Kaisercraft Mix & Match (Artfull Crafts)

Happy Friday from snowy Queenstown!  I'm up on the Artfull Crafts blog today, and I've had some fun this week creating with the fun new Mix & Match range from Kaisercraft.  This range is contemporary in style, and is kraft based papers with pops of white, red and navy.  The embellishments include tags, actual doilies and small clothes pins, and the stickers have hearts, banners and more doilies.  When I first looked at my package of goodies I immediately thought off the page projects, which are more of a challenge for me as I love my traditional 12x12 layouts!

Liz had included a couple of bags, so I decided to decorate them as gift bags.  For both bags I layered a doily, tag, butterfly stickers, twine and fabric embellishments.

For this bag I focussed on white with kraft.  The "Love" is part of a border sticker that I cut apart.

For the glassine bag I went for white and kraft with a pop of red.

Brielle had been given some booties in this cute kraft star box. I always knew I wanted to alter it, but I wasn't sure what product I'd use.

One of the papers had a lot of saying on it, so I cut apart the "Pretty Little Things", matted it on white card stock, then popped it up over the sticker doily, and added the butterfly and fabric flower.

Of course I had to make a layout too, and decided to use the latest sketch from Stuck?! Sketches, and I'll be linking this up.  These photos went perfectly with the collection, and once again I focussed on white and kraft with a pop of red.  These are photos of my husband and daughters on a walk/bike around the Arrow River track in Arrowtown in July.

And here is the sketch, which I rotated to the left.

You can purchase Mix & Match in the shop here.

Be blessed!

First Snow Day 2014 (Lets Get Sketchy)

Happy Wednesday here in NZ! This week is Team B's turn for reveal over at Lets Get Sketchy and even though I'm in Team A I loved the sketch so much I had to play along.  It helps with killing my July Hip kit too!

I decided to scrap this photo of my older two in the first snow day of winter.  Here in Queenstown a "Snow Day" means a huge snow fall that closes schools because there is so much snow on the roads that the buses can't operate.  Brielle was only about 5 weeks old on this day in May and I remember being so very tired.

I finally made a layout without black India ink!

I cut some leaves with my Cuttlebug for another project and had these left over to use up.

I love how this clutter turned out!

And here is the sketch by Laura Whitaker:

Thanks for looking!

Snapshots of a Great Day (Scrapstuffz)

Hello, I'm up on the Scrapstuffz "Inspired By" Challenge blog today with my reveal for August! This month we've changed things up and have an awesome sketch by our very own Adele, and the Design Team used Stacia's custom made die cuts, which you can purchase from her Etsy shop here.  

As I don't have a Silhouette Cameo (yet), and because I live so far away in New Zealand, I wasn't able to feature one of the die cuts.  However, the added twist is to use a handmade/homemade die cut on your project.  Additional points will also be given if you use one of Stacia's die cut pieces.  I have a Cuttlebug, but I only have a couple of dies for it at this stage.  So I stamped the speech bubbles, and cut them out.

I used my June Hip Kit, and mostly used the Studio Calico and October Afternoon pieces for this layout.  This layout is all about my son meeting his new baby sister for the first time.  

Here is a close up of one of the speech bubbles.

And another close up.

And here is the awesome sketch.

Thanks for looking, make sure you play along!

2 Months (Lets Get Sketchy)

Hello!  Its the first August reveal over at Lets Get Sketchy!  

This week I decided to be brave and start scrapbooking Brielle's monthly album photos.  As this was a single photo sketch (by our awesome leader Brenshevia) I started with her 2 month photo.  I was also brave because I cut into (literally) my Websters Pages Sweet Routine collection pack, which I bought especially for this album.  Its such a gorgeous girly collection.

I decided to stick closely to the sketch, but I put the top border strips on the side, as they balanced the large photo.   I also got my scallop border punch out for this layout too.

And here is the awesome sketch:

Make sure you head on over to the blog and play along.

