My SBM Masters entry!

Hello, I hope everyone has enjoyed their Christmas & looking forward to a New Year! It's always full of hope...I'm certainly hopeful for a much better year ahead! Wishing you all a brilliant 2016!

I tried again this year for Scrapbooking Memories Masters competition & very delighted to have received an Honourable Mention for my 'Bling' layout which is seen in this months magazine.

Here are my other layouts....
Task one, 5x7 inch photo. I adore this pic of my girl, for reasons that I cannot truly express here...but that smile, those eyes, hence my choice of the blue background. It doesn't come out in the photo, but there is very fine glitter (Tim Holtz) in the background, as well as on the peacock feather.

Task two, multi-photo layout. We had only just picked up our two rescue kittens, so they were very much a highlight of our life...haha & still are ;)

Task four, budget layout. I started with white cardstock & created my background with Dylusions paint & lots of stamping in both paint & ink. I've also used lots of packaging, clothing tags & doilies. I stamped my own feathers & added some glitter to the ends.

Thanks for stopping by, as always, a huge thank you for any comments you may leave me. I do appreciate the time you take to leave me one x
Happy scrapping & a very Happy New Year!!!

Scrapping, simply for fun!

I'd like to wish all my followers, though that may only be a handful of you judging by the comments ;) a very, very Merry Christmas! Enjoy your time with loved ones...& I hope you are spoilt with loads of love & a bit of help around the house ;)

I'm hoping after the festivities that I get some time to play. Here is one that has been in the works for a while. I joined Instagram a couple of years ago & am loving that it is encouraging me to stop & take time out to simply take in my surroundings...haha & take a pic or two ;) Here I've scrapped a couple of my beach snaps.

A couple of detail close-ups...

 

I've used a little cloud stencil with a mix of texture paste & ink...adding a bit of watercolour to mimic the blue sky.

How cute is this wooden veneer title, from memory it's from WOW...I love the texture in the wood grain.

Thanks for stopping by. As always, a huge thank you for your lovely comments! I seriously do appreciate them, especially the time you take to leave me one xo
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Show us your Stuff!

The mid-month reveal is up over at Show us your Stuff...if you haven't already done your entry & need more inspiration, go check it out!

A reminder of the FABulous sketch...

                       

This was such a brilliant sketch to play with...here is my take on it.

The most challenging bit about doing this layout was our two kittens who kept pinching my washi tape, wood veneers and anything else they could get their paws on! Haha one of the washi's is yet to turn up??? For my homemade item, I used a flair from Flutterby Designs...no surprises really! ;)  I also used a VERY old acrylic frame & swirls for my layout! I had only just had a huge clean-up of my scrap area as I have moved it within the house. It's great to make use of all that neglected stuff.

Sadly this is my last month with SUYS, I thought it was time to step away from most of my commitments for a bit. I cannot thank Vicki, Sue and the whole team enough for their support & friendship over my time there. I've loved every minute of it! 

Pop over HERE to see the gorgeous creations from the rest of the team. Make sure you give it a go this month as we are all doing a 'secret Santa' for the winner! 

Thanks for stopping by. As always, a huge thank you to those that leave some 'love', I truly do appreciate the time you take to leave me some xo

Happy scrapping!

123 Challenge Blog - new monthly challenge & DT call.

Good evening, there is a DT call over at 123 Challenge Blog. Why don't you give it a go, details below...

Sadly this is my last month with 123, I've been there for a fabulously long time, but I feel it's time to step down. Thank you so much to Alicia & before her, Mel, for having me on the team, I've so loved my time on the team!

Here is this month's challenge...

And here my take on this challenge...

I was certainly having a bit of an 'off' month, this background was my 2nd take for the challenge ;) I felt my original ended up too busy, so kept the background simple with this fabulous 'inspirational' word stamp from Kaszazz. The patterned paper is from Kaisercraft, I'm so loving their mini paper pads.

Here is a close up of that stamp...I've highlighted a couple of words that I found especially appropriate.

Pop over HERE to see the rest of the inspiration from the team. I know it's a super crazy month, but hopefully you can squeeze some time in to give this one a go & good luck with your DT entries ;)
Thanks for stopping by. A huge thank you for all your lovely comments, I do appreciate each and every one of them, especially the time you take to leave me one x
Happy scrapping!

Kraft Plus!

It's an exciting month over at Kraft+ with the addition of some fabulous extra girls joining the team!

I'm thrilled to say that I remain with this amazing team! Yay!

This month's 'wanderlust' challenge is inspired by travel & maps...so get out all those vacation pics & start reminiscing.

I have to confess, there was a lot going on in my house over the month & my brain must have been a bit scattered, as I believed I had some map paper to work with? Haha who knows, maybe it will turn up??? Let's say I had a few false starts with this one, flipping from one set of photos to another, but now have extra photos to play with in the future ;) As I couldn't find my map paper, I printed off the world map from the Internet.

