Melon Bun

Happy Wednesday!! (I thought today is Thursday, humph..)

Sharing another layout with you today, a random topic layout which will be going with my Kyoto-Osaka pocket pages in the album. I learned about melon bun from an anime a few years back. I am not a big fan of anime, but I really do love this series, Yakitate!! Ja-pan. It has introduced me to a lot of different types of breads, and melon bun is one of the breads that I wish I could try, but I couldn't find it in Malaysia. 

While I was in Japan, I did not go look for it on purpose, but it happened that me and my friend decided to have our breakfast in a bread shop one day, and when I saw they have melon buns, I took one without second thought. 

Melon bun really looks like a melon

The melon bun reminds me of blue-ish green and yellow, which are the colors that I picked for this layout. And from this color combo I worked out the overall look of this layout by picking coordinated patterned papers in these colors. The layering for this layout is simple, and I really like the cupcakes border sticker from Crate Paper.

I have the journaling written on a 3x4 Project Life card and tucked that behind the photo. It adds some nice touch and details to the main cluster.

Journaling

I thought of not adding any embellishments after I finished the layout, but then I decided to leave it for a day and come back to it later. Then I realized the layout looked really bare without any embellishments. I dug into my stash and found the 'Yes, Please' banner sticker, so I used that as another small cluster of embellishments at the bottom of the page.

Yes, Please!

And a simple layout with pretty color combo is done!

I really like how the title looks. My initial idea was to use all aqua letters for melon, and yellow for bun, but I ran out of the letter 'e' from aqua and decided to mix them up. I tried using aqua letters for the first letter of the words, but that did not look nice and I don't like it at all. Then I decided to switch the letter 'l' from yellow to aqua and it just clicked. Notice how I used aqua for tall letters and yellow for short letters? I did not realize that until I had this layout photographed.

Supplies (Patterned Papers)

• Presh "Right Now" Hashtag Paper from Cut & Paste Collection by Jen Allyson from My Mind's Eye
• Air Mail from Studio Calico
• 3x4 Becky Higgins Project Life Card from Cut & Paste Collection by Amy Tangerine
• Mint Cardstock from American Crafts
• Embossed Cardstock

Supplies (Letters)

• Aqua and Yellow Letter Stickers from local bookstore

Supplies (Others)

• Pretty Party Border Stickers and DIY Shop Accent Stickers by Crate Paper
• Sn@p! Icons Stickers by Simple Stories

Any comments is appreciated and thank you for stopping by today!

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Let's Get Sketchy Design Team Call!

Do you know that Let's Get Sketchy is looking for additional 2 to 4 person to join their Design Team? Head over to this post to read all about it!

I have decided to apply for the DT after convincing myself that I CAN do it. I happened to wake up earlier than usual this morning, and the DT call for Let's Get Sketchy was just posted on the blog. I had time to think about it while I was on my morning walk/jog. After I came back from the jog, I started drafting the e-mail for the DT application. All was done except the layout for the DT call sketch, but that has to wait because I have another layout lined up for the day. 

After I finished the layout that I planned to do (which I just blogged about hours ago, at here), I chose a photo and pulled out patterned papers and a few elements that I wanted to use on this DT call layout. The basic idea of how the layout would be was all set, thanks to the sketch, but I waited until after dinner before I started putting down everything. I wanted to see how badly and how committed I am to this DT call thing. Well, it's almost 12 midnight here and I just finished transferring the photos, reviewing the e-mail that I drafted and writing this blog post at this hour, I guess it's safe to say that I DO want this.

So, after a whole lot of grandmother story, here is the layout that I did for the DT call. The sketch for the DT call can be found here. 

Layout for Let's Get Sketchy DT Call

I hope using vellum instead of another patterned paper does not count as cheating, hahaha. 

I wasn't sure what title to use on this layout, 'Best Buddies' or 'Travel Mates'. At the end decided to use our names instead because I wanted to use that ampersand.

Love this quote, and my buddy right here really has lived some of my best moments with me. Always glad to have him around.

Some simple layering and embellishing and the layout is done!

