Please excuse any untidiness while I makeover my blog among other projects and endeavours.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

My exciting recent news :)

Hi everyone! Well I have some exciting news to share with you :) I have made it onto 3 new Design Teams for 2012 plus I will be appearing as a Guest Designer in June for a Company but you will just have to wait for that announcement! hehehe


First of all I made it onto the team for A2Z Scraplets!!!!! It is no secret that I simply adore Chipboard so I am going to have soooo much fun with my scraplet goodness!!!! I have already started creating some fabulous items that you will see very very soon! For now you should definately head over and checkout the December Sketch Challenge! It is absolutely fabulous :)


Here is the list of fabulous designers who are also on the team!



Next up I got on the Design Team for Cardabilities!!!! YAY I am very excited about this one as I do not make anywhere near enough cards so now I have more reason too! Be sure to checkout the current sketch!!


Here is the list of the fabulous designers who have also made the team :)

Anna Iwanowska - Poland - returning
Carina LindholmSweden
Amy Prior-Austrailia WOO HOO!!!!!!
Jolanda van Pareren Netherlands
Stephanie Lee-USA-returning
Jessica Pascarella-USA-returning
Sylvia Blum-Germany-returning



And the one that I have had to keep a secret for sooooo long now is................................


WOW! Embossing Powder has the most devine selection of Emboss Powder colours and some fabulous stamps to boot! Suzy West has an amazing Collection and they will be officially releasing this new branch of the company at CHA in January!!!! So excited! For now checkout some sneak peaks that Suzy has posted on Facebook 


I am busy busy making some fabulous creations for CHA with these gorgeous new products that I will reveal after CHA. 

Here is the list of fabulous designers on the team with me

LEADS:

*Tricia Wilson--lead

*Gina Lideros--lead

*Jen Deal--lead

*Angel Bartonico--lead

*Erin Payne--lead


DESIGN MEMBERS:

1.Sesil Cratin, Utah
2. Ilene Tell, Delaware
3. Lara Scott, Utah
4. Amy Sotolongo, California
5. Diana McGraw, California
6. Jeannie DeGruccio, California
7. Jennifer Matott, New York
8. Anne Brown, Texas
9. Sherrie Suttles, Ohio
10. Linda Abadie, Virginia
11. Jamie Cripps, Michigan
12. Jenifer Cowles, idaho
13. Tanisha Long, New Jersey
14. Jan Hennings, Iowa
15. Patti Hamil, Georgia
16. Gini Williams Cagle, North Carolina
17. Tina McDonald, Canada
18. Donna O'Leary, New Zealand
19. Benedicte Raphalen, France
20. Amy Prior, Australia WOO HOO!!!! 
21. Irit Shalom, Israel
22. Jennifer Roach, Canada
23. Erika Taylor, Canada
24. Iris Uy, Philippines
25. Katarina Damm-Blomberg, Finland
26. Birgit Koopsen, Netherlands


Until next time! Happy Scrapping!!!! 


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

$50 Voucher Blog Giveaway!!!!


Yep that's right!!! The Scrapbooking Haven is giving away a $50 voucher to a lucky reader of this blog!!!! All you have to do to enter is simply become a follower of this blog AND a follower of The Scrapbooking Haven's Design Team blog then leave us a comment below to let us know that you have finished these easy tasks! Simple :) The lucky winner will be announced on New Years Day and will be decided using Random.org.

I have some special announcements to share with you all tomorrow so until then Happy Scrapping!



Cards, Cards & More Cards!


Hi there! I have been very busy lately getting things ready for Christmas, making off the page items for Christmas Presents, Making Christmas Cards, Birthday Cards, oh and running the shop! LOL

So for today I wanted to share you with you some of the cards I made recently.

First off I have 2 Birthday Cards. Both my mother and mother in law have birthdays in December so here is the cards I made for them! I also have my best friend's birthday on Boxing Day as well as my brothers so expect another post soon with more cards for them!


First up is this beautiful card I made for my mother in law using the gorgeous Kaisercraft Miss Nelly range. I have also added some Websters Trim and some Prima Natural Fibres Paper.



Next up is this gorgeous card created for my dear Mum for her Birthday. I have used the gorgeous new Websters Ranges Collection just in store now Winter Fairy Tales. There was lots of fussy cutting on this one! The scalloped circle and flowers is actually off the 12x12 Die Cut from this collection! I have also used the Websters Winter Fairy Tales Trim


Another quick card to show you is this Fathers Day card using the Kaisercraft Hunt & Gather Collection. I have this one set aside ready for next year! LOL







Now onto 1 of the Christmas Cards I have made to date. This one is for my brother. I had originally planned on putting his ITunes Gift Card into a Giant box full of heavy bricks but I decided not to LOL. So here is a card I have made for him.


