A few last shares

Well i've had a cracker of a month in terms of entering scrapbooking challenges!!! It's great to have the chance to get out and do lots of scrapbooking outside of the house - it seems to be the only type i'm able to do these days!!!

Over at Scrap The Boys this month the challenge was to scrap using a piece of your boy's artwork. Here's my page:

I've also managed Charm's sketch over at Scrapbooking From Scratch:

The beauty of having Charm on the team over at Scrapbooking From Scratch is that i can do her page and enter it twice - once at Peta's site and over on Charm's Creations blog - if i use one of her gorgeous embellies, and to be honest i struggle to NOT use one of her gorgeous embellies right now because they are so fab - you've probably noticed them poppin up a lot on my pages lately!!!

Well that's about it for the scrapbooking this month - i've just gotten some gorgeous fabrics and patterns in the last couple of days so i'm most definately sewing tonight!!! I'm going to make it a top priority to get my list of September challenges up by Friday next week, as i know lots of you do Friday night scrapping :D Have a fab weekend and a very happy father's day!!

My Birthday Princess

The first of probably many pages about Scarlet's first birthday. She had a 'Princess High Tea' themed party with a pink and purple princess cake plus red velvet cupcakes topped with cream disguised as little cino's for all the kids to take home with them!!! It was a really great arvo and Scarlet had a great time - and even ate a WHOLE piece of her cake!!! She sure does have a sweet tooth like her mummy - and here's a sweet page to celebrate it.

Notice all of the stars on the page? The theme this month over at Scrap The Girls is stars. When i saw this, i instantly thought i'd scrap this cake with the stars on top!!! I've used a mix of wooden stars from Studio Calico and some MM brads for the stars on this page. Other embellies are from My Vintage Blossoms (next sale date is Thursday 30th August!!!), Purple Pumpkin (next sale date is Friday 31st August!), Websters Pages, Bo Bunny, Prima and of course that gorgeous chipboard title from WOW. The PP's are from a couple of Basic Grey ranges.

I've decorated the stars with a mix of Inka Gold and Smooch inks, and i really love the effect :D I'm looking forward to doing a class at Somewhere to Scrap later this week on Smooch inks - it will be good to formally learn how to use them and learn some new techniques. I only own 3 right now, but i suspect after that class i might  have a few more....

Another PageMap

Here's another PageMap sketch i was working on over the weekend:

This is for a current contest running over at their blog, and i followed this one almost to the letter (unlike yesterday's one!!!) using some Echo Park and a lovely Charm's Creations Star:

This turned out to be quite a simple page, but i quite like it! I find that with boys pages, often the more simple the better! These two are so funny together - this is my son (who will be 3 in just 3 weeks!!!) and my dad, and they call each other 'buddy' - it's so gorgeous. When they are together it's always barrels of laughs and squeals as they play together. Calvin really is the son that dad never had and he misses him really terribly, being a whole state away!!

How cool is the 'corkboard' background? I just love it!! I really don't think i did it justice, but it's kinda like a different version of kraft. I'd love to try real corkboard and see what sort of effects glimmermist etc. would have on it! Has anyone ever tried it?

Well that's 2 'boy' layouts from my weekend crop - next up are 2 girl layouts. Stay tuned!!

Dandelions

I had a lovely day yesterday at one of my local scrap shops - Somewhere to Scrap over in Roachdale :D It was their monthly 'Mega Crop' - 10am until midnight and i was there for the whole thing!!! I haven't done that for well over a year - since i was pregnant with Scarlet!! 

In scrapping a page i was racking my brain for ages trying to remember a saying about Dandelions and where i knew it from - and i finally figured out that it was a song from Five Iron Frenzy - check out these awesome lyrics:

"In a field of yellow flowers,

underneath the sun,

bluest eyes that spark with lightning,

boy with shoes undone.

He is young, so full of hope,

reveling in tiny dreams,

filling up, his arms with flowers,

right for giving any queen.

Running to her beaming bright,

while cradling his prize.

A flickering of yellow light,

within his mother's eyes.

She holds them to her heart,

keeping them where they'll be safe,

clasped within her very marrow,

dandelions in a vase.

She sees love, where anyone else would see weeds.

all hope is found.

Here is everything he needs.

Fathomless your endless mercy,

weight I could not lift.

Where do I fit in this puzzle,

what good are these gifts?

Not a martyr, or a saint,

scarcely can I struggle through.

All that I have ever wanted,

was to give my best to you.

Lord, search my heart,

create in me something clean.

Dandelions

you see flowers in these weeds.

Gently lifting hands to heaven,

softened by the sweetest hush,

a Father sings over his children,

loving them so very much.

More than words could warrant,

deeper than the darkest blue,

more than sacrifice could merit,

Lord, I give my heart to yo"

Isn't that a gorgeous song? Well i used it as inspiration for the title work in this LO:

Believe it or not, this LO was inspired by a PageMaps sketch - but by the time i turned it and changed square elements to round, well it looks quite different!!! But i like it anyway. I've used a lovely Simple Stories base page and matching PP and some Prima bling that i've had for a little bit and knew i would use, but i was just waiting for the perfect LO to come along!!! 

I'll be sharing the rest of what i created yesterday over the course of this week :D

WestKnits Rockefeller KAL

Something i've been working away at over the past month and a bit is a mystery shall knit-a-long. It's the first mystery KAL i've done and it's been sooooo much fun!!

