Who'd have thought

... these 'bilious' colours would lead to inspiration for a layout I most likely would never have created, but which gave me an opportunity to scrap about something I loved, and lost, and recently reconnected with ... reading.

"Read in order to live."

~ Henry Fielding (British Playwright and Novelist, 1707 - 1754)

to read is

products used: Doodlebug Designs Inc flourish impression cardstock; Stampin' Up! Whisper White cardstock; Echo Park For The Record patterned paper; Lilybeedesign This & That patterned paper; Crate Paper Caitlin patterned paper; Prima Indeed patterned paper; Websters Pages vintage inspired netting; Sizzix Sizzlits border die, Scallop, Giant; Sizzix Sizzlits dies, Flourish #9 and Label, Ornate #2; Prima flowers; Prima flower centres; Making Memories Cheeky Shimmer Stickers, purple alphas; Kaiser rhinestones; vintage crocheted doily; sewing machine and thread; and organza swirls ribbon

I will let the journaling (which in this case appears on the reverse of the layout because, well, why not?) speak for itself ...

"Reading used to be one of my favourite past times.  Growing up as a child with parents and grandparents who loved to read, the joy of reading was fostered in my brothers and I from a very young age.  Throughout my entire life and well into adulthood my love of reading has never left me.  Marrying someone with an equal passion for reading seemed inevitable.  I could never have envisaged though the number of books we would amass between us.  I also could never have imagined there would come a time in my life when reading would become difficult and at times, nigh impossible.  I was always aware of how blessed I was to have an insatiable passion for books, and to be able to escape into them in a world where, in my own schoolyard many struggled with the written word.  I just never believed that would ever be me.  But here I am a little over three years since my last serious relapse and I have been struggling to read for quite some time.  In fact I had all but given up on being able to properly read ever again.  Yes I could manage magazines, but a book?  No.  Not for a very long time.  The damage to the memory ‘bits’ in my brain has affected both my short term and long term memory, both of which I am sure you can imagine, are somewhat important when reading a book!!

Yesterday, I am thrilled to say, I finished reading a book!  Yes you read correctly ... I finished reading a book!!!  A dear friend Anthea unbeknownst to me, had ‘filed away’ the information I was struggling to read, and one day very recently two books turned up at my door ... Dreaming of Dior and Dreaming of Chanel by Charlotte Smith and illustrated by Grant Cowan.  At first my heart sunk.  Anthea’s well-meaning gesture was appreciated more than words can say, but I couldn’t read anymore.  However on closer inspection, these books were different.  They were stories but not novels.  They weren’t nonfiction or even short stories for that matter.  They were a celebration of vintage haute couture in a format of illustrations and notes, or anecdotes, of the women who had worn these fabulous creations.  Anthea had also ‘filed away’ my once insatiable love for all things fine.  I could read these!  Each story or anecdote was not more than one page.  When I lost my way it wasn’t frustrating to start reading at the top of the page again.  It was only one page.  The page before had no reference to the page I was reading.  I didn’t need to retain the information I was reading for the page following.  I could simply read for the pleasure of reading.  In the time it took me to read one page and admire the beautifully illustrated garment, I could escape for that short time into another world, a world of beauty and excitement, a world a long way from the reality of my own life.

Anthea hasn’t given these books to me.  They are a loan.  I believe they may have belonged to her mother at one time, although I could be wrong.  Nonetheless these two books are amongst the most precious gifts I have received in my lifetime.  The gift of Anthea’s friendship, so clearly displayed in her thoughtfulness is a precious gift in its own right.  Returning to me the ability to read a book is immeasurable.  Not only have I finished reading Dreaming of Dior, but I’ve made a good start on Dreaming of Chanel and find myself now ‘dreaming’ of digging into the boxes upon boxes of books we have in storage, and delving into some treasured, old favourites again ..."

The 'bilious' colours (LOL ... a term my father used for colours he found unappealing, to say the least!) which inspired this layout are from the April colour challenge at ScrapChat.  Here's the Colour Palette for  you to judge for yourself ...

I know I had decided to 'do away with' challenges for a while, at least until I had caught up on some other projects I've had sitting on my desk for weeks, nay months!  But I made the mistake of actually looking at the colour challenge and that was it.  These colours have remained in the back of my mind ever since and they have been quietly going along their merry way taunting me, daring me, challenging me.  These colours were slowly driving me crazy.  I had to tackle the Colour Palette.  I couldn't possibly let it get the better of me!

