Man's Best Friend

Probably my last layout for August, and I'm making progress in smashing another bag of green scraps and leftover bits.  Mixing it up with some fabric too:



Participating in these challenges:

* More Than Words ~ FRIENDS + CIRCLES

* Simon Says Monday ~ Stitch Up.  I love machine stitching and used lots on this layout.  The border, of course, but also some random stitch patterns to secure pieces to the page:



Materials
Cosmo Cricket Material Girl - Measuring Up patterned paper
Denim fabric
Buttons
October Afternoon Mini Market - Green & Cream alphabet stickers

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Sydney 2014

Today I scrapped some layouts for our Sydney (2014) holiday album:

1>  I used a bit of mixed media ~ paint, fabric and some handmade flowers and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out:



Sharing this layout at:
* Mystical Scrapbooks - Pink & Blue Cyber Crop ~ sketch challenge
* Creative Artiste ~ Anything Goes

Materials
Kaisercolour Navy Blue acrylic paint
The Crafter's Workshop Balzer Designs - Mini Art Deco Leaves stencil
Denim fabric
Bella Blvd Sunny Happy Skies - Borders patterned paper
Pink Paislee Color Wash - Shine patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flight Path patterned paper
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Edition patterned paper
Buttons
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type alphabet stickers
Chipboard letters (unknown manufacturer)
Tsukineko Versacube - Polar Blue inkpad

17/10/2016 edit to add:  Featured as a gallery pick at Mystical Scrapbooks

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2> This one is a pocket page:



Sharing this layout at:
* Mystical Scrapbooks - Pink & Blue Cyber Crop ~ monochromatic pink
* Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge - Use a souvenir from a place or event.  I included the fragrance cards from the department store.
* Sketches in Thyme PL Style - Sketch #40

Materials
Simple Stories Sn@p! Insta-page insert
Basic Grey Perhaps - Julia patterned paper
Elle's Studio You and Me - Mixed Dots patterned paper
Basic Grey Micro Monograms - Pink alphabet stickers
Manor House Fairy Floss - Pink blossom
Crocheted lace trim

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This is another pocket scrap page:



No patterned paper or product on this one... just some black and white napkins from the cafe, and a smidgen of colour added with the cafe loyalty card held in place with a paper clip.  This spread was done on the back of the one above - you can see a peek of the lace.

Sharing at:
* Lasting Memories ~ Black & white with one additional colour

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Best Dog Ever

I had fun making this tag:



Inspired by the August mini-challenge at More Than Words:

AND submitting at Creative Artiste for the Anything Goes theme.

I didn't have the right shade of green in my patterned paper stash, so I used a lime green paper napkin, a technique I haven't used for ages.  I really like the way the kraft cardstock shows through.

Materials
Bazzill Basics Kraft cardstock
My Mind's Eye Boy Crazy - Seeing Stars patterned paper
Cosmo Cricket Material Girl - Measuring Up patterned paper
MFT Die-namics - Little Lowercase Letters alphabet dies
Doodlebug Simply Sweet - Limeade alphabet stickers
Wood veneer heart
Gem flowers
Celebrate grosgrain ribbon
Francheville grosgrain ribbon

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D-lish Scraps birthday cybercrop

I'm cyber-cropping with Scrap Suite, and these are the layouts I've made so far:

Colour challenge ~ WHITE + YELLOW + GOLD + TURQUOISE



Materials
My Mind's Eye Boy Crazy - Seeing Stars patterned paper
Prima Free Spirit ATC card
Crate Paper Flea Market photo overlay
Petaloo Botanica Mini - Teal blossoms
Green Tara 4cm Petals - Turquoise mulberry flower
Flying Unicorn Victorian Garden - Rays of Love yellow roses

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Birthday bingo challenge ~ SONG LYRICS + TWINE + FLAIR



Materials
Corrugated cardboard
Denim fabric
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High - Journal Cards patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High sticker and cork stars
Baker's twine
Fancy Pants What a Wonderful Day flair

Font: You Are Loved by Kimberly Geswein

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Colour, colour, colour

I *love* the gorgeous, bright colours of the August mood board at Scrapping Clearly:

This is what I created:



I took inspiration from the wood panels, and created simple panels of colour as my LO background.

