Mega-Post

So I go back to work on Monday after having a year off.
It's quite a daunting prospect for so many reasons. Obviously the most important one being the change it's going to make to my family, but somewhere down on the list is the change it's going to make to my crafting ability and time. I say this as a way of explaining what may or may not happen to my blogging over the next few months. Basically..... I don't know.

I do know I will continue to scrap and craft. For a start I still have my Design Team commitments and I will continue to do these to the best of my ability. And I'm sure I will continue to scrap for myself as well. But it will just remain as to what amount of time I can dedicate to this. Certainly not (nearly) everyday as the case is at the moment. And I do have a back-log of projects that I can share with you over the coming weeks. Starting today.......

Grab a coffee and relax because this is going to be a mega-post (my way of making up for knowing I may be MIA for the next little bit. Apart from starting work on Monday I'm also moving house this weekend. I'm surrounded by boxes as we speak!)

I thought it was about time I showed you all those layouts I made with my first Studio Calico kit (June's Partly Sunny, and the add-on kit of which I can't remember it's name). I've already shared two of them, which you can check out here and here. But there's a few more :-)

I might not write a whole lot between pictures as otherwise this would get ridiculously long. But let me just say that on all these layouts I've used the kit products and nothing else. They are all a mixture of the main kit and the add-on I got. By the way, the main kit is still available to purchase in case you're interested!

I particularly loved the K&Co alphas and fabric embellishments that came in the add-on and I've used them on nearly all of my layouts I think!

I've had those Jenni Bowlin vintage buttons on my 'must buy' list for a while, so imagine how chuffed I was that I got both the white and the green buttons in the kit!

You'll also notice a lot of the photos I've used on all these layouts look the same too. That's because they're all from the same day at the park, snapping photos on the i-phone with the Hipstamatic app.

And did I mention the washi tape and how much I love it?!! A lot! And the add-on kit came with two rolls. That was another reason I needed the add-on (even though it cost more than the main kit!)

I had to think of something spectacular to do with that Buzz and Bloom chipboard piece. It's actually 12x12" so I cut it down a bit, and I'm really happy with how this layout turned out.

This lovely American Craft's Botanique paper has a really nice glittery finish on it so I wanted to showcase it on this layout. I like how it's all nice muted tones.

Wow. I thought I had only done 5 or 6 layouts from the kit. In doing this I realise I've done 8!! And I've still got enough left overs to do at least another two and easily another 4, although I would have to add some more cardstock and ration out my alphas. But I've got one piece of paper that's still intact and lots and lots of scraps and embellishments.

Anyway, I hope this will tide you over until I get back to regular blogging and crafting again. However, I don't think you'll notice any difference until at least September because I'm organised enough to have all the August stuff sorted out :-)

Alright ... I've got to get back to packing!

Dressed for Success

My darling daughter, my Little Munchy, she is so beautiful. But she's also very strong-willed and has some funny ideas in her head about what she wants to do :-)
For example, even though it's the middle of winter here in Australia she insists on wearing a dress...... every.... single ...... day! I'm not sure where this dress obsession comes from, because you only ever catch me in a dress for weddings and the like. The Man tells me it's because one of the other older girls who she admires so much at day-care wears dresses a lot.

So here's my layout dedicated to her dress obsession.

The photos are a bit ordinary I know. I just went though all the photos on the computer looking for ones that captured her in a different dress, so they're certainly not all portrait-quality!! But it coveys the message!

I've used my Kreatorville kit from May, and referred to the Kreatorville July sketch to put this layout together.

It's so bright and cheery, which is a bit of a change from what I normally do, but I really like it!

We got the perfect Buzz and Bloom chipboard piece in the kit which suited this layout brilliantly. But I couldn't decide what I wanted to do with it to jazz it up. I mean, should I paint it, ink it, emboss it, cover it with paper? In the end I decided to leave it just leave it like it is. I was a little worried that anything I might do could overwhelm the layout with more jumbled colours and patterns.

And I made all of these tags out of the packaging for the Sassafras chipboard alphas. Nothing is spared in my kit! My thought there was that they are a bit reminiscent of clothes tags. Fits the theme I think :-)

And speaking of beautiful things, my lovely friend Peggy has kindly offered my not one but two blog awards!