Thanks for looking!

LGS Inspired Magazine Issue 4

Hello and welcome to August!  Well our 4th issue of Lets Get Sketchy "Get Inspired Magazine" is now live, so grab a coffee and enjoy!

The only unshared layout I have in it is my March Project Life spread.  I generally keep it very simple for PL, and use up paper scraps and bits and pieces.  I have the Becky Higgins Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party Mini Kit, and a Kaisercraft set of 3 x 4 cards which I'm using for PL throughout the year.  This spread also has a couple of exclusive printable cards from the Paper Bakery that I hadn't used.

I love to include photos, ephemera from the month, and my kid's art.  I've done some stamping on this spread too.

Doing PL on a monthly basis is a no stress solution to telling the everyday stories.  At the moment I'm 3 months behind, but I'm not concerned as I can do a monthly spread in an evening.

You can check out the magazine here.

Happy viewing!

Be-YOU-tiful & Pitter Patter Layouts (Artfull Crafts)

Good morning! I'm up on the Artfull Crafts Blog today with two layouts from two new Kaisercraft Collections.  My first layout is made with the Pitter Patter Collection, a baby line with vintage imagery and soft pinks and blues.  Of course I had to put my hand up for this line with our beautiful baby girl!

This line was crying out for mixed media, so I used modelling paste mixed with white acrylic paint and a Heidi Swapp Mask, then I mixed two mists to get a pale pink and applied it with a plastic bag, and my final media was black India ink.  I painted the raw "Adore"chipboard with two coats of white paint.  The background paper is called "Peek-a-boo" and I used the B side, which looks exactly as it does (sheet music on one side, and newspaper print on the other.  

The sweet photo is of Sam's hand holding Brielle's hand in hospital when he first met her.  I was so pleased to capture such a sweet candid moment.  I layered several of the 6 x 6 papers and some vellum, all hand cut and distressed with my scissors.  I kept the embellishment to a minimum on this page.

A close up of the chipboard.  This page is not my normal style, but I must admit I'm really happy with how it turned out.  You can purchase Pitter Patter in the shop here.

My second page was made with the Be-YOU-tiful collection which is described in the shop as "bringing two of our favourite things together, bright colours and enchanting florals."  You can purchase it here. I chose to scrapbook my final pregnancy photo which Shaun took of me in the hospital at 7am, some 50 minutes before we met our baby girl.  Brielle is 15 weeks old now, its amazing how fast time passes once the baby is born, and how you forget being big and pregnant!

For this layout I focussed on white acrylic paint, stamping and machine stitching.

Kaisercraft always produces such awesome die cut collectables that assist in getting the story recorded!

A close up of my cluster of doily, flowers and a charm.

Thanks for looking, make sure you head on over to the shop if you wish to purchase these lovely collections.

Creative Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to the Creative Blog Tour!  I was so honoured to be invited to this tour by Wendi, an amazingly talented scrapbooker who has become a lovely friend, through us both being on the Design Team over at Lets Get Sketchy.  Make sure you check out Wendi's blog, as she's a super talented card and layout designer.

Onto the questions:

1. What am I working on?

In April I joined the Hip Kit Club, with the one proviso that I kept up with the kits and didn't let them stockpile.  Shipping to New Zealand is expensive, and as the kits have the latest and greatest trendy product I want to get layouts made while the product is current.  So, I've nearly finished "killing" my June kit, which means making as many pages as I can.  I'm also working on a Wedding Blessing Album for a lovely couple in our church who just got married, and I a very special mini album that I'm making for a friend.  

Here are a couple of sneaks of my June Hip Kit Layouts:

I love that these kits are so versatile, and no two layouts have to look the same!

My two eldest kids are into Loom Bands, so I've been doing a little bit of that too!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I guess my work differs because I refuse to change the fact that I always journal on my layouts, and although I dabble in trying new things that are trendy (like water colours, mixed media etc), I will always stay true to my style!  So when I apply for Design Teams I never get upset or disappointed because I figure my style is not fit for them.  

