Almost December...

Today is my DT reveal for the first of the December challenges at Lasting Memories.  Our theme this week is Home for the Holidays, and the challenge is to create a layout about a Christmas tradition.

My family always has a very low-key Christmas, and we don't have many traditions.  One tradition we do observe is exchanging gifts, and every year I take some photographs of my daughter opening her presents.  This is my layout share:



I'm sharing my layout at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for their Anything Goes theme.

Scrapbook Fantasies is looking for layouts using mesh - I have used a piece of mesh from a produce bag (behind the title).  I can't remember if this piece was from lemons, potatoes or onions!  All of them come in those wonderful mesh bags and I love recycling the mesh on my layouts to add a bit of texture without bulk.  I also used mesh recently on THIS LAYOUT.

2/1/2015:  EDIT TO ADD...  LINKING UP at Paper Issues for the Making it Merry theme.

Materials:
MAMBI Mixed Media patterned paper
Junkitz Girlz patterned paper
American Crafts Thickers - Sprinkles vinyl alphabets
Carolee's Creations AdornIt - Tiny Worn Navy alphabet stickers

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Bird's eye view

This layout was inspired by the November 1st sketch at Stuck?! Sketches.  I turned the sketch 90º left:



A little detail shot of the title:



I'm also submitting my layout at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for this week's Anything Goes theme.

Aaanndd..... also perfect for Paper Issues Birds of a Feather theme!

Materials:
Pink Paislee 365º Degrees - Daydream patterned paper
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Collection patterned paper
KI Memories Alphabet Soup - Blue Cheese acrylic alphabets
Alison Ellis Designs Very Merry - Cosmic Blue patterned paper
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type alphabet stickers

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Two sketch layouts

These are two single-photo layouts that I created using sketches.

The first layout is based on the November sketch at Blue Fern Studios:



I used a Blue Fern Studios nautilus shell chipboard shape from their  Seaside Seashells pack.  I lightly inked the shape to add colour and definition.

Submitting for the linky party at Paper Issues: Birds of a Feather
 
Other materials:
K&Company Blue Awning patterned papers
Colorbox Cats Eye Queue - Prussian Blue ink
Carolee's Creations AdornIt - Tiny Worn Navy alphabet stickers

~ % ~ % ~ % ~ % ~ % ~

The second layout was inspired by a sketch challenge at Flying Unicorn:

 

For every entry received in the sketch challenge, Flying Unicorn is donating $5 to Cure Search for Children's Cancer.

I'm also submitting this layout to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for the Anything Goes theme this week.

Materials:
Bazzill Basics - Kraft cardstock
Tim Holtz Woodgrain layered stencil
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Collection patterned paper
Prima Zephyr canvas alphabet stickers


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Going Up...

Another mast-climb layout, following on from THIS ONE...



My layout design was inspired by the November sketch at Anna's Craft Cupboard.

Materials:
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Collection patterned papers
American Crafts/Dear Lizzy Spring - Beehive Brunch patterned paper
Basic Grey Sugared - Mini Monogram alphabet stickers
Carolee's Creations AdornIt - Tiny Worn Navy alphabet stickers
Prima Cartographer wooden embellishment
Bazzill Basics cardstock

Keep your eye on the ball

This is my final Lasting Memories DT reveal for November.  This week is It's all about the title:



I created my title in Photoshop Elements by placing a text layer over my photograph.  I added embossing effects and a drop shadow, and used two different font sizes:



... This is another layout for J-girl's 2014 album, and the hockey theme is perfect for Paper Issues' current theme: Get Your Game On.

Materials:
Kaisercraft Sublime - Vogue patterned paper
Spellbinders Nestabilities - Labels Four diecut
Pink Paislee 365º Degrees - Daydream patterned paper
Pink Paislee Queen Bee - Worker Bee patterned paper
Green Tara 6cm Petals - Midnight Blue paper flower
Green Tara 2.5cm Petals - White paper flower
Kaisercraft Paper Flower - Sweet Pea (green)
Prima Essentials paper flower
Fiskars Threading H2O edge punch
Kaisercraft Pearls - Pewter

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Guest designing at ARTastic

I was thrilled when Jane invited me to be a guest designer at ARTastic in November.

I fell in love with the inspiration piece Tra-la-la by Antje Collis as soon as I saw it!

The additional criteria is doodling - something I **love** to do. 

