The Paper Players Challenge #119

Another Hump Day, another challenge. Once again I thought I could just squeeze one more challenge in for this month. This one is for the sketch challenge over at http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com.au/ and you know what a sucker I am for sketches.  Here is the sketch:

 Some fussy cutting & layering on this one and I've used two of my fave colours - Pool Party & Lucky Limeade. This one is for my DD who has just completed her second Uni degree. I'm so proud of her because not only did she complete the Masters Degree in 1 year, but she did it while working full-time, maintaining a distance relationship, doing her duties as the union rep & sitting on various committees as a requirement of her job (outside of working hours of course), organising their impending move to the UK, cooking our meals every night (her's & Michelle Bridges' choice not ours & who are we to argue?) and all while keeping herself fit!!! Talk about burning the candle at both ends! However despite the challenging year she has had, she has another feather in her cap & a well earned extended break to look forward to. 

Anyway, I quite enjoyed this challenge. But I don't really need too much encouragement to pull out my card making gear :)  Thanks for dropping by.

Creative Scrappers #232

Good morning! This is my first entry into a sketch challenge over at http://www.creativescrappers.blogspot.com.au/   And yes I am cutting it a bit fine for this one, but I found myself with a bit of free time this morning so I jumped right in. I was surprised at how quickly I put this page together and I really like this sketch (this may be a keeper for later on).  I'm on a bit of a role with masculine pages at the mo, and I usually struggle with these, but I've had so many pics just waiting to be scrapped so I've had to get stuck into them instead of standing at the "procrastination station". Here is this sketch:

Our gorgeous Son was so excited for he & his Dad to have VIP tickets to see Nitro Circus. It was his last big luxury adventure (and Father/Son bonding trip) before he left. They had a fantastic time & he took so many photos but there are only so many that I can fit onto a page along with the memorabilia. He reminded me just before he left that I hadn't got around to scrapping them for him, so finally it is done.
Have a great week  and thanks for looking :)

Stuck?! October 15 Challenge

Another quick post for this weekend. I love the current sketch over at http://stucksketches.blogspot.com.au/ and just had to have a go at it. Finding suitable photos was the biggest challenge. However here it is:

And the closie:

Thanks for dropping by & checking it out :)xx

Bird is the Word...

Happy Friday all! The mid-month challenge over at Bird is the Word http://birdisthewordchallenge.blogspot.com.au/ is "Spring/Summer/Winter/Fall". You can use all of these words or just one. A little while ago I created a page about being lucky enough to have experienced two Springs in one year, so this is my entry for this Challenge.

This is me in the gardens of Prague Castle. The lawns were covered in these beautiful daisies & I couldn't resist sitting among them. It was such a perfect, warm spring day and these gardens are magnificent. Here is a closie of the journalling.

Thanks for looking :) If you get a moment, hop on over to Bird is the Word & check out their challenges.

Once Upon a Sketch October Challenge

It's been a while since I've entered a Challenge over at Once Upon a Sketch. However I really liked the sketch for this month along with the inspo quote:

So here is my take with a pic of my BF and me.

It's good to be using some of the older pps & embellies from my stash of late. The lovely chippy flowers are from 2Crafty which come in pieces and are great for decorating and then layering them together. The chippy leaves are from WOW. The "precious" word is recycled from an old project that I recently revamped. Oh and the pretty fabric flower is from Tattered Inspirations.
"The Vickster" and I have been friends for I think 10 yrs or more and we really "get" each other and are on the same page. She's always there for me and I love her sense of humour and her easy going attitude. But what I love most about her is that she is never judgemental about anyone or anything. I am so blessed to have her in my life. She makes me a better person. But I still haven't managed to turn her into a scrapbooking addict :(
Thanks for visiting today, I hope you enjoy the rest of your week.

Kraft it Up October Challenge

Just another quick post for the challenge over at http://kraftitup.blogspot.com.au/  This month the challenge is "misting" with Kraft as the background. I really love the Autumn colours in these photos so I've tried to do them justice with the addition of the leaves which I stamped and hand cut. I've used Crafter's Workshop stencils plus one of my own for the background misting as well as the Tim Holtz cog die.

And some closies:

Thanks for looking.

A Lynette Carroll Wall Art

Hello again! Yes, I know, I've posted 3 times in one weekend - now that's a record for me! But I just wanted to share a project that I finally finished. This wall art was a class that I took with the lovely Lynette Carroll at the Brisbane Expo back in June. Lynette is so professional and a lot of fun to have as a teacher. She made the whole process so easy for us and her beautiful designs can make a beginner look like a professional. I was lucky enough to complete most of the tags at the Expo, so there was just a little bit of finishing off when I got home, but the biggest hurdle was finding just the right photos. Hence the reason for my delay in finishing this off.

 Absolutely everything was supplied for this project even a little jar of paint to paint the chippie words. As you can see, nearly everything is in miniature and there was oodles of mounting foam added for all the layering. Surprisingly I found the 12 x 12 frame at my local Reject Shop. It had a very ugly flower print inside it so it wasn't a wrench to get rid of that, so for $10 I ended up with a nice looking frame to match my project. And as we know, reasonably priced 12x12 frames are very hard to come by. Obviously I had to discard the glass as well.

