Love - SATW June challenge

SCRAP AROUND THE WORLD
Mood board with it's dramatic colours
reminded me of holidays and relaxation.
The word LOVE was the catalyst for my page.
Thank you Di Garling for this brilliant challenge.

The colours of the mood board are so summery and bright that

I was inspired to scrap a photo of DGD who has a 

vibrant and sunny personality.

The background is water colour paper primed with gesso

Then I splashed around different yellow paints, 

before spritzing with gold and black.

The sequins and threads were inspired by a class I did with

Louise Nelson

The cute Flair is from Scrap Friends.

The words are from Scrapmatts

The circle stamp was kindly tracked down for me by my friend

VAL THORPE
If you don't know Val and her brilliant work,
due yourself a favour and hop over to her blog and check out her style.

The heart is a Freckled Fawn veneer

I just coloured it with a Sharpie.

Love the camera flair, but unfortunately I don't know the maker

it's something I picked up on my travels around Western Australia

The journalling is on the back and it reads.

We baby sat you at home on this day and you were "all over the place, like a blowfly in a bottle," as my Dad used to say.  I'd forgotten how busy some little children can be at two and a half, but the memories of your Daddy at a similar age came rushing back in an instant.  In and out, up and down, round and round, until I was almost giddy with the speed at which you moved and this was just the first hour or so.   My usual trick of story reading didn't have the usual calming effect.  By the second page of the book, you were squirming to get down, saying "I've had enough of that now Granny."  The only time I got you to sit still for a few seconds was when the camera came out.  You loved changing your dress and doing a twirl.  And just look at the smile, butter wouldn't melt in your mouth.  At the end of a tiring day, I have not only the memory of your antics, but also this gorgeous photo, which I treasure.   Love Granny, 22nd March 2014

Chalk & Cheese - CSI challenge 129

Hello and welcome to my blog.  

Take your time, look around and maybe be inspired to 

join the challenge at  this week at CSI

Core'dinations is one of the generous sponsers,

so I used a piece of their card stock at the background.

The grey paper is by "Winterings" by Little yellow bicycle

I think the camera paper is DCWV

Some texture paste through a Heidi Swap stencil created the hearts

I used Imaginarium Designs chipboard hearts

I embossed them for a previous challenge, but they didn't look right, 

so here there are recycled

with Calico at the back to stamp the initials of the twins. 

 Love it, when something works on a different project.

The yellow hearts paper is by Glitz, "Color me happy"

The flowers are from my stash with Prima crystals in the centre

EVIDENCE
Chevrons - background Core’dinations cardstock
Silver Metal
Number
Flowers
Stems - stitched
Fabric - behind the chipboard hearts
Embossing
Lean something against something else - the photos
Stitching

TESTIMONY
I used the inspiration words “Bright” and “Count”
The journalling reads:-

We love to see you every week, when you come to spend the day with us.  You brighten our lives with your chatter and your enquiring minds.  I can’t count the number of times, you make us laugh out loud with your funny little questions and your corny joke telling.

Every few weeks, I like to take some photos and that’s when your personalities are most evident.  One of you is quite happy to sit and smile naturally and one of you is not as comfortable with the process. No prizes for guessing which one is which!   I often plan a baking session immediately afterwards, (no, not as a bribe - what Granny would do such a thing)! but something to sweeten the deal, because you both love to cook.  You get to lick the beaters & take some of the goodies home to share.     
8 April 2014  Love Granny

Getting to know ME

I must apologize for being late with this post; sometimes life gets in the way.
My dear friend Heather Jacob invited me to play along with a
BLOG HOP with a DIFFERENCE 
It’s a getting to know you blog.

At first I was going to decline, because I’m a bit intimidated by new things,
but with her gentle encouragement, I decided to give it a go. 
Having said that, Heather is a tough act to follow.
CLICK HERE
 to go to her beautiful blog
I’m in awe of her Art and creativity.

Heather designs for CSI, Meg's Garden, Maja and Dusty Attic

My list of friends with links are at the bottom of this post
They will be posting next week 30th June

1. What am I working on right now?
Currently, I’m making some Baby cards for my daughter in law,

using Martha Stewart crafter’s clay
 to create a resin type embellishment.
When I finish a layout, I bundle all the scraps into a bag,
so that when I go to make a card, all the co-ordinating scraps are in one spot.
I love to use dies, especially on cards.

