I can't do minimalist...

...so this is about as close as I get. 

What I was trying to do here was recreate a gorgeous, simple layout that my friend Karyn had done that featured a tiny black and white photo in the bottom corner and a whole lot of white space.

Karyn's is a lot more balanced, but I don't mind how mine turned out. This is one of my favourite photos of Holly. She's playing in the sand on New Year's Eve and being her chilled out little self while everyone else was off splashing in the water. She was happy just to sit and eat sand. Mmmm... crunchy.

I've got a bit of hidden journalling in the kraft envelope too. The paper is from the Kindred Spirit collection from Ruby Rock-It. The starfish is from Scrapmatts, and the sticker at the very top of the page says 'Make a beautiful mess' - very appropriate for my little girl!

Stay crafty!

My angel (loves meerkats)

This is a layout for Scrap the Girls for their June challenge - the theme is 'outside'.

This photo of Holly was taken at Symbio Wildlife Park - she had her nose pressed to the glass watching the meerkats for ages!

As ususal, I've forgotten the name of the paper, but I can tell you a few other bits and pieces I've used - some Tim Holtz Crowded Attic stickers, washi tape, vintage laces and an old paper dress pattern, Thickers and Graphic 45 alphas, and a vintage paper lotus flower from the RaineCloud shop.

White on white...

Just wanted to share a layout I have done for the Lets Get Scrappy Challenge blog, the current challenge (#36) is a special birthday edition where you can choose any of the previous challenges listed. I was inspired by the White on White #3 challenge, so I thought I'd give neutrals a go. I am usually a very colour-oriented scrapper and will decide on papers and embellishments almost purely based on colour, so this was something quite new for me.

I used an old shot of my 6 month old self, with the 'pull' tag revealing some hidden journalling on a shipping tag - I've written about my very first memory - the starburst pattern on my white vinyl pram.

I've used some yellow and white roses from D-Lish Scraps, some vintage lace which I've sewn on with yellow thread, some punched cardstock circles and a little hand embroidered starburst salvaged from a linen doily. The paper is from the Atomic Soup range by Jilibean Soup.

It was so hard not to add more colour, but I enjoyed this challenge and will probably attempt a single colour layout again soon!

What are you making this weekend?

Old country roses...

Here's a super girly layout I did at Sherry Mendoza's house the other week - I mentioned I'd never done a 8.5 x 11 layout so the girls challenged me to attempt one! I thought there wouldn't be enough space to pack in all the embellishments I wanted to add but I actually really like how this one has turned out. I still managed to put a lot on there. So I will probably be doing more 8.5 x 11's in the future!

The little grey lacy flowers are handmade out of vintage lace which I've glimmermisted and inked. I like how dimensional this layout is; there's a lot of volume and layering going on.

The patterned paper is Cupid's Arrow from Kaisercraft's Sweet Nothings collection.

Do you like doilies?

How about cupcakes?

How about doilies AND cupcakes AND macarons?

How about doilies AND cupcakes AND macarons AND mis-matched farmhouse chairs?

SWOON. I am in heaven.

I just wanted to share these lovely photos with you because, apart from being eye candy, that little doily garland in the background is one that I made for the lovely Kristy of Flights of Fancy by Kristy.

Kristy's styled wedding inspiration shoot involved a dessert buffet, an old general store, flowers, cupcakes, tea, cake and all sorts of gorgeousness. You can view the rest of Kristy's photos here. The lovely dreamy photos are by CJ Williams Photography.

Would you like your own doily bunting? There's a few here, or I can custom make one just for you. Drop me a line and tell me what you're after!

New friends and new layouts

Sherry's layout

So last week I was lucky enough to make some lovely new scrapping friends, Bee Clarkson of Fantasia, LeAnne Payne of Scrapbooking Australia and Prima Goddess Sherry Mendoza. I had brought along some little kits for the girls and wanted to share the sweet little layout that Sherry made, I love how simple it is. Sherry added the bird rub-on which just sets it off I think.

Karyn's layout

My partner in crime Karyn Pawson also put together a layout from a RaineCloud kit, I love this little cluster, and how she has inked the lotus flower with a nice fresh green.

And what did I do? Ate tim-tams and drank hot chocolate... and did a couple of layouts. My mum had recently given me a stack of old baby photos so I guess I will be scrapping myself more than usual in the coming months! I love the feel of old photos and how they sometimes seem so clear compared to digital prints, when it should really be the other way around. Anyway, I had some shots of me teasing our dog and I wanted to give twine a go, as I hadn't used it on a layout before. Here's the result:

My layout

I like that this has turned out quite neat and tidy, and the fresh colours are really nice. The paper is Tickets Please from Echo Park's This and That collection. I'm not sure you can see it in the photo but the teal coloured patterned paper is a flocked velvet, from memory it's from Christina Re. The bluebird paperclip is from Typo.

So thank you Sherry for having me at your place, and thanks lovely ladies for letting me eat your tim-tams!

Bluebirds...

This gorgeous little birdy was made by Ashely at Secret Holiday & Co, and he is the inspiration for this month's challenge over at Show Us Your Stuff.

Here's my take on the birdy theme... a photo of me from 1983 wearing blue quilted overalls (so stylish) in a Chinese garden seemed like a good fit for the colour scheme, and I wanted to use some of my handmade lotus flowers which I thought would work nicely with the Chinese lion in the photo. Other bits and pieces include paper from Kaisercraft's Home Made range, Maya Road lace flower, the birdy and the white flowers were from a craft expo.

I didn't ink any edges like I do on nearly every other time because I wanted to keep it light and pale, but it kind of looks a bit naked without ink I think? I don't know, should I have inked and distressed the edges a bit?

If you like the lotus flowers, there are a few packs available in the RaineCloud store.

I'm off to enjoy the start of my awesome kid and husband free weekend, woooot!

Weekend crafting...

A little layout I did over the weekend using one of my own kits from the RaineCloud shop, the Seaside Holiday inspiration kit.

All I added was the Bazzill cardstock, the wee bit of MME Lost and Found paper at the top of the page, the alphas and some washi tape here and there.

When I started on this one I thought I might try and create a whole layout without using my regular X-press It tape to hold everything down. (Why? I don't know. Maybe because I was too lazy to go into the other room to get said tape).

I did a bit of hand sewing in some areas to hold the ribbon and lace together, and got most of the paper parts stuck down with washi tape, but ended up having to add a little bit of X-press It tape under the photo.

If you sometimes need some extra inspiration for your layouts, you might like to check out the other inspiration kits in store. (More to come in the next week or two.)

Did you get any crafting done over the weekend? Do share!