I'm glad to have scrapped about my milestone of reading Dreaming of Dior.  It was a significant moment for me and one worth celebrating on 12x12.  Conveniently the colours worked well.  Will I use them in this combination again?  Not likely.  Not on your Nelly.  No.  Never!  Overall though I'm a happy scrapper.  Except that this has now created a fresh dilemma ... to view the colour challenge for May or to not view the colour challenge for May?  That is the question ...

From just one layout ...

... came a sketch, a mini layout (3x3"), mini album covers, a 12x12" layout and two cards.  This 'just one layout' is the culprit ...

Beautiful

published in Scrapbooking Memories Volume 11 No. 7

products used include: Treasures and Core'dinations cardstock; Kelly Panacci and Crate Paper patterned papers; Little Yellow Bicycle transparency; K&Co die-cut cardstock shapes; Doodlebug stick with it alphas; WeRMK foil sheets; Crate Paper rub-ons; Stampin' Up! scallop edge punch; Kaiser pearls; Zig marker; various ribbons (including Maya Road velvet ric rac), buttons, fabric and other haberdashery items; and a generic 'cheapie' (but super stunning don't you think?!) flower

Although I created this layout quite some time ago now, it remains one of my firm favourites.  I remember being inspired by the photo and after editing it, being inspired to create something dreamy, floaty and childlike in its innocence.  Recently, my friend Kylie of {yillup designs} (see HERE) created a sketch from this layout ...

Beautiful sketch

I love how this sketch turned out (thanks K!!) and was eager to give it a whirl more than two years after creating the original layout.  But I confess, I'm in the middle of my first (and hopefully last!) serious head cold for the season and over the past week I haven't felt much like creating.  Plus, and this bit is more than a tad exciting, I'm going on a scrapbooking retreat in June so I've been a bit of an eager beaver getting a head start on my photos and kits to take away.  Could I bring myself to drag myself away from the retreat preparation long enough to actually scrap?  LOL at the rate I was going I would be taking away enough projects and kits to work on I'd never get them done in a month of Sundays.  What to do?  Then I remembered I needed to make ten mini (3x3") layouts for a swap at the retreat.  Why not use my sketch (somewhat shrunk you could say) to create those mini layouts?  Problem solved!!!  This is what I came up with ...

Alz

note - the layout is actually 3.5x3" so as to allow 0.5" for binding

products used include: Stampin' Up! Kraft cardstock; Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned papers; Kaiser rhinestones; Prima Forever Flowers; ribbon; Zig writer; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; EK Success border punch (postage stamp); and Stampin' Up! 2 3/8" scallop circle punch

I'd had the Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie range (okay I confess I have all four colours in the Paperie range) in my stash for what feels like eons without using it.  A girlfriend used the Greenhouse range last year some time when she was here and we were cyber cropping (hi Sandy!) but otherwise, I've left them dormant.  What was I thinking?!  Was I crazy?!!!  This range was divine to work with.  I will be the first to admit I have always had a thing for Making Memories, since the day I started scrapping. Having said that I can't quite understand why I hadn't done anything with these collections before.  Well let me say, once I had done 10 versions of this mini layout I was hooked.  So hooked I proceeded to do my mini album covers for the mini layouts (once we have swapped them all at the retreat that is), completely forgetting that covering our mini albums was meant to be one of the retreat challenges.  Seriously what a dufus!  There's nothing I can do about the fact that I've completed the challenge only about six or seven weeks before the event so I may as well share.  Oh and no I'm not going to officially 'enter' them with the other mini albums.  Seriously ... what a dufus!!!

3MMM mini album covers

products used include: chipboard; Stampin' Up! Top Note die; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Stampin' Up! Kraft cardstock (on the inside of the covers); Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned paper, trim, blossoms and buttons; embroidery cotton; Kaiser rhinestones; American Crafts Thickers, rockabye, foam, leaf

Now honestly, can you see why I have fallen in love (all over again) with this fabulous range?  The darker green paper covering the front and back of the album covers is actually flocked.  I love things which are touchy feely and this flocked paper fits the bill!!  After I had mistakenly completed this challenge now instead of in mid June (have I mentioned what a dufus I am?!?!) I packed everything away nice and neat ready to start my next project only, LOL, to pull it all out again to keep creating.  I wasn't hooked on this paper range, I had well and truly jumped from the water into the boat!  Over the course of five days (yes I know that's slow, even for me, but remember I'm scrapping with a nasty head cold), using this collection, as mentioned above, I created 10 mini layouts, decorated my mini album covers, made a 12x12 layout and two cards.  After all this I managed to successfully (for now!) put the collection away and away it has remained.  I'll admit though I'm not so sure if that's because I've finished with it for the time being or because I'm scared I'm going to use it all up LOL!!!

