Hiya Canaries!

Tis the season for documenting all our favourite parts of this crazy time of year, and today I'm sharing with you, a video that shows how I've set up my Document December Album.

Of course, I'm using the DD kit from Scrappy Canary (why the heck wouldn't I?! It's GORGEOUS!), and I've added a few little extras to the mix, to make the colour palette more aquas and yellows with hints of the traditional red and green.

Check it out:




I've kept the layout very easy to move around, and I'm sure, as I add photos in, I'll be switching things up, but for now I'm so happy to have managed to get this much done!

Now it's time to get those photos taken and printed out!

Back with more soon.

Merry Merry!

 Linda xx

Hi Canaries!

I'm here with a layout I made using the November Scrapbook Kit: Memorandum.


I layered up several pieces of the beautiful patterned paper from the kit, before adding a few embellishments around the page. This layout came together nice and easily--which always happens when I'm using a Scrappy Canary Kit! The complimentary elements inside just work together so beautifully!

No big tricks on this layout, other than alternating the super cute skinny washi tape for the bottom and top layers, to ground the layout a bit--which I felt it needed given the dark title thickers and the darker sections of the photo. I used a bigger photo than normal for this layout--5" x 7" and I love how my daughters sweet face really takes up a big portion of the space.

I'll be back again soon--next time I'll be showing you some of the Document December kit and what my plans are for it!

See you then!

Linda x

Hi there Canaries!

Linda here today with another Welcome To Craft post for you!

Some scrappers (and cardmakers, and project-lifers) find it hard to get a layout or spread, to look cohesive and purposeful. I'm here today to show you a couple of tips, that help to create a 'smooth', finished look to all your projects!

So first of all I'll show you my layout


The papers in this Bohemian Scrapbooking Kit from last month are REALLY bright and busy (and fabulous) but as a scrapper who loves layers, I had to be careful to ensure they all worked and still felt cohesive as an overall layout.





OK so here is my biggest tip, and it really sounds silly, but it works.


With colours, with embellishments, with everything. Even if you're working in a grid pattern, or a circular layout, work in triangles!

Here's an idea of what I mean:


As you can see from my super technical diagram (tee hee) I've worked in three sets of triangles, just for the colours. Orange is in the top left, the larger amount in the title, and a tiny pop of it as the tag.
Pink I've used in two triangles (this still counts!), and to save your eyes, I didn't add another triangle, but there are triangles for the yellow/gold elements too!

By having the elements/colours in triangle shaped zones, it helps the layout to look even, without looking too strict or pillar-like (I always imagine big pillars when I think of two rows or columns)

If you work in twos (i.e. NOT a triangle of 3), your layout will tend to look stagnant. It wont feel natural for the 'viewers' eyes, to move around the page. With a triangle, their eyes will naturally flow, and take in all the elements.
Also, if you work in twos, everything has to be SUPER even and straight, and that will end up making your layout or card, look UNEVEN. it's a crazy thing :)

Tip #2

Don't be afraid to use slightly different tones of the same colour.

I've used yellow and gold in this way. The yellow within the arrow-tag at the bottom of the main panel is a different yellow to the yellow in the 'my happiness' along the bottom, and that's different again from the gold glitter tape, BUT, because they're not right up next to each other, it totally works.


Tip #3

Use different textures and mediums. 

 Eg the top panel of arrows

If I had only used a line of the acrylic transparent arrows, this little top feature, would have faded into the background (and therefore be pointless! BUT by adding in some patterned paper arrows, and popping in the little gold foiled 'scenes from today' phrase sticker, this vignette sits comfortably at the top of the page and does a great job of giving the page a boundary, without it looking too heavy or bulky.


Tip #4

Overlap, overlap, overlap

As you can see in this photo, I've done a LOT of overlapping, and this is just a photo of one small section of the layout.

If you overlap things (eg the tags and flags onto the photo, the patterned papers over each other, the title over the patterned paper), even if only a little, it connects all the facets of the page.

If I hadn't overlapped or butted things up against other elements on the page, it would all feel like separate, floating pieces, and the layout wouldn't feel nice to look at.

Take another look.




If the 'favorite snapshot' banner had been further left, and not overlapping the photo at all, it would have felt last-minute or needless. The same goes with the little arrow/label on the bottom right of the green panel; if it sat BELOW the green panel, in the white area, it would look like its floating aimlessly out to sea.

Last tip for today, #5

Don't be afraid to give your layout borders.

I love a good white background, I'm particularly obsessed with airy, floaty layouts (thus why I choose white cardstock as my base over and over), but by adding a small, thin, or light strip of paper, or row of items (eg the arrows) to the top and/or bottom of the layout, it gives the layout grounding. It doesn't feel floating in a bad way, it feels light and airy, but purposeful.

OK! That's it for me for today, I hope I've given you some helpful tips on how to create a cohesive layout or spread!

Be sure to stop by the store to check out the latest sneaks, and if you aren't following us on Pinterest or Facebook, well, DO SO! You're missing out :)

See you again soon!

Hi Polly! Peeps!!

I'm here today with a fun little mini album I put together using the May kits. I jumbled almost all of the kits together and used the supplies, but the majority ended up being from the Tropical Twilight May Pocket Life kit, and a little from the Trade Winds May Embellishment Kit.

Now, I actually filmed an entire process video of this mini album coming together, but sadly, my video editing program is on the fritz and will NOT let me edit at all. Since I'm sure none of you want to watch an hour and a half of me cutting paper and deciding on embellishments, I have to show you photos of the final product instead. Sorry for this!

So recently, my family and I went on a short drive to a place called Serpentine Falls. I'd never been there but heard of it many years earlier. I'm so glad we went! Such a spectacular 'waterfall' (of sorts) and some incredible nature was on display!

