Layer upon layer upon layer...

Today is Tuesday, so it must be... Design Dollies Elements Challenge day!

This week it's all about layers - using a minimum of five layers:




I'm entering my card in these challenges:

# Fab'n'Funky ~ Challenge #50 ~ "Going with the flow"
# Allsorts ~ Week 80 ~ Monochrome
# Cute Card Thursday ~ Challenge #140 ~ Blast from the Past (Challenge 116 'anything but square')
I used my new Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Labels 16' dies
# Craft Your Days Away ~ Challenge 9 ~ Texture
I used Cuttlebug 'Script' embossing folder to add texture

Snow globes

This week at CRAFT Challenges, Challenge 78 is to create a Christmas present.

Our lovely sponsor Debbie at The Crafty Pad is offering the following polymer stamp as a prize:

In keeping with the theme, I used a digital version of the stamp on my project. I printed the image onto pale blue cardstock, coloured it with watercolour pencils and KindyGlitz:



and I used it to decorate this:



I bought the snow globe from my local Coles supermarket (in the aisle that has DVD-Rs and photo frames).  It's got a magnet on the back, and you can change the picture that slots in at the back.  I was going to put it aside to pop into Jasmine's Christmas stocking, but I wasn't sneaky enough and I got sprung taking the photograph!!

I'm also submitting my project at:

# Our Creative Corner ~ Create a holiday 3D project
# Stamptacular Sunday ~ Challenge #86 ~ A time for giving
# Paper Cutz ~ Challenge #68 ~ Christmas project with lots of bling
# Simon Says ~ Let it Snow!
# Totally Papercrafts ~ Challenge #43 ~ Snow and snowflakes

A magical sunset

I'm joining in with another gorgeous colour combo for the Design Dollies - black, white, and grey, with a pop of orange:



I'm also submitting my layout at:

# Frosted Designs ~ Distressing
I distressed the black Creative Imaginations patterned paper, and I think my wonky dropped stitches are a bit distressing too!

Harriet's first layout

This week at CRAFT Challenges I was pushed out of my comfort zone yet again.  Challenge 77 asked us to use vellum - something I never use and don't have in my stash.  I managed to scrounge some vellum scraps from a friend, and I met the challenge with this 8x8 layout about our newest guinea pig, Harriet Jersey Caramel:



What I did:  I punched out some retro flowers, scrunged them up, then misted with Smooch Spritz.  Next, I layered them up and secured with a brad.  Here's a little detail shot:



I'm also submitting my layout at:
# Paper Sundaes ~ Challenge 44 ~ Pick your sundae toppings
I used punches (retro flower) and ribbon

A little silliness

"Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans: it's lovely to be silly at the right moment." - Horace

 Time for another Design Dollies Elements Challenge!  I had one of those weeks and despite my best intentions I didn't get my layout finished - it's on my desk with no title and no embies :(  The theme this week is "something silly" and it must include some buttons.

J-girl stepped up to the challenge this week to help me out, and she created this layout:




This is all her own work - she took the photograph of her friend, made the flowers using a Cuttlebug die, and used her own stamps and supplies - but she did raid my button stash!

Jasmine is entering her layout at:

# Lollipop Crafts ~ Challenge 16 ~ Very girlie (Lots of pink!)
# Stamp with Fun ~ Challenge #85 ~ Square (8x8 layout, using Basic Grey stamps)
# Crafty Creations ~ Challenge 93 ~ Buttons (in the flower centres)


Do you want to be a Design Dollie?  We are holding a Dollie-Call - check HERE for details.


EDITED 22/11/10:
Jasmine's layout was chosen as one of the Top 3 at Lollipop Crafts!

Goodnight Scrub

Back in September I was renaming folders on my external hard drive and I found an entire folder of photographs from October 2007 (somehow mis-filed).  I've been enjoying the trip down memory lane as I scrap some of the places we visited on our impromptu family mini-break.

These ones are from our unplanned detour to explore Goodnight Scrub.


Click to enlarge

This was for the Geography 101 class assignment at My Scrapbook Nook.  The criteria was to create a layout focussing on a place (no people) and include journalling on the page.  My title is a line from the lyrics of 'Colours of the Wind' (Pocohontas, 1995)


The next one is for this week's Sketch Challenge at Design Dollies:


Click to enlarge


I'm also submitting this layout at:
# Challenge Up Your Life ~ Challenge #31 ~ Blue and green (papers from K&Co and Echo Park)
# The Crazy Challenge ~  Challenge #40 ~ Things with Wings (I used a Maya Road owl)

EDITED 30/11:
My layout was chosen in the Top 3 at Challenge Up Your Life!

