Shaken not stirred .. with Stuck?! Sketches

Heh peeps.

I've had a six months hiatus from scrapping. I kinda just lost my mojo. Not just for scrapping, but for everything. Yeah I've been dealing with some pretty sucky health stuff but ordinarily that would drive me to scrap. But not the last six months. Anyways, I thought starting scrapping again would be as simple as just getting back on the bike, or is that horse? Nope. I couldn't remember my own personal formula for scrapping. I couldn't remember what was in my stash. I didn't know where to start. So a sketch challenge, or three, seemed to make sense. First up, I hit an old favourite, Stuck?! Sketches.

Shaken not stirred

Our puppy, who has just turned one, has pica. Olives, especially raw green ones straight off the tree, although technically a food, are not on your average 12 week old puppy's diet plan. Nor were the 10,000 or so pebbles he bought in from the garden. Sigh. But as most scrapbookers would, I diligently took photos of him with the olives before confiscating them, and I just knew that one day I would scrap the photos with the title "shaken not stirred" lol.

Some close ups ..

Stuck?! Sketches sketch

Because my title references 007's martinis, I knew, just knew, that I would have to hand stitch a martini glass to my background instead of using a star. My scrapping buddy reckoned you could still see it was a martini glass despite having covered most of the stem with photos. Hubby not so much. So the jury is out. Personally, I love this layout and as my first in about six months, am stoked and can't wait to continue creating.

Thanks a million to Stuck?! Sketches for a brilliant sketch to work with. I can't wait to see March's sketch! If you love this sketch just as much as me, why not give the challenge a go? You can find all the details you need HERE. Just remember you only have until the 28th .. February is the short month peeps!

Cheers!!

Save

Be .. with More than Words

I was inspired by the More than Words challenge to create this layout. This month's challenge is about all things sparkly and the word 'wonderful'. I figured I could work with that ..

Be

More than words challenge ..

a few close ups ..

Once up a time, mindfulness saved my life. Whilst I don't practice it every day anymore, I do still use it to get through difficult times, going to the dentist and getting through lengthy MRIs. LOL I meant the latter two genuinely! I'm hoping to find more balance in my life this year so I can practice meditation and mindfulness every day again. So, also knowing how much Buddhism intrigues me, and how much these garden statues (I have two) mean to me, GB, ever so very thoughtfully, one day, took photos of them for me. Like lying on the granite ground to get great shots of them, for me. Yep my GB is a sweetheart. Hence the hearts. They're symbolic of my spiritual heart and also how much love I have for my GB. Plus, conveniently, they sort of mirror the the shape of the flowers.

Anyways, enough of my rambling! There is still time to get this challenge done. Remember folks, its a leap year! For all the details of the latest challenge at More than Words pop on over HERE.

Happy scrapping peeps!

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Celebrating mum ..

Hooley dooley. I've just realised it's two months today since my last blog post. Let me see if I can account for my time .. nope. Can't. LOL! I have finished my course and now have two Cert IVs, one in Mental Health and the other in Disability. Yay for me! Oh and I did finish my mum's album. LOL, yay for my mum! But I haven't felt in the least like blogging and since finishing my mum's album, my mojo has left the building.

Here are those last few pages ..

Mum loved her album. So did my dad. It seems I had scrapped photos he'd never seen before and they've been married for over 55 years LOL! It was really nice watching them huddled together sharing my mum's walk down memory lane.

Getting back on track, I scrapped last weekend! Yay! My girlfriend Sandy was here for the weekend and with her encouragement, some of my mojo started creeping back in. I'll share those layouts soon. In the meantime, cheers!

A young woman .. with Scrap Our Stash

The latest 'word' challenge at Scrap Our Stash is ALBUMS ..

A young woman

A .. alphas

L .. lighthouse

B .. Bazzill cardstock

U .. "u" in my title (I know its a 'stretch' but I was desperate LOL)

M .. metal wire

S .. stitching

The U had me seriously stumped. I did think of Umbrella but didn't have any suitable photos for my mum's album that would work. Initially (cheekily) for the letter M I was going to say "mum" because it was a photo of my mum LOL. Luckily I had some red metal wire hiding in my stash.  ;)

Meanwhile, I'm struggling more and more with scrapping older, less 'inspiring' photos, and without using a plethora of mixed media. This is like a complete return to my scrapping beginnings .. its all about the memories. A year or so ago it became all about the art. Whilst I've been enjoying the CAS style I've been trying to use for my mum's album, I'm growing weary of it. Hmm .. maybe its time to start an art journal?

