Thursday 30 January 2014

'Paris'Layout - Inkido (January Challenge) {Lindy's Stamp Gang/2Crafty Chipboard}




Hello again!  Finally I can share my January Inkido project
with you!  It went up on the Inkido blog recently & you
can see it HERE.

Here's a copy of the post - you still have time to enter
 the challenge!!  It closes at the end of January :)  I used
Lindy's Stamp Gang mists as well as 2 Crafty Chipboard
 on this layout & of course Prima bling & flowers too :)  

I created this layout whilst I was away on holiday recently
 & it took me quite a while one evening, amidst lots of
chatter ...but, like slow cooking, I think it was worth it!

-----------------------------------------

Hi everyone!  Helen here with you again!!  

Happy New Year from me!!!
Here is my take on the January Mood Board.


I started out by using the "Happy Christmas" patterned paper "Winter Birds".



I whited out the centre section using gesso & mists but left the outer
 edges of the paper to show off the beautiful snowflake print.  I also tore
 a couple of pieces of the paper in a contrasting colour, to use along the top
 & bottom of the layout to emphasize the diagonal orientation of my page.


I embellished my page with some beautiful Inkido laces, 
some of which I misted in blue & others that I left white.


Underneath my photo I used some more patterned paper from Inkido
in the Music Notes Design.  I like to tear my papers as it adds texture.


As well as the Inkido floral lace you see above I also used some tiny 
Inkido flowers {mini roses}, which I misted up to match my page.  


Above you can see how well the Inkido laces take to being 
recoloured using spray mists.  My advice is to spritz with water 
while still wet to ensure that they dye with an even coverage.


I tucked in various pieces of Inkido patterned 
paper underneath my photograph, for dimension.


I hope you will find some time to play along with our January
 challenge HERE!  Follow the link to read the simple rules.

  You have until the end of January to link up your project. 


I also used some other pretty Inkido flowers on my page.  
The lovely Cherry Blossom ones HERE.  Lastly I sprinkled
some beautiful Inkido bling dots around my page, confetti style.
The ones I used are called Champagne Pearls.



Wednesday 29 January 2014

Christmas Joy Layout for 2 Crafty Chipboard! {also using Prima & Lindy's Stamp Gang}





Hello & Happy Hump Day!!

This week is just FLYING & I'm in a little bit of a 'tiz about
techno stuff freaking me out!  I look after my laptop/s like 
GOLD & have an old RUBBISH one that refuses to die
 despite having no keyboard!!!  (yup it's pretty!! Not...)

 BUT still functions thanks to another keyboard plugged into it !
  and a brand new one that had a SYSTEM FAILURE yesterday!!!  
Thank GOD {truly}I backed up last week but really....
do I need this in my life I ask you?!?


Last week I published my FIRST POST up at 2Crafty Chipboard in Australia!
So here's a copy of it - hope you like it :)

--------------------------------------

I completed this next layout, also along the Christmas theme,
using three  very different pieces of chipboard as I challenged
myself to see how effectively I could get them to work together!


The large piece of chipboard positioned under the photo, coming 
out from the top right, is the 'Corner Christmas Star Spray', which
 I cut into two pieces, placing the smaller piece underneath the photo.


Working around the layout in an anti-clockwise fashion,
from the top right, here in the top left corner I have used
another piece of 2 Crafty chipboard - 'Corner Marisa'.


I gave the Marisa Corner a completely different treatment to the large
 ' Corner Christmas Star Spray'.  On the large Star piece I embossed 
using  Lindy's Stamp Gang Embossing Powders in Midnight Copper
 & Candy Cane Red Gold, both applied randomly then sponged with 
gesso, with some areas deliberately left raw too.


To add more texture & interest to my chipboard I added some white 
threads underneath them, which I first swirled around to encourage 
them to lie in a random pattern.  I also added some staples here & 
there as I love the industrial look this adds.


I used a beautiful swirl on the right of my photograph - 
it is called the 'Elegant Flourish' & is sold in a pack of 2.


I treated the 'Marisa Corner' piece & the 'Elegant Swirl'
both in exactly the same way.  I stamped  randomly over
each using Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger,
 then sponged some small areas in white gesso.


I hope you enjoyed my two Christmas themed pages this month
 & that they have inspired you to use 2 Crafty Chipboard 
on your layouts - it doesn't even need to be specifically
 Christmas themed as I've shown you.





Tuesday 28 January 2014

Winner of my December/January Giveaway & announcing a new VALENTINE'S Giveaway!!





