The Story of 5 Minutes More

I made this layout nearly a year ago now, but in one of those awesome moments of scrapbooking it got picked up for publishing before it even made it here onto my blog. It went live in the January edition of Scrapbook Trends (which I still unfortunately haven't been able to access to be able to see it for myself) but it means I can now share it here finally!

A great mix of products here, in a range of lovely soft colours. Can I say that? I think if you asked me if I like scrapbooking pastels, or if I did it a lot I would automatically say no. Probably because I tend to assume pastels equal baby layouts, Easter themes, or those lovely shabby-chic romantic pages. None of which I'm particularly prone to doing.

But on this layout I wanted to make the stamped triangle pattern the focal embellishment of the page and at the time I was super-keen to use my new stash of Prima Chalk Inks. They blend so nicely together and stamp so nicely. I used the 'Favourite Stamp Set' by Kellie Stamps (still available... and on sale now!!) and repeatedly stamped the triangle 'my life' stamp over my page.

I actually took that stamp and mounted it on my acrylic block backwards so that I was able to just stamp a plain triangle in order to create my pattern. Only on a few select areas did I turn the stamp around and use it properly. A great little technique that could be used with plenty of other shapes too.

Oh and in case you're wondering.. yes I chose that lined paper deliberately so I could consciously use it to help line up my images and keep my pattern from wandering all over the place ;-) It's one of the reasons why I add the Studio Calico Grid Paper to my order every month - I need the straight lines!

The story behind the layout is a little bit less romantic and clever. But it is Real Life, and I'm sure most parents can relate. It's about how my kids love to have some 'screen time'. TV, DVD's, the iPhone, iPad.. whatever. If it's got moving pictures on it then it's entertainment right? Games or shows, it doesn't really matter. And whilst we realise the importance of limiting the amount of screen time they're exposed to sometimes it's rather tempting to allow them just 5 minutes more... 'cos it also means peace and quiet for Mummy and Daddy ;-)

The Story of the Drink Shot

It's been hard to really call this the middle of Summer hasn't it? Cold weather, high winds, lack of sunshine.... we've even had to turn the heater on from time to time. Crazy! I have to admit I'm really looking forward to a hot weekend. I love it :-)

However, even though it might not yet look like Summer outside my window, I'm trying my hardest to allow my scrapping to transport me there already. The latest Jot Magazine Mood Board Challenge helps... it's very summery. Check it out..

And of course I absolutely MUST use my newest Kellie Stamps January release, they've been sitting on my desk begging for a workout! I've used the stamp set "Summer Fun" which I've used to create a series of embellishments around my page.

And speaking of embellishments... I am in love with the fact that the January release also included these Wood Veneer Flair. They come in both Light Wood and Dark Wood (this is the Light) and they're quite thick whilst still being lightweight which adds some great dimension to my page in contrast to the flat stamped images. 
I used the same Prima Chalk Inks to give colour to my Silhouette-cut title that I used to stamp the "Summer Fun" circle and the chevron arrows around my page. It helps give the page a bit of cohesiveness I think.

Last Summer we organised a reunion of sorts with some of my doctor friends. There were quite the group of us who went through Medical School together, and a handful of us that lived together at the same College. We're still very close although now our careers have spread us around the country and our rosters make it difficult to get together often. Nearly 10 years on since we graduated and the other thing that's changed is that many of us have started families. It was quite the juxtaposition to find ourselves catching up with the same ol' friends at the same ol' hangouts... but surrounded by our own children. The photo on this layout was taken that day and although it doesn't quite capture the story I'm telling it simply reminds me of the day and I'll let my journalling do the rest.

If the weather's nice this weekend I hope you can get some time outside to enjoy it. But if you're stuck inside then make the most of it and do something fun! With CHA about to start in California we're also hosting our own Online Crop Extravaganza at Studio Calico. There's going to be a heap of challenges, chats, fun and of course PRIZES! Here's a link to the schedule of events. It all kicks off 5pm Friday EST (which I think I've worked out is 9am Saturday morning for us Aussies) I hope to see you over there?!

The Story of the Embroidered Star

Following on from the success of the Polly! Scrap Kits Blog Hop last week I was invited to try my hand at some of their other gorgeous stamp sets they have in stock. That was an offer too good to refuse so I'll be showing off my projects in the next couple of weeks!

First of all I took the Hot Colourful Christmas stamp set and created the card above. I know... it's not even Christmas themed! But that was the direction my creative muse took me in, and I find it much better to obey than try and make it into something else to suit the 'rules' LOL!

So many possibilities with this set right? You can make lots of different combinations of phrases, and the numbers make it really useful for your Christmas journals. But it was actually the numbers inspiring me to think of birthdays that got me off track in the first place. They're all individual stamps, but I lined them up on my acrylic block and stamped them in pink to create a bit of a border to my card.

Next I piled on all my embellishments. Commonly my choices are made by what's simply within arms reach and that's why I find it helpful to leave little piles of embellishments in dishes on my desk. If I see it I'm much more likely to use it. So I've got a Prima flower, JBS rubon feathers, and iron-on embroidered star patch (!) and those lovely skeleton leaves my dear friend Lizzy gifted me with. 

I also took the 'birthday' stamp from the set and used it with chalk ink on a scrap of vellum. Cant seem to get enough of vellum these days. Perfect for everything - you can even see I've used it to rub on my gold feathers before cutting them out. But of course it's the stamps that really make this card something unique. I can't wait to show you what I've made with the next set. Stay tuned!

The Story of the Dream Catcher card (and a winner!)

