Making a scrapbook layout using my Spectrum Sherbet inspired background!

Hello all, I hope everyone is well and getting some crafty time.

I have had a few requests regarding the stamped Spectrum Sherbet inspired 12×12 background that I created, shared on my blog, filmed and put on my YouTube channel. Some people were interested in seeing how I would use this background paper and others were keen to know which Tim Holtz inks I used. So, yesterday I created the layout, using more Tim Holtz distress ink and the 49 and Market-Spectrum Sherbet acetate embellishments (these are drool-worthy, love them). I love how it has turned out, the acetate embellishments really make a statement. The translucency of these allows for parts of the background to show through if you are using white or light cardstock, for instance, my ink splatters show through. However, some of the embellishments are opaque which is necessary in order for them to stand out on your page if you are using a heavily patterned background like I have. So, the acetate embellishments are pretty versatile, and a credit to the designer, they really thought about a crafter’s needs.

If you haven’t watched the ‘Make your own Spectrum Sherbet inspired scrapbook backgrounds’ video you can view it here. Later today my new video will come out showing how I assembled the layout and what products I used. I noted in the description the main products I used if you are interested. I have not included where to purchase any of the products, as I’m not affiliated with any companies, and I’m a big believer in encouraging you to shop local when possible or stay loyal to your favourite online store. Having said that, the 49 and Market, Spectrum Sherbet collection has been very popular worldwide and many stores sold out quickly, so you may have to search for stock.

Anyway, here’s what I did with it, in constructing the layout.

I used the embellishment sheet which comes with the collection. I needed some pieces which would pick up the colours on my stamped background and the colours in my photos. The photos which I’m using are of furniture, the latest to enter our house last month. I went to a local charity auction on my birthday and couldn’t quite believe it when no one was bidding on these two very lovely wingbacked chairs. The auctioneer was so desperate to sell them, with no bids happening, that he said $5! Well, then I couldn’t not bid, I raised my auction card knowing that others would then start bidding, only they didn’t and so, I ended up winning the bid. I am now the very happy owner of two wingback chairs that only cost me $5 for both! Did I need any chairs…no! We are now contemplating which lounge to get rid of, as things are a little tight in the living room.

These are the embellishments I decided to use.

Next, I double-matted my photos using some white cardstock and some of the 49 and Market-Spectrum Sherbet-Classics papers. Then, I made my title using some Paper Roses alpha dies, the Spectrum Sherbet-Classics-Brumbleberry paper (B-side) and some adhesive foam to give the title some dimension.

I inked the edges of my photo mats and my cut-apart embellishments. The inks I used were Tim Holtz distress inks – Broken China, Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon, Evergreen Bough and Mustard Seed (my favourite yellow).

Time to put it all together, it was just a matter of layering the embellishments. I use wet glue, Mono Aqua Liquid Glue, and double-sided tape to adhere everything. The Mono Aqua Liquid Glue worked really well to adhere the acetate embellishments, as it’s a clear glue.

Overall, I am very pleased with how it looks.

My next layout share will be working with the brown/grey stamped background I created, also inspired by the collaged effect found on the B-side papers from the 49 and Market-Spectrum Sherbet Classics pack. You can view images of this stamped background in my last blog post, scroll right to the bottom to view them.

To view the process video click here.

To view how to make the stamped background click here.

Making Spectrum Sherbet inspired backgrounds!

Hello, old friends!

Here I am back again playing after a very loooonnnngggg break. Life last year got completely crazy for me and time to blog was just beyond me. I was overwhelmed with going back to University to study for the third time, what was I thinking? Well, really it was studying, and upgrading my qualifications or losing the chance to further employment. Anyway, I qualified with flying colours and life is a lot more mellow. So, I have been loving having the opportunity to scrap and paint when I’m not working.

Anyway, let’s scrap! Like half the scrapbook community I have fallen completely in love with the 49 and Market, Spectrum Sherbet collection. A scrapbook collection with the most amazing colours, textures and patterns. I wanted to buy it all but unfortunately, my finances couldn’t stretch to buying the whole collection, plus I already have so many supplies to use up, that I held back and just purchased the one classic pack and two packets of the acetate leaves. Both products are absolutely beautiful.

So, beautiful that I don’t want to use the paper as I only have one of each! Being two-sided sheets, with gorgeous designs on both sides makes it even more difficult. How can I possibly choose which side to use? Well, my creative mind had an epiphany when I realised that I could try and make some of my own papers in the same style as these beauties.

So, make I did, and it was a wonderful experience. Yes, it took me a few hours but who cares about time when one is creating. I stepped back in time and used an old stamping technique, masking, which worked really well to create that collaged look. I chose to work with Tim Holtz Distress inks (for my first attempt) and chose to try and create a teal blue and green background.

I really stepped out of my comfort zone and even filmed the process. Yes, people, I have made my first ever scrapbook video. Something that I have been planning to do for years but have not been brave enough, nor had the time. It’s pretty basic, so be kind. If you are interested in watching it, you can view it on my YouTube channel here. I would appreciate any feedback, so please do leave a constructive comment and like the video. With some motivation and support from other crafters, I hope to continue to develop my video production skills.

Right, so let’s look at stamping and masking. First I selected a heap of stamps which could blend to create a similar nature theme. I also selected some travel stamps for fun, which I used on the second background. I chose to use some Vicki Boutin foundation mixed media cardstock for the first layout, it’s a good quality cardstock made to take wet media, so should easily handle a bit of ink. I also use some thinner Poppy Craft cardstock which I used for the masking shapes and for making a template.

Template? Yes, I decided to not directly copy the Spectrum Sherbet design making a 12×12 sheet but used the collage look within a circle template design. I masked off different sections of the circle and stamped on my images, colouring each section with the distress inks. It was a pretty easy process but a bit fiddly and time-consuming. I really like how it looks in a circle design. I ended up adding a little stamped splash around the edges where I accidentally got some ink smudges. overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

So happy that I made a second background, working with grey and brown inks and adding some travel stamped images. Not at all a sherbet colour, but I love it anyway.

Ahoy! Old Techniques!

Ahoy, me hearties! I am finally sharing the process photos for these very nautical layouts. Both layouts include papers from the ‘Hey Sailor’ DCWV paper pad. The papers in this pad are all glossy and some have gold foil, the patterns/designs are mostly cream, navy and black. There is everything nautical included, ships, anchors, whales, etc., and I bought it thinking that it would be great for scrapping our many holiday trips to the Albany, Whale Station.

