Challenge YOUrself #78

Hello fellow paper lovers! Another month has gone by and I've only managed to achieve one more layout. This month's challenge at Challenge YOUrself is a real ripper and I'm sure that I'm not alone in dreaming of Summer again and hoping for the freedom to go travelling again. For this challenge I wanted to record the last trip we did to Sydney before we were all confined to our own communities. We had tickets to see Home Free for their one and only Sydney concert and of course we made the most of a weekend in the City. I remember it was a beautiful balmy summer evening and we were reluctant to go to bed after a wonderful meal, so we decided to wander the Darling Harbour precinct. It was a lovely way to start our weekend away.

It's a really poor-quality photo but it sums up how happy we were at being away from the horrors of the devastating bushfires and drought, the constant smoke and heat, and the pending Pandemic for a few days.

I hope you get time to reminisce about the Summer you had or the Summer to come. Stay healthy and dream on friends xx

Challenge YOUrself #77

I'm back today with my entry for this month's Challenge over at Challenge YOUrself. It's a very easy one for us Mums...

This is my take with photos of me with my two fabulous offspring...

I've used some delicious Cocoa Vanilla paper and title and the flowers are from Dlish Scraps, which I've hand painted with water colours.

I hope you get a chance to join in on this month's challenge. Until next time xx

Scrap the Girls

I hope everyone is keeping well during these unusual times. I'm lucky enough that I'm still able to go to work (essential services), however I have been on a bit of leave due to the fact that we were supposed to be on a trip to the Cook Islands and New Zealand....bummer :(  So we're using the time at home to do some over-due maintenance and cleaning. But I have found some time to enter into this month's challenge at Scrap the Girls. I was inspired by the girl with the sunglasses, lace outfit and flower crown.

I felt the need to record a bit about the Pandemic and how it has affected me in this small way.

I've used some of the Paradise Found collection from Kaisercraft, which I bought specifically in anticipation of some wonderful photos from our now cancelled trip. The background stamp is one that I've had in my stash for over 12 months and had not used until now. Anyway thanks for looking xx

Challenge YOUrself #74

Hello friends, it's long overdue but I've created something! And what better way to begin again than by entering a challenge at Challenge YOUrself. The due date is almost upon me so I knuckled down and got this one done in 45 minutes....a true record for me!

The challenge criteria is to find inspiration in the lyrics of the song "Hero" by Mariah Carey. This layout is in keeping with my current personal growth journey.  When I printed this photo of myself in front of this lovely mural in Canberra I knew that I had the perfect papers and embellishments to match. That doesn't happen very often for me hence why I completed it in super quick time.

Thanks for looking guys!  xx

Challenge YOUrself #66

Hello lovely people. I just want to share the great challenge for June over at CHALLENGE YOURSELF.  I really wanted to try my hand at a grid pattern but with a twist.

Here is my take using some of the wonderful Cocoa Vanilla "More than Words" papers again - the kit that keeps on giving :D

Another 9x12 page. And a close up of my clusters using a few random embellies from my stash.

                                               

There is some great inspo over on the Challenge YOUrself Blog if you want to check it out.

Thanks for looking xx

More than Words June Challenge

Hello folks, just sharing my take on the current challenge over at More than Words. My layouts are few and far between these days while I'm concentrating on recording our recent travels. More than Words challenges always seem to catch my eye so I've dived in.

The challenge is to pick one of your favourite past layouts and scraplift it. Here is one of my favourites from 2015...

Gosh it's been a while since I've used this many flowers!  My style is a little more low key in the flower department these days...

This is a 9 1/4" x 12 1/2"  page but the design is similar. I've used my current "favourite" kit from Cocoa Vanilla "More than Words",  with a photo of my "favourite" gal pal. 

Thanks for looking and I hope you can join in on the challenge this month xx

More Than Words March Challenge

Hello lovelies, I'm just popping in with a quick share today. I'm still using the fabulous Cocoa Vanilla Kit "More than Words" - very appropriate for the wonderful challenge over at More Than Words Blog

This month's challenge really inspired me to finally record a memory from my time visiting the Louvre in Paris...

