Wednesday 30 March 2016

Casology #191

The prompt this week at http://casology.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/week-191-washi.html is washi.

I've ended up with too much washi (haven't we all?).
Last year I saw a card idea on Stick it down so have replicated that using washi.
There's 9 strips of washi on here!

As you see I'm still working on those black & white background cards I was given :)

Speaking of colour, my garden is in shades of purple at the moment with tibouchina and salvia.

Monday 28 March 2016

Craft Barn letter G

Over at the craft barn they have an alphabet challenge and the letter this week is G.
Digging through my stash I found a packet of jungle animals.I've used the giraffe on this card for a 5 year old boy.
I've used a black flocked leaf paper as my backing mat then hessian as my background, so there is lots of texture as well.

Sunday 27 March 2016

Shopping our stash

Shopping our stash this week is clocks.

Someone recently gave me a packet of Kaiser chipboard, featuring Halloween. On that were clocks.
I've used one on this card with a simple sentiment saying "Time".
It could be used as a get well card or Birthday or whatever the sender wishes to make of it.

 
A reminder to my followers to join in the challenge at Archiscraps where you need to use gesso and the colour yellow.
Entries are open until the end of the month. We would love to see you & there is a great prize this month from Memory Maze chipboard.
 
AND
 

Friday 25 March 2016

Retro sketches #207



At Retro sketches I decided to make a man's card from leftover scraps.
The only new thing on here is the sentiment sticker.
 
It is Good Friday here, so very quiet in the neighbourhood. No cars, no kids, no passers by.
I'm enjoying the quietness.

SR#322 Stamping Royalty.


At Stamping Royalty it is a colour challenge.
I happened to have patterned paper which contains these colours.
The rose is close to watermelon, in a vintage kind of way.
I stitched some plain sand coloured braid across then used a Kaisercraft stamp saying remember or memories.
This card could be used for Anzac day here in Australia, or as a sympathy card for a soldier's death.
For that matter any reason to let people know you are thinking of them.


My current black Versa color ink pad seems sticky and takes forever to dry.It goes blobby instead of smooth. Can one of you stampers enlighten me please?

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Tuesday taggers

I'm currently using some cards that my daughter gave me which have black & white themed backgrounds. This particular one has leaves.
The challenge at Tuesday Taggers is nature.


I've continued the leaf theme with a pink skeleton leaf on a tag, then added 2 flowers and a thanks sentiment.

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Mojo Monday and an anything goes card.

At Mojo Monday this week here is their sketch

 and here is my card.
I found I sell many cards that say YOU on the front as they can be given for a variety of reasons.


My next one will be entered in Anything goes challenges at

http://www.wordartwednesday.blogspot.com.au/
http://inspirationdestinationchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au/
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au/

Monday 21 March 2016

Crazy4challenges

Over at http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.com.au/ it is sketch week.
I'm currently making Mother's Day cards (2nd Sunday in May).
Here is the sketch
and my take on it which features the sentiment "queen bee" as mothers often are in families.

The strip across the top could have the person's name written on it if desired or MUM.

Tagging it on the end

Last night as I was putting away the last bits and pieces of my Counterfeit kit, I decided to make some tags.
 
These will be used on cards or future layouts.

Sunday 20 March 2016

Use your stuff , The card concept.and Butterflyspot

At Use your stuff they want flowers and more flowers.

The card concept wants pink.
I guess my card is either "clean and layered" or "freestyle collage".
Here it is.
 
This will also be submitted at http://butterflyspotchallenge.blogspot.com.au/ where B is for butterfly and buttons.

Saturday 19 March 2016

And now some cards!

I went to a crop day today and have managed to finish off my Counterfeit Kit.
One paper I had in the kit had a large fly in the corner. I was going to discard it then thought of this sentiment, "Time Flies".
I've made a card for Shopping our Stash which wants green plus use a charm.
The camel suited this as when in Uluru I noticed thousands of flies at the camel farm.

 
My next is for Cardz4guyz where they want "speed".
I had some golf stickers so used the buggy as my vehicle(I could have used that fly!)
 
 
 
 
My next is for Clear it out challenge using that same paper which has been in my stash for around 5 years, so it qualifies. Again I used golf stickers.
 
While we on green I made this card for Case this sketch.
 
 
Here is the original sketch.

Lessology

Lessology wants us to use our own handwriting plus a recycled item.

