Boys Toys

I was in the mood last night to create lesson 2 of Now We're Rockin'. Normally, you would watch the lesson first and then start on your own LO. Not me, I dive straight in. My screen is big enough the have the video running on one side and me scrapping along in Photoshop on the other. I really liked this lesson because I actually learnt something I didn't know yet, which was recolouring an overlay. The original overlay on this LO was blue and white. We learnt to recolour the blue to black and setting the layer property to screen, which ultimately meant that you only see the white parts. A really cool technique. The other main objective of this lesson was to use hot keys to save time, which is always a bonus.

Still Rockin'

Well, we've already completed week 1 of Now We're Rockin' with Jessica Sprague. In that week besides the lesson, there were two other challenges to create a digital LO. The first one had quite a few different criteria, which I didn't all met, but didn't want to not make a LO. The criteria I did meet were to use at least two papers from the kit we received, to use at least 4 pictures. Only good it wasn't a real test, because I would have failed miserably. Anyway, here it is:



The next assignment was where you had to take a picture there and then and scrap it, only having a 30 minute time frame to do it in. I didn't time myself, but it didn't take me very long to complete the LO.



For those who are interested in the 'daily something' brush, you can download it from Ali's website here.

We've already received lesson 2, so I'm going to have a look at the video now.

Enjoy your Monday!

All wrapped up

Today I didn't have much time at my scrap desk, but I did manage to come up with yet another design Christmas card. Are you fed up with them yet? I'm starting to be a little bit. Today Rebecca brought home from school an order form from Phoenix Trading with their Christmas cards collection. Their designs are quite nice. I think I might order some of those as part of their revenue will go towards CanTeen, which is the Australian Organisation for Young People with Cancer. That in itself is reason enough to support them.





Materials used: Carstock unknown, PPs Basic Grey, Metal rims Making memories, clear stamp Basic Grey & Hero Arts, embossing glitter ScrapWorld, VersaMark watermark ink, Staz'On Black Ink, ribbon unknown, greeting stamp Hero Arts, decorative edge scissors.

On another note... During Jessica Sprague's online Photoshop course we are very fortunate to receive lots of freebies. But some are not exclusive to the course. Today we received a download of Jessica's 'So Much to be Thankful For' mini album, which appeared in CK November 2007. For those who read CK might already know this, but those who don't, you can download this album too over here.

Figgy Pudding

I'm still going strong making Christmas cards. Yesterday I received the Basic Grey Christmas papers called Figgy Pudding and their yummy stamps.



Materials used: Cardstock unknown, PPs Basic Grey, Paper Frills Doodlebug, greeting stamp Hero Arts, swirl stamp Basic Grey, ribbon unknown.

Also, I really want to show you all the little gift I made for my mum, of which I showed you a little sneak peek. I posted it more than two weeks ago, but she still hasn't received it. I'm starting to get worried that it might never get there. Fingers crossed it just go sidetracked and that it will appear at some point. Worst case, I'll have to make another one.

I didn't mention yet that I was one of the lucky ones to get picked for Nancy's little card workshop. Thank you Nancy for a great challenge.

Lastly, my entry for Pencil Lines' card sketch #53a was chosen as their favourite. They haven't announced it yet on their site, but it should be up sometime later today.

Now We're Rockin'

When I did Jessica Sprague's Up & Running with Photoshop course in June I couldn't wait to get back to paper scrapping. Not that I didn't enjoy the digital, but I just wanted to have sticky hands again from the glue and I already spend enough time on the computer as it is. However, Jessica's started a 2nd digi course yesterday called Now We're Rockin'. Being the 'wanting to know all' person that I am, I signed up. Here's my first LO that we are all doing for lesson 1.



I changed the PPs colour from blue to pink as that better suited my LO. All the materials that are needed to create the LOs are included in the class. The brushes on this LO are accessible for everyone from Jason Gaylor's website Designfruit, which are also great to use on non digital pages. So, I'll be digital for a the next few weeks, but I'm sure I'll be doing some other things too.

Step away from Christmas...

In between making Christmas cards I found some inspiration to created an anniversary card. There's only one on the calendar this month.