Besides Michelango's Pieta at St Peter's Basilica (yet to visit), Antonio Canova's beautiful sculpture is my next favourite. It really needs to be seen in real life because the smoothness of the marble, the proportions and the heavenly romanticism of this sculpture took my breath away.

Thanks for looking and I hope you get a chance to join in with this Challenge. Have a great weekend!

One little word...

Hello, hello and welcome back. Instead of getting on to my memory keeping of some older photos, I decided to try my hand at the challenge over at Challenge YOUrself

It took me until now to work out what my "word" for 2019 would be, but like most things, it just came to me at the most random moment. I'm going to try to work more with 9 x 12in pages this year. They are so much easier and take up less space as well, and I pulled this layout together is super quick time. Also I couldn't resist using the "More than Words" kit from Cocoa Vanilla.....a truly beautiful collection and very appropriate for this Challenge.

So this year I've just got to remember to keep on keepin' on.  Thanks for visiting xx

Wedding Card Inspo

Good morning and TGIF!  I'm just popping in to share a couple of wedding cards that I made recently. It's been a while since I've made a card with so much love and effort put into them. I've used lots of Kaisercraft products which made the whole process so much easier...

Also doily and leaf die cuts and the beautiful flowers are from Petaloo. Not sure if they're still available.

On the next card I've used a Kaisercraft Die "Rose Cluster" and I cut it out in a Rose Gold shiney cardstock.

                           



I hope you've found some inspirition here. Thanks for looking xx

Kraft+ January Challenge

Well hello again! It's been a while since my last post. Life and a wedding took over my life for a while, but a new year means I'm well overdue for some creating. I thought I'd start off this year with a quick art journal page for the current Challenge over at Kraft+

I used a 8x8inch kraft background journal page, Dylusions paints, serviette (napkin), clear gel medium, Ranger Enamel Accents, white Posca pen and an appropriate quote to begin the new year with. I was inspired by our Indigenous Dot paintings.

Thanks for looking and hopefully I'll be adding more creations very soon xx.

Sketchabilities #152

I'm so happy to see Sketchabilities Challenges up and running again. I love using their sketches to give me a kick start and as a previous design team member I'm so happy to continue following the current design team's projects. 

Here is the current sketch:

I chose to use a photo I snapped whilst wandering along a bush track near the Blue Lake at Jenolan Caves, just before my brown snake encounter....eeeek! Lucky this water dragon posed for me beforehand, because a few minutes later I sprinted past him so fast that he wouldn't have been able to see me for dust! 

I've used the Kaisercraft "Road Trip" papers along with a few of my own die cuts. I also took a full-length photo of this little guy that turned out perfectly as well. Taken with just my old Sony point-and-shoot camera. Anyway this is the first challenge I've entered in almost 2 years, so it's nice to get back in the saddle :)

Love is in the air....

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I last posted here. Sharing with you today an Engagement card that I made for our daughter. Yes! our Girl and her man are getting married....excitement plus!

A labour of love this one :)  This is my attempt at Champagne glasses. The lovely wood veneer heart is from D-lish which I've painted, misted and added touches of Gold embossing. I think I may be getting the "Wedding Stationery" Gig.... but no pressure of course :D

This lovely surprise came along not long after the happy couples' shared "big" birthday and of course I whipped out the stash once again for that celebration.

I just love this Kaisercraft Collection. It's so versatile and pretty.

So the silly season is upon us and along with that comes the extreme heat. Luckily I'm trying to acclimatise for an upcoming Asian adventure, so I should be used to it by the time Christmas arrives.

If you're in the Northern Hemisphere stay warm and cosy and for everyone else keep cool! I wish you all a very happy Christmas and lots of happiness and good health for 2018.

Stuck?! November Sketch

Hello again. I can't believe a whole month has gone by since I've posted here. Last month was quite busy in my neck of the woods with work, birthday celebrations and preparing for my annual scrapbooking weekend away. Hence there was no time to enter Challenges. So I'm determined to have a go at a few of them this month before the "silly season" decends upon us.

