Scrapbook Socialites

It's Christmas Time!!!  I love this time of year ...When I was younger it used to be all about the presents and the food, when your a kid what else is there lol.  As I've grown older and had children of my own I love creating the Christmas atmosphere, that feeling of anticipation that something great and magical is about to happen.  I enjoy seeing the pleasure on people's faces when they receive something that they weren't expecting - and so as a family we love giving out Christmas cards which usually have some form of wee gift associated. This year the kids have been doing a whole of dancing, swimming and sports etc so I had a lot of cards to make. I went back to a tried and true sketch that I just love it's so versatile - great timing to fit in with the Reminder post for  Let's Craft and Create Challenge #132!   Happy Christmas everyone!

Christmas is approaching fast and I'm quite excited about that.  I love Christmas time and all of the crazy business that comes along with it. So to kick of the Christmas season I have Challenge #12 from Do-Al(1) Kreatives to share with you.  I've designed this on a craft card base with layers of black dot embossed card and a white wood PL card.  The wreath is a digi stamp donated by DigiStamp4Joy for the purpose of this challenge. I found this framework of a deer head stamp and loved it, I tried stamping it on some Vellum as I still wanted to be able to see the Wreath in behind it, but I think that some of it gets a bit lost.  Next time I will stamp it on some ash coloured cardstock I think. Ingredients for 'Merry and Bright' Kraft card 18cm x 25cm (Folded in half to form card base) Black cardstock 16cm x 11cm White wood PL card 15cm x 10cm Dark music sheet paper 10cm x 7cm to form tag in behind Corner punch Adhesive Gold & Red Liquid Pearls ...

Greetings everyone!  This is your inspiration piece and reminder post for  the Lets Craft and Create  challenge #131 Anything goes with an option of Fall colours or Thankful. I've had a lot to be thankful lately - most recently my parents travelled a long distance to come and watch my daughter (7) perform on stage for her school.  She had a small solo part in one of my mums favourite songs.  Mum hasn't been well and much to her disgust is in a wheelchair if she wants to go anywhere, so we were all very thankful that she could make it down with Dad. Mum's always been a fan of my art and craft and I have so many fond memories as kids 'rescuing' hedgehogs and attempting to keep them as pets, that I knew I had to include one on my project. Using some texture paste and stencil I added some roses to the background.  Added some splashes of yellow and orange, allowing some of these to soak into the texture paste. Next I started layering.  I fus...

It's been a while since I have been on two design teams....and it may seem a bit crazy to take on something new so close to Christmas but, I have agreed to be a part of the  Do-Al(1) Creatives  design team.  Follow the link and check out their great monthly challenges! This months challenge #11 Christmas preparations theme Christmas preparations in my house most definitely include a bit of home baking. This digi stamp has been provided by  digital delights . I look forward to see what you all create and share!

Halloween is a relatively newly celebrated tradition here in New Zealand, one that has been steadily growing in popularity over the last couple of years.  So while my kids are young and enthusiastic about dressing up I thought I must capture these days!  I started a mini album to keep a record of the kids costumes and any other special halloween activities that we may get up to - one of these pages is my inspiration piece for Challenge #130 over at  Let's Craft and Create I've tried to keep this page clean and simple by only using a few select embellishments. I've used a wide variety of products though - using all sorts of ranges from my stash! Album - October Afternoon Twine Tim Holtz - idea-ology ephemera pack My Favourite Things - Which way is the candy stamp set (Clouds) Studio Calico stars Flair Stella of wink Happy crafting!

Welcome to the world baby was my take on this months theme of 'Child's play' over at  Let's Craft and Create  (Challenge #129).  I created a personalized baby card using an older Kaisercraft range called 'Little One'.  I love the colours in this range and the cute Owls and elephants help too! To add a bit more 'play' to the card I made it into a shaker card, with the stamped sentiment in the center of the card. Supplies Used 14cm X 14cm pearlised card base 13 X 13cm Black cardstock Kaisercraft 'Little one' cardstock Kaisercraft 'Little one' embelishments Stitched circle die Clear plastic sheet White Pen White & pink beads Foam tape Double sided tape. Happy Crafting everyone!

I'm back again with a new challenge post ....a little earlier than usual this time.  This month I join team 1 for Challenge #128 at Let's Craft and Create .  The theme for this months challenge is 'Hey Dude' - so I looked to my 10yr old dude at home for a bit of inspiration.  Here's what I came up with. Hey Dude So Mr 10 is very much into his playstation games at the moment, and I hadn't really connected this before but he is a red head too or as he says 'It's not Red it's Orange!'......I have a feeling that may have even inspired the colour scheme a little bit. I have used an old Kaisercraft collection called Rewind for the bulk of these cards, which includes papers, rub ons and the stamp set.  The controller embellishment however is from a Simple Stories sticker sheet.  I have stuck the sticker to a scrap piece of cardstock and then cut around it and mounted it to give a bit of depth. I hope I've helped to inspire you a littl...