This layout itself was also a little out of my comfort zone as I've used NO mist or paint on my background. I thought about water-colouring the continents, but considering Fiji was my subject & it's a mere dot on the map, it seemed wrong.

Now I also don't have a 12x12 printer, printing this on A4 & then building back up to 12x12, hence the placement of the patterned paper, which I've had in my stash for years. I also pulled out some very old travel stamps & chipboard pieces, which seems only appropriate considering these pics are from the 80's!!!

Pop over HERE to see the amazing creations from the rest of the DT, each month I'm seriously in awe of their work!

Thanks for stopping by! As always, a huge thank you for your lovely comments, I do appreciate each & everyone of them, especially the time you take to leave me one X

Happy scrapping!

New monthly challenges!

Hello & welcome to November...& the 3rd as well! Seriously, where is the time going? Let's not even speak of next month 😉

My 1st share is the amazing challenge over at Kraft+...I'm a huge fan of P!nk & have most of her albums, so inspiration was right at hand. If P!nk is not your thing, hop on Google and gain some extra inspiration. Here is the challenge...

I took my inspiration from her "I'm not dead" album. I also used the lyrics from her song "nobody know" from the same album, in the background of my layout. This page was a little bit of 'scrap therapy' for me, gotta love that!

To alter the colours of the Kaisercraft Collections flowers, to be more like the roses in the album cover, I used some water-colour paint as well as using the same water-colours in my background.

Pop over HERE to check out the rest of the DT's absolutely rockin' takes on the challenge...it's certainly a feast for the eyes.

My next share is the cool 'travel inspired' challenge over at Show us your Stuff.

My travel inspiration was on the smaller, less grand, close to home scale...a trip on various forms of public transport to take some city photos. The bonus for the day was the sunset from the Manly ferry 😄 For the map paper, I raided an old unused street directory. I used some vellum over the edge of my map and layout to soften it for the title & journaling. I had a bit of fun with the journaling using hashtags as you do on Instagram.

These Tim Holtz rub-ons where perfect for this challenge...I love them! My handmade item...no surprises, is the flair from Flutterby Designs...love them too! 

Pop over HERE to see the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the DT, I love the different takes on the challenge.

My final share is this month's challenge over at 123 Challenge Blog...

Here's what I did...

For my background I pulled out my rather neglected HS alpha masks and sprayed with glimmer mist. I then added a variety of even older alpha rub-ons in both black and white, as well as more Tim Holtz rub-ons. 

I'm a bit naughty sharing this one, shhhh...at the time of posting this, the DT layouts had yet to be released, but you should be able to see them HERE over the coming week.

Thanks for stopping by, as always, a huge thank you for all your lovely comments X I honestly do appreciated each and every one of them, especially the time you take to leave me one.

Happy scrapping!

Final retreat share.

Missed sharing this retreat layout yesterday...it was my 1st one of the weekend & one of my fave's, probably because of the memories it evokes, certainly fun times :)

Again, it's heavily inspired by Wilna using water-colour paints & the fabulous 'Collectables' from Kaisercraft. I'm a little bit addicted to these.

Thanks for stopping by! As always, a huge thank you to my regular followers & their lovely comments, mwah! I really do appreciate the time you take to leave me one.

Happy scrapping!

Retreat scrapping!

Hello, I was lucky enough to get-away to retreat a couple of weekends ago. I spent a lot of my time working on an album which will be a gift, but I did manage some layouts to share.

These were simply just for fun! The layouts are heavily inspired by the talented Wilna Furstenberg, I do love watching her videos and her use of water colours, just gorgeous. I love it so much, I actually went out & bought myself a large pad of water-colour paper...they are not quite 12x12 so I have also copied her use of patterned paper for the background.

I wanted to replicate the water here with the water-colour paints, which turned out exactly as I wanted it & I love the look.

For this next one, I dipped my paintbrush into the Dylusions mist bottle & painted the colour on...it's just so vibrant, I totally love it! 

For the next one, I had seen Wilna's recent video using the transparency over the top of some scattered leaves & I thought it was such a brilliant idea. I have so much transparency, it's great to pull it out & use it.

This last one was started at a previous retreat where I was simply creating backgrounds. I had used Dylusions paint with my TCW splat stencil, haha which I might add...I totally love. I added some Tim Holtz rub-on's & some extra stamping & essentially it was done!

I'm really pleased with how this one turned out!

Thanks for stopping by! As always, a huge thank you for your lovely comments, I do appreciate the time you take to leave me one x

Happy scrapping!

123 Challenge Blog.

Hello again,
this evening I'm back to share with you the fabulous challenge over at 123 Challenge Blog...it's totally gorgeous, I absolutely loved this one!

Here is my take on the challenge...

I've had this lime misted background piece for many, many years. I had misted a frame on it, which was to be used for a layout I had created for this gorgeous lady, so it seems only fitting that it's used with her in mind. I added the spots with distress ink & a stencil. Below is a close-up of the misted & glittered peacock feather chippy.