Hope you've been enjoying all the fun during the Frosty Festivities? It was awesome to be a part of the blog hop, thank you Jennifer! Don't forget that even though the giveaways might have ended you've still got time to enter the challenges. And of course I've got the winner of my October Afternoon goodies to announce. But you're going to have to wait until the end for that ;-)

Remember the set of Dream Catcher Tags I made and shared here? Notice any similarities? Well this was actually the card that inspired it all. I made this first, but not being happy with how the ribbons had to be cut short (or else the card wouldn't stand up) I had to come up with another solution. And that's why the tags were created instead!

I went with a very neutral colour scheme here. I seem to be doing that a lot lately! But added lots of texture via that gorgeous Manor House Creations flower, the buttons, lace and Prima butterflies. This card found a new owner on the weekend when I went to a very exciting birthday party. You might have seen the photos on my Instagram or Facebook with us dressed up as Superheroes (click on the links to see them)? That's because the theme was 'capes'! How fun right?!

Another person who should be excited is my winner!!
Congratulations go to.....
phaerygurl!!!!

Please email me your postal address and I'll get your prize sent to you ASAP!

The Story of Sugar & Spice

I thought I'd follow on from my last post sharing my layout of when my daughters met their new baby cousin, to this one of that same moment. This time the photo captures me meeting my new niece. She's super-cute isn't she?!

I took on the colour challenge in the last Scrapbooking Memories magazine for this page too. It was a little tricky as the colours to work with were black, white, cream and blush pink. It's almost a monochrome combination in a way, and I have never really excelled at monochrome layouts.

But I ended up really enjoying the process of this. What I did was to go through some of my older stash and pull out some packets of product that would work. I grabbed these Kaisercraft rubon birdcages for black, Doodlebug border strips and a Pebbles journal card for white.

The cream chipboard clouds and wood veneer frames are from Studio Calico, and the flower is Prima of course. Otherwise most of my pink came from the papers and a bit of paint. Then I went to town layering up little bits and pieces of all of them along with some scraps of paper and a good splash of mixed-media in the background.

I felt really satisfied with this layout for a few reasons. I'm always happy to have scrapped another important life-moment for a start, but it was especially awesome to work through a process that is initially quite challenging and find that you can still make something pleasing at the end of it. And I'm glad to have debulked my stash of old product somewhat too!

The Story of the Happily Ever After

So I've had a few weddings again lately. There's nothing more perfect is there, than watching 2 people declare their love for one another in front of family and friends?

Of course, I don't really buy cards these days, which means having a ready stash of every-occasion cards on standby instead.

I'm not sure about you but when I think of wedding cards I think of soft romantic colours, layers of flowers and fabric and a shabby-chic style. Every time.

But of course, if you know me at all then you also know that's not my usual style. So when it came to making some wedding cards I looked to someone whom I knew embodies all that and who's super-inspiring to boot! That's my friend Nadia Cannizzo :-)

Despite having a 3-week-old baby in the house that lady is still creating up a storm, and lucky for me she gave me permission to scrap-lift a couple of her cards so that I had something reasonably decent to give away at my recent weddings.

Trust me, I wouldn't have known where to start on a project like this if it wasn't for a truck-load of eye-candy on Nadia's site. But it's so nice to stretch your creative muscle once in a while isn't it? These might not be my usual style but I had such fun putting them together.

xxx

The Story of the Missing Ensuite Door

It's time for another delicious Yammy Scrap colour combo challenge at Scrap Friends! And here's the page I made as my DT example.

What I love about colour combo challenges is seeing which colour everyone chose as their primary starting point. For this one you can see I chose black - mainly because I had that Prima paper with it's shining silver stars begging me to use it, and the perfect story to go with it (although not the photo! LOL!)

It documents another part of our normal everyday life. You see, one of the things we didn't initially notice when passing through our house on an inspection, but which fast became obvious once we started living here..... was the fact that our ensuite DOESN'T HAVE A DOOR! Weird! And it's not as though we can just attach one, because really it's an open archway that leads into our bathroom.

But apart from the (sometimes embarrassing) toilet issues the biggest problem is that because I get up quite early for work and have a shower, get dressed etc whilst The Man is still sleeping it means I've only got two choices. I either turn on the lights and wake him up... or I learn to do it all in the dark.
I've chosen the latter ;-)

I've gotten pretty good at putting on my makeup blind...  although I've learnt to check it before I actually step foot out of the house. And there's only ever been one occasion when I found out later I had put my underwear on inside out!
And that's why I say "thank goodness for daylight saving time" because it means it's getting lighter in the mornings so I can see what I'm doing!!

So to check out what the other DT and Guest DT girls did with the challenge, and to get all the details, you'll find it on the Scrap Friends blog here. This is the fabulous prize up for grabs this month... just stunning!

And speaking of prizes, I've got my Celebratory Giveaway happening this week too. Check it out here.


Supplies:

Cardstock: Grey	Prima Hello Spaceboy Lunar Lullaby	Studio Calico Classic Calico Numerical	Crate Paper Paper Heart Delicate
ICC Vintage Photos	Prima Sun Kiss Alphabet	Crate Paper Pretty Party Die Cuts	Crate Paper Paper Heart Phrase Stickers
Crate Paper Brook Rubons	Glitz Design Pretty in Pink layered stickers	Pink Paislee Prairee Hill Element Stickers	Heidi Swapp Vintage Instaframes
Cosmic Shimmer Glitter: Iced Crystal	Teresa Collins Everyday Moments Brads	Washi Tape: Black Chevron	JBS Paint Dabber Chewing Gum

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