Back to School: First Day Layout by Melinda

Hello and happy Thursday! It's Melinda with you today and I am going to stand on my soap box and admit that school photos are usually the last pics I choose to scrap. I don't know why... I think it's because I can never come up with fun designs and I struggle with the primary colours... where's the pastels!!! Well Cynthea must have been listening because she has designed THE most gorgeous 'Back to School' collection that actually ticks all the boxes. Fun theme, primary colours with a hint of pastels and measuring tape washi! Yes you read that correctly!

My son is now in grade three so it truly has taken me a while to drag these photos out.

Now I know I've done a few of these collages as I love to play around with lots and lots of ephemera... I just can't help myself. So, if you would like to have a go yourself then I'll briefly explain my process and give you a few tips that I've learnt along the way.

Step 1: I found an apple shape on the internet and printed it out to the size I required then placed it onto my cardstock and using a hand-held embossing tool I marked the outline. I usually find it best to place my cardstock on top of a cork mat so the indentation comes through. You could use pencil but it becomes a bit tricky to erase it afterwards.

Step 2: I always start laying down the largest embellishments first so I have them balanced across the shape and I place my photo temporarily on the layout so I don't have to worry about putting pieces behind it.

Step 3: Next I fill in the rest of the shape with smaller pieces being careful to really watch my colours so I don't overdo the one colour too much in the one place.

Step 4: Finally I use Epoxy Sprinkles to fill all the small gaps and to complete the outline. The more gapes you fill the crisper the shape becomes.

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope I have given you some ideas in how to get the most out of all your stickers, brads, buttons and epoxies and a way that perhaps you hadn't thought about or just hadn't attempted yet.

Sprinkle it with Love - Vellum is back!

It's Monday! Can you believe the weekend has been and gone and here we are at the beginning of a brand new week and the start of our SPRINKLES VELLUM Spectacular. For the next two weeks our design team are going to showcase different ways of using this super cute product and hopefully inspire you to renew your love of vellum as it makes a resurgence in popularity.

'IN MY LIFE' Layout
by Melinda Spinks

Hello everyone, it's Melinda with you today and I'm here to share a layout I created that will hopefully give you a few ideas on how to use the Sprinkles Vellum in multiple layers.

Firstly I cut 5mm strips of the Bumblebee Vellum and layered them over each other to create a criss-cross background pattern. To adhere each strip I used a 3mm wide double sided tape which I am pleased to say doesn't show through as the Sprinkles vellum is slightly thicker than standard vellum and the colour and spots also help to hide adhesives.

I also dragged out my old Martha Stewart butterfly punch to cut this sweet little shape using the Peacock Vellum. Now I would normally recommend punching your vellum with a piece of standard copy paper behind it so the punch doesn't chew your vellum. However the extra thickness of the Sprinkles vellum worked perfectly in the punch. You may need to use the extra piece of paper with finer detailed punches.

And how lucky are we? Yes the Doodlebug Design team have been spoilt with a gorgeous selection of Petaloo flowers to play with. I must admit it has been quite some time since I've used flowers on a layout so after a slow start I realised just how much I've missed them.

I decided to add a few vellum leaves (Limeade Sprinkles Vellum) behind the floral embellishments which I adhered using a simple white craft glue that dries relatively clear. I wasn't too concerned with how much I used as I knew the tacky ends would be hiding underneath the flowers. However, it really only took a small drop to stick those leaves in place.

Doodlebug Supplies Used:
Sprinkles Vellum - Bumblebee, Cupcake, Limeade, Peacock
Sequins - Bumblebee, Cupcake, Limeade, Swimming Pool
Arrow Sprinkles - Bumbdlee, Cupcake, Limeade, Swimming Pool
This and That Stickers - Kraft In Colour, Springtime
Expressions Rub-ons

Other:
Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Black Velvet
Petaloo Flowers
Embroidery Thread - White
Punches - Butterfly, Leaf

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for more ideas on adding the Sprinkles Vellum to your craft projects.

Decorated Dress Form with Doodlebug Sequins

By Melinda Spinks

Happy Friday to everyone and also the final day of our sequin extravaganza! It's Melinda with you today and I'm here to share a project I created for my teenage daughter who has sadly outgrown all things pink, frilly and covered in glitter. So her bedroom is currently undergoing a make-over and she has chosen a shabby chic style that 'must' include the Union Jack in as many places as possible.

I've had this dress-form sitting on my desk for quite a while and I've spent much time staring at it and wondering how I could decorate the darn thing so it would work in with her room. So glad for the light-bulb moment that gave me the idea to create a Union Jack using the Doodlebug Sequins... not so glad at how long it took me to stick them all down.

I really wanted to soften the look of the skirt in contrast to the bold and bright sequinned bodice so I created layers of triangles using the Doodlebug Sprinkles Vellum in Lily white.

And finally I needed to cover the join between the sequins and the vellum so used a waist-band of ribbon and the gorgeous Petaloo flowers that were part of a product swap between the two companies. Thank you Petaloo!  Now I must admit that I did give my flowers a spritz of colour so they would blend in more with the red, white and blue. Happy to note the flowers took the colour well and dried very quickly.

Thank you for dropping by today and I wish you all a safe weekend. Don't forget to join us on Monday for the start of our vellum inspired projects.

Supplies Used:
Doodlebug Sequins - Blue Jean
Doodlebug Sequins - Ladybug
Doodlebug Sequins - Lily White
Doodlebug Sprinkles Vellum - Lily White
Petaloo Flowers