The Dress (Lets Get Sketchy)

Hello and welcome to our final challenge for 2014 over at Lets Get Sketchy, can you believe that?!!  This week is the 5th week in December, which means a special challenge to make a monochromatic layout.  I choose to go with pale pink, based on the ribbon on the dress.  

These photos are actually a print out of a dress that Azaria was to wear as a flower girl for our friend's wedding, except that she changed out the pink ribbon for a black ribbon.  I started with the texture paste butterflies, then added pink gelato with a plastic bag and water.  Then I built my layers around the pictures and the Open Book Card.  The layout is made with my October Hip Kit (which I'm trying to kill right now!).

I added a pop of black and gold, but the predominant features are pink.

A close up of the butterflies and gelato paint:.

My final touch was to add the stitched border as the layout was missing something.

Make sure you play along in this final challenge!

Get Inspired Christmas Edition (Lets Get Sketchy Magazine)

Merry Christmas!  It's actually Boxing Day here in New Zealand, but it's possibly still Christmas depending on where you are in the world.  Well I've been a bit MIA around here due to the absolute craziness of Christmas build up!  We had our special service at Church yesterday, and all of us (except for Brielle) were involved either singing or speaking (Sam read out a verse and sung).  Shaun and I sung "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", one of my favourite songs.

We had two delicious feasts,  lunch at my inlaws and then dinner at our house with friends.  

Well today the Christmas edition of "Get Inspired" is out and you can find the link to it here. I have one unseen layout in it.

I made this one with Kaisercraft's Mistletoe collectable die cuts.  I lightly adhered them in a rough circle around my photo, and then sewed around them three times.  I layered the photo on top of papers and a die cut.  The thickers are old American Crafts in lullaby font (one of my all time favourites).  I finished it with some brads, a button and black India ink.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebrating Jesus and spending time with family and friends.

Hello (Lets Get Sketchy)

Good morning!  Well December is so crazy busy, I really admire all those who can get their December Daily albums made during the month.  Lately we've had the school Christmas show, Church Christmas show (both written and directed by Shaun), school prize giving, and now we are officially in day two of the Summer holidays (with a total of 6 weeks).  Right now the older two are out in the paddling pool.

Today is our third reveal over at Lets Get Sketchy, and we had an awesome sketch by Bev Code.

I choose to scrapbook two old photos of Azaria when she was 3 (I think, still to find the date of the photos and add it to my page).  She had lost her beloved teddy bear and told us Teddy was in a black bag.  After about 6 weeks Shaun was cleaning the garage and found Teddy, yes in a black bag!  Shaun told her to shut her eyes then when she opened them he gave her back Teddy!

I used Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, and a kraft doily I got from a crop and have been hoarding!  I kept the layout really simple because I love the papers.  

And here is the sketch:

Have an awesome week, and make sure you join me in last minute shopping!

Christmas Home Decor (Artfull Crafts)

Good morning!  Today I'm on the Artfull Crafts blog with two Christmas home decor projects that I made.  I love making something new each year for Christmas, and it's fun to unpack our box of goodies that have been stored away in the attic until December!

My first project is a decorated wreath.  I purchased the plain twig wreath from The Warehouse years ago, and found it last school holidays when I was tidying up.  I used the Teresa Collins Candy Cane Lane collection (which you can purchase here), and a Couture Creations bow die.  Here it is on our front door.

Traditionally wreaths seem to be loaded up with bits and pieces, but I believe in this instance, less is actually more.

 A close up of a bow.

I made these stars with this punch by Epiphany Crafts.

My second project is a frame, and I wanted it to sit next to the sequin frame I made last year.  I was inspired by the trees on this layout by Lexi Bridges at Studio Calico.  I used Simple Stories DIY Christmas (which you can purchase here).  I freehand cut the triangles, sewed down the middle, lifted the edges of the tree, and finished it with a small star.  The "merry" is from a sticker sheet of words and icons.

I freehand cut the triangles, sewed down the middle, lifted the edges of the tree, and finished it with a small star.  The "merry" is from a sticker sheet of words and icons, and I machine stitched it to secure it and for texture. 

The background paper is a 4 x 6 cut apart journalling card.

Have a blessed rest of your week!

Christmas List Clipboard (Artfull Crafts)

Good morning!  I'm up on the Artfull Crafts bog today with a handmade Christmas gifts, and I chose to turn a boring old office clipboard into a Christmas shopping list holder.  

I used the Simple Stories DIY Christmas Collection, which you can find in the shop here, and Smash washi tape (black with small white polka dots).  I used the American Crafts version of this extra sticky tape to adhere the patterned paper onto the clipboard.  I stuck the washi on the top and bottom of the board, mostly because it was easier than removing the clip.  

Here is the clipboard with my shopping list:

I used the phrase "Making a List" from the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", because I wanted the list to be of people to buy for, not items to buy.  I used American Crafts Thickers in black glitter from my stash.

A close up of one of the embellishment clusters I created:

And a close up of the top of the clipboard:

Thanks for looking.

Safe (Hip Kit Club)

Good morning!  Yes I'm back again so soon!  I have another layout to share with you, created with my October Hip Kit.  This layout is the second page to the bath time layout I created here, and I tied the two together by keeping some of the same papers and features.  I based my layout on a sketch from Stuck?! Sketches, but was too late to enter it.  It was perfect for this story as it featured three photos.

I created the gold masking, by stamping off the mask once I had sprayed it for the original layout.  I had a lot of fun with my sewing machine on this one, such a relief to have a new machine that can handle all my layers!

The journaling on this page goes into more detail about Brielle's first bath, and how she cried at first, but then seemed to enjoy it.  I can't believe she was so tiny!

And here is the sketch:

Thanks for looking!

Captured (October Hip Kit)

Hello again!  Today I have a layout to share that I made with my October Hip Kit first, but forgot to share.  I've actually already scrapped these photos, but had forgotten, and scrapped them again!  It wasn't until I was sorting out layouts into album piles that I realised!  No worries though, as it means one layout for each girl. 

When I get my kit I go through all of the papers and separate out the ones that I want to use for full backgrounds.  When I only get the main kit and no paper add on, I can only really do this with two papers, and only if I want to sacrifice the other side.  This pink and white ombre was so beautiful that  it had to stay in one piece.  All the papers and embellishments are Maggie Holmes Open Book, with a couple of vellum pieces from the Notes & Things ephemera pack in last months kit.

Lots of stitched layers on this one, and I left my threads long.

I used the texture paste and mask from the kit for the background.  Those gold thicker words are amazing!

Thanks for looking!  

Sweet Love (Lets Get Sketchy)

Happy December 1st from the Southern Hemisphere!  That means only 24 days until Christmas, and the first day of Summer!!!  And it also means its our first December reveal over at Lets Get Sketchy!  

This week we had an amazing sketch by our leader Brenshevia Baker, and I'll be honest, at first glance I thought I'd find it challenging due to the diagonal line. However, I found that it all comes down to paper choice.  I dug deep into my stash and decided to use Crate Paper's DIY Shop collection, which I really need to get used up.  And yes I chose another photo of Brielle to scrap!  I'm really loving tags at the moment, especially tied with plain old string!

And here is the sketch:

Its a busy month ahead, but make sure you play along!