Hey there ladies!  {and occasionally a few gents!!}
Finally time to announce the winner of my last giveaway HERE.

I did choose randomly but couldn't use random.org this time as it all got a bit confusing - with some people writing one comment, some coming back to write another as well, some even writing 3 :) and others not actually subscribing to my You Tube Channel which was what the giveaway was all about LOL :-D 

 Aaaaanyway, it was the silly season with Christmas & all so I guess some people were short on time to read through the details huh?!

So without further ADO here's the winner!!


Congrats Annie!  Please provide me with your postal details
so I can get your Christmas Giveaway parcel right out to you!

THANKS EVERYONE FOR SIGNING UP TO MY YOU-TUBE CHANNEL!

I appreciate the support!!  I really need to get more views there 
somehow... :(  I guess posting more videos could do it but they
 take me forever to film & edit as it is all new to me and I am
 not confident with it fully as yet.


As you can see this giveaway closes in exactly a month.

Here are the giveaway rules!

1.  Be or become an official follower of my blog here using
 the Google Official Follower gadget with the thumbnail images.

2.  Be or become an official follower of my Facebook page HERE.

3.  Leave a comment on this post!  

I'd love to know where you became acquainted with my work but
 heck, I couldn't remember that about all the awesome blogs
 I follow so no worries if you can't remember either!!

Oh!  And if you SHARE this post to Facebook & tag my Official FB
 page (the one I've just linked you too) then leave ANOTHER
 comment to say you've done that - you get an extra entry!!  

Have a great week everyone!!




Saturday 25 January 2014

#Joy Layout - My FIRST 2Crafty Chipboard Post!! {also using Prima & Faber Castell /Design Memory Craft}




Hi everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your weekend!!
We have NO children here with us this weekend 
which is SO strange!  I have a video to film so that
 is keeping me busy, but the quiet is very strange!!

Just popping in here to share my VERY FIRST 2 Crafty post with you,
which is up on their blog HERE for the next few days, but of course
I will also be sharing my layouts with you here too.

It's always DOUBLE FANTASTIC if 
you pop in to their blog too though!!

Have an awesome weekend :)

-------------------------------

Hi there 2 Crafty fans!
HELEN here sharing my very first 2 Crafty post with you today :)
 

For this page I used 3 pieces of 2 Crafty chipboard.
The largest piece, with the hearts, is the 'Corner Heart Spray.'
The two bottom pieces come from a set of 3 pieces called the
'Leafy Shrub Set 1' - a gorgeous set indeed!!


I have already edited & printed out my Christmas photographs
& am determined to get them all scrapped asap!  


I enhanced the chipboard using a red gelato from Faber Castell,  
applied randomly then spread with a baby wipe.  I then sponged
highlights of gesso on using a small sponge & lastly I added some
sparkle to random areas using some glittery gold varnish.


I love the 3D 'shaded' look the chipboard takes on when given this treatment.
I also added in some other gold accents by means of glittered-up alphas, twine
& 'to die for' gold doilies sent to me from the USA - serious LOVE!!


You will usually see that I treat my chipboard in an uneven manner
rather than painting, embossing, etc all over in a uniform style.
To me this makes the effect look more artistic.


I LOVE the 'Corner Heart Spray' piece!  It is really
substantial & makes for SUCH a dramatic focal point...


I also love how in this instance it reminds me of Christmas ornaments/
decorations draping down from a branch.  Perfect for this layout!!

{My backing paper, glittery flowers & flair are both from 
Prima's recent 2013 Christmas collection of course & the stamp
 is from one of Prima's Finnabair lines in 2013  - Vintage Vanity}



Friday 24 January 2014

Inkido Sneak & Challenge Reminder!




Hello & Happy Friiiiiiday!!!  It can't come too soon for me these days - this heat is a killer!!  It is fun meeting around the pool at the end of the day for a drink & a swim though :)  Our temperatures here are off the charts right now! All waaaay above 30C...


Here is a sneak peek of my Inkido layout, which will be up
 on the Inkido blog this Saturday (26th Jan).  I can't wait to
 share it with you.  I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!!


Here is an image of the January Mood Board Challenge up at
Inkido - it inspired my layout & hopefully will INSPIRE YOU TOO!

It is not essential to use Inkido products & the rules are stated in the post & very easy to follow.  You have until the end of the month to enter & there is always a generous prize for the winner.

I hope you can have a play with us this weekend!!



Wednesday 22 January 2014

2Crafty Sneak Peaks & Christmas Photos!





