Magnolia

I've been really busy with challenge entries this month and finished one last one just in time! I decided to enter the White with 1 challenge for the first time. This month's challenge was to use a white background with black and paint/mists. While I don't mind black and white, I prefer colour, so decided to use colour photos with the black and white background and I think it looks pretty good. 

I started with a sheet of white Bazzill cardstock, and attached a couple of strips of gyprock tape. I then swiped some black (Kaisercraft) paint across the gyprock tape and then removed the tape, leaving a square pattern on the cardstock. I also inked the edges of the cardstock with soot black distress ink. 


I used a Page Maps sketch as the basis for the layout, and stuck pretty close to it. 

TLC rubons
Earring (?) Op Shop find

The paper for the bracket square, the die cuts, ribbon and rubons are all part of a TLC Runway kit from my TLC days. I created the bracket square in PSE, printed it on a piece of scrap paper to check the size, then copied it to the patterned paper and cut it out. 

Joy Crafts daisy die flower

The papers for the circle on the left were left over from a monthly Wrapped in Paper challenge pack. I added some clear and black rhinestones and a button from my stash, as well as a mother of pearl earring (?) front that I picked up at the Op Shop. The flower in the top right hand corner I cut from a scrap of black cardstock with a Joy Crafts daisy die. the title was made from Kaisercraft mini black & white letters and I stitched a white edge around the bracket square with a bit of white floss. 


Until next time, happy days!


Francine

Luge with a View

I love Becky Fleck from Page Maps' sketches! They're always so well balanced and easy to follow. So, whenever her challenges are open to international scrapbookers, and sometimes even when they're not (since I have family in the States so can use their address) I try and make a layout. This time she's offering stuff that she's purged from her studio and there's some nice things there I wouldn't mind getting my hands on. But, even without the prize, the challenges always help me get some scrapping done! So, this is my latest creation for this challenge, from the sketch at left!


Since my page was all about the magnificent view at the top of Bob's Peak in Queenstown, New Zealand, where we went to the luge track, I couldn't help but replace the white space below with a large photo. I typed my journalling directly on to the photo before printing it out. 

Limitless layers circle B used to cut the half circles

I kept the embellishments simple, using a metal ribbon slide, some fancy metal grommet buttons, a bit of ribbon and floss from my stash. I also used my Big Shot to cut the lotus scallop edged half circles. I'm loving using my Big Shot and the few dies that I have. More dies are definitely on my wish list! 

The papers are from Stampin Up and I distressed the edges with some Versamark ink. The title is made from Tim Holtz grungeboard letters also inked with the brown Versamark ink, as well as a couple clear Dymo strips that I layered on top of some cardstock scraps that I also inked up first. (Here's a hint for anyone trying this at home - make sure the ink is completely dry and soaked in to the paper before you put the dymo tape on. Otherwise you just get ink on the sticky side of the Dymo tape and it keeps falling off - hmmm... wonder how I worked that out?!)

See the seed beads?

I finished the whole page off by pricking some holes, then using them to stitch some seed beads in a line above the pictures. 


All in all, I love how this layout turned out! Maybe it will be good enough to win, maybe not - we'll see!


Till next time, happy days!


Francine

Bract vs Flower

 
I completed this layout for the October Get Picky sketch challenge. It's their one year anniversary and they're having a blog hop as well! Of course I've left it to the last minute again as the challenge closes at midnight tonight, but I did manage to get it finished! 

Kaleidoscope before cutting with the decorative doily die

Kaleidoscope before cutting with the lotus die

Other than the ribbons and flowers from my stash I made all of my own embellishments. I made a couple of kaleidoscopes from the photos and then die cut them with my Big Shot. I made a couple of other die cuts from paper from my stash and used some glimmer mist with a brass stencil that I had forgotten I had. I used some fired brick distress ink to colour the edges of the papers, and after cutting the letters for the title out of the pink polka dot paper that I used, I coloured them with my Sakura Stardust pens (Rose Star and Gold Star) so they would match the pink bracts picture and the yellow flower picture. That was pretty much it - finished!

journalling

I do have several more layouts to share, I just need to find some time to post them first.

Die-Namics decorative doily die cut

Till next time, happy days!

