ScrapChat - May

This month the challenge at ScrapChat was to create a layout with the colours red and teal, to get creative with masks, be innovative with tags and as a lifeline we could use white, black, cream or kraft. This is what I came up with ..

My hoodie

products used:

cardstock - kraft

patterned paper - Teresa Collins Spring Fling collection

embellishments - Lil Red Rocket flower, A Lil Somethin' calico banner and button, Kaiser rub-ons, Queen & Co photo turns and brads, bakers twine, buttons, ribbon

alphas - Carolees Creations Adornit Tiny Whoopsy Red

fun stuff - Perfect Pearls Mists - forever red, ColorBox fluid chalk ink pads - Warm Red and Aquamarine, MFT Die-namics Up, Up and Away and co-ordinating Up Up and Away stamps

other - Pure Black Zig Writer

I don't know that I was particularly 'creative' or 'innovative' but I'm happy. This is the first time I've scrapped Max since he passed away last September. It felt good.   :)

The story of ..

The Princess who cut off her nose

Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away there lived a Princess who lived a blessed life. The Princess had met and married her Prince Charming many, many years ago and they were living happily ever after. In honour of the Princess and as a public display of his continuing love and affection for her, the Prince built the Princess a beautiful, big, new palace. In that palace the Prince built a special room devoted purely for the Princess' every indulgence and pleasure. A large, sunny room in which the Princess could bide her time lounging on the royal red sofa, shopping and chatting on the non poisonous Apple, and scrapping at the large, flat pack table the Prince himself toiled over night and day to construct.

The Princess loved her special room. It was her favourite room in the palace on long, dark days when the Prince was out conquering lands and protecting their kingdom. Those long, dark days were the only blight on the Princess' tranquil, harmonious life.

One day though, not long after the Princess and her Prince had moved all their worldly possessions to the new palace, the heavens opened and rain poured upon the lands. The kingdom was devastated by the floods which followed and the palace was not spared. The Prince laboured long and hard to have the repairs to the palace done but so many of the people in the kingdom needed help, a tradie was difficult to find. Without the use of her treasured, special room, the Princess was unhappy. The Prince, unable to bear witness to her distress, was strong and persevered, eventually restoring the palace to its former glory. The Princess was happy again.

Many happy days and nights followed. The weather cooled. Winter came. Green buds blossomed in the Spring. The Summer winds were hot and dry. The land shifted. Some in the kingdom whispered of sorcery. "The Princess and the Prince were too happy" it was said. "Mother Earth is not happy." The kingdom and its people suffered as the land shifted and damaged their homes. Treacherous rumours that the Princess was a witch started to reach far and wide. Then one day the walls of the palace started to creak and groan .. and crack. The palace was falling apart. The whispers of sorcery and rumours of witchcraft died.

Once again the Princess and the Prince found themselves moving their royal possessions from one wing of the palace to the other. If the cracks were to be repaired the rooms needed to be emptied. The Princess was sad, oh so very sad, that she was to lose the use of her cherished room yet again. The Princess was sad that in the short time she and her devoted Prince had been living in the Palace, the royal trunks were yet to be fully unpacked. The Princess faced another long, cold Winter without her heavy garments to keep her warm. She was tired. She wondered whether she and the Prince would have been happier in the old, run-down palace they and their ancestors had lived in for hundreds of years.

Whilst working hard to protect his kingdom, the Prince devoted his life to making his Princess happy and restoring their palace. Still the Princess was unhappy. She became ill and despite his every effort, the Prince was unable to find what ailed her. The long, dark days with the Prince away became longer, and darker. Without her own, special place in the palace, the Princess did not know what to do. She was no longer able to rest on the royal red sofa. Although the Prince had moved the non poisonous Apple and the Princess' most frequently used scrapping materials and tools to the royal dining chamber, the Princess continued to languish.