As you know, there are usually 'conditions' to these awards. So for this one I'm supposed to tell you a little about myself. I guess something to share with you all now is how I'm feeling about my impending return to work in a couple of weeks. I am not looking forward to it at all. Which is silly because I'm finally in a position that I've wanted to get to for so long, and I really do enjoy (most) of my work - even with the crazy hours and the hectic schedule. Of course, the main reasons I'm not keen to go back to work has got to do with leaving my two darling daughters behind while I do it - and that's because of the crazy hours and hectic schedule. There are some days where I don't get to see them while they are awake and that breaks my heart. At least I know I am leaving them in good hands, as The Man will become the stay-at-home-dad!!  And secondly, I am also concerned about what it will do to my scrapping time and ability! Anyone can see that I have become well and truly hooked on this amazing hobby while I've been on maternity leave. And I know that won't stop, and I know I will always make time to fit some in. But certainly it won't be to the extent that I'm currently involved. I guess that's a wait-and-see game :-)

I'm passing this award on to these 5 ladies: Valerie, Karen B, Keandra, Deb and Jen

And the second award Peggy gave me (thank you Peggy) was..

I would really love to pass this onto some people who have never ceased to support me, who always leave kind comments on my posts, and some of whom I know so well now that I could call them true friends, even though we have never met.
Valerie
Karen B
Tracy
Keandra
Deb
Jen
Chloe
Mel aka. Aussiescrapper
Kelly
Sarah Lou
Lynette
Shazza

Kreatorville Kraft (+1) Day Seven

Let's continue on with the Kreatorville May kit today shall we?
Yes, we shall!

This kit proved to be so popular it sold out!! And I'm sure you can see why. Look at those lovely papers. I spy some Crate Paper and Jillibean Soup new releases as well as some classic papers by Sassafras Lass, Pink Paislee, SEI and Jenni Bowlin. Yes that's right.... count them... 10 patterned papers!

And then, on top of the two sets of alphas and Buzz and Bloom chipboard, the twine and the rhinestone word were these...
2 doilies and 2 buttons and 2 chipboard borders from the Chip Chop Shop. Yes, our very own Leeann Pearce's Etsy cracked a kit! (and it's certainly not the only time she's done this)
Then there was the SEI ink-pad. I don't know about you - but copper ink became my new essential item.
And... the Pink Paislee artisan tape. That's been on my "Must Get" List since CHA!

Once again I couldn't resist the lure of using up both my handmade Title and Embellishment on the one page. It seems so excessive - I really want to share the love around. But they're were both just so perfect for this layout that I couldn't stop myself! 

It's hard to capture, but that title is really sparkly and gorgeous.
And can you see the variation of colour in the background yellow/orange cardstock? As much as I would like to take credit and tell you I did something wonderful to alter it like that, I have to tell you the truth...... this is how it came. We got this version, and another pink/red version (both by SEI) as 2 out of the 4 pieces of cardstock in the kit. I hadn't seen it before but it's quite beautiful.

I did a bunch of fussy cutting the flowers out of one piece of Crate Paper, and the handbags out of the other to piece them all together on this layout. I added a lot of rhinestones (that came in the March kit) to all the flowers, and I used that Pink Paislee tape to create little leaves here and there. And can you also spy one little Chip Chop Shop red doily hidden in there?

I loved the vintage-wallpaper vibe to this SEI paper, and really wanted to feature it on my page. I wanted to leave lots of it showing so you could all see it and love it too! Cutting the butterfly out of a doily and using the negative was an idea I got from Debee Campos, and I was able to squeeze my journalling into it (just!). And I used the Pink Paislee tape on this page too, this time as a frame around my photo.

I followed a tutorial that Peggy gave on the Kreatorville blog for altering our embellishments, particularly these chipboard buttons from the Chip Chop Shop. I don't always think of doing things like that, but Peggy's the Queen of Alteration, so she was my inspiration for drawing the little scallops and colouring the edges of the buttons like this.

And now... speaking of the wonderful Peggy (who's lucky enough to be on the Kreatorville DT) guess who did a little interview with her so that you would all get the chance to know her a bit better? Yes, me!! I feel very honoured and I couldn't wait to share this with you.

Here's what she had to say:

My name is Peggy.  I live in Antwerp, Belgium.  I'm a SAHM and mother of three, one boy Yannis (10) and two girls, Chloë (9) and Christina (8).  I've been married to Kurt for 12 years now, but we've been together for almost 20 years, and we're still going strong!  I started scrapping about 2 years ago, and I've loved every minute of it.  I can't imagine ever stopping, I'm sure you'll agree with me on that!

How did you come to be on the Kreatorville DT?

Becoming a part of the KK team actually happened without me truly realizing it LOL.  I met Keandra on sb.com.  She was on my "favorite artists" lists as soon as I found her and her awesome LO's.  When I found her blog, I started following that too, and we started leaving each other comments.  This is where she not only dazzled me with her talent, but with her sparkling personality as well.  One day, Kean asked me to make some LO's using her hand-made titles.  I figured she was setting up an etsy shop, needed some help, and I was only too happy to oblige!!   However, it turned out to be so much more ... Before I had truly realized what happened, I was part of an actual kit club!!!  Lucky me, right?  Working for Keandra is great, she's a lovely woman with a warm heart who is set on making her venture a success.  She welcomes our input and makes us feel like an appreciated part of the team, which is a nice feeling!

What's been your favourite kit? and why?

Well, that's a very tough question,  I loved working with all of the kits!  Those of you who have seen my work before working with Kean's kits, know that I'm not really into using a lot of embellies.  I like to make my own embellies, make the pages "my own", and I guess my favorite kits would have to be those where I could be the most creative with the papers and embellies at hand.  If you're really asking me to pick one, I would have to choose the March kit.  Or maybe the November kit LOL, though the January kit was really fun to work with as well LOL!  Not much of an answer right???  

What's been your favourite layout that you've kreated from the kits?

Asking me to choose a fav LO is a slightly easier question, though again I'm torn between two ... I hope it's okay for me to share both with you.  There are a lot of LO's made with the kits that I love, especially because for each LO I try to use kit products only.  I don't think I've ever used anything from my stash on my kit examples, except for materials like paints and stitching threads.  Because I use only kit products, all of the LO's turn out different.  Some of the pages are true "Peggy pages", other pages aren't really my usual style.  It's this diversity which makes me love working with the kits so much.  Trying to work with merely kit products demands a bit of creativity, and my fav LO's are the ones which stretched my creativity the most: "One day you will" (November kit) and "Blossom" (March kit).  I guess these are my absolute favorites because they come closest to my "Peggy style".  However, I really love my LO "Eight" as well.  This is not my usual thing, but I love how I used the brads and numbers on this page.  Oh well, so maybe I wasn't exactly telling the truth when I said this was an easier question LOL!

I was so glad Peggy chose this layout as one of her favourites, because it's mine too! In fact, it was chasing this layout down that caused me to stumble upon the Kreatorville site myself, so I owe a lot to this layout. And I just love it!!

And this is just stunning too. As Peggy said in her interview, you'll notice how she very often uses paints and inks to completely alter the way a paper looks. And this is such a great example. I love how you can still tell it's the Sassafras bingo paper under there, but it's now so very unique and so very Peggy!

I'm just loving the repetition of numbers here, and the way the brads look like party lights. And of course, everyone is aware of my bunting-love!! If a page has bunting on it, it's a winner in my book!!

Thank you so much Peggy for allowing us all a little insider's look into the world of Kreatorville Kraft.
:-)

Things to remember:
1. Check out Peggy's own blog for more inspiration
2. Leave your comments on this post to go into the draw for some Kreatorville goodies
3. Go and check out Keandra's deal for 50% the November, December, January and February kits. 
4. Come back tomorrow for the last instalment of Kreatorville Week

Kreatorville Week (+1) Day Six

Are you ready for Kreatorville's April kit today? I am! I dived straight into this one when I got it.
For a start - the papers are just so colourful and cheerful :-)

Three of these were SEI papers that were thermography embossed and very glamorous!! And there was also the die-cut paper from Crate Paper that's not pictured, and some bright and lovely cardstock.

And then...

It was jam-packed full of embellishments. There's a whole packet of labels, and a whole packet of flowers, and those rub-ons and alphas and chipboard galore!! It was awesome :-)

Again, I just needed to use that title. It really packs a punch on this layout, even though I've got so many other bright colours behind it. It jumps right out at you doesn't it?! I altered the Buzz and Bloom chipboard alphas for the title by first painting them white and then giving them two coats of Dimensional Magic with the blue Pixee Stix that came in the February kit.

I actually did this layout for the challenge blog Kraft It Up. This blog has been on my radar since it began a few months ago, but I hadn't previously got around to entering it. As it's name suggests, every month the criteria is to use kraft paper plus something else. This month (June) it was to create a minimalist layout. I interpret that to mean leaving white space, something that I'm not particularly good at! But you know I'm always up for a challenge :-)

There's a couple of the Buzz and Bloom chipboard tulips and butterflies on this one too - treated in the same way as the alphas. Painted and glittered! And I splurged and used 6 of those silk flowers (that's half of the packet!) from Zva Creative behind the title too. I attached them with some colourful eyelets from my stash.

And speaking of challenge blogs, this layout I did for the newly re-opened 123 Challenge blog. The June challenge criteria included 'the word "new", the colour white and a paint-smeared background'. So I killed two birds with one stone by smearing my Crate Paper die-cut with white paint, and then creating this really long title to incorporate the word 'new'.

It's hard to see, but I tried to add a bit more dimension by curling over all the scallops along the edge of the die-cut paper. I altered the Buzz and Bloom alphas this time by painting them white and coating them in Dimensional Magic. I initially planned to leave them like that, but they looked too dull against the white background so I ran a pink ink-pad across them for a subtle bit of colour.

But what I especially love about this layout is that I finally got around to incorporating these pieces of memorabilia from The Moodles birth on a page (something I had planned since we came home from the hospital!) So you can see both hers and my name bands, and also the tape-measure that was used when she first born.

And lastly I did this layout which was inspired by this one from Laura. I thought the paper strips were reminiscent of waves which is exactly what I wanted for this layout about Munchy's first waterslide experience.

I had run out of 'a's from the Buzz and Bloom alphas by this stage so I used the alphas from the May kit (the same set as you will win in the Kreatorville prize I'm offering by the way!) and I coated them in Dimensional Magic for more of a wet-look.

The journalling star and the spot behind the title are from the packet in the kit (Melissa Francis) and then I punched a few other stars from the papers in the kit. Those decorative pins are some that I made myself. I gave a short tutorial on how to make them for yourself here if you're interested.

Don't forget to leave your comments today for a chance at the Kreatorville prize.

And tomorrow I've got the May kit, and a little surprise too.......

Stay tuned
:-)

Kreatorville Week (+1) Day Three

Happy New Year!

At least, that's what I thought to myself when I saw the January kit from Kreatorville Kraft. The papers were full of lovely greens and oranges from some of my all-time favourite manufacturers. And then there was the woodgrain alphabet, and the kraft envelopes. Yummy! And in January Keandra introduced two new staples to the Kreatorville repertoir. That was the die-cut paper (now there's one in every kit...... there was 2 in June's kit!!!) and Buzz and Bloom (go Aussies!) became Kreatorville sponsors so now we're lucky enough to receive some of their products in every kit.

Why don't I just show you what the January kit looked like so you can see for yourself?!!!

And of course, that doesn't include the cardstock or the handmade Titles and Embellishments.

The very first project I did was to put that gorgeous die-cut paper from Pink Paislee to good use!

 Then I very promptly cut up that retro Cosmo Cricket paper and turned it into dimensional flowers. You can see the tutorial I gave on how I did this here. This was another one of my Year in the Chair pages. And yes, I really did fill up that envelope with a heap of journaling.

Ooooh, a masculine layout. I don't do a lot of these so it was a little difficult for me. I stayed very plain and simple, and made it even easier on myself by scraplifting a (digital) page by Karla. The background paper from Basic Grey didn't come in the kit and was something that I've been hoarding for such a time as this :-)

Again for this layout below, these papers didn't come in the kit but I was really just trying to get that Buzz and Bloom acrylic shape onto an appropriate page! I really loved those woodgrain alphas on this page too, not to mention the chipboard arrow, and if you look closely, I've even used one of the Pink Paislee stamps behind my title. Yes, that's right.... we got a whole set of stamps. How cool is that!!

And look - I even whipped out some cards too! I'm really not sure why I don't have more of those Jillibean Soup buttons featured on layouts - I loved them :-)

OK, that's all for January.
Don't forget to leave your comment(s) below to win the awesome Kreatorville prize.
And come back tomorrow for February's kit, you know it's going to be lovely with just a dash or two of romance.