Hello Teen Layout | with Nicole

Good morning Doodlebug fans! Nicole here to talk about using your basics. We all have those items in our stash that are great staples, but often get overlooked with all the fun patterned paper out there.

I created this page using some of those great basics and you can too!

I used a combination of patterned papers in a few of the 6x6 petite prints paper pads to fill in my large diecut title and alternate up and down my page in various color blocking. It wasn't too hard to choose which colors to use as the double sided paper pads have so much variety in them! I used a mixture of grid and polka dot patterns for my page.

I just love the Boutique Buttons, so I grabbed the ones that co-ordinated with the papers that I chose and added some repeating rows along each color block in Limeade, Denim, Tangerine and Swimming Pool and mixed in some Matte Sprinkles from the Birthday Boy and Zoo collections too.

It is really easy to pull together a page using just the basics and it turn out more than just basic! I hope you are inspired to break out some of your own Doodlebug basics and get to work too!

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Cream & Sugar Collection: Sweet Tooth Layout by Melinda

Who struggles with actually using their favourite papers or those embellishments that are just far too cute to ever apply to a layout in fear of not being able to replace them ever again? Well Cream & Sugar just has me weak at the knees and I can honestly say that I struggled so much with applying the first pieces to this layout. I kept thinking "oh I can't use that one, it's my favourite"... so I had to be brave and simply 'go for it'. Mind you, once I got going I couldn't stop! Safe to say, I'm going to have to re-order another whole set of 'embellies' to this totally addictive and adorable collection.

The Story | My youngest son runs a close second to his father in the sweet-tooth race at our house so this collection had his name written all over it... especially with the cute pink piggy cupcake he chose from the bakery at a recent shopping trip.

Colour | Try not to get caught up in the war of gender specific colours for boys and girls. We don't seem to mind using darker colours for girls but sometimes hesitate in using softer hues on layouts for our little men. If you have the perfect collection for your photos but the colouring is all wrong then don't forget you can print your photos in black and white.

Journaling | The importance of journaling is paramount in memory keeping. Our layouts can be as pretty as a picture but just remember that in a few years or even decades down the track it's the notes we keep that are crucial components to the history of the photo.

Tips | If you ever work with collage elements on your layouts, cards or projects it always helps to place the largest of the embellishments down first. This will create an immediate balance to your collage and make filling in the smaller gaps much easier. Dimensional pieces such as the Doodle-Pops also work perfectly to create that extra 'pop' to the overall effect.

And finally... don't you just love those wee little faces on the elements within the Cream & Sugar collection. Especially the teenie tiny coffee bean sprinkles. Seriously it's a collection to hoard!

Melinda Spinks

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Under the Sea Collection: 'Name Frame II' by Melinda

Hello and welcome, it's Melinda with you today and... No, you are not seeing double! Yes, this is another 'name frame' however this time I have created a 'girly' version for a special little poppet in our family. It would be safe to say that I'm kinda addicted to creating these frames because I'm a 'sucker' for all these adorable elements.

Under the Sea is perfect for all those girly photos that include water or swimming or even fish tanks etc. However, there's no reason why you can't create a photo-less piece of artwork to adorn someone's wall. There's plenty of colour choice in the collection to co-ordinate with most little girls' bedrooms.

And just look at those 'cutie patootie' Doodle Pops and Icon Stickers. I crammed almost every last piece onto the artwork as I didn't have the heart to leave anything off.

And just in case you haven't seen them yet... YES, I have used some of the latest Matte Sprinkles which are wonderful for taking photos as you don't get the shine like you do with some of the glittery versions.

You can view the complete 'Under the Sea' collection HERE

Thank you for stopping by today - Melinda

Anchors Aweigh Collection: 'Name Frame' by Melinda

Seriously, Anchors Aweigh has to be the cutest little boy's collection ever and the reason why I had such a hard time convincing my four year old that he was to 'STAY AWAY from the stickers'! Usually I'd let him choose a sticker off my icon sheet and hope like mad he didn't take my favourite. However, this time he did get to choose where to place some of the icons seeing as this frame is for HIS bedroom wall.

As with all my collage circles I lay down the largest pieces first, however this time I had to take into account my son's name. Then it was a matter of filling in the gaps!

My new motto: If you can't decide which stickers to use... use them all!

I love adding Doodle Pops as they are exactly the same size as the larger stickers on the Icon Sheet yet they are mounted with a duplicate using foam pop dots which adds wonderful dimension to the project.

The complete Anchors Aweigh collection can be viewed HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today and don't forget next week we start sharing our projects using Anchors Aweigh sister collection 'UNDER THE SEA' where I will revealing another name frame.

Pot O' Gold Collection: Patrick Layout by Melinda Spinks

Hello Doodlebug peeps... it's Melinda with you today and I'm closing the week with another Pot O' Gold project. St Patrick's Day was always a day of frivolity and much celebration as it was my father's birthday, and yes, his name was Patrick. Sadly we lost him to cancer and St Paddie's Day has never been the same for our family.

There were so many cute patterned papers with this collection that I decided I had to come up with a plan to use them all... I went with patchwork!

I always love hand stitching on my layouts so I decided I wanted a four leaf clover stitched over the patchwork to act as a backdrop for the photo of my Dad. I printed out a template to use as a guide for the stitching.

Once I'd finished the stitching it was all about embellishing... which just happens to be the most fun part of any project! I couldn't resist the super cute little froggy and the new matte finish on the sprinkles.

I really wanted to use white alphas on my layout but they fused too much with the background so I dabbled with a little splash of water colour to allow just a hint more of the lettering to stand out. Then the layout seemed unbalanced so I added a touch more water colour to the top of the layout to even things out.

Well that's it for this week's Pot O' Gold projects, however, be sure to stop by next week for some bright and beautiful ideas using the new 'Swiss Dots Petite Prints'.