Supplies (Patterned Papers)

• Honey Edition 12x12 Patterned Paper by Becky Higgins' Project Life
• Air Mail by Tim and Beck for Studio Calico
• Hello Hello and Vellum by Studio Calico

Supplies (Letters)

• Cut Out Thickers by Amy Tangerine
• Black Stroll Thickers by American Crafts

Supplies (Embellies)

• Soda Pop Fabric Stickers by American Crafts
• Sure Thing Dimensional Stickers by Amy Tangerine
• Tag from Dear Lizzy
• Hummingbird Collectables by Kaiser Craft
• DIY Labels Stickers and Urban Traveler Chipboard Stickers by Simple Stories

I hope I am qualify for the DT call and it will be an honor to be picked as one of Let's Get Sketchy's Design Team members. It surely will be a milestone for me!

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21st Birthday

Happy Saturday! Sharing another layout with you today.

This layout is for Life.Paper.Scrapbook's May Sketch Challenge. It's a one photo layout with all the main elements vertically centered at the page. I pretty much followed the whole concept of the sketch, only added a few cluster of embellishments for more interest.

♥♥♥

I have been saving this clock patterned paper from Studio Calico for this layout, but it seems like using the whole sheet as background will be too distracting. So I cut a third of that pattern and even added a layer of vellum on top to soften the clock pattern.

♥ this title cluster ♥

Just realized the blue enamel dots are not aligned! Must have accidentally moved it while rearranging the title. Anyway, I fixed it on the layout after I found out.

♥ paper clip by amy tangerine ♥

Supplies (Patterned Papers)

• From Where I Stand, Tick Tock and Vellum by Studio Calico
• London Fog Cardstock by Bazzill
• Warm Welcome from Polka Dot Collection by Dear Lizzy, American Crafts

Supplies (Letters)

• Hello Printed Fabric Letter Stickers by Amy Tangerine
• Kut Kraft Alphabeans by Jillibean Soup

Supplies (Embellies)

• Paper Clip Set by Amy Tangerine
• Close Knit Photo Overlays Abbreviated Pack by Crate Paper
• 3x6 * Thickers and Wooden Sequins by Studio Calico
• Candy Shoppe Jellies by Queen & Co.

p/s: I made a slideshow using Flipagram which briefly showed how I put together this layout and had that posted on my Instagram. *wink*

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sake kai tanuki

Happy Sunday! Sharing another new layout that I just created for Let's Get Sketchy, May Week 2 Sketch Challenge. 

This week's sketch is a simple one, but it still has something that I have never tried, which is deliberately tilting the whole  main cluster of photo and patterned papers at an angle. Will I ever tilt the whole cluster at an angle when I scrapbook? Probably never in forever. So, thank you LGS for giving me another great idea to scrapbook in a different (non-dull) way!

The topic for this layout is a random one. When I was in Kyoto and Osaka, I have seen many of these 'raccoon-dog' statues placed at the entrance of shops and restaurants. I know about the 'beckoning cat', Maneki Neko because we do have that in Malaysia, but I have never seen a Sake Kai Tanuki, which is really cute looking (except for the overlarge scrotum, but according to this, the giant scrotum "symbolizes the promise of expanding wealth or having luck with money" *shrug*).

I decided to scrapbook this interesting culture on a 12x12 layout, since my Pocket Pages spreads for Kyoto-Osaka trip focus mainly on the places that I have visited, so there will also be a few 12x12 layouts alongside the Pocket Pages for some random topics such as this.

There are two photos on the sketch by LGS, but since I only have one photo for this layout, I swapped the second photo on the sketch to a 3x4 Project Life Card. Decided to use a photo overlay on top of the photo and PL card. Added a few patterned papers, put the title in place, decorated with some brads and buttons, a strip of washi, and sprinkled with a few (but I accidentally added too many) drops of Mustard Color Shine, and a layout is completed! Easy peasy.

♥♥♥

close up

Loving every bits of this layout!!

Classy looking wooden buttons. I should get more.

Supplies (Papers)

• Hello Hello, Kraft, Tourist and Vellum by Studio Calico
• 3x4 Becky Higgins Project Life Card from Cut & Paste Collection by Amy Tangerine

Supplies (Letters)

• Patchwork Letter & Number Sticker Book by American Crafts
• Trendsetter and Swagger Sticker Fundamentals by Fancy Pants

Supplies (Embellies & Others)

• Close Knit Photo Overlays Abbreviated Pack by Crate Paper
• Mustard Color Shine by Heidi Swapp
• 6x12 Sticker Sheet by Hello Forever for Studio Calico
• Gold Polka Dot Washi by Studio Calico
• Brads and Wooden Buttons

I had fun creating this layout with such simple sketch. Any comments appreciated.

