April Sketch Challenge at The Scrapbook Store

Where has the time gone? My boy is home for the 2 week uni holiday and my girl and hubby are home too, so I think there are too many distractions and lovely things to do.  Hubby and I also celebrated our 25the wedding anniversary on Tuesday and a few friends and I organised a surprise 50th birthday party on Saturday for another friend.  With all the extra activities, no wonder I'm not getting time for blogging. :)
A bit on the late side, but today I want to share the April Sketch at The Scrapbook Store with you.

 

Here is my example, using the gorgeous new Bo Bunny 'Garden Journal' collection.  You might recognise some (or all 3) of the lovely ladies in the photo. :)

The fence is from Dusty Attic and I've treated it with a layer of brown acrylic paint followed by a layer of white crackle paint.

The banner was fussy cut from one of the patterned papers in this collection and the title is an older Heidi Swapp alpha set that I coloured up using Distress ink.

 

I have used a variety of Prima flowers and Green Tara mini roses. The leaves were punched from cardstock using a Martha Stewart punch.

All products are from The Scrapbook Store.  I hope you get a chance to play along with us. There's a $40 store voucher up for grabs and it also includes free postage. The winner gets determined by random draw, so anybody can win.  You have until the end of April to get your entries in. Good luck!
That's all for today. Thank you so much for visiting. Have an absolute wonderful week!
Until next time.
M xox

Scrap Africa Challeng No.35

Hi everyone! There's a new challenge at Scrap Africa and it's a Vintage Theme!
Create a card, layout or OTP project in vintage theme and link your entry up by the 30th of September to stand the chance of winning an awesome prize.  For more details and to see the rest of the DT and Guest DT's beautiful examples, have a look HERE.
My example using the FabScraps 'Industrial Chic' collection.  The photo is of my mum and I and was taken on my christening day in 1967. :)  All products used are from The Scrapbook Store.

A cluster of flowers using old and new Prima flowers and Green Tara mini roses and flower stems.

I've used the Crafters Workshop Mini 'Art Is' template with some texture paste on my background and the 'Love' chipboard word is from Scrap FX.

 More close ups of some of the smaller details.

 

 The lamp post is a TSS Chipboard piece.

I hope you get a chance to play along. I would love to see your entry.

That's all I have for today! Thank you so much for visiting. Hope you have an awesome day.

Until next time!

M xox

Scrap Africa Challenge No 28

Hi everyone! It's the middle of the month and with that comes a new challenge at Scrap Africa.  It's all about Distressing with a Difference this month.  The distressing needs to be done with household items and you need to tell us what you''ve used in your blog post.
I have used the beautiful Prima 'Something Blue' collection from The Scrapbook Store for my example layout.  The photos are of my friend's little guy.  Isn't he just the cutest?. :)

My distressing was achieved using masking tape, a torn cardboard box, tea on some of the flowers and the muslin, and all the paper edges were distressed using a pair of scissors.  Here's a close up of my flower cluster which includes the muslin and ink distressed cardstock leaves.

The big calico flower was cut using a die and then distressed using tea. The flair badge is from the Prima 'Everyday Vintage' collection.  I've added torn strips of masking tape to add to the distressed look.

I've used the Tim Holtz 'Bubble' stencil with some texture paste on the background and more torn masking tape and a piece of torn cardboard box.

Strips of hessian and pattern paper for added texture.  The small wood veneer scrap words are from the TSS chipboard collection.

 And finally, a wood veneer title from WOW.

I hope you will take up the challenge and search through your cupboards to see what you can use to distress your layout.  You have until the end of April to get your entries in.  For more information and to see the rest of the DT's awesome examples, have a look HERE.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a wonderful Easter weekend!
Until next time.
M xox

'Blue Fern Garden' for The Scrapbook Store

Hi everyone! Hope you had a lovely weekend.  Mine was great, but very busy.  We are getting ready to host our son's 21st birthday party on Saturday.  I can not believe how fast these 21 years went.  It felt like yesterday that I was holding our first tiny (okay maybe not so tiny) little bundle in my arms for the first time. I am so proud of the wonderful young man he is today. :)
I want to share another DT layout I created for The Scrapbook Store using the beautiful Blue Fern Studios 'Blue Fern Garden' collection.  I've used a very old photo of my mum with me, my cousin and my brother, taken in 1967.

I've used the Prima Marketing 'Finnabair - Bubbles' stencil and texture paste on my background. I then painted a variety of watered down inks and mists to create some softness around my photo.  The Petaloo blooms matched in perfectly.