This is the 12x12 (my preferred size) layout ...

Couple of kids

(briefly and all over the place) the products used include: various American Craft Thickers; Kitty Robot buttons; Glossy Accents and FolkArt paint; red brads; Buzz and Bloom chipboard; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Making Memories (there they are again!) Clear Creations, Family; chipboard; Prismatics and Bazzill Swiss Dots cardstock; Tim Holtz Alterations dies - Paper Rosette and Mini Paper Rosettes (I LOVE this new die!!!); Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned papers; and The Crafter's Workshop template, Zinnia

For those of you interested in creating your own 'die-cut' look background papers, can I suggest you invest in some templates by The Crafter's Workshop?  They are so versatile, working fabulously (amongst other things) as masks, but in this instance quite simply as a template to create a cut out paper background ...

It really is as easy as tracing/drawing the outline of the template on your patterned paper (or cardstock as the case may be), using a craft knife to cut out the pattern (I suggest a super sharp knife and a glass cutting mat to make this job faster and cleaner), and then erasing your pencil lines.  Voila!

Finally, here are the two cards I made, using the sketch Beautiful for inspiration ...

Asian bird

Asian grasses

products used in making these cards include: Prismatics and Bazzill Swiss Dots cardstock; Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie journaling book and patterned paper; Making Memories Rouge Paperie felt clips (I told you I had the other colours!); red brads; red Kaiser pearls; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Tim Holtz Alterations dies, Paper Rosette and Mini Paper Rosettes; Sizzix Sizzlits border die, Scallops, Giant; Stampin' Up! stamp set, Asian Artistry; Stampin' Up! ink pads, Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss; Stampin' Up! Kiwi Kiss cardstock; Stampin' Up! scallop trim border punch; Maya Road twill; sewing machine and cotton

I don't know about anyone else but I think that's enough green and red for this time of year.  LOL anyone could be forgiven for thinking I had mistaken it was Christmas ...

I'm dreaming of a ...

new printer.  Okay so I'm no Bing Crosby and just as I'll never be able to 'croon' like he did, I'm just as likely to never acquire this printer I'm dreaming about.  But heh there's no reason I can't share right?  Plus who knows what's around the corner?

This is the printer of which (my) dreams are made of ... the Epson Stylus Photo R2880 ...

find all its specs HERE

I've been dreaming of this printer (well actually one a little better but which wasn't released here) for nigh on two years and I wish now I had bought it whilst I had the opportunity.  Now every penny is squirrelled away for things for our new home.  [For example, it's kind of hard to justify buying this swish-o new printer when for the same price we could get a half decent BBQ (there is only two of us so it doesn't have to be huge) and a nice outdoor setting.]  But if I had bought it before we moved I had nowhere to set it up and what would have been the point of it sitting in its box for a good portion of its warranty period?  Oh I know ... "I'd have it now" (LOL) she exclaims with a little foot stomping for good measure.  Sigh ...

Anyway so that's my favourite printer (I've been an Epson Stylus Photo printer girl all my printing life LOL) and here are a few more of my favourites to share ...

... colour (week 13)

nature

products used include: Stampin' Up! Kraft cardstock; pure black Zig Writer; American Crafts Thickers, giftbox, raw chipboard; Making Memories metallic staples; kraft Washi tape; and Fundamentals Cardmaking Accents (chipboard)

... sweet/lolly (week 14)

these 'will do' {LOL}

products used include: Stampin' Up Very Vanilla cardstock; Stampin' Up punches 2 3/8 scallop circle, scallop circle, 1 3/4 circle, 1 3/8 circle, scallop trim border; Websters Pages netting (used to hand make flower); Christina Re pearl brad; pure black Zig Writer; recycled gift bag paper; Chatterbox artsy.licious Splendid Ribbon, chocolate; American Craft Thickers, giggles, foam, cream; Making Memories Paperie double-sided patterned paper - Toile Mocha (reverse) and Floral Mocha (including reverse)

An enormous thank you to my friend Kylie for continuing to post these Weekly Favourites Challenges at ScrapChat ... they're just about the only thing keeping me going at the moment.  So thanks K!

PS:  GB would like to say re the Epson printer of which my dreams are made ... "tell her she's dreamin'!" ha ha ha ...

Happy 40th Michelle!

