Shimelle's Blog Party

If you're part of the scrapbooking community you'll probably already be aware of the Blog Party Shimelle hosted last weekend & what an awesome girl she is for organising such an event. Last year's was a lot of fun so i tried to complete as many challenges as i could this week. i think 6 pages in a week is some kind of record for me!

Chop Your Paper Challenge

Paper: October Afternoon. Transparency: Hambly, Alphabet Stickers: Sasafrass, Stamp & Mist: Studio Calico, Ink: JBS, Punch: Martha Stewart, Other: Embroidery Floss, Tiny Attacher

Oh my, how that OA paper scared me! But i was determined to use it. Given that i am not much of an embellisher anyway you'd think this challenge wasn't too hard for me, yet i still couldn't resist adding some hand stitching, stamping and misting. Photos taken with a disposable camera. 

Add to the Story Challenge

Paper: Studio Calico Advert, Stickers: Jillibean Soup, Chipboard Button; Maya Road, Frame: K&Co. 

Above is a layout that i did last year. To add to the story i used an American Crafts divided page protector to include additional photos and journalling. This is something i do a lot in my travel albums. 

Half A Page Challenge

Paper: Crate Paper, Basic Grey, Brads: Basic Grey, Stamp: Studio Calico, Mistable Trim: Pink Paislee, Mist; Studio Calico, Tag: Elles Studio, Alphabet Stickers: Sasafrass, Other: Twine, Eyelet, Tiny Attacher, Kit: Studio Calico, Boardwalk

This is also something i do naturally on my pages from time to time, but i struggled to fit in my journalling on this one so i ended up hiding it away on the Elle's Studio Tag. 

Grid It Up Challange

Paper: Pink Paislee, Other: Twine

Does this count as a grid? i'm not sure. i felt that the paper i conveyed the theme on this page well enough to manage without any photos. 

Bingo Cards & Butterflies

Paper, Button, Sticker, Bingo Card, Journalling Card: Jenni Bowlin Studios,Tape: Pink Paislee, Stamp, Veneer Stars & Rub-Ons: Studio Calico, Ink: Staz-On, Other: Twine. 

This challenge was to draw inspiration from the page that Shimelle posted. i also used a Bingo Card as my base and framed it with tape, like Shimelle did with paint. To carry on the old photo theme, i used a polaroid stamp. As for the butterflies, i'm afraid it's quite tricky to work those into a Halloween theme.

Hot Pink Hoopla

Paper, Chipboard Aphabet, Doilies: Cosmo Cricket, Alphabet stickers: Sasafrass, Stamp: Studio Calico, Ink: JBS, Stickers: Do Crafts Tape: American Crafts Other: Embroidery Floss

i figured hot pink would be fitting for these pictures of a girls night we had recently. And p.s. Kool-Aid works well as a mixer ;)

July Scrap Rat Kit Layouts

i was first drawn to the baby blues & pinks colour scheme of this kit, but when you dig into it there's lots of green's, oranges, red's and browns so there's a whole mix & lots of possibilities. My favourite embellies in the kit are the Studio Calico tags & those cute little Prima flowers. i just love the Cosmo Cricket Odds & ends papers too, they are sooo pretty! So far i made 3 layouts with the kit but i've got another 2 in mind before i go and split up the kit into my stash.

Photo Credit: Miss

 i really wanted to make use of the tag elements in the Cosmo 'Scraps' paper so i cut them all up and created  a border. This page is about a gig i went to in December with the girls. We went to see our favourite local band, The Dawn Chorus. they put a lot of effort in to make it look christmassy and even had homemade cakes (so sweet). 

The seam binding is really easy to work in to a ruffle with a bit of double sided tape. i really like to use gems or brads to anchor ribbon, to give it a little something extra. 

For this one i cut the bazzill pleated cardstock down to fit my page better. These were a nice way to add some stitched elements  & texture to my page as i am not a sewing machine user!

See what i mean about those cute prima flowers? i loved the phrases on the Cosmo 'Junk Drawer' paper and cut it up to use as journalling.  i cut this paper into 8 1/2" x 11" first so i could use the other side, and i still managed to get all these phrases out of the leftovers! So happy they've decided to include word stickers in this CHA release!

This is all i have to share for now, but as i said, i've got another couple of layouts in the works.  i've also been playing with the August Kit this weekend and it is definitely one you don't want to miss out on! (Sneaks next week). Subscribers get exclusive vintage items each month, so if you like your kits with a side of awesome sauce then you really should subscribe! Some previous kits are also marked down by 20% at the moment, so if you had your eye on one of those then don't hang around. The May kit is one of my all time favourites!

So any Scrap Ratter's got any layouts to share with me using the kits? Please link me up if you do!

Scrap Rat July Kit!