Eventually the royal doctor was called to the palace. In his infinite wisdom, the royal doctor immediately saw what was wrong. The Princess was without a nose! The Princess was aghast! "Why hadn't the Prince said anything?" she asked. "Surely you had noticed my nose had fallen off?" she accused the Prince. The Prince stood tall, and lovingly gazing into her nose less face, quietly told the Princess her nose had not fallen off, that she had cut it off and that it lay in state in the room he had so lovingly built for her.

The Princess ran to the royal bed chamber sobbing. "Why would I cut off my own nose?" she cried. "If I cut off my own nose that would spite my face!" The Princess sat in the royal red throne in the royal bed chamber as the sun moved across the sky, eventually disappearing over the horizon. Slowly the Princess began to understand the Prince's words. The Princess knew of her Prince's love and devotion for her. She realised the Prince's words were gently said and meant only to help her see the error of her ways. The Princess realised that simply because she could not use her own, special room didn't mean she could not pursue her favourite past times and be happy.

The next morning, as the sun rose splendidly in the sky, sending shafts of light and joy across the kingdom, the Princess picked her nose up off the floor of her special room, placed it upon her face, and smiling, walked to the royal dining chamber and started using the non poisonous Apple and scrapping.

~ The End ~


The Princess' favourite room in the palace

The royal dining chamber

Scrap and be happy!

Handmade swaps ..

.. Wishing Wells and CJs .. just a few of the reasons I love being a member of an online community where we not only share in each others lives but also our creativity. ScrapChat has been my 'community' for a few years now and I love the close knit circle of friends I have there.

Recently one of those friends (heh Sandy!) hosted a handmade embellishment swap. We have such a talented group of women at ScrapChat; handmade embellishments are all the rage; we love to learn new techniques from one another; it made perfect sense! Plus we hadn't had one in a while LOL!! When it came to deciding what to do for my handmade embellishments I got a little stuck. LOL there were sooooo many things I wanted to do. So in the end I decided to go with an 'embellishment pack' ..

Music Sheet embellishment pack

products used:

patterned paper - Kaisercraft Timeless Collection "Sheet Music"

dies/punches - SU Circle punches 1.0" and 0.75", Die-namics Dizzy Doily Duo die, Tim Holtz Alterations dies: Caged Bird and Mini Paper Rosettes

other - Inkssentials Glossy Accents, chipboard, gold bottle caps

I had a lot of fun putting these packs together. I can see how the girls who do this as a home based business, selling on blogs, would enjoy doing this. But en masse? I don't think its quite for me. Not unless I was working with a friend. Perhaps. LOL! In any event each embellishment pack contains a doily, bottle cap, mini rosette and a chipboard bird. I hope the girls in the swap like them.

We also have a Wishing Well at ScrapChat. The idea is that once you grant someone else's wish you then make your own. Then when someone else grants your wish, they make a wish; and so on. I love cruising the Wishing Well thread to either grant wishes or get ideas for RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness). One of my friends (heh Susan!) went on a cruise with her husband and friends recently and wished for someone to die-cut her a title (x3) for when she scraps her photos. I had a font Susan liked and was able to access the exact cardstock colour she was hoping for and so was thrilled to be able to grant Susan's wish. I had some cardstock left over so also made up a few embellishments ..

Susan's Wishing Well

products used:

cardstock - SU Pacific Point

punches/dies - SU Circle punches 1.0" and 0.75", Cuttlebug Harlequin die, Quickutz Stardust font die

other - bakers twine, white brads

I'm pretty sure Susan will be happy with what I've put together for her wish. Oh and get this, another ScrapChat friend (heh Miriam!) was able to give me the specific cardstock Susan had been wishing for!!!

Finally, the last member in my CJ group to whom I owe a CJ contribution is Susan (heh again Susan!!). The theme of Susan's CJ is What makes you laugh. This has almost been the toughest theme in this group because so many things make me laugh. LOL (pardon the pun!) where to start???? In the end this is what I decided upon ..