A friend of ours recently turned 40 and so it was time to make a very special birthday card.  I remember turning 40 (it was only about two years ago ... okay so I'm almost 43, but ...); I remember how fabulous it felt; I remember how young I still felt.  Michelle is known (amongst many other wonderful things) for her purple leather boots somewhat reminiscent of Doc Martens (they probably are!).  As you can imagine making a card for Michelle wasn't going to be the usual, 'girly' affair LOL!  Well I'm pretty happy with my efforts and although I won't know for sure until we see Michelle tomorrow, I'm pretty sure I've hit the nail on the head with what I came up with ...

Michelle's 40th suite

products used (wait for it) include ... Stampin' Up! cardstock; Prima Pulse Collection designer scrapbooking paper, 6x6 pad; American Craft Thickers, gift box, raw chipboard; Bella! box of raw chipboard alphas, circle; Making Memories rhinestone brads; Dymo labeller and purple (what else?!) tape; organza swirl ribbon; Making Memories acrylic paint, Eggplant; Jo Sonja's acrylic paint, Carbon Black; Plaid Extreme Glitter paint, Black; leather off-cuts; Tim Holtz Alterations die, Tattered Florals; Tim Holtz Alterations On The Edge die, Brackets; Sizzix Bigz die, Box, Pillow; and last but not least, Stampin' Up! Bigz die, Scallop Envelope ... phew

Have you ever worked with a patterned paper range or style that's just grabbed you and kept you creating?  Well that's what happened here.  Yes I could have just stopped with the card but the envelope was a fairly ordinary one (I so need to get myself some decent envelopes) so I 'spruced' that up a little with some paint and a die-cut flower which I distressed by simply scrunching it up and then carefully unfolding it.  I love that technique because it's (a) so easy and (b) gives a gorgeous 3D feel to the flower.  Then there was the present.  We bought Michelle a Pandora bead for her bracelet and let's face it, the Pandora boxes the beads come in are, albeit classically simple, essentially plain and boring.  So I die-cut a little pillow box and voila, the gift packaging was taken care of.  But then what were we to do with the receipt?  It can be so awkward sometimes giving someone a receipt when giving them a gift and saying something along the lines of "oh and just in case you want or need to change your present ...".  Know what I mean?  The Stampin' Up! scallop envelope die was the perfect solution.  I die-cut a little envelope in which to place the receipt, labelled it "just in case" and popped it in with the card.  If the present had been larger I would have included it in the present packaging, but in this instance I had to make do with it putting it in the card.

So what do you think?  I'd change the positioning of the sentiment on the card so the "happy birthday" was all at the top because it now looks like I meant to say "happy 40th birthday" but left off the "th" which isn't the case.  I just wanted to include the number 40 on the card and when you see the sketch I used for inspiration below, the numbers are meant to replace the birds in the sketch.  I love my die-cut leather flowers which were made with, literally, scraps of leather I've picked up here and there like a bower bird.  Die-cutting the leather to create a handmade flower really has added some wonderful texture to the card and I do love working with textiles.  However I'd straighten the "40" a little as although I wanted it to be on a bit of an angle and offset, I don't think I did it quite enough and to me it looks just a little like I didn't quite get it right LOL.  All in all though I think I did an okay job with this 'birthday suite' for an awesome, purple leather boot wearing, chick who has just turned 40!  I'll let you know what that chick (Michelle) thought ...

BTW here is the PageMaps sketch I used ...

see Becky Fleck's other fabulous sketches HERE

Conveniently this sketch was also the April card sketch challenge at ScrapChat so although I said in an earlier post I wasn't going to do anymore challenges, if you need or want some inspiration for a quick card, well what's a girl to do?

Sketch challenges

Okay, so I think we've already established I love sketches which is kind of funny because until I started this blog I really had no idea myself!!  I guess that means I'm very lucky because there are a plethora of sketch challenges and sketch sites out there on the www!  I'm also lucky ScapChat (where I 'hang' online) has sketch challenges every month.  We also have the occasional cyber crop (I love those too!!) so without having to venture far outside my own backyard I have more than enough sketch challenges to keep me occupied.  Here are a few to share ...

