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Wednesday 15 August 2012

Scrapology August Card Challenge

Bev Rochester of Lili of the Valley produces digital stamps and kindly agreed to sponsor the August Scrapology card challenge using her designs.  There was an additional theme of "double" to also play along with. 

Here is my card. 


I picked out the blue flower on the patterned paper with twin blue floral embellishments.  The image was coloured in with Promarkers onto Whisper White Stampin' Up! cardstock which is a lovely substantial card.  I have tried to make the bunnies fur-like by varying the brush strokes of the pens. 

Ingredients:
Card Blank: Craftwork Cards
Whisper White cardstock - Stampin' Up!
Doodlebug Designs - glittery pink adhesive scallop sticker
Crochet Flower
Papermania Brad
Corner Rounder
Sweet Treats 6 x 6 patterned paper (a freebie with Papercraft Essentials)

Have a go and play along!  It is always fab to see what people come up with. 



Thursday 9 August 2012

Our Friend Roberta

The following was the sketch for the July Sketchy Scrappers challenge over at UK Scrappers, chosen by Jules. 


Loved this sketch Jules - thanks so much!  I interpreted it rather literally.   


The photo is of our lovely friend Roberta with Henry and Lewis, taken at their first birthday party on 07.07.12.

I used plastic toothpicks as flag poles and washi tape backed with white card as the actual "flags". 

Supplies:
Patterned Paper  Fancy Pants "Love Birds" by Michele Colman
                          - Birds on a Wire
                          Scenic Route  - Background Blue Grid White
Cardstock         Cricut Cardstock
                          Bazzill
Ink                    Versafine "Deep Lagoon"
                          Versacolour "Scarlet"
Stamps             Imaginisce Lucy Bird collection "Flower Swirls"
                          Waltzing Mouse "Bitty Banners"
Die                    Tim Holtz "Typeset"
                          Spellbinders Shapeabilities "Nested Pennants"
Punch               Martha Stewart Butterflies

Washi Tape
Plastic Toothpicks
White Thread
Cobalt Thread
Cobalt Buttons

It took me so long to execute, as my sister and niece were camping out in my scrapping room so I had no access to my crafting supplies for nearly a month!  I am pleased to get my space back, but not so happy that they have gone back to Melbourne ... oh well.  At least I know it won't be long before we are much closer to them on a permanent basis ...



Tuesday 7 August 2012

Sunday, 5th August 2012 - your first swim

Dear Henry and Lewis,

Today we took you for your first swim at Daddy's gym in Northwood.  It was Asha and Aunty Roslyn's last day with us, so it took two trips to get us all there in one car.  Mummy was very grateful for the extra help!


Mummy and Daddy weren't too sure about which flotation devices would help, so we tried everything in the course of the swim! 

Lewis, you were very unhappy through most of the experience, and only started to relax towards the end.  You were gripping onto us very tightly and the face below was the one we saw through most of the time in the water! 


Henry, you loved the whole experience and felt no fear.  Daddy called you "fish boy"! 


Luckily, Aunty Roslyn remembered to take her camera and she got these few photos for us, before being told by the lifeguard that she wasn't allowed to take photos.  



Henry, you got so confident that you even started to splash Daddy! 




We weren't able to take any more photos, but then we got some noodles and wrapped them around you, and Lewis, you started to feel a bit safer and enjoyed the swim more.  Getting you showered and dressed was quite awkward and fairly time consuming, but the process was helped by having a playpen in the family change room. 


We hope to take you swimming again soon, but that was a great and memorable experience.  





Wednesday 1 August 2012

August Scrapology layout - N is for Netting

Welcome to August, and this month's Scrapology layout challenge! This month, we are scraplifting Toni Kelly, known as 2Dogs, whose blog is here:

Her Aunt Trina layout was the one chosen by the team, and the specific product we are using this month is netting. 


I loved the delicate feminine colours and details. The dimension of the distressed edges and the white on white texture are my particular highlights.  Wherever possible, I am determined to duplicate the layout only from supplies in my own stash for a couple of reasons: financial, and I have been gradually going through and rationalising what I keep ahead of our emigration to Australia next April. 


 
Supplies:
Bazzill cardstock
Patterned Paper - First Edition Up Up and Away
DCWV Vellum Quote stack "It's All about Boys"
Lace
Promarker
American Crafts Tulle Roses
Imaginisce flowers & jewelled brads
Tim Holtz distress ink "Peeled Paint"
Stamps  - Craftwork Cards "Butterflies and Blooms", "Graceful Grasses & Birdcages"
Zva Creative self adhesive crystals
Woodware double sided adhesive sheets
Paint - Jo Sonja Titanium White acrylic
Stampin' Up!  Whisper White Cardstock

Here's how:
I used a diecut sheet of patterned paper to outline the grey-blue Bazzill, and then cut around the edge with my Xacto knife.  I approximated the length of lace I would need to stitch around the border, and then coloured that lace in with a Promarker pen.  I will only ever buy white lace again, as this trick really minimises the amount of supplies you have to buy.  But being such a tactile hobby, sometimes you just fall in love with things you see, and buy them, even though they have no exact purpose at that moment! 

I had previously stitched around the border of the cardstock, but then stitched the lace to the page.  Once this was done, I distressed the edge, and curled it up using an embossing tool on a mat, "flicking it up" as I went around the border. 

I then cut the detail from a sparkly bit of one of the Up Up and Away papers and then lined up the vellum quote and cut the edges of the vellum so that the sparkly detail in the paper was not dulled.  I adhered the vellum to the paper using a Woodware double sided adhesive sheet.  Once this was done, I "buffed" the vellum so that it would be as clear as possible, with no air bubbles, thus giving a smooth finish. 

I knocked back the green swirly patterned paper by using white acrylic paint over the top.  This had been thinned down with glaze, so as not to detract from the photo. 

I stamped the birdcages and butterflies onto the Whisper White cardstock using Peeled Paint distress ink.  This meant that all the accompanying greens in the embellishments, ie the lace, flowers, stamped details and crystals coordinated beautifully. I cut down sections of the Zva crystals for the butterfly trails, as I never would have used such a large corner design on it's own. 

I adhered the embellishments onto the page using silicon glue, to allow for some dimensionality and more adherence.  I followed Toni's placement onto the page, trying to replicate it as much as I could.  My friend Sherri gave me the quote stack, and there are some really beautiful phrases and sentiments there and this was extremely appropriate for this gorgeous photo of Lewis. 

I was concerned whilst creating this layout that it would be too busy and cluttered, and that the elements wouldn't mesh together.  But the more I see it, the more finished it looks to me, and I finally like it.  That is the beauty of scraplifting!  Ending up with a layout you wouldn't have had otherwise.  Why don't you see what your end result would be, by joining in with our challenge?  We look forward to seeing you at Scrapology.  Thanks for dropping by.  :)