Whole World | Inspiration

Hi guys, it's Natalie here to share with you a recent page I've made using my delicious Evalicious embellishments (try saying that 3 times fast!!!)

I can't get over how much older than her 3 years my daughter looks in this photo. On the other hand, I'm not so much digging how many chins this angle makes me appear to have. It's a little insight into the future for both of us probably ;-) Anyway, that's not the point! I'm here today to show you some of the ways I put my Evalicious supplies to good use.

Firstly, I'm all about the clustering. No floating embellishments here, it all has to be touching something. I've paired the Escape Miscellany Tags with the Documented Circle Tags because they're both round which seems to make sense, and then I've added dimension by popping an Escape V1 badge button on top too.

Secondly, I'm all about the layering. The more layers of paper I can fit behind my photo the better, in my opinion. Going from front to back I've got: my photo, a Love You Lots 3x4" Tag (with the banner cut out so it actually then sits in front of the photo), patterned paper, a Documented Label Tag, more patterned paper and lastly another Love You Lots 3x4" Tag.

And thirdly, no project is complete for me lately without some stamping. Stamping details can be added just for background noise like I've done here with the tiny hearts and 'a note' and 'evidence' etc etc. But you can also turn your stamped images into stand-out embellishments too like I've done with the eye-catching pink 'and so it goes'.

Evalicious Supplies:
Escape Miscellany Tags
Escape V1 Badge Buttons
Documented Circle Tags
Documented Label Tags
Love You Lots 3x4" Tags
And So It Goes stamp
Typewriter Love stamp set
Arrows and Words stamp set
You Make Me Smile stamp

I hope you've enjoyed my little journey into my creative process today. If you would like to share any of your Evalicious projects then we would love to see them posted in our Flikr gallery!

xxx
Natalie

Harvest | Inspiration

It's Natalie here, sharing with you one of my new favourite layouts.

Having an orchard back on my parent's farm has many benefits. There's always something to pick and a new crop to harvest. Autumn this year has seen us with an abundance of pistachios and green apples. Apple crumble is a firm favourite - especially with a crunchy roast pistachio crust. Yumm!

I took my inspiration for this layout first from the apples themselves as I punched out rows of circles from green paper. Then in one of those rare strokes of genius I realised I could fill them with bunches of round Evalicious products.

Firstly came the Badge Buttons. That one was kind of obvious.
Then I thought of all the different 1" circle stamps Evalicious has produced. These were just the perfect fit. I stamped them seperately before punching them out and mounting them on foam tape to give some dimension.

And one last hint... just when you think you want to use some fabulous Evalicious typography but it comes in the wrong size.... customise it! The banner reading "The Good Life" was going to be the perfect match for my layout but the problem was it was printed on the top of a 3x4" Tag which wouldn't fit in the cluster I envisioned. So I simply cut it out!

What have you been creating lately with your Evalicious goodies? We'd love it if you shared it with us in our very own Flikr pool! You may even win a prize at the end of the month :-)
Thanks for stopping by.

Evalicious Supplies:

Escape Badge Buttons V2
Escape Badge Buttons V3
Escape Snipsnip Labels
Escape Miscellany Tags
Real Life Large Tags
This & That Large Tags
Getaway Badge Buttons
You & Me Stamp Set
Open This Stamp Set
His & Her Story Stamp Set
I Eat Stamp

xxx
Natalie

Starfish | Inspiration

It's Natalie here today. I couldn't wait any longer to share with you my excitement about the newest Evalicious collection!  It's called Escape and is designed firstly as a travel/holiday line, but can be used for many other occasions too.

However given I've only just returned from a tropical beach-side holiday myself, I knew it was going to be perfect for scrapping the thousand new photos I've got!

With so many photos it's not going to be possible for me to only scrap single-photo pages. Plus, using multiple images always tells the story better I think. I merged these 3 i-Phone photos into a single 4x6" collage using the app 'Picframe' and printed them out as one. That means I can use all these snaps without taking up too much space on my page. Yay!

Next, with my whole story to share I grabbed one of the Large Tags from the Escape collection and typed up my journaling. They're big enough to write quite a bit without being too obtrusive on your page, and it created a nice balance against my photos. I layered up a few other tags in both my clusters too. Foam tape is definitely your friend with this technique ;-)

Lastly, it's all about the stamped details for me. I like to include the date on my pages so the 'photographed' stamp from the Hello Photo set created a lovely space for it, and the Cloud Outline was a fun decoration in the opposite corner.

Have you got holiday snaps to scrap? If so, you'll definitely want to get your hands on the Escape collection. They're just perfect!

Supplies: 
Escape Large Tags
Escape Miscellany Tags
Escape Snipsnip Labels
Escape V1 Badge Buttons
Hello Photo Stamp Set
Cloud Outline Stamp

Back to reality for me now.
See you next time.
xx
Natalie

Finding Balance | Tutorial

Heeellllo!! It's Natalie here, back from passing exams and having celebratory holidays; excited and ready to pass on some technique tips ;-)

In the video you'll see my process of how I tackled this layout. It's the complete deal, from start to finish (well.. actually... minus the end part where the batteries ran out on my camera and so you don't get the final embellishments and journaling. Sorry!) But all the important parts are there. What you'll also notice is what an indecisive scrapper I am. I didn't really plan this layout before I turned on the camera so you see the real deal. You see me try out different embellishments in different places, then think they're not working and move them... only to move them back again!