And I just had to use this little Prima resin angel.  These are brand new to the store and oh so cute. :)

The Blue Fern Studios 'Small Garden Daisies' chipboard is so gorgeous too. I've covered it in a layer of gesso and then inks and mists until I was happy with the result. 

Just added a bit of stamping here and there on my page using the Kaisercraft 'Sheet Music' texture stamp and my page was complete. 
Now it's time for bed, as tomorrow is Monday and a work day for me.  Thank you for visiting my blog and for all the beautiful comments I always receive.  I really appreciate it.  Have a wonderful week!
Until next time.
M xox

Marion Smith Designs 'Garment District'

Hi everyone! Hope you are doing well and are having a great week. It is sweltering hot here in Perth (and most places around Australia) at the moment . It would be great if I never had to leave the house. Lol! Hope you are coping with the weather wherever you are. :)
I have another layout to share using the Marion Smith Designs 'Garment District' collection.  I simply love the quality of these papers.  I found these pics of my DD and her best friend and thought they would be perfect to use with this collection.  All products are available from The Scrapbook Store.

A close up of my flower cluster.  I have used Prima flowers, Petaloo blossoms, Green Tara Mini roses and flower stems and rose leaves punched out using my Martha Stewart 'Rose leaf' punch. I've inked the edges of the leaves using Tim Holtz Distress Ink. I have also used a black Manor House Ornate frame.  My title is an older label sticker from my stash.

Another close up of the left side.

 

And one of the right side. :)

That's all I have to share for today. Better get on with dinner now... we don't want to be hot AND starving! :) Thank you so much for visiting my blog today.  Have a lovely day/evening!

Until next time.

M xox

Prima 'Delight' for The Scrapbook Store

Hi everyone! I really seem to be struggling this month to meet all my deadlines, but I'm sure I'm not alone. :)  So, today I want to share some of my DT work for The Scrapbook Store, using the delightful Prima 'Delight' collection.  First up is a layout using a photo of my gorgeous Mum.

Most of the flowers and the flair badge are from the Prima 'Delight' range, with a few added Green Tara Mini roses and a Green Tara flower stem.

I've used my Prima 'Damask' mask and some texture paste on the background and coloured up some Prima Resist Canvas borders and white Green Tara lace with my mists.  The title is a wood veneer mini wordlet from WOW.

I love the new Bark Shapes from Prima. Such a gorgeous rough texture on the butterfly don't you think?

My second layout is of my mum with my brother and our cousin in 1966.  When I saw the 'recipe' card, I knew I had to use this photo.  As my mum has always been very health conscience, there were always healthy (and normally homemade) snacks in the house. This photo was no doubt taken on one of those days where she was feeding 2 hungry children an afternoon snack.

The tickets and tags in this collection are just so lovely.  I've used one of the tickets as my title.  Just added one of the wooden frames to draw more attention to it. :)  I've also added more 'hidden' journaling on the tag.

Another flower and flair badge from this collection.   I've added a few Green Tara mini roses and rose buds to complete my little cluster.

A few more mini roses and a wooden frame to complete my recipe card.  This time I used the Prima 'Circular Lattice' stencil with some texture paste on my background.

The two feathers are also part of the pack of wooden embellishments from this collection.  I've added a bit of colour using my ink pads.

I am hoping to complete another layout or 2 using this collection tomorrow. Fingers crossed nothing comes up to ruin my fun! Lol!

Thank you for popping by. I really appreciate your support.

Until next time!

M xox

 

The 'pinker' side of Bo Bunny 'The Avenues' for The Scrapbook Store

Hi everyone! Long time no 'see'. I've been a very busy little bee... on the work front as well as at home.  Hope you are all well and are enjoying a lovely weekend.
I've created another layout with the gorgeous Bo Bunny 'The Avenues' collection as part of my DT work at The Scrapbook Store. I am so in love with this collection, but then I've always been a Bo Bunny fan. :)  For this layout I've decided to use the pinker side of this collection and was amazed at how different it looks from my other 2 layouts.

The photo is of my MIL enjoying the view at one of the sites we visited during a recent holiday. I've used a selection of Petaloo flowers (I love them!), Prima flowers, Green Tara mini roses, flower stems and cherry blossoms. The leaves were cut using the Poppy Stamps 'Lorelai Leaf' die. I've also used the Crafters Workshop 'Mini Art Is' template with Golden Light Molding Paste and Color Box 'Chiffon' Inx (which I applied with my finger).