I really love the butterfly with the little cotton spool on it, which we also had to decorated. Anyway, another fun project from the Brisbane Expo. Now to find a spot on the wall for it...
Thanks for looking xx

The Orange Paperie & Co Oct Challenge

I've managed to get this month's challenge done for http://www.orangepaperieandco.blogspot.com.au/
The lovely Mary set this month's "colour" challenge;

A very tropical feel to these colours, however I didn't have a tropical pic on hand so I've used a photo of DD and I when we went to Sydney recently. We were wandering around Hyde Park & decided to take some selfies, just for the fun of it. I had a lot of fun using these colours & I've also added a little texture paste as well.

As you may have guessed, I love "clustering" :)

Thanks for the challenge Mary!

A non-challenge layout

Good morning all. Another Saturday, another page. Photos of my DD and her BF together (aren't they cute!) are quite rare and I was lucky enough to be able to snap this pic before they headed off to a recent wedding. It was an overcast day so the lighting was perfect for outdoor photos. I pulled out my Websters Pages stash and thought the colours in this pp were perfect for what I had in mind.  I've had the quote for quite a while and was pleased to be able to finally use it.

The lovely umbrella is from Scrapmatts & the bird cage is from Kaiser Craft. The cute little buttons are from Websters Pages as well. I really love the doily which is a rub-on from Hambly Screen Prints. So easy to apply and it is glossy which makes it look like it has been heat embossed.  I've also used a bit of inking/stencilling - just because it's so much fun to do.

And of course it wouldn't be complete without some Prima & Kaiser flowers :)
Thanks for dropping by. I hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend xx

Paris snap shots

I'm a bit chuffed that this weekend I feel like I've actually achieved something. I'm almost finished a project that I started way back in June at the Brisbane Expo and I finally got stuck into the kit that I bought from Seriously Scrapbooking http://www.seriouslyscrapbooking.net.au/ ages ago. This beautiful kit is one of Jane Tregenza's and as soon as I saw the lovely  Paris PP from Graphic 45 I knew that I had to have a go at it, given the fact that I have thousands of pics from our time in Paris. And the best part about Jane's kits is that she has everything prepared ready to go. All I had to do really is assemble and add my pics.....easy peasy! There is a little bit of cutting and inking involved but the lovely Jane includes step by step instructions - thanks Jane!

The photo I took is a bit dodgy because the light was at the wrong angle, hence the left hand side is a tad unclear. But don't you just love the Eiffel Tower chippy from Imaginarium Designs? Here are some closies:

Can't wait to get my hands on some of Jane's other kits. Thanks for dropping by and have a great week.

Way too early surely!

OMG!!! What is with this weather? I know that Summer usually passes us by at a rate of knots, but this is ridiculous!
I wanted to have a go at making a Christmas Ornament as shown in the new Holiday Stampin' Up! catalogue with some of my new stamps. I think it's way too early to be thinking of Christmas, but time is flying & if I leave it too late it will go by the wayside until next year. And I need to make a start on this year's cards. Anyway here is my first attempt at the Ornament. A lot of fun, but very labour intensive :(

I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with it, and I think I can improve on the next one......if there is a next  one, given the time it takes to make these. HINT - a hot glue gun is ESSENTIAL. Anyway I would love some constructive feedback.....anyone? I think a blue/kraft/silver colour theme might be nice.
Enjoy your weekend :)

White with 1 Challenge

Happy Monday everyone! The Challenge over at White with 1 http://whitewith1.blogspot.com.au/ this month is: White + Yellow + Stars. So here is my take

I had a bit of fun with tissue paper on this page & I was surprised at how much "yellow" I had in my stash given the fact that its not a colour I normally use. I love the little chippy Sun & Cloud from Stuff2Scrap & the frame is from 2Crafty. Here are a couple of closies. I hope they brighten your day!

Have a sun-shiny day :)

Check it out!

Hello happy scrappers! This year I've been lucky enough to have had my work published in several Australian magazines and this is my latest. If you happen to get your hands on this month's Scrapbooking Memories mag - which happens to be the "Scrapbooking for a cause" edition - check out page 120!

As some of you may or may not know, having your layouts published is quite difficult and it takes a lot of perseverance. You never know what the magazine editors are looking for. But sometimes you can get lucky & you give them something that would suit a certain edition. Happy days! Well this is one of those days :)
And what could be better that being published in one that is raising funds for Breast Cancer Research :)
Enjoy the rest of your week.

A glimpse of Prague

Merry Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great long weekend. It was certainly busy for some people in my household, but personally it has been very quiet & laid back with a little bit of housework & lots of paper crafting - well you've got to get the correct ratio happening...right?
So while I'm awaiting all the new challenges for October....what? October already????? I carried on with the travel pics. I am now on the tail end of our trip, which was our visit to Prague in the Czech Republic. If you ever get the chance to go to Europe, make the effort & visit Prague. The Old Town is truly beautiful & amazing. I've already scrapped some Prague photos, but this is the page I created today.

I love this Bo Bunny paper. It is perfect for vintage photos & distressing for travel pics. I've also thrown in a little bit of Graphic 45 pp, which has tiny, little clocks on it. I've used glimmer mist on the chippy & flowers & the brads are from Bo Bunny Etc range.
Thanks for looking & have a great week ;)