I’ve also started a mini-album about a one year working holiday
 I took with friends, before I was married.  I’ve scanned some slides
  and am shocked at the terrible quality of them.  
Still, they tell the story of a young girl, heading off to see the world,
someone my sons have never met. 
I’d like them to know of my adventures before they were born.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Primarily it differs because I’m a journalling junkie.  
I love to tell the story about the photo and not just, 

who, what, when, where and why. 
I try to give a glimpse of the subject’s personality and feelings.
 For retro or older photos, I like to describe the social mores of the time,
so that our Grandchildren will understand
what it was like to live when I was a child.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?
We have such fun with the Grandchildren and enjoy
their funny little sayings and questions. 
I want to record their stories, so they will know later,
 just how much they were loved and what joy they brought into our lives.

4. How does your writing/creating process work?
Writing comes fairly easily to me and I find it a pleasure, rather than a chore. 

I jot down little conversations I have with the Grandchildren.
I’ve always kept a travel diary and refer to it when journalling.
However the creating can be problematic, as I am a painfully slow scrapper.
  I often start without any idea about what I will make
and the page just evolves (or not); sometimes it ends up in the bin. 
I thank Heather for the freedom to be able rip it up
and start again, rather than persisting with something which is just not working.
 Luckily the Grandchildren allow me to take lots of photos, 

as long as I’m quick about it!

5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?
Being on Design Teams keeps me inspired;
talented artists from around the world encourage
me to try new techniques and styles. 
I’m driven to record the children’s stories,
because although we think we will remember,
they grow and change so quickly,
that even now, I look back and think,
“I might have forgotten that, if it hadn’t been written down."
They love to look at their albums and remember special events.

6. What is my signature style?
I like to try new styles and techniques,
but lean toward clean and simple with lots of journalling
typed right on the front of the page.

If you'd like to visit three inspiring blogs, 

check out my friend’s posts on 30th

Janice Nicholls
A talented scrapper and a gentle spirit who
encouraged me to submit pages for publication,
to start a blog and to apply for Design Team positions. 
Without her, I would have done none of these things.
Janice always has stunning photos to work with.
Her style is layered and distressed with great use of chipboard and washi. 
I was lucky enough to meet Janice IRL recently.

Valerie Thorpe
Is at home with lots of styles, I am inspired by her
interpretation of sketches and bold use of colour. 
She has ventured into the world of mixed media lately
and is coming to grips with the unpredictability of the medium. 
Val shares my love of words and has a lyrical, poetic voice.
She has the ultimate in a scrapping studio, with a place for everything.
Apart from scrapbooking we share a common interest,
as we are both Grandmother to twins.

Denise van der Venter
Denise uses lots of layers, flowers, chipboard, paint, stencils
and anything in the Mixed Media line.
She runs a fabulous design team called Scrap Africa,
for which she provides most of the sketches and ideas for other challenges. 
She is calm, organised and very supportive; truly a joy to work with

Links to my friends joining in this blog hop
Janice Nicholls

Valerie Thorpe

Denise van der Venter

all these artists will be posting for this blog hop next week 30th June,
I’d love you to hop over and find out more about them.

My addiction to scrapbooking has enabled me to
make friends in cyberspace,
some of whom I’ve since met in real life.
What a joy and an honour.

If you have persisted to the end of this long post,
thank you so much,
I hope you will discover some new scrappers
and become inspired by their Art.

Orchid - CSI 128

Hello blog friends, welcome to my little corner of the world.
Today I’m sharing a layout as a double agent for CSI and Meg’s Garden.  

I don’t use a lot of purple, but this photo was just right for the colours this week.

I’d love you to hop over and have a look at the stunning layouts

 created by the Design Team and perhaps play along.  

There is a generous prize pack to be won from Meg’s Garden.
MEG'S GARDEN

I used the gorgeous Correspondence collection, 

"Distressed Letter" P6402 by Kerry-Jean Watson, (green)

 and "A French Account" P6401 (neutral)

The marbled purple (amethyst) is also from Meg’s Garden, 

as is the jewel bright, purple brad.

Texture was added with Jo Sonja texture paste

and a little colour with Tim Holtz distress ink.

The required blue and white colours are in this little cluster

Cream alphas are by Prima and fit within the permitted

 10 percent additional colour.

EVIDENCE
Flowers
Distressing
Pearls
Metal (on the brad)

TESTIMONY
I went to the journal jar prompt and was inspired by this question. 

What little things have happened to you lately that have really touched you or made a huge difference in your day?

The journalling is on the back of the page and it reads:-

This glorious orchid was grown by a neighbour of mine.  He and his wife have been having a bit of a tough time over the last few years, but they’ve picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and created new ways of giving their lives meaning.  Their generosity is legendary, yet they see themselves as ordinary people. 

