Back Soon

Hi all . I've been MIA for a while but hope to be back soon with some photo's of scrap pages that I've been working on.
For now, I hope Christmas was all you wanted and wish you all the very best for the New Year.

double layout-polar bear

I'm trying to get back to more scrapping by entering some challenges and saw this challenge at StampAmemory for a double layout. As that is mostly what I do I've chosen some photo's I took at Seaworld in the middle of this year. Like the weather on the Gold Coast when we were there it was a bit overcast when I took the photo's. The cardstock is white Bazzill, the paper is retired Stampin Up Petals and Paisleys. It was perfect as it has the sea colours I was after and also a pop of yellow to pick up the bear's toy. I've used Kaisercraft flowers layered with pearl centres. I've also used some vellum with a lovely glitter spot on it, adhered it to cardstock and cut the edges to resemble snow. I've then used some glitzy Flower Soft on the edges. To make the embellishment I stamped the SU polar bear (from a current set-Zoo Review) onto Whisper White card and then using Heat and Stick powder added some superfine glitter. I learnt this technique from Kay (see link at right) and it gave me just the look I wanted. I've also used Kaisercraft Droplets to mimic water splashes. On the background I've stamped the snowflake/star from the SU Season of Joy stamp set.

Once Upon a Sketch-giveaway

I love sketches for scrapbooking and have a number of favourite sites. One of the blogs I have recently discovered is Once-Upon-a-Sketch and they have a wonderful promotion at the moment. As well as challenges using some great sketches (and journalling prompts) they are having a draw for the above Melissa Frances goodies. I hope to have a layout for their latest challenge up by the deadline-fingers crossed as I have a busy week coming up!

atc-all about me

Our most recent atc challenge was to make an atc-all about me. I chose to use a photo of myself at 2 y.o. I printed it on SU white cardstock-coloured it with markers and then fussy cut. Fairy wings were punched from the Blossoms Petal Punch (SU) and then glitzed. The background paper and stamp are Stampin Up. I used paint to age the background and distressed it. The dress pattern paper was from a Kaisercraft "Vintage" pad. Martha Stewart border punch and flowers from my stash were added. The lady bird was from Papermania Hanoverian collection. Each of the items has a special memory for me growing up and it was all layerd on cream cardstock.

Prima workshop-Ingvild Bolme

I was fortunate recently to attend a workshop by Prima educator Ingvild Bolme. While this layout has been done by many of us at her workshops each one will have the individual touch of their maker on it. Here is my version and the photo is of me at 6 weeks. It was great fun to do and I picked up lots of technical hints along the way and I'm sure these will influence my future scrapbooking. Everything on the layout except for the photo of course is by Prima. Lots of fussy cutting which I don't do much of normally but I love the effect and will try and incorporate it more.

Kaisercraft Sketch

I was browsing the web and discovered that on the Kaisercraft blog they have a sketch each Saturday based on some of the designs from the ideas magazine. This is my adaptation of the sketch #4. The original layout was a very pretty "girly" one and I have made it more natural looking using the Hunt and Gather papers to suit my photo of a close encounter in the Flinders Ranges last week. All the papers used are from the Hunt and Gather range,the 2 background pieces, side strips, (love how the piece you would normally throw away now has a pattern on the back that makes great strips,) and the blue mat which has been corner rounded. The concertina flowers have been cut from the same range using the Tim Holtz die. The lace and paper flowers are also from Kaisercraft. Swirls and leaves cut with Magnolia dies. The title is cut from one of the Hunt and Gather sheets and reads,
"Discoveries are often made by going off the main road." I've cut up part of the quote and inked the pieces before sticking down. I've tucked a tag in behind the photo to add some journalling on later about how the big red and I came to be eye to eye! I've crimped and sanded some cardstock in place of the scallops etc in the original layout. These pieces remind me of the wonderful colours in the landscape up there and the corrugated iron tanks and buildings.
(Unfortunately it seems the camera wasn't very straight which makes the photo look a bit wonky on the edges but it is quite square IRL.)