 The title is Prima fabric alphas and AC Thickers. :)

I've also used the Prima 'Damask' mask and used Tim Holtz 'Peeled Paint' Distress Ink to colour it.  Used both my Martha Stewart butterfly punches for the butterfly.  Just added some pearls.

That's all I have for today.  Hope to be back soon with more creativeness to share. Thank you so much for visiting.  Have a fabulous weekend!

Until next time.

M xox

October Sketch Challenge at The Scrapbook Store

Hi everyone! Just a quick post to share the October Sketch Challenge at The Scrapbook Store.  I've decided to explore my 'inner messy side' again. Lol!  The people who know me well enough will know that I don't cope very well with 'mess', but I am getting better at it..... I think. :) Some parts of the process didn't go too well, but it created opportunities for unique embellishment placement. ;)

I used 2 different mists for my background.  One of them is 'California Poppy Gold' from Lindys Stamp Gang (which I just LOVE) and the other is the more vibrant 'Postbox Red' from Dylusions Ink. 

For the branches, I used a combination of template work as well as using my Silhouette machine.  The flowers are a mixture of Prima, Petaloo and Green Tara.  I love my gorgeous new Scrap FX 'Random Dots' stencil.  Can see myself using it over and over again. :)

And here is the gorgeous sketch, designed by Melinda Spinks. :)

I hope you find a moment to play along.  There's a $40 store voucher up for grabs and the winner gets determined by random draw, so anyone can win!  Just load your take on the sketch into the Gallery before the end of October.  Would love to see your entry!

That's all for today.  Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful week!

Until next time.

M xox

Scrap Africa's 'Washi tape and Twine' challenge

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great weekend and are ready for the new week that awaits! A bit optimistic I know. Lol! We had a fairly busy weekend.  My hubby was away for work the last two weekends, so we had loads of little projects to catch up on as well as social commitments on Friday and Saturday. A full weekend but very enjoyable. :)
Scrap Africa's new challenge went live today and it's a great one! All you have to do is to use Washi tape and twine on your layout. Then link it to the bottom of THIS post on the Scrap Africa blog before the end of the month.  To see the rest of the DT's gorgeous creations, have a look HERE.

Here is my layout.  I have tried my hand at the mixed media thing again. I am constantly amazed and inspired by the stunning work of my gorgeous online scrappy friend Kelly Foster and a lot of my inspiration for this layout comes from looking at her blog. Thank you Kelly. :) xx
I've started with a sheet of patterned paper from the new Bo Bunny 'The Avenues' collection.  The photo is one of my mum's side of the family at Christmas 1964.  I am happy to say, that it was before I was born. Lol!  My grandmother and grandfather are sitting in the middle with their 5 children and their husbands/wives as well as 9 grandchildren at the time.  I was one of 7 more grandchildren that followed.

WARNING!!  Close up overload ahead! :)  First is a little close up of my flower cluster, with some beautiful Petaloo flowers and metal pieces from Prima and Tim Holtz.  I've added hemp twine to the button at the top of the cluster and a bow at the bottom. :)

A close up of the strips of washi tape as well as strips of torn calico, lace, etc.  I've added more texture using a Prima stencil and some Texture Magic.

More of the stencil work.  My title was cut using my Silhouette machine.

Another close up for good measure. :)

I hope you get a chance to play along with this challenge.  Would love to see your entries.

That's all I have for today!  I better get to bed.  Thank you so much for visiting.  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Until next time.

M xox



Scrap Africa Sketch No. 21

I can't believe it's Spring already!  Hope you had a lovely sunny day in your part of the woods and a Happy Fathers Day to all the special dads here in Australia.
Well,  a new month brings a new challenge at Scrap Africa.  Here is the sketch for September.

And here is my example.  The photo is of my aunt (my mum's sister) on her wedding day in 1955.  I have used the gorgeous Prima 'Lyric' collection.

 A close up of my cluster of Prima flowers and wooden embellishments.

 A beautiful silky rose and a heart charm with a short line of pearls underneath. :)

Another little close up. :)

And my title.  I have rubbed some gesso over my chipboard word and then added some colour using my pink and brown ink pads. :) 

I hope you get a chance to play along with us.  For more inspiration on how to interpret the sketch, visit the Scrap Africa Blog to see the DT's beautiful creations.

That's all I have for this lovely Spring day... oops, I meant night. Thank you so much for visiting.  Have a wonderful week!

Until next time.

M xox