I called in to see them briefly this week and was given a stem of orchids from their greenhouse.  Their random act of kindness has stayed with me all week.  The vibrant colour, the unusual fragrance and the exquisite shape of the spray, is a feast for my eyes and brightens the hallway with it’s beauty.  Their simple act of generosity has enhanced my week and created a bubble of joy every time I look at it.  Why is it so?  I think it’s to do with the random nature of the gift.  I wasn’t expecting it and somehow that makes the gift even more special.   Just as an unprovoked rude response from someone, can cause intense sadness, so too, does this give intense joy. It has made me to think about how I interact with others and decide to pay it forward whenever I have the opportunity.  “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy.  They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”   Marcel Proust

Love - DT for Scrap Africa - Scrap your stash

Hello friends, welcome to my blog.
Today I’m sharing a DT layout for Scrap Africa
The challenge set by Erica Houghton was to Scrap your stash,
or things that are not on trend right now.

e.g. eyelets, rub ons.

It was such fun combining old stuff with new techniques to create a fresh look.

I hope you will have a look at the Design Team’s examples,
HERE
rummage around in your stash and play along.

 I found some very old, punched Bazzil Cardstock
and filled the holes with eyelets.

Added some gelato colours, crackle medium and stamping,

to jazz up the background.

 

 An old Prima flower and some new Prima lace.

The pink floral Chatterbox paper could be ten years old,
but I still love it.

  

The chipboard title is probably only two years old,

but I’d previously cut it into three pieces and couldn't get it to work.
A fresh coat of paint and joined together again,
it was just the thing for the title.

The Journalling is on the back of the layout and says:-

We usually have about a 3 minute window to get a photograph of you and this day was no exception. You'd given me your smiley face and your happy face and I thought I'd like to get a shot of you

without a smile. 

I said "Have you got a serious face?" 

"What does that mean Granny?" 

"When you're not smiling"

"But I like to smile Granny"

"What sort of a face do you have when you are in trouble?"

"I don't get in trouble Granny, 'cos I'm a good girl!"

 You can be sweet and charming, but there are also days, when you just like to be mischievous and not settle to anything.

Nevertheless, you tried to give me a serious face, but your cheeky grin kept threatening to break through.   Love Granny, 13 June 2014

Keep Calm - DT for CSI challenge 127

Thanks for calling in today, I hope you will take time

 to check out what the rest of the DT have created for this challenge.

CSI LINK

The deep red and teal seemed to say Boy's page to me

and luckily I had some recent photos

of our oldest Grandchild

 Would you like to play along?

Just use all five colours

At least two things from the evidence prompt 

and one thing from the testimony prompt.
There is a sketch for you to use this week from the
super talented Em Stafrace

 

Here's what I came up with.  This all came together very quickly for me,

maybe I'm getting a bit more decisive as I grow older!

I rotated the sketch 90 degrees to the right.

I started with

Core Impressions - Cosmo Cricket, “Neutrals collection” (Teal background)

then added Carta Bella - Rough and tumble, “Journalling cards”

and Little Yellow Bicycle - Winterings (grey photo mat)

Webster’s - Recorded Picturesque (anchor tags)

Craft Queen - Washi tape

Studio Calico - camera

Prima Sugar dots - Delight

Pink Paislee - Photo tab

Freckled Fawn - Arrows

Prima brads - Delight

Plasterer's tape

EVIDENCE

Camera
String
Birds
Wood
Transportation images

TESTIMONY
I went off at a tangent with the journalling and didn’t actually use a prompt.  Whoops!  Sorry about that.   I guess if I was to draw a very obscure connection it would be to link the journalling to the retro prompt when I described how things were when I was a child.  

Now that you are a big school boy, I don’t have the same opportunities to capture random, every day photos of you playing.

Luckily, in the school holidays you came for the day and a sleepover.  With Pa’s help we had a photo shoot.

Although a bit shy at first, you soon started “acting the goat” and I love these photos.

I love summer - DT for CSI Color Stories Inspiration Challenge - 126

Welcome to my blog, I hope you will take your time,
have a look around and
perhaps find something to inspire you.
Today I’m sharing a Design Team page for CSI.
Having Sons and Grandsons makes me feel right
at home with these colours.

But there are lots of different takes on challenge.
Take a look HERE

to see what the other designers have created.

I used one of my favourite ranges for the background
Carta Bella, “Best Buddy Blue”
The yellow polka dots are by My Mind’s Eye
as is the dark teal photo mat.

 The title is cut from Paper People

and the yummy Chippie is from Imaginarium

 Love the flairs from Studio Fourteen 40

The ancient sticker drops are by Bo Bunny

(I never imagined they would see the light of day!)

The wooden camera was a gift from my friend 

the very talented JANICE NICHOLLS

Do yourself a favour and check our her blog.

Have I cracked the case?  Let's see.  All five colours used.

EVIDENCE
Chevrons
Polka dots
Number
Ampersand (Small brad, top Left)
Transparent element (sequin)
Something sweet (tiny brad, bottom right)

TESTIMONY
I chose to use two of the inspiration words “Invite” and “Cheerful”.  If you are interested in the journalling, I’ve added it here too.