Just stopping in to let you know that the Scrap Rat July Kit is now available & it is SO pretty! i'm not a designer for this month, we take it in turns so you get double the inspiration! However, i heard the words Studio Calico & Cosmo Cricket and knew i'd need this kit in my hot little hands! So i purchased one. Which means i'll be back later in the month to share what i did with it. But you can check out the DT Gallery to see the other Designer's beautiful work.

The new Scrap Rat Blog also launched today & there's lots of fun stuff planned for it, so make sure you become a follower. If you hop over there now and leave a comment you'll be in with a chance to win an Odds & Ends Collage Kit from Cosmo Cricket (kit subscribers are already automatically entered)!

Happy weekend everyone!

Because of... *effer dare 17*

Yay! The effer dares are back, and this pleases me so! i've missed those girls & they're crazy inspiring posts/creations. And this time April Foster of Studio Calico is playing along too, double yay! The prompt is 'because of...' This instantly made me think of everything my mum has done for me. When you 'grow up'  (put in brackets because i don't really consider myself a grown-up) i think you start to realise what a huge responsibility being a mum is. It goes well beyond, cooking, cleaning and entertaining, it's the most important job there is! My mum's influence has shaped me into the person i am today, which most definitely is a good thing, because she is rather wonderful.

Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Sassafrass, Stickers: Sassafras, American Crafts, Flower; Sassafras, Alpha Chipboard: American Crafts,  Mist: Tattered Angels, Maya Road,Kit: Back 40, Studio Calico.

As SC are sponsoring the dare i figured i'd used one of my kits. i'm nearly done with Back 40 so i got that out to play with. Just another page or two and i've officially 'killed' it, that'll be a first! This picture is of my mum and i, aged 11 months.

Milkshake Monster

Happy Friday everyone!

i've had a relatively quiet week but i did go and see Swan Lake On Ice last night which was pretty awesome. i think ice skating is so beautiful and graceful and the costumes are always so sparkly!

Just wanted to share this layout with you today. You may have noticed of late i've been using a lot more scraps of paper and bits and pieces on my layouts lately and i'm finding this really works for me. And yeah i know chocolate milkshake isn't very healthy, but i love it and nothing will make me give it up! i do limit myself to a bottle a week, it's usually a special treat at weekends. It's even more of a treat to get a nutella milkshake from Shakeaway. Mmmmm...

Papers: Sassafras, Cosmo Cricket, Studio Calico, Stickers: Sassafras, Mist: Studio Calico, Button: from own stash

This was made using the Back 40 kit (which amazingly, is still available!) and Open Pasture add-on from Studio Calico, i'm making an effort to try and use up some of my older kits and this one has been getting a lot of use. i wear navy a lot so the Indie Girl papers from Sassafras work with a lot of my photos. i wish we could get full sheets of just the donut banner sticker from Sassafras as it's always my favourite on the sticker sheet. I already had to order another bottle of the Atmosphere Mr Huey because i'm almost out, i use it all the time! The photo on this layout was taken with the webcam on my laptop and then processed using Poladroid.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Love for my Mamma

Paper, Stickers, Brown Alpha Stickers: Sassafras Lass, Blue Alpha: Cosmo Cricket, Stamp: Studio Calico, Butterflies: Jenni Bowlin

It's my mamma's birthday today. She's the most amazing mum of all time. i'm sure most people think that, but mine really is. She is so generous and caring and selfless. She has done so much for my sister and i and we love her forever and always.

Have you seen this layout?

Papers: Sassafras Lass, Cosmo Cricket, Stickers: Sassafras Lass, Tape: American Crafts, Buttons: MME

 A few months ago, i was hugely inspired by a layout in this post on the Sassafras blog by Elizabeth Kartchner and decided to scraplift it. The layout didn't feel complete without a few splotches of mist on it though and i was still awaiting the delivery of my Mr Huey's, so i decided to put it aside until i had them. Well the layout seems to have gone walkabouts because i have looked through all my albums and turned my studio space upside down looking for it, to no avail. Annoyment! My studio isn't even {that} messy! Luckily i'd used the layout when i was testing my scanner so i still have a copy of it, but i'd really rather have the original, so i can finish it off. i have no idea where it's gone! i suppose you've got to laugh about it...someone please tell me i'm not the only one this has happened to!

Scrapbook Share on Sunday

Bit of an unusual colour combo on this one. i wear grey a lot though, usually at least one grey item a day - so why not scrapbook in grey? Papers are from Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket, Brads & ribbon from American Crafts and letter stickers from Basic Grey. I can't remember where the metal rimmed tags are from, i've had them a loooong time!

Anyways, this is a page documenting a Thai Cookery course that i took when i was staying in Chiang Mai. i've mentioned it on here before because i did a page about our visit to the market. These are photos of me in action though. i had so much fun on this course and would definitely do this again in other countries in the future. i haven't put my skills into action much since i got back though, so i'm putting that on my to-do list!