I have simply used some White Bazzil Cardstock for this card along with some of the gorgeous new Silly Season Collection from Kaisercraft along with a gorgeous Chip Chop Shop Doily and some Kaisercraft Rhinestones! Such a simple card yet stunning if I do say so myself :) 


To put the I Tunes Gift Card I have simply used some of the stickers from the Kaisercraft Silly Season Range :) 

Thanks for looking and be sure to become a follower of my blog as I will be announcing a giveaway promotion TONIGHT!!!!!

Until next time
Happy Scrapping!


Thursday, December 8, 2011

Baby Shower Gifts

Today I wanted to share with you all some gorgeous handmade gifts I made a couple of weeks ago for my Sister in law's baby shower. She recently purchased some gorgeous Purple and Green Iron Butterfly motifs to put on her new baby girl's wall, so I wanted to continue on with these colours yet add a hint of pink in there.

First up I made this gorgeous Photo Album for her. My sister in law has tried scrapbooking in the past and it wasn't for her so I thought this lovely photo album would be a great way to get a sort of scrapbook into my new niece's life hehehe. Inside the album is 20 6x4 sleeves empty ready for new baby pics.


 This album was actually purchased second hand and I always had every intention of altering it. Originally the album was Navy Blue so I have used Gesso to cover the album. On the front cover I have applied a second layer of Gesso after placing some Glimmer Mist Screens on top. I then quickly took the screens off and let the album dry overnight. The rest was very simple. A few squirts of Gumdrop and Purple Pansy Glimmer Mist along with some stamping with one of my background stamps and then I began creating my clusters

 I have used lots of different brand flowers on this project including Prima, Kaisercraft, Green Tara, AS4E, Crafty Koala. I actually did not have many green flowers in my stash that were the right shades of green so I have soaked some White flowers in Green ink and water. I didnt have to soak them for long to grab the colour (Paper flowers were quicker than the fabric ones) but I did need to let them dry for a couple of days.


These images really don't do this album justice. The glimmer and texture of this album is incredible and because Mother Nature has mixed up her seasons lately, well good lighting is non existant :S 


Hidden in the midst of this gorgeous cluster of flowers is a beautiful purple butterfly. This is a Kaisercraft Wood Flourish that I have simply glimmer misted with Pop Rocks Glimmer Mist and then coated with Step 1 & Step 2 Crackle Medium from Helmar. The butterfly is actually quite crackled yet again lighting is terrible for this photo and you can hardly tell :( 


The second gift I made for my beautiful new niece is a beautiful large mirror for her bedroom. Her name is still not 100% decided so I thought adding the word "Enchanting" for a princess's room would be perfect!
Now I had originally planned on using Gesso for this mirror so it would match the album but alas, I ran out of Gesso and could not find any local stores with any stock left :S
So my last resort was paint and paper. Now this mirror is huge! Which means that 12x12 paper to cover the whole frame was just not going to cut it as I would have had to use 4 sheets so I decided to do a patchwork quilt style. After lots of measurements and trimming I finally perfected the size of the pieces i was going to use and started adhering. 


After all the pieces were adhered I hand drew some fake stitches along the seams as well as sanding and inking the edges. I then added a thin layer of Gloss Varnish over the top to protect it for years to come from the elements.
Next up I painted this gorgeous Paper Inklings Chipboard word with some Pretty Pink Paint from Kaisercraft. I also hand drew some fake stitching around the edges of the word so it really popped! I adhered this before adding flowers so I knew it was centred.


I have used soooo  many flowers on this I think I went a little crazy hehehe but it turned out so stunning and everyone was talking about it at the shower!


There is again a mix of branded flowers including Prima, Kaisercraft, Green Tara, AS4E & Crafty Koala PLUS I also hand dyed some white flowers green so I had some more green to add.
Another interesting thing I used on this project is some swirls and leaves from the Prima Winter Icicle Branch that I have Glimmer Misted green and then trimmed into smaller pieces to use on the entire project.

Underneath the beautiful cluster of flowers, butterflies, leaves and swirls is a stunning Dusty Attic Chipboard Swirl that is actually only 30cm but I have bent and shaped it to sit along the inside of the mirror perfectly. I simply painted this with Mauve Kaisercraft Paint and then topped it with some Purple Pansy Glimmer Mist for a bit of extra sparkle.


Also hidden amongt the flowers is some beautiful Kaisercraft Sparklets. Just subtle hints of bling sticking out here and there.