Feel free to just sit back and watch the video and see for yourself what I've done. But I'm also going to explain some of the techniques in more detail here too.

The main technique focus on this layout is the background colouring. Here's how I did it.....
First I swiped some gesso onto my background paper with an old credit card. The credit card trick means it goes on quite thin which will allow it to dry almost instantly and creates a waterproof layer for the next step. Then I spray some water lightly over the gesso, flick on some mist, then spray more water onto it to move the colour around. It will pool in certain areas and create a lovely water-colour effect that's so popular currently.

To create more depth in my background I used Distress Ink that's a slightly darker colour than my water-colour and sponged it on through a stencil in random areas. It just gives it slightly more interest I think. But the real star of the show is of course the fabulous Evalicious Real Life Page Tabs that are scattered across the page. I tried to challenge myself to use a whole packet on one layout and I didn't even come close! There's just too many in a packet if you cut them all up like I did. Plus I was only really choosing the ones that matched the colours on my page ;-)

Because this page is quite flat I felt I needed to add some extra texture to it (that's how my brain works anyway!) So I included some twine stapled to the background layers and finished it off with messy stitching on my machine. My journaling came last and I added it to the top and the bottom for balance. Sorry.... pun intended!

Evalicious Supplies:
Love You Lots 3x4 Tags
Real Life Page Tabs
So Daily V1 Badge Buttons

Feeling inspired to dive into some great Evalicious products?  Don't forget to post your work in our Evalicious Flickr pool here. We will be selecting a project that catches our eyes every few weeks and award the artist with a gift card code to spend in the shop.... and you know all the new goodies are in stock so what are you waiting for!

Happy Scrapping
Natalie

Reach for the Stars | Inspiration

When I sit down to scrap I usually start off with the story I want to tell. Next I pick some photos that will work to help tell that story. Having the photos decided helps me with the next stage which is all about choosing a colour scheme. Only then comes the fun part about picking papers, alphas, journal cards and embellishments.

So when I sat down (or rather stood) at my scrap desk on this occasion I had in mind that I wanted to share the story of my youngest daughters ideas on getting big. (Yes, I stand up to scrap... what do you do?) You see, she has it in her mind that she's not a 'big girl' until she's tall enough to touch the roof. It's a simple thing, but that's how she views the world right now. And that makes it significant enough for me to want to scrap it!

Once I chose some photos I drew my colour scheme straight from the shirt she's wearing - grey, pink and black. I added some red highlights and turned some of that grey into silver sparkles as well.

Turning to my Evalicious stash I was able to pick out some products that would work with the colour scheme. Like usual (for me) I knew I would need one of the journal cards to type all my journalling on and it would become quite a prominent feature on my layout, so I had to choose carefully. One of the cards from the Love You Lots 3x4 Tags was perfect.

Sticking with the Love You Lots collection I also chose some Snipsnip Page Tabs and Miscellany Tags to use as embellishments. The last thing I always add to my layouts is some stamped details. I think they give the page the right finishing touch. Here I used the Daily Note, Arrows and Words, and This is So You stamp with black ink to coordinate.

I would love to hear back from some of our followers though.... what's your process when you scrap? Do you start with a story like I do, or do you choose photos first? Or something else entirely?

xxx
Natalie

Perfect Autumn Moment | Inspiration

Hello! It's Natalie with you today. 
I know all you lucky Nothern-Hemispherians are beginning to feel the warmth of spring, but here in Australia we're going full steam ahead into Autumn. Personally I much prefer the sunshine, but you have to admit that nothing compares to the vibrance and beauty of the natural colours of what many of you call 'Fall'. It was that classic colour scheme I had in mind when I sat down to create my Inspiration Layout.

After pulling out the papers I was going to work with I began to hunt through my Evalicious stash to figure out what I would use. What tags and badges were going to match the colour scheme best I thought?

Once I discovered the So Daily Snipsnip tags had all the right colours in them I figured I would get out the whole collection from So Daily because obviously they would all match!! Too Easy! Now I've got the basis for my layout sorted. (ahhemmm.... yes I took the photo of my stash after I made my layout which is why all the bits I used are now missing!)

It didn't take much work from there to simply layer up paint and paper and plenty of tags! I like my layouts to be quite textural but not too 'fat' so the badge buttons are the perfect embellishment for me. Clustering two of them together like this just makes them stand out even more I think.

