Sweet lollipop (flowers that is)

I thought I would try a new-to-me challenge site this month - Candy Shoppe Designs. Why? Because they're super funky! And the prize is a kit from The Magpie Club, and you know how I'm loving them (see the post below :-)

So all you had to do for this challenge is use lollipop flowers on your creation. Easy peasy right? Here's what I did:

I cracked open some ye olde Sassafras Lass and some water-colours and went to town! Cut a bizzillion circles to make into bright colourful lollipop flowers and relied on some favourites like typewritten journalling and washi tape. I just had fun :-)

I'm still experimenting with my new sewing machine, and I haven't got everything right yet, so hence, it sometimes skips a beat. But I think I've got that problem figured out now.

Ok - I better go now. The Studio Calico reveal is about to happen any moment and I'm now a subscriber. Yay! :-)

A bit sketchy

I think I've done more sketches this month than in my entire scrappy life! I don't do them often because I can't seem to take them any other way than exactly as they are drawn. But I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway. Here's the sketch from the Magpie Club this month.

Well I drew a big breath and got stuck into it. I even managed to use another photo of The Man. I fall into that trap like many other parents and seem to make layout after layout about my kids (well, they are pretty cute!) but tend to ignore the other 'boring' photos of him or myself. It's probably not that, it's probably more to do with the fact that we take 100's of photos of our kids, but hardly ever turn the camera around.

I asked The Man after it was finished if he was offended by how girly it turned out. He said, yes the colours are pretty soft and feminine but at least I used woodgrain which is pretty manly in his book.

I was just glad to use up some papers and stuff that's been in my pile for a while. Like that Prima title. But I did grunge up the edges a bit for more of a masculine feel. And that pale green paper behind the photo and journalling? That's actually one of Fancy Pants' Christmas papers!

I've also mixed in some of the scraps of my October Afternoon collection. I can't believe I haven't used that banner sticker before now given how obsessed I am with banners!

If you're like me and sometimes wish you had paid more attention in Year 9 art because that was the last time you ever got any kind of design or creative instruction then go and read this. It's a whole bunch of design and composition principles for scrapbookers written in easy to understand language. However, she does say she's not 'qualified' in any way, and perhaps there are better resources out there for this kind of thing. But I stumbled across it by accident, and I like it!

A Magpie Layout

A little while ago I was lucky enough to win myself a kit from The Magpie Club. It was filled with some lovely Crate Paper Season collection, with a bit of American Craft and Pebbles Inc papers, and some Lily Bee embellishments.

I added a few random things like a brown paper bag, some notepaper, ticket stubs and paint, but all of the main elements on this page came straight from the kit. What I loved dearly were the sequins that came in the kit! If you look closely you can see I've scattered them in with the paint splatters.

I took a layout by Jana Eubank as my inspiration. I looked at her layout (which you can see here), turned it into a sketch and then made my own. Since I did this while my sewing machine wasn't working, I had to do some hand-stitching. I am less than thrilled with the results. But the good news is that my fantastically understanding and supportive Man went out and bought me a new sewing machine! Yay!! I have already put it to good use on 2 layouts. That's what a sewing machine is for isn't it?

And who says scrapbooking should be just about capturing the important moments? I want to remember the everyday things that happen that we're much more likely to forget in the future. With that in mind, I've dedicated this layout to capturing this phase Munchy seems to be going through where she wants to eat Vegemite on everything! She would eat Vegemite for breakfast, lunch and tea if we let her. We almost have to buy it in those big catering jars! And no one else eats it - just her.

Does anyone else have kids who just get stuck on eating the one thing over and over?

Stop to leave me a comment (if you want!!) and then head straight on over to the ARTastic Challenge Blog right now. It's their 1st birthday celebrations this month and there is a TONNE of prizes to be won - over $300 worth in fact. There are lots of challenges, quizzes and competitions so it's lots of fun too. I'll see you over there because that's where I'm going too :-)