Monday 25 August 2014

D'Lish Scraps August Inspiration Board

I love using inspiration or mood boards for challenges. They are so open to interpretation and there are always so many different things that you can be inspired by. D'Lish do an inspiration board each month and this one is just beautiful! It is called Cotton Candy:


So many things to be inspired by. I took away the flowers, colours (sort of!) and the frames for my page:


Thanks for stopping by!

Katie x

Thursday 21 August 2014

Scrap the Boys - August

So, I have been doing a little scrapping lately, but not as much as I would have liked to. Was sick for a bit, still recovering actually, and just not inclined to do anything.... On the mend now, thank goodness!

Thought I would start with the Scrap the Boys challenge for this month, which was to profile your boy/man. I just happened to get the Teen Boy Project Life cards recently (like I need more of these!) and found the perfect one to document my Liam at almost 10.


Played with a new technique on this one, which kind of worked. The idea was to lay down some texture paste and stamp a background stamp into it to create an interesting background. The stamping didn't work as well as I was hoping. Not sure if the texture paste was too "thin" and wet or the stamp too complicated. Still a technique in progress I think!

Have also played along with the D'Lish Scrap Suite Cyber Crop that was launched last weekend. There was four challenges and I have managed to complete all four!

Challenge 1 - Use stamps

Well, to say this one excited me is probably and understatement! My next question was "which ones"?! I decided to try and create the kraft, white, black and red backgrounds that I am seeing around at the moment, loving this look (think Kaiser Craft Mix and Match collection).


I really enjoyed playing with some of my Kellie's Stamps (diamond, plus and words), also stamped the title and journalling spot.

Challenge 2 - use monochrome embellishments

This one took a little more thought. I ended picking photos first and the rest came together. Not a colour that I usually use though!


Lucky that I had some glorious purple (in the right shade and all!) embellies from D'Lish!! Love these photos of Liam and Alex too!

Well, I will leave it there for now. I will be back in a day or two with the other two challenges.

Katie x



Monday 4 August 2014

Blog Hop with a Difference...

The blog hop with a difference has been spreading across the crafting webisphere for a little while now and I have to say I am honoured to have been chosen by the lovely Renee Iveson to be another link in the chain! I had to have a little giggle at her post where she said she had been FB stalking me! Funny, but an amazing ego boost!

I will get to sharing a bit about me, myself and I shortly. But firstly, I wanted to say that I won't be continuing the chain as it has been going. The people who I asked to join us have been busy, or asked before or for some other reason just not able to participate. And I get it, sometimes getting to one's blog on any regular basis is hard. So instead I am going to throw up some links to others blogs that I think you should check out anyway!

So a bit about me:

1. What am I working on right now?

To be perfectly honest, nothing! I am in between Creative Team tasks, been busy with family commitments and getting ready for the Kindy photo season. I do find that having a break from time to time is necessary and usually results in the feeling of desperately needing to get to my scrap desk! The only thing on my craft desk right now are some photos that I am thinking about using!

Here is my White with 1 sample for this month, something that was created not too long ago!

White + Liquorice

 And a couple of close ups:



I had fun creating the background for my Silhouette to cut out. It is great having a tool that can be so versatile!

2. How long does it take to create a project?

That is a good question! Usually, if I have the time and inclination a couple of hours, not solid though! Other times I can have a project on my desk being "worked on" for days as I grab 10 minutes here and there to rearrange, add, subtract or otherwise get that bolt of lightning on what to do!

Here is a page I completed a little while ago for a cyber crop that never got finished in time. The challenge was a colour one with blues, green, yellow and brown.


3. What are my favourite things that I love to create with?

Usually something along the following are used almost every page:

Stamps
Ink/mists/paint
Stencils
Washi
Wood veneers
Enamel dots
Silhouette creation

4. How does my creative process work?

Sometimes I really don't know! It just happens! If I am feeling flat as far as the ol' mojo goes then a challenge or sketch is usually a good place to start the ball rolling.

If I have something specific to complete I tend to overthink it, which is very suffocating to the creative process, so I will browse my Pinterest boards and usually something, even a small detail will inspire me to start. The rest of the process is a lot about grabbing things, laying them down where I think they will go, moving them, adding things, taking things away until I get to a point where I am happy with the basic layout and I start sticking.

5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

A lot of screen time! I love browsing the galleries at Studio Calico and adding to my Pinterest board. Reading blogs of my favourite scrappers, watching videos on processes and techniques. You tube is my friend!

6. What is my signature style?

I think you could describe my style as clean with clusters and splatters! I love the mixed media phenomenon but I certainly am not as adventurous nor "messy" as some out there! I love to include and try out new techniques and ideas, especially ones that stretch my product further!



So that is me! Thanks for dropping by. Here are a few scrappers that I admire for many different reasons, so go and check them out and be inspired too!

Kylie Cornish - I "met" on the D'Lish Scraps creative team. She creates a mean sketch and has a style that I relate too!

Ros Madley - Also a D'Lish Scraps aquaintence! I love how she experiments with her Silhouette and again her creative style strikes a chord with me.

Sandra Wallace - I met Sandra on the White with 1 team. She is lovely lady very passionate about her craft and is the creator of the Facebook group Watch, Be Inspired, Create where you can go and share videos or find great stuff to watch.

Katie x