hot pink, light pink, red, kraft and emerald colour palette, which I think is pretty girly, that more than half the team examples seem to be photos of boys! It is clearly not just me who is willing to face down the stereotype.

 

The layout is using the Polly! Scrap December main kit, Watermelon Gelato, with the exclusive Amy Tan camera's in it. It is a pretty simple layout, but I am not a terribly complicated scrapbooker, I like to play a bit with paper and then get my story included without making it into too difficult a process (I usually create at night when I a little tired and not terribly dexterous too).



The story for this layout is tucked into the stitched vellum pocket that is behind the photo. I put two journalling cards in there, one with confetti as it was a celebration and I thought that added a feel to the photo of party-time, and one with journalling on it. This party was one of those times when you stop and think about what life was like 12 months ago and realise how far we have come.

 

I wrote to my son, telling him how amazing he is, and how I did not expect to be here in 12 months. He used to find playcentres very stressful and has been known to hide under the tables covering his ears when he was younger, but his progress makes me so proud and when he asked to have his party at this place, we agreed, if a little apprehensively. It could not have been more successful and I am so delighted with how he has been growing up and learning how to cope in situations that he would have had a meltdown in before, and even learning to enjoy things that he couldn't handle before.



Here is the whole layout, it is a very happy page for me, full of happy colours and images. Peeking through the frames at party plates of pink and green. I love how it turned out and how it evokes the feeling of those moments. Join in this challenge with Life,Paper.Scrapbook and you could win a seat in Becky Higgin's latest class at BPC, an awesome class about cultivating a good life and recording it, called Project Real Life. Head over to the LPS blog now to join in!!  

If you like the look of Watermelon Gelato, the December kit, there are still a few available, so pop into the Polly shop.

Please note that while I may pop to the post office now and then, time permitting, the next official shipping date for any order in the store is after January 13th as I will be on holidays between now and then. 

I wanted to take a quick moment to thank you all for your loyal support this year, in a year filled with transitions and wonderful changes for me and Polly! Thank you so much, if I don't take my turn on the blog before then, please have a safe and happy holidays. 

xx Ruth
*please note that this post originally appeared on my personal blog*