Kaleidoscope Scraps: CRII - Feb challenges

Well, I've had a good weekend and got more scrapping done than I have for a long time. I've finished both the layout, and the card for this month's challenge at my online group.

We had to make a layout based on a sketch from Everything-About-Scrapbooking.com this month. I took the opportunity to scrap some photos from our trip to New Zealand last month, specifically of the Government Gardens in Rotorua. The sketch was for a double page layout. This suited me fine as I usually make double pagers, although I haven't done that many lately. I didn't really stick to the sketch as I accidentally picked a portrait photo in the bunch, and I should have had all landscape photos! Still, I stuck to the main idea of the sketch and I really like how it turned out. Here it is (click on it to see it larger).

I used the "I Wish" (Christmas!) Simply Scrappin kit from Stampin Up! I used the Old Olive cardstock, cut a piece of the green patterned paper for the tops of each page, and the half circle at the bottom of the left hand page. For the "ruffle" across the middle of each page I cut the strip (4 times) from the other patterned paper. I simply folded it to look like a ruffle. I used two strips for each page. Then I sewed it onto the page.

For the ruffle around the half circle I used some Stampin Up! chocolate chip 2.5cm double stitched grosgrain ribbon. It was really easy to make into a ruffle. I just pulled the stitching on one side of the ribbon then attached it to the back of the circle with double sided tape. Some sticker embellishments from the kit finished off the circle. I was impressed that I could use a Christmas themed kit for a very non-Christmas layout.

For the titles I used some Lush rubons from Delish Designs that I won in an online crop last year. I absolutely love this script and would love to buy some more, but haven't been able to find it anywhere that I've looked so far. I then added a small border sticker from Art Stamps Australia that I bought at the craft show last year in Canberra. I always find something I like at their stall and it's always well priced too. This border has some sparkle in it, but it doesn't show in the picture. The scalloped embellishment is also from the SU! kit. I put it on with foam tape so it would be raised off the page.

As to the photos, they are (left to right and top to bottom) the gazebo, the lovely pond next to the gazebo, a kauri tree trunk (love those colours!), the Rotorua Museum that began it's life as a Bath House and Spa in 1908 (very interesting museum and worth the visit if you go to Rotorua), and L behind the Maori posts and carvings at the entrance to the park.

The second part of this month's challenge was to create a card from this sketch from Card Patterns. I didn't have any idea what colours I would use until I went through my scraps to find a piece of cardstock big enough to use as a card base. I found a piece of cardstock (from my TLC stash, I think)and then went about finding patterned papers to go with it! I'm really not sure who made them as they were all scraps. The only thing I can tell you is that I used the Friendly Flowers stamp set from Stampin Up! for the pink flowers in the middle diamond, and their Spring Solitude stamp set for the sentiment. The diamonds were put onto the card using foam tape, and then I added a button that I'd tied a bit of floss through before attaching. I like how it turned out, except that I think I should have inked the edges of the green flowered paper to make them stand out more from the background. Still, I hope whoever gets it will like it.