CSI Case File No. 128

I like to challenge myself creatively. Well, mostly. I don't particularly like the colour purple, but when I saw the colour combination of CSI's case file no. 128, I thought the purple in combination with soft greens and blues, was something quite interesting.

It wasn't very difficult finding anything blue or green in my stash - after all, I am the mother of a boy... But finding any purple items! That proved to be a bit of a challenge. Then I remembered I had an absolutely awesome picture of purple flowers. And this was just the inspiration that was needed.

 

To get around the lack of purple embellishments in my stash, I stamped butterflies on water colour paper, with a little purple bling in the centre.

 



The journaling is on a chalkboard accent - also home made. Purple ribbon and lavender glitter paper helps to meet the colour requirements of the challenge.

 

Here is the complete layout.

 

The white Basic Grey background paper is a bit distressed, and interest was added by flicking purple and green ink onto it. Green and blue paper form part of the background. The "evidence" that I used, includes the numbers across the page, the flowers in the photograph, the chalkboard journaling spot, ribbon, punched border and metal sticker below the photograph.



CSI Case File No. 127

I haven't played along with any online challenge for a while, but when I saw this beautiful case file posted on CSI, I couldn't resist!

Not only does it include an absolutely striking "scene", but also a great sketch.  I used photos of my sister and I when we were just teeny tiny little girls. I love the fact that the photos are in black and white, which means that the colours of the patterned paper and embellishments really "pop" against the white background.

I chose the camera, bird and a hinge from the evidence list. This combined really well with the rest of my embellishments, which include a chipboard clock, different flowers and circle embellishments cut from a Teresa Collins patterned paper.

 

I used Heidi Swapp's Color Shine (Coral) to change the colour of the circle to a more peachy colour, to suit the colour scheme of the case file. 

My journaling is hidden behind one of the patterned paper banners, thus meeting the requirement on the "testimony" list. The edges of the cardstock with journaling was decorated with washi tape.

Stitching, decorative brads, bling and stamping completes the embellishment list.

I used coral red and grey as part of my title, which was cut on my Silhouette Cameo. The light teal and peach can be found in two of the patterned paper banners, while the white forms the background of the layout.

This is what the complete layout looks like:

It was great fun playing with this colour combination. TFL!!

Creative Scrappers #265

I used this versatile sketch by Kristine Davidson, posted on Creative Scrappers, to do a single layout with a whimsical, fun feel to it.

 

The silver edges to the blue paper was the starting point when deciding which paper to use. I used silver rub-ons to create a similar look on some of the other patterned papers, and combined it with silver Heidi Swapp word stickers to create the title.

 

 

A bit of bling and pearls, a few buttons and silver star or two completed the look.

 

 

 

The photo was taken a while ago, and features a group of friends having fun on one of Cape Town's most beautiful beaches with some balloons and a photographer.

 

 



After completing this layout, I was on such a roll, that I used another sketch, this time featured on Let's Get Sketchy, and designed by Laura Whitaker, to create another layout. This time, the focus was on hidden journaling.

 

When I first saw the sketch, the semi-circle that sticks out at the right of the photo cluster immediately made me think that it could be a flap that could open to reveal more of the layout underneath. I changed the orientation of the photo cluster in my layout, to suit my photograph.

The flap opens to reveal more photos, as well as journaling about the fact that it matters more what we do with what we have, than what it matters what we have. A message that I try to teach my son every day.

Here are some close-ups of the detail on the page:

Thanks for stopping by!

Let's get sketchy challenge

I've discovered another great challenge blog recently, called Let's get sketchy. They post awesome sketches every week, and you have the entire month to complete the projects! When I saw this beautiful sketch by Jenessa Franco, I just could not resist the butterflies, so I decided to do something with it immediately.

I found a very old photo of myself on holiday in Spain, that I wanted to use. As I started going through my stash to put together all the supplies I wanted to use, I found this gorgeous "bubble" design by Studio Calico. The idea for the butterflies quickly changed in favour of the bubbles...

Because of the fun colour combination in the bubbles, I opted for a title with each letter coloured differently. After painting each of the letters, I added Glossy Accents to them.

To continue with the circular embellishment theme, the small viewfinders from Echo Park were just perfect.

The main patterned panel on the layout is cardstock that was inked using a range of different inks and mists. I actually created the other side for another project, did not like it much and decided to throw it away once it was dry. As I put it in the bin, the back side of the paper caught my eye. It had picked up the left over ink from my craft mat when I sprayed and inked the other side. I loved it. Saved from the bin... To add a touch of glamour, I stitched around this cardstock with golden metallic thread.

A little red banner with journaling along the top edge thereof, and a few ink drops completed the layout.

A day to remember

I am trying to catch up with a few projects I've recently created. This layout was for the Pics 'n Tales January class challenge. Ezme and I challenged the girls to create a Christmas layout without using any red or green...

