Hellooooo White With 1 Creative Team!

I guess that title is pretty self-explanatory... I made the CT at White With 1!  Extra happy face!! :)))

This is a particularly awesome thing because I LOVE the WW1 challenges; I subscribe to soooo many blogs; quite a few of them challenge blogs, but the WW1 challenges each month always stand out as totally do-able in my own style.

I find sometimes with other challenges I try so hard to fit the criteria the layout doesn't end up looking like it's my own work. But WW1? Totally my style.   :)

So - stay tuned for my first layout as part of the creative team... or better yet head over to White With 1 and subscribe if you haven't already to make sure you stay in the loop with the great challenges each month. Or, you can like WW1 on facebook too. 

Have a fantastic weekend and try and stay cool if you're in Sydney - I'm really looking forward to my brother's wedding tomorrow but not looking forward to sweating in a satin dress in 41 degree heat!

Ice cream... NOM NOM

My husband is a huge fan of ice cream. So imagine his joy when he got to play work on an ice cream van recently!

Richie fixes food service equipment and it seems like it was a nice break from dishwashers and mixers to have this ice cream van parked in front of their workshop for the day. That's him in the blue shirt, pretending to buy icecream from his workmate, while they are supposed to be working on some poor bloke's ice cream machine...

Clearly they couldn't resist a few quick snaps of them fulfilling a lifelong dream  :)

Materials used: MME paper, Greatest View button, washi tape, chevron stamp from Creatiate, lime green blue and pink Dylusions, white Mister Hueys, Zing embossing powder.

November DT Projects with Basic Grey's Aspen Frost

Just sharing this month's Pages 2 Scrap DT projects using the beautiful BasicGrey Aspen Frost collection.

This collection is festive but subtle, and really versatile for lots of different styles of layouts. I really like the 'Tin Solider' vintage style ornament paper and the wax seals, but my new fave is the velvet rub-ons. I LOVED using these, I think they are my new favourite product! I liked them so much that I even used the negative flocked bits that you would normally throw away. They take a bit more rubbing than regular rub-ons but the texture they add to your layouts is fantastic.

For my first layout I used a Heidi Swapp mask and copper GlimmerMist on some plain red cardstock to give it a bit of sparkle, then added some blooms and embellishments from my kit and a doily and a few simple flowers from my stash. I love these colours together - aqua and red - they work so well for any layout, not just for Christmas. Check out my dad's beard. Awesome.

This 'Cherried Noses' paper is one of those that you have to buy two of because both sides are so pretty, but for this doggy layout I've gone with the music side and roughed it up with a bit of stamping. You can see the flocked red sheet behind the photos - this is the leftover negative part after I used all the rub-ons.

The flourish is from WoW with the addition of some copper embossing powder. And there's a bit of red Kaiser bling in there too, vintage lace and Tattered Angels Mistables printed crepe paper under the photos. How cute are our pups? Cody wearing the ho ho ho antlers was our kelpie cross (sadly gone for two years now), Molly is my sis-in-law's staffie, also in antlers, and Rennie is my other sis-in-law's very old and wrinkly miniature pinscher. They all enjoy Christmas with their humans.  :)

Do you have a 'nice shelf' at Christmas? A special place you put all your breakable things up away from the kids? All the pretty things that you buy thinking your house is going to look like the one in the magazine, only to realise it looks like a shit storm in a daycare with all the festive kiddy craft around the place?!

However, I can control this one little spot, where I can put my pretty stuff, and the nostalgic and necessary (but butt-ugly) stuff is confined to the other parts of the house.

I thought this would make for some good journaling, and I kept this layout simple with the flocked rub-ons taking centre stage. I wouldn't have picked grass green and aqua as colours that would work together but the different tones of red really bring them together and makes this collection Christmassy without being too full-on.

This 'Covered Lashes' paper was really sweet to work with too, there was some lovely white Christmas flowers and Aspen Frost cardstock stickers in my kit which I've used under and around the photo, the lightbulb is from Prima and I made the blue netting flower using Glubers glue circles. Do you like my frosted photo effect? I've just discovered PicMonkey and it's awesome, so easy to use and you can get some great effects without stuffing around with Photoshop. I'm a graphic designer so I'm no stranger to Photoshop, but PicMonkey is just so much quicker and easier!

