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!!!

Septober GIVEAWAY!!

I don't know if you've tried to visit the Kreatorville blog in the last month but Keandra was having the hardest time trying to keep it online through a change of web-hosts. Anyway, the good news is that we are back up and running and to celebrate we are giving away a HUGE stash of goodies!!!

If you're the winner you'll receive over 200 sheets of patterned paper from brands like American Crafts, Basic Grey, Webster's Pages, Sassafras, Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, Fancy Pants, Making Memories and MANY more!  There's a BUNCH of alphas,rub ons, rubber stamps, ribbons and other scrap yummies inside:

All you have to do to be in the running for this amazing prize is go and leave a comment on this post, and sign up as a follower of the Kreatorville blog. Easy hey?

And whilst you're there just check out the other new surprises and announcements we've got too. Like the soon-to-be-revealed Septober kit. Yes I said Septober! It's going to be a mix of the September kit which unfortunately got missed while the blog was down (and let me tell you that this has been one of my most favourite kits to work with.... you will gasp when you see how beautiful it is!) plus some of the best bits of the upcoming October kit. Also we're about to release a new embellishment add-on for even more extra goodies to play with. And if that's not enough we've got the amazing Amy Kingsford guest designing this month so there'll be a tonne of eye-candy to inspire you :-) Well, what are you waiting for?!

Basket Case

I might be behind in my sharing of scrappy projects here but did I mention that I'm still so far behind in my stack of photos to be scrapped that I've still got Easter photos that have been waiting to make it onto a page?!

Now don't tell me I'm the only one ;-)

Luckily for me the July Kreatorville Kit 
came a whole book of American Craft transparent accents and they had a whole page of stickers dedicated to Easter images like that cute little chick and Easter eggs I stuck on the bottom of my small photos. And the chocolate bunny that I used in the main photo.

If you want to check out my whole page dedicated to our annual Easter Egg hunt and to catch some hints on how I altered my Thickers to make this title even though I had run out of the right letters then pop over to my post on the Kreatorville blog.

Summer Lovin'

Over on the Kreatorville blog Charity threw down a challenge to scrap some vintage style photos - either your old traditional photos, or in the form of Instagram or Hipstamatic prints.

Well, you know I've got plenty of those to scrap! In fact, on our recent holiday I snapped more photos with my phone than I did with my proper camera :-) It included this one of my husband and I holding hands on the beach. How cheesy but very cute hey?!

And I was able to use pretty much every one of the beautiful papers that came in the July Kit on my page. What a rainbow of pretty colours don't you agree?

So pop over to the Kreatorville blog here to check out my full page.
And if you want to join in the challenge then link up your entries here. There's a Scrapbook.com gift voucher up for grabs!

The grass is greener

I just adore this month's kit from Kreatorville Kraft. It's full of such yummy bright and summery colours from American Crafts, Crate Paper and more!

I was instantly inspired to scrap some summer photos, and it makes me forget my chilly winter frosty mornings for a while. The b-side to the Pink Paislee Butterfly Gardens paper made the perfect background paper as it's neutral but with just the right amount of details to make it interesting.

Then I cut around the circles in the American Craft's Campy Trails paper and layered them up to represent the grass The Man is mowing away at in these photos. All the little embellishments come from the transparent sticker book that comes in the kit. Yes, you heard me.... the whole book!

If you want to see what the other DT chicks have been doing with this marvellous kit, here's the first post you must go and check out. Then try here and here.

Oh, and I've got a new post up over there too. Check it out here. 

Memorable Days

I tried to warn you I've been getting my 'arty' on lately. Is there nothing better than getting your hands dirty with a little paint and mist?!
Well probably my girls would argue the best messy thing is....... ice-cream!!

We recently had our first family holiday to sunny Queensland where we stayed by the coast, spent hours on the beach, took day-trips out to tropical islands, went for treks in the rainforest.... it was heavenly.

The kids however probably wouldn't have cared less as long as there was time for the playground and plenty of treats! So when I saw the Aptly Titled ice-cream embellishment that came in my Kreatorville July kit I just knew I had to have it to scrap these photos :-)

In fact, everything you see on this page (apart from the paint and mist) came from the July kit, and this is my take on the current sketch challenge. You can see the challenge and how Charity interpreted the sketch over here.

And doesn't that quote sum it up so nicely? It says "The Most Memorable Days Usually End with the Dirtiest Clothes" I would have to agree wholeheartedly to that!

Mummys and Darlings

Now onto Sassafras' CHA challenge Day 2...

Marcy set this one up and her challenge was to use alpha stickers as a design element rather than just a title. Well.... you know I love this idea at the best of times, but a challenge.... then count me in!