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

When I was a child I suffered from some trauma that affected me later as an adult, such that I can't remember many parts of my childhood.   Scrapbooking is one way that I can record memories for my children (aged 7, 5 and 15 weeks) so that when they're older they'll be able to look through their albums and our family albums and read the stories that I've recorded to accompany the photos.

In this layout I was inspired by Wilna Furstenburg who often journals to her children in the form of a letter on her layouts.

I also love the creative outlet that scrapbooking provides, and it satisfies my love of pretty paper!  This year I'm doing Project Life on a no stress monthly basis to get our family story recorded as this year was always going to be big: My husband started a new job, we had our third baby, and our eldest daughter started school.

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I don't scrapbook chronologically, I'm either motivated to create with certain photos, or the product will inspire me so I'll find a photo to make work.  I'm on three design teams and have deadlines for projects, so that definitely gets my creative processing going.  My creativity ebbs and flows though, and sometimes when I struggle I play along with a challenge blog.  

Here is a layout I recently created which I haven't shared yet, its the last layout I made with my May Hip Kit, when I was literally down to the scraps.  

I used my star punch a lot!

Creative Bloggers

Here are the creative bloggers I have tagged.  They will be sharing more about themselves next Monday 4 August on their blogs.  They are all amazing and lovely, and I've met them online by being on the Lets Get Sketchy Design Team, so make sure you visit them!

Valerie Huang

I first noticed Valerie's work when she started playing along at LGS.  Then when we had our recent DT call she joined us.  I love her clean yet detailed style, and she has an amazing ability to rock every single layout she makes.  She is also heaps of fun!

Hi, my name is YuNing Huang, AKA Valerie.  I live in the Silicon Valley with my husband and our doe Shiao Meo Tan (Little Charcoal).  I love to travel, photography and enjoy good food.  I was introduced to scrapbooking back in 2005.  I was still new to this country, so I figured this is a good way for me to document my life and express my emotions.  I was hooked ever since.  I am blessed and grateful to know such a hobby, for me scrapbooking is therapeutic to me.

Nadine Carlier

Nadine is also one of our new DT members at LGS.  Nadine has an amazing way of working with mixed media and layering, and definitely has her own awesome style!  Nadine is also a super talented blog designer, and recently gave my blog a makeover.  If you need a blog or a blog makeover definitely consider employing Nadine.

Hello my name is Nadine, I am a stay at home mom of a 19 yr. old son (who is away at college right now) and an 8 yr. old daughter.  My husband, kids and I moved to Texas from Nevada about 4 years ago.  Before moving to Texas I owned my own business as a hairstylist and I was also a part owner to a local scrapbook store.  Since becoming a stay at home mom, I am really enjoying having more time to spend with my family and more time playing and being scrappy.  I have been scrapbooking for about 17 years now with 12 x 12 and cards being my favourite things to create.  I would say my scrappy style would best be described as eclectic with a touch of grunginess.  I made my 1st scrapbook when my son was a toddler because I wanted a way to document his first years of life.  I've been hooked ever since!

Brandi Matos

As well as being a talented scrapbooker, Brandi is also amazing at cards and off the page projects!  Brandi has gorgeous children that are often the subject of her pages, and I love her beautiful girly mixed media style!  

Hello there!! My name is Brandi Matos and I am just another obsessed scrapper in the world of paper crafting!  I live in Florida, also known as "The Sunshine State", with my two beautiful girls and amazing husband!  I literally stumbled across scrapbooking a little over two years ago and completely fell in love with it.  I enjoy doing layouts, cards and mostly off the page projects!  I love to get messy playing with different mediums to make something truly fabulous!  Please feel free to visit my work at luckyflutterbycreations.blogspot.com.

Thanks for visiting today, if you like my work please follow my blog!

Be blessed!