Off Topic

My progress for Pocket Pages for Kyoto-Osaka trip is quite slow, but I have been spending most of my off work hours on weekdays to try to get at least a page or two done in a week. There are only a few more spreads left, hopefully I can get it done by end of this month. This PP is probably the longest project I have ever done (so far), and it's only for a week's worth of photos, but there will be at least 18 spreads of Pocket Pages *gasp* 

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Mama

Happy Sunday and Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mommies out there! 

I am sharing another layout, which is based on the sketch challenge #392 by Scrapbook Challenges. I made this layout about my mama, and with the help of the sketch, it has cut down half the time I needed for the thinking process. 

I needed something to help me change the way I scrapbook because I have realized that my last few layouts were about the same *facepalm* It's not a bad thing, really, finding a style of my own, but when the layouts are all about the same it gets B.O.R.I.N.G! Don't get me wrong, I still love those layouts I made, but I wanted some changes too, and this sketch challenge provides me some new insights on the way I scrapbook.

For instance, when I have more than one photo, I tend to place them side by side, either horizontally or vertically, but in this sketch, the photos are not aligned at the same level, which is something that I don't usually do. Other than that, this sketch calls for two different patterned papers for the background, which I have never tried before. I have seen a lot of examples of using two different patterned papers as the background but whenever I scrapbook, I fall back to my old way, i.e. using only one patterned paper or cardstock for the background. The good thing about using two patterned papers for this layout is that I get to keep 2/3 of the beautiful 'Bliss' patterned paper by Jen Allyson for other layout(s)!

I have started to post a picture of my 'work in progress' on Instagram lately every time I am scrapbooking. I did the same for this layout and since I haven't have any idea on the embellishments to be used at the beginning, I pulled out some buttons (which happened to be nearest to me) and picked a few and lined them up for photography purpose.

Overall concept for the layout (I swear this photo looks nicer with the filter on Instagram LOL)

It turns out the buttons are a real nice addition to the bottom of the 'I love you more than ice cream' phrase, so I moved them up there and tied a thread in one of the buttons.

♥♥♥

I came across the photo frame patterned paper by Dear Lizzy and I cut one of the frames out as the base for my title. My title is a simple one, just 'MAMA'. I love this supermodel thickers (you know, tall and skinny LOL)  by Amy Tangerine and it just fits perfectly in the frame.

Added another phrase in block at the bottom corner of the frame

After the photos and title placement, it's time for the last step of my scrapbooking process, embellishing. I couldn't find any pre-made embellishments that fits this layout, so I pulled out a few of my punches and my brads stash instead. I have been too relying on pre-made embellishments that I have forgotten all about my punches and brads. I am really glad I was able to come up with three clusters of embellishments for this page using a few simple elements which are some paper scraps, a couple of brads, a heart-shaped and flower-shaped punch outs and some blings.

First cluster

Second cluster

And a last one on the bottom of the page

After all the tedious work, the layout is finally done!

All in place!

In this layout, I have used a lot of tools and items that I have not used in a long time (punches, brads and buttons), and I have scrapbook differently from my usual routine. So glad I decided to make this layout based on the sketch by Scrapbook Challenge. Any comments are welcome!

Supplies (Papers)

• Say What? by Studio Calico
• Charm "Bliss" Delight Paper by Jen Allyson for My Mind's Eye
• Warm Welcome and Fascinating Friends from Polka Dot Party Collection by Dear Lizzy
• Embossed Cardstock

Supplies (Letters)

• Cut Out Thickers by Amy Tangerine

Supplies (Embellies and Tools)

• Buttons
• Brads
• Heart and Flower-Shaped Punches

p/s: I spent almost 4 hours editing the HTML code for this blog to include my Instagram account on the top corner of the blog, while drafting this post. It really was driving me crazy, and I have this bad habit of persistence on the wrong thing. It's two in the morning now and I have to skip my morning jog just because I am too stubborn to give up ~.~ My brain isn't functioning too well and I kept forgetting what I wanted to say in this post. So, forgive me if my post sounds a bit not right because I am really tired right now.