This is my creation:



My tip for reluctant doodlers:  Use a patterned paper base as a kind of template, and just embellish it with a pen or paintbrush.  I chose a paper from a very old Scenic Route collection.  The original pattern was a simple array of different sized circles:

Every little bit of black that you can see on my layout is my own pen work.  You don't need to be an artist, and it doesn't need to be perfect!  I had lots of fun with lines and dots and other simple doodles:



I also fussy cut some leftover circles from the same paper, and doodled each one to make my title:



Please visit ARTastic to read more about the challenge and see the wonderful design team inspiration pieces!

4/12/2014 EDIT TO ADD:  Linking up at Paper Issues for their "Birds of a feather flock together" theme.

Materials:
Scenic Route Hampton - Hammond Drive Pink patterned paper
Sassafras Lass In a Stitch - Kraft blossoms

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Believe you can

I've printed up a few photographs of the J-girl's school year, and I've started with scrapping her hockey season pics. This one is based on sketch #134 at Sketches in Thyme and inspired by the Paper Issues Get Your Game On challenge theme:



A little detail shot:



Thank you to Lizzy Hill for the little wood veneer circle, which was part of a lovely ribbon bundle RAK I received this week :)

Other materials:
Pink Paislee 365º Degrees - Daydream patterned paper
Basic Grey Lime Rickey - Rob Roy patterned paper
MAMBI Mixed Media patterned paper
Sassafras Lass In a Stitch - Kraft blossoms 
Sassafras Lass product packaging
American Crafts Thickers - Patchwork fabric alphabets
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Collection patterned paper (camera motif)

White with... FREESIA

How cool is this White with 1 colour combination?



I adore all kinds of yellow, so I definitely wanted to join in this month.  This is my layout:



Materials:
The Crafters Workshop Kasia - Mini XOXO 6x6 stencil
Cosmo Cricket Togetherness - Birds of a Feather patterned paper
Basic Grey Beckham - White Chocolate Chip alphabets
Bazzill Basics Itty Bitty Flower - Yellow

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Who dares wins

I was a bit stumped when I saw this week's Lasting Memories challenge... the theme is Favourite Game Show.   Ummmm???  Truth is, I'm not much into television game shows.  Even when we had a television (we don't, anymore) I never watched game shows. 

I was still determined to create a layout for this theme - and I really did find it a challenge!  So, I turned to my search engine and started browsing for Australian television game shows.  I eventually settled on Who Dares Wins and "borrowed" the title and theme for my layout.  The theme of that show was to 'dare' contestants to do various crazy stunts.

This is my layout:



The photograph is me, climbing the mast of a tall ship in Sydney Harbour. The black background is the underside of the Sydney Harbour Bridge; the photograph was taken just as we were passing under the bridge.  I have quite a number of photographs of the climb, which I will be scrapping over the next few weeks (which also explains my lack of journalling on this layout - the story will actually be told over a number of layouts).

I'm entering this layout at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Seeing Stars.  I was going to make a pennant shaped banner but I thought stars would be more fun; punching was also a quick and easy way to put some scraps to good use.  A little bit of penwork just inside the shape to add definition, and... done. 

Materials:
Coredinations Black Tie cardstock
Sam & Lucy Medium Star punch
American Crafts Thickers - Rootbeer Float foam alphabets
American Crafts Thickers - Subway alphabets
Bakers twine
Kaisercolour Coastal Blue acrylic paint
K&C Blue Awning patterned paper
Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe - Dresses patterned paper
Onion bag (recycled)
Autumn Leaves Katie Pertiet - For the Record journalling stamp
Tsukineko Versacube - Neptune inkpad

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A sunny spot

This is another layout for our winter mini-vacation album:



I used the October sketch from My Creative Sketches.

Materials:
Basic Grey Perhaps - Julia patterned paper
Basic Grey Blush - Crush patterned paper
WRMK White Out Promenade patterned paper
American Crafts Thickers - Giggles foam alphabets
Washi tape
Bazzill Bitty Blossoms - Arroyo flowers
Bazzill Itty Bitty Blossoms - White flowers
Kaisercraft 2cm paper flowers - white
Green Tara 4cm petals - pale pink flowers
Cre8tiv pearl brads
Lindys Stamp Gang Starburst - Salt Water Taffy mist

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Bright coloured cardstock and hexagons...

I love the recent hexagon trend in scrapbooking, but I haven't tried used hexagons in my own layouts.  A while back I bought a Couture Creations hexagon cutting die (with a prize voucher from Scrapbook Fantasies) and until this week I hadn't tried it out.

This layout was inspired by Sketch #133 from Sketches in Thyme.  I turned the sketch 90º right and used only one photograph:



What I did:
Confession time:  I actually started creating this layout on grey cardstock, but when it was almost done, I hated it...  so I pulled it apart, fussy cut around the block of hexagons and photograph, and mounted that bit on new cardstock.
I used some old alphabet stickers on some of the hexagons to carry across the rambling text theme of the wall in the photograph. 