Anyways, enough of my random ramblings. If you'd like to give this challenge a go, you can find all the details you need HERE. Oh and heh, don't forget to keep checking back with the Scrap Our Stash blog for loads of inspiration from the fabulous Design Team!

Happy scrapping peeps!

A Merry Christmas .. with Scrap Our Stash

The word challenge at Scrap Our Stash this month is INKS. If we set aside the word for just a moment, I have to say that I love this challenge more and more every month. I really dig deep into my stash and find things I can use up and throw away the packaging, and in the process I find treasures I can use on new layouts. I love, love, love their word challenge.

A Merry Christmas

This is what my word INKS looks like ..

I .. ink (Tim Holtz Distress Ink)

N .. numbers on the left edge of my patterned paper

K .. K&Co chipboard embellishments

S .. stitching (lots of stitching!)

I was so happy to get these photos of GB as a young boy visiting Santa scrapped. Because the photos were taken when he was little, I didn't think he'd have enough memories of this time to warrant three individual layouts. Boy was I wrong LOL! He thinks I'm a terrible nag LOL, hearing "I need your memories for the journaling" over and over until I finally get them. But then when the layout is finished, he's ever so pleased to see his memories written down.

Anyways that's probably enough waffling! If you think you'd like to give this challenge a go yourself you can find all the details HERE.

Happy scrapping!

Smile .. with Let's Get Sketchy

Last weekend I finished my last project as a Master for Scrapbooking Memories. Having stood down from all my design work earlier in the year to free up time for studying and to focus on my health, that means I no longer have any scrapbooking projects to do for anyone other than myself. I'm free. It feels good. Its liberating.

I celebrated my new found freedom by spending the weekend scrapping with my girlfriend Sandy. I decided to play along with Let's Get Sketchy who put up four sketches a month. I'm not sure I'll get all four done but I did manage three.

Smile

Let's Get Sketchy Week 1 Sketch

I very recently bought a lovely stash of Crate Paper papers and had fun challenging myself to do all three layouts with those papers. Three layouts down and I'm still going!

If this sketch appeals to you, as it did to me, you can find all the details for Let's Get Sketchy's Week 1 Sketch HERE. Happy scrapping!

Scrap The Girls - April

OMG can you believe it's April already?! I was talking with a friend just the other day about doing a six month course and thinking 'yeah it'll finish around June' and then another girlfriend came over last weekend and noticed I hadn't changed my calendar from February. LOL umm where have I been?!?!!

Anyways the April challenge this month at Scrap The Girls is to create a layout "using traditional boy colour schemes and some "boyish" embellishments". Considering I wanted to use my not insubstantial D-lish Scraps stash to create the layout, and that probably my favourite embellishments to play with are flowers, this was going to be a tough one!!

Ultimate

In the end I settled on these photos of my niece in Africa. I haven't included any journaling on the page itself as I have popped a tag into a vellum bag for her to write her own journaling. I used a Viva product with a TCW template to get the dark tile texture, and another TCW template as a stitching guide, and then coloured in sections of the stitched chevron pattern with gelatos. Such a lot of fun to do!

In the mix of D-lish Scraps embellishments used are Freckled Fawn wood chips, various Journal Its, Freckled Fawn paper clips, Cotton Twine, paper Doilies, Flair Buttons, a Vellum Bag, PVC Doilies and Flourish With A Bling gold pearls which were left overs from a previous Just Add Paper Kit. Not a flower in sight!!!

I loved this challenge and hope to be able to find the time in the future to participate in more of them. If you think this challenge could be for you, you can find all the details HERE. Have fun and good luck!!!!   :)

White With 1 - December

Two banana, four banana, one banana, three.

Swingin' like a bunch of monkeys hangin' from a tree.

Hey there everybody won't you come along and see

how much like banana splits everyone can be.

~ the Tra La La Song

Okay so I'm feeling a little wacky and possibly light headed (fatigue not alcohol related LOL!!) and when I was creating my layout for this month's White With 1 challenge I just could not get this song out of my head!!! I guess once you realise the colour this month is banana you can understand why!!

We're family

published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol. 16 No. 11

I very deliberately wanted to keep this layout 'clean' and whimsical. Hence the heart lollipops coloured in with crayons. Don't be deceived by its simplicity though LOL .. that curled fringe took forever!! The hand stitching wasn't exactly quick either but I must confess, I love to hand stitch, especially when I'm tired.

I've kept my embellishments to an absolute minimum to keep my page as simple as possible; those I did use were some very yummy flairs from A Lil' Somethin' (thank you Susan!!) and of course some delicious goodies from D-lish Scraps.

If you fancy a bit of 'tra-la-la' scrapping yourself, then head on over to the White With 1 blog and check out December's challenge details HERE. Good luck! I look forward to seeing what you do!