Every cloud has a funny bone

products used:

cardstock - black Prismatics

patterned paper - Echo Park Sweet Summertime: Cool Treats, Pinwheels, Happy Spots

embellishments - Heidi Swapp circle clips, Prima Flowers (Sprites), various ribbons and buttons

alphas - Dymo black label, American Craft Thickers (foam, black): Daiquiri, Subway, Wonder

other - pure black Zig Writer, white Uni-ball gel pen

font - Optima

The title is a play on my 'MS speak'. I'm forever mixing up my metaphors and words now! Some days it makes me very, very frustrated but like most things in life, if you just don't laugh, you'll cry. Susan, if you're reading this, thanks for a great theme. Oh and yes I'll get all this in the mail for you super soon!

Wishing everyone a fabulous start to the week, whatever it has in store for you.  :)

One sketch .. two layouts

Was Easter really only just last weekend?? Where has the time gone? I had the pleasure of the company of a very, very special, dear friend for the Easter break. Sandy (heh Sandy!!!) came to stay. We had such a great time. Chatting, eating, drinking, shopping, scrapping, laughing, crying. It was just wonderful. It also reminded me of the last time Sandy was here ..

A couple of months back when Sandy was here for another weekend break she used one of my Alz Sketchz to create a layout ..

Maaate ... by Sandy

products used:

cardstock - SU Confetti White cardstock

patterned paper - Basic Grey Marrakesh collection

other - Tim Holtz Distress embossing powder, chipboard flourish

This is the sketch Sandy used ..

Alz Sketchz

Christmas (Memories)

I love Sandy's layout. The simplicity works so well for a male based page, and the title is perfect. You can just picture (or hear) the guys saying "maaate". What a priceless photo! Thanks Sandy.

I had also wanted to give this sketch a go so figured I'd whip up something to share before I post this post. Here's what I came up with ..

Adorable

products used:

cardstock - SU Naturals Ivory

patterned paper - Pink Paislee Prairie Hill: Spool, Country Meadow, Sun Spot, Hilltop, Kite Strings, Flight Pattern (including reverses)

embellishments - Pink Paislee Prairie Hill shipping tags and chipboard pops, Prima flowers - Tattered Treasures (wheat) and Tasha (Gold), Polly! felt butterfly, Jules Gems' resin flowers, A Lil Somethin' mistable cogs and mistable banner, Charms Creations {fabulous} flowers, crochet flower, twine, sewing machine thread, bottle cap

alphas - Quickutz Mini alpha dies, American Crafts Thickers - Giggles, Foam, Cream

other - Inkssentials Glossy Accents, VersaMagic Jumbo Java chalk ink pad

font - Optima

"It's not to my liking" said GB. LOL, that's okay GB because I love it!!! I'm in such a more is more phase at the moment. LOL can you tell? GB's tastes run to the more clean and simple, perhaps a little graphic. Too bad GB .. if you want clean and graphic take up scrapping!!!!!  :p

Oh and this is the original layout from which my friend Kylie (heh K!!) of {Yillup Designs} created the digital sketch for me ..

Memories (Christmas)

products used:

patterned paper - Bo Bunny Tis the Season collection

alphas - Carolee Creations sleek red alphas

embellishments - Hambly Collections journaling spots, Zva pearl flourish, Kaiser pearls

punches/dies - Big Shot Thick Cuts Circles die

other - Sharpie journaling pen

So there you go, one sketch two ways. Thanks as always to K for being so generous with her time and making up my Alz Sketchz and for Sandy testing them out for me.   :)

Life's lessons

Life's lessons can be lighthearted and fun, and sometimes they can be sad and lonely. My beautiful, beautiful niece CJ recently experienced the heartache of leaving someone she had loved, created a home and planned a future with. Her courage, strength, and outlook on what was happening inspired me to create the following layout ..

I used ScrapChat's April challenge for my inspiration when creating this layout. Our projects had to incorporate the following criteria ..