Have you ever been so inspired by one of our Evalicious collections that you just had to have it all? And then used the variety of the products all on one page like I have? If so, we would love to see it posted in our Flikr gallery! Every so often we chose a project that's caught our eye to feature here on the blog and to win a prize. Here's what I used on my page:

So Daily Large Tags
So Daily Snipsnip Labels
So Daily Page Tabs
So Daily Badge Buttons V1
Stamps: Look Here
Stamps: Label It Set

There's only one more day left for the Evalicious challenge! Post your tutorial-inspired Evalicious creations in our shopEvalicious.com Flickr pool and link them up in the comments here for a chance to win some Evalicious product! The deadline is Saturday, March 30th at midnight. The winner will be announced on March 31st.

xxx

Natalie

Repetitive Stamping | Tutorial

It's Natalie here with you again. I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend? Today it's my turn to share with you a tutorial as I'm the last of the DT girls to do so (in this first round anyway!) I'm sure you've been enjoying them all as much as I have.

What I thought I would share with you is two things.....

One: this video takes you through my process from start to finish as I put this layout together. It's in fast-forward because it would be tedious to take you on the very long journey in real life (I'm a pretty slow and indecisive scrapper, and if you've watched any of my other videos you'll see that I like to put things here, then move them there.... then move them back again to where they began! LOL!)

Two: what I wanted to focus on today is the technique that I've called 'repetitive stamping'. Or another way that I like to think of it is 'making your own patterned paper'. Because what I mean by that is taking one single stamp and using it over and over to create your own pattern.

In the video you'll see that I've done that in a few different ways. I used the Cloud Outline stamp to make my own patterned paper (and I've painted in the clouds to add some more colour). I used the Seriously Arrow stamp to create my own border strip. And I used the 'hello' from the Typewriter Love Set to make a little text embellishment.

Even though I've done a tonne of stamping on this page, because I've only used the 3 images it keeps it from looking too cluttered and busy. What it also means is that apart from some other Evalicious Tags I've not needed to use any other embellishments (and that's always good for the budget! LOL!)

PS. My page is about that look of wonderment and awe on my youngest' face whenever her Daddy tells her a story. I know that in a few years time those same stories are only going to generate an eye-roll and perhaps a groan of "I've heard it all before" so I thought I better capture it whilst I can!!

xxx

Evalicious Supplies:
Cloud Outline Stamp
Seriously Arrow Stamp
Typewriter Love Stamp Set
My Week Snipsnip Tags
Documented Circle Tags

So Perfect Together | Inspiration

Howdy folks, it's Natalie here today ready to share my latest Evalicious project and hoping to inspire you just in time for a couple of days off to get creative. After working all the way through last weekend I for one am so grateful it's Friday!

What I'm also grateful for is a stay-at-home-husband who looks after our girls, who cooks all the meals and who does pretty much all the housework. I'm not sure how we'd survive as a family if it wasn't for him. Now I know it's becoming more common for this 'role reversal' where it's the husband who's the homemaker while I go out and work full time, but occasionally we find we still have to break some assumptions.

For example it's been more than once that the mail comes addressed to my husband as the doctor, rather than me. But we both have a bit of a chuckle - and plus I think he secretly doesn't mind it (and neither do I especially when it's a bill!)

So I wanted to do this layout dedicated to my supportive husband and how we compliment each other perfectly :-) In fact, it all started with those cute You and Me stamps which I stamped repeatedly onto some cardstock and then easily punched out with a 1" circle punch. Scattering them across the page like this reminds me of the the confetti trend which is still popular at the moment, but on a larger scale.

By making the stamps in different tones of the same colour, overlapping them, jumbling them up, having them point at one another and generally creating confusion I figured it was the perfect representation of our relationship!! LOL!

Have a good weekend everyone :-)

Evalicious Supplies:
So Daily Large Tags
My Week Snipsnip Tags
You and Me Stamp
Take Note Stamp
Hello Arrow Stamp

This Happened Today | Inspiration

Hello there Evalicious fans! It's Natalie here and I'm super-excited to be sharing my first post as a DT member with you. My layout today is all about that fabulously scary moment when your child loses their first tooth. It's bittersweet isn't it, to see them growing up right before your eyes?

I knew this was a memory that required some journaling, and one of the 3x4 cards was going to be perfect to type a few words onto. With such a huge variety of them in the store, the hardest part was choosing which one, but I finally settled on a card from the Love You Lots packet.

I planned this layout with a certain colour scheme in mind (something that's quite rare for me I admit!) I was aiming for predominantly caramel and cream colours with splashes of turquoise and red, so I carefully chose my embellishments wth that in mind. I picked some of the tabs out from the So Daily packet, and used the badge button from Real Life V2.

But the beauty of having access to the stamps meant I could make my own version of some tags too! I stamped and embossed "This Happened Today" and the "Hello Hexagon" onto kraft card and cut around them. By stamping in my chosen colours they instantly coordinated of course.

Have you been using any of the Evalicious stamps on your projects? Or what about the journal cards or badge buttons? We'd love it if you shared your projects with us in the Evalicious Flikr gallery, and every so often a winner will be chosen to receive some Evalicious goodies!

Supplies:
Love You Lots 3x4 Tags
So Daily Page Tabs
Real Life V2 badge buttons
"This Happened Today" stamp
"Hello Hexagon" stamp

xxx