Tra-la-la, tra-la-la, tra-la-la, tra-la-la!   :)

Kraft It Up - September

Now for something completely different ..

Yoghurt face

I had a lot of fun creating this layout. Something way out of the ordinary for me but playful and, I think, well suited to the photo. Plus it allowed me to indulge in my latest thing for StudioFourteen40 flairs! Thanks to Kraft It Up for a fabulous sketch to work with this month ..

If you "put your skates on" (something my mum always used to say) you still have time to get your challenge layout done. You can find all the details HERE. Thanks yet again for the inspiration Kraft It Up girls!   :)

Black With 2 - September

I am really enjoying the Black With 2 challenges .. I'm enjoying touching base again with a black background. The challenge this month involved a gorgeous bright colour board with lots of flowers as, after all, the first of September is the first day of Spring!

Summer

published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol. 16 No. 11

Colour board

I told you it was gorgeous! Oh and yes I see the irony in that I named my layout "Summer" LOL! The beauty of this particular challenge is you can use as many or as few as the colours as you like. Oh and if you're more of a card maker than a scrapper, Black With 2 runs a card challenge as well. Anyways you can find more details HERE.   :)

PS: I'm loving the new flairs from StudioFourteen40!

Purple Pumpkin June challenge

The sketch for Purple Pumpkin's June challenge popped up in my blog feed the other day and I was instantly smitten. There was just something about it that I really, really liked.

Gorgeous yes? Although the only Purple Pumpkin supplies I have are pretty much 'vintage' now LOL, I decided to give the challenge a go. I couldn't just ignore this gorgeous sketch!

Levy & Frank

and some close ups ..

On this layout I have used Purple Pumpkin's crocheted doilies, fabric covered buttons, and pom pom trim. Since I last shopped with Purple Pumpkin, their range has expanded 'somewhat' (LOL) and having now browsed their new product ranges I can feel a wee bit of a shopping spree coming. You can find all their delicious their products HERE.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to give Purple Pumpkin's July sketch challenge a go, you can find all the details HERE. Good luck!!!    :)

Scrapbook Creations - Design Diva competition

Those of you who know me well know that Scrapbook Creations is my absolute favourite Australian scrapbooking magazine. I am proud to have now had a number of layouts and projects published in Scrapbook Creations and was uber excited when I found out they were running their Design Diva competition again this year.

I had to enter and despite leaving it until almost the last minute to get my entry in, I did. I wasn't successful. I wasn't even short listed LOL! Am I disappointed? Not really, oddly enough. Although it would have been wonderful ..

Of the three required projects, I thought the one that would really let my entry down was my OTP. For the most part, OTPs just aren't my thing. If I have a 'stroke of genius' I can sometimes pull something amazing off, but for the most part OTPs leave me stumped. The problem I found was that no 'strokes of genius' were heading my way in time for me to complete my entry. The only thing left was to create a suite of cards. Ironically, this was the one project Scrapbook Creations wanted to publish!!!!!!! In the end I didn't proceed with having the cards published because, quite honestly, I had put so much work into the techniques, elements and details on the cards, it would have taken me days to write the step by step instructions Scrapbook Creations required for the feature. I can't believe I 'rejected an acceptance' but I guess sometimes other things in life have to take precedence yes?

These are my entry projects ..

Today

entry 1 - a piece of me

published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol. 16 No. 3

"Although I like to experiment with different products and techniques, the style of scrapping I find myself returning to time and time again is a clean and neat, often pretty, and elegant one, incorporating lots of journaling (there is hidden journaling on my tag as well as on the layout) and attention to detail."

Mia

entry 2 - signature style

"Creating depth with layers, paints and inks, adding textiles and other mixed media, stitching and distressing, are all some of my favourite techniques to use when scrapping."

Champ de fleurs

entry 3 - Off-The-Page

"I was making cards for several years before I started scrapbooking so it seemed natural to me to return to my grass roots and make a card suite for this challenge in my favourite card style .. vintage, shabby botanicals."

So there you have it. The fish that John West rejected LOL! Until next time .. keep crafting!!!   :)

Primary colours and me

We just don't get along. Primary colours and me that is. I don't know what it is about primary colours but group them together and I go blank. I do red. I can do yellow. I even do blue from time to time. But throw all three together and my first response is 'ugh'.

Moving on, friends of ours have the most beautiful little girl. She is perfect. Literally. Although mum and dad might disagree from time to time LOL! I asked if I could scrap a few photos of their precious little girl and wow, I received a whole stick full of photos. From memory it took about 15 minutes to download the photos!! This was just one of them.

