CRAFTy Thursday

At CRAFT this week Challenge 100 is to create a project using ribbon, a tag, two squares and a circle. Here's my card:



My recipe: 
1> Print a digital image from our sponsor, Lia Stampz onto cream cardstock.
2> Use Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Labels Four' die to cut a tag around the image.
3> Ink the edges with fluid chalk and add some gingham ribbon to the top.
4> Cut two squares - Kraft (4"x4") and Cloud 9 patterned paper (3"x3"), and machine stitch around each.
5> Layer the squares and the tags, then slip a circle (reverse side of a Jillibean Soup journalling spot) under the edge of the tag on one side. 
6> Embellish the circle with some Prima mini roses and handmade rolled roses.
7> Add a short sentiment with Adorn It alphabet stickers.
8> Mount the layers onto a 5"x5" folded card

The recipe had me daunted at first, but when I started to play around I really had fun with it. I'm also entering my card in the following challenges:

# Stamp, Scrap & Doodle ~ Tagalicious
# One Stop Craft ~ Chocolate inspired 
# Tip Top Tuesday ~ Squares
# Simon Says ~ Anything goes
# Pixie Dust Paperie  ~ Tag

Scrap friends!

Second post for today... I've added some pages to a few of my mini albums. Both of them feature some amazing ladies I met online through scrapbooking - and they have become special friends.

This layout is another for my 'Macleay Island' birthday album:



I was inspired by these challenges:
# Frosted Designs ~ Sketch Along Tuesday
# Secret Crafter ~ Pink, cream and brown
I thought papers from MME 'Lost and Found - Madison Avenue' were perfect for this colour combination.
# Lollipop Crafts ~ Shabby chic
I added some lace and jute string, and also made a handmade flower from coffee filter paper.


The second layout one is another for my 'Book of Me'.  The photograph was taken in 2008 when I met up with some online scrap friends at the Brisbane Scrapbooking Convention. I was inspired by the April sketch at Show Us Your Stuff, and my handmade elements are the layered flowers:





I'm also entering this one at:
# Paper Sundaes ~ Sundae bar
I used lots of yellow, and Sassafras Lass 'Mix & Mend' diecut stickers.

Flashback to when it was a NEW bike

We went cycling at a local park on the weekend and I quickly realised that our J-girl is too tall for her bicycle. She's grown a whole head taller since Christmas! I recalled taking photographs on the evening her bicycle first arrived in 2008 (an early birthday gift from her grandparents) - and I realised I've never scrapped them. I thought it might be a good idea to scrap them before she outgrows the bike altogether...

This one is based on the April sketch at Handmade by Suzanne:



I wasn't too sure about this layout at first - I still think it's a bit 'busy' with the but it has grown on me a bit and I was happy to use up some more of the scraps on my desk. 

I used:  Echo Park 'For the Record' base and the large square of Sassafras Lass 'Starters',There's scraps of Echo Park, Memento and Sass Lass papers, as well as some other bits and bobs - white Green Tara flowers, green flower (possibly Petaloo?), Foof-a-la buttons, Daisy D's journalling tag, ric rac offcut, and a funky chipboard embie that came in a Scarlet Lime kit ages ago, can't remember what brand it is from.  The alphas are Fancy Pants 'Kraft Kuts' and the stars along the bottom (my favourite bit!) are the negatives from a Jenni Bowlin 'Apothecary' sticker set.


The next layout is based on the April sketch at Scrap Lounge, and the colour challenge at the Scrap Boutique cybercrop (green, white and black):



The extra criteria at Scrap Boutique was to include paint and stamping - here's my little painted snail, which I stamped with Rhonna Farrer 'Swirls v2' stamps.  I also stamped some flowers:

For Mum

This card:



was inspired by these challenges:

# Some Odd Girl ~ Hot Mommas
I used Mae's Bouquet from SOG (no longer available) - which I coloured in PhotoShop.
# Basic Grey Challenges ~ Spring
The card base and paper scallops are Basic Grey 'Two Scoops - Blueberry Custard'.
# Get Creative ~ Spring themed card
My Dollie-friend Karen is guest designing at Get Creative this month, so I wanted to join in the fun :)

I also used: Rose Moka alpha stickers, Prima flower, Kaisercraft flower, Foof-a-la buttons, lace (from a set given to me by Liz for my birthday last year).

