3 Mothers Day Cards in a Hurry

So in the excitement of my Studio Calico Hello Hello kits arriving, and the new South of Market collection (wooo hoooo!) and the creative tornado that my house has been since then... I totally forgot to post my Mother's Day cards! Whoopps!

In all honesty, these were crafted at the very last minute. Sooo last minute that I had to rely on The Man to take the photographs before he posted them off whilst I went to work. Not a bad job really... I think he's learning a trick or two! Maybe I should put him in charge of these things more often?

So what to do when you're needing to craft up some cards in a hurry? Slosh on some paint, splash some mist and then layer them up with bits and pieces of paper scraps. At least, that's what I did :-)

What made me totally laugh out loud was when I later saw this feature on the Jot Magazine blog. I'd like to consider this a case of "great minds think alike"... because it feels like Kim Archer was thinking the exact same way when she put together her Mother's Day cards in a rush too! Even down to the similar details of using spare PL cards and some Maggie Holmes papers!

What other tricks have you got for when you need to create something in a hurry?
Hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day?

The Story of the Kinder Mini

I shared with you in my last post how the inspirational Kim Archer had me excited about dabbling in a little Project Life for the first time. Well, in her jam-packed class she also had the time to take us through the creation of a little mini album as well!! So I'm here with you to share what I made for this too :-)

This is a super-cute little miniature mini! The outside covers only measure 3.5x4.5" and are constructed from chipboard covered in calico fabric which we sprayed with mist to decorate. I ended up covering most of mine up with an exclusive APOCD Wood Veneer Card which tells you exactly what the topic of my mini is about ;-)

The inside was sooo easy to construct that the creation of this 8 page book was finished in a flash. Because each page is simply a Project Life card with a photo and a touch of decoration! Can you believe it? What a great idea! Now I won't bore you with a thousand explanations of what I've used on each page. Suffice it to say there was lots of rummaging at the bottom of my past Studio Calico kits for all those little embellishments and bits and pieces that haven't been used yet, with a recurring theme of some new Dear Lizzy Stickers from here.

Happy memories of the first day of kindergarten all wrapped up in a nice little mini-album.... and only 2 months after the event! Pretty happy with myself right now ;-)

The Story of Attempting Project Life!

Never in a million years! Never did I think I would actually ever bight the bullet and attempt a Project Life spread!

Now don't get me wrong.... I really love the concept. The idea of documenting the everyday stories is one that really appeals to me. It's a concept that I fully embrace in my scrapbooking layouts. But the reality of taking photos every day, jotting down notes, printing out photos and making weekly spreads is just not something that I can afford to do time-wise.

Or so I thought.

Because then along came Kim Archer and her fabulous class at Escape 2 Create and I found myself really enjoying this process of quickly slipping in pre-printed photos and ready-made journaling cards and adding just the bare minimum of embellishments. I guess it also helped that it was only a 6x12" spread, and I was using a kit .... but who doesn't have kits?! (And if you answered "me" to that question then I suggest you to first check out the available PL kits here!)

I didn't make my spread to encompass a whole week, rather it was just one event. But an event like a Fairy Princess Birthday Party (actually, it was Disney themed) automatically comes with a thousand photo opportunities, and therefore I had lots of photos to help tell the story. If I had made this into just a layout then I would either have to only use one or two, or make them really small. This way I got to include all the photos I loved from the afternoon.

When the thought occurred to me that I don't even have a Project Life album to put this into I was encouraged just to clip it into my regular scrapbook album. Genius! Who says you need to have a dedicated album? What I could see myself doing is making up a small spread every now and then and just including it in with the rest of my layouts. That seems reasonably do-able.

I will have to get better at photographing these though if I'm going to be doing it more often ;-)

Bluegrass Farm Reveal

Bluegrass Farm is the April set of Studio Calico kits and they've just been released to the general public. Like right NOW! So perhaps you just want to pop over there straight away, and then come back and read this?! ;-) 

But if you're still reading then let me share with you what I've made with the Bluegrass Farm Scrapbook Kit and it's three Add On Kits which are cutely called Bessie, Clover and Pip.