 

My colour scheme was cream and charcoal, with a splash of colour here and there. I used a picture of my son in a school play, when he was about 4 years old. The edges of the cream background paper were distressed, whereafter I added yellow and a touch of blue Distress Ink to the background. To add a bit more interest, I also used texture paste with a very fine stencil, as well as stamping on the background.

Lots of little goodies from my stash found its way onto this layout. Since the colour scheme was so very "untraditional", I decided to go with that idea for the rest of the embellishments as well. Once I had the photo matted on the yellow patterned paper with the corners stitched, sitting on top of the stencilled pattern, I thought it looked quite "natural" - in a wheat sheaf kinda way. So that led to the yellow flowers and leaves being included.

And you know how it goes from there: the picture of the deer added to the theme, sentiments cut out from patterned paper, and a heart for my sweetest boy just "jumped" onto the page. I liked the addition of the clock face. It reminds me of the the passage of time from when he was in this school play. But it is also a reminder to a day about 2000 years ago.

I completed the layout with a few of my current favourite - resin flowers. I can't seem to resist these little beauties at the moment. They are gorgeous, and I used them in different colours on this layout.

 

What started out as a fun challenge that needed some thinking about untraditional colours, turned into a personal moment documented in a way that has meaning to us as a family. Mission accomplished!

 

TFL!



I'm back!!

It feels like I've been away from this blog forever... I have no excuse, because "life happens" to all of us! So without going into any details of my absence, let's rather look at something more interesting.

I am currently in a "stencil phase". Anyone else crazy about the beautiful stencils that are currently available? I've recently played with a beautiful one created by Heidi Swapp, to create stars with texture paste as part of the background of a layout. I've also used it with paint, distress ink and archival ink, and simply love the different results you get just by changing up the medium which you use. In this layout, I've used the texture paint straight from the bottle, but you can colour it by simply adding ink or paint to it before applying it through your stencil.

I used another of Heidi's stencils with Mister Huey's mists to add a chevron pattern to a small section of the background. By combining more than one colour, one can achieve quite an interesting look.

This is what the layout looks like:

This photo was taken sooo many years ago! I thought that the pretty, dainty little resin roses from Prima and the cute bicycle from Basic Grey was a gorgeous contrast to the very scary T-Rex in the photograph. It also picks up on the young, playful feel of the photograph. The bright colours of the title and chevron accentuates the letters on the alphabet patterned paper on the right of the layout, while the black rub-ons creates an accent colour on the layout.

Thank for stopping by! Be sure to do so again!

Long time no see....

Phew, it's been a while, has it not? Well, I am sure that the end of year is not only creeping up on me, but on many of you too. Why does everything always have to happen at the same time at this time of the year?!

Enough of that... I did get a bit of scrapbooking done over the last few weeks. I've designed two classes which I will be presenting in Mossel Bay during December and January, I've packed a quite few extra kits to take with for the ladies in the Southern Cape, and I've completed a layout or two for Pics 'n Tales.

For this month's challenge at Pics 'n Tales, we used this sketch from Pagemaps:

There were some really lovely pages at class yesterday! Be sure to keep an eye on the Pics 'n Tales Facebook page over the next few days to see what the ladies came up with. Here is my interpretation of the sketch:

 

 

 As you can see, I changed it a bit. I used one large photo instead of a piece of patterned paper and moved the banner up right to the top of the page. I also did not include any small photographs in the banner. The tag had to make way for an ornate bookplate, but the butterfly stayed. And apparently also invited all its friends along... I just love these tiny butterflies - who can resist them?

The colour scheme in this layout also presented me with an opportunity to use some [very, very] old gaffer tape from my stash. The pearl accents added just the right amount of bling to finish it all off.

 

Vintage beauty

Ever scrapped one of your favourite childhood toys? Well, when I was designing a new class for Pics 'n Tales recently, I took a photo of one of the dolls that shared my life as a little girl. Her name was Cindy, and she was a ballerina doll. I was struck by how pretty she is. She still evokes those little girl "princess" feelings in me - even today! So what better way to celebrate her, than to make a layout?

For inspiration, I used the current sketch from Scrap365's sketch challenge. It is based on a layout by Yana Smakula, and looks like this:

I used Kaiser Craft's Hidden Treasures range. I love the colour scheme of this range, and specifically wanted to bring out the gold / bronze colours in the patterned paper. To do this, I used Ranger's bronze metallic paint, combined with a bit of blue and green paint on the tag. Once it was dry, I stamped and embossed a sentiment on the tag.

The leaf pins add a fun element, along with the mesh bow, which is tied with washi tape.

In the opposite corner, I added a little golden bird from Making Memories, holding a tag which says : "You are my happy thought". I thought this was quite appropriate... {Don't you just LOVE the earrings?!}

Paint splatters, washi tape, pearls and bunting flags were used to "pull everything together".