Red, White and Blue is what it's all about for me in this months Challenge Reminder post! Yes you read that right this is the reminder post - which is letting you know that you are running out of time to enter the  Let's Craft and Create Challenge #127 . The theme for this months challenge is 'Just Beachey' &/or Red, White and Blue......as I'd done Miss Mermaid Miranda for the previous challenge I decided to stick with the Red, White and Blue theme.  And here is what I came up with........ I created some depth by using a die cut in the center of my card and mounting that onto some thin chipboard. I then layered red patterned paper behind it and added a further blue star using foam tape. Thanks for stopping by, I look forward to seeing what you create!

Hey Everyone! I'm back today with a wee tutorial.  Every now and again I get asked to make specific themed cards and you guessed it...this time I was asked to create a Mermaid card for a little girls birthday.  I created a few different kinds but this one was by far my favourite. Introducing Mermaid Miranda! I created the background effect by die cutting one bubble set from standard white cardstock and a second from the background paper.  I then mounted these onto a card base. From here we start adding the layers.  Using some tacky glue I've added a bit of muslin cloth, scrunching it up for some texture. I thought it needed something else to lift it a bit so added some bling dots around and slightly underneath the cloth too. Now add you mermaid and sentiment and you're done! Wishing you a fabulous day!

And...here's your friendly reminder post for the Let's Craft and Create  challenge #126 which is all about the girls.  This is Mermaid Miranda - created as a special request.  Quite timely I was asked to make a girls mermaid card.  I decided to use it as an opportunity to try out a few quick techniques. Check back in over the next day or two as I'll be posting a short tutorial.

So I have a confession to make.....I'm a scrapbook hoarder!  I love to make the most of my supplies and hate to see anything go to waste.  As you would imagine then I end up with loads of unmatched pieces, and I continue to think 'ohh but that's pretty I'll keep it just in case I do another layout with similar colours'.  More often than not, if I do another layout with similar colours I end up with more scrap pieces of paper.  I made it my mission the other day to use as many scrap pieces that I could......wow did I have a lot of small no wait not small but tiny bits of paper.  But I did manage to make what I think are some pretty cards with them...so mission accomplished! Fish tail your strips at either end and stick them down, alternating colours.  I added a sentiment onto a circle die cut and then added the odd wooden embelishment that I found floating around. TIP: A lot of the papers are single sided - My sentiments are stamped onto the blank sid...

Lets's Craft and Create Challenge #125 Create your own background Thanks to all of those who took park in the Easter/April Showers Challenge #124 - I hope that you will also join us for this new challenge! Team 2's inspirational creations are now available for you to view. And here is my creation for this challenge.  Mother's day is in May here in New Zealand so I decided to create a lovely warm background using the ombre effect with a stencil and some inks. Here is how I achieved this look.  Here I have my Inks, a flat bristle brush stencil and paper.  I used washi tape to hold my stencil and paper in place, then applying the ink to the brush I started in the bottom left corner with the pink first.  I then moved to the top right hand corner with the yellow, leaving only a small gap of white between the two.  I used the orange in the middle overlapping the pink and the yellow to create that blended look. Here's a close up lo...

I don't tend to go to a lot of retreats or scrap camps, and if I do I kinda expect a lot, I really have to be drawn in by the tutors.  So when my scrapping buddy pointed out who the tutors were going to be for Autumn Escape 2017,  it was a quick google search on each of them to check out their styles - they got the tick of approval and hey presto we were all signed up.   The first completed layout that I have to show you is from Natalie May's class #Awesome - a Layout using 7Dots Studio paper, Imaginarium Designs custom chipboard   & Lindys Stamp Gang Sprays. Love a bit of masculine grunge! Now glitter and sparkle doesn't normally sound masculine does it, but look how lovely these Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays look.   A closer look at the sparkle  I love the out going personalities of creative people - and this definitely was the case here. A wee selfie of me (Right) and Natalie May. The picture to the...

  I made a card like this a little while ago for a friends 50th and had a number of compliments on it so thought I would write up a wee tutorial for anyone that would like to try it.   Supplies Used 15cm x 30cm light coloured cardstock (Card Base) 14.5cm x 14.5cm dark brown cardstock 14cm x 14cm Kraft card Coloured patterned scrap paper approx. 10cm x 9cm 3 craft match sticks Tim Holtz Alterations thinlit dies 7 Flowers (1 large, 1 med, 5 small) Foliage die cut x 2 Glass beads Gel Medium (Transparent) Black and/or brown ink Heidi Swapp White colour shine Adhesive tape Décor stamp (I’ve used a dragonfly) Sentiment stamp Heat tool Paint brush Bone Folder Die Cutting machine (Cuttlebug etc) Instructions Begin by forming your card base.  Measure 15cm in from the left hand side and score  and then fold.  Use your bone folder to give a crisp edge. This should give you a 15cm x 15cm card base. Adhere the 14.5cm x 14.5cm dark ...

Wow we are half way through April already who would have thought!  Must be time for another Challenge reminder for Lets Craft and Create .  So April for me is all about Easter and special birthdays - it's a month where I pray that the rain stays away!  My inspiration piece for this months challenge then is all about easter.  I've created a side step card for the extra depth and spring feel. Thanks for stopping by - happy crafting!