Well that's it from me today but don't forget to checkout the Design Team Call over at the Scrapbooking Haven!

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!


Friday, November 18, 2011

Different ways of using Chipboard!

Hi everyone! Hope you are all well :) I thought tonight I would share with you some of my favourite layouts that include chipboard and the different ways of using them! Thanks for looking and stay tuned in the coming days for a special giveaway I will be hosting here on the blog!

 - 4 Wheel Adventure - 
For this first layout I have only used Chipboard in my title and very simply have dabbed it with white paint using a sponge dauber. I love the texture effect of using the sponge dauber or any sponge to apply the paint! 


- Tissue Box - 
This gorgeous tissue box uses lots of different brands of Chipboard as well as different ways of using them! Firstly we have the gorgeous Scrapware Wisteria Lane Houses which I have covered in Patterned Paper and inked the edges and joins with black ink. I then glimmer misted the patterned paper to give it a vintage feel with the colour Suede. The little chipboard windows and doors were painted black then coated with Glimmer Glam paint to add some glimmer and glitter!
Next up we have the gorgeous Dusty Attic Picket Fence Chipboard pieces that I have cut to the shape I wanted and simply glimmer misted with the Suede Mist.
At the back there is a gorgeous Happy Tree from RW Lasercuts which I have painted with black paint and coated with glimmer glam colours randomly.
Last but not least is the Devine Wrought Iron Fence Border from Dusty Attic that I have simply coated with black ink so it looks a lot more matte than the elements on top.

-Laughter-
For this gorgeous layout I have used a chipboard border and some wood flourish pieces.
With the Kaisercraft Mannequin on the right, I inked with Ranger Distress Ink then coated in Walnut Gold Glimmer Mist followed by a coat of Mod Podge Dimensional Magic. Next I grabbed some purple paper twine and wrapped it tightly around the bodice area. Then I found some gorgeous pleated ribbon from Pink Paislee and some white lace from Kaisercraft that I simply wrapped and adhered to create the skirt. I was really pleased with how it turned out and I was very impatient for the Dimensional Magic to dry so I used my Heat Gun a little too close and it has cracked a little but I think this simply adds to the effect :)
The Kaisercraft Wood Flourish bird on the bottom left was coated in a couple of layers of Suede Glimmer Mist followed by a layer of Mod Podge Dimensional Magic and a tiny Kaisercraft pearl for the eye :) Very cute indeed 
The border along the bottom over the pretty lace is from the Dusty Attic and is out of the Wrought Iron Trim Set. With this piece I have simply sprayed it with Purple Pansy Glimmer Mist. 


This layout has a large piece of acetate used as part of the backing and I just wanted to show another photo on a white surface so you could see the clear section :) Acetate is very fun to play with and is available at the Scrapbooking Haven for a bargain price! So go on try some on your next project, you may be pleasantly suprised.

-Me...-
This layout of myself I created for the RW Lasercuts Design Team. I have used the 5x7 Scroll Frame from RW Lasercuts but the original frame was not working for this page (the scrolls were originally on the two bottom corners instead of top right and bottom left corners). To rectify this in my favour, I simply got a very sharp craft knife and cut half way along the top and half way along the bottom. This allowed me to be able to flip one piece upside down and glue the pieces back together. I then went ahead and inked the chipboard frame using Walnut Ink Distress Stain and coated with a subtle Gumdrop Glimmer Mist layer which created this lovely brown coloured frame with an amazing pale green shimmer. I was very impressed.
I then had the issue of not having a 5x7 photo to use so I simply added some gorgeous coordinating Patterned Paper as an extra frame to mount my photo in the centre. 
These steps was very easy and this layout would have been one of my quickest finished but the difference these little techniques made to the overall layout is incredible. 

-On This Day-
This project was very special to me as I really wanted to create a wedding keepsake to have on display in my home. To do this I started with a Scrapware 10x10 Chipboard Shadow Box Frame. I didn't really want to have a boring square shape for this so I searched through my stash and found this gorgeous Chipboard Flourish from RW Lasercuts! I adhered it to the top of the frame using Helmar Scrap Dots then I continued on and painted the entire frame including the new chipboard addition on top, with Picket Fence Ranger Crackle Paint. 
In the background I have also used a piece of Chicken Wire Panel from Scrap FX which I have left plain. 
Last but not least is some Kaisercraft Chipboard Letters that I have used for the Title and I have matched these to the frame border and painted them with the Picket Fence Crackle Paint from Ranger.