First off, back in January (why does that seem like such a long time ago??) we had an 'impromptu' cyber crop (of sorts) at ScrapChat because ... well why not?!  One of the challenges was a sketch challenge ...

this was the sketch

pretty cool huh?

and this is my layout ... my 2 boyz

various products were used including: Quickutz Diesel alpha dies; Sizzix Sizzlits Ornate Label #2 die; Stampin' Up! trio heart punch; American Craft Thickers, gift box, raw chipboard; Basic Grey and other unknown (I think it is Karen Foster) patterned paper; Core'dinations and other cardstock; fabric and stitching, and yahda yahda yahda

Going back a little while in time to October and November last year, a friend (Lucy ... hi Mumm!) at ScrapChat who was putting up the sketch challenges asked us to create layouts using her already created layouts for sketches.  Does that make sense?  Instead of putting up sketches per se, Lucy put up layouts of her own and asked us to use those for the sketches.  I guess at the time it was like putting on our Matrix glasses and rather than seeing her layouts, seeing the skeletons (or sketches in this instance) beneath.  Well okay, not a great explanation but that's as good as it's going to get and if you don't get it, I'm sorry.  LOL!  Anyway because Lucy's layouts are her own personal work I'm not going to share them here with you.  Sorry.  I'm sure you understand.  But I can share mine!

October 2010 sketch challenge

You are my handsome handsome boy

products used include (amongst other things): MME Tres Jolies borders; MME So Sophie patterned papers; Swiss Dots Bazzill cardstock (love this stuff!); various Karen Foster pet themed products; Sizzix Ovals, Scallops #3 die; and Stampin' Up! large oval scallop and 1" circle punches

November 2010 sketch challenge

52

some of the products I used include those from Echo Park's fabulous fun and funky Sweet Summertime range; Maya Road pom pom trim; Quickutz Diesel alpha dies (yes this is one of my all time favourite fonts!); and Cuttlebug's Harlequin die (fabulous for creating banners!)

PS:  Lucy's sketch was inspired by a Crystal Wilkerson quick page

As much as I love working with sketches, I really do like to come up with my own original creations.  So when I'm working with a sketch I try to add something a little extra to it.  Another challenge I guess you could say.  More often than not, the simplest of things.  For example ...

When creating my 2 boyz I challenged myself to use my sewing machine to stitch through chipboard (I've always been a little anxious about doing so but wow ... what fun!!) and to add a 'little extra' to one of the top margin areas of my LO (something I've seen on a lot of layouts in magazines and online galleries but haven't really tried myself).  Although I did add that 'little extra', and it wasn't on the original sketch, I would have added it anyway because otherwise my LO would have been unbalanced and there simply isn't enough room for anything else unbalanced in my studio, well at least not when I'm in there anyway.  Ha ha.

You are my handsome handsome boy includes a few additional challenges I threw my way ... "use some of those MME border stickers you picked up for a steal years ago!" ... "start working with that enormous collection of pet themed products you've amassed but never use!!" ... and "Max's album is bulging yet you are not in even one photo on any of the layouts ... do something about it!!!".  Trust me, I can be a hard taskmaster at times.  Yes I'm rolling my eyes LOL!

Finally, for November's sketch challenge Lucy added another challenge to her challenge.  That sounds strange!  We needed to create a layout with the theme 'birthday'.  Yeah great ... not!  Oh except I had these fabulous photos from when GB turned 52 and was really helpful (not!) when I wanted to take some photos of him over breakfast.  Perfect!  They would be fun to scrap and he would be sooo happy I had scrapped them (not!) LOL and then shared them online (not!!)!!!  However I still felt the need to set myself another wee challenge so when creating 52 I decided I was going to have a go at creating a banner on my layout.  I had only ever created a banner once before on a layout (I think) and from memory I hadn't been happy with it (or had I just not liked the entire layout???).  This time I wanted to 'nail it'; and 'nail it' I did!  It was such a fabulous sketch though and I'm so disappointed I can't share it with you.

Anyways thanks a million Sketchy Thursdays and Lucy for the sketch challenges ... without them I wouldn't have the three fabulous layouts I have above to add to my albums ...

PS:  Well I love them and think they're fabulous, and that's what counts right???

Upcycling ...

""The practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value."

The term was coined in the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart."

(taken from About.com)

I have no idea when the book Cradle to Cradle was first published but the term 'upcycling' seems to have almost become a dominant, catch phrase for the crafting community in recent years.  Personally I love it.  But then I love to recycle.  Seriously, almost nothing is thrown out or recycled until it is run by me.  Not because I rule with an iron fist LOL but because I've become a bit obsessive about it I guess.  Here's a little story to give you an understanding of what 'it's' like ...

