The Story of Speed Scrapbooking

Help! I'm in a bit of a funk! It's been over a week since I last scrapped or did anything remotely creative (which is a sort of record for me). I've walked into my scraproom a few times, even pulled out photos and paper and then.... nothing happened. No spark to ignite a flurry of activity.

Don't worry, I don't think it's anything serious. I don't think it's going to lead to "I need a break", it's only a week after all. I think it was just that last month was quite busy scrap-wise that I'm just needing a little breather. I'm confident the soon-to-arrive September Studio Calico kits will get me motivated again!

One of the three tutorials I prepared last month went live on Wilna Furstenberg's blog on Friday. What an honour to be featured by her. I think Wilna is simply amazing, and I love her mixed-media arty scrapbooking style. She's such an open and generous artist - constantly sharing her techniques and teaching new tricks on her blog.

What I decided to share was a little tutorial that's been part of my scrapbooking philosophy this month and that's how to make "Speed Scrapping" work for you.

Speed Scrapping in my book is just about maximising your creative time. It doesn't mean you end up with a rushed unattractive layout at the end of it, and it doesn't mean you can't incorporate your favourite techniques and have a lot of fun along the way! I still painted, I still stencilled, I still sewed...

and I most certainly still layered!!

You can check out the full tutorial, and see the final product over here on Wilna's blog.

Meanwhile, I've got a whole day off today and I'm psyching myself up to attempt some scrapping today. Perhaps instead of a break, I need to 'force' myself in there and make something. I think I just want to do something weird and wonderful and different for me. I'll let you know what I come up with!!

Happy Scrapping.

The Story of the Rotten Apple

This post first appeared here on the amazing Christina Collins' blog "Don't Worry, Be Scrappy" back in February. I was lucky enough to be invited there as her Guest for the month. Following hot on the heels of the last guest Tina Walker who is one of my scrappy idols I knew there was going to be big expectations!
I'm now re-posting this here because even though a lot of this is not new information for those of you who follow me regularly, I thought you might still be interested in a little more detail.

About Me:
My name is Natalie Elphinstone and I live in Melbourne, Australia - it's a city that boasts all four seasons in a day. Dressing in layers is the key! I'm a wife and a Mum to two gorgeous girls aged 6 and 3. They constantly keep me inspired and are the one of the main reasons why I love this hobby. I want to document their lives, the funny things they say, the everyday moments and my thoughts for them to look back on later.
I'm also a full-time doctor, specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology which keeps me ridiculously busy. Often people ask me how I manage to find time for things like scrapbooking, and I say that when you love something you'll always find the time for it ;-)

About This Layout:
It's made with the Block Party kit from Studio Calico, with the addition of a few Evalicious Getaway badge buttons. I grew up on a farm and it's always a treat for my girls to visit their grandparents who still live there. They've got a lovely orchard and the girls enjoy wandering through it and picking the fresh fruit. Of course, not every piece straight from the tree looks as perfect as the ones you find in the shop and I snapped this photo of my eldest with a less-than-impressed look on her face as she inspected an apple. I find it very funny!

I always add journalling to my pages, it's something I strongly believe in. A long time ago I quit worrying about how neat it looks or whether it will destroy the design of the page. I think this is what the future generations are going to be interested in seeing - not what line of products you used!!

About What's Inspiring Me:
1. Colour Combos
I've always thought I've had a bit of a weakness when it comes to colour combos so this year I made it my scrappy resolution (does anybody else do that?!) to focus on making better colour choices.

I made up my own little colour palette to help me when I put this layout together. I was thinking about the colour of those apples - what do you reckon?!

2. Products I love
I'm very lucky to be on the Design Team for some fabulous companies. Companies whom I really believe in and whose products truly inspire me. I mean - look at it!! And this is just the stuff I've been playing with lately! So blessed :-)

JBS Stamp: Writer Evalicious Stamps: Journal Prompts Set Evalicious Love You Lots Tags FWAB Adhesive Pearls: Latte

InLinkz.com

3. Trends I'm following
I've jumped right onto the 'feather' band-wagon! This is one trend that I can't get enough of right now! Looking forwards to getting my hands onto these rub-ons from Jenni Bowlin.

Just to prove a point - here's a link to some of my own feathery creations:

JBS Fountain Pen Card Evalicious Feather Card Congratulations Feather Card Soul Dyed

InLinkz.com

Well that's about it from me! I'd love to hear from you scrappy folk out there. Tell me about what colour combos or products you're loving right now, and what trends are you following?

xx

I'm a Don't Worry, Be Scrappy Guest!!

When the lovely Christina from 'Don't Worry, Be Scrappy' asked me if I'd think about being a guest on her blog I couldn't say yes fast enough! She has such a strong sense of style that I admire and one of the cutest blogs out there.  Plus did I mention so very friendly and helpful? When I said I wouldn't be able to do it until after my exams she was kind enough to let me chose my own date. And she let me do whatever I wanted with the Guest Post!

So I put together a few bits and pieces of inspiration. Firstly a layout of course! I have to admit it's turned out to be one of my favourites - mainly because I was so happy with how the colour scheme worked. In fact, I made a sample swatch-book for your own inspiration if you like.....

But that's all I'm going to tell you about my Guest Posting! To see the full layout and lots more insight into what's been making my creative juices flow lately then pop over to the Don't Worry, Be Scrappy Blog and leave me some love! I'm thinking I might put together a RAK over the weekend and letting me know you checked this out might become one of the requirements to win!! ;-)