The way this KAL worked was that a different 'clue' was released once a week for 4 weeks - and we have until 31st August to finish and upload to be in the running for some fab prizes!! Here's how it came along for me:

Clue 1 (sorry, dodgy photo...)

Clue 2

Clue 3 (getting too big to photograph the whole thing!!!)

Clue 4 (well, half of it!! I'm still working on the other half which is a wing mirrored on the first)

And just because these photos are cute...

It was fascinating to watch it all come along, changing and growing each week - it's definately something i'd do again! The designer for this shawl was Steven West (WestKnits is his brand) who is the designer of knits such as 'Spectra' - this shawl that's been on my ravelry favourites list for some time now!!



We also had the opportunity to buy some of his other patterns for half price at the end of the KAL so i've now got these ones on my 'to knit' list:

Cumulonimbus

Earth & Sky (this was last years KAL!)

Daybreak (oh, you better believe i'll be using Noro for this one!!!)

And a few others - including Spectra (another Noro knit!!!)

Hope you have enjoyed a little WestKnits drool!!!

Sick as a dog...

Well, i don't know how you have been, but this week i've been sick as a dog! This flu/cold that has been going around has finally got me :( The kids have had it for at least a week and now it's struck me down. I sure know i'm sick when i don't even feel like knitting while watching TV at night!!!

Since i haven't been doing much in the creative department lately, i thought i'd share some sneaks of what i've entered for the Scrapbooking Memories Masters competition - sent in 1-2 weeks ago:

What do you think? Can't wait to reveal all when the mag comes out (whether i win or not :D)

Show Us Your Stuff!!

I forgot to include the Show Us Your Stuff challenges in my August challenges post! Sophie's corner challenge is to use buttons on your LO. The monthly challenge is a visual prompt:

Pretty neat photo, huh? Here's my interpretation:

I've used some Pink Paisley mistabels papers as the background, with some Studio Calico mist, then added in some new Glitz designs and of course some yummy purple pumpkin (that's my handmade element, though the birdies are kinda my own as i cut them out of the Glitz design papers and altered them a bit...) The turquoise elements were a kind of afterthought - and i'm so glad i added them because i think they really set the whole page off!!

I have actually SCRAPPED!!!

Well, it's just as surprising to me as it is to you, but i have actually managed to scrap a bit lately!!

Here's my entry for this month's colour challenge over at Scrapbooking From Scratch - the colour combo in the challenge was Red + Blue + Yellow + Kraft/Brown and i took this opportunity to have some fun with washi instead of PP - it's an idea i've seen a few places and have been wanting to give it a go for some time!! Plus, a washi banner never goes astray :D









Over at Kraft It Up this month the challenge was to create a LO based on the following sketch and using layers:

Here's what i came up with - lots of layers in the paint, hessian, PP, embellishments, stamping, and even the layer of the PP behind the Kraft!

Something i've done on this page that i don't normally do, is use the catalogue from the event - the Thomas picture! I find that these sorts of things can make pages look a bit tacky, but i quite like what i've done with this on this page! I just love the little train border punch i've used in the top left - so gorgeous!!! Plus the fabulous Tim Holtz sprockets :D

There's a couple of challenges going on over at the PageMaps blog right now too, so i thought i'd share.

This one is due September 2nd:

This one is due August 26th:

Doesn't Becky do lovely sketches!! I hope i get a chance to have a go at these - i'm going scrapbooking all day and all night this Saturday over at Somewhere to Scrap, so these sketches might provide some inspiration for me!!!

August Challenges

Is it August already? How did that happen? I totally missed posting July challenges and it's already the 18th today, so sorry about that everyone!! I've been flat chat with my Scrapbooking Memories Masters Competition entry! I'll post some sneaks of what i came up with soon :D

Challenges

Onto the monthly challenges! Unless otherwise stated, all challenges are due midnight 30th June

Scrapboutique

Monthly Challenge - TBA

Stash Stomper - 12x12 diecut patterned papers 

(Prize = store voucher)

Stylist Challenge - Dig out your unscrapped photos from a memorable vacation and show us how you spent a favourite holiday! Use your handwriting and at least 30 words.

(Prize = store voucher)

Scrapbooking From Scratch Monthly Challenges

Sketch Challenge

 (Prize = store voucher)

Quote Challenge 

"A best friend can tell you things you can't tell yourself"

(Prize = store voucher)

Colour Combo

Red + Blue + Yellow + Kraft/Brown - i've already made a good start on this one :D

(Prize = store voucher)

Purple Pumpkin

A checklist challenge:

1. Paint

2. Use a button

3. Add some twine

4. Include some fussy cutting

5. Spray ink

6. A flower

7. A doiley

8. Use 2 different alphas for your title

White With 1

White + Maps + Travel Embellishments

Kraft It Up

Create a layout based on this sketch and using layers - lots of different dimensions - think texture!!

Scrap The Boys

This month we want to see a piece of your childs artwork on your layout and then have yoru layout inspired from that artwork!

***STB also has a design team call out right now - last date to apply is 19th August - sorry, i haven't given you much time there***

Scrap The Girls

Use stars!!

My Minds Eye Blog 

Pull out those holiday papers and use them on a non holiday

Kaisercraft Saturday Sketches

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