These layouts are the first I have made with the papers and they are nothing to do with a whaling station! The first layout is of my son-in-law who works at the Black Anchor Tattoo Studio, see the connection? Anchors! This paper had the perfect design, mood and feel for scrapping this photo of him, taken at work for marketing purposes. I selected five papers for this layout, a cut apart sheet, some black with gold anchors, a cream with navy anchors, a stripe which is lengths of rope and a framed design to use for the background.

The photo I had available was quite distant and I wanted to have a close up of his face included in the layout, so I cropped and enlarged the photo. This turned out a little grainy and not to the quality I wanted, so I used an old technique to enhance the photo, putting a layer of vellum over the photo. The vellum reduces the graininess of the image. I stitched it roughly together using my sewing machine, I wasn’t precious about it, wanting it rough and ready to work with the look I was going for.

Next, I stepped back in time with another old technique…sanding! The glossy surface didn’t appeal to me for my background and I grunged it up with a sandpaper pad. I got some lovely texture with the sanding, as I worked on my cutting board and all the cuts and nicks on the board were picked up in the sanding process.

Next, I built up layers mounting my photos on the patterned papers and using some of the cut apart embellishments. Then I added several wooden embellishments leaving some plain and inking others black. The last touch was adding some Tim Holtz chipboard quotes.

I love how this one turned out, the papers and sanding really captured the mood I was going for. By the way, as a proud mother-in-law, I just want to say that the photographer did a great job taking Dane’s portrait but he did make him look quite stern and serious. Dane is the sweetest, nicest young man, and a very talented artist who works very hard, and is always ready with a smile and a joke. I’ve rarely seen him looking this stern.

For the second nautical layout, I used an AB Studio paper for the background called ‘Rustical Journey‘, some scraps from an AB Studio paper called ‘Diary, sheet 7‘, and a few DCWV leftover scraps from the layout above. The chosen background paper worked beautifully with the photos of my daughter and son in law dressed up for a Halloween work event.

The first step was using some old nautical stamps to make some tag embellishments. The wooden stamps have been sitting unused for many years!

I used Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black to stamp the images and then used some Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks to add some colour. To add a little bling, I mounted one tag on gold foil cardstock.

Next, I worked on building up some texture on my background paper using stencils and distress inks. The green stencils are from Kaisercraft and the white from a Uniquely Creative kit. *Note: Did you know that Uniquely Creative are now producing their own papers/collections? Oh my, they are awesome, with the same quality as the AB Studio collections. The papers are thick cardstock and each collection has cut apart sheets for those of us who love to fussy cut. Great to see an Australian company doing so well, check them out on their website. I will be posting soon about using one of the latest kits, their third collection, the gorgeous ‘Urban Garden’ collection. Not affiliated with the company, just a subscriber and big fan of their products.

The last stencil I used was a beautiful lace image, I lightly inked the image by swiping the ink across the stencil to create a soft grey, rather than the harsh black of the inkpad. I also lightly stamped in the pirate and his treasure chest, making sure it was slightly washed out to give an old-worldly effect.

The tag edges were inked and some recycled (from a gift) twine added.

I used some gold enamel dots which have a look of what you might see on the sides of a treasure chest, the bolts, just to add some bling. These are from the local cheap shop, about $2AU. Then I popped on some quotes, inking the edges and added some gold glitter chipboard Thickers for the title.

Another successful nautical layout with mood and feel. How beautiful is my daughter, so lovely?

I hope you are all getting some scrappy time, I’m off to scrap with my Uniquely Creative monthly subscription kit. Have a scrappy weekend 🙂

2020…First Layouts of the New Decade!

Happy New Year to all, hope that you all had a lovely time celebrating with family and friends. My New Year celebrations were spent with my girlfriends who help me get through every year with love, laughter and support. None of them are scrapbookers and they don’t really get it, but they are artists and we try to spend arty times together throughout the year. 2019, was a little lacking on our normal arty events with us all dealing with busy lives. I hope to make more effort this year in keeping our creative catch-ups happening with a few arty outings throughout the year.

Anyhow, to kick off my 2020 scrapping, I chose to do a scraplift. The problem I have is that I don’t know who created the original layout, I tried Google image search and had no luck…they linked it to artificial flowers! I wonder why? Haha. So, if you know whose layout this is please let me know, I would like to credit them? What I loved about this layout was the negative space and the layering on both sides of the layout.

My attempt started with building up some background using gesso and a stencil. The main reason I did this was that I didn’t really have a whole heap of embellishments to use with my photos, plus it gave me time to get messy and really play. I wanted to use some new supplies from Santa, the papers, plus use up some neglected products, the ribbon and frames.

I blended out the gesso edges, rubbing it with my fingers. Then, I sponged on some oxide distress ink, as the white gesso was a bit too stark.

Next, I mounted and built up the layers behind the photos and used the same papers to begin the corner embellishment cluster.

I then, layered up my embellishments with some found old Sizzix cut die cuts, wood veneers and die-cut alphas for the title. The last touch was adding some Nuvo Crystal Drops to create enamel dots. I’m slowly getting better at applying the Nuvo drops, though some are trickier than others due to how thick the mix is.

The finished layout is pleasing but I do need to add some journaling about why we have to do this for every new tree planted, one word…kangaroos! They devastate pretty much anything new, if they can reach it they will eat it and the tree guards can not be removed until the tree is well established.

The second layout for 2020 is about my husband’s shoes, not a topic that most people would scrap. The reason I wanted to capture this memory is that he is finishing up his baking career, he did his last shift two days ago. No more flour-dusted shoes and night shift, it will be a change for us all having him home in the evenings and not having him arrive home while I am drinking my morning cup of tea.

The papers I used were from Santa, a mix pulled from several paper pads, including this gorgeous alpha sheet from Maggie Holmes’s Bloom collection. I fussy cut this sheet to use as embellishments and selected four of the alpha cards for this layout.

I smeared some white gesso onto two opposite corners on my background to try and get a floury texture and sprinkled on some white ink for spots of flour. In the end, most of this got covered by embellishments and is hard to see in the finished layout photo.

Then, I went to town mounting and layering papers, adding the photos, embellishments and titles. I quite like how it turned out and think it just needs a thin journal strip at the base outlining the story.

The last two layouts I completed are of my grandson, I tried to add some bling to both and use up some sequins. The top layout is made with a Vicki Boutin, mixed media, printed cardstock. Yep, Santa thought that I needed some time off from creating my own mixed media backgrounds and bought me the paper pad. I couldn’t resist adding a touch of colour and stencilled around the edges using a Uniquely Creative stencil and some TH distress inks. Both layouts have some Maggie Holmes and Shimelle papers/embellishments, and the bottom layout has some more Nuvo drops (don’t look too closely, some of the dots are not round…haha).