My recycled item is 3 arrows picture cut from the packaging of Cedar Lane toothpick arrows.The strip at the bottom saying be grateful for good friends was cut from the bottom of a sheet of patterned paper.
 

Here's my layout
 
I have used a squared paper with coloured sections .They co-incidentally matched our colours.
I've also used silver doileys,Collectables from Kaiser and tiny pink brads.
The story behind this is I revisited the reception place where my wedding was held in 1982. We were treated as special guests and ate a high tea. All my friends were at my wedding so they were curious too.

Scrapping clearly

The sketch at Scrapping Clearly looks like this

I used the B side of another paper from my Counterfeit Kit...[pale pink]

I started by misting with lime and pink.
I've used 2 skeleton leaves in the background then3 journaling cards as my layers.The fabric butterfly and curly ribbons add interest.
A pink lace doiley has a Heidi Swapp plastic heart on top of it.
The heart with the arrow through it is my title (true love)
I took this photo at Floriade in Canberra.

 Pink eh?


Friday 18 March 2016

Freshly made sketches #228


This is the sketch at Freshly Made sketches.

I've been asked to make a few apology cards.
This one has floral washi tape down the sides and a Kaisercraft bird sticker and oops! as the sentiment.

Make it Monday No 55 The Memory Nest

Another layout for the Memory Nest Make it Monday challenge.


This one gave me the opportunity to use a long thin photo of me that I printed out several months ago.
 I was about 25 and cool as they come! I think it was taken on a beach in New Zealand.
There's lots of my Counterfeit Kit on here including the silver doiley, words, red cameras, dots, and of course the paper. It was from a pack of sea themed papers.
I used a Teresa Collins brad saying 25 from a Christmas range.



Thursday 17 March 2016

The memory nest- Make it Monday No. 56



This is the sketch for Make it Monday at the Memory Nest.

My daughter was recently bridesmaid at a wedding of her friend.
The colours were pale sage green and navy.

In my counterfeit kit I had a dark green B side of Christmas paper from Ruby-Rock-it.
The A side has lined paper plus holly boughs.
I managed to cut a hole under the navy cardstock and use enough of the lined paper side where the bright pink is on the sketch.
My pale pink strip hanging down is a silver doiley.

The next step is the photos. I have 3 instead of 2.
I managed to fit them similarly on the layout.
I've used strips of pastel green under the photos to match the dresses.
The bottle green ribbon and flower, the chipboard cameras and the circle with the birdcage are all from my kit too.
Here is the finished item. The photo on the left appears crooked. It isn't, I measured it. Must be the angle it was taken or the height difference between Rob & Erica.






Wednesday 16 March 2016

How I organise my scrappy time and challenges.

I have been asked by the Counterfeit Kit crew to explain how I organise my scrapping challenge time.
These steps may help:

FIRSTLY BE BORN ORGANISED!

1.Dream about your next layout or photo you want to use.
2.Put washing on, or dinner to stew, so you can justify this time to yourself.
3.Gather your Counterfeit Kit on your table next to where you scrap.
4.Send the other house members out for the day.(Important)
5.Choose your background paper/cardstock.
6.Think about where you want your photo (s) to go.
7 Stick them down straight away! Don't procrastinate.
8. My scrapbook teacher told me to remember it is only paper and a photo costs little so if you "stuff it up" it doesn't really matter.
9. If you "goof up" an area you can always cover it with flowers, journaling tags or embellishments. Some of my best layouts are created this way.
10. In the My favourites section of your computer list all the challenges you regularly visit.


At the beginning of each month I work my way down the list and check the winners from the previous month. I actually WRITE a list in pencil of each layout I do for each month.
11. Match challenges to what you have in your kit. (it is okay to use other stuff too.)
12.Complete anything you start. I rarely leave anything half done.

I hope this helps. The other thing is to find a time of day that suits you. Mine is after breakfast.
Yours might be late at night.
If you are going to a crop day pack cellophane 12x12 bags for each layout with items you need to complete it.Add the sketch or print out of mood board etc.

Hope that all helps!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday 14 March 2016

Using squares just for fun!



Looking at the papers in my CK you can see the squared ones on the top right.
I've used one of these with 4 photos plus some fun embellishments to create a layout about my daughter's CARPORT GARDEN.
It all started with a pink flamingo.
Then she grew some succulents.
This time when I visited her, she had ceramic skulls and a "no parking" sign as well.
We all laughed but it is "so Erica!", her sense of fun.