 -Birdhouses-
With these gorgeous Scrapware Chipboard Birdhouses, I wanted to create a beautiful piece to sit on my desk in my office/Scraproom. My office is pink and black themed so I chose papers to coordinate with the room and covered the houses then inked the edges with black ink as well as seams and added subtle bits of Pink Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze and Glimmer Mist for a bit of shine and texture. I also added some rubons and black rhinestones to sections of the houses.
Next for the base I simply painted black and covered in an array of gorgeous Prima Flowers then added a piece of RW Lasercuts Grass Border in front. The Grass Border was too long so I trimmed it down to the size I required then painted it with black paint and coated it with a layer of Pink Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam. The Glimmer Glam is so thick and gloopy and it left an amazing effect on the grass.
Lastly I used a Sweeping Tree from RW Lasercuts that I simply coated with the same Pink Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam. I did not do an even coat so there are sections where the glimmer glam soaked right into the Chipboard and other sections where it is a Vibrant Pink Colour. The whole thing sparkles and shines and definately brings out ME a lot.

-Splash-
This layout of my gorgeous girls swimming, uses a couple of chipboard pieces. The first being the title which is an RW Lasercuts Chipboard title that I have painted using 2 different coloured paints. I then added a funky brad to the centre of the P to bring in the circles from the left side.
Next up I have used the Circle Journal Border from Scrapware. I did not want to use all of the circles as journalling sections so I have filled the circles in with patterned paper and other Embellishments that matched the patterned paper. The Journal Sections I did use were painted a different colour than the outside section.

-Welcome to the Terrible Twos-
For this layout I have used a couple of very cool techniques on my chipboard pieces. Firstly is the title WELCOME. These chipboard letters are from Kaisercraft and I have painted them with black Kaisercraft paint then I have used the Helmar Crackle Medium over the top. I just love the crackle medium and it definately adds to the grungy feel of this page.
Next up I have used a Skull and Crossbones Grunge Board shape from Tim Holtz. To create the effect you can see was very simple! I used toilet paper, no joke, and simply applied the toilet paper using a small brush and some Pink Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in very rough patches. To cover all the way to the edges perfectly I actually covered over the edges and then trimmed it down with my craft knife when I was finished. After this dried completely I inked the top lightly with black ink so you could see the texture better plus added some random vintage buttons as the eyes.

 -Moments of You-
This layout meant a lot to me and I have blogged about it before but I just wanted to include it here to show you the different Chipboard techniques used in this double layout.
Firstly is the title. I used 2 different RW Lasercuts titles for this (Moments of you & Moments). For the Moment of you chipboard, I have simply glimmer misted with Mallard Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I also added a button inside the O of the Word YOU with some bakers twine tied on it. Next I coated the Moments Chipboard with some glue and sprinkled Lime Green Sparkle & Soft Floss Powder over the top. I pressed down slightly before dusting off the excess to make sure that it was all adhered properly. I then simply adhered the Moments chipboard over the top of the other title.
There are a couple of other Chipboard elements on the page including some stars that I have glimmer mists and added buttons to, as well as an arrow that I Have coated in Kindy Glitz.


-Memo Board-
This gorgeous Memo Board hangs up in my Kitchen and I am very proud to say that it was my very first published project in a magazine. That happened earlier in the year so it is safe for me to upload now on the internet :) 
For this I have used a gorgeous Kaisercraft Wood Flourish on the bottom that I have coated in Suede Glimmer Mist. The wood is such a different colour to the Chipboard so it turned out the perfect light shade but if it were a Chipboard swirl, I would have painted it white first before spraying with the Glimmer Mist I desired.
Next up I have used an RW Lasercuts Bird with a Swirl Chipboard Shape on the right hand side. I really wanted this to look like it was not actually attached so I have stuck this to a piece of acetate and adhered with clear glue to the board. The Bird itself has been inked with Brown Ink, then the body was covered with patterned paper and the edges inked followed by a little pearl for the eye and a touch of Walnut Gold Glimmer Mist for a little glimmer.

Thanks so much for reading along and I hope you have taken away some helpful hints from this mammoth blog post today :) Don't forget to become a follower of my blog and let your friends know too as we will be holding a fabulous giveaway very soon and they will be held regularly so stay tuned.


Thursday, November 17, 2011

A fun technique to Share!

On Monday I shared this fabulous technique with the lovely ladies who were here for scrapbooking so I thought I would share it with you all as well :)

I received a lot of comments when I first uploaded this layout almost a year ago now and it is honestly super easy to do!

Ok so here is the layout I am referring to...


For this technique I firstly had to find something that was a circle shape to trace around that was the correct size. This patterned paper is very busy so I didn't want too much of a border showing. I actually ended up using a Saucepan Lid! LOL it did the job nicely LOL.

