Challenges - Scrap the Girls and KIU

Well, I spent another day over the Easter weekend scrapping and catching up on my TV programs. I have to say that I felt a little brain drain by the end of the day. Not sure if it was too much TV or too much creative thinking! Perhaps it was a little of both! Anyway, I managed to complete another couple of challenges.

Scrap the Girls for April is a reasonable simple task - Scrap your girl photos using boyish colours and embellishments. So I went to an older Crate Paper line (Toybox I think) which was definitely designed with boys in mind and went from there. This is my end result:

The other challenge I completed was for Kraft It Up. This month you needed to use five items/techniques from the following list:

Layers
Sequins
Mists/Paints
Tearing/Distressing
Stamping
Arrows/Triangles

I ended up going with - Layers, Sequins, Gelatos (included in the mists/paint category), Stamping and Trinagles. This is what I came up with:

Feeling pleased with my effort over Easter, let's just hope it continues on over the coming weeks!

Thanks for stopping by.

Katie x

Kraft It Up - Feb

Can you believe it?! Back with another page! Haven't got around to the Kraft It Up challenges for a while, and I couldn't resist the criteria for this month - using Kraft as your base scrap about something you love. Too easy! Especially since I had this photo of a newer member of our household sitting on my desk that I wasn't exactly sure how to go about scrapping....

So this is what I came up with. You may remember Pearl coming into our family about this time last year as DD2's birthday present. Well it turns out I have taken to having a bird in the house much more than I ever thought that I would. In fact Pearl has really come in and taken over the house! Everyone just adores her and loves spending time with her, and she loves spending time with us.

I just had to use yellow and orange as my colours when scrapping about Pearl, which makes it a bright happy page too! Isn't she a sweet little thing??!!

Well, that's it for now, thanks for dropping by.

Katie x

Another Challenge completed!

Just tearing along this week! Really feeling quite inspired to create, not to mention having time to do so! I love school holidays!

I have been doing some more playing around with my Silhouette. I bought some sketch pens a while ago and haven't got around to trying them out until this week. Well, I have just ordered myself some more, so I think that might sum up my opinion on them! The set I bought was the metallic one with gold, silver, bronze and white. My thinking was some cool effects with white on dark, but wouldn't you know it, the white pen just doesn't work! I have tried and tried, and maybe I will try some more, but I don't think it is going to ever work. Oh well, the others do and look pretty fab!

So of course I have a picture of my "playing"! I have used the gold and bronze pens, and two project life style journalling cards from the Silhouette shop. The trick is to turn off the cut lines for the outside cuts while you write and then turn the writing off to cut the outside, oh and don't unload the cutting mat in between!

Looks pretty cool doesn't it?! The small writing is at about 12pt and is just Arial, the other I can't remember which font, but it is at something like 24pt. I think this can be a great way to add some details to project life!

So apart from that I have completed another challenge. This time for Kraft It Up, this months challange was to create a "project life" style page with at least three photos and journalling about the week in June from which you took the the photos. Not as easy as it sounds, even though I am doing this kind of project on a monthly basis! Anyway, this is what I came up with...

Playing with lots of things, like my new washi stash, stamps and of course the Silhouette!

This next page is one that came together really quickly, and I love it! I didn't think, or should I say over think things too much and it just all came together! I have used the triangle mask that I made and showed in the previous post together with some Mr Huey's shell coloured mist, a great neutral kind of colour. Loving the motex labeller too!

So, that is it for now. I just recieved an order of some new goodies and I am hoping to play with them today, so maybe I will be back soon with some more playing! Playing is fun!

Til next time,

Katie x

Welcome 2013!

I was going to start with Happy New Year, but I guess that has been and gone! So I hope that Christmas was good to you all and that you rang in the new year with friends and loved ones. Our Christmas and New Year was very family oriented, with lots of family functions, which was tiring, but nice.