The vinyl faux-wax seals from the Aspen Frost collection are really sweet too! These would be a lovely addition to your extra special Christmas cards. You know, the ones you only make for your mum and your best friend because you know everyone else throws them out after Christmas is over.  ;)

Last up, I've been planning to alter this clipboard for a while now after I did a similar one for my good friend Karyn. I've decoupaged with vintage paper and embellished with Aspen Frost embellies and alphas, and that gorgeous red stitched ribbon from Pages 2 Scrap. I think I could nearly get away with using this year round... I've been looking for a spot to store all my monthly receipts.

It's really putting me in a festive mood doing all these great Christmas projects. Are you making handmade gifts or cards this year? What a great excuse to pop in to Pages 2 Scrap and do some SHOPPING! (As if we need an excuse!).

Scrap the Boys November challenge

How cool is this colour combo? Here's my take on it for this month's Scrap the Boys challenge

It was a colour challenge this month - I used some of my fave Zing embossing powder and flocked Christina Re paper scraps to bring out that awesome teal, and I made the little banner from watercolour paper and glimmermists.

My journalling is about my little man growing up - he's been going through a growth spurt the past few weeks, for example yesterday he ate FIVE sandwiches ON TOP OF breakfast lunch and dinner, and then called me in after he was tucked up in bed to yawn at me and tell me he was still hungry!

He's always been a good eater but geez, I just can't keep up with his appetite at the moment!

Materials used: Kaisercraft cardstock and wood heart, AC Remarks alphas, Christina Re paper, black Mister Hueys, washi tape, Kaisercraft transparency, Zing embossing powder.

Rock pools

Unusually for me, this layout started with the quote. I wanted to use the Tolkien quote 'not all who wander are lost' (just coz I like it, I'm not a Tolkien nerd :) and found this old photo of Richard rock hopping at Austinmer Beach.

This was right back when we met in 2006 and one of the things we bonded over was a mutual love of nature and being outside. I wanted to bring some natural elements into this page so used twine and a feather (thanks Rhyallie!) as well as the cool Basic Grey paper which I think kind of looks like the seashore or rock pools or something. 

It took me ages to get the background to a point where I was happy with it... but I just kept layering stuff over the top till it looked ok. I was a bit heavy handed with the misting and it's really dark under the photo so I had to adjust the page layout so I could cover the ugly bit.  :)

The sweet tag behind the photo was a leftover from the Pages 2 Scrap retreat; we had some lovely goodie bags on our table each morning with these little tags on them.

Materials used: Basic Grey clippings paper, Adorn-it alphas, vintage ticket, tissue paper, Tim Holtz film strip, Jenni Bowlin buttons, Kaisercraft heart, twine, Glimmermist, Kaisercraft white paint, feather, manilla tag.

White + green + chevrons... and baseball :)

I have a baseball nut in my family. Well a few of them if you count my extended family. My hubby has played since he was a little bloke and it's only this year, after nearly 30 years, that he has given it a rest - but not by choice. He's got achilles tendonitis and even walking can be a bit tough sometimes, let alone running bases. He's not the type to say much about it but I know it's hit him hard - baseball has been part of his life for so long that I know he is feeling a bit of loss.

It struck me when I was looking for a pic for this month's White With 1 challenge that I'd never scrapped a baseball photo, and considering his uniform at his current team St Mary's Saints is green, it worked perfectly. I started with a bit of Fresh Lime Dylusions and a TCW stencil, which went all smudgy but in a good way, then a bit of watered down lime green Kaisercraft paint over the top applied with a foam brush - I used the thin edge of the foam part to make the vertical lines.

I covered my fave chevron stamp from Creatiate in Glimmer Glam as (oddly enough) I don't have any green stamp pads right now  :)

I used the Glimmer Glam for the border as well, so as not to waste the bit that was left on my palette.

That rad transparency is from Glitz - it's extra perfect because it had Richie's number, 21, printed on it  :)

Conveniently, I had an October Afternoon sticker that said 'baseball' too. It all just came together! Other materials used: Tim Holtz calendar stamp, Sassafrass Lass circle sticker, Kaisercraft carstock.