Supplies: Bluegrass Farm Main Kit, Card Kit Digital Stamps & Cuts, Printable Labels, 

Hello Forever Printables, In a Creative Bubble Printables

"Awesome" came together quickly and easily once I spotted the red, navy and yellow combination available within the Main Kit. I knew it would work perfectly for the Superman/woman photo I've been holding onto for such an occasion! The abundance of star embellishments were a bonus hit too. I made my title by converting one of the Card Kit Digital Stamps into a cutting file on my Silhouette.

Supplies: Bluegrass Farm Main Kit, Printable Labels, 

Hello Forever Printables, In a Creative Bubble Printables

"Dear Mum and Dad" was created when the kits hit a sentimental note in me. I grew up on a farm until I moved out of home at 18, so the rustic homespun vibe of these kits instantly reminded me of my family. I took this photo of my Mum and Dad at Christmas, and when I noticed the colours in it matched perfectly with the Main Kit I knew it was just meant to be :-)

Supplies: Bluegrass Farm Main Kit, Printable Labels, Hello Forever Printables, 

In a Creative Bubble Printables, Card Kit Digital Stamps & Cuts, 

Evalicious Exclusive Digital Stamps

"The Good Life" was my third Main Kit Only layout (all the other supplies are digital) which I think is testimony to the versatility and breadth that just one kit can encompass. Once again inspired by homegrown fresh produce I wanted to scrap this photo collage of my kids picking strawberries with their great-grandfather recently. That lead me to using the Silhouetted (I'm sure that should be a verb!) strawberries as my focal point. And well... it was just plain fun!

Supplies: Bluegrass Farm Main Kit, Bessie Add On, Project Life Kit Digital Stamps & Cuts, 

Printable Labels, Hello Forever Printables, In a Creative Bubble Printables

"You Got This" is probably my favourite layout of the bunch which has something to do with using my favourite Add On (Bessie) and something to do with the memories this photo conjures up. Nervous about going on and teaching at the Escape 2 Create retreat a couple of weeks ago, my fellow teachers (Celeste Vermeend, Kim Archer and Gina Rogers) played a big role in making it such a memorable experience. I'm so lucky to now be able to call these girls my friends.

Supplies: Bluegrass Farm Main Kit, Clover Add On, 

Printable Labels, Hello Forever Printables

"Epic Weekend" is all about a family weekend adventure to see the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour. I was able to even incorporate the ticket into my layout which I think is pretty cool 'cos I like the addition of real-life memorabilia on my pages. To a certain extent I think it makes it more meaningful? The itty-bitty stamps in the Clover Add On are just perfect for putting some finishing touches of scattered detail around the page.

Supplies: Bluegrass Farm Main Kit, Bessie Add On, Clover Add On, Pip Add On

Printable Labels, In a Creative Bubble Printables, Circle Cut Files by Paige Evans

"Live in the Moment" was created with the desire to use all my favourite embellishments from the Pip Add On mixed together with the best bits of all the other kits! I think I succeeded! Still too scared to try my hand at the cross-stitching on the wooden heart... I'm waiting for the Stitched class to begin ;-) Inside the pocket I'm including more details and journaling about these photobooth pics of me and my crazy eldest daughter.

 (Image courtesy of Anna Maria)

On my shopping list this month I've also remembered to stock up on new supplies for the upcoming Mixed Media class. I'm incredibly excited about being a contributor to this, but I'm even more excited to be a participant. I can't wait to learn all the secrets that Celine and Anna Maria have got to share. I can only dream of being able to scrap like them! If you've ever wanted to learn how to include techniques or use mediums such as Watercolours, Neocolours and Gelatos then this is the class for you! It starts on April 1st.



Bluegrass Farm Supplies:

Bluegrass Farm Bessie Add On Kit Clover Add On Kit Pip Add On Kit Bluegrass Farm Printables Labels Bluegrass Farm Printable Journal Cards by IACB Bluegrass Farm Hello Forever Printables Bluegrass Farm Circle Cutting File by Paige Evans Bluegrass Farm Evalicious Digital Stamps Bluegrass Farm PL Kit Digital Stamps and Cuts Bluegrass Farm Card Kit Digital Stamps and Cuts Grid Paper Color Theory Ink: Clean Slate Color Theory Ink: Deja Blue Color Theory Ink: Emerald City Color Theory Ink: Something Blue Color Theory Ink: Sunny Day Color Theory Ink: Orange County Color Theory Ink: Blush Crush Tiny Attacher This to That: Foam Circles More Gray More Vellum Precision Pen Glue Glider Pro

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