The last postcard

This is the last of my entries for the Scrap Boutique 'Postcards Competition'. Week 6 was a postcard from Greenland:


Click to enlarge

As much as I love monochromatic, I've never quite pulled off the white-on-white thing, until now. I'm pretty happy with the result, though it was very tricky to photograph. I used lots of layering, lots of decorative edges, lace trims, Kindy Glitz and rhinestones, as well as my obligatory machine stitching. I even managed to use some more old stash - those Heidi Swapp ghost alphas have been lurking in my alphabet drawer forever!! I do still love them but it always feel good to use up some old stuff. And the silver machine thread was a major pain to work with but well worth the result, I think.

Happy dancing!

I've been a lucky girl and have some new goodies to play with!

My prize pack from the April challenge at Scrap a Little arrived this week:



I used some of the papers in my layout for the May Stash Stomper over at Scrap Boutique, and it's based on a sketch by Manon:



The 'stash stomp' item is ribbons - I have no idea how long the Maya Road floral ribbon has been in my ribbon box, and the Heidi Swapp 'Memories' twill ribbon has been there for around two years... it feels great to use up older stash!

I still have heaps and heaps of product left from my prize pack too, so I'm sure it will be making another appearance or two soon.


Last month I was also a lucky winner at the Your Next Stamp April release, and I received three lovely stamps. Thank you Karen! This is the first one I have used on a card so far:



# Simon Says ~ Green and brown and blue
# PaperPlay ~ Week 21 ~ Up in the air

I used: Your Next Stamp 'Mini Flying High Fhiona' stamp, Crate Paper 'Crush' cardstock, Spellbinders Nestabilities scalloped circle die.

I'm still practising my image colouring, something I am never entirely happy with. I'm using watercolour pencils, but maybe I'm using the wrong kind of cardstock?? Or too much water? (As well as the obvious problem of not being able to stay in the lines!!) Ahhh anyway, it's all for fun and relaxation, and I know I'll get there one day.

Kraft, kraft, and more kraft

Ooooh I love using kraft cardstock!



# Design Dollies ~ Colour challenge ~ kraft, white, fuschia
# Design Dollies ~ Elements challenge ~ recipe
1> lace ~ lace trim and paper lace doiley
2> stripes ~ stripey ribbon
3> pink ~ pink shoes, pink ribbons
4> crown ~ I made my own with cardstock and pearls
5> 3D elements ~ layered flowers, pop-dots under the crown
# Secret Crafter ~ Challenge #85 ~ Buttons and blooms


And two cards:



# Corrosive ~ Challenge #65 ~ Clean and simple
# Quixotic Paperie ~ Challenge #27 ~ Emboss it 
I used: Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' EF
# Polka Doodles ~ Week 21 ~ Sew and sew
I machine-stitched around the edges of the patterned paper

I also used: Bazzill Kraft cardstock, BoBunny paper, Stampin' Up image and ink, watercolour pencils, unknown gingham ribbon




# The Pink Elephant ~ Challenge #68 ~ Orange
I used: Bazzill Kraft cardstock, Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' EF, Coordinations cardstock, Stampin' Up ink, Tim Holtz Sizzix die (Caged Bird), Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Labels 4' die, Dream Street patterned paper, American Craft ribbon

Postcards from Asia

Just another layout share ~ these are my Week 4 and Week 5 entries for the Postcards Competition at Scrap Boutique, each in a very different style.

Postcard from India:


Click to enlarge

The extra criteria was to include multiple photographs in the layout, and I enjoyed creating a circular photo montage. I was going to do it in Photoshop, but in the end I ended up doing it during some down-time at work (shhhh... don't tell!) and of course the work PC doesn't have Photoshop. I just used a totally unsophisticated version of Word, which worked just as well. My favourite part however, is the fabric ~ I just loved the shiny tulle and I was itching to use it!!

** I won a weekly prize for this one... yay! **


Postcard from Japan:


Click to enlarge

The extra criteria was to use a paper-folding technique. I couldn't go past a paper crane, my favourite ever origami shape, and I thought it was just perfect for the theme too. I stuck with a basic, minimalist design with this one, and I'm happy with the result :)

Slowly

I'm slowly gaining momentum and getting my craft mojo back!  I made a card today.

