Scrapbook Socialites

Welcome back everyone!  This time of the year is when things really start to get busy for me - so an anything goes challenge is just perfect.  Busy times do often mean that my relaxing times are spent playing with my craft goodies. I have used a New Zealand Brand here of Rosies Studio - Indigo mist range. This is a range that I had in my stash - yes I'm going through one of those phases where I feel the need to use up more of my hidden stash rather than think of myself as a craft supply horder. So here we have 'Love u' This particular paper was a bight too pink for me - so I toned it down by applying a thin layer of white gesso over the top of some clear gesso so as not to destroy my paper. I have used left over scraps of varying lengths to build up my next layer and to add that directional layer. I'd love to see what you are working on so remember to join in the challenge fun! This months Team Lou Challenge was sponsored by: Clearly Besotted

Some of you may not know but I also go by the name of ' The Overthinking Crafter ' - a name well and truly suited to me! Under this name I make and market a number of handcrafted items.  One of those is cards....and one of the most popular is 'Thank You' cards.  I find it hard to keep up the demand and the diversity that is required. So in a long winded way what I am trying to say is that it appears that a simple thank you card is universally appreciated.  Who doesn't love to receive a bit of gratitude. Here is one that I have created especially for the Lets Craft and Create November Challenge! Thanks for stopping by - I look forward to seeing your entries!

Team Lou's challenge this week over at The Southern Girls Challenge is...Tic Tac Toe! The rules of the challenge are - pick three in a row, could be across, up, down or diagonal.  Just pick three and include these in your creation. I went straight down the middle using a die cut, stamp and the colour blue. I stamped the striped background with Silver pigment ink, as well as stamping the words Bam!, Pow! and Super!  From the background I die cut out a star and backed that with red cardstock and...a stamped star. To help give it some more of that super hero feel, I then added two larger stars in blue and yellow, layering them on top of each other.  The final touches were added with a banner, red die cut stars and some red twine. Thanks for stopping by! Challenge Sponsors:

Hi everyone! So I am a little bit excited to let you all know that I am a guest designer over at Clique Kits ! I was asked to pick from their kit range, a kit to use as my inspiration and I happened to notice a NZ brand Rosie's Studio.  So being a kiwi I opted for this one which sports the great Indigo Mist range, which is described as wintery florals, wood textures, and misty pinks, teals and blues - a modern yet rustic collection. #RosiesStudio #Indigomist #Cliquekits My lovely box arrived with a full set of Indigo Mist papers, Butterfly embellishments, gemstones, vellum die cuts, veneer embellishments, collectables, doilies and some designer buttons.  A great kit full of products that I could instantly see would be well suited to almost any style of scrapbooking, card making or general paper crafting! I have to apologise for the lack of process photo's as I had so many ideas for this range that I ended up swapping and changing my mind on things right the way through

Challenge time again!  This month Lets Craft and Create   invites you to put some extra layers on.  You can use so many things to create layers which adds a bit of extra depth so it will be interesting to see all your submissions. I like to use stamping, embossing, stencils and some mixed media to create a bit of extra depth.  However in this case I have kept this quite minimal. I started with overlapping three papers, giving the middle piece some extra detail by die cutting the edge.  The different patterns on the papers helps to add an extra interest and another layer.  For my next flat layer I inked through a 13@rts stencil.  This gave me a nice base of what I consider at least three layers already.  From here I then started to build up individual layers using die cut papers, mesh, ribbon flowers and butterflies stamped on clear acetate.  Each of my paper layers are lifted with a layer of thin cardboard between them, this helps with the layered look and also gives me a bit of r

Hey everyone! Southern Girls has a great new challenge this week to celebrate a new season - Spring Showers. Thanks to our great sponsors Krafters Cart and Colour of love , I have used a great digi stamp from Colour of love called Rory's Poppy bouquet . Be sure to visit our sponsors and show them some love too!                                                     Happy crafting everyone!

Hey everyone!  So yip confession time this post is a tad late this month!  It's been a busy and trying time lately.  I may have mentioned in a previous post that my dear Mum passed away recently and to be honest it is something that I have struggled with on many levels. Through this tough time however I have found strength in those who surround me.  I have accepted many a coffee date lately and have spent a number of hours chatting, sobbing and laughing - all of which I have been very grateful for.  So on this note, it has also become the center of my inspiration piece this week. I present to you.....Coffee and Friends! Here I have used a 'Simon Says Stamp' set Coffee and Tea. Thanks for stopping by, don't forget to upload your entry this month to Let's Craft and Create!

So we were given these awesome digi stamps from Oddball Art and honestly I thought they were adorable!  I'm not normally a huge fan of digi stamps but these I really liked because they were just that little bit different and well odd lol. These were the perfect digi's to pair with the statement stamp 'You are not normal and I love it' from My Favourite Things - Sassy Pants Best Friends. Jump on over to the  Southern Girls Challenge  blog and upload your entry today! This challenge has been sponsored by: Oddball Art Krafters Kart

Time for another challenge over at  Let's Craft and Create  with an optional theme of red, white and blue.  I've decided to go with a baby card as I think these colours are perfect for a boys card....may also have something to do with the fact that a friend has just had a baby boy too! I have started with a solid colour base layer of blue, then added a star embossed layer to add some more detail and depth.   This cute wee bunny is from a  Uniquely creative Whimsy-bunnies-stamp set.  - isn't it cute! Thanks for stopping by, I look forward to seeing all your creations when you link them up.