I hope you all are getting some time to scrap and have a fabulous crafty year. For some of our Australian friends and crafters, life is tough at the moment with the extreme fires burning across our country. Many have lost homes and loved ones, if you can support them in some way, please do? It may be just in prayers, offering accommodation, food and supplies, or donating cash to one of the many collection funds which have been set up across Australia and the World. Every little bit will help in this intense time of need. Thank you to all our emergency services and volunteers across the country who are working at full capacity, and to the USA firefighters who are coming to help us out. Let us all hope that rain will arrive soon and help quench the flames, it is really the only thing that will stop this firestorm.

Happy scrapping everyone 🙂

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RTS…Heritage Inspiration

Good morning,

Back in November, Janet from RTS Scrapbooking released her 4for4 Series – Heritage Round. It is a great series with many tips and tricks for creating heritage layouts. Now, I’m not a fan of making heritage layouts and I think generally this is because most people use very dull coloured papers with old fashioned flowery/object prints. I’m more a bright colour girl and so, I thought I would challenge myself and have a go. Around the same time, in the Love RTS FB group, there was a post suggesting you sort and collect up papers which challenged you, the ugly, the old, dated and ‘the untouchables’ and make them into kits. Now, I have a stack of papers that don’t appeal to my tastes, so these were the papers I decided to use for my heritage layouts. Some Love RTS members loved the papers which I detested, we all have different tastes and for me, purple is yucky, as are flower prints which remind me of my Nanna’s wallpaper!

Here are my ‘untouchables’, papers I don’t like…

I started off with the pink and green patterned and floral papers, using a photo of my grandfather. Now, flowers and men usually don’t mix but the story behind the photo is quite romantic and I thought I would get away using these girly papers. This is the photo that my grandfather had taken to send to his sweetheart, my Nanna, during the war. On the bottom right corner, you can see the sweet message he scribed to her.

Janet’s layout features a diagonal patterned paper format and I followed the same process. You can watch Janet’s video here. As my grandfather was in his motorcycle uniform I found some images related to his job in the war and printed them out to use as embellishments. A tip when using home-printed embellishments, they can sometimes look a little flat in colour, but you can achieve a more polished finish by rubbing each image with a little Tim Holtz Distress Micro Glaze. It just makes the colour pop a little more and looks like a bought die cut. I also printed a heritage document from the website recommended on RTS, https://olddesignshop.com/.

The finished layout turned out quite dashing with just a touch of floral.

My next layout is of my Nanna, the photo she had taken to send to my grandfather. I used one of the purple ‘untouchable’ papers for the background. For this layout, I wanted to use some embossing folders which I had recently purchased secondhand on FB Marketplace, they had come with a whole heap of steel dies I got cheap. I have hardly used embossing folders in my craft life, they fall into my old fashioned, untouchable category. So, this was the perfect time to try them out. I made embossed papers to use for mounts and layering behind the photo.

It is a simple process of inking one side of the plate before adding your paper/cardstock and running it through my Sizzix Bigshot.

The results are quite stunning and really did remind me of the old embossed wallpaper and brocade furniture in my Nanna’s house.

The next photo, I believe to be of them both on their wedding day. It was wartime, so times were tough and for them, there was no white wedding. For this layout, I used the rest of the green and pink untouchable papers. Amongst these papers was a rose floral which was just calling to be fussy cut, fussy cut I did! I also used more printable embellishments from the Old Design website, and it gave me an opportunity to use up some ribbon bows.

It was a fun experience creating heritage layouts and I didn’t mind the end results, however, I did lose interest and moved on to other challenges. One day, I will have another go and finish scrapping the small pile of heritage family photos that I have.

What I did have a go at was getting rid of some more of the purple ‘untouchable’ papers and scrapping some old family photos from the ’90s. I’m not sure I pulled it off, the papers were pretty ugly and gaudy, but I gave it my best shot. Anyway, more layouts in albums…the ultimate goal.

Keep on scrapping! 🙂

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RTS 6×6 SG Challenge Layouts

Hey all,

I am playing catch up and only just sharing these layouts from several weeks ago! I had a lot of fun joining in with Janet Maden’s challenge from RTS which focuses on using 6×6 paper pads with scrapbook sketches from Allison Davis at Scrapbook Generations.

It has felt like a step back in time, using double page sketches, as I tend to focus on single layouts with a matching pocket page these days unless it is for a challenge. When I do use a double layout format it seems to be all or nothing, I make a stack of them in one week, then none for months and months. I do have have a few on my blog from last year which I will share links too at the end of the page.

So, here we go, my seven layouts from the RTS 6×6 Challenge…

I mostly followed the Allison Davis sketches whilst watching Janet’s RTS 6 x 6 series, Janet always has a different slant on how to use your cut pieces in multiple ways. My first layout is of my grandson after he took to himself with a permanent marker! I’m pretty sure he will end up with real tattoos when he is old enough, he is influenced by his parents who both have tattoos and he has an uncle who is an apprentice tattooist.

Layout #1. Cool Tatts, homemade! Lots of ink splashed around here and some stamping, every layout has mixed media in this bunch. I used some old TLC rubons and a mix of quote embellishments.

Layout #2. Big Blow Up! A blower vac war between my hubby and grandson. Ink and stencils this time, some of the new Vicki Boutin honey stencils and a Kaisercraft floral stencil.

Layout #3. First Train Ride. Some more splashed around Oxide ink and lots of stamping to make the craft stock background. The patterned papers and die cut embellishments are from Kaisercraft.

Layout #4. Round We Go, photos from a day at the Perth Zoo when we tried out the merry go round/carousal. Circle stamps to get that ‘mood and feel’, as Janet would say.

Layout #5. more Zoo photos! Our zoo trip was not planned and we weren’t prepared for a day in the sun, so we bought very daggy zoo hats. Looking very fetching we just had to have a selfie taken.

At the Perth Zoo, there are many large, ancient, pine trees and I thought this cute decorative fake foliage, which I picked up for $2 from Spotlight, would make great pine trees on my layout.

Layout #6. Lets Go Mumma, fun in a jeep at the zoo.

More splashing of ink and some stamping using a Uniquely creative metal die as a stamp.

Layout #7. Amazing Hot Dogs. I think this one is my favourite, no mixed media. I like how the photos are laid out in a sequence of the event, cooking hot dogs on a campfire at home.

And…that is where I stopped. I didn’t make the last layout, number 8, perhaps I’ll get to finish it during the summer holidays. Only three more sleeps and school’s out for me!

Here are some links to previous double layouts which I have shared…

Jan CKC 4

CKC 2-3

CKC Always Enchant

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Happy scrapping everyone 🙂

CKC Oct. 2019 – Layout #3

Good morning,

A quick share of another layout using my CKC October kit. I used three papers from my kit, the navy and white polka dot, the yellow polka dot and the text dictionary print for the background.