Being mindful

I just wanted to share this gorgeous reminder from contemporary poet Libby Hart that sometimes what you need is to just *stop* and be present in the moment:

Before you do anything else today, I want you to stop and listen. I want you to close your eyes and listen to your surroundings. What is it that you can hear? Birdsong? Is it the sound of passing cars? The wind whispering? Is it the muffle of dead of night? Are you on a train? Are you listening to music while you read these words? Can you hear yourself breathing? Or is there someone else breathing beside you? Are they sleeping? Did the telephone just ring? Is that someone having an argument?

Regardless of what it is that you are listening to, you are experiencing something quite magnificent – and funnily enough, it goes on all around you at every moment of every single day. Its rules change frequently, but I think its premise goes a little something like this: to live is to experience the world and to experience the world is to commune with and within it. We are, all of us, in a conversation this very minute.

Life seems to move bloody fast these days. It's lovely to find yourself suddenly aware of the universe moving around you, and be reminded of the bigger picture.

We went for a walk on the weekend at the Knapsack Bridge, which is part of the old disused road heading up the Blue Mountains. The kids took their bikes, we walked the dog, Richie gave the kids a snack while I wandered off to take some photos with my new camera. There is something so quiet and spiritual about being in the bush; particularly in the mountains. I left feeling completely centered as I always do after being in the bush for a while. It's a bit hard to explain if you don't get that feeling yourself - I did a layout on the subject but that still doesn't quite convey what I mean.

I'm yet to start art journalling, but when I do, I think this will be the ever-present thread running through my journal - I could get all Buddhist and call it mindfulness, or I could echo my mum and say I'm stopping to smell the roses. I get so caught up in pointless crap sometimes, when what I really need is to get into the bush, or failing that, just watch the dog's nose wiffling as she breathes in and out, or to lay on the pavers and look at ants with Holly, or walk up the street and collect gumnuts with Ty. Being in nature, being part of something bigger, appreciating the tiny ephemeral things as an antidote to the excess and speed and chaos of everyday life.

What do you find yourself journalling about regularly? Do you reflect on the minutiae of every day life, your routines and rituals, do you create inspiring pages to reaffirm that you are awesome (and you are indeed awesome), or do you journal to express raw creativity that isn't released through regular scrapping or other channels? I'm really interested in the stories behind why people journal. I'm new to this gig - can you recommend a good art journal?

Thank you Libby Hart

Because everyone loves a dog layout

What's that you say? You're not sick of seeing layouts of my dog yet? Oh, awesome, here's another one then.   :)
 

Materials used:
Stamps from Creatiate, Marmalade Glimmermist, Amy Tangerine Thickers, Sticky Keys alphas, some random scraps, Kaisercraft bling, and I hand cut the little banner.

More doggy goodness coming your way soon  :)

Mmmm... giant sandwich! KIU November challenge

My go at the Kraft It Up challenge for November which was to create a minimalist layout using a lot of white space... what do you reckon? I probably could have gone a bit more minimalist, but hey, it was a birthday photo, it needed lots of colour and ink splats and stuff.   :)

The photo was taken at Ty's 4th birthday party earlier this year... we had a bowling party and I made the cake he requested.... a giant sandwich! I figured it wouldn't be too hard seeing as how it's a plain square cake with some bits inside, although getting the 'ham and salad' fondant pieces not to crack in the January heat was a bit of a challenge!

Here's the finished product - I was pretty happy with it! It's even got sesame seeds :)

Materials used:
Kaisercraft cardstock, Thickers, October Afternoon chipboard, washi tape, Basic Grey brads, Echo Park Note to Self number strips, white Mister Huey's, brown Versacolour ink, Fairway chalkboard mist.

'Pigs Might Fly' Mixed media page

She's cute, right? In her pig hat and pink tutu (made by the lovely Sherry Mendoza no less! Tks Sherry  :)  

I thought this pic would be perfect for the Somerset Memories submission call for layouts with the theme of 'strings attached'. (Thanks Lou for the heads up!). 

I liked the idea of little birdies helping my wee piggy to fly.   :)

There's a lot going on on this 8 1/2 x 11 page... clouds (using impasto medium and a stencil), misting, stamping, creating extra texture with some vintage lace, as well as machine sewing and doodling. The blue part at the top and the other small strips throughout the page are torn parts of Holly's artwork - she brought home a beautiful pastel watercolour picture from daycare which had been painted on paper towel. I love using bits of my kids artwork in my layouts... they bring home sooo freakin' many and I can't keep them all, but this is a way to incorporate their craft with mine! (Here's another one that uses one of Holly's paintings).