Since then life has been pretty quiet. Kid's playing with/using Christmas gifts and catching up on sleep. I have even managed to snatch a little time here and there over the past week or so to have to myself in my crafting space. The first order of the day was the need to refresh and renew my space. This urge quite often comes with the ringing in of the new year. A good sort and cull later I was feeling more inspired to sit there and create! I also was pretty excited to get time to sit down and play with my new toy.....

I have a Silhouette Cameo! Yay for me! I had been uhmming and ahhing about this for a while now, and then a few weeks out from my birthday in December (the big four zero don't you know!) I decided I needed to buy myself a birthday present, and so I ordered one!

Well, so far, all I can say is this.... this machine is wonderful! I wish that when I first had the urge for and electronic cutting machine that this one was around. I wouldn't have gone through other costly machines (which I used but not as much as I thought I would have, and never quite lived up to the hype). But I guess if I hadn't experienced the shortcomings of these other machines then I wouldn't have truly appreciated how great the Cameo is now would I??!!

So I have done some of the January challenges, and thought that I had better photograph them and link them before the month disappears in a flurry of action. So here they are, in no particular order...

White with One - a colour challenge - White + Aqua and Red + Summer Photo

So, I have used the Cameo to cut the sunburst background, and the title and the arrow! The cool lollipop is from Purple Pumpkin.

This next one is Kraft it Up, another colour challenge. My colours are all a little subdued compared to this swatch though!

Again, the Cameo was used to cut out the speech bubble with the words. Very cool!

This one is for Scrap the Boys. Their challenge was to scrap a photo showing your son's favourite summer/holiday activity and use the photo to inspire the layout.

No Cameo cuts here, can you believe it?! Just a simple page using lots of bits and pieces lying around! Gotta make room for new CHA stuff!

And last but not least, a page for Stuck?! January #1 sketch.

This one did use the Cameo! The title, arrow and speech bubble are all cut with the cameo. I have been super impressed with how fine and detailed a cut this machine can do. Not to mention that I can create my own custom cuts quite easily! I had the basic speech bubble that I turned into this! Love being able to weld words too.

Well, that is all scrapping wise. But before I go I thought I would throw up a photo from Christmas that I simply call - "The Aftermath". I am sure you can all relate to this one!

Until next time!

Katie

Last Minute November Post!

Well, I thought I had better pull my finger out and get a couple of challenges that I did get done for this month up onto my blog and linked! In truth they have been sitting on my desk done for at least a couple of weeks waiting, and waiting and being ignored!

I have managed to do the White with One and Kraft it Up challenges for November, yay me! First of all here is the White with One - White + Greens + Chevron Pattern:

I had fun playing with my new Spellbinders hexagons in this one, and I even pulled out my Slice and cut the cute little car and title. I didn't realise how much green I had until I started looking!

This next one is the Kraft It Up challenge of Kraft + Minimalist/White Space:

A simple layout about DD1 academic achievement in her first year at high school. I got to use one of the cute little Purple Pumpkin badges that I own too!

Now this page was supposed to be for the October Scrap the Boys challenge of scrapping your boys favourite book/s. I, as usual at the moment, didn't get it up in time. I am not even sure if it was finished in time either! But, never the less, a page I still love!

On a proud parent note, we have DD1 who achieved academic honours for year 8 (at least 5 "A's" across her subjects), DD2 who has been elected Strings Captain for next year and DS who was accepted into the schools enhancement program as well as to do violin! Can't ask for much more than that from your kids can you??!!

On that note, thanks for dropping by!

Katie

Some more challenges

Managed to get another couple of challenges done, yay me! I feel like I am catching up after having such a lull in scrapping. It is a nice feeling too. Well the challenges that I have done are for Scrap the Boys and Kraft it Up.

For Scrap the Boys the criteria was - "School Photos", lucky I have a few of those lying around!

Had fun playing with my new chevron mask, and some Tim Holtz stamps, and this Studio Calico mist was the perfect colour match!

For Kraft it Up the criteria, besides the obvious Kraft is - Tell the story of something you would like to do/ wish to do in the future and must include journaling.