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Bucket List #56

Hey peeps, Happy Friday! I am so looking forward to staying at home this weekend!! Really needed to start organizing my life, so I will be doing a lot of thinking, with some crafty fun in between. Plus, it's another public holiday on the coming Tuesday, hooray! =)

Back to today's topic, another layout done! I really am quite productive these days, though only in scrapbooking, haha! 

This layout is about another item that I crossed off in my bucket list, get a self portrait by street artist. (AND I just realized I left out an 'R' in the word portrait in my layout, oh God.. *English failed*) That artist isn't really a 'street artist' because he and his partner weren't doing their business on the street, they have a proper shop, but I think even he isn't a street artist (by strict definition), I still consider this item on my list crossed off! 

I took three days to get this layout done, having a small case of creativity block (used up too much mojo juice during NSD?). First day was choosing the patterned papers and some main elements for the layout (gold mini doilies ♥♥♥), and the overall placement for it. Second day was putting down the title and choosing embellishments (supposedly, which I failed to do so). Then I decided to leave it for another day before placing everything permanently on the layout. I found a few patterned papers and laid eye on my (long forgotten) scallop border punch on the third day, and decided to use these for my second cluster of embellishments on the page. Added a few stickers here and there, and used some acetate letters to spell the word 'happy'. 

Bucket List #56 - Get a Self Portrait by Street Artist, Done ☑

3x4 PL Card is a nice spot for placing title

That about sums me up =p

♥♥♥

HAPPY

The scallop borders are a nice touch to the layout, don't you think?

Short journaling

Supplies (Papers)

• Vanilla cardstock by Studio Calico
• London Fog cardstock by Bazzill
• Daily Banners and something from Love Me Collection by My Mind's Eye
• Year-o-graphy 6x6 Paper Pad by Simple Stories
• Yes, Please 6x6 Paper Pad by Amy Tangerine

Supplies (Letters)

• Hardcover Foil Letter Stickers by American Crafts
• Kut Kraft Alphabeans by Jillibean Soup
• Raspberry Tiny Alpha Stickers by Kaiser Craft
• Tiny Alpha Stickers by Tim and Beck for Studio Calico

Supplies (Embellies)

• 6x12 Sticker Sheet by Hello Forever for Studio Calico
• Gold Mini Doilies by Studio Selections
• Die Cut Frames by Dear Lizzy
• DIY Labels Stickers by Simple Stories
• Blue Jellies by Queen & Co.
• 3x4 Becky Higgins Project Life Card from Cut & Paste Collection by Amy Tangerine

Supplies (Tools)

• Scallop Knock Out Border Punch by American Crafts

Plans for this weekend? Mother's Day is on this Sunday and I am probably going to scrapbook about my mom. Other than that, I will try to get my Kyoto-Osaka pocket pages all done, can't wait to blog about my awesome trip back in 2012!

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NSD 2014 - The Dummies Guide to Posing

My laptop is having problem reading my SD card!! Thank God I have the USB cable nearby.

I.am.back! Wow, gotta say, this is quite exhausting. I need another break (again!) after this post hahaha

This new layout is done under 90 minutes, and I spent most of the time spelling and arranging all the letter stickers, to the point that I gave up on aligning them perfectly straight in the end.

The title for this layout is a bit long, 'the Dummies Guide to Posing'. This was my brother's clever idea when we were in Hatyai last year. There is a large deity statue and everyone is posing in front of it for pictures. My brother came up with the idea of the 'forever alone' version and 'love birds' version (of course he didn't name them that, I came up with the name). This is another happy and funny layout that I really wanted to scrapbook, and I am glad I did. Loving this layout very very much.

I ordered the Becky Higgins Project Life Honey Edition 12x12 double sided designer papers last month, and I am loving the beautiful and happy colors of all the papers in that edition. I found the perfect match for my layout, a repeated camera accents in happy colors. 

Happy Colors!

Layout title on a 3x4 PL Card, again!

Style #1: Forever Alone

Style #2: Love Birds

A fun/funny layout, done!