Sunny day

How could I resist her eyes peeping out from behind Big Bird?? I had to scrap this photo first. Oh and before you look at the photo and read the title and wonder where the "Sunny day" is, please go on and read the journaling! It will make sense. Although I enjoy scrapping other people's photos, it can sometimes prove difficult to convey the emotion/memory behind the photo into the layout with the title and journaling. Because she's 'holding' Big Bird, and her nursery is all Sesame Street, I decided to go with the Sesame Street theme song. I hope they'll like it.

Oh and by the way, thank god My Mind's Eye have a collection (On the Sunny Side) with primary colours!!

Cheers .. Alz  :)

A stitch in time

I still remember my girlfriend (heh SJ!) teaching me how to do back stitch (or is it running stitch?) over the phone from Canberra. She had me get out a piece of cardstock and pierce four holes in it, which I numbered one through to four. She told me to "come up through one, go down through two, then up through three and back down through two, then up through four, and down through three." Huh?!?! LOL!!!! But I got it! I guess the fact that her instructions were very clear and that when I was a lot younger I knew how to embroider helped.

Who knew where that lesson in hand stitching for my LOs would eventually lead!!!

Postcards from Phoenix

published in Scrapbook Creations issue 65

Bendoc's Biggen

published in Scrapbook Creations issue 72

I confess my stitches aren't always the neatest, the same size or even (when required) necessarily straight. But I love the texture and dimension they add to a LO. As I write this post I realise however that I haven't hand stitched on a page in quite some time. For a long while I desperately wanted to use my sewing machine to add stitching but, now seriously don't laugh LOL, was ever so slightly terrified of doing so. Once I got over that 'hurdle' I didn't look back and now when I want to add stitching to my pages I always turn to my sewing machine. Although certainly using the sewing machine is quicker, it achieves an altogether different effect though doesn't it? Note to self .. incorporate some hand stitching on my next project(s).

Meanwhile, thanks SJ for teaching me how to do whatever stitch it is I've used on these LOs all those years ago.    :)

So I got distracted

Okay so I got distracted. Which isn't a bad thing. Usually LOL! But when you're supposed to be making Christmas presents ..

Anyways, I found a tutorial for some fabulous (and easy!) felt flowers on YouTube and really had to have a go at making them. So I did. But what was I going to do with them when I was finished? I had a light bulb moment and remembered I had some wool felt bags and purses I had purchased eons ago from an online store in the States .. Joggles. Originally I had planned to embroider the bags but (a) they were lined which, although the wool felt was thick, made my job a little trickier than I had anticipated, and (b) I didn't know how to embroider. LOL! So into the "one day" pile they went. So then I'm thinking .. felt flowers .. wool felt bags .. are you catching my drift?

Wool felt bag with long handle

Wool felt bag with short handle

Wool felt clutch purse - large

Wool felt clutch purse - medium

I honestly cannot tell you how easy these felt flowers are to make. All I needed was felt (obviously LOL!), buttons (in the end I found shank buttons worked best), embroidery cotton and my Big Shot and Thick Cuts Circles die (Sizzix has something similar). Oh and some Helmar Fabric Glue .. this stuff is seriously brilliant for working with felt and other fabrics. To make the leaves I used an old Sizzix Original die, Paper Sculpting Daisy. You can purchase the bags (which are seriously good value) HERE.

I have some other felt flowers I'm keen to make in bulk, and have just finished organising my felt stash into colours, so think I might have to buy some of Joggles' gorgeous felt basket/bags with short handles. I'm thinking maybe the Dusty Rose, definitely the natural, and possibly the Seafoam and Skye Blue. LOL that ought to keep me busy for a while and who knows along the way, I might even learn to embroider! But seriously, these flowers are great to die-cut in advance and then sit and stitch together whilst doing something like watching TV. If you don't knit that is. Okay so now I'm rambling which is an indicator I should sign off.

I hope you're all enjoying the December craziness that is the lead up to Christmas.  :)

PS: I had a couple of flowers left over and so turned them into hair clips for the little girl who lives across the road ..

Hair clips for Alicia

I'm thinking of 'glitzing' them up a bit with some bling and/or Kindy Glitz etc as Alicia has just turned five and loves all things girly and sparkly. What do you think???