Materials
Echo Park Sweet Summertime - Flower Garden patterned paper
Echo Park Life is Good - Happy Borders patterned paper
Collage Press Margot - Cherry Blossoms patterned paper
Echo Park Victoria Gardens - Cheerful Words patterned paper
Prima Sprites 2 - Green embossed paper flower
D-lish Scraps Wildflowers - Candy Pink blossoms
Bumble Bee Crafts large satin flowers
Button
MFT Die-namics - Little Letters alphabet dies
American Crafts Thickers - Smoothie foam alphabets

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Kraft Plus... a tassel

I think I can honestly say I've never used tassels on a layout.  So the August challenge at Kraft Plus was a fun one:  Tassels!  I actually started with the tassel (played around with making one from baker's twine) then built the layout around it - kraft cardstock and some simple layers:



Materials
Bazzill Basics Kraft cardstock
Prima Free Spirit - Sonnet patterned paper
Prima Free Spirit ATC card
Green Tara Damask - Ivory blossom (pulled apart)
Yellow baker's twine
Kaisercraft Cream 5cm paper flower
O'Scrap I've Got Wheels button
Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 - Garbo patterned paper
My Mind's Eye Collectable - Unforgettable washi tape

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Roma

Another few pocket pages for the January album, about my overnight trip to Roma.

This pocket page was inspired by sketch #39 at Sketches in Thyme Project Life Style:

Detail shot of the top left banners:



Materials
Simple Stories Sn@p! Insta-page insert
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Edition patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High - Little Star patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High sticker
May Arts Herringbone - Red ribbon

23/08/2016 Edit to add: My page was featured at Sketches in Thyme PL Style

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Roma is known for its bottle trees:



I'm participating at Scrapbook Fantasies ~ Weekly Challenge #33/2016 for the ribbon theme.  This is a close up of the bottom photo panel, using ribbon scraps:



Materials
Simple Stories Sn@p! Insta-page insert
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Edition patterned paper
Rouge de Garance Sylvestre 4 patterned paper
Bo Bunny Our Lil Monster - Tough Guy patterned paper
Creative Imaginations Winter Garden - Winter Vine patterned paper
CSI Coordinates 106 digital printable (arrow)
October Afternoon Mini Market - Green & Cream alphabet stickers
Ribbon scraps
Paper clip

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How do you like to go up in a swing?

This layout was inspired by the August challenge at ARTastic:



This is the inspiration picture, a fabulous woodcut piece by Australian artist, Thea Proctor:

I used the first August sketch from Stuck?! as the foundation of my layout.  I focussed on the swing for my layout theme, using yellows for the girl on the swing, a blue cloud background, and red patterned accents. I used black pens to outline each of the papers, to outline the cloud motifs and to handwrite directly onto the layout.

The title is borrowed the children's poem, The Swing, by Robert Louis Stevenson, and I've included the first two stanzas too. When I was little I absolutely adored A Child's Garden of Verses, and I could recite all of the poems from memory.  I still have the book somewhere in my library.

Materials
October Afternoon Sasparilla - Cattle Drive patterned paper
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Edition patterned papers
Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety - Sweet Pea patterned paper
Such Sweet Tierney Let's Fly Kites hand painted buttons

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Street musicians

Another pocket scrap page today:



The title card was inspired by sketch #38 at Sketches in Thyme Project Life Style:

And I'm also sharing again at Unstampabelles for the Anything but a Card theme.  I don't have a tutorial because it's a very simple pocket spread, but I do have a tip:

* Music (score) paper is easy to come by in secondhand stores (try your local Vinnies)... just head to the book section and most places will have a box somewhere.  I usually get mine at the Lifeline Bookfest (under $2 for a bundle) and use it for all kinds of craft projects.  It also makes fabulous gift wrapping paper!