A few weeks ago I sent a magazine to my BIL (hi Gary!).  He'd been hunting it down for a little while and it was the first issue of a magazine he subscribes to so I didn't want it to be damaged in the mail.  Fair enough?  Yep, I thought so too.  So I packaged it very carefully with book board on either side of the magazine and then well sealed it in a new, 12x12 zip lock plastic bag.  Now book board isn't exactly cheap, and this was the good stuff, but more importantly its a product I use frequently.  The 12x12 zip lock plastic bag?  Well I seem to have a whole pile of them which never ends and then all of a sudden, overnight, they're gone.  So I added a note with the magazine asking him to please not throw out the book board and plastic bag.  Pretty reasonable?  Yes I agree.  It appears, so did he. Last week he came over for dinner (a yummy roast cooked by GB ... thanks GB!) and not only did he bring the book board and plastic bag with him but several other recycled materials he thought I might be able to use!!!!  The funniest part in all of this (I think) is that he was spot on with the items he bought over.  They were exactly what I would recycle myself.  Oh dear ... does this mean I'm going to turn into one of those crazy old ladies who lives in a maze of recycled materials and ends up never throwing anything out?????????

So anyways, back to the upcycling ...

After, in not quite three years, cleaning out and packing up our home to prepare it for sale, packing to move when it sold, moving into a rental whilst we waited for our new home to be built so only partially unpacking items, re-packing those things plus the extra 'stuff' we'd acquired whilst renting, to move to our new home, starting to slowly unpack after the final move, to then need to repack a whole pile of 'stuff' after half our home was flooded during freak storm weather, you can probably imagine I'm a little over 'stuff' and the need to pack it, unpack it, or store it LOL!  In the process of all that sorting and packing and unpacking and sorting and culling and packing some more this once sentimental hoarder of gargantuan proportions is ready to move to Japan and live in a house of complete simplicity with almost no 'stuff'.  Not having had our own family has also resulted in, at age 42, me deciding that really, there is just no need (or point) in holding onto things from my childhood because honestly, who is going to want that 'stuff'??!!  So, to cut a long story short (ha ha), I decided to photograph the childhood toys I've been sentimentally holding on to all these years and eventually (yes I'm still hoarding them LOL!) I plan to find them new homes (I guess perhaps, maybe, possibly when I get to the boxes they're packed in).  My plan is to scrap the photos and the memories and that way I'll still have that sentimentality recorded, I just won't have the toys.  For the time being though they are all safely packed away.  Well ... that is for Mr Rattle Rag Yo-Yo Doll ...

Yo-yos are still so popular in scrapbooking and other crafts, and vintage items are such sought after treasures, that when it came time to pack Mr Rattle Rag Yo-Yo Doll, who incidentally was missing an arm and half his face, I was torn.  Dismantle him and have all those gorgeous 40 plus years old yo-yos for use on my projects?  Or pack him away?  Dismantle?  Pack?  Store in a box for another (hopefully LOL!) 40 years or upcycle him?  Upcycle him!  Upcycle him!  Upcycle him!  But my mum (who was an accomplished dressmaker) made him for me when I was a wee baby from fabric remnants.  Upcycle him!  But she even put bells on the ends of his arms and legs (they weren't so aware of choking hazards in 1968 it seems!!) to make me smile and perhaps even giggle or at least catch my attention.  Upcycle him!  But that weirdly elongated shaped head still contained half the face she lovingly hand stitched all those years ago.  Upcycle him!!!!!  So upcycle him I did.  Once I made the decision to re home him by upcycling him in my scrapbooking and card making, the scissors to cut him apart perhaps not surprisingly, easily did their job.

You might think that after all that to-ing and fro-ing I would have started using those vintage yo-yos straight away.  Nope.  I packed them in a box for our move and promptly forgot about them.  Imagine my delight on stumbling across them just in time to do a CJ contribution for my friend Amanda (heh Manda!) who's CJ theme was 'hand made'.  Honestly could these vintage yo-yos have been anymore perfect?  So with a little help from Heather Bailey's instructions on how to make yo-yos (see HERE) and poor, old, darling Mr Rattle Rag Yo-Yo Doll, Yo-Yos was born ...

Yo-Yos

front

reverse (includes sign in)

products used include patterned papers from Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl collection and, of course, genuine vintage yo-yos from Mr Rattle Rag Yo-Yo Doll

So we have recycling and now we have upcycling.   But what do you call it when you now don't buy anything unless it has the potential to eventually be one or the other??  Obsessed ... maybe ...

Inspired by colour

Here it is, the March colour palette for the monthly ScrapChat challenge ...

