Thoughtful Thursday: Amanda Baldwin: Posting Positivity!

Hi A Piece Of Cake Lovelies!

Amanda here, sharing an absolutely uplifting Thoughtful Thursday with you! :)

How's your week been so far?

Our gorgeous Miss M has been having a bit of a challenging time of late - it seems 9 is the new 13! And friendships are at a difficult stage... 

So sad when she is such a sweet and innocent soul. 

So what to do?

Well, it got me thinking about the importance of positive messages and affirmations for children. 

Children even growing up ones, need to be surrounded by radiating love.

In our family, we believe in the power of the mind - and  literally, 

"What you think, you become...."

So it's super important that we embrace our daughter's growth and change with nothing but pure positive support. 

So.......

 I've decided to create M an 8.5" x 11" album full of beautiful photographs 

(for 'those days' when you may feel vulnerable about yourself ) 

&

lots of uplifting quotes, affirmations and wonderful memories.

I am hoping that on days when she comes home from school teary-eyed, 

she can flick through this album and feel the love!

Have you seen our fabulous July Main Cake Kit ?

Gorgeous, huh?

Well, if you look carefully, you'll spy the Simple Stories: So Fancy 4x4 Elements cards -

 which have some really wonderful words on them.

Perfect for a page in Miss M's new affirmations album! 

Here it 'tis.....

"You are..."

Told you she was a sweetie! Isn't she beautiful?!

Hopefully, pages like these will serve as good reminders :)

And how awesome are those 4 x 4 Element cards?! 

So Fancy stickers too!

Let's take a closer peak......

As this is such a 'clean' design layout, I added just a lil messy stitching for texture.

And, one small distressed panel stitched into place for dimension & interest.

Isn't that typewriter sticker divine?!!

& speaking of stickers, this one below would have to be my favourite.......

A golden patchwork heart! Soooooo prettty! 

(Just like our precious Miss!)

Ooooh, and I tucked a few of those golden flower sequins under my photograph too - they're just the right amount of embellishing without being too much!

And that's where I've been at this week - 

filling a new album with pretty, happy moments that uplift and inspire!

(Oh, & we've started mum and daughter yoga again - 

more mindfulness, centering and focusing on strength. )

Having loads of fun and laughing as we fall out of our poses, lol! 

Thanks for stopping by beautiful people, 

Happy Arty Days,

Amanda xo

Workspace Wednesday: Amanda Baldwin: Where's Washi?!

Hi A Piece of Cake lovelies!

Welcome back for another Workspace Wednesday with Amanda!

If you're one of our awesome subscribers, then you've probably just started playing with the delicious new July Main Cake kit......

Prettiness overload here!
If you don't have a subscription, don't worry!
You can always try your luck on SALE night,
 OR for guaranteed joy,
 read all about our subscription offers  here, 
So you never miss out on all this scrap happiness again!

Anyways, it's Workspace Wednesday & I spy washi tape in the new kit!
How do you like to store your washi tape?
I like to keep mine in this cute teal dish....

 (um, ok,  that really is a chip 'n' dip platter)
But it's super cute,
easy to reach on my desk,
And....it's teal!
(I have a thing for teal, gold and or mint accessories! ;) )

Yep, grab & go is definitely workspace friendly!

When I opened up this scrumptious new kit, I just had to get that washi into my stash pronto!

I was also immediately drawn in by these yummies...

Needless to say they're also what's on my desk today - 

& here's what I created with them....

"Hello Awesome"

Such a sucker for gold & Crate Paper!

Luuurvve those arrows - bringing attention straight to my photo -

 & how sweet is that photo?!

 One of my faves! 

Literally, 'hello awesome', hence the title.

And speaking of titles, how fabulous are those puffy gold stickers?

It's hard to believe that they're stickers! So beautifully crafted!!!
Here's another view...

Some Simple Stories, So Fancy sticker love here too!

And that oversized paperclip?! Well, it just had to go on my gold page!

Too cute!

& there you have it!

My first layout with the new July Kit - hope I've inspired you! 

Thanks for visiting & leaving a comment, 

Let me know how you store your washi tape,

Or better yet,

 tag us in your storage pic on instagram @apieceofcakedesigns

we'd love to see!

til next time,

Happy Arty Days xo

Messy Monday- Belinda Griffin: 'Always be you'

Hi All,

Belinda here today with my very first post! All those who have recieved their kits will already know just how gorgeous they are this month, as always. I was super excited to recieve my cupcake kit, my brain has been overflowing with ideas ever since.

Those who have seen my layouts before will know I'm not a very 'messy' scrapper. I tend to shy away from too much paint, mixed media etc. But I absolutely adored this paint colour and wanted to make it a feature on my first layout. To keep things in line with my own style I decided I wanted to use it to create my own graphic, bold background. I lined my page with tape and then used the cute little roller to paint over the entire page, creating a fun striped background. Isn't the colour of this paint so pretty?!

Because I wanted the paint to be the focal point of the layout I kept the rest simple with lots of white space. A few layers of the gorgeous Happy Things Papers under one photo and the tag under the other added dimension, whilst the sweet little alphas helped create the perfect title.

I wrapped some of the twine around the bottom of the smaller photo, I love doing this on photos/tags, it adds a great little focal point. I also added some little triangles of the pink washi tape, this is one of my favourite little quick and easy DIY embellishments, it helps add some extra interest and draw focus to the photos.

Of course I had to add one of the patterned wood veneer, I was in love with these the minute I saw them! A few stickers and a quick scatter of sequins and the layout was complete!

Thanks for stopping by today, I look forward to seeing to sharing more with you over the coming months.

Friday Favourites: Amanda Baldwin: Office Sweet!

Hello A Piece Of Cake Fans!

Hope you've all been having a fun, scraptastic week! 

Amanda here, and let's be honest,

 thank goodness it's Fri-YAY!

 I love weekends (who doesn't?!)

 & what better way to ease into some R & R, than with a lil Friday Favourite.....

Without trying to sound like a bad rendition of a Julie Andrews song,

 here are a few of my favourite *scrapbooking* things from this week; 

*Big titles: Bold is back! Nothing like a statement title

*Negative, or white space: Clean, simple designs & exercised control

*Pastel pattern papers: So pretty, need I say more?

&

*Sewing: I just got a new sewing machine at loooooong last - so I am back to stitching everything

And what do all these favourites have in common?

Well.... the June Cupcake Kit, of course!

How delicious!

The Fancy Pants Office Suite collection is literally SWEET!

Here's what I created with my favourite things in mind.....

"LOVELY"

Oh, I love this photo! I can't believe how quick;y she's grown up! 

(This photo was from 3 years ago?!!) 

But isn't she lovely?!

Such a pretty page for my gorgeous girl!

Let's talk Office Suite - divine isn't it? 

I love pastel anything! I always have, so naturally this collection is a dream! 

Whether you prefer block pastel colours or simple geo designs this pattern paper has it all,

And those oversized alphas are just fabulous!

Let's take a closer look them....

So cool! 

As I said, I am loving big, bold, statement titles & this fits perfectly!

As stitching is a bit of a thing for me again, I've sewn the alphas into place, as well as my pattern papers.....

And can't forget to mention those super sparkly gold hearts - apart from looking incredibly sweet, they help to anchor my photo too!

So there you have it! 

A few of my Favourite Things to inspire you into a crafty weekend!

Hope you liked my layout, 

& if you're super quick; 

there's one or two of these awesome Cupcake Kits left in the store ;)

(Quick! Shop here!)

Thanks for visiting,

Happy Arty Days, Amanda xo