Pop over HERE to see the fabulous creations from the rest of the DT. I do look forward to seeing your take on this challenge.
Thanks for stopping by...as always, a huge, huge thank you for all your lovely comments. I do appreciate each & every one of them, especially the time you take to leave me one x
Happy scrapping!

New month, new challenges!

Good morning all & welcome to October!!! Hehe scary hey ;) I'm really struggling to find that 'pause' button!
Today I have two gorgeous challenges for you...

First up is the amazing challenge over at Kraft+...I totally loved this challenge, haha to be honest, I've loved all the challenges that Sandra has set for us ;) I've personally found them all inspiring!

This month is all about getting back to NATURE. The challenge is to use feathers (they do not have to be real) & something that nature has provided (these DO have to be real, think shells, sticks, pebbles, leaves etc etc)

While at retreat a couple of months back, I was challenged by the gorgeous Louise to use the photo below...I instantly knew what I was going to do with it. This challenge was perfect!

Of course I had to use the Louise 'feather' by Imaginarium Designs which I painted using distress paints. I'm lucky enough to have one of Lou's hand carved feather stamps which I've stamped on vellum...& I know it's really hard to see, but I've also glittered the ends of each feather.
The tiny shells are real, the larger one is metal, which I've painted up again with distress paint...how good is that stuff ;) Below is a close up of title & those cute little shells.

Pop over HERE to see the totally stunning creations from the rest of DT & guests...wow!

My next share is from the brilliant challenge set by DT member Leanne Jago over at Show us your Stuff! This month there are NO PEOPLE allowed in your photographs! Instead we want to see what inspires you, what interests you, what makes your heart happy...somewhere, something - anything other than people! And of course, don't forget to include a handmade embellishment somewhere on your layout too.

Anyone that follows me on Facebook or Instagram will know how much I love taking sunrise & sunset photos, so this was a super easy one for me!

I had created this background using Dylusions Paint for a demo at Scrapbook Divas Retreat, the colours worked perfectly, so it progress quickly from there. My handmade item is the flair from Flutterby Designs (I know, I use them every month, but I do REALLY love them) I also punched out a felt flower, which the kittens later chewed ;) Nothing is safe in this house anymore!!!

Pop over HERE to see the gorgeous creations from the rest of the team.

That's it from me for the moment, I'll be back with the challenge from 123 Challenge Blog soon. Thanks for stopping by...as always, a huge, huge thank you for all your lovely comments. They really do mean so much to me & I appreciate the time you take to leave me one x
Happy scrapping!

7 Dots Studio challenge.

Good afternoon, it's just coming over very dark here in Sydney & I've just photographed this in time before the storm hits. I'll confess, I'm a huge fan of 7 Dots Studio paper...I just love it & I'm also loving their monthly challenges.

The theme for this month's challenge is "frame it" & here is their inspiration...

                      

This is what I did...using a mix of 'Destination Unknown' and I believe '9th Wave'.

                     

And a close up...

                     

With my stencils, I used distress ink (blue) & paint (pink). I also added glitter to the texture paste for a touch of sparkle...haha in other words there is glitter everywhere ;)

Thanks for stopping by...as always, a huge thank you for all your lovely comments. I do appreciate each & every one of them...especially the time you take to leave me one x

Happy scrapping!

Scrap Around the World

As always, this month's challenge over at Scrap Around the World was totally gorgeous & thankfully I found the time to participate.

Here is their inspiration...

                        

   
And here is my take on the gorgeous mood board...I was inspired by the pink, the book paper & twine.

       

 
Thank you for stopping by, I can't believe how quickly this month has flashed by. It's always a busy one in our household with the 3 of us girls having birthdays.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments, I truly appreciate each & every one of them, especially the time you take to leave me one x

Happy scrapping!

Part 2 of retreat layouts.

Hello, back again with the rest of my layouts from the LSBS retreat :)

This 1st one matches the one revealed yesterday. I've had this pic for a long while now (almost 2 years) I couldn't decide on papers. I had found 2 collections of papers at retreat, but still wasn't completely happy, when the 'lucky door' prizes were drawn. It was perfect timing & the perfect prize...this gorgeous paper pad from Kaisercraft, the colours worked beautifully!

I'm loving the paper ranges over at 7 Dots Studio, you'll notice it's featuring in lots of my current layouts.

I had seen this stencil (Love Quarters) from Kaisercraft featured in a magazine a couple of months ago...instantly fell in love with it, so quickly grabbed it when I saw it at retreat. Haha along with others ;) you can never have too many stencils can you!

Here is a close up of those gorgeous rose flowers...simply love it!

I can only share a sneak of this next layout, but again I've used that same Love Quarters stencil from Kaisercraft.

The rest of my layouts will be revealed with next months challenges. As I said yesterday, I achieved a lot at this retreat...completely chuffed at that! Wish I could have that retreat every month...haha would certainly get through some photos ;)
Thank you for stopping by...as always, a huge, huge thank you for all your lovely comments. I do appreciate the time you take to leave me one x
Happy scrapping!