Could this photo and palette be any more inspiring?  Honestly?  Maybe because kraft cardstock is the current trend, perhaps because red is a colour which features in so many of my photos of Max, possibly because I love stitching and the textures in the photos?  Whatever the reason, I was truly inspired by this colour palette and photo.  This is the layout I created, albeit late, for this challenge ...

Max's red sofa

I have used way too many products to list them all individually, however, included are products and patterned papers from Basic Grey's Max & Whiskers collection (how could I not LOL?!), handmade felt flowers, a Unity Stamp, various mists and ink, Sizzix Originals die Flower Layers #4, Sizzix Bigz die Frame Back, Ornate #6, Prima flowers, Making Memories felt alphas, and a pom pom paperclip from Switzerland.

This was such a fun layout to create.  Want to know why?  I 'lifted' one of my own layouts which my buddy Kylie from {Yillup Designs} (see HERE) turned into a sketch for me.  Following is the original layout and the sketch (thanks K!!!) ...

A celebration of LOVE

as published in Creating Keepsakes issue 15.3

and the sketch

Having the sketch meant I could sit back and relax whilst creating my layout Max's red sofa.  Don't get me wrong.  It still took the better part of a day LOL!  I am quite possibly the world's slowest scrapper.  Honestly.  I really like to take my time and pay attention to the smaller details like, in this instance, making my own felt flowers.  They were a fairly simple process, but I took my time.  I used a lot of mists to alter the colour of my Prima flowers, I did a little stamping on the background cardstock before starting all my layering; I sat outside during the one sunny moment of the day (!) to distress and sand the edges of my patterned paper; I relaxed as I chose my embellishments, some themed and others just for fun (like the gorgeous red pom pom paperclip I bought from Switzerland ... a very yummy textural element don't you think?).  Oh and yes there is journaling.  Would you expect anything less from me?  At the top left is a journaling tag from Little Yellow Bicycle's Say What?! Journal Tablet range (this one is from the Dog 'tablet') which can be pulled out and tells the story of Max's red sofa.

All in all it was a really enjoyable layout to create and has inspired me to keep creating.  Oddly it even inspired me to cook dinner LOL!  Perhaps the tea towels in the photo used for the colour palette had something to do with that?  Whatever the case we had linguine with a delicious, tomato based meatball sauce.  Yum!

Thanks, yet again, for your help with the sketch K.  Hugs.

Please sir, I want some more

... challenges that is!!!

I remember in past years being so busy with design team work, I felt as though I was missing out on all the fun of challenges because I just didn't have the time to do them.  Well in recent-ish months (since wrapping up my last design team job because we were finishing building, and then moving into, our new home and were super busy [understatement of the year]) I've certainly been making up for it; and it turns out that I'm loving challenges ... sketches, colours, inspiration, whatever.  You name the type of challenge and I'll pretty much give it a go.  Back in 2008 before we started building our house I used to run a monthly challenge at ScrapChat and had a blast.  Maybe in 2012 (trust me its really not that far away!!) I'll start one up again or perhaps just set them for myself each month.  In any event, I love challenges and at ScrapChat we are never short of a challenge or two or twelve LOL!!!  Here are a couple to share ...

So my buddy Jen (heh Jen!) likes to throw out these random challenges at ScrapChat from time to time.  Back in December Jen challenged us to create a layout inspired by the following poem Warning by Jenny Joseph, a poem which (from memory) saw the founding of a social group called The Red Hat Society which has now spread worldwide ...

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall got out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But we now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

~ Jenny Joseph

This was my resulting layout ...

What a wonderful opportunity to really go to town with some gorgeous, 'glamourous' products like SEI and Chatterbox artsy.licious flocked patterned paper, American Crafts rose ribbon, Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology ruffled darlings, a Tim Holtz Rosette die; and to have fun with the Scrap FX chipboard handbag and shoe and some paints, glossy accents and Viva Decor Croco in white.  A million thanks to my friend Susan (heh Susan!) for the perfect finishing touch ... a handmade, red, satin ribbon, rose.

The next random challenge Jen threw out was in response to the devastating floods we saw strike Queensland in (at that time) early January.  Little were we to know of the future devastation to come not only to Queensland, but to all of Australia's eastern states.  Jen challenged us to create a layout inspired by the floods and by the Australian classic My Country by Dorothea Mackellar ...

My Country

The love of field and coppice,

Of green and shaded lanes,

Of ordered woods and gardens,

Is running in your veins.

Strong love of grey-blue distance,

Brown streams and soft, dim skies --

I know but cannot share it,

My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains,

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror --

The wide brown land for me!