April Trifecta

Time for another Design Dollies share - this week it is for the Trifecta challenge. I used the April colours (lime green, royal blue, orange and white), sketch, and elements (7 or more buttons) to come up with this layout:



I was so excited to find these photos from June 2008 in a forgotten folder on my external hard drive! I thought I'd deleted them, but turns out they were just misfiled. It's only a simple layout, but it's my favourite one this week.

I'm entering my layout at:
# The Paper Variety ~ It's all in the numbers

One last Easter project

I decorated another iced coffee bottle - and filled it with mini Easter eggs:



And a little detail shot:



I used: Echo Park 'For the Record' paper, foam Thickers, and a cute digital image, "Spring Peep" from Designed2Delight.  I coloured the image in PhotoShop and printed it onto photopaper, then I added a few little rolled roses made from paper scraps.

This project is for:
# Hotspot ~ Earth Day/Trash art
# The Ribbon Girl ~ Red, white and blue
# Frosted Designs ~ Birds and/or butterflies
# CES Challenges ~ Spring image
# Craft Your Days Away ~ Easter

Some sketch layouts

I've been itching to scrap for weeks now - I have lots of ideas, lots of motivation, lots of scrap goodies to play with... but almost NO free time :( On Friday night I 'speed scrapped' to scratch the itch, but today I was determined to take my time a bit and do some more!

This layout is based on the April sketch at Artful Delight:


Click to enlarge

It's also for:
# The Ribbon Girl ~ Red, white and blue
# Top Tip Tuesday ~ Open Challenge
My 'tip': ** Christmas products can look great on non-Christmas projects **   This frame from my old chipboard stash (KI Memories, Love Elsie 'Noel' set) was just the perfect colour for my layout.


The next one is a little bit Sassy... it's on the April sketch at Sassafras Lass blog and I was also inspired by this pic at Chicken Soup. I used some Mix & Mend goodies to create this:


Click to enlarge

Happy scrappy vibes happening!! 

Favourites

Tonight was all about my favourites - hanging out at my favourite place (home with my family) and, after dinner, visiting one of my favourite scrappy forums. I'm joining in the Easter Crop at Scrap Boutique, and tonight I finished the first challenge - Chelsea's speed scrap.

I had just over an hour to complete and upload the layout (using the provided sketch for inspiration, and using at least three different patterned papers). I lost count of how many different papers I used, but there are papers from two different Echo Park ranges, Crate Paper 'Emma's Shoppe', Prima 'Annalee' and half a dozen different papers from my "tiny scraps" folder to make the rolled roses. In keeping with speed-scrapping tradition, the night-time photograph is suitably poor and not quite true to colour, but it still shows how much fun I had with it!

Click to enlarge

My layout is (another one) about Jasmine's favourite pastime - swimming. I had a quick browse through my layouts over the last year and there are a dozen or more which focus on her swimming lessons!

This layout is also for:
# A Few of My Favorite Things ~ Favourite pastime
# Tuesday Throwdown ~ Polka Dots

Flowers, flowers everywhere

I was so thrilled with the theme at C.R.A.F.T. Challenge this week - it's all about flowers - one of my favourite things to use on cards and layouts.  And even better, we have two fabulous sponsors and I was lucky to be able to use an image from each, to create TWO projects.

My first card features Bu'fly Tia and Friend created by my Dollie-friend Kristy from Some Odd Girl:



I always have trouble colouring digital images with my pencils because of the bleeding, so I decided to try colouring the image in PhotoShop using the bucket-fill and brush tools.  Next, I removed the background, then printed the coloured image on photo paper. I cut it out, then applied Stickles to the wings.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

I'm entering this card at:
# Secret Crafter ~ Stitching
# Wee Memories ~ All things adorable 
# Kaboodle Doodles ~ Thoughts of spring



The second card uses the Birdie Love image from Bows and Berries:



I used lots of Prima 'Got' Flowers, Kaisercraft flowers and ribbon scraps on this one for depth and texture, as well as a handmade paper flower made from paper scraps. I printed the image onto coloured Bazzill cardstock, cut it out and added small touches of colour with my Signo gel pen.