I used small cameras plus a large cork one.
There are also flourishes and several words from a Bella chipboard pack I had. Words like extreme and wild one suited this perfectly.
The large ampersand matches the curves on the flourishes and the flamingo's neck.


Wacky!

Scrapbookit



http://scrapbookitblog.blogspot.com.au/ has this mood board and we must use the word cherish.
I love the softness of this layout inspiration.

I've chosen a photo which means nothing to anybody else.
When I was in Alice Springs, I had to wait several hours after booking out of the hotel before catching a train. I found a quiet corner in the hotel and read a book and just let my mind wander and rested. It was a quiet time!
It made me feel refreshed after the busy trip.

Using the B side of one of my Counterfeit kit papers this month, I found a plain pastel pink.
Next I misted with turquoise, then immediately yellow on top.
 My hope was to create green, but it is more bluey yellow.
I found a frame in my counterfeit kit that was purple &black.
I turned it over and painted the other side with an aqua colour.
I decorated it with enamel dots in palest green. The tag inside is also from my kit and says stop, smile, breathe, life is beautiful.

 I've used 2 chipboard cameras from my kit and an empty bird cage with flowers, leaves and more enamel dots.

There are several scraps of paper I'm pleased to have used.

 
I was inspired by the bed (rest),the frames and the flowers from the mood board.

Saturday 12 March 2016

March challenge #2 at Counterfeit Kits

March 12th: Media Studies
Use Print Media (newspapers, magazines, junk mail, catalogues) as the starting point for a layout. Colours, words, layout, even the story. could all be a source of inspiration.
I was reading a "Home Beautiful" magazine at a local coffee shop, when I spotted this.

Now there's 2 colours I haven't used in a long time!
 
I'm harking back to an old layout for similar inspiration
 
I'm using 2 photos that aren't good quality (sorry about the sun's glare!),but the colour scheme is accurate.
It is with a friend's baby back in the early 1980s.
And yes that is me.


The scanner cut it off, but there are 2 strips of velvet ribbon along the bottom.
I've added a chevron strip above the photos so I qualify for Challenge Yourself.

In the pink challenges

In the pink challenge asks for a special lady card.
As my mother is no longer alive ,I have made a general one which I will probably sell to raise funds for the local hospital.
I've used 2 different lace shapes, a flair showing a butterfly in a jar and 2 different border strips.
There are also some sequins on there.

Friday 11 March 2016

4 Crafty chicks.

At 4 crafty chicks they wanted 7 layers.

I purposely sloped my layers so that my sentiment "balanced" the slope.
My layers are background, red strip, green strip, green striped strip, fawn circle, sentiment and postage stamp.

Li'l red wagon

At Li'l red wagon they are asking for mainly manly.

I've followed a circular theme with my card.
The black background was actually Mickey Mouse paper but it is hidden well enough.
The circles of colour carry on the black theme.
The yellow chipboard circle was inked.
I've added the 3 cameras and their corresponding dots as a finishing touch.

White with One

The colour at White with One this month is lavender.

I had the perfect background paper for this.
I started my layout by sorting through my ribbon stash, finding 3 co-ordinating ribbons plus a scrap of lace. The layout grew from there.
I've used bling as well as a pearl brad, making the whole thing very feminine.

Why then is there a photo of a woman and man on a horse?
The woman is my friend's mother.
You couldn't get a more feminine person.
She grew up on a sheep farm in the southern highlands of NSW.
I liked the thought of how feminine and ladylike she really was.

Rochelle Spears March sketch & "this and that" challenges.



Here is the original sketch plus this extra criteria at http://rochellespears.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/march-this-or-that-challenge.html

I chose polka dots.
The paper going across the top of my layout has large dots.
I have varied from Rochelle's sketch slightly as it wasn't wide enough to go right across.
It it still works.

In my layering I included a silver lace doiley as the dress I was wearing in the left photo was silver and pink.
My vertical strip up the middle is much smaller as I used a scrap offcut.
The flourishes are shiny silver chipboard.
The grey Studio Calico cameras made a great embellishment for these photos

Wednesday 9 March 2016

Pixels and paper challenge.

Over at Pixels and paper the challenge is monochromatic and the inspiration picture features a cup of coffee.
Now I just happened to have a photo from Ireland of a coffee with a shamrock in the foam.
I've used brown tonings on this layout.
The paper is an old one from Paper Pizazz.
The chipboard pieces are from Scrapmatts.