Hello there!  This month all my shares are from the 25th onwards
but I am busy creating a lot & also in the process of tidying up &
 sorting out my studio.  You know when you start to regret ever
having begun?!?  Yeah well that's whereI'm at right now!
I've had to bring in the patio table just to sort on!!

Anyway, as I'm short of time {what's new?!?} 
I'm sharing some sneaks & some photos before I head to bed!
Oh and I have been working behind the scenes BIG TIME at
Scrap Around The World - go check out one of the new 
improvements HERE & see if you can spot it!  
Well YOU CAN'T MISS IT!!


I have my first 2 Crafty Chipboard post
 going live on Saturday 25th Jan.


And here are a few of my favourite Christmas photos!


These will be making an appearance
 on my scrapbooking layouts very soon :)



It was all about girly stuff for my younger daughter
 this year as she has just become a teenager.


She is going to miss her big brother when he
 goes off to university away from home soon.


Despite the 7 year age gap these 2 girls have
an absolutely FANTASTIC relationship!


She got the "Into the Light" Palette by Stila -
beautiful, natural looking metallic shades.


And this photo is STILL making me laugh every time I look at it!!


My daughter loves Penguins & has quite a collection of them,
 from tiny to huge {not the real kind of course!}


Yes this is a Squirrel, not a Penguin.  My eldest daughter's
 first nickname, when she was a baby, was "Squirrel Nutkin"
{coined by my husband} &sometimes we still call her 
Squirrel, so I bought this little squirrel for her to take
 back to university with her :)  She loved it!! 

We had a great Christmas & we are still having a great time.
It is the middle of Summer here & we are braaing {barbequeing},
swimming, eating salads & drinking smoothies & crushers - Yum!




Sunday 19 January 2014

2014 - My One Little Word & My Plans :)





Hi everyone :)  I haven't shared my ONE LITTLE WORD yet. I've chosen TRANSCEND. I know it sounds a bit pie-in-the-sky but here's a definition I like. I'm a striver & not someone that ever stays static so for me it's a good choice.

transcend
tranˈsɛnd,trɑːn-/
verb
  1. 1.
    be or go beyond the range or limits of (a field of activity or conceptual sphere).
    "this was an issue transcending party politics"
    synonyms:go beyond, rise above, cut across
    "there were differences of opinion transcending Party lines


  2. I'm a shamelessly competitive person & I find it challenging, satisfying & rewarding to push the boundaries in an attempt to improve continually in what I do.  In this instance, scrapbooking & all that it entails  HOWEVER...


I've been sharing online for over FIVE YEARS now - that's a LONG time, 
&  1 660 posts later {on my blog alone, not to mention all the OTHER
 places I blog!} I don't feel the need to be in such a hurry anymore.

I want to take my time creatively, so that I can experiment more & enjoy
 the process more too.  So I have had to make some changes , resign from
 a couple of Design Teams & learn how to say NO sometimes.


In 2014 
I am at Scrap 365 magazine, which is really exciting for me!  I KNOW I don't share
 a lot about it here.  I'm still learning the ropes of the publishing industry & how to be   economical with my words.  I have to cut every article I write in half!  We work SO far
 in advance that I lose track of WHAT has been published when & WHEN I can share.
I'm planning a comprehensive catch up on all I am allowed to share by now, SOON!

Lindy's Stamp Gang, which is AWESOME.  I'm like a
 pig in mud there - just wallowing in gorgeousness.

2 Crafty Chipboard - so far - so awesome!  Loads & loads of loveliness
 arrived a short while ago & I have been in my element ever since, 
finding any excuse to add their awesome product to my projects.

Inkido - this indulges my shabby side, with beautiful, soft floral papers,
 darling stamps, dainty bling & pretty flowers.  Everything a girl could ever want ♥

Scrap Around The World - this is my BABY!  It is demanding & naughty & enchanting &  captivating & we have a love/hate relationship with each other! But I am still hanging in there & doing the best I can do {without allowing my other Design Teams to suffer} to grow my new challenge blog into a strong, independent force to be reckoned with & so far I am succeeding!  It's more work than I ever imagined & sometimes I wonder if it's worth it -  other times I know it is.


I'm a resolution maker.  I make a list of things I'd like to achieve every year then make monthly schedules of things required to achieve those things.  I don't put a rigid time
 limit on things because I'm really patient & prepared to wait & work for what I want. 


 This year I have at least THREE specific scrapbooking goals
 I would like to achieve.  They are too personal to share but 
if I attain any of them this year I will certainly let you know :)