Supplies (Papers)

• Project Life Honey Edition 12x12 Double Sided Designer Papers by Becky Higgins
• Yes Please 6x6 Paper Pad by Amy Tangerine
• 3x4 Project Life Card by Studio Calico
• 3x4 Becky Higgins Project Life Card from Amy Tangerine's Cut & Paste Edition

Supplies (Letters)

• Cut Out Thickers by Amy Tangerine
• Gold Foil Alpha by Dear Lizzy for Studio Calico
• Glitter Black Thickers by Pink Paislee for Studio Calico
• Tiny Alpha Stickers by Tim and Beck for Studio Calico
• Craft Mini Alpha by Typo

Supplies (Embellies)

• Fla!r Adhesive Badges by Amy Tangerine
• Smash Stickies by K & Co.
• Happy Words Glitter Stickers by KI Memories
• Badge, Camera Die Cut, Icon Squares and Wood Sequins by Studio Calico
• DIY Clear Stickers Messages by Simple Stories

I.need.to.rest.. Honestly, this might be my last layout for my scrapbook marathon. Three layouts, not much, but it's something. =)

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NSD 2014 - Fire a Gun (Bucket List #60)

Good Morning! I am back to share another layout. 

I needed to sleep last night and so this is only my second layout for this NSD event. A bit behind, indeed. I should speed up and get at least another 2 layouts done, hopefully.

I am not participating in all of the challenges hosted by various companies throughout the web and Instagram (it would be impossible anyway). I try to scrapbook whatever I want instead of racking up my brain to try to fit my layouts to certain challenges. So, this particular layout is not for any specific challenge, other than the #NSD10k hosted by Big Picture Classes and Studio Calico on Instagram. 

My whole point of taking up this NSD challenge is to see how many layouts that I can make in a day. I have another batch of photos waiting to be printed and I hope I can finish scrapbooking the current batch before the new one arrives (or they will be forgotten/ignored).

So here goes, another layout about my Bucket List, item #60 - Firing a Gun.

Title on a 3x4 cut apart sheet.

Ready, Set, Shoot!

Bulls Eye

Pictures, or It Didn't Happen

It was an awesome special day.

Tadaa!

Supplies (Papers)

• Curio, Flea Market Collection by Crate Paper
• a-Lister Cut Apart Sheet, Cut & Paste Collection by Amy Tangerine
• Away We Go 6x6 Paper Pad by My Mind's Eye
• Hello Hello, Today and Vellum by Studio Calico
• He Said 6x6 Paper Pad by Teresa Collins
• 3x4 Project Life Card by Studio Calico

Supplies (Letters)

• Thickers by American Crafts
• Swagger and Trendsetter Sticker Fundamentals by Fancy Pants
• Embossed Mini Alpha by Typo
• Tweet Memories Alpha Rub-ons by Heidi Grace Designs

Supplies (Embellies)

• 6x12 Sticker Sheet by Hello Forever for Studio Calico
• Badge by One Little Bird Designs for Studio Calico 
• Woodgrain Star Sequins, Printshop Gold Star Rub-Ons and 3x6 Glossy Thickers by Studio Calico

Alright, that is my second layout for NSD 10k layouts challenge. Off to get some breakfast, then continue with my scrapbooking fun. See you later!

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NSD Challenge 2014 - Hello Kinkakuji (Bucket List #7)

Happy National Scrapbook Day! I have finished my very first layout for the NSD Challenge on Two Peas in a Bucket, which is Gold Color Trends Challenge hosted by Garden Girl JenGallacher. The challenge is to use GOLD in the layout, and I have the perfect photo/story and embellishment for this challenge!

I have planned to scrapbook this particular story on last Thursday, but only managed to get the general idea of how the layout should look like, and did not get it done until today.

My Bucket List #7 is to 'Go to Kyoto, visit the Golden Pavilion', which I really did back in 2012 during my Kyoto-Osaka trip. Such 'accomplishment' (LOL) has to be recorded in scrapbook!

General Idea: Use that Gold Mini Doilies!

Bucket List #7 - Go to Kyoto, visit the Golden Pavilion

Love the Paper + Vellum Banners Combo! I'm a genius LOL

Wood Veneer Banner!!