Francine

Fillable Frames Die #10

Decorative Label punch (EK Success/SU)

Limitless layers (circle B/lotus 3")

Cuttlebug Baby Face alphabet (for letters)

Cuttlebug Typewriter (for small arrows)

EZ Cut Small Corner#2 (Sullivans)misting through Anna Griffin Brass stencil (5800S)

Online Crop Weekend - Part 3 - Layouts

There were four layout challenges in the online crop weekend that I participated in, and I finished three! That's pretty amazing for me since I'm such a slow layout maker. Even better was that I could make a layout for the latest Southern Girls challenge about men/boys at the same time! Here's the layout I came up with about my son (I don't usually blur my kids faces, but decided I should this time).

This layout was based on this sketch by Julie Bonner. In place of the journalling circle in the bottom left corner, I put a medallion made with my EZ Cut- Fold flower #5 die instead.  This is a simple layout, but I think it turned out pretty well. 

The second layout was another sketch challenge. I can't read the signature on the bottom so I'm not quite sure where it came from, sorry :-( I decided to make it about Spring in Canberra. These photos were taken a week or so ago. I so love all the flowering trees around Lake Burley Griffin! The layout is a bit busy I think, but it's starting to grow on me.  



I used one of the flowers I made for the 'make your own flower' challenge (see right), as well as the Marianne Creatables butterfly die. (To those of you who regularly read my blog I can hear you saying "again?!") I also used my MFT Die-namics decorative doily die to make the journalling spot.  



The chipboard flower is from my TLC stash, and the flower beads and glitter letters - who knows where and when I bought those! All the papers are scraps from other projects. I also used some glimmer mist over a tree mask from Tattered Angels on the background cardstock. That's the first time I used that mask which I got as part of a mini album kit (still unmade). 


I love how the last layout turned out. The challenge was to make a no picture layout. I've wanted to record a particular comment from my daughter for some time and didn't know how, but this challenge was perfect! The story goes that my husband has been going interstate quite regularly (as in weekly!) and every time he returns my daughter asks "Did you bring me a present?" It's become a bit of a joke and I just had to record that! So, I had lots of fun finding scraps of paper and ribbons to make presents. I also created three, monthly calendars from an online site (calendarlabs.com) which I altered slightly in MSWord then printed out. I added places he went (well, I actually made them up since I can't keep track of all the dates!). Then I put them all together and this was the result. I love it! What do you think?

Well, that's it for me today. Till next time, happy days!


Francine

Online Crop Weekend - Part 2 - Cards

Of the 25 challenges at my weekend online crop, the majority were card making challenges. I'm not really a card maker so these challenges are about the only time that I ever make any. I got eight cards done, but I'm only going to share four of them here. All of them were made with paper and cardstock scraps from my stash!


For the first card, the challenge was to include a circle, square and rectangle on the card. I cut all the items out of the same scrap of paper. The pink scalloped flower and central circle were cut using the Papertrey Ink Limitless Layers dies. 



For the second card you had to include stitching. I used my new Sew Easy piercer with the lazy daisy head. I practiced first to work out how to put the holes in the right place! The sentiment is a TLC rub on. This is my favourite card that I made on the weekend. 


For the third card, there was a sketch to follow. I used ribbons for the downward pieces. I used the Limitless Layers dies for the circles, and the Joy Crafts daisy die for the central flower. As I don't have a scallop border punch or circle punches the right size, I cut a pink retro flower, cut the petals off, then used them to make the scallops! I thought that was pretty ingenious, if I do say so myself. 

The last card was also made from a sketch. I know I didn't follow the sketch too closely! The label was cut out using the Papertrey Ink Fillable Frames #10 die.  This is my second favourite card of the weekend. 

I still need to do a post about the layouts I made. Stay tuned!

Till next time, happy days!
Francine

Online crop weekend - part 1 - OTP/ATCs

This past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in an online challenge weekend with my "Crop Room" scrapping buddies - mostly women in the US, but at least one friend from NZ as well (hi Lainie!). The crop was in celebration of World Card Making Day, even though it was a week late! There were 25 challenges in total - mostly cards as well as four layout challenges and four ATC/OTP challenges. here's what I made for the OTP/ATC challenges.