The stark white ring-barked forests,

All tragic to the moon,

The sapphire-misted mountain,

The hot gold hush of noon.

Green tangle of the brushes,

Where lithe lianas coil,

And orchids deck the tree tops

And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!

Her pitiless blue sky,

When sick at heart, around us,

We see the cattle die --

But then the grey clouds gather,

And we can bless again

The drumming of an army,

The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!

Land of the Rainbow Gold,

For flood and fire and famine,

She pays us back three-fold.

Over the thirsty paddocks,

Watch, after many days,

The filmy veil of greenness

That thickens as we gaze ...

An opal-hearted country,

A wilful, lavish land --

All you who have not loved her,

You will not understand --

Though earth holds many splendours,

Wherever I may die,

I know to what brown country

My homing thoughts will fly.

~ Dorothea Mackellar

Here is my layout ...

At the time I created my layout I desperately hoped no-one would feel I was trivialising what was happening in Queensland by scrapping about our experiences with 'freak weather' whilst building our new home.  Interestingly since scrapping this layout, our new home was again flooded, although far more extensively, during more 'freak storms' in Melbourne and we are currently waiting to have the carpet, bamboo flooring, plasterboard, etc all replaced in the main section of our home.  Isn't it ironic ... don't you think ...

BTW I kept this layout very simple as I wanted the photos and the journaling to be the primary focus.  The Fancy Pants Kraft KutsDerwent watercolour pencils though were the perfect embellishments to add a little lightness to what was otherwise a very dark hour for all Australians.

That's it for the random challenges from Jen.  In fact someone at ScrapChat might need to give her a nudge to let her know we haven't had one in a while ...

So, did March send me mad?

As you know at the beginning of this month I set myself a list of scrapping 'to dos'.  For some of you the load might have looked fairly light on, but for this oft slow, sometimes (?) known to procrastinate, scrapper, the list was fairly ambitious.  So how did I go?  Did my March to do list send me completely mad???

• finish the cover of my Favourites Journal (I started that a few days ago) - check!
• February's colour challenge at ScrapChat (everything is on my desk waiting to go) - check!
• Manda's now overdue CJ page (theme ... handmade) - check!
• week #8 (favourite room) for my Favourites Journal - check!

Plus ...

• weeks #9 through to #12 inclusive for my 2011 Weekly Favourites Journal
• week # 9 - check!
• week #10 - check!
• week #11 - check!
• week #12
• the ScrapChat colour challenge
• the ScrapChat sketch challenge - layout
• the ScrapChat sketch challenge - card - check!
• 'Pud's' CJ page (theme ... five)
• 527 stick pins for a swap (okay so I exaggerate 'just a little' LOL) - check!

Plus ... three special projects, two of which I've had simmering on the back burner of my mind for ages now (one for well over a year [I know!] and the other since before September last year) ...

• project one (mini albums for GB) - check!
• project two (secret for someone so can't say what ... ssh!!)
• project three (secret for someone so can't say what ... ssh!!)

Okay so I may not have quite got there, but given everything that's happened this month, I don't think I've put in a bad effort; and I haven't gone completely mad!!
I'm not planning to take on any further challenges in April.  I want to have a "check!" beside all of the above items as soon as possible.  To that end I have completed week #12's Weekly Favourites Journal Challenge which was to scrap the favourite time of your life.  This one needed a double spread in my journal as I couldn't settle on just the one time in my life and even then I had to cull my photos LOL!  I used the fabulously delicious new For the Record range from Echo Park.  I felt like such a 'grown up' scrapping with this range and love, love, love it.  I can't wait to continue working with it.

Oh happy days

other products used include Making Memories felt and tiny alphas, chipboard and JAC paper, Prima Sprite flowers (anyone else remember these?!), Making Memories and Queen & Co brads, Stampin' Up! scallop trim border punch, Big Shot Pro die Square Ribbon and Sizzix Bigz die Vine w/Leaves

Because I haven't been scrapping much lately (well not traditional 12x12 layouts anyways), and in fact my 2011 Weekly Favourites Journal has pretty much been 'it', I decided to approach this journal entry as a 'real' layout and did I have fun.  Distressing, sewing, journaling, die-cutting, making my own chipboard flourishes with some raw chipboard, JAC paper and patterned paper.  It felt good to approach this journal entry more 'seriously' (perhaps it was the 'grown up' Echo Park patterned paper LOL?!) and it has inspired me to continue creating.  What more could one ask for?


PS:  Next up is the ScrapChat March colour challenge ... the colours are divine!  Stay tuned ...