The cloud-shaped transparencies die cuts and the Chalkboard Arrow Washi are last minute addition. Layout would probably look dull without those.

I have to admit, I regret cutting that beautiful doilies *cry* The doilies shape looks really nice and after I have cut it, I regret that immediately *sigh* Well, can't do anything about it now. Anyway, I am glad the cloud-shaped transparencies die cuts filled up the blank space nicely and gave the layout a much needed 'black'.

Oh, and I actually misted the background with Heidi Swapp's Mustard Color Shine but ended up covered most of the background. The misting can only be seen on the bottom right corner.

Supplies (Papers)

• Camera Journaling Cards from Oh, Snap Collection by Echo Park
• Presh "Right Now" Hashtag Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Hello Hello and Vellum by Studio Calico
• 3x4 Project Life Card

Supplies (Letters)

• Patchwork Letter and Number Sticker Book by American Crafts

Supplies (Embellies)

• Noteworthy Accent & Phrase Sticker Book by Amy Tangerine
• Tags by Dear Lizzy
• Chalkboard Arrow Washi by Freckled Fawn
• Daydream Fabric Stickers by Heidi Grace Designs
• Mustard Color Shine by Heidi Swapp
• Black & White Die Cut Clouds, Gold Mini Doilies, Wood Veneer Banner, Gold Polka Dot Washi by Studio Calico
• Sn@p! Icon Stickers and DIY Clear Stickers Messages by Simple Stories
• Gold Edge Die Cut Labels by Twine & Ink

Any comments are welcome! Now, off to watch an episode of Elementary before continuing my scrapbook challenge. See you later!

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It's Snowing

Hey everyone, happy Thursday! We are celebrating Labour Day here in Malaysia, so I am just sitting at home and enjoying some time alone, with some paper craft fun. ☺

But before that, I would like to share another layout that I did on last Sunday. The photo was taken in Kinkakuji in Kyoto. It's a beautiful place, really. I fell in love with Kyoto after visiting there on 2012, and I am hoping I will get to visit there again, someday. 

I have started to scrapbook the photos from my Kyoto-Osaka trip since early 2014, in pocket pages style. However, there are a few that I am going to scrapbook on conventional 12x12 layout, and this is the first layout that I did for that batch of photos.

Being born and raised in a tropical country, imagine my excitement when snow started falling from the sky, unexpectedly! It was all a coincidence. We were supposed to visit Kinkakuji a day earlier, but my friend was busy buying choo choo train model in a toy store on that day, we missed the opening hour of the temple, so I decided to postpone it to the second day. I was quite against the idea because we were supposed to leave Kyoto and head to Osaka early in the morning, but Kinkakuji is the place that one MUST visit when one is in Kyoto!! 

Anyway, we went there early in the morning, and were among the few earliest tourists that entered the temple. That gave us some time to take picture of the magnificent golden building sitting on a lake, before the crowd started to grow. 

By the end of the tour, something magical happened. It snowed. Even though it only lasted for a few minutes, but honestly, that is something that I will remember for a lifetime. ☺

Psst, look closer..

Hooray, Snow!

Finally get to use that snowman cut apart by Simple Stories

Hidden Journaling Spot!

Lovely~

It took me less than 90 minutes to get it done, from choosing the background patterned paper to embellishing the page. It's a record! And I really love love LOVE the final look.

Supplies (Papers)

• Precisely and a-Lister Cut Apart Sheet from Cut & Paste Collection by Amy Tangerine
• Sleigh Bell Trail from 25th & Pine Collection by Basic Grey
• Dots & Loops, Kraft and Vellum by Studio Calico
• Away We Go 6x6 Paper Pad by My Mind's Eye

Supplies (Letters)

• Sparkling Glitter Letter Stickers by American Crafts
• Swagger Sticker Fundamentals by Fancy Pants
• Gold Foil Alpha by Dear Lizzy for Studio Calico

Supplies (Embellies)

• Postale Index Cards by 7gypsies
• xy&z Layered Chipboard Stickers by colorbok
• Smash Stickies by K & Company
• Cut & Paste Presh Label Stickers by My Mind's Eye
• Candy Shoppe Jellies by Queen & Company
• Wood Veneer Banner and Camera by Studio Calico

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