Materials:
Bazzill Basics cardstock
Three Bugs in a Rug Coco - Polka Dot patterned paper
Couture Creations Honeycomb Strip cutting die
Heidi Swapp Ghost Shapes pink flowers
Alphabet stickers


While I had the Cuttlebug out, and a pile of brown paper scraps, I cut a few extra strips and played around with them.  I made another layout just because I love fussy cutting and I love finding a way to use the scraps on my desk, and because Scrapbook Fantasies has a challenge to create a layout using fluro colours:

Warning - it's a bit bright...




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A little gift box

Unstampabelles has a fun November challenge, with a theme of Box it Up.

Just for something a bit different, I thought I'd try making some origami boxes from newspaper.  It's much, much easier to use patterned paper, but I had a pile of newspaper and I wanted to see how it would turn out.

This is my finished box ~ click to enlarge:

 

The twist in this challenge is to share the process, so I took a couple of progress shots as I went along:





I didn't photograph every fold.  I made my box from memory, but are lots of websites that show step by step pictures or video if you're not familiar with this pattern.  An easy one to follow is:
http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-box.html

The starting size was approximately 12" x 12", and the finished size is approximately 4" x 4" (base).





And the last step is to embellish... I used some old glitter diecut pieces and paper flowers from my stash.    Wrapping a piece of lace and a piece of twine around was decorative, as well as assisting to hold the box shape.

I'm also submitting my origami box at Paper Wings Productions which has an Anything Goes challenge this month.

Verdict:  The newspaper gives a nice, rustic look but it requires painting to prevent newsprint from transferring, and it is very difficult to make precise folds.  Fun to try for novelty value, but next time I'll stick to using up my old patterned paper stash.

9/12/2014: EDIT TO ADD: My project was selected as a winner at Unstampabelles

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Love this...

I really love the sketch at Scrap the Girls this month, and this is what I created:



And a little closeup of my stamped journalling:



Materials:
Bazzill Basics cardstock TCW Balzer Designs - Mini Art Deco Leaves 6x6 stencil  
Words or Whatever Circle - Love This wood veneer
Scenic Route Metropolis - Butler Street patterned paper
EK Success packaging
Fiskars 1" circle squeeze punch
Bakers twine
Sequins
Pebbles roller stamp
Ribbon Girl buttons

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Remember this...

This is my DT reveal for Lasting Memories this week.  Our theme is Remembrance, and the challenge is to create a layout to remember someone special.   This can be anyone special in your life;  it doesn't have to relate to Remembrance Day (11th November).

My layout is based on sketch #107 at Feeling Sketchy, and the photographs were taken for my Mum's 70th birthday celebrations:

 

I received some new goodies from a shopping spree at Scrap Boutique last week, and I tried out a new stencil.  I used texture paste to create the background, and I added some mists for colour.  (The blue is very pretty and shimmery, but doesn't photograph very well.)  I'm entering my layout for the mixed media challenge over at The Studio Challenges:




Materials:
Bazzill Basics cardstock
TCW Balzer Designs - Mini Art Deco Leaves 6x6 stencil
Tattered Angels GlimmerMist - Denim Blue 
Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst - Time Travel Teal mist
Words or Whatever Circle - Today wood veneer
American Crafts Thickers - Rainboots glitter letters
Petaloo Botanica Minis - Teal flowers
Portacraft Floral Stack felt flowers 

 09/12/2014 EDIT TO ADD:  My layout was selected in the Top Picks at Feeling Sketchy.

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A little mixed media...

Over the past month or so I've been playing around with my supplies and learning some more simple mixed media techniques.  Over at 7 Dots Studio I saw a wonderful tutorial by Riikka Kovasin which inspired me to play around with texture paste and mists.  I used some card stock offcuts and made some tags.   Click to enlarge:



What I did differently: 
I started with a fuchsia coloured card stock instead of white.  I don't have any suitable textured stamps, so I 'stamped' into the texture paste with an embossing folder instead.
What I learned:  
* Some embossing folders make better impressions than others, but the great thing about texture paste is that you can just swipe over the top with a palette knife while it's still wet, and start again. Cool!
* I should have waited a bit before adding the second colour mist - and maybe use a heat gun? The colours got a bit "muddy".  Live and learn...
* Letter stickers don't "stick" to painted texture paste - I had to use glue to hold the letters in place (and then I added Dimensional Magic on top).
* I set aside an hour to play but I really needed about 2 hours. Maybe I'll get quicker with practise.