We invited you to have a mini holiday with us in the caravan at the beach.  You were highly amused about the table folding down to become your bed.   In the evenings we enjoyed playing “Fish,” “Uno,” and “Rummiking” and the day was spent either on the beach or in the water park.  At first you were a bit nervous of the huge bucket dumping cascades of water as it tipped over, but you soon got into the swing of things, when you noticed other children managing to escape with their lives!  Your cheerful mood reminded me of the carefree holidays I had at the same caravan park as a child.  My sisters and I ate breakfast and disappeared for the day, only returning to the caravan for food. I still remember the freedom and  relaxation we enjoyed after a dreary year of school.   The one thing we disliked was getting sunburnt, because there was no sun screen around back then. We burned, blistered, peeled and shed slabs of skin like lizards.  Treatment for sunburn was to dab methylated spirits or cut tomato onto the skin; which stung fiercely, but didn’t work.  Mum and Dad were serene too; the harvest was finished & our neighbours kept an eye on the stock so they could take a break after an exhausting year. Happy memories. Love Granny.  Oct 2013

Beautiful - CSI and Scrap 365/6 challenge

These are not my favourite colours, but I like to be forced to think outside the square. After several attempts, with lots of paper cut up and nothing looking good, I raided my scraps box and found the perfect colours.  The Dark Coral is an old piece of Bazzil cardstock and the light peach,
I’m not sure about; it could be Anna Griffin.

I used the June
Scrap365 sketch

Would you like to join in the challenge?

CLICK HERE

to see what the rest of the CSI team have created

I used a water colour paper for the base

My attempts were hideous, so I flipped it over and started again.

It's hard to see, but there is a textured frame behind the coral one.

The die cut frame is Spellbinders - Fleur de Lis, rectangles

Chipboard title is from Scrapmatts - Scrap Words 03

I altered the white ribbon with gelatos to make the light peach colour

Enamel dots were left over from a class.

I think they are Teresa Collins

EVIDENCE
Ribbon
Flowers
Frames
Texture paste
Lace - punched border

TESTIMONY
I used the initials of my subject to generate words to describe our DGD 

They are written on the back of the layout.

Effervescent
Salubrious
Theatrical
Hilarious
Engaging
Remarkable

Imagine Believe Happy - Scrap Africa Sketch 30

Hello again, today I have a sketch challenge from 

Scrap Africa to share with you.

The sketch is by the talented Denise van Deventer 

Some great examples by the DT and can be found

HERE

There is no other critera to follow, just use the sketch and join in the fun, 

you have two weeks to get your entry in.

 I used a floral Maja paper and some navy cardstock

The flourish is by Scrap fx

and the butterfly chippie from Imaginarium designs

as are the chipboard titles.

The photo was taken at rather a turbulent time in my life, 

so I have kept the journalling tucked away.

& Baby makes three - CSI Challenge 125

Hello, thanks for clicking on my blog today - welcome.

I have a CSI Design Team layout to share with you.

I absolutely love these colours and I had this sweet photo to work with, 

so it all came together quite quickly.  I was inspired by the ampersand.

 

Here's how I cracked the case,

why not pop over to

CSI 

and have a look at the examples by the Design Team.

I hope you will be inspired to play.
The idea is to use all of the colours,
At least two of the evidence prompts
And at least one of the testimony prompts.
It's not as hard as it sounds, I promise!

 Here's how I cracked the case.

The grey background paper is from Simple Stories and the teal is a very old Bo Bunny range. The lime green is from WR Memory keepers and the pale blue is from Kaisercraft.

 The wooden flower is by Kaisercraft

and the tiny envelope is by Studio Calico

 The butterfly flair is from Studio fourteen 40 and the ampersand

was cut from the reverse side of the grey paper

the alphas are from Lily Bee Designs

EVIDENCE - is tucked in the small envelope
Flowers
Clock
Scallops
Ampersand
Textured paper - the background is wood grain
Wood - the big flower and the bird
Buttons

TESTIMONY
I used the inspiration word “time” and the journalling is tucked in the little envelope.

There was a time, before Grandchildren, when I wondered what all the fuss was about.  Friends of ours, who had them, seemed to turn into mush overnight.  Yes, babies were sweet, but I remembered the sleepless nights and the tantrums too.  Then you came along with your big eyes and your even bigger smile and I fell in love again in a heart beat. A wave of joy swept over me as I greeted you; son of my son and  another generation of the family. Here you are at 6 months having learned so many things in half a year. I don’t think you will understand how precious you are, until you have Grandchildren of your own.  Love Granny 25 May 2014