Em at Scrap Boutique challenged us to make a card with a 'text window' during the cyber crop, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try making a tent card. I've been seeing them everywhere but haven't taken the time to try one until now.



# Design Dollies ~ Colour challenge ~ blue, green, brown, ivory
I couldn't resist using one of my last scraps of Basic Grey 'Origin' for this one. I've got one small piece left! I added some flowers and thread for the blue; hopefully the colour balance is okay.
# Simon Says ~ Tent card with charms
I didn't quite follow the tutorial because I changed the size and I made the base from all one piece of cardstock instead of three separate pieces.  The owl stamp is from the 'Olivia and Friends' set by Sassafras Lass.
# Prairy Fairy ~ Week 20 ~ Tent card

I also used: Bazzill cardstock, Stazon ink 'Timber'; Spellbinders Nestabilities die; DMC embroidery thread; flowers from Prima, Green Tara, Petaloo; Kaisercraft pearls.  I have no idea where I got the charm from... it was hiding in a box of odd bits in the corner of my desk.

What I've been doing this week

... is *not a lot*

My mojo has run off, probably hiding somewhere with my broken body clock and my housework fairy.

I have been blog-hopping here and there, seeking inspiration and just peeking in at other people's creative pursuits.

I checked out an awesome Blog Hop at Pink Ninja Addicts - these girls are just amazing, so fun and funky.

I'm trying to win this awesome kit ~ which would be the ultimate in mojo boost!!

Another card

It's been sl-o-o-o-o-o-w going in the creative department.  I have had NO free time to speak of, between work, and training, and study, and family issues, and the house sale...  I am in desperate need of some quality scrap time, and/or some quality time with some scrappy friends.  So, this week I managed one lonely little card, and a layout which I'll share in a different post later in the week.

This is my card, created with a few different challenges in mind:




# Design Dollies ~ Colour challenge ~ black, yellow, turquoise.  Definitely the most challenging colour combo I've encountered so far.  I do love it though!
# Design Dollies ~ Sketch challenge
# Some Odd Girl ~  Style Challenge #2 ~ the 80's

I couldn't find a way to work in a SOG digi image, so I used a digital brush that I found at deviantart ~ It's part of a free set called Telephonic Communications by kidwoofwoof and it's the first time I've used a Photoshop brush on a card.  I printed it onto a transparency, then cut it out.  My 80's inspiration is the song 'Call Me' (Blondie, 1980) and the Madonna-esque black lace, as well as the actual phone image.  We had a rotary dial phone like this at home till around 1986.  I remember how awesome it was to upgrade to a push button telephone!

# NVS ~ Challenge #5 ~ May collage
Inspired by the Blondie image in the same colours, and the song title. I don't really know if it's collage-y enough for this challenge?  Collage style is definitely a genre in which I have a lot of growth potential (read: I'm not very good at it...)

 I also used: Bella cardstock, Bazzill 'Lemonade' cardstock, Rose Moka 'Appel d la Nature' paper, Carolee's Creations alpha stickers, Stampin' Up ink, and a little charm I was sent in a RAK quite some time ago.

Sprinkles 'n' things

Yesterday I found this:


Click to link! I borrowed the image directly from the blog - hopefully Stacy won't mind.

What a beautiful philosophy, and totally congruous with my 2010 personal mantra to Find Joy... every day

A card...

 

 # Simon Says ~ Birthdays
# Stamp Something ~ Birthday somethings

I used: A sweet freebie digi image from Pollycraft Designs, Pink Paislee 'Vintage Moon' paper, Stampin' Up! ribbon, Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle diecuts, KindyGlitz 'Crystalina', Cosmo Cricket 'Tiny Type' alphas, Versacube 'Bark', kraft cardstock

Playing with Dollies

Not a lot of scrapping happening this week, for various reasons... but I just had to play with my favourite Dollies:

Click to enlarge

# Design Dollies ~ Colour challenge ~ pink, cream, orange
# Design Dollies ~ Sketch challenge

Some 'boy' stuff

I don't do a lot of 'boy' themed layouts (no sons... and even my husband is somewhat scrap-neglected...) so I really enjoy them when the opportunity presents itself. This week I've done two (three, actually, but I can't share the other one just yet). Both of these ones feature my cute nephew, who is the spitting image of my brother.