Materials
Simple Stories Sn@p! Insta-page insert
Vintage music score paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High - Journal Cards patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High - Flight Path patterned paper
Lil Davis Away We Go sticker
MFT Die-amics - Little Letters alphabet dies
MFT Die-amics - Little Lowercase Letters alphabet dies

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BFF

I scrapped another photograph that I swiped from J-girl's FB page (yes, she knows I do that...)  This page was inspired by the August challenge at More Than Words:

The photograph is my daughter and her BFF.  I used a transparency for the background with lots of circles, and a circular flair button for my title. To add a little sparkle and fun, I also adhered some gold sequins.. more little circles!

A close-up shot:



Materials
Basic Grey Porcelain - Chatsworth patterned paper
Hambly Screen Prints Mod - Brown transparency
Cocoa Vanilla Sugar & Spice flair button
My Mind's Eye Sundress - Sweetness die cut 
Gold sequins

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Nudgee Beach... continued

Another few layouts for the February day trip album:



This simple one was inspired by the August combo at at 1-2-3 Challenge ~

Colour: CHOCOLATE ~ Lots of delicious chocolate brown in the background
Word: EXPLORE ~ Title
Technique: SQUARES ~ I chose a patterned paper with decorative squares

Materials
Pink Paislee Queen Bee - Honeycomb patterned paper
EK Success Whale of a Punch - Retro Flower punch
Buttons
Twine
Metal leaf from a Scrapbook Fantasies embellishment prize pack
Portacraft Metallic Gold alphabet stickers

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This one was inspired by the August sketch challenge at Scrapping Clearly:



Materials
Bazzill Basics Kraft cardstock
Creative Imaginations Narratives - Melonberry patterned paper
Vintage book page
Pink Paislee Queen Bee - Flip Notes journal page
Cre8tiv pearl brads
Prima E-line - Brown paper flowers
October Afternoon Mini Market - Gray & Cream alphabet stickers

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Nudgee Beach

Scrapping some photographs from February this year... a summer afternoon walk with the hubby and the dog.

This layout was inspired by the colours in the Scrapbook Boutique August mood board - green, grey and charcoal:



The design is based on the August sketch at Kaisercraft.  The papers are from two older collections, and I did LOTS of fussy cutting:



Materials
Kaisercraft Pickled Pear - Thyme patterned paper
Kaisercraft Lil Primrose - Fancy Dress patterned paper
Kaisercraft Rhinestones - Mint Green gems
Carolee's Creations AdornIt - Rugged alphabet stickers

10/09/2016 EDIT TO ADD:  Thrilled to be selected as the winner at Scrapbook Boutique!

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This layout was inspired by the colours in the Summer Hideaway mood board at Berry 71 Bleu... some nature shots this time, from the shady part of the wetlands walk:



I used a sketch that I found at En Liten Butik.  The lovely Anna Uhras (who used to be a team mate at Pixels and Paper) is a guest designer there this month, so I linked across to take a peek.  I included the extra criteria too:  misting (masked edges), stitching (sewing machine) and three patterned papers (I used more).

A little detail shot:



Materials
Kaisercraft Pickled Pear - Thyme patterned paper
Kaisercraft Lil Primrose - Fancy Dress patterned paper
Crate Paper Crush - Kelp patterned paper
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Edition patterned paper
Vintage book paper
Green Tara 38mm - Lime Green mesh ribbon
Carolee's Creations AdornIt - Green Foam alphabet
EK Success Whale of a Punch - Dragonfly punch
Ranger Dylusions - Ground Coffee ink spray
Baker's twine
Gold sequins

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Lest we Forget

I am submitting my layout for the following challenges:

* Jot Magazine - August mood board.

I used the black/white/grey/red colour palette.  I took inspiration from the layered white flowers and red butterfly, using those elements in my page. (The original flower was a bit too big for my page, so I removed the bottom layer of petals.)

* Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge - Use a souvenir from a place or event.  I included the order of service from the ANZAC Day dawn service, tucked in a pocket behind the photographs:



I created the pocket by machine stitching on three sides of the patterned paper, leaving it open at the top. I secured the booklet with a paper clip, which also makes it a little more obvious that there is something to remove.

* Unstampabelles - Anything but a card.  

Materials
Bazzill Basics Smoothies - Blackberry Swirl cardstock
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Collection patterned paper
Red paper clip
Wooden butterfly buttons
Green Tara Damask - Ivory organza flower
October Afternoon Mini Market - Gray & Cream alphabet stickers
Beaded stick pins (from a RAK)

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Ugly paper?