We took a heap of photos all in the one place for once,  (usually we only get one or two photos then the kids get restless), so I thought I'd make a mini album!

I've had mini albums on the brain for several weeks now and so it was time to get to work on one! I forgot how fun  they are and how FULFILLING it is to finish an entire album (even when they're pretty short like this one!).

I hope you like it!







 Here are the first four spreads.

You can see I used the hexagon puffy stickers throughout the pages, the journalling tags, flair, several of the acrylic see-through elements.  I even brought in little strips of the washi tape that was in the kits, as a fun  way to tie all the pages together even more.

I layered smaller 3x4 journalling cards and inserts on top of the bigger 4x6 sized ones, to bring colour and interest to the bigger pages.

By inserting smaller 3x4 cards as pages in their own right, it brings extra fun to the person looking through the album. Invites them to touch it, turn the pages, with the elements from the next page peeking through.

By leaving some open pages, I've got plenty of space to add journalling :)

I love those vellum polaroid frames, used over the top of photos, but on the previous page, so you can still turn the vellum layer over, to reveal the full, clear photo on the next. Love this peek-a-boo style!

Again, it invites the reader to keep moving through the album, by showing sneaks of what is coming :)

To keep the entire album cohesive, I made sure to keep repeating elements. The puffy stickers, that bright green, the black. Its such an easy way to ensure it all flows.

 For this next page, I wanted to do something really fun.

I took a panorama photo with my phone, then split it into three equal photos. By using some flip-it photo protectors, I was able to create a pull-out/fold-out segment in the album, that still folds in neatly with the 4x6 size.

You can see on the second photo (the bottom left), that the title photo from the panorama sits nicely as a 'normal' page within the album once the flip-it protectors have been folded away.

























These last few spreads are nice and simple, as the last part of our day was too. We had a quick snack and some wild (but very tame)kangaroos hopped up to try to take advantage of the crackers we were eating! They were so beautiful and were kind enough to stay still so I could snap lots of photos!

For the last page, I wanted to keep it super simple.  I could have easily left that second last page (the one with the kraft label and the transparent/acrylic flower) as the final back cover, but I wanted to repeat the front cover, as well as have a sturdier outside to protect the album.

This entire album took about 1-1.5 hours to make (and I'm pretty slow at crafting! I overthink everything lol), it could easily take less time if you had larger photos taking up more of the pages, or if you questioned your choices less (note to self!)

I hope I've inspired you to look at your kits differently! Just because they're deisgned to work for pocket pages, doesn't mean that's all they can be used for!

See you again soon!

Hi there Polly! Peeps!!

I'm so excited to be here today with my first post as an official DT member *polishes DT badge*

I thought I'd whip up a cute layout using the May Palm Tree kit. SUCH lovely colours, and who doesn't love pretty colours, gorgeous embellishments and fun alphas? Ruth always does such a rockstar job putting these kits together!

So here's my page:


I went in with a few spray mists (gold and pink from Heidi Swapp), and did some misting, "drippage" and splatters. For the "drippage", I sprayed the mist, while holding the patterned paper up, then added some water that had been mixed with a little perfect pearls, (and sprayed that too)

Once that was dry (heat tool to the rescue!) I got my photo, and laid it on the paper, then proceeded to add smaller-than-the-photo sized pieces of patterned paper from the kit. I folded them up on the edges, changed the sizes of each piece, and even did a couple of strips towards the bottom in the grey diagonal stripe (you can only see it peeking out the bottom in the photo) and that gorgeous dark navy blue paper.

Then I added my embellies tucked all over the page, and I cut up the acrylic tag, to use the bottom half (with the quote) at the top of my page, and made it into a tag-top, to tuck in behind the other tags I hand-cut.


Here are a couple of close-up shots

The gold will dry better than the splatters are showing here, I took the shot not long after they'd been added, so they still showed that funny little ghost-ring around them.


For that little LOVE LOVE embellishment, I cut the bottom strip of that paper off, and though you can't see it, the pink LOVE piece actually only shows about 1/3 of the word (the pattern runs off the bottom of the paper). By tucking it in behind the green, I get to use it without it looking weird.

I love using up every little centimetre of paper that I can. By not wasting a whole LOVE word (and therefore taking up more of the paper), I've saved myself a huge chunk of paper, that I'll be able to use on another layout.


As you can see here, those two aqua/black tags, are handcut, and I used the bottom couple of centimetres of that patterned paper again. I simply trimmed a strip about 3cm high (along the total length of the bottom of the page), and by flipping one over, I get the mirrored effect with the colours.  Again, by tucking these in behind other pieces of patterned paper, I've managed to give the effect of a whole tag being there, when really it's just a few centimetres.

Even the hot-pink border piece around the left and top, isn't an entire piece of 12 x 12.  I cut a border (like a big letter L), then attached that on to a piece of plain white cardstock that I've used for my base, before adding the starburst background paper. (I also use the white cardstock because it helps my main background paper to sit flat, after all that misting and drippage made it curl up and warp).

Well, that's it for me today! I hope you like! It's always great when I can get a whole layout using very little patterned paper, just by being a bit crafty with how I cut it and position it on the paper.

See you again soon! Can't wait to see what you all make from this month's kits. They're seriously awesome.

Don't forget to share what you made on our Instagram account, or on our Facebook Lounge!

Hello crafty friends!

I'm here to show you a couple of fun layouts I made using the March Spearmint Leaves scrap kit.

I've been watching a lot of Jen Gallagher videos and tutorials lately, and I was so inspired by the way she makes simple layouts look so fun and inviting, that I wanted to give it a go.


This page is SO different from my usual artsy, layered, mixed media style, but I had a lot of fun making it.

I hope I've inspired you to have a go at trying something out of your ordinary!

See you again soon!

Linda x