I've got plenty of ideas of what to do with these mini Sassafras alphas, I've got them by the bucket-load in every colour of the rainbow. But for today's challenge I made a little collage out of them - almost like a patterned paper but with a bit of texture. Hey, it's a great way of using up all those odd letters and numbers you know you'll never use as a title (but still can't bear the thought of throwing them away)

And to give it a little bit more oomph I scattered some pearls around in there too.... helped fill the gaps. Now this is very old-school Sass paper. It's been one of those papers that was just so beautiful I've been 'saving it'. Of course, it eventually gets to the stage where you realise you'll save it forever unless you actually take the plunge and cut into that baby. All the products for this page (except the Sassafras alpha stickers) came from my Kreatorville Kit from May (yes, alright.... that's May 2010) Now you know exactly how long I've been saving it!

The journaling tells the story of how Munchy has heard me call her 'darling' so many times that she actually thinks that's the real word for child. That's how she now refers to other kids. She'll want to play "Mummy's and Darlings" or ask me questions like "is the baby that Mummy's darling?"
Very cute!

I'm coming back tomorrow with Day 3 :-)

Sunshine and Watermelons

I've got a new post up on the Kreatorville blog. It features a couple of pages I made with the KK May Kit. Yes, I said the May kit, and yes I know it's currently July :-) Don't worry, I'm just catching up. I've got plenty more to come. Here's a sneaky look at the first page......

The bright and happy May Kreatorville Kit was full of summery papers by Webster's, Pink Paislee and October Afternoon. Those butterflies were destined to be cut out and scattered over a page and the Aptly Titled frame just zings here doesn't it?!

And since we're talking about summery pages kreated with the May kit, then lets not forget this other layout I made based on the May sketch.

Can you tell I'm trying to forget the freezing cold Melbourne winter weather by scrapping nothing but sunshine?!!

The story behind this particular layout is just hilarious.... (at least to me!)
So make sure you pop over to Kreatorville Krafts and you'll see the full reveal and get the whole story :-)

Winner

So I know the very first thing you all want to know is who is the lucky winner of my Two Peas voucher hey?!!
Well..........
it just happens to be................

Jen Shears!! Wooooo hooooo :-)
Jen - I'll be in touch shortly. Unless you email me first?!

For those of you who weren't so lucky this time, feast your eyes on this lovely eye-candy instead (although it might make you feel a little hungry)

So we were up at the farm earlier this week, specifically to celebrate my nephew's 1st birthday.
On the morning of the party my sister rings me up and asks if I can possibly make her some 'name tags' for the food platters.

What?! With only hours to go (and more relatives to visit in the meantime!)!!

Lucky for me (and her) I had my May Kreatorville kit with me which included some perfectly bright and happy papers and some cute Aptly Titled embellishments such as those hearts you see there.

Not to mention the ultra-cool birthday cake that I was able to stick on the centrepiece like it was made especially for the occasion.
Thanks Keandra for saving my butt!!

Just Call Me....

The Scrap Doctor!!

Soooo..... I have the most exciting news to share. Finally!!
If you've been around my bloggy parts for long enough you'll know how long I've been raving on and on about how wonderful Kreatorville Kraft's kits are. I've been a subscriber since the very beginning. Haven't missed a beat. Haven't wanted to!

Then back in August last year I had the extreme honour of being a Kontributing Kreator (aka: Guest Designer for those not in the know!) and it was wonderful being able to work for Keandra. She's one of the most generous, outlandish, amazing and friendly people I know.

But today surpasses all that........

Because now I am officially a Kore Kreator!!!! (aka: on the DT!!) It was announced on the blog today!
Woooooo hooo!!!!
This is my introductory page. Don't you just LlllooovvveeeEEE the bobblehead me?! I look so sassy..... I like it :-)

In celebration I'm offering up a $15 gift voucher to Two Peas in a Bucket. All the details are here.
(alright so I lied... that giveaway was already open before this announcement) Must be the sassy Scrap Doctor in me coming out :-)

Blog Me Baby

I'm sharing my blogging love around a bit these days.
I've got tutorials up here and here this week.

At Kreatorville Kraft I'll show you how I made this camellia flower using some origami techniques:

And at Handmade by Suzanne I'll show you 4 different techniques when using your Crafter's Workshop stencils:

But stay tuned to my blog because I'm really hoping to have a giveaway up later today!

It's back and bigger than ever!!!

I'm talking about Kreatorville Krafts!! Do you understand how exciting this is to me? It's my favourite kit club, and it's been on hiatus for the last few months so I was soooo happy to see it come back to life this month :-)

And it's certainly back with a vengeance! Not only is there a new kit, a new sketch, new designers and a new tutorial already but there's also......

a tag swap going on!! (in case you were starting to wonder why I'm showing you tags!)

Of course I signed up straight away, and I've been busy this past week working on getting my 12 tags done so I can post them off to Keandra.

I've tried to keep them uniform to some respect - that is, I've used the same colour scheme and kept many of the embellishments consistent throughout all 12 tags.

I made the base for my cards from scratch using the new Tim Holtz kraft resist paper (love it!), painted some pretty designs on with my new stencils, and got to work fussy-cutting flowers and layering on details.

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, and now I've got the urge to kreate even more! I've got the Kreatorville bug I think!