My wish is to be able to see penguins in their own environment down in Antarctica. I would love to travel there and photograph and be amongst the emperor penguins, wouldn't that be amazing! Hmm might have to win the lotto for that one! Unless someone would like to sponsor me of course!

Here are another couple of photos from down the coast too. Our accommodation was right next door to the "Sling Shot" and "Vomitron" rides and at night when they were going they were all lit up like Christmas! Was funny to hear the screams coming from there too!

One night we travelled down to Burleigh for fish and chips and took the camera too to get a different view on Surfers. I didn't have the best lens for the job with me, but the result is still all right, I think.

Anyway, that's it for me today. Maybe I will try and do some more scrapping this weekend! Or perhaps a photo expedition?!

March Challenges

Well, I am in early this month for my usual challenges! Yay me! I have done 5 challenges already! Yes you read correctly, I did say 5!

White With One - White + Kraft + Layering

Kraft It Up:
1 piece of Kraft cardstock (or patterned kraft)
2 photos of any size
3 word title
4 different patterned papers
5 different embellishments

OK, numbers 1 - 4 are pretty obvious, but thought I would point out the 5 embellishments! Die-cut butterfly, twine, button, photo corner and border sticker, there, that was easy!

Scrap the Boys - "Life is Good" for title + red + handwritten journaling

Scrap the Girls - Celebrations

Purple Pumpkin - sketch

So there you have it, 5 challenges down, now to find some more!! Either that or I have done my dash for a while lol..... Although, I have just got some more Purple Pumpkin goodies and they are doing a weekly kind of challenge on Facebook......

See Ya!

Kraft it Up and White With 1

Back again with some more monthly challenges. This time Kraft It Up and White With One. It is so nice to have time to get these challenges done.

First up is the White With One challenge which this month is:

White + Black + Paints/Mists

As you can see I decided to use black as my back ground colour and white for most of the accents and details and of course white mist (gotta love Mr Huey's white mist!). I really love how this one came out and think it suits the photos perfectly and the little splash of colour from the photos is great!

Next is Kraft It Up which had this criteria for October:

Kraft and one of these Styles - Monochromatic or Minimalist or Vintage/Romantic/Shabby Chic

I decided to go for the Minimalist style as that suits my work most of all, and I had the perfect little photo of my gorgeous niece to use for the job! I love how this one turned out, definitely one of my favourites!

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully I will get the chance to do some more challenges soon!

More Layouts

Just a quick pop in with a couple of new pages! One is for the February Kraft It Up challenge blog. This was a simple colour combo with Kraft of course, this month.

I played with a mixture of papers that I had lying around, including Crate Paper, MME and October Afternoon. And I finally scrapped some photos from our Stanthorpe get away back in 2008. Wow that feels so long ago now. I also did a bit of inking and misting that seems to be a favourite "add in" at the moment!

This next page was one I started at a crop of old Scrapbook City girls last week. Ang gave us a challenge to create a "patty cake wrapper flower" from a U-Tube video she found and I have to say I kinda liked how it turned out! I added a punched retro flower and checked brad to finish it off, but what an easy way to make a cool flower! I also used some gorgeous Studio Calico Mr Huey mist (thanks Ang, might need some of my own!!). Other than the flower the layout is a pretty simple page, also scrapping older photos!

So, there you have it. Not much else going on at the moment. Niamh turned 12 back on the 9th. I am a mother of an almost teenager now and I can tell! The roll of the eyes the huffing and grunting.... The joys I have to look forward to for the next few years! Erin is 10 on Monday, so life is busy with birthdays and cakes and presents.

Liam and I did do a rather long walk around the neighbourhood last weekend and I took some more photos to show post flood recovery. The most interesting one is the painted mark on a gum tree on the street behind us. The mark is simply bright pink with "2011" written above and it shows how high the water came there. With Liam under the tree for reference (and he is about 130cm tall) you get a real feel for how much water there was behind us and how close we came to experiencing water first hand.
Til next time.

Katie