I always enjoy joining in on the sketch challenges over at Stuck?!  Here is the current sketch inspiration:

The Design Team inspo is amazing, so I do hope you get a chance to pop on over & check them out.
I decided to go with a large, single photo. I've hidden my story on a tag behind the photo at the top of the page. I've used the beautiful "Rose Avenue" collection from Kaisercraft along with some Kaisercraft stamps.

I've used quite a lot of 3D foam mount tape to make all the roses "pop".

Hopefully this will be the first of a few Challenges that I have on my "to do" list this month, but I'll wait & see if time permits because I'm in the midst of recording our trip to France (via PL) from earlier in the year. As usual it has become bigger than Ben Hur & I have quite a lot of work to do on it.  Thanks for looking xx

                           

Uniquely Creative's Creative Kit Club

Apologies for my blog absence but life has been keeping me a tad busy of late. One of the creative jobs I've been doing has been for Uniquely Creative. Tracey very kindly asked me back to the Team for October as a Guest Designer, so I thought I would share with you what I came up with from one of the very generous Kits for this month.

It was really nice to be creating a couple of 12x12 layouts this time as well as a few cards. The Kaisercraft papers in this Kit are stunning! I chose to use a couple of photos from one of the many Chateau that we were lucky enough to visit on our recent trip to France.

Included in this Kit is the laser-cut brick work which went perfectly with my theme.  I actually went on this tour on my own, because DH wanted to do a different tour this day. I had such a lovely time wandering and exploring on my own. The gardens here are magnifique!

Check out the Collectables and pretty flowers that are included in this Kit!  

For this next layout I really wanted the photo to be the star so I kept the embellishments to a minimum and concentrated mainly on what I love to do and that is to "cluster".  This building is just at the entrance to the same Chateau and it is the first thing visitors see as they cross the ancient old stone bridge over the moat. I love how the building is reflected in the water.

And here are a couple of cards I made with this Kit as well, with lots and lots of product left over.

So this is what has been keeping me busy plus prepping for an upcoming creative weekend away with the Sisterhood...can't wait for that to happen :)   I hope you get a chance to hop on over to the Uniquely Creative site and check out this amazing Kit. xx

Stuck?!

G'day everyone and welcome back. Today I'm sharing my take on the mid-month sketch over at Stuck?! Sketches.   This one took me out of my comfort zone a tad which is always a good thing. However it turned out a lot busier than I originally intended. Once I started playing with some Colour Blast texture paste and the Flutterby Designs goodies I just kept going.

It's very rare that we get a chance to have these cousins photographed together, so when the occasion presents itself we really make the most of it.

I used a stencil to throw some texture paste and Flutterby Design paint onto the background and then got out a border punch that I haven't used for ages, plus a few Kaisercraft dies. I've also used Flutterby Designs cards, Flair and Tags. I'm trying to really use lots more colour in my layouts this year, even though it makes me nervous :)  It's a sad fact that I'm really not good at colour coordination.

There is lots of inspiration over at the Stuck?! blog if you are Stuck for ideas :D  

Thanks for looking xx

Kraft Plus August Challenge

Hello again fellow paper lovers! Sandra and the team from Kraft Plus Challenges set a very interesting Challenge this month. When I first looked at the inspo board I really didn't think I would enter this time around. But after some consideration I decided that I shouldn't let it daunt me so here is my take...

After making a complete mess of my first attempt and having to completely start over, this is the finished layout.

The journalling reads "These lovely palm tress in Barcelona really captured my eye until I noticed they were guarding a magnificent frescoed wall".  We were escaping the heat and  having a sneaky drink in a cute little bar just near the Palau de la Musica, when I found myself staring at these trees. It took my mind a few minutes to register that the building behind them was covered in some amazing paintings. Below is a photo I took of the Palau de la Musica Catalan, just opposite the bar.

Thank you once again for looking xx

Stuck?! Sketches August Challenge

Just a quick post today for my entry in the current challenge over at STUCK?!  I've been down with  a strain of the Flu for the last week and it's really knocked me around. It's frustrating to have all this time off work and no energy to play in my craft room :( anyway today is a better day and I think I've turned the corner and the new sketch was beckoning me.

So here is my take:

I think it's self-explanatory. I'm a bit pleased with myself that I actually remembered to leave space for journalling! That's new for me :D

Thanks for looking xx