I'm joining in at Show us your Stuff for the Ugly Paper theme.  Quite a tricky challenge, because "ugly" is a strong, subjective concept.  I don't think I've got any truly ugly papers in my stash, but I have a few that are a bit dated and others that don't really suit my current style of scrapping.

I did find something that fits the challenge criteria though.  A few years back I was lucky enough to win a prize pack from Bo Bunny.  I am a huge fan of Bo Bunny products, but this particular collection pack just didn't click with me, because of the colour scheme (lots of purples and mauves - not a favourite colour palette) and the texture (feels like wallpaper!).  The glitter-embossed paper buckled quite badly around the embossed motifs, and I couldn't flatten it no matter what I tried. Anyway... this is what I came up with:



I broke up the pattern with some white paper doilies, and I included a handmade flair from Cocoa Vanilla.

Materials
Bo Bunny Jazmyne - Verdant patterned paper
Carolee's Creations AdornIt - Green Foam alphabets
Baker's twine
Paper doilies
Cocoa Vanilla Sugar & Spice flair button

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Take Flight

This layout is based on the first August sketch at Stuck?! Sketches:



I'm also joining in at Mixed Media Monthly for the August Travel theme.

Materials
Cosmo Cricket Material Girl - Tailor Made patterned paper
Cosmo Cricket Material Girl - Measuring Up patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High - Flight Path patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High - Little Star patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High - Journal Cards patterned paper
Cocoa Vanilla Flying High accessory stickers
Baker's twine

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A beautiful ride

For this month's challenge at Funky Flair Studio, I made a pocket page layout featuring our trip on a Green Cab last year:



I used different tones of green and orange from the Citrus Twist mood board, and I used a Funky Flair:

... and I used the word "forever" in my journalling as required by the challenge:



Materials
Simple Stories Sn@p! Insta-page insert
My Mind's Eye Jubilee - Mint Julep journal cards
Pom pom trim - Green Apple
Washi tape
Funky Flair Chalkboard Trio - Bicycle flair
Prima Essentials paper flowers Orange bling flower

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Saturday scrapping

Back to some simple scrapping... still working through the packet of photographs from October 2013:



I'm joining in with the August challenge at ARTastic:

I took inspiration from the general whimsical feel of the picture, and the beautiful blue sky. I added some fussy cut birds (Basic Grey Lime Rickey - Howdy Doody pp) for interest, and drew some black pen line borders.

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A layout based on a sketch at Mystical Scrapbooks:



Materials
Dream Street Baylee's Garden - Telling Stories patterned paper
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Edition patterned paper
Studio Calico Story Time - Nighty Night patterned paper
Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party - Grand Garland patterned paper
Paper doily
Becky Higgins Project Life - It's a Man's World journal card
Orange bling flowers (RAK gift)
Prima Meadowlark textured canvas alphabets

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Pocket scrapping

Another page for the January day tripping album..



I'm joining in with these challenges:

* Sketches in Thyme PL Style ~ Sketch #37

I flipped the sketch and used torn paper scraps instead of circles (main photo, lower panel).

* Scrappy Friends ~ This or That.  I added a strip of washi tape down the side of the photograph.  I really like how quick and easy it is to add a little bit of colour, and also a bit of extra width to stop the photo from sliding around in the pocket.

Materials
Simple Stories Sn@p! Insta-page insert
Simple Stories Sn@p Studio - Everyday journal card
Bo Bunny Sweet Life - Noteworthy die cuts 
Bakers twine
Becky Higgins Project Life - Jade Edition patterned paper 
Chevron washi tape

08/08/2016 Edit to add:  My page was featured at Sketches in Thyme PL:

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I'm joining in the inspiration challenge at Creative Embellishments this month with this pocket page spread:



I took inspiration from the carnival theme and I used a circular embellishment (CE flair).  The main photographs are aerial shots of sideshow alley at the Brisbane Ekka, taken from the top of the ride.



Materials
Simple Stories Sn@p! Insta-page insert
Creative Embellishments Summer flair
CSI Coordinates 106 digital printable (be happy)

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