I wanted to combine two challenges with this layout, my favourite online store, Annas Craft Cupboard, and FB scrappy group had a mood board challenge for this month which I loved. The colours were perfect for my photo. There was a slight hint of blue in the background of the photo and some lovely creams and golds from my daughters, hair, skin and jewellery. I used three different Tim Holtz oxide inks to grunge up the background using the plastic bag technique, a very simple technique using just ink and water to create amazing layers of colour.

Then I rummaged through my embellishment supplies in my kit and on my desk. I pulled out some very old chipboard frames and a heart, some new Vicki Boutin die cuts, a scrap scallop edge from a chipboard sheet, and some Tim Holtz chipboard quotes and rose die cuts. Also on my desk was some copper glitter and a bag of sequins waiting to be put away, so I decided to use these as well.

I distressed the edges of my matting papers which included a few scrap pieces and the polka dot papers from my kit. I roughly laid out where I would place the embellishments, paper matting and photo, at this stage, I take a photo and use it as a reference later when adhering things in place.

I needed to make some changes to the chipboard frames/shapes as they stood out too much being plain white and cream. I dunked them onto a mix of oxide ink and water (to activate the oxidisation) and create a little implied texture and colour. I added some little specks of glue to each, using my finger, and sprinkled each with glitter, then shook off the excess. Let me just say that I am not a glitter girl and it is rare for me to use it if I do use glitter it is usually on Christmas items. For me, a lot of glitter is gaudy, but a little can add some magic to a layout.

After I added the embellishments, some of that glitter made its way onto the background, once again a little smear of glue with my finger and a very light sprinkle of glitter. Then, I added some sequins and some Nuvo crystal drops ( a recent purchase). I am still trying to master adding Nuvo drops, some had little peaks which I squashed down when they were half dry. The blue Nuvo drops worked every time, the metallic did not!

I enjoyed putting this layout together, it is always fun to get messy playing with oxide inks. I think the layout came together well and I love how all the embellishments coordinated with the colours in the background.

Keep on scrapping everyone 🙂

*Note: if you are purchasing glitter, please only purchase the environmental type now available. We all now know how bad it is for the waterways and wildlife. When cleaning up your work surface, use a baby wipe, damp tissue/paper towel which will hold onto the glitter during the cleanup and try to dispose of it in a more eco-responsible way. As crafters, we all have a tonne of glitter in various forms, we need to try and do the right thing. Here are some links with advice on responsible use and disposal…

How to get rid of your plastic glitter

How to dispose of glitter

The eco-friendly guide to glitter

‘Go forth and sparkle responsibly’

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Lemon Tree…Very Pretty!

Morning,

Does anyone remember that old song where it goes ‘Lemon tree very pretty…’? When I looked at my photos of my citrus garden this song popped into my head and became the inspiration to my layout. This layout is all about pretty with lots of mixed media, flowers and foliage.

The background was fun to create with a layer of stencilling using a Kaisercraft stencil and texture gesso paste, some painting and splatter with Tim Holtz oxide inks and then sponging on some more ink using a Vicki Boutin leaf stencil.

Next, to finish off the background, I stamped on some leaves using a Vicki Boutin stamp.

Time to make some embellishments with more layers of oxide ink, Vicki Boutin stamps and some fussy cutting. It’s amazing what you can do with a scrap of white cardstock.

With my leaves cut, it was time to punch out some hearts. I pulled out a range of patterned paper scraps with different textures and patterns to keep things interesting, and even used the Vicki Boutin packaging!

Next, I dribbled some Heidi Swapp mustard color shine onto the background where I wanted my photo to be placed. I adhered my photo in place with some fun foam and glue and got to work adhering and layering my hearts and foliage embellishments. I added a Prima die cut and some stamped Vicki Boutin flowers. Then, finished off with some mustard coloured puffy hearts, a gold title of chipboard alphas and some white and yellow watercolour paint splatter.

I love how this turned out, it is so fresh with the mix of greens and yellows. A fun layout to create, though it was time-consuming…6 hours! I don’t usually spend this amount of time on a layout but I was chilling out and creating on a Friday night. Overall, time well spent!

Fears! What spooks you?

Good morning,

It is a lovely spring morning here, the birds are tweeting, the golden sun is streaming low through the trees and I’m wishing that the school holidays were starting today! Unfortunately, we have one more week until I don’t have to set the alarm clock and will have the freedom to scrap every day if I feel like it. Who am I kidding, scrapping will be happening every day?

Anyhow, this layout share is about something completely different, no spring and no holidays. What I’m sharing is based on what I fear, with all the Halloween collections out now and the spooky paraphernalia in the stores, it got me thinking about spooks. For me, it is always the little creepy crawlies which do surprise attacks! For example, the other day I was outside enjoying and admiring the garden, the citrus trees are in blossom and hubby has been working on re fencing the orchard. I come back inside and I feel that creepy sensation of little feet crawling across the back of my neck! I do what any sensible adult does, I freeze. Then, I bravely try and flick the offender off my neck…really hoping that it is not a spider. Flicking success I think until I realise it’s on my arm! By now my heart is racing, I’m starting to panic, I’m telling it sternly to get off, it’s not doing that! Next, I’m screaming…it’s a baby pray mantis! I’m going to leave the story there, I’m pretty sure that you have an image in your head of what happens next, you know…the dancing and screaming!

So, back to scrapping. This layout is more like a story page, I have no images of the many times I have done the critter dance but I do have many stories I can tell about this insane reaction of mine to tiny insects (um…sometimes they are as big as my palm). I have left journal space to type up my story and add it in later, I may even add a tag/s with several stories and slip them behind the journal mount.

Creating this layout gave me a great excuse to get messy with mix media and get out my favourite stamps from Tim Holtz, the Stampers Anonymous, Entomology set (CMS328). Ok, so now you will think I’m nuts, yep I said favourite. I love any papers, embellishments, dies and stamps which have insects, in fact, I kinda collect them. And…I have pet stick insects which I dote on, big suckers!

Let’s get down to the important stuff, scrapping. I started off creating my background using white cardstock and building up layers of Tim Holtz oxide distress ink. I’m trying to develop a grungy feel to my background, after all, I’m after spooky.

Next, some stencilling using a Kaisercraft 12×12 brick stencil. I’m going for a connection with house and home, so this was a perfect choice.

More stencilling, this stencil came in one of the Uniquely Creative kits. It creates a gritty, sandy, water like texture.

Now to add some details, I love this house plan stencil. It is quite intricate, including fine lines and text, so if you purchase it be gentle when applying the ink.