New Challenge-Distress your Edges

Hi, I am posting my final challenge as a temproary design team member at Creatalicious. It has been a fun and interesting 6 months. Keep an eye out on the site for a DT call soon. This month we are asked to distress our edges which wasn't hard for me as I love to tear, sand and ink edges in scrapbooking anyway. I've used the pretty Kaisercraft papers "Bonjour" 6x6 pad, cardstock was Stampin Up Pretty in Pink, and the stamps are Mini Magnolias coloured with Copics. All the paper edges were distressed and inked and I've used a scrap under a torn opening at the top. The butterflies are fussy cut from the paper and the tiny butterfly on the window is from a Martha Stewart punch. Leaves (MS punch) are from a scrap of the green spotty paper.

Reborn Jeremiah

I have taken up reborning dolls again. While my earlier ones are "for keeps" I love doing this so much I have decided to make dolls for sale. "Jeremiah" is from a kit by Adrie Stoete and he has a lovely peaches and cream complexion with soulful blue eyes and wispy white blonde hair. He will be listed on ebay in about 10 days time after I return from a break in the Flinders Ranges.

September Challenge-Anything Goes

This months challenge at Creatalicious means that we can go for it any way we wish. As I have a birthday card owing I decided that I would make that and combine the challenge at the same time. Apart from the base card everything else was grabbed from scraps. I've made an easel card with a difference-by combining it with a step card. I've had the idea in mind for some time but hadn't tried it out yet. The first step has layers of grass and a row of pansies (Martha Stewart border punches) with the stamped image in between. Tilda is coloured with Copics and I've used dimensional magic on the ladybird. The second step has more grass and a picket fence (Magnolia die) with roses twined onto it. The easel part has more grass layered over the background paper and tree branches (Stampin Up Punch) from card scraps. The butterflies were fussy cut from the reverse side of the paper. The label is from Stampin Up Four Frames set and I have used the matching Punch. I've coloured the roses with Copics to match the colours on the front.

art journalling

I have been intrigued by art journals for some time and have purchased several, made a start but not really "got" it. Recently I visited a site I like to go to from time to time and the artist was running an online course called "Supplies Me" for people like me addicted to supplies but don't always get the most from them. You can visit Jane Davenport here and see. It is also a bonus that she is an Aussie so I don't have to worry about time zones and stuff happening online at uncivilized hours! This first week we looked at different types of journals and gesso. The homwork was to lay down some texture, I've used tissue tape, tissue paper and lace and scrapbook paper and then gesso over it. We then had to use pencils to create something. After the gesso I put down some colour and then started a drawing which I blocked in with cream paint. I used my colour pencils over that to create the figure. The background still needed something so lucky for me my Stampin' Up order came this week and I used a new stamp from "Delicate Doilies" and white ink over the background and slighty overlapping the drawing. I then went back in with my pink pencil and lightly coloured some of the negative space in the doiley to lift it off the background a little. This stamp set has 3 other doiley stamps in it and you can purchase it from Kay-link is also in the sidebar.

Flowers-Digital ATC

The theme for this month's challenge was Flowers and after a few attempts to create what I had in mind with traditional materials I decided that it just wasn't happening and tried digital instead.
I was really happy with the end result which was mounted on SU Whisper White card that I embossed using my roses Cuttlebug folder.
The vintage girl, large rose and rose buds were from Studio Tangie,Scrapbookgraphics "Celestial Darlings". The rosebuds were selected out from their background. I've added shadows and filters and then did some hand colouring to the flowers in the hat using 50% opacity. The words are from the Prose set (Studio Tangie) and I used a blank piece and tried to match the font for the word "rose". The sticky tape is from Apprentice Art Box No 5 and I've applied the burn tool to get a 3d look. The scallop paint border was taken from Journal your Art Out-Fiddlette and Nancie Rowe Janitz Designs.

from atc to card

Here is the card that I made using the ATC posted below- It's taken a while to post it-no excuse -just distracted with scrapbooking. I've used the same colour cardstock as in the atc, embossing the background with the Cuttlebug Textile folder and adding some layers behind the atc. I 've also used a layer of shimmer paper as an insert extending from the edge and added some butterflies (Martha Stewart border punch). Finally I added the silver sticker greeting. Unfortunately the light outside was particularly bad when I took the photo.