I'm entering my card at:
# Sugar Creek Hollow ~ Monochromatic
# Paper Sundaes ~ Texture 
# My Partner in Crafting Crime ~ Inspiration picture (lots of flowers)

EDITED 3/5/11:
I was chosen as one of the Top 3 at My Partner in Crafting Crime!

Christmas Magic

I didn't take very many Christmas photographs last year - time just ran out to do a special photo shoot, we had terrible weather, and Christmas Day was just a blur... But I did take a few photos while we were out in the city one day, when we happened across the Myer Christmas window display in the Queen Street Mall. The theme was The Nutcracker and the Mouse King and the moving puppets were mesmerising. It was difficult to get good photographs through the glare and reflections of the windows, and the crowds of people, but I did manage to snap a few decent ones.

This layout is based on a sketch from Bo Bunny and I've used papers from Bo Bunny 'Gypsy' collection:



My layout is also for:
# Bird is the Word ~ Magic
# Crop Stop ~ Vintage finished
# Scrap Lounge ~ Paper rolling

I distressed and rolled the edges of the papers and I made some rolled paper roses:

April sketchiness

I love the sketches by Kristy, and it's sketchy time again at Design Dollies.  I used the Dollies sketch for the layout design, and I also took inspiration from this gorgeous ribbon from the Creating is Fun Etsy store:



I used lots of really old stash, all of it from my Basic Grey scraps folder, and this is what I came up with:



# Etsy Inspired ~ Crafting is Fun

Digi with a difference

The theme at CRAFT Challenge this week is 'Easter' and I really enjoyed making my project:

Last month I bought some little cloth giftbags at my local craft store's Valentine's Day clearance sale. They are perfect for Easter, and I knew what I wanted to make for this challenge straight away. I used a newly released image from our generous sponsor, Whimsie Doodles, to make a template. The image is called 'Simple Bunny'.   I cut it out from felt, stitched the edges, ears and face, and adhered it to the bag. Add some grass, and some ribbon, and voila!

It's an easy theme this week, and of course you can create any kind of Easter project you like!  The winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to the Whimsie Doodles online store - and the images are so sweet!! Our sponsor is also offering a special discount for CRAFT Challenge fans - you can find the code with this week's challenge post.


Here's a little detail shot of the bunny:

 

I'm submitting my project at:
# Creative Inspirations ~ Challenge 57 ~ Easter
# Allsorts ~ Week 98 ~ Anything but a square

And thank you to Rebecca for inviting me to link up in her spring blog hop, "A New Season - A New Skill" - this project was something new to me.  I have never used a digi image as a template before (but now I've done it once, I'll do it again with suitable images!) and I've never embellished a little fabric bag like this either.  I have another two bags in my stash and I'll definitely be trying it again with a different theme.

Another Easter project

I seem to be making more Easter projects this year than any other year... wonder why that is? Luckily I have no shortage of lovely people I can share them with.

This one is for the Design Dollies Elements Challenge - Adina-Dollie challenged us to use at least seven buttons on a project. This is what I made:



How to:
* Wash and dry a small recycled bottle - I have a heap of these cute iced coffee bottles in my stash, perfect for gift-giving.
* Punch a strip of patterned paper along both sides (I used Little Yellow Bicycle 'Love Notes', punched with Martha Stewart 'Floral Lace' punch).
* Cut the strip to length and adhere around the bottle near the base.
* Stamp out seven flowers on scraps of patterned paper. I used offcuts of: Bo Bunny Double Dot, Little Yellow Bicycle, Dream Street 'Bailee's Garden', K&Co 'Jubilee', Kaisercraft; two different flower stamps by Rhonna Farrer, from Autumn Leaves, Stazon black ink.
* Fussy-cut the flowers and add buttons to the centres.
* Arrange the flowers around the bottle, and adhere them to the paper strip.(Rubber bands are useful to hold them into place until the glue dries.)
* Add a ribbon, and alphabet stickers (Cosmo Cricket 'Tiny Type').
* Fill the bottle with goodies - these ones are little choc-mint eggs.