Next, some splodges! Nothing says grunge like paint splodges. I used a Kaisercraft stamp set and some purple oxide ink, purple speaks spooky to me and the Dusty Concord oxide ink has a lovely mottled, chalky effect. I overlapped the splodges to get more runs down the page.

Step 6! Wow, this background is taking some time. What spooky layout doesn’t need cobwebs? Another amazing stamp set from Tim Holtz, Stampers Anonymous, Tangled Web set (CMS346). This stamps beautifully, creating very fine, detailed lines.

The last step, grunging it up with a baby wipe. I mixed some texture gesso with some black Stazon ink (refill bottle), you could use any brand of black ink, I just grabbed what was handy on my desk. Use the baby wipe to smear on the gesso and wipe away excess. I love how this worked and had to stop myself from overdoing it.

After I dried off and ironed my background paper, I pulled out some patterned paper scraps to create embellishments. I had some AB Studio paper with text quotes which I cut apart to fit my fear theme. The quotes were actually about positives, never give up, fly high type of inspiration. I then used my new WRMK Clear Cut 2″ hexagon punch and punched a heap of PP hexagons. I distressed the edges of each but took ages adhering them to the page. I didn’t want to cover my lovely grunge which I had created…should I, shouldn’t I? In the end, most of it was covered.

I also pulled out some large Jillibean alphas (Farmhouse Stew collection), I love these, they are very versatile. It’s great to see that using large alphas and fonts is coming back in fashion, have you seen the gorgeous Ali Edwards ones? Devine. With these alphas, I inked the edges brown before foam adhering them in place.

I needed a subtitle but didn’t want it too big or too small. I ended up using white glitter alpha Thickers which is on my bash (use it list), I am not really a glitter girl but seem to have a large collection of glitter Thickers. The white was too bright, so I applied some ink to tone them done to a subtle grey.

Here come the critters! Stamped, smudged with some distress ink and fussy cut (after I couldn’t find my matching die set which I own…grrr). I also stamped some critters straight onto my background.

Next, the final assembly adhering everything in place with double-sided tape, fun foam and tacky glue, adding my journal spots, quotes and critters. I love the end result, it was a lot of work, about 6hrs but it’s good for the soul messing around with ink and stamps. I do not usually spend this much time on a layout, it was a Friday night and I was home alone and just wanted to play with my supplies. No photos or sketches for inspiration, just all my creativity!

Happy upcoming Halloween for those of you who celebrate it. I hope you are all creating Halloween pieces and layouts for the season, it looks so fun. For the rest of us who don’t celebrate, perhaps look at making a page about what you fear, it could help reduce the fear or phobia.

I would love to see what other spooky things you all create and welcome you to share your link in the comments. Remember if you are on the home page that you need to click on the title of the post to open the posting page to comment.

Keep on scrapping 🙂

Uniquely You!

Morning,

I have been getting messy with some mixed media and it has been so fun. It has been a while since I created a full-on mixed media layout, creating the background paper and the embellishments. Yes, it takes hours but who cares when you are getting messy, relaxing and taking some me time!

I had purchased this card kit from Uniquely Creative a couple of months ago and had broken my self imposed rule ‘ Everything new must be used ‘ rather than stashed. This kit had been sitting on my desk, under a pile of supplies and when having a clean up I found the kit and broke it down, separating and sorting all the components. Now I don’t make cards but I loved the stamps and stencils in the kit, which is why I purchased it. The design of both is very Australian, using patterns similar to indigenous art. The booklet which came with the kit had a picture of a wonderful layout made by Tammy Klingner. The colours she had used just sparked and sent me running to find a photo which I knew would work well with both the stamps and stencils.

Here is what I used, I pulled in a couple more stencils to play with. The green stencil is a Kaisercraft but I’m not sure about the others, they may be WRMK. As usual, I’m pulling in some Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks, love, love, love these. You can see Tammy’s layout in the first photo below which I am using as inspiration.

So, here is what I did…it was a long process. I started by using textured gesso paste and the stencils to create some texture on my background page.

While the gessoed background dried in front of the woodfire, I stamped out the circle embellishments onto white cardstock. Then I used the same stencils and some Tim Holtz Distress oxide inks to add some layers of colour and pattern onto each circle. A Little rub of Distress Glaze between layers fixes the ink in place.

Some blue oxide ink, a plastic bag and a splash of water and I have a lovely textural look to stamp more circles on and punch out.

I recently purchased some WRMK 2″ Clear Cut Punches, I had wanted some for ages but they are pretty expensive, close to $50 (AU) here. A 50% off sale happened and I couldn’t resist, snapping up the heart, hexagon and circle punches. It has taken me a while to master using them, at first I battled to get a clean cut and I ran some waxed paper through them to lubricate the mechanism. This seems to have helped, either that or I’m better at applying an equal weight distribution when punching. Anyway, I used some Simple Stories, Heart collection papers to punch the circle embellishments, the colours in this paper collection matched well with my photo.

With the gessoed background dried it was time to add some colour, more oxide inks were splashed around to build up layers of textural interest.

Some oxide Chipped Sapphire darkness to bring it all together. I love how the ink pools around the gesso and seeps into the previous inks. You may notice that some of the gesso took on a creamy yellow colour when dry, I was testing two different gessos. The yellowing didn’t bother me and worked to my advantage, as it matched in well with the Simple Stories papers.

Next, some stamping, more stencilling and a whole lot of fussy cutting! Those stamped circles took a while to cut, think I need to purchase some more circle punches.

Then, it was just a case of assembling, layering and adhering the circle embellishments. I used some fun foam and double-sided tape to create different layered heights. I added some black watercolour splatter and some small text quotes.

Even though I loved how it looked I felt it needed a little more punch and so I added some bright red watercolour splatter to pick up the thin red line in the hoodie from the photo. Then, a few enamel dots from the Simple Stories collection. The title came from the kit, a piece of wood veneer which I painted with watercolour paint.

This was so much fun and I highly recommend the Uniquely Creative stamps and stencils, no connection, I just like their products. Do check out Tammy’s blog, I love her colourful style.

And, please do leave a comment, I would love to hear what you think about this layout…is it too much? Remember that you need to click on the title of the post to open the page to comment.

The next post will be another mixed media layout, stay tuned, I’m nearly finished creating it.

Keep on scrapping!

Heidi Swapp-Wolf Pack, more Layouts!

Good Morning,

Today I am sharing a few more layouts using the Heidi Swapp, Wolf Pack collection. In June, when I first got this paper pad, one of the FB groups put out the challenge to use up a whole paper pad. Now, the idea was to use an old one which you have had sitting around for a few years, untouched! I did not have any untouched paper pads, only brand new ones (birthday/Mother’s Day gifts) which is why I decided to use this paper pad. I am doing well, getting through the pad with 14 papers left out of 36. The ones left are mostly pine trees, wolves and bear papers, given that I live in a country with no wolves and bears it is a challenge.