This one is my favourite:

I'm so thrilled with the results that I'm submitting it to these challenges:

The November theme at Scrapki Wyzwaniowo is Cogs.  The cogs were, ahem, "acquired" from my husband's workshop...  They look much prettier on my tags than they would in some dirty, greasy piece of machinery! (He tells me they are actually called "star washers".)

The November theme at Scrap it Girl is using paints, watercolours or gelatos.  I used two different mists (I assume these are a kind of watercolour paint?)

Materials:
Sizzix/Tim Holtz Texture Fades - Collage embossing folder
Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst - Cape Cod Coral mist
Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst -Time Travel Teal mist
Kaisercraft Rhinestones - Turquoise
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type alphabet stickers
Rose Moka Appel de la Nature - Aqua alphabet stickers
Colorbox Cat's Eye Queue - Rainforest (Mint) fluid chalk
Whispers Silver Pearl embossing powder
Bakers twine
Dimensional Magic gloss

Surrogate mummy

Most days when I sit down to start scrapping,  I make little piles of the leftovers and offcuts from my previous layouts, and try to use them up first.  Keeps my desk clear (well, that's the intention anyway...) and hopefully avoids the stockpiling of more scraps (because Lord knows I that already have a lifetime supply...)  It doesn't always work out like that, depending on my project, but with this layout it worked beautifully:



This is my DT reveal for the first November challenge at Lasting Memories.  Our theme is Only One Photo.

My creative process went something like this:

I started with some leftovers from this layout (offcut from rectangular doily, and piece of cotton lace, flower button and pearl brads).  I added a round paper doily that I'd used to mop up the overspray when I was creating the leaves for this card.  Then I grabbed an old book page (I always have a bunch of these to hand) and the sticker sheet, roller stamp and inkpad that I'd used for this layout. 

Next, I pulled out my photo envelope and flipped though to find one that would look good with the bits and pieces I'd assembled.  I settled on another chook photo because the colours worked with the orangy-splashed doily.

I played around with titles until I came up with something that fit with the remaining letter stickers.
Tip:  If you don't have enough letters, use stamping or handwriting for some of the words.

Then... I delved into my stash to find a suitable paper.  {{Am I the only person who does this?  I choose the biggest thing LAST!!}}  I still remember when I first bought this MME patterned paper - it was a bit of a splurge for me because it had the diecut scalloped edge, and then I just hoarded it because I didn't know how to do it justice!! 

(And now what does she do?  She CUTS it down to under 8x8 and the rest of those delicious scallops will have to appear on a layout another day...)

Last steps included a bit of fussy cutting,  a feather {generously donated by one of my other chooks} and a bit of journalling.  Of course, I can never resist machine sewing on the border.

I am also submitting this one at Craft Hoarders Anonymous for their Layer It challenge.  Here's a closeup of some of my layers:




Materials:
MME Breaking Free Flip'n'Flirt - Sisters - Flirty Floral patterned paper
American Crafts Sarah Script - White alphabet stickers
Pebbles roller stamp
Stazon Timber Brown ink
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - Golden Terracotta
Smooch Spritz - Sun Kissed mist
Cre8tiv pearl brads

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30/11/2014 EDIT TO ADD:   Linking up at: Paper Issues Birds of a Feather theme.  I used a real feather as a feature embellishment on this layout.

Feeling sketchy...

I am a scrapbooker.  That statement is easy to make, and I wear the label very comfortably.

Sometimes I make cards.  But cardmaker is NOT a label I would use to describe myself.  I look at that little canvas and get a mental block. Every. Time.  It takes me three times longer to make a card than it does to make a layout! What's wrong with me?  I've tried thinking of a card as a mini-layout.  I've tried doing the scrap-lift (card-lift?) thing.  I have lots of cool cards pinned to my Pinterest board.  I love other people's cards.

I am a scrapbooker who is not comfortable making cards.

Which is why I *love* the card sketches at Feeling Sketchy.  Sketch #106 is so simple, so versatile, and so friendly to non-cardmakers.  Here's my attempt:

I used up some offcuts from my "brown scraps" ziplock bag collection.  I suspect that I acquired that little piece of brown cardstock at a crop day {back when I saw a Cuttlebug for the first time, and learnt how to use it, circa 2007 or 2008?}

I didn't add a sentiment, so I can use it for a birthday, or a thank you, or congratulations, or any occasion really.  I may end up turning it landscape, depending on what sentiment I add.

Materials:
Bazzill cardstock
Coredinations cardstock
Three Bugs in a Rug Coco - Rings patterned paper
Provocraft Cuttlebug - Jamara 5x7 embossing folder

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