Materials used: Cardstock unknown, PPs Scenic Route, Basic Grey, SEI, KI Memories, Polka dot unknown, heart Making Memories, 'love' stamp Autumn Leaves, black Staz'on Ink, machine stitching, scallop square punch McGill, Fancy Pants stamp, VersaMark ink, clear shimmer embossing powder Stamp World.

Today I also received my autographed copy of Ali's new book Life Artist. I've only quickly glanced through it, but it's amazing. My hands are already itching to create something else (so how many Christmas cards will I actually end up making??).

All that Glitter

This morning I came up with my second Christmas card design. I'll spare you the ingredients, I'll just show the finished design.



Materials used: Bazzill cardstock, KI Memories PPs, Making Memories snowflakes and brads, tags (from the newsagent), Hero Arts greeting stamp, ribbon, decorative edge scissors, safety pin (from clothing tag), Quickutz embossing swirls, VersaMark watermark ink, clear glitter embossing powder, snowflake stamp, foam dots.

Christmas Cards

It looks like I have decided to make my Christmas cards myself this year. Not sure yet whether I'll make all of them, but I'm making them in batches of 10. Ten of one design. Last year I only made one card, this one (but I wouldn't dream of making many of that same design, too labour intensive):



Here are the ingredients for my first 10: 3 different patterned papers (I used KI Memories), white cards, greeting stamp (I used Hero Arts), ribbon (I used KI Memories), transparency and tag rims. I haven't got enough tag rims at the moment, but I got some more on eBay, so those should be coming soon. Other things I used: circle punch, red Staz'On ink, Sizzix decorative strips loopy, circle cutter, staples and Cuttlebug snowflake emboss folder.



And here's what the finished cards will look like:



Are you making Christmas cards this year? If you have any ideas to share, why don't you leave a comment with a link, so we can all be inspired.

Nancy's Little Workshop

You might have already seen Nancy's little workshop she posted on her blog. I've looked at it several times, contemplating whether or not to join in. Of course I will, so in between making more Christmas cards today, I gave myself 30 minutes before I had to pick-up the kids from school, to do her workshop.



Materials used: Sugar coated cardstock Doodlebug, SEI PPs, clear jewels KaiserCraft, staples, Hambly overlay, corner rounder, Prima flower, flower punch, 'smile' Heidi Swapp.

A Tiny Piece

I know, I know, too many sneaks at the moment, but I should be able to reveal one of them real soon. For now, I've got another sneak of a card that I made today. I've used some yummy goodies that I bought at the Paperific expo. Do you like the colours???

Paperific Expo & First Christmas card

On Saturday Rebecca and I went to the Paperific Expo in Melbourne. We got there just before 10 a.m., but it was already quite busy. So after just over an hour of spending way too much money (Rebecca got some money to spend too) we left. We'd seen most of the show. At the show I bought 3 small Doodlebug houses for the kids. I thought that would keep them busy for a while, but they were all finished at the end of the day. Ruben wanted to make a Christmas one, that way it can be on display every year. When I took the picture Rebecca was still working on hers, but I can tell you it's very pink.



This morning I created my first Christmas card this year. I actually used the Pencil Lines' sketch 53A.



Materials used: Bazzill Cardstock, DCWV PPs, Maya Road Chipboard, MM white paint, KaiserCraft bling, Hero Arts greeting stamp, ribbon unknown, black Staz'On ink, Versamark Ink, Holographic embossing powder.

Life at 19

That's almost 20 years ago for me... And to be honest, I probably couldn't even remember everything that happened at 19! When our babysitter was kind enough to be my model to practice my photography I promised her I would make a LO for her as she told me she hasn't had her picture taken in the last 4 years. To make it a real keepsake, I asked her to write down 19 things about herself, favourite book, singer, etc. I didn't want to have a long list of text on the LO, therefore I put the journaling on 4 seperate tags, that slide under the picture and title which can be taken out.





Materiasl used: The majority of products used come from Scarlet Lime's September kit. Bazzill cardstock, PP American Crafts, Scenic Route, Lace unknown, American Crafts Thickers letters, Jenni Bowlin Journaling spot, Hambly overlays, Making Memories clear tags & shapes, Heidi Swapp big brad, Bazzill flowers, Scenic Route chipboard, Hero Arts gemstones, 'Lil Davis stamp, Versamark watermark ink, white embossing powder, machine stitching, VersaColor Ink, Making Memories white paint.