Ok so now that you have found your circle object you will also need some patterned paper that has a coordinating back. 

Now Turn the paper upside down and trace the circle object you have. Once you have done this, using a paper piercer, pierce holes about 1cm apart along your traced circle.

If you are good at machine stitching and you think you can machine sew a perfect circle then that would save the hand sewing but I am just not that confident LOL. So the next step is to do a back stitch all the way around your circle.

Now let the tearing begin! The curls on my layout are about 1inch wide curled back so to do this I just simply tore out a circle from the middle of my sewing very roughly about 1inch from the stitching. 

Then it is just a matter of tearing back pieces towards your stitching and curling them over. I actually used the handle of my paper piercer to do the curling so it all looked curlier than I could do freehand :)

TFL



Bright and Beautiful Miss Nelly Collection!


WOW! What an amazing and full on month it has been already! SO I have been a little slack and haven't blogged in forever but mainly because each new layout I have been doing recently has been getting accepted for publication so YAY for being published but unfortunately that means I cannot put them online LOL. Very excited but I do have a gorgeous layout to share today. Here in Kincumber we have a lovely group of ladies who have been coming to scrapbook on a regular basis at the Scrapbooking Haven and it has been great not only for their creative juices but for mine too! I seem to get my mojo back when I am scrapping with lovely people rather than alone!


This layout I have to share with you is something I created for the A2Z Scraplets October Sketch Challenge. Entries for this had to be in by the 15th November so I am hoping they got my email on time LOL. Here is the sketch...


And here is the layout I created using this sketch!


I have used the gorgeous Kaisercraft Miss Nelly Collection for this layout and have added some gorgeous flowers from Prima, Green Tara, My2Angels, & Kaisercraft.

The chipboard title is from A2Z Scraplets and I have painted this with white paint then added a subtle amount of Gumdrop Glimmer Mist then finished it off with some White Fine Glitter. I then backed the chipboard title with patterned paper from the Miss Nelly Collection and added some Floss.

Lots of yummy details on this layout

My gorgeous girl Chloe so grown up looking now for a 2 year old! 

Thanks so much for looking and don't forget to share with your friends and become a follower! I will be holding some fabulous challenges very soon here on my blog with vouchers available to win from the Scrapbooking Haven!


Sunday, April 24, 2011

Bliss Terrace Kit - Polkadot Place

Well as soon as I received this goodie pack from the Polkadot Place I couldn't wait to have a play with the goodies.


First up I have made a page for my darling daughter Mia. These pics were taken when she was only 7 months old and she just loved these sunglasses!

My future is so bright... I have to wear shades!

I love these Sassafrass layered die cuts. I have used 3 here and they are just incredible. I have mounted them on foam tape and layered them over each other for this gorgeous effect. I also mounted the photos over a couple of different patterned papers in the kit so I could bring the colours of the flowers and the background paper together more. I also loved using the Border stickers that were included in the kits. The alpha used is both from this kit and the last Polkadot Place kit.

Here is a different angle so you can see the dimension of the die cuts plus the doodling around all the edges.
And a quick close up to see the gorgeous piccies of my darling Mia :)

Next up I created this page really based on the photos I had. I loved the paper choices they worked really well.

Spiderman Kadin...

For this layout I used the sketch from the Scrapbooking Haven's Monthly sketch challenge this month. The papers all worked so well together with the fabric that was included in this kit. Layering the layers I distressed the edges of the paper and curled them up then I pulled back some of the cord from the fabric. A last minute addition was some Cotton Black Ric Rac i had in my stash and the background was almost complete. Finally I wanted to make some spider webs. There wasn't enough bakers twine in the kit so I grabbed some red bakers twine from the Scrapbooking Haven and I have used about 2metres for the entire webs I Have created. All I did was cover the twine in my glue stick then I had my scissors handy and created away placing all the pieces and pressing firmly when I was confident everything was in place perfectly. The webs were actually a lot easier than I originally thought. They aren't perfect but hey is there such thing as perfection with scrapbooking :)

For the journalling I have used lots of elements from the Bliss Terrace Kit plus some Tim Holtz Journalling tickets. I then added a Kaisercraft Black Rhinestone Arrow Swirl. The whole page really came together
Here is a close up of on of the Scrapbooking Haven spider charms and one of the webs. I have used lots of these little charms on the page.

I have used some Kaisercraft Red & Black Pearl Strips and added another border sticker trimmed between the 2 photos with lots of little spider charms.


Thanks for looking and don't forget to check out the awesome monthly kits at the Polkadot Place! Bridgette will be happy to take care of you if you want to setup for monthly subscriptions