Colours - yellow and grey

Design requirement - Houndstooth pattern

Something extra - "Life's lessons" .. interpret this however you wish

Lifelines - white, black, cream, kraft

The journaling on the layout are CJ's words .. thank you for sharing this with me sweetheart.  :) xx

A match made in heaven

My niece Mia loves her dog Levy. Mia wanted a dog just about her entire life. Desperately. Her mum on the other hand was not so keen, seeing as she was scared of dogs 'n all. What to do? Eventually her mum caved and a goofball of a Golden Retriever came to live with Mia and her family. Mia being the free spirited, delightfully enthusiastic, fun loving girl she was (and still is) named her goofball .. wait for it LOL .. Levy Angel Ernie (at least I think that's it).

This layout celebrates their connection ..

m&l 4 eva

products used:

cardstock - Prismatics White, Core'dinations Jillian Dot

alphas - American Crafts Thickers Daiquiri (Foam, White)

embellishments - Prima Flowers (Tasha Frost and Dotted Miss Molly), Washi tape, Kitty Robot sculpey buttons, Queen & Co brads, bakers twine

fun stuff - FolkArt acrylic paint (627 Tangerine, 735 Lemon Custard)

I used ScrapChat's March challenge (yes I know LOL .. I'm just a tad late!) for my inspiration. We had to create a project with the following criteria:

Colours - blue, orange and yellow

Design requirement - paint

Something extra - Chevron pattern

Lifelines - white, black, cream, kraft

I was also inspired by my buddy Michelle Jamieson (heh Chelle!) when creating this layout. Back in January Chelle created a layout for Polly! Scrap Kits for one of their challenges .. to use paper scraps to create your layout. Chelle used some of her scraps to create a border around her layout and I thought it looked fabulous! Here's a link to Chelle's awesome layout .. Crazy Faces. Thanks Chelle!!!   :)

I've run away with Tim

Tim Holtz that is. LOL! Oh and yes .. in my dreams! Fortunately for the both of us, I only want him for his creativity and good looks!!!! Oh and let's not forget his charm and great sense of humour. Plus his studio filled with vintage love. Sigh ..

Seriously though? I've been participating in his online class "Creative Chemistry 101" the past couple of weeks which has meant I've been busy 'studying' (ha ha) and doing 'homework' (OMG that's even funnier!) so I don't really have anything to share. Oh and I've been playing truant a lot too. We're nearly at the end of week two and I'm still only at about day 4 or 5 .. oops! I've a lot of catching up to do LOL!! But that's the beauty of these online classes .. you can do it all at your own pace.

Meanwhile my buddy Miriam (heh sunshine!) sets a monthly card challenge at ScrapChat and as I wanted to make something fresh and new for another friend's birthday, I decided to give it a bash. It was meant to be a punch art card and wouldn't you know it, halfway through I realised I was paper piecing!! D'oh!!!!! In any event out of the stash of products arose ..

Ozzie Stella Rose

products used:

cardstock - Bazzill

patterned paper - My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose - Mabel papers 6x6

embellishments - Wendy Irving Expressions rubons; Prima flowers; buttons; orange sewing machine thread

fun stuff - Kaiser white acrylic paint; Viva Decor Croco crackling color; Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Broken China and Spiced Marmalade); white Uniball Signo pen; 

other - Collections Elements Ozzie Owl (used as a template)

punches/dies - SU 1" and 3/4" circles and large oval; Sizzlits Flourish #9

Thanks for the challenge Miriam even if I did get it wrong!

What's next? I'm not exactly sure. I'd like to do my own March challenges at ScrapChat .. the all year round Christmas card challenge and my colour based layout challenge. I'd love to catch up on Tim's classes and get my tags (the 'homework') from each class up to date. In just a couple of days I'll be setting new challenges for April at ScrapChat. I'm running almost ridiculously late in a handmade embellishment swap, but that's mostly because I can't settle on what to make. I owe a friend a CJ which I really, really want to get done because that means I'll be finished with group one in that swap. Sigh .. LOL .. where to begin? Fingers crossed for a productive weekend!

Meanwhile, whatever you're up to this weekend .. enjoy!!!!   :)