The first is Layout #3. I used the paper which looks like a starry night, it is the B side of the Tracks paper. On top of this, I stencilled white gesso using a Studio Light Grunge collection stencil. I blended the edges of the gesso to give it a milky way look. I then splattered white watercolour paint over the paper to increase the number of stars on the paper.

Once dry, I added different shades of blue Tim Holtz Oxide Inks which seeped into the gesso crevices (using water/brush) and blended into my starry night (using blending sponge).

Then, I mounted my photo onto scraps of the Wolf Pack collection papers and adhered it to the background.

Next, I used the stencil and oxide ink on white cardstock to create some embellishments. I cut this apart into little triangles and diamonds and layered them onto the page using foam and double-sided tape.

The finished layout came together well with the addition of a title and a few acrylic stars.

Next, Layout #4. This layout was very simple and quick, I used the map paper and added some colour across the page using the plastic bag smooshing technique. The Tim Holtz ‘Tumbled Glass’ oxide ink created a soft blue surface to work on, I then splattered some watercolour paint across the page in browns and blue.

Then, I worked on building layers with patterned paper from the Wolf Pack and assorted embellishments from my stash.

The final touch was adding the title.

Layout #5. is my favourite so far. I wanted to find a way to use the wolf papers in the collection and finally come up with an idea when I came across some photos of my grandson eating some dessert.

I started by creating a framed background using two of the papers. Then I built up papers to mount my photos on and added the title ‘Wolf it Down’. No mixed media was used in this layout.

A subtitle was added using part of the cut apart sheet and then lots of text quote embellishments and some Wolf Pack puffy stickers.

The finished layout ended up just how I wanted it, messy and fun.

June 2019 CKC Layout #1.

Good morning,

Here I am sharing my first layout from my June Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit. The photo I am using is quite recent, it is my eldest daughter and her friends ready to head off to their friend’s wedding reception. They all look so beautiful in their outfits but I especially like my daughter’s dress which has a very distinctive 70s style. I wanted to highlight that free and fun style, somewhat hippy look, within my layout design.

I carefully selected the papers and embellishments from my kit, based on the colours and patterns of the girl’s dresses, and the environment in which the photo was taken (there was a lot of grass green).

I began by constructing the background using watercolour paints and the plastic bag technique, smooshing on each coloured layer. Then, splashing and splattering paint on top. At a later stage, I realised that I needed to add more paint to my background cardstock if it was going to peek out from beneath the love hearts.

I used the American cut file love heart sheet, filling each space with the quilted patterned paper from the Horizon, Pink Paislee, which matched the colours in the photo.

I adhered the hearts onto my background with double-sided tape.

I mounted the photo onto three layers of patterned paper from my kit and adhered it onto the layout with foam tape.

Then I fussy cut motifs from the American Crafts cut apart sheet. I then arranged and adhered all my embellishments onto the page, including the simple, gold printed title, Beautiful.

I love the end result, the paint and embellishments really pick up the mood and feel of the dresses and the happy occasion. It all works well together and has given me a taste for venturing more into cut files, even if it is a little time-consuming.

Make sure you check out what other scrappers have been creating with their June CKC kits on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge FB community or on their blog.

Keep on scrapping 🙂

Heidi Swapp, Wolf Pack Layout #2.

Hi again,

Today I am sharing another layout I made using the Heidi Swapp, Wolf Pack collection. This layout features my youngest son at a different stage of his life. The photo I have used was originally a photo of all four of my children together which I have scrapped several times, so they each have one. This time I cropped the photo down to try and just get my youngest son in the image, as I don’t have many teen photos of him to use in layouts. The problem I encountered, as you can see, is that part of my eldest daughter was still in the image. As gorgeous as she is, she had to go for this layout! Here’s how I erased my daughter from the image by hand, the old fashioned way and then, put the layout together.

Below are the Wolf Pack papers I used and the washi tape. I selected the B side of the Explorer paper, a fun polka dot print and the B side stripe print of the Zodiac paper, plus the Woodsy paper with the pine trees.

First, I fussy cut the pine trees from the Woodsy paper to use as embellishments.

A little sandpaper worked magic to create an interesting border and camouflage my daughter’s bright dress into the foliage.

Then, I layered my fussy cut pine trees over what was left of my daughter. She always did like to climb and hide in trees. 🙂

When constructing the background I applied strips of washi tape horizontal onto each stripe of the B side, Zodiac paper.

Then, I used Tim Holtz Oxide Distress inks and the plastic bag technique to smoosh some colour onto the background. I was careful not to use too much water or the washi tape may have lifted.

Next, I mounted the photo onto pieces of the banding strips offcuts from the papers and adhered it to the background with a layer of foam. A few more pine trees were added on the other side of the photo for balance.

A small cluster of paper scraps, sticker quotes (Tim Holtz) and embellishments were added to the bottom left corner. Then, I covered the photo over to protect it and splashed around some white watercolour paint. I used a few of the Wolf Pack puffy stickers to add a little dimension. I think I did well hiding my daughter in the bushes. Haha 🙂

I am loving using this collection, it is so very versatile. Please do share what you are making with the Wolf Pack collection. You can share links to your work in the comments section, remember that you need to click on the title of the post to open the page to comment.

Keep on scrapping 🙂

Heidi Swapp, Wolf Pack Layout Fun!

Hi everyone,

I recently treated myself to some scrap goodies for Mother’s Day and my birthday, amongst what I purchased was some of the lovely masculine Wolf Pack collection by Heidi Swapp. It’s a gorgeous collection with lots of potential and versatility, I saw myself being able to create layouts about my sons, daughters, grandson and Christmas. The lovely outdoor pine forest, mountains and starry nights would work well for our traditional, annual, Christmas tree hunt. The other papers, a mix of contemporary and cultural patterns in black, white and shades of greens, and the wood grain can be used for recording many special events or moments.

For this layout, I chose to use three of the collection papers, the Zodiac, the wood grain (B side of Mama Bear) and the black and white bold stripe (B side of Woodsy). I also wanted to use the washi tape and the very cute puffy stickers.

To start with I used some texture gesso paste and a Kaisercraft stencil (Distressed Dots) on my background, a mix of stripe and wood grain paper. The stencil gives a lovely grunge effect.

After drying of the gesso, I applied Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks. You just stamp the pad on a smooth surface, mine is a piece of black acrylic, and add water to the ink, then paint the ink onto the stencilled gesso. The fluid ink runs into all the crevices of the gesso and blends together beautifully.