September's Favourite Layout

I'm so thrilled because my 'Reach' layout got voted September's Favourite Layout at Pencil Lines. Not sure what my prize is yet, but it is sponsored by Fresh Pages Kit Co, but the recognition is what counts for me.

Seasons

This week's Pencil Lines Sketch #53 has a special Guest Designer. I totally admire her style and philosophy of scrapbooking, so of course I had to play with her sketch. Here's mine:



The journaling reads: Everyone thought we were going to have Summer year round moving to Australia. But after being here one year, I'm please to see that Melbourne has 4 distinct seasons too. And I love all seasons!

Materials used: Bazzill Cardstock, SEI Letter Sticker, Basic Grey & Doodlebug rub-ons, American Crafts Thickers and Black Marker.

Here's the sketch:

Another Surprise

It seems I'm in the mood to create things for others at the moment. Today I created another LO, but... you guessed it... it's another surprise. I'm afraid I can only show you some sneaks again. And as I've been quite pro-active, you'll have to be patient for the total reveal. I hope you'll at least enjoy the sneaks.

Coincidental

With it being World Card Making Day today, I wasn't really planning on making any cards just for that specific reason. As it happens, my friend Gill, in the UK had her baby yesterday. Perfect timing, as her due date was today! She had a baby girl, named Poppy. Big congratulations to Gill and her family. So, I did end up making a card for her. And I was just reading on Nancy's blog about the challenges going on at Creative Xpress and this one perfectly fits the bill. It might not be Wednesday (lol, on the morning show on the radio at Nova they have 'coincidental Wednesday'), but it's coincidental.





Materials used: Bazzill Cardstock, Amy Butler PP, Doodlebug Paper frills & brads, Quickutz Scalloped Diecut, Transparency, Auddesign Stamp, Versamark Watemark Ink and White Embossing Powder, little feet unknown.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

It's a surprise...

Yesterday and today I worked on another fun little project. The best thing about it, was that it was finished in no time. But it's a gift for someone, so I can only show you a tiny piece, as I don't want to spoil the surprise. As soon as she receives it, I will reveal the whole project. You might even want to consider making one or more as a gift for someone too. Curious yet...?

Paper Iris

Today I've still been playing with my Amy Butler papers. I discovered on her site that she offers some free project downloads, one of them being a paper iris pattern. I used the pattern to create this card.





Materials used: Bazzill Cardstock, Amy Butler PPs, Autumn Leaves Stamp, Doodlebug Frills, Stampin'Up 'happy birthday' stamps, Fancy Pants pin, Queen & Co. Brad, Martha Stewart Tag punch, White Tulip Puffy Paint.

'At Home' Workshop Album

Yesterday I received more rub-on letters, which meant that I could finish my 'At Home' album. I pretty much stuck with Revlie's design as I really liked the clean and simple look. The only extra thing I added are the ribbons and the little flower stamp on each page. It was really fun and easy to make. Thanks Revlie, for a great workshop. Rather than uploading all images separately, I've consolidated them into three mosaics. You can view each page individually here.

Reach

After I finished my LO yesterday, I made another last night. My inspiration got refueled by Anna Bowkis to use my Amy Butler papers that meanwhile had ended up on the bottom of the pile. Anna is also on the design team for Pencil Lines. So, I ended up using Amy's papers and Pencil Lines' sketch #52 to create this LO. Also a big credit to Shirley, who took this picture of Renee two weeks ago when we went on our photo shoot outing. Enough said, here it is:







Materials used: Bazzill Cardstock, Amby Butler PPs and Felt Flowers, American Crafts Foam Thickers, American Crafts Velvet Brads, Doodlebug Paper frills, Queen & Co. Bling, Autumn Leaves Stamp, Versacolor Ink, Century Gothic computer font.

And here's the sketch:

Daisy Chain

With the kids being of from school this week and last, we went out on a day trip yesterday to Puffing Billy. It was a gorgeous day. So far, one of the only sunny days since the break. Today I scrapped one of my favourite pictures from yesterday using mostly Scarlet Lime's September kit. I added a few things that weren't in the kit, like the scalopped cardstock, the damask sticker from Heidi Swapp and the Autumn Leaves ticketed stamp.