I loved working with this sketch, as it allowed me to showcase not only a well-loved toy, but also this gorgeous range of paper from Kaiser Craft!

Destination unknown

I am systematically making space in my stash for new goodies. This means that I am really trying hard to create projects with all the heaps and heaps of paper in my stash, using embellishments that I already own. As you would know, this is a bit of a daunting task. Why don't we ever seem to know just how many patterned papers we own, until we try to "work them away"?! Needless to say, progress is slower than I expected...

Luckily there are so many awesome websites with great sketches available these days! This week I used this sketch from Stuck?! to create a layout with a bit of a nostalgic theme:

I used a scanned copy of a very old picture, and wanted to create a vintage look to go with that. The paper is mainly from Prima, and most of the embellishments were cut from the same paper range.

 

Silver Stickles add sparkle to a chipboard flourish, to tie in with the title and a silver glitter leaf to the left of the layout.

 

This little bird already had a crown on its head, but I could not resist using this totally adorable little Prima crown instead. It is tiny, and just perfect for this spot...

 

This is what the finished layout looks like:

 

As you can see, I changed some of the elements a bit - used old book paper instead of a doily, move my title to the other side of the page, used one photo instead of three... In other words, made it my own. I loved working with this sketch!

Take a good look at the (not so) little orange mouse in the little girl's arm. You will see another layout soon featuring that same mouse, created by that same girl many years later...

 

Upcoming PnT class

Here is a little sneak peek of this weekend's Pics 'n Tales class:

We will be using Teresa Collin's Memorabilia Range to create a cute mini album, using a set of file folders, beautiful stickers, patterned papers. ribbon, hat pins, sequence... For more photos, go here.

There are only a few extra kits available, so contact us to reserve yours today!

Playing with left overs

I had a few scraps left over from the latest kit I designed for Pics 'n Tales, and did not want it to go to waste. I used Teresa Collins' Memorabilia range, and just loved the colour combination. I am not particularly fond of orange, but quite enjoyed working with it as part of this funky range. (For a sneak peak at the Pics 'n Tales project, go here.)

I started with a white piece of cardstock, fully planning on making a single page with the left over orange paper. However, somewhere along the line, orange turned into blue. I have no idea how that happened! Maybe something about how my favourite colour is blue?!

Anyway, I played with different inks on water colour paper, then added acrylic paint with a bit of a shimmer to some areas on the water colour paper, and then stamped over it. This was then dolled up with the use of a border punch, and added to the reverse side of the orange paper.

Next followed some black ribbon and seam binding coloured with Distress Ink.  My photo was mounted on an embossed white cardstock mat, with a banner added below the photo. A few stars and a heart decorated with silver stickles followed.

I used different chipboard letters to create the title, added a rub-on and a stamp to the title and voila! Layout done. Actually, I added a bit of journaling to the right and below of the stamped hand afterwards. It reads: "This is us Kiddo - always looking forward, together."

I must say, I'm glad I did not go with the orange...

Really proud moment

Today, I am really proud to say that I've made it onto the "Most Wanted" list for CSI's challenge no. 91. I really enjoyed doing this challenge, so it was a major bonus to make it onto this list! Thank you for all the wonderful comments, ladies!

CSI Case File 91

Color, Stories, Inspiration's Case File 91 challenged me to scrap about something that I would not normally use as a subject for one of my pages. The details of the challenge looked like this:

I think I was drawn to the challenge because of the awesome picture of a "hot air balloon" that resembles a teapot! I am such a sucker for hot air balloons....

The colour scheme for the challenge was teal, off-white, pinkish-coral red, buttery yellow and khaki green. I used off-white cardstock for my background, and used yellow cardstock and teal patterned paper (Glitz Design) to add colour along the side of the background. The pinkish-coral red, more teal and yellow, as well as the green can be found in the flowers that I cut from Crate paper. I also used the pinkish-coral red for my title, as well as a group of butterflies "flying" across my layout.

 

There was a great range of "evidence" to choose from. I opted to use the leaves, wet medium (Mr Huey's color mist - gold and pretty pink), border punch and the teapot accent. I loved the bit of glamour that the gold added to the layout, so I repeated it by adding golden threat to the arrow, photo mat and along the left edge of the background.

 

 

I used a number of the clues provided for the testimony. My journaling is about my daily coffee routine, but also about the surprising fact that there's nothing like a cup of tea to relax me...

 

The photograph in the layout is of a beautiful antique tea cup, saucer and side plate. I found this little gem in the old jail in Riversdal. This building has been transformed into a whole lot of tiny little shops selling the most beautiful treasures. I just loved it, and I'm glad I could use one of them as the centre piece for this layout:

 

 



 

Thanks for a great challenge, CSI!