ScrapChat - September

I'm having a fabulous time at the moment, getting back into my scrapping groove. Doing my usual kind of thing (and then some) after having worked on my girlfriend's baby album for so long is refreshing. No more KISS for the time being!! This latest layout is for the September challenge over at ScrapChat. The challenge criteria were:

Colours - aqua, olive green, teal and brown
Design requirement - vintage style
Something extra - hidden journaling
Lifelines - black, white, cream and kraft

343

products used:

patterned paper - My Mind's Eye Lost & Found
embellishments - Prima felt stems and tiles, EK Success Nostalgiques, SU antique brads, Tim Holtz Film Strip Ribbon, Sawyer's Place washi tape, Happy Creations chipboard, mulberry paper roses, doily, handmade manila tags and flowers,
alphas - Making Memories rub-ons 'Providence'
tools - Martha Stewart punch, Tim Holtz mini rosettes die
stamps - SU En Francais, French Foliage and Creative Elements
messy stuff - Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist 'Old Lace', Studio Calico Mister Huey's Color Mist 'Calico White', Tim Holtz Distress Stains 'Walnut Stain', 'Broken China' and 'Crushed Olive', Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink 'Ginger', StazOn ink pads 'Timber Brown', 'Saddle Brown'
other - brown sewing machine thread

There's lots of layers, distressing and 'messy' stuff on this one. I love it and can't wait to scrap again tomorrow! See you soon!!!!   :)

The 'card making frenzy' ...

A girlfriend (and my local Stampin' Up! demonstrator) (heh Miriam!!) sells her beautiful cards through a local florist (who also has a shop in town) and the local market. You can visit Miriam's blog HERE. Her most recent market has involved an enormous amount of preparation (whilst she's been deathly ill!) as it was part of a larger fundraising effort in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. With her usual commitments seemingly having quadrupled and being extremely sick, Miriam sent out the smoke signal to myself and another girlfriend to make up some cards to help her out.

As Miriam is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, for the most part all the products I've used are Stampin' Up!. LOL I no complain ... I love, love, love Stampin' Up! products. One day I plan to join Stampin' Up as a demonstrator, but in the interim I need pantry shelves, umm ... an electrician to finish installing some light fittings and ceiling fans, ahh ... that's right outdoor tables (we have the chairs!), oh yeah and a BBQ. LOL and that's just the tip of the iceberg!!!

Anyways October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and if you care to make a donation to the Breast Cancer Network Australia (visit them HERE) you can do so VIA THIS LINK.

These are a few of the cards I made ...

Fresh Like Spring

Stampin' Up! products used:

cardstock - Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Watercolor

inks/markers - Crumb Cake, So Saffron, More Mustard, Wild Wasabi

stamps - Love & Care, French Foliage, En Francais background

other - Basic Black designer button, Linen Thread

from my stash:

black sewing machine cotton, embroidery thread

Wild Marigolds

Stampin' Up! products used:

cardstock - River Rock, Wild Wasabi, Poppy Parade, Watercolor

inks/markers - River Rock, Wild Wasabi, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait

stamps - Love & Care, Medallion background

dsp - Peach Parfait from 2010-2012 In Colors pattern stack

punches - Scallop Trim Border

other - Brights Designer Buttons, Linen Thread

White Butterfly Delight (green)

Stampin' Up! products used:

cardstock - Confetti White

inks/markers - Wild Wasabi

stamps - Friends 24-7

dsp - Certainly Celery from Subtles Stack and Melon Mambo from Brights Stack

punches - Scallop Edge Border

other - Basic Pearl Jewels, Sizzix Embosslits Beautiful Wings

from my stash:

Sizzix/Tim Holtz Mini Paper Rosettes die

White Butterfly Delight (blue)

Stampin' Up! products used:

cardstock - Crumb Cake and Confetti White

inks/markers - Marina Mist

stamps - Friends 24-7

dsp - Bashful Blue from Subtles Stack and Regal Rose from Brights Stack

punches - Scallop Trim Border

other - Sizzix Embosslits Beautiful Wings

from my stash:

Sizzix/Tim Holtz Mini Paper Rosettes die

Kaiser Pearls - Denim

Hello - Have a Great Day

Stampin' Up! products used:

cardstock - Confetti White, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red

inks/markers - Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black

stamps - Lots of Thoughts

dsp - Real Red, Regal Rose and Tempting Turquoise from Brights Pattern Stack

punches - Owl Builder

other - Clips, black 3/8" grosgrain ribbon, Sizzix Top Note die

from my stash:

Sakura Aqualip pen - Black

Inkssentials Glossy Accents

That's it for me just now. I'm not sure what October holds. I know what I want to do. Scrap. Create. Paint. I know what I should be doing. Sorting filing, working out, gardening, cooking, cleaning, blah blah blah LOL. Weather permitting our roof is being replaced this month. We're having our 12 months maintenance inspection with our builder this month so who knows, maybe I'll have tradies crawling all over the house? Wouldn't that be nice LOL?! Whatever October holds for you I hope it's a good one.