The first layout is for the Scrap Boutique 'Postcards' competition. Week 3 ~ inspired by a Postcard from New York:


Click to enlarge

The additional criteria was to incorporate song lyrics ~ if you don't recognise the title, my choice was 'Water' by The Who.


The second layout is for the May monthly challenge at Scrap Boutique, 'Celebrating the Little People':
1- Use a photo that captures the mood of that moment
2- Create your own grungy background paper, by using paint and misting spray


Click to enlarge

I had fun with the background.  First I stamped with bubblewrap and paint, then I crumpled and inked the creases with Brilliance ink, then misted with red (hoping desperately to avoid this 'oops' moment).



The rest just fell together after that, except the title. Titles elude me. Still.

I got the 'Do-Jiggies' (those little edged reflective circle embellishments) from Christine at Scrap it Forward as part of my prize pack last month.  I've never seen them before and they were so much fun to use.  Thanks Christine xx

So far this week...

I've managed to finish two layouts.

The first one (yet another Easter layout) one uses some more of the delicious My Little Bicycle 'Clothesline' range from my Scrap Pile DT kit, and I had some fun using the scraps to make some paper flowers:

Click to enlarge

I'm entering this layout at:
# Beary Sweet ~ Challenge #1 ~ May flowers
# Totally Stampalicious ~ Flower Power
# The Pink Elephant ~ TPE Scrapbook #5 ~ Paper flowers
The stamp is Daisy Bucket 'Clearly Petite' - "Lady Beetle"

UPDATED 8/5/2010: I was chosen as a winner at TPE :)






The second layout is based on a sketch from the Cosmo Cricket blog, and uses lots of yummy 'Earth Love' papers:


Click to enlarge

Postcards

Over at Scrap Boutique I've been participating in a fun scrap competition:



Week 1 was inspired by a postcard from Venice:


Click to enlarge




Week 2 was inspired by a postcard from Provence:


Click to enlarge



The quote I chose for this one is from Henry David Thoreau ~ "All good things are wild, and free."

Dollies and my own sketch

Over at Scrap Pile, it's my turn to present the monthly sketch challenge. Here's my sketch:



Credits: all digital elements from Anita Stergiou's 'Forever Mine' kit

And here's my layout:


Click to enlarge



I'm also entering this layout at:
# Design Dollies ~ Colour Challenge ~ Kraft and bright colours
I used Bazzill Kraft cardstock for the base, Kraft coloured alphas from Jillibean Soup, and lots of brights
# Design Dollies ~ Elements Challenge ~ recipe
1) 3 different patterned papers, SAME manufacturer if possible ~ Autumn Leaves x3
2) A tag
3) An uncoloured stamped image ~ dragonflies from a Grant Archival stamp set
4) Red ribbon ~ the last piece of my red/white spotty ribbon :(
5) Something lime green ~ Autumn Leaves 'Lime Twist' diecut paper, lime ribbon

Monochromatic cards

I'm back in a mono-mood this week:



# Some Odd Girl ~ Stash challenge ~ no patterned paper
I used a Some Odd Girl image called "Gorky" that I won at Robin's blog, Bazzill cardstock, watercolour pencils and some twine.
# Quixotic Paperie ~ Challenge #23 ~ 'how distressing'
# Kaboodle ~ Challenge #29 ~ embossing
I embossed the background cardstock with Cuttlebug 'Friend' embossing folder
# Polka Doodles ~ Week 16 ~ monochromatic


And another pink, girly card:



# Simon Says ~ Buttons, bows and bling
# Simon Says (on Paper Craft Planet) ~ Challenge #5 ~ Bling, bling, bling
# Nutshells ~ Challenge #14 ~ Spring
# Polka Doodles ~ Week 16 ~ monochromatic

I used: Bazzill cardstock, Creative Imaginations paper, Kaisercraft rhinestones, Autumn Leaves stamp