A new challenge-recipe

Hi all-I'm glad to be back after spending the last couple of weeks doing an album for my niece's 18th birthday-all last minute of course but it took every spare creative minute.
This month's challenge at Creatalicious is a recipe, 3 papers, 4 flowers, ribbon and monochrome.
I discovered just how many multi coloured papers I had but eventually found these lovely golden caramel coloured papers from the Kaisercraft Le Chateau 6x6 pad.
I layered them on some cream card stock and matted the image with SU Creamy Caramel. I used the matching stamp pad to colour the roses and added some gold ribbon from my stash. The image is from Sweet Pea Stamps, Elaine Cox's Mirima. She was coloured with my Copics. I've used Dimensional Magic on the bubbles and to make drops on the flowers. The leaves were a Martha Stewart punch. After punching I folded them in half and then put them through a crimper to get the rippled effect. The centre rose was quilled.

Olde Worlde ATC

Our most recent challenge theme was Olde Worlde which suited me well as I love the vintage, shabby chic look.

I've used a mixture of cardstock and the image is from Frenchkissed Postcards. The combination of violet and cream worked well. The cream was embossed in the Cuttlebug using the Textile folder. I then corner punched to create corner slots for the image which was much reduced before printing out. I've had to scan this as the weather and light has been so bad that I couln't get a good photo. I hope to post a card I've made using this atc soon.

1920's challenge

Hi again, this month's challenge over at Creatalicious is the 1920's. This made me think art deco, black and white, graphic designs and due to lost time with no internet I ended up doing this almost at the last minute. I've used my Cuttlebug art deco embossing folders. One folder had interesting corners so I cut triangles out and carefully placed them over the corner design and embossed them. I used another of the folders to emboss the white card. The image is from a Dover Publication of Erte's designs. Circles are Spellbinders. All the black has been matted in white to give the graphic lines. A bit of bling never hurts either. I've tried to keep the design clean, in line with the art deco style.

back soon

Hi everyone , thanks so much for your comments. They make my day.

I've been trying to catch up with things since coming back but dodgy phone, no internet and the cold, grey weather have held me up. Should have some new things to post in the next few days. A new Creatalicious challenge will start tomorrow so one card coming up soon.

June Challenge-a sketch

This month's challenge over at Creatalicious is a sketch. I use sketches a lot in scrapbooking so it was fun to use one for a card. This card was done quickly just before we went to the Gold Coast for a week. As it turned out, our escape to the sun became an escape from the sun as we had cold grey days for almost the whole time we were there. Anyway, to make a quick card I decided no stamping and hand colouring this time-lots of die cutting instead. The paper is Pink Paislee Butterfly wings, cardstock is Stampin Up. I've used Spellbinders Lotus and Tim Holtz Tattered Florals dies to make the centrepiece. Martha Stewart's Butterly punch was used to add extra butterflies and Kaisercraft pearls were added. Ribbon from my stash. Everything was edged in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. It's a great sketch, so visit the challenge page and view what the other DT members have come up with. It's amazing to see so many interpretations from the same sketch.

atc challenge-tickets please

This month's theme for the atc challenge at paper Flourish was "TicketsPlease". After quite a bit of mulling over and changing of mind I decided to make an interactive atc. Then I had to draft out the measurements to make it work. I decided on a circus theme using Graphic 45 papers.

Each atc was constructed like an envelope with a window and open top. I layered an image from the paper inside and covered the outside with striped paper to resemble a circus tent.

I then adapted a digi stamp from Bizzy Bec and printed it on cream card. I attached a strip of the paper as a tab. Cardstock is Stampin Up.

