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 :)

Sketchabilities #142

Hello all!  It is unusual for me to be posting to my blog mid week but I have this week off work and before I set of for some girly time with my DD I wanted to get my entry in for the current challenge over at Sketchabilities.  Besides it being one of my favourite sketch challenge blogs, and after having a term as one of Karan's Design Team members, I thought it was time that I got back on the horse so to speak. Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on the sketch:

I've used some yummy Kaisercraft paper and stickers for this page along with some odds and ends from various other companies. A bit of stamping and water colour on the background as well. The lovely little teapots are a recent find from http://uprintables.blogspot.com.au/ - a blog that allows you to download free printables to use for your own personal creations. I think they are very cute and perfect for my page theme.

This Kraft-coloured quote card was given to me with a little bag of tea from a Tea Stall at a local market.
So thanks for calling by, I hope I've inspired you to do some creating this week :)

SKETCHABILITIES #126

I'm back today with sadly my final layout as Design Team member for Sketchabilities. Thank you Karan for having me. It's been so much fun and has really lifted me out of my comfort zone. My time on the Team has just flown by and I've really enjoyed showcasing Karan's wonderful sketches. The sponsor for this challenge is 7 Dots Studio so pop on over and say hi and then have a go at this sketch. So here is the new sketch:

I love all the layering on the sketch which I've attempted to reproduce in my layout.

I've used mainly Echo Park "Summer Adventure" papers as well as flowers & Flair from D-lish Scraps. I covered the chippy leafy vine with Structure paste & then sprayed with Prima Colour Bloom and Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I have used another paint swatch that I picked up at the hardware store.The colour was a perfect match and the name of the swatch is "Free Spirit" which is very fitting for this girl of ours.

                           

I've been having a lot of fun creating nautical themed pages of late and I love all the papers that are available now for just that purpose :)

I do hope you get a chance to play along with this challenge, it would be great to see your work. Thanks for looking today xx

Sketchabilities #125

I'm so loving being on the Design Team for SKETCHABILITIES. Karan is so good at getting one's mojo flowing with her fantastic sketches. This mid-month sketch is no exception and as soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

I love the layering on this sketch and of course I'm a sucker for a "cluster" or two :)

I'm sorry I've had to blot out the faces of my DD's two friends but I didn't get around to asking their permission to post this on the internet - trust me when I say they are really gorgeous young ladies. This pic was taken at a little village outside of Verona, Italy, last year at another friend's wedding. And because the girl's dresses were all solid (non-patterned) colours it was very easy to match papers & embellies - gotta love that! Thanks girls :D

You can't go past a lovely "After 5's" flower from D-lish Scraps. I think I may have these lovelies in every colour. The pearl & diamante centres really set them off.

I do hope you get to have a go at this sketch. Looking forward to seeing your creations! TFL xx

It's Sketchabilities time.....

Happy hump day and happy 1st October! And can anyone tell me how September managed to sneak by? But on the up side is that the first of the month brings lots of exciting new challenges here in my creative world. Karan over at SKETCHABILITIES has released a new sketch for you to try your hand at. This is another fun sketch to kick start your mojo for the month:

I must admit that this one had me stumped at first. I love hexagons and once I sat down to go through my old paper stash and off cuts I realised that I had some little hexagons left over from a previous project. I combined them with some Kaisercraft pp and this is the result:

I used some texture paste and a stencil and ink on the background as well. I thought the clocks/keys on the background paper worked well with the photos. I used a few dabs of Glimmer Glaze on the title and flicked some around on the background.

                            

I don't know how many goes we had at taking this photo, but it was only 4.30pm and we were losing the light very quickly. But I didn't want to leave without getting a pic of us with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament all lit up for the evening. We tried with the flash, without the flash, in night mode etc etc. Luckily I was able to get one good shot amongst the dozen of photos we took - I so love digital photography :)

I'd love to see your entry over at Sketchabilities. Pop on over to the blog and check out the other lovely inspiration by the design team.

Thanks for dropping by......leave a comment if you can :)

Sketchabilities #123

Welcome back. This next layout is for the mid-month sketch over at SKETCHABILITIES. I had a lot of fun with this one, helped by the fact that I now have so many photos from the young ones' travelling collection. Here is the sketch:

It's a beauty don't you think?! And here is my creation (sorry about the crooked photography):

I so love this photo and I used to struggle with creating with bright colours, but since I've been driven out of my comfort zone it has become much easier for me. I've used some pretty Stampin' Up! paper, a Kaisercraft circle stencil, a Crafters Workshop script stencil, chippy ships wheel & bell from Scrapmatts, flowers from Scrappers Garden, Flair from A Piece of Cake Designs, a Kaisercraft tag and I've suddenly become hooked on sequins.                      

                            

I purchased some cork sheets recently, so I've been die cutting my own alphas and embellies with it and I love the outcome :)

I hope you are enjoying Karan's sketches as much as I am. Don't forget that you can find past sketches on the Sketchabilities Pinterest page HERE.  

Thanks again for looking :)

It's SKETCHABILITIES #122 time...

Hello everyone! Have I told you how much fun I'm having on the DT at SKETCHABILITIES? The lovely Karan Gerber is one super-organised and talented lady. Her sketches never cease to inspire me and this one should get your mojo happening for sure!

As soon as I saw this sketch I thought of a photo that my niece & her lovely partner posted on FB not long ago. So I asked our gorgeous Lara if it was okay if I used the photo for my Design Team sample for this challenge. They look so perfectly happy in this photo, I love it...

I've used a bubble stencil from Kaisercraft & texture paste for the background, then stamped over it with a script stamp, then threw a bit of mist about on it. The paper is from Bo Bunny and flowers from Prima. The title "Love & happiness" & heart are wood veneer from Prima as well which I've painted with green 3D paint, which gives it a sparkly effect. The tag is a vintage graphic that I printed off the internet a long time ago, onto a shipping tag.                              
                                   

The washi tape is from Craft Queen and the beautiful chippy hearts are from 2Crafty. I've had them in my stash for ages just waiting for the perfect page to use them on. The zipper is one I purchased in London, funnily enough from the V&A Museum. They have a lot of handmade sewing items in their gift shop but they also had things like zippers, buttons, hand-made jewellery and the like. I love the scallop edge on this zipper.

So there you have it. I really hope you are inspired to have a go at this sketch. We'd love to see your creations over at Sketchabilities. Thanks for looking & please feel free to leave a comment, oh & don't forget to check out the fantastic Sponsor for this challenge :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SKETCHABILITIES #121

Happy Friday all! I hope you have something fun to do this weekend. In all my haste to get away last weekend I totally forgot to post my very first layout as a Design Team Member for SKETCHABILITIES. It is such an honor to be working with Karan and all her wonderfully talented Design Team. And let me give you the heads up.......firstly pop on over to the Sketchabilities Blog and check out all the inspo for this particular sketch, and secondly keep an eye on the Blog because there are some very cool sketches that will be coming up for you to try your hand at. And if that isn't enough, Sketchabilities' sketches are also on PINTEREST so you can use some of their past sketches whenever you get the dreaded "design block".

So here is the current sketch and you still have 6 days to upload your wonderful creation:

And here is my sample:           "Happy by the Sea"

I have readjusted the sketch a little to fit my particular photos, so remember that you can rotate the sketch or turn it upside down or interpret however you like, as long as the sketch is recognisable in some way, shape or form :)

I really hope you can join in at Sketchabilities, we'd love to see your interpretations.  Thanks for dropping by once again :)