While that dries I got to work on mounting my photo. I used the banding strips trimmed off the papers, each strip has a print motif on it of one of the other papers in the collection…wolves, bears, etc. Because they are little strips and I am using them as edging mounts, you can’t identify them as bears, etc.

Next, I mounted the photo onto the background and began to embellish the layout. Even though the papers are quite masculine and I am using a photo of my teenage son, I couldn’t stop myself from adding some sparkle and shine to the layout. The Zodiac paper features the night sky and astrology motifs and I wanted to highlight this in my design. I used a variety of sequins in crystal, navy, aqua and green to decorate and enhance the layout. Then, I splattered on some watercolour paint in white, green, dark blue and brown.

The final touch was to add the puffy star stickers, some moon washi tape and some cotton thread bunches, then a few Tim Holtz quote stickers and a little extra splatter.

I decided not to add a title, the layout was to capture my son at this stage of his life when he was full of dreams and possibilities for the future. The quote stickers were appropriate and told the story, a title would draw the viewers eye away from the photo.

I love how this turned out and it was fun to create. I can’t wait to use the rest of this collection. Who else is using the Wolf Pack collection? Share links to your work in the comments section, remember that you need to click on the title of the post to open the page to comment.

Happy scrapping 🙂

May 2019 CKC Challenge #2.

Dreams are the seeds of change.

Nothing ever grows without a seed,

and nothing ever changes without a dream. – Debby Boone

How beautiful is that quote? This is the second challenge set by the May, Counterfeit Kit Challenge team. Create a layout based on this quote, theme, image or colours.

For me, being a very visual person, it was the colour and image which first grabbed my attention. I love that dreamy blue and blowing those seeds into the wind reminded me of childhood, I knew that my page would be of my grandson or my own children when they are young. When I went through my photo boxes I came across some lovely photos of my grandson sleeping in his car seat on his way to visit us. He looked so peaceful asleep and I’m sure he was dreaming happily, this was definitely the photos to use for the challenge.

When I went through my kit looking for papers, I didn’t find the right blue or patterns in my kit. The only patterned paper I had included which was light blue had aeroplanes on it, so I decided to create my own background on cardstock using my new Vicki Boutin stencils.

I started by using the starburst/flower stencil and some white gesso texture paste, stencilling across most of the page. After leaving it to completely dry, I sprayed on some Heidi Swapp Teal Color Shine and gently rubbed it over the texture paste stencilled flowers. This created some lovely shiny areas and enhanced the texture of the stencilling.

Next, I used some Tim Holtz distress inks and the leaf stencil and stencilled the design around the edges of the cardstock, blending the two blue inks to create a more dreamy coloured surface. *The nighttime lighting makes it look a little green and purple in these photos.

Then, I got busy fussing cutting out some white flowers and foliage to use as embellishments on the layout. I found a few acetate embellishments from Kaisercraft and Heidi Swapp to use, and some black and white seed embellishments from the PinkFresh Studio, A Case of the Blahs collection. I mounted my photos onto scraps of patterned paper from my May kit. The title, Dream, is from the Rainbow Roux, Jillibean collection.

The finished layout looks very dreamy and meets the challenge criteria brief beautifully.

Keep checking in on what other CKC scrappers are creating either on the blog with the monthly link up page or on their FB community page. Please leave any comments below, remember that you need to click on the title of the post to open the page to comment.

Happy scrapping 🙂

Jan. CKC #4 – Step by Step

Hello again,

I am sharing my fourth CKC Jan. kit layout, this one is a double page spread. It’s been a while since I’ve done a double page layout, with this one I wanted a vast page to mimic the outdoors. The photos I am using are from last year when I met up with my Dad and we got to spend some time together. This doesn’t happen very often, as he lives 400km away and he is often travelling/prospecting which can easily stretch the distance to 4000km or more! On this day we decided to do a little exploring together and went to check out one of the South West regions caves. Because we went underground I started the layout off by creating an earthy coloured background.

On top of my earthy background, I built up layers of stamped foliage using some colours which I pulled from the Felicity Jane kit. Some smokey blues and teals. You can see that my cardstock had become quite warped from the mixed media/water application. I just press it, between two pieces of white paper, with an iron to reduce the warping. It usually results in a smooth surface, though sometimes you may need to dampen the back of the cardstock with a spritzer.

Then, I mounted the main photo with several layers of paper. I tried to use up the last of that Christmas paper.

I added some papers to the background. This is where things got interesting, after looking at my photos I wanted to emphasise the sense of going down into the earth. I decided to cut around the stamped foliage with a scalpel and slip some of the photos behind the cuts. Dah, Dah… walking down into the cave.

I roughed up the edges of the cuts to add a bit of texture. Then, I got busy adding embellishments and sticking down my photos. I cut some foliage and text dies using my Big Shot Sizzix and added some enamel dots.

I felt some areas were lacking something and looked a little unfinished, so I stamped on some more leaves to fill the gaps. Then, I added the location and date using some foam alphas. I am pretty happy with the end result, though it is quite busy and somewhat over embellished in my usual style.

Jan. CKC #3 Layout

Hi again,

Here is a quick layout which I put together prior to going to summer school. Once again, I am working in poor lighting at night and splashing around some Oxide ink and using some dies.

I started off with selecting which papers I wanted to use to mount my photo. The photo is of three of my children, it is not often that they are together, so I wanted to capture this memory. I pulled papers from my CKC kit which worked with the colours of their clothes.

Next, I used the Uniquely Creative flower stamp which I had used previously on a layout and stamped a border along the side of my cardstock. I carefully covered the stamped flowers and splashed on/around some Tim Holtz Oxide Inks using the plastic bag technique.

I then used some leftover die cuts from earlier and glued them over the stamped images. I wanted them to have a little dimension, so I only applied glue to the centre of each flower. I purposely placed them off centre to create a shadowed effect and reveal part of the stamped imaged underneath. I layered two die cuts to create a corner embellishment and cut down a die cut and tucked it between my layered papers at the top of the photo.

Then, I added my title and used one of my little ribbon bows to finish off the layout. It was a fairly quick layout which has captured this moment in time.

Jan. 2019 CKC – Forgery #1.

Hello again.

Here is my first layout featuring my forged paper. I had decided that I wanted to scrap a funny photo of my grandson playing with playdough. He had made a playdough man and his mum sent through the photo for us to view. As boys do, he was being silly when posing for the photo, so the quality is not great. It is a little blurry but does capture his cheekiness. Let me just say that the playdough man is magnificent, a work of art! Well, I may be biased, it does have all the important elements of a human which is the goal when you are four. It was the playdough figure which triggered my idea for the forged paper. The playdough feet are rough circles, much like the black and white circle paper featured in the Felicity Jane ‘Hannah’ kit.

