Thursday, May 26, 2011

Bird is the word 'Life' & MCS May Sketch Challenge

Hi There!

So the best thing about playing at Bird is the word is that you can double dip with other challenges! So this month I have combined the current Bird is the word 'Life' with the May Sketch challenge at MCS. This is based on a gorgeous sketch by Michelle Fowler

Posted Image
I love this beautiful pic of my baby girl Evie. She was 10 weeks old in this photo & she is now 7 months old. Where has the time gone!!
The background paper that you really can't see is from Echo Park 'Be Mine' collection, the main background blue paper is Fancy Pants 'Happy Together'. To get the distressed, crumpled effect I have used the same technique as before where I sprayed water on the paper & crumpled it into a ball then smoothed it out & let it dry. I also distressed the edges with my trusty distressing tool.
I then used a Martha Stewart punch to get the scalloped edge. The paper is part of Websters Pages 'Country Estate' collection.

I used my new toy the Sew Easy tool with the zig zag head (thanx Nelle for the awesome bday present- she also bought me the country estate collection pack too!!) I used some grey embroidery thread to hand stitch around a circle. To get an even circle pattern I just used a plate and traced a circle on the paper & followed this line with the Sew Easy tool. I really like the stiching pattern on this page.

The flowers & bird were fussy cut from paper from Websters Pages "Country Estate' & I used some stickers from this collection to with the frame sticker & a small phrase sticker. The flourish in the corner is Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology.

To finish off the page I wanted a cute quote that suited the photo & also wanted to include Life in it for BITW. I couldn't find anything suitable so I  just used Microsoft Word & typed the saying "The greatest gift in life is a beautiful smile" . I printed this on transperancy sheet.

Thanks for looking!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

My Scrapbook Nook Giveaway!

Hi There!

I couldn't resist having a go at this fantastic giveaway! My Scrapbook Nook in conjunction with the Once Upon A Sketch Blog are giving away a very cool kit. Link entries to the Once Upon A Sketch Blog (not on here!!)
Here are the details
How would you like to win one of these? 

The absolutely gorgeous May kit from My Scrapbook Nook??

Once Upon A ..Sketch is giving one, right now!!

All you need to do is this..

1. Follow the Once Upon A ...Sketch Blog
2. Copy this exact information and post about this on your blog, together with the May kit picture and a link back to Once Upon A Sketch
3. Make sure you also post the information about the current offer at the Nook listed below. 
3. Link your post using the Link Tool at the bottom of this post!

That is it! You have until the end of the current challenge, which is midnight May 31st, Australian Eastern Standard Time. I will draw a random winner soon after.

My Scrapbook Nook is offering a wonderful offer for a limited time only!Sign up for 6 months and receive the May kit for free......great deal! 


Or Sign up for 12months and get the 13th kit free!!!!!!!!!

  Kits value between $31- $34 – Yours for only $29.50. This way we ensure that you receive a fully loaded kit each month. We will also offer combined shipping with any add-ons or goodies from the store you need.

Tell a friend and if they sign up email us at orders@myscrapbooknook.com and give us your friends name and we will give you a $5.00 store credit. Good only while supplies last.

Good Luck to all those who enter!

Thanks For Looking!

Once Upon A Sketch challenge/Soar

Hi There! So I am totally hooked on the sketches at Once Upon A Sketch now LOL! This is the current sketch for OUAS


and this is my entry
The journalling criteria was to type your journalling which I have done on plain white paper & have used a Maya Road envelope to hold it. Here is a close up of the journalling

Here is a pic of the LO when the journalling is hidden in the envelope
another close up

I did not stick exactly to the sketch on this. I started out using it but ended up swapping a few things around for example the title & journalling was moved above the photo & I decided to use 1 photo instead of 2.

I have used the Websters Pages 'Country Estate' collection for this LO. This is such a pretty collection of papers & stickers (A big thankyou to my friend Nelle for giving me this paper pack collection as a bday gift!!)

The background paper is Kaisercraft & the script paper is Grace Taylor. I have inked & distressed the edges of the script paper with versa ink 'pinecone'. The adore tag is by Tim Holtz, the white flourish is by Pink Paislee, the stickers & alphas are Websters Pages 'Country Estate' & the envelope is by Maya Road. I have also used a doily in the background to try & recreate the circle in the sketch.

I absolutely adore this photo of Hunter & Kayla. It was taken in March when they were Flower Girl & Page Boy at their Aunties wedding. They looked so gorgeous on the day! I used the oppertunity to describe some feelings I had on the day through the typed journalling

Another page I have finished recently is 'Soar'

I have had another go at hybrid scrapping with this LO. I have used a Prima digital frame & printed the journalling & frame onto the a photo of Alex's grave stone which you can't see in the photo. I then printed this onto transperancy sheet.

Here is a close up of the journalling

I have used the Echo Park 'For the Record' collection, the 'soar' tag is by Tim Holtz, the trim is by Websters Pages, the plane picture is by Crate Paper 'Restoration' collection & the buttons are by Jenni Bowlin.

To create a worn, distressed look on the background page & sprayed the paper with water & scrunched the paper into a ball. I then smoothed it out gently trying to keep all the creases & let it dry.

To create the lace blooms I cut a small length of lace & sewed a small slip stich along the top, the I pulled the thread which causes the lace to bunch up. I then sewed the 2 ends together & stuck the button in the middle.

This is my first LO I have done using heritage photos. I have just raided Nan's photo albums & have got some lovely photos to scrap. Nan has photos going back a couple of generations & has been very active in mapping our family tree which is a huge help to me for future scrapping!!