Digital Journal

At last I can look to post some things again. We lost the phone and therefore the internet last week and then when we finally got it back it took me a few days just to catch up on emails so I'm a bit behind with creating and posting.

I have created a digital journal page as part of my ongoing involvement with the Art Journal Caravan at Scrapbookgraphic.

Last week's word was Measure and I have seen this quote a lot lately and it seemed particularly special to me. In April I received some lovely tulips as a thank you gift and had them in a vase near a western facing window. After a couple of days the tulips had opened and I happened to turn around just as the afternoon sun caught the flowers. For a few minutes they just glowed so out came the camera. I've used one of the images here.

Other items: papers from Shabby Princess "Gabby" kit, Butterfly mask-Natali Designs, grunge background overlay-Public Domain.

Quilling Lesson

I had taught myself some quilling techniques many years ago but it got left behind once I got addicted to stamping and scrapbooking. I recently attended a class at Paper Flourish which revived my enjoyment of this craft. Credit for the design of the flower spray goes to Tracey at Paper Flourish. I adapted the card layout by adding the white layer made with a Martha Stewart border and corner punch. More of the roses have since made their way onto some scrapbook layouts.

atc challenge

I've recently joined an ATC exchange group at Paper Flourish, a local scrapbooking shop. The theme for our first swap was "friends". I started with a vintage French postcard from Frenchkissedpostcards. As I started to crop it in Photoshop I just kept going and ended up creating a digital atc. I used a curled paper edge effect from Anna Aspnes and elements of By The Sea from Scrapbookgraphic. From memory the title was from Studio Tangie at Scrapbookgraphic. I used PSE 8 (Mac).

Creatalicious challenge-Flourishes

Finally back after several trips away including a scrapbook getaway this weekend. Two days of non-stop scrapping was a great indulgence and we had a beautiful setting at Lady Links Golf Resort at Normanville.

This month's challenge over at Creatalicious is to create something using flourishes.

For my example I've use SU card and flourish stamp which I've stamped on the background card.

I've also used some Basic Grey paper which matched quite well. The stamp is a mini Magnolia and the flourish die is also Magnolia.

There are some lovely doyley dies up as the prize this month so please join in.

Exciting news

I have been excited by the great news this week that I have been selected as one of the 2 new Guest Design Team members over at Creatalicious. I have loved entering these challenges and all the work is of such a wonderful standard. It will be a challenge in itself to produce items that come up to the high level set by current and past DT members. The two tone challenge has a few more days to go-have a look here. My duties start with the May challenge which will start May 15 so please visit the site and join in.

Pagemaps Sketch Contest

I've decided to have a go at the Pagemaps challenge this month. I have used these sketches from the time someone first told me about this site. They are free monthly sketches and the best I've found. I also have Becky Fleck's 2 books to provide inspiration as well. This month's competition is open to the 30th (despite a mix up with the dates-2 winners this month as a result).

I have used cardstock from Stampin' Up and Bazzill(blue). Papers are Basic Grey and Prima.

Twigs are Prima (I think), diecuts are Spellbinders and Tim Holtz. Brad and round tag are Stampin' Up and fish tag was a silver colour-altered with my Copics. The hidden journal tag at the top is Spellbinders with Tim Holtz filmstrip and a butterfly fussy cut from the paper. I've doodled along the edges of the pale blue paper, and inked and distressed other edges. The view was taken at sunset on the river across the road from where we were staying 2 weeks ago.

leftovers challenge

After having some leftovers from the book and wanting to make something with a few more elements I decided on this tag. It also meets the two-tone challenge as well at Creatalicious. I've coloured a part doiley left over from another project with Glimmer Mist. The punched butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch and the fussy cut one is from a Collections sheet. The signpost stamp is Magnolia coloured with Distress Ink and cut out. The word is Stampin Up. Flowers and ribbons from my stash.