CRAFT and colours

Thursday again, and time for the new challenge at C.R.A.F.T. This week it's a colour challenge, and it had me in a panic at first because I don't buy purple products, and I have next to nothing in my stash in those colours.

Then I remembered the Bo Bunny Jazmyne that papers I won last year, and my project came together easily.

I enjoyed making the 3"x3" Christmas card set last week, so I used the same origami box design and made a set of gift cards for my mother-in-law for Christmas. She is always sending little cards and messages so I know she'll appreciate them:





I learnt how to make the origami 'masu' box back in primary school, and it's very easy.  I started with a 9"x9" piece of patterned paper to finish with a base of just over 3"x3".  You can also make one very slightly larger to make a nesting lid.  There are zillions of tutorials online, each with slight variations; just choose one that you find easy to follow.  My best tip is to do all the pre-folding (straights and diagonals) first, and to be as accurate as possible to ensure neat corners.  Pre-folding will ensure that the 'tucked in' steps are much less fiddly.

I'm submitting my cards at:
# Crazy4Challenges ~ C4C62 ~ Create square cards

Elements

Over at Design Dollies, founding Dollie Adina is taking a short break and I'm helping out for a little while hosting the Elements Challenge.  All the hard work has already been done for the November challenges; I'm just the game show hostess gracefully waving her arms around to point you in the right direction each week ;)

This week it's GETTING COLD - well, maybe it is in the Northern Hemisphere! The required elements are something cold and something glittery. This is mine:


Click to enlarge

Be sure to check out the other gorgeous creations by the Dollies. I'm also thrilled that Karen Wray is joining us as a Guest Dollie - she's a fabulous Aussie scrapper (from Canberra), whose blog I love to visit!

Feeling CRAFTy

I was thrilled when Jo asked me to be a guest designer at the C.R.A.F.T Challenge blog in November. Weekly challenges are posted every Thursday, and there are some lovely sponsored prizes too.

Challenge 75 is all about dry embossing, and is sponsored by Hope Jacare. Here's my contribution:



I used Cuttlebug 'Spots and Dots' EF - this was the first embossing folder I ever purchased and I love how versatile it is.

Little wee ones...

Design Dollies time again! This week's Elements Challenge is "little wee ones". I interpretted the challenge fairly literally, and I made a set of six 3"x3" Christmas cards.  I re-purposed some 'little' wine charms into card embellishments: 

Click to enlarge

I also made a matching box:





I'm submitting these at:

# Charisma Cardz ~ Challenge 43 ~ Match Master
# Wild Orchid ~ Challenge 9 ~ Classic Christmas (red, green, gold)
# Wee Memories ~ Challenge #29 ~ Free for all

I used: BoBunny and Bella papers, Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Lacey Squares' die, Colorbox fluid chalk 'Dark Brown', and Prairie Bird Boutique ribbon.

AQUA, aqua everywhere...

It's November and my turn to host the monthly sketch challenge at Scrap Pile.

This is the sketch:



Digital credits: 
Ginger Scraps "Beach Glass" digital kit
Artisan shape from digiscrap.ch

This is my layout:

Click to enlarge

This is also my contribution for the first Design Dollies Colour Challenge for November.  The fabulous colour combination is: AQUA, YELLOW, RED and BLACK.  I went a bit heavy on the aqua but I couldn't resist the gorgeous Bo Bunny 'Gypsy' papers I found in my stash.  I loved this range and bought it maybe six months ago (??) then put it away somewhere safe and misplaced the package... and found it again only last week.

I'm entering this layout at:
# One Stop Craft ~ Challenge #104 ~ Anything goes


I used some of the aqua offcuts to make this card:


Click to enlarge

I'm entering my card at:
# C.R.A.F.T ~ Challenge 74 ~ Monochrome
Aqua, aqua, aqua - Bo Bunny, Kaisercraft, and Dream Street papers
# ABC Challenge ~ G is for ~ Glitter
Lots of KindyGlitz 'Crystalina' on the wings and roses
# Lollipop Crafts ~ Challenge #13 ~ Embossing
I used Spellbinders to cut and emboss the butterflies
# Sentimental Sundays ~ Challenge #27 ~ Birthdays


UPDATE 8th Nov:
My card was chosen as one of the Top 3 at Lollipop Crafts!