Just a quick congratulations to the winners of the previous sketch at OUAS. There were some beautiful winners. I was very happy to see my pal Vicky have her LO featured again. WTG!!

Thanks for looking!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Scrap That Baby- Baby's Day Out/ Bird is the word

Hi There!
The new prompt is up at http://www.scrapthatbaby.blogspot.com/ . The theme is Baby's Day Out. This was a fun prompt & so easy to do.

We all have a thousand photos at the park, the beach or a special outing so start scrappin & you could be the lucky winner of a super fun prize package from 'Tally Scrapper'

Here is my DT example
Ok so this month I was a little bit crafty. I combined my DT project with the new 'Bird is the Word challenge'. The word this month is sun/sunshine. Because it fit so well with theme of my LO I chose the title 'You are my sunshine' 

The pics I chose for this LO are of my DD Kayla. The photos were so bright & fun so I wanted that to show in my page by using gorgeous bright papers & embellishments.
Most of the paper & embellies were from an old MCS kit. The background die cut paper is Crate Paper, the patterend paper is Little Yellow Bicycle "Freshprint Clothesline" collection, the glitter chipboard is AC Dear Lizzy, the journal chipboard is from Prima, the butterfly is Jenni Bowlin, the brown mini alphas are Echo Park "walk in the park" & the other alphas are American Craft.

I have inked the edges of the die cut & purple patterned page in Versa Color ink 'Hyacinth'

and just to get more bang for my buck....................

This page is based on the May sketch challenge from Annas Craft Cupboard


Thanks for looking!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

MCS May Challenge- Layering

Hi There!
Sarah has put together an inspiring challenge at MCS this month. She has provided some great tips focusing on layering with the rule of 3. Sarah suggests to use 3 different colours, used 3 times with 3 patterns which are opposite each other eg large floral pattern with small spots etc.

I couldn't wait to give this a go because I love to layer. I tried using the rule of 3 in this LO by selecting 3 colours brown,beige & blue using them 3 times each with paper, flowers & embellishing. I used different patterns of flourish, script & a damask style print. Here is my LO. I love this photo of the kids it is one of my favourites. It looks so much better in black and white than it does in colour!
I have used a mix of materials for this project & again have had a bit of a go at hybrid scrapping. The digital frame is by Prima. I love digital frames to really set a photo. The background paper is Prima 'Reflections' collection, the die cut is from the Bo Bunny 'Gabrielle' collection (both of these were part of the April main kit at MCS). The blue paper is Fancy Pants 'Happy Together' as is the decorative notebook journal. I have also used some corrugated cardboard & some Prima packaging.
The brown bloom is made from the new Prima trims- I just used a small piece & twirled it into a circle & stuck it down. The flower is from Prima. The peacock trim is by Websters Pages, the chipboard clock is Teresa Collins.

The faux stiching was inspired by Romy Vuel. This is done by ruling a black line the simply making small white dashes through the centre of the black line. Romy also pearces her page in between the dashes but I went for the quicker option & chose not to!

The scalloped edging around the blue paper was inspired by Gabi Pollacco. This was done by using scalloped scissors & making a small white dot in the middle of each scallop.

The new prompt at Scrap That Baby will be up soon so stay tuned.........

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone that has left lovely comments on my blog & have become followers. It means a lot to read your beautiful words & I REALLY APPRECIATE that people have been so supportive as my blog has only been running for a couple of months!!

Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Scrap That Baby Cry Baby Cry!

Hi There!
The new prompt for May1 is now up at http://www.scrapthatbaby.blogspot.com/ . The theme is Cry Baby Cry. Not every picture is a perfect Kodak moment LOL! Its so nice to scrap the not so perfect moments too. This months sponsor is Tally Scrapper. Favourite entries chosen throughout the month of May will have the chance to win an awesome pack! Projects are due May 15th
This is my example
I had a play around with some digital polaroid frames on my photos for this one. Hybrid scrapping is something that interest me & I will be havinga go at some more Hybrid projects in the future.The frames are (Faux)laroids by Splendid Fiins available at Jessica Sprague.com.
I have used the February main kit from MCS which was choc full of the very pretty Echo Park Be Mine collection. I have added some Prima blooms & bling & some Maya Road chipboard.
The journalling reads 'Evie you really do make life tough sometimes. You hate to be left alone even for a minute which makes simple things like house work & bathroom breaks a challenge! Lucky you are so cute!'
Evie is nearly 7 months old & she is definately a feisty little thing! She has been very well behaved this past week so hopeful the all day screaming thing is behind us LOL!

Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Once Upon a Sketch Blog

Hi There!

I must be in challenge mode at the moment LOL! I have been admiring the new sketch challenge blog http://www.onceuponasketchblog.blogspot.com/ & decided to give it a go. This is a gorgeous site with some wonderful talent on the design team including my pal Lou.
This is my entry


I used the MCS April Main Kit which was full of my fav collection Bo Bunny Gabrielle & Prima blooms. I added some extra Prima blooms, bling,trim & journal spot

Thanks for looking!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Bird is the word

Hi There!

I have discovered a great challenge blog through my pal Vicky (she is on the design team!) 'Bird is the word'. http://birdisthewordchallenge.blogspot.com/

The current challenge is to use the word begin or beginning. This just happened to be my title for my latest project at Scrap That Baby so I thought why not enter!! Here is the LO again.........
(Scrap That Baby has extended the deadline for the ultrasound prompt until May3rd!!)

Thanks for looking!