I did try to get some photographs from different angles, but it's tricky with round things!!



I'm entering my project at:
# Simon Says ~ Time for Spring Colours
# Allsorts ~ Week 98 ~ Anything but a square
# Stampin' for the Weekend ~ Challenge #7 ~ Easter

It has to be red

Sounds like a simple question - What's your favourite colour?  Since I was little, my favourite colour has always been blue.  I always answered without hesitation.  Blue.  And I still *love* blue.  But I have been a bit fickle over the past few years and I have had obsessions with green, orange and red as well!!  Lately, it's RED all the way.  I glanced through my wardrobe this weekend, and found I have two pairs of red canvas shoes, a red handbag, red purse, red striped t-shirt, red cardigan, red umbrella, red gym shirt, red Nike Shox, red uggie-style slippers, red polar fleece jumper, two red long-sleeved t-shirts, and the list goes on...  so I think I can safely say that my current favourite colour is... RED.

I scrapped about my red slippers last year HERE so I thought it would be fun to scrap about my red shoes!  Here's my layout:



Click to enlarge

This layout is for:
# If It's Groovy ~ April Challenge ~ Hans Christian Anderson
I visited this site and found out he wrote 168 stories!  I would never have guessed it was that many.  "The Red Shoes" was written in 1845 (and the main character's name is Karen too).

Here's a little detail shot:



My layout is also for:
# Crop Suey ~ April ~ Embellishments from scraps
I made some rolled paper roses (papers are Autumn Leaves and Kaisercraft)
# My Partner in Crafting Crime ~ Challenge #24 ~ Layer it Up
Three layers of Green Tara flowers, plus the birdie and roses on top of those
# TAAFOMFT ~ No Housework Day challenge ~ Favourite colour
# Heather ~ No Housework Day challenge ~ include a bird
The bird is a stamp from the Kaisercraft 'Flora and Fauna' set, stamped on Autumn Leaves paper with black Stazon ink

All about pets

This week at C.R.A.F.T. Challenge 97  is all about pets or animals.  I took the opportunity to scrap another guinea pig layout - I think this is the first time I've used a photograph of all three of them (Margot is hiding underneath):


Click to enlarge

I used: Echo Park 'For the Record' (love these papers!), Kraft cardstock, Basic Grey 'White Chocolate' chipboard alphas, Making Memories alpha stickers.

I'm entering my layout at:
# Papertake Weekly ~ Anything Goes + something new (papers)

More Echo Park

 More Echo Park layouts:

This one based on a sketch at Pixie Dust Paperie:



I'm also submitting it at:
# Craft Your Days Away ~ Challenge 17 ~ Spots and stripes


This one I'm not so sure about:



I think it might be a bit too busy?  But I did have fun putting it together and remembering our fun day out.

Leah-the-Orange is back

Leah is back driving the Colour Challenge at Design Dollies, and she has chosen one of my all-time favourite colour combos too!  This week it's ROYAL BLUE, LIME GREEN, ORANGE and WHITE...  yummmmm....

Here's my layout:



I used nothing but scraps and offcuts for this little layout - and I just noticed there's not a skerrick of patterned paper either.  The journalling stamp is from Kaisercraft 'Flourish Journals' set, and the little birdie - I have no idea!  I borrowed it to stamp out some images at a crop or a retreat and the little piece of cardstock with the stamped images has been sitting in my green scraps folder for a few years...  oops.  If anyone recognises the image, let me know.

I'm submitting my layout at:
# The Paper Variety ~ 1-2-3 Challenge
1- photograph, 2 - pieces of trim, 3 - stamped images