Two Tone Challenge

This months challenge at Creatalicious is to make something using two tones only. I found these Graphic 45 papers and decide to see what I could make using the 2 pieces that I bought. Fortunately they are double sided and I love the sheet that had piano keys down one side. I've used this to highlight the side edges inside and out. The couple on the front was fussy cut as were the dancing figures on the inside. Inserts are file cards alternated with SU cardstock cut to size. I've used Kaiser pearls and the tassel is made from ribbon and a broken piece of jewellery. The book was then bound using my Bind-it-all.

Digital playtime

I've been trying to learn some new techniques to get texture and depth into my digital images.

This image was originally a scan from Frenchkissedpostcards . I followed the tutorial on Shadowhouse Creations and created the first image. I then put this in a layout using papers and elements from Katie Pertiet and the vintage frame from a Shabby Princess kit. The torn paper style was from Anna Aspnes.

Water in the Murray

I've recently returned from a holiday in the Riverland. Having travelled the west coast, Yorke Peninsula, Fleurieu Peninsula, the South East and the Flinders there was one part of the state that I had never visited. The trip was planned when we were in prolonged drought and I was looking for a destination where we wouldn't get rained on-well the rains came up north and the terrible floods which wrought such tragedy have revived the river further down. These shots were taken before the weather changed and we had misty grey skies for most of the week. I was glad I got this light when I did. I haven't edited the photo's so I hope I can make them even better to scrap with in the future.

The shots were taken just across the road from where we were staying.

Sketch Challenge

This months challenge at Bizzy Becs is a sketch which I am always happy to have a go at. I use lots of sketches in my scrapbooking too. For this one I've used Jennifer Nilsson's Sugar and Spice Dragon from Sweet Pea Stamps and coloured him with Copics. He was then cut out and placed over a diecut flower and layered on 2 Spellbinders frames . I've also used Spellbinders to layer behind the dragon Papers and diecuts are from Basic Grey, cardstock is Stampin' Up. I've used an easel card shape so that the central shapes of the sketch stand up when the card is opened.

Amused

This week's theme (verb) at Art Journal Caravan is "amuse". I searched for a quote and found this one which "amused" me. The layout is based on a Becky Fleck Pagemap (digi template).

The image is from Frenchkissed Postcards-a wonderful site with heaps of Vintage Postcards that can be purchased as jpeg's. The scrapbook supplies are from the Shabby Shanty kit at Scrapbookgraphic.

The quote reads "I'm undaunted in my quest to amuse myself by constantly changing my hair" Hillary Clinton.

Ribbon and Love Challenge

This month on Creatalicious the challenge was to create something with ribbon and the theme was to be love. Since Valentine's is not my thing I chose something more universal as I need to restock with cards. I've used Kaisercraft English Rose 6x6 pad for all the papers and Bazzill cardstock for the card and mat. Tilda is coloured with Copics and the dress is paper pieced.

I've also coloured the "crystals" with my Copics-they started out clear. Ribbon is from my stash and the jewel is from a brad that broke.

art journal page

Another in my digital Art Journal. Missed one week after a few false starts so just gave in on that one but last week's theme worked better. I've used the kit that came as supplies (Art Journal Caravan 2011 -Tangie). You can see other wonderful pages in the gallery at Scrapbookgraphics.com.

I've use a photo of my Just Joey rose. This is only its second year and one morning I went out to find the classic dew on the rose petals photo opportunity! I've used Photoshop Elements.

The digital stamp is from Shabby Princess Vintage Floral kit.

The theme was "Pause" and the text says -and take time to smell the roses

a new challenge

This month at BizzyBec's Blog the challenge is a recipe,

3 Flowers, 2 Buttons and 1 ribbon

I had this cute paper tole put together so the task was to create the card!

I've used Stampin Up cardstock and paper. The ribbon and flowers were dyed with

SU So Saffron reinker, then sprayed with Glimmer Mist. I've used the beaded oval and the small ovals from Spellbinders. Leaves were cut from a Magnolia Doo Hickey. Ribbon and buttons from my stash and lace from Bizzy Becs.

The card is straight-need more practise with the camera angles!