Materials:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Inks & Paints: Staz-On, Glimmermist, Versacolour, Kaisercraft white paint
Alphas: Thickers, Basic Grey
Embellishments: Kaisercraft heart, October Afternoon chipboard
Stamps: Kaisercraft, Creatiate 
Washi tape: Notemaker and D'Lish
Impasto medium, TCW stencil, vintage lace from RaineCloud, pink thread, paper towel, corrugated cardboard

Stay crafty peeps!

Pastel, Wire & Sweet... November 123 Challenge

How AWESOME is my mum's handmade floral chiffon and silver lurex wedding dress? Oh yes, I did say lurex - it was 1978 after all.   :)

Mum is the queen of thriftiness and this pic was taken after the ceremony which was held in her loungeroom, in the house where she still lives - just not with my dad. They're both happily re-married and although this pic probably conjures mixed emotions for mum, I couldn't resist scrapping it. It just sums her up so completely - no bells and whistles, even for her wedding!

I used to love dressing up in her dress and I'm pretty sure I wore just the silver slip dress part out to a party one time!

This layout is for this month's 123 Challenge where the criteria was to use pastels, the word 'sweet', and wire. After Lou's class on Friday I just happened to have some wire on my desk, how convenient! :)

Materials used:
Kaisercraft Lake House paper, Prima bling, Manorhouse flower, butterflies from Ruby Rock-it, washi tape, glimmermist, Crafters Workshop stencil, Thickers, Glitz transparency and that blue and greenish recycled looking paper behind the photo is some that I made with my Aunt when I was, oh, maybe 12? Yes, I hoard craft supplies!!

Stay crafty!

My little squirrel

Holly was so gorgeously fat when she was little. I love this shot of her in the pouch (aka Baby Bjorn) - it was the middle of winter and all you could see was her cheeks and her little crab hands poking out the sides.

See what I mean by gorgeously fat? She's popping out of her onesie!  :)

Products used:
Crate paper pp, Echo Park viewmaster die cut, blue Dylusions, white Versacolour ink, October Afternoon alphas, Basic Grey brad (it's a squirrel brad! What are the odds of me having a squirrel brad?! How convenient :))

Papercrafts Fesival ... Louise Nelson's class

So how awesome was the Papercrafts Festival at Penrith this weekend? I managed to get a few precious kid-free hours to visit on Friday, and managed to spend just a little over my budget...  ok maybe a bit more than a little... but now that all the retreats and shows are over for the year my plan is to stash-bust! Over the coming weeks I'll be sharing some ways I have used up stuff that has been in my stash for years, things that need just a little alteration to become something gorgeous and useable.

At the Papercrafts Festival I was lucky enough to meet Louise Nelson at her workshop where I learnt some fab techniques. And it was great because I didn't have to follow instructions much... those who know me know I don't follow instructions well! I can't help it, I just have to mix things up. The class was mainly Lou sharing the techniques she uses to achieve her instantly recognisable style, then we could go off and create our own layouts and just have a play and get messy. This is what I made.

Without sounding too weird and stalker-ish, it was so nice to meet a kindred spirit; I create in a very freestyle way too, mostly by feel, knowing that magical point when all your elements flow and just playing with stuff on the page till everything falls into alignment. The end result is different, we have quite different styles, but aside from me almost always using a photo as my starting point, I think we both kind of look for that organic way a page needs to flow. You know when you meet someone and you know you're just on the same wavelength? Yeah, that!

So I left feeling very inspired! It was great to finally meet Lou and Nic Howard, make friends with Sarah Martin and the other girls in the class, and catch up with Jane Clark, Teresa Crouch, Joanne and a few other scrappy girls including the scrappy girl I see nearly every day of the week, Miss Karyn Pawson.   :)

Here's the second layout I completed in the class, the first one is more balanced but I like this one too. I made it for my sister-in-law Debbie who is so amazing in so many ways... but is yet to embrace lumpy-bumpy scrapping! This one's for you Deb - bumps a-plenty! 

Thanks Lou for the lovely little kit too; LOVE this Imaginarium Designs chipboard.  :)

Stay crafty peeps,