I decided to create my own circle paper to use as a background for the layout. It was a simple process of loosely tracing circles onto to the white cardstock using an Artline permanent marker. I used a washi tape container to trace around. Then, I painted some of the circles with Tim Holtz Oxide inks in colours which matched the theme and photo. Unfortunately, the so-called permanent marker did bleed around the edges when it interacted with the watered down ink. After the first bleed, I was a little more careful when applying the ink.

Then, even though I liked the look of the painted circles I thought it needed something else. I pulled out a Fiskars geometric diamond stamp which was similar to one of the papers in the Felicity Jane kit and stamped the image across the page. Still not happy with the result, I decided it needed more colour and wanted to reduce the white space. I used the Tim Holtz micro glaze to protect my inked circles. I love this product, the tiniest amount makes the inked area waterproof, stopping any colour shifting and allowing you to add colour over the top. After rubbing on the micro glaze I applied the blue watercolour paint.

Next, I selected some patterned paper and coloured cardstock to mount the photos. I prefer to use several mounts on each photo, something which has gone out of fashion these days. In one of the photos, you see the wooden floor in their house, this inspired me to mount the photos on a background of woodgrain paper from my kit.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I didn’t have a scallop washi tape to include in my kit. I decided to substitute this with a strip of polka dot paper trimmed down to create a scalloped edge. I attached this to the edge of the woodgrain background.

Including embellishments that reflected the Felicity Jane kit had me troubled. Flowers, love hearts and a bike didn’t really go with my photo choices. I hummed and hawed over this, what to add? Then I decided to go with it and added a few flowers, a tag and the die cut word awesome. I’m not super happy with the result and would have liked to reach for some other embellishments but I was trying to only use things from my kit.

Anyway, it is another layout completed and I did meet the goal of forging some elements for the challenge. Happy scrapping everyone.

CKC Jan. Layout #1

Hello again 🙂

Here is my first layout using my January CKC kit. If you haven’t been following you can check out my kit here and get all the details on how to participate at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog.

So, first up, I went with a photo of my daughter and her friends having a night out. The photo has several of the pinks, blues and burgundies found in the Felicity Jane ‘Hannah’ collection.

I decided to have a play with some mixed media, using my watercolour paints and the plastic bag technique I smooshed some paint around my white cardstock. The blue paint I used came out a lot stronger than I expected and I nearly started over but decided to keep going and find some way to tone it down.

I tried stencilling on some ink to create some texture and distract from the intense blue. I used Tim Holtz’s Spun Sugar and Stormy Sky distress inks, both work beautifully with the Felicity Jane colour theme.

Then, I began making some embellishments. I stamped out some flowers using the Uniquely Creative Mini Bloom Advent Stamp and coloured them using Polychromos coloured pencils. Then I die cut them out, love this matching die, it makes it so much quicker than fussy cutting them. I also cut some flowers out of coloured cardstock using the matching die.

Next, I stamped some flowers and foliage onto my background. I decided to fussy cut flowers from some papers I had put aside for making embellishments. The colours coordinated well with my pencils and inks.

I then mounted my photo using some patterned paper and coloured cardstock. I rough up the edges using my fingernail and layered the pieces using foam and double-sided tape.

I spent a lot of time fixing the flowers into place, I keep changing my mind and fiddling with the layers. I added a Thickers alpha title and some die cut tags. Overall, I think it has turned out quite well, but my colours are too strong and perhaps a little overpowering compared with the original kit. Moving on to layout number two, I hope you are enjoying participating in the CKC challenge.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all.

Well, down in Oz it is the second of January and our lovely guests are moving on today to visit other Western Australian family. When I say lovely I really mean it. They have been just gorgeous and we have had a lot of fun. You can not love guests who pitch in with the dishes and even cook us treats and meals. We explored parts of the South West region and made lots of memories (and took photos) doing a vast range of activities. We swam in different oceans, went caving, climbed a lighthouse (the tallest in Australia), swam in the Blackwood River, ate local chocolate, sampled and bought amazing olive oil, and enjoyed local wine and gourmet food. Sometimes we drank a little too much wine, New Year’s Eve being one of those occasions, and spent the next day relaxing in the pool, on the lounge reading or watching movies. At times we did old-fashioned things, we put

away our devices, and we played board games. I taught our new family how to play Canasta, something I later regretted when they started winning every game. We laughed a lot and loved the funny interactions between our grandson and our other young family members. We have truly had a happy holiday season spent with much-loved family and friends. I hope that the silly season also brought you moments of joy, love and surprise. Now, to get busy scrapping those moments…

First up, for me, it is to do a whole lot of catch up. I have not scrapped for 6 weeks!

Today I am kicking off with selecting my kit for the January Counterfeit Kit Challenge. Have you seen this beauty? It is a little bittersweet for me, I love this month’s selected kit, but I am

a little sad because I was invited to be the guest designer for this kit. I was so honoured to be asked and sadly had to turn down the offer due to my busy life commitments. I really hope I have a chance at a later date to participate as a guest designer, what a fun challenge that would be. How lovely is it that Meagan Johnson took up the challenge, and what a talented scrapper she is. I love her clean lines and contemporary style, Meagan is part of the Becky Higgins Creative Team, wow, impressive. Make sure you join in with the challenge to use up your stash and follow the CKC team members as they share what they create and set challenges.

Next, on the list is using my one and only subscription kits, from Uniquely Creative. I am way behind with using these up. I set myself a challenge that as each kit came in I would use it. Hhhmm, life got in the way. I have a few to use, the first being the September kit. This one is filled with yummy mixed media products but themed around winter snow/snowflakes which we don’t have here in Western Australia. I am going to have to be creative and come up with some snow-free layouts. I also have the November kit to complete, this one is very girly with flowers, butterflies, lace and heritage pastel papers. The other one to complete is the 2018 Advent Kit, which is also very girly with florals. I am thinking that I may finally finish off my baby daughters album with both these girly kits, my daughter is now 24! Last, the December kit which is sea themed and will be great for my recent holiday snaps. Oh no, the January kit ships in five days, I need to get busy.

So, that is what is on my agenda for the next few weeks. I will try and share what I create and use up. I am looking forward to playing with my new Tim Holtz Oxide inks which Santa gave me and incorporating some stamps and tools which have been sitting too long. Oh, and I have $100 to spend on craft/art supplies, my Christmas gift from my mother. What shall I buy? I also have a weeks holiday planned to join in with the Albany Summer School, I am looking forward to learning some new artistic skills and techniques and meeting like-minded people. My other catch up will be watching my favourite YouTube scrap blogger, Janet from RTS Scrapbooking, whilst I scrap and create. What will you be working on over the summer?