Challenge 1 - Create a flower from scratch.
I used this video tutorial to make a ric rac flower. While I liked the result it was smaller than I anticipated and so I added to it by punching two retro flowers, layering them together and adding the ric rac flower as the flower centre. I love how it turned out, and it was quite simple and fast to make too so I ended up making four flowers in the end :-)

 






Challenge 2 - Create a Halloween tag
The tag had to be at least 2.5" wide x 4" tall. Mine is 3.25" x 5.25". I used a TLC Halloween kit from my stash for the main embellishment on this tag. I was unlikely to ever use the kit since Halloween isn't a big thing here, and figured that even if I did want to use it, I could put this tag on the layout if I needed it!

Challenge 3 - Make an ATC with the theme "fly"The ATC could be of anything that flies except a bird. Since I liked this theme I made two ATC's, both about butterflies. Here they are!

The red one uses my new favourite Marianne Creatables butterfly die, Vintage Vogue stamp set from SU, and Cuttlebug typewriter alphabet die. I stamped the border stamp across the bottom, sprinkled on Stamp n Bond powder, heated it, then added the silver glitter. For the wings I put some double sided tape under the 'holes' I wanted to glitter then sprinkled the glitter on. 

The pink ATC uses a SU stamp set called Great Friend. I found the quote online and printed it directly onto the cardstock.

Challenge 4 - Make an ATC with the theme "Mother"

For this ATC about Mother Nature, I printed a quote I found online directly on to the ATC, and stamped the green flourish leaves using the Vintage Vogue stamp set mentioned above. The medallion was made from one of my kaleidoscope cards and cut out with the EZ Cut - Fold Flower 5 die. The original kaleidoscope is shown below. 

Grevillea card
www. MemoriesInKaleidoscope.com

I hope to do another post later about some of the other things I made on the weekend.

Till next time, happy days!

Francine  

Birds of Prey (show)

I realised that I hadn't shared my latest layout for the September Wrapped in Paper monthly challenge. I absolutely love it, partly because these photos turned out really awesome (to use today's parlance *grin*) and partly because I just like the layout of it. I used a sketch by Heidi Myers from the online publication  Scrapbook News and Review (SNR). I submitted my layout to SNR and it was published (yay!) on Nov 16th, 2011. So, if you're looking at this post in the 30 days following 16.11.11 you won't be able to see my take on the sketch. Check back later!!

Sketch by Heidi Myers

I wasn't very keen on the papers in this kit (again!) but made the best of them. The orange dotty paper that I used as the background had garish purple, orange, pink and black words on the other side that I couldn't work out how to use, so I just used the patterned side. The three pieces of cardstock were easy to layer. The sun ray striped paper, oh my, I don't like at all, but in small doses it's ok. There were a couple of orange and green leaves which naturally made me think autumn, but I've done several of those layouts already and wanted to do another subject. In the end I just hid them in my embellishment cluster, using the (Collections, I think) chipboard buttons that were also in the kit. I inked the star with some orange ink to give it colour and tied them all on with some jute string. 

I ended up punching some holes around the central photograph part. I goofed though so had to cover up the crooked line of holes. Can you guess how?! The two ribbons were also in the kit, so I used them for the "frame". the leaves were punched from the yellow cardstock with my Sizzlits Little Leaves die. 

I finished off the layout with some (brown) Scenic Route and mini Kaisercraft black/white letter stickers. Since I had too much to say, I typed it out and printed it on some of the orange dotty paper that I cut out of the middle. I don't like to waste paper, so I often cut the middle out of paper if I put another large piece over the top of it :-)

The photos by the way, were taken by me (yes really!) at the Birds of Prey Show at the Alice Springs Desert Park. If you get to Alice Springs this park is not to be missed! They have recreated the different kinds of desert that you will find in Central Australia in this one location. They have lots of plants, animals and birds to see from each type of desert. It's a very interesting place, and the show was particularly good. I never thought I'd think that non colourful  birds of prey would be interesting! I'm so pleased too that I caught the barn owl with wings starting to unfold, just about to take off. 

Well, I've been very busy scrapping this past weekend so hope to be back later and share some more of my work. 

Till next time, happy days!

Francine