Recently my daughter performed her first solo dance at a local competition, something that she has dreamed of doing for some time.  It was a rough road for her in the week leading up to it, not just with the increasing nerves that were building but she also caught a nasty virus just days before. Come competition day though, there was no doubt in her mind that she was performing.  She made that mental choice to start living her dreams.  This proud mumma has been so inspired by her courage and determination it was really hard to hold back the tears of joy. I have started my piece with a softer layer of stamped flowers. I have used grey ink as I wanted them to just sit in the background.  I have layered my piece up then using the diagonally cut papers and fussy cut flowers.  Fussy cutting is not a favourite task of mine, but sometimes it's just worth it right! Main Ingredients AC Cardstock - White Kaisercraft papers - Fairy Garden Kaisercraft Paper - Daydreamer Kais

And I'm back with another Let's craft and create challenge.....this one is for all the wonderful men/boys in our lives- You are the man! I've created a duo of cards using up some of my scrap pieces of paper.  I have embossed a plain piece of card, then actually cut this into two pieces, added some strips of scrap paper and some stamping over top.  I have then added some triangles, stapled them on for that extra texture and added my sentiment.  I thought this type of card would be good for a teenage boy, or young adolescent.

I dug deep into my stash this week!  I managed to find some lace printed paper thanks to Kaisercraft, and then added some ribbon and tied it for effect. With a lot going on in our lives this month I am really pleased that I managed to do this...crafting is good for the soul! Sorry for the short and sweet post this week - but please do join in the Southern Girls Challenge  by linking in your works of art.  And finally a big thanks to our sponsors this week, Krafter Kart and The Paper Shelter.

Mother's day is almost here so it's the perfect time to join the latest challenge over at  Lets craft and create .  This months challenge #147 - Motherly Love. I made two cards for this challenge using the same technique on both just a variance of colours.  I have die cut the letters out of the main piece of paper and have then cut the letters out of plain cardstock a further 3 times.  I have glued the letters on top of each other to create the raised look. I really like the effect that has given, and can see it being effective over a variety of different cards. Happy crafting everyone!

Time for another Southern Girls Challenge !!! Team Lou this fortnight has an anything goes theme....so here goes my inspiration piece of 'It doesn't get better than this'.  We all have one of those photo's that we just love right...that one that really seems to capture a moment perfectly.  Well this is one of mine, a father and daughter moment on a very special night. I chose to go with the brown theme that was shining through in this photo, which I have carried through in the paper and embellishment colours. I started with a layer of gesso and stamping and used this as a guide for the placement of my layers and ultimately my photo. To create this I have used: Kaisercraft - Documented papers Kaisercraft - Documented collectables Kaisercraft - Butterfly stamp Kaisercraft - Classroom Wooden flourish White gesso Archival Black ink Background stamp Bo-Bunny Stitched stamp Black cotton thread Black soluble pencil F

Time for another great challenge at ' Lets craft and Create' - beautiful butterflies. Butterflies often represent change or things emerging, and so I chose to embrace the theme.  It took me quite a while to complete this layout, each day I would add or change a bit on it...at one point I thought I would never get there! I love the different textures and layers that have emerged - I hope you do too. Happy crafting everyone!

Time for another Team Lou  Southern Girls Challenge!   The theme this time is 'Frame it' - so my inspiration was my son's softball league.  It was a tough season, especially for him but the last game and last innings....and.....he'd already stolen a few bases, one more hit and he scored the winning run!  That moment right there, I had my proud mumma bear face on...you know the one that your half smiling and half trying not to cry because you know that you will embarrass yourself and your poor child lol. There and then trying to take to photo's of the team I thought these are pictures to treasure, these pictures are being framed. To create this page I have used: Kaisercraft Antique Essentials papers Black Cardstock White Cardstock Washi Tape Prima -All Star stamps Gold Glitter cardstock Kaisercraft Nested star cutting dies Lucky Dip -Snapshot wooden flourish Kaisercraft - Alphabet Dies Brown Ink Kaisercraft Stains stamp W

Hi Everyone! Today I bring you my take on the Southern Girls Challenge theme of 'Flora and Fauna'. I've taken my own quirky take on the theme with my interpretation of fauna. So here is a definition that I found for fauna: Fauna - is all the animal life present in a particular region or time. 'I Love You - Even when you're hangry'                    So this special moment was captured on a visit to our local Zoo, at this point my daughter had a bad case of the 'Hangers' (Hungry Angers) ....which pretty much turned her into an animal! I love how this soft floral layout just seems to work for this. For this layout I have used: Kaisercraft - High Tea paper collection Kaisercraft - High Tea collectables MFT - Sassy Pants Best Friends stamp set Waffle flower - Flutter stamp set I'd love to see your take on this theme! Sponsors of Flora and Fauna: