My Top 10 for 2011

I find these type of posts interesting don't you? Looking back over the past year to see what you've created, to see how your art has evolved, to pick out common themes or techniques and to give evidence to help define what is "your style". Not to mention just to remember the events and the stories that have shaped your journey over the past year.

So these are the layouts I picked out for my Top 10

I started the year continuing to design for Handmade by Suzanne. Suzanne was aware of my style and preferred manufacturers and always gave me great "kits" to work with. On occasion she would throw in the odd challenge for me (like my attempts with Websters!) but it's always good to expand your horizons isn't it? "Surround Yourself" is one of my favourites from my time with HBS - a simple page by my normal standards but I love this celebration of two of my best friends.

One of my most favourite collections this year would have to be Starters from Sassafras - I almost went into grieving when they announced they were no longer going to operate as scrapbook manufacturers. This layout combines lots of fun techniques with some cute photos of my Moodles at the park - how could it not be included?

Out of my short-lived stint designing for Kreatorville Kraft I chose this page as my favourite. It features pretty much every single one of my go-to techniques: lots of paint, mist and ink; messy stitching; a long pretty title; clouds and sunbeams; and some Hipstamatic photos of my kids.

One of my personal scrapping challenges this year was to complete a layout of a family portrait taken every month. I was slack enough that I haven't even managed to take a family portrait every month, and I certainly haven't yet scrapped all the ones I do have..... it's a work in progress. But my "April Family Photo" cracks me up every time :-)

In June we took our first family holiday with the four of us to sunny Queensland. Of course I managed to take about a million photos of our exciting adventures and fun memories.... but there's nothing quite like coming home again is there?

In August I changed job location to a rural hospital which has allowed me to spend much more time with patients getting to know them and their stories which I think is fabulous. But it also means that when something goes wrong it tends to affect all of us so much more deeply. I made "Beauty For Ashes" to commemorate one ladies journey which had a heartbreaking ending. This is real life.

In October I began a new Design Team with Scrapz.biz. We've got daily challenges and an active forum which means I'm continually pushing myself to create in new ways as I set sketch challenges, colour combinations, journaling criteria, and blind crops among other things. "Scooter Love" was based on a sketch I drew but it still manages to incorporate all my recognisable elements.

As if I didn't have enough supplies already, I've kept my subscription to Studio Calico kits and am tempted to buy from their shop every month without fail. So in an effort to whittle down my stash a bit I managed to use pretty much a whole packet of their journaling tags on "Best in Show" - I adore these vintage colours :-)

December saw me resigning my position at From Screen 2 Scrap, not because of any problem, but just because after nearly two years it felt like it was time to move on. "Blessed Are The Curious" was one of my favourites I designed using all the criteria. Thanks Shazza for a wonderful time!

And in 10th position comes "Moo Shoe" - a funny layout about my gorgeous girl and her quirky habits. I just love to document the little details of life that might otherwise get forgotten in the future.

And there we have it. My Top 10 for 2011.
If you have a link to your own favourites I'd love to come by and see :-)
Happy New Year!!!

Resigning my Screenwriting Position

There is a season for everything, and everything has it's season. So this layout marks the end of my season of designing for "From Screen 2 Scrap" - my very last DT submission. I've been designing for Shazza for almost 2 years now, and whilst I've loved every minute of it I just thought it was time to step aside and let some fresh faces shine.

And I just loved this months challenge - a perfect way to finish my term. The movie poster for your inspiration for December is "White Christmas"

and the extra criteria is to include white cardstock, a two-coloured title, and Christmas hats. Pretty easy criteria to meet, and we all love to scrap Christmas photos I'm sure!

Now as much as I love traditional Christmas colours on a layout, I also love to mix it up a bit and went for more of a pink and green and kraft combination here along with my white cardstock (and I couldn't help but add a silver sparkle to my diecut overlay!)

I've used a lot of My Mind's Eye Lost and Found II Blush collection which I was lucky enough to receive from them when I won their sketch competition a little while ago. And I really wanted my title to be big and bold like the poster so I opted for this stamped and handcut title combination. I'm really happy with how this turned out. Prepare to see more of this!

So if you want to join with me in my very last "From Screen 2 Scrap" challenge then head over to the blog here and check out all the details. I'll be back with more Christmas scrapping soon!

Watch a Movie

I made a realisation this week... I work well under pressure!
Maybe that shouldn't have come as a surprise given the line of work I'm in. My favourite part of my job is managing the labour ward after all :-)

But when it comes to my scrapping, in particular my 'assignments' for my DT commitments, I'm usually very organised and have it done well in advance. But what with the moving towns and starting a new job and all this month, can I be completely honest with you and tell you I just plain forgot about this month's From Screen 2 Scrap submission until the day before it was due?!! Oooppss!

Lucky for me the poster is a really easy one to work with, and the extra criteria is definitely do-able. It includes: 

For an extra 6 bonus points :)

1) One word title = 1 pt
2) Use Blue, Yellow and Red Cardstock = 2 pts
3) Add a Bird = 3 pts

So with my new-found ability to scrap when the pressure's on I was able to whip up this page in next to no time! And I have to say I was pretty pleased with the results :-) The only dilemma was that to photograph it in natural light (and with me working 10 hour shifts) I had to convince The Man to photograph it for me! He dutifully obliged. Heeee!

I was inspired by the movie poster to document Moodles love for adventure. She's not one to shy away from a new experience. I added a large bird wing (instead of a full bird) and some butterflies too to represent adventure and freedom and fun. My one word title is "Blessed" and together with the subtitle reads "Blessed are the Curious, for They Shall Have Adventure" which is quote I pinned here on Pinterest.

I'm trying very hard lately to break more into my Studio Calico kits as I seem to have an abundance of 'left-overs' and I'm not confident to say I've killed a kit yet in the 18 months or so that I've been subscribing. This layout is made with the November Napa Valley kit and features the Basic Grey Wander paper which was just perfect for my theme. As I said... I'm so happy with how this layout turned out. Hope to see you over at From Screen 2 Scrap.

And speaking of Basic Grey......
I was lucky enough to be featured on their blog today!! Eeekk! I'm so honoured! Go over and check it out here.

Let them eat (birthday) cake!

As I mentioned in my last post (so long ago now... sorry!) we're celebrating our second birthday over at From Screen 2 Scrap and with it comes 4 bonus challenges and a tonne of giveaways!
Today I'm going to introduce you to the bonus challenge I had the pleasure of attempting.

Challenge Number 4 is based on the movie poster for Marie Antoinette and you need to use it as inspiration for your project. You can create anything - a layout, a card or an off-the-page project.

As is our usual custom there are also some added criteria which are:

1- use a cluster of flowers

2- use a close-up photo

3- use a title with the name of the person in the photo

 

As you can see I was inspired to create a card for this challenge and as such just had to tweak the added criteria just a wee bit. Instead of including a close-up photo I opted for a silhouette cameo instead. I still added the name of the person for whom the card was intended, and my cluster of flowers is a mix and match of some lovely Green Tara flowers I got from here.

There are truly some amazing (random draw) prizes you can win if you participate in this challenge. Check out all the details here.
and also, if you're looking for a few more, then check out:
Challenge One here
Challenge Two here and
Challenge Three here.

Happy Birthday From Screen 2 Scrap!

I've Got My Girls

Bad blogger me! But I've got good reasons... we're in the midst of packing and moving (again). Off to the country we go for my rural rotation. 6 monhts could be considered a long time or a short time depending on your perspective.

Anyway... on with the show.......

I've made this page for the 'From Screen 2 Scrap' challenge. This month our inspiration poster is:

And for an extra 6 bonus points:

1) Use music sheet pp on your page = 1 pt
2) Two tone title = 2 pts
3) Lets see some red and navy on your page = 3 pts

I remember my Dad making up this song that he (and then my mum) used to sing to my brother which went "I've got my boy, and my boy has got me. I found my boy in a coconut tree. My boy goes 'Fiddle Dee Dee'". Well somehow that catchy song has stuck in my head all this time, and now I sing it to my girls.

I was inspired by the Holiday Inn poster to scrap some recent holiday photos of my own. Here are my two girls on the beach trying to pick coconuts, so the song came to mind and I knew I had to scrap this funny little story! I've included some (admittedly subtle) red and navy highlights, the music paper is behind my journaling, and my two-toned title 'Coconut Tree' is yellow and orange which unfortunately blended together a little too well :-)

August is birthday month at From Screen 2 Scrap. We're celebrating our 2nd birthday with a couple more bonus challenges and a HEAP of prizes!! You have really got to see the pile of prizes to believe it. So be on the lookout for my bonus challenge coming up soon, or pop over to the blog to find out all about the birthday shenanigans now.

All About....... Me!

My Two Peas in a Bucket giveaway is still open. All the details are here.

Meanwhile, in scrappy-land.... the new movie poster is up at From Screen to Scrap. A classic movie this time around, starring Marilyn Munroe, called "All About Eve".

To enter this month's challenge all you need to do is make a project based on this movie poster.

But for an extra 6 bonus points you need to include:
1) Use 4 x colorful Arrows = 1 pt
2) Use Hearts = 2 pts
3) Use 1/2 or 1/4 of a face from a photo = 3 pts

What a great poster to draw inspiration from. Since it was called "All About Eve" I changed it up a little and made my layout 'all about me'! I also gained inspiration from the colour blocking - an easy idea to adapt to layout form.  

And of course I also included my four arrows, plenty of hearts, and used this photo of me and my mum where unfortunately my mum's face got half cut off...... which is often the way when you're taking your own photos!

So pop on over and get all the details for this challenge. Would love to see some of my bloggy friends over there.

Slack blogger me!

Sorry about my week-long absence - it's probably the longest I've ever been away from the blog. And it's not like I don't have heaps of pages to share. Mostly it was just the crazy work hours I've been enduring this past week. So please accept my apologies, and look out for an onslaught of upcoming projects!!

First up, my page for the current From Screen 2 Scrap challenge It's based on this fun and whimsical movie poster for "Up."

I was actually the one to suggest we use this poster as our inspiration. I just think it's got loads of possibilites for some frolicky fun layouts!

The extra criteria this month (also suggested by me, so I hope you find it as easy as I tried to make it!) is to include clouds for 1 point, balloons or hot-air balloons for 2 points, and a 3D embellishment (something raised from the page) for 3 points.

This was my 3D embellishment. Yes I took it very literally! A 3 layer heart that folds up and down so that I can still fit it into my album :-)

And my hot-air balloons are some painted chipboard ones that I picked up here.The papers and other embellishments are all from the Pink Paislee Soiree collection. This layout started with a happy bright photo of my Munchy and everything I added from there was just used to enhance the mood of this fun page.

I'd love to see your interpretation of this movie poster, and hope to see you join in the From Screen 2 Scrap June challenge. You could win some awesome prizes. Check out all the details here. And tell Shazza I sent you!

My Two Angels

I don't often do a clean and graphic layout. I'm a bit adverse to doing straight lines and graphs and the like. Whenever I try I can't seem to stop myself adding some splashes of paint, haphazard embellihments or something just a bit off-kilter :-)

So that's where this layout ended up. I was inspired by this month's movie poster at 'From Screen 2 Scrap'. It's a very graphic poster, trying to push me to do a layout that's all straight lines and squares.

And I did a pretty good job of keeping it that way. I just couldn't help spraying Maya Mist in the background to soften it a little, and threw around some Pink Paislee Artisan Elements.

I wanted to keep that big red bow in my layout (not least of all because it's one of the extra criteria for the challenge!) but because it represents how I've wrapped up my kids like a giant present. They're God's gifts to me :-)

The other criteria for the challenge so you can score full points is to include a journaling note, and to add people's names to their photos.

So you can see it's a very easy challenge this month. I would love it if you were to join in (and if you were to tell Shazza I sent you!). We've got some amazing prizes as usual, including the chance to win a shopping voucher to my very own favourite store Handmade by Suzanne!

Singing In The Rain

Munchy just loves it when it rains, particularly in the warmer weather, because all she wants to do is strip off all her clothes and dance in it (something that I may or may not have taught her to do....... apart from the naked bit!)

Something only a 4-year-old can get away with hey? ;-)

This is the current movie poster at From Screen 2 Scrap from which you can draw inspiration from. You can see how I've used it to base my layout on.... the title was enough for a start!

A bit of paint in the background. This part was so much fun. I made a stencil of raindrops using my Silhouette and then painted them in a few different colours. Loving the cloud stamps from Studio Calico! And added some touches of bling for further excitement!

Apart from using the movie poster, the other criteria for the challenge is to include the following:

For an extra 6 bonus points :)

1) A 'Rain' related title = 1 pt
2) An umbrella/s = 2 pts
3) Lets do it in 3's (3 pics, 3 embellies, 3 pp's etc...) = 3 pts

 

You can see how easy it is to earn all the bonus points this month, so I expect to see lots of entries! I encourage you to have a go. And if it's your first time entering this challenge - tell Shazza I sent you (I'll earn Brownie Points!)