LNSED - latest

I've got a bit behind on my pages for Learn Something New Every Day, although my learnings are up to date! These are my latest finished pages:

All scraps or oddments that needed using up - I think I prefer the Two Peas font to my own handwriting, but for the sake of continuity I persisted!!  I actually went with the prompts for a couple of them.  I've found them very interesting but not always translated them into my learning for the day.  Good for thought provoking though.  Nearly finished - I can't believe.  Just off to work on the next pages now.

Twisted Sketch #121

I have had this photo forever!  I started scrapping in 2005 and this was our first holiday after that.  I looked at it with new eyes, taking photos in a different way, not to mention many more.  When we came home, I printed out photos, scrapped some of them, got someone to cut me an embellishment on their cutting machine, then 'filed' it in my to do pile.  It recently popped out and the seaside theme went perfectly with this week's Twisted Sketches Twist - punches, which I have used to cut strips representing waves on the shore.

The sketch can be found here #121 on the Twisted Sketches blog, and this is my interpretation:

Materials used: kraft c/s, patterned paper from SEI, Lily Bee Designs, October Afternoon. Die cut embellishment (unknown), White Sakura Gel Pen, Punches: Martha Stewart,  Fiskars; Metal flower, Imaginisce; Lettering, Sassafras, Border Strip - Crate Paper, Brad - 7 Gypsies.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop - September

S for September  -  S for Stamping.  This was the challenge from CKCB this month, and welcome to my part of the Blog Hop.  You can find the whole list of bloggers on the CKC Blog here. 

I was a stamper and card maker long before I was a scrapbooker, but I haven't really brought the technique over with me into my scrapbooking.  For this LO, I have used two stamped products.  The first is the patterned paper from Challenge #1.  I was inspired by Nichol Magouirk over at Two Peas, and the class she did on making your own patterned paper here.  Mine is a whole lot simpler than hers and I used a variety of Kelly Panacci stamps, and one from Daisy Bucket, with chalk inks for a softer look.  Sorry that there is not a lot in the way of new technique here, but one thing I did learn that stamping in triangles gets you completely random prints is really true!

I then used some of the embellishments that I made for Challenge #3  to augment the layout.  No real technique here as my heat gun died as I began, so just simple stamping and layering.

I feel that the K&Co patterned paper I used to cut out the flowers had a very stamped look, which I think you would be able to get by stamping chalk ink onto pearlised paper. Must try it.

Thanks for coming by, now please move on to see what Amarylis has been up to in the world of stamping here.

Juicy!

There is something very nice about a completely new range of stash and recently I discovered Ormolu - a brand of delicious labels, tags and badges that just spoke to me!  They have a lovely blog too for inspiration.  I 'invested' in a few bits, then discovered that Studio Calico are including some of their range in the new kits - how on trend am I? For once!

So, of course I had to play and on this LO are examples of their fabric tags, foldovers, and journalling blocks which went perfectly with my photos.  I now it's cheating to use new stash :)  but it matched perfectly with my smaller CKCB 'Juicy' kit for September, the first time I've played with it - it was really only a page kit, but I have enough for another LO.  The photos are ages old and I've been wondering what to do with the hessian forever.  A donation of tissue tape from Sandra, and many punches completed the LO.

Belated! Sketch of Last Week!

Well, I finally got there!  I'm usually behind and often don't even get to do the Sketch of the Week, but Shimelle's sketch and video here took my fancy.  So better late than never, another layout from my CKCB September kit, I think it's the third one, or maybe the fourth :)

Storming through my kit - I think I might get two more LOs from it.  This one features Sassafras Indie Girl, October Afternoon Boarding Pass, Coredinations and Bazzill c/s, rubons and large brad from Basic Grey, Brads from WRMK, Prima crochet flowers, Maya Road tickets, 7 Gypsies stickers, prima packaging, Woodware punches, little foam stickers from Paperchase - what a lot of product on one LO!

Create some stamped embellishments challenge #3

I was a stamper long before I was a scrapper and although many of my stamps are not really transferable to scrapbook pages, some are, but I've got out of the habit.  So this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge to use stamps has been a welcome wake up call to a technique I have ignored for a while now.

I have seen embellishments like this before and was challenged to create some to go with this month's kit.  Ideal for using up those little extra scraps, I used stamps from Papermania and Technique Tuesday, along with a variety of punches and inks.  Simple but effective - great challenge.  I can see this becoming a new favourite.

Next I want to have a go at making some bigger embellishments, maybe with a 2" circle or square and using the stamps more obviously - watch this space :)

Update on LSNED

These are my latest pages - I've been on a roll and managed to do most of them on the actual day, adding to the freshness of them.  I've tried to link the opposing pages in some way although it is a big tenuous.  I've also completely messed up the look by sticking the tag on the wrong end of the page, but hey, you learn by your mistakes.

I've learned that I am allergic to 'official' mail .

I've realised I'm not very brave, and admire those who are.

I've reminded myself that there really is a time to mourn and a time to dance.

I've learned that I value old friendships and it's worth making the effort to keep up with people.

I've learned that I run out of steam as the week goes on, and I need to manage my time accordingly.

What a long post - sorry! :)

Putting my Counterfeit Kit to good use.

My first LO with my counterfeit kit was for a UKS weekly challenge that fitted with things I already had in my kit - the photos, the colour, the theme - yeeha!

I had a blitz last week on a set of photos from 1994 which I've wanted to scrap for ages, but didn't want to spend too much time on.  I compromised with two LOs, one heavily journalled, then a multi photo page protector filled with 8 photos and two decorated title cards to match the LOs opposite them.  Really pleased and feeling smug that I have actually scrapped a whole set of photos.

I am a random scrapper, thus most projects are 'in transit'!  These are my main LOs, one totally from the kit, one with borrowed bits from my stash, and the Boardwalk Studio Calico kit.  I did use stamps on my LO, as well as a misted journalling block - big adventure for me!

An adventure in handcutting..... but too late!

I was keen to have a go at the monthly team challenge on the UKS site, which included a sketch and either sewing or stamping, so I got my supplies out and started playing around, but realised I was just too late to enter the competition.  Ditched the sketch as I decided I really wanted an old single photo with all the stunning flowers on the Authentique paper in my recent Gottacraft August kit.

I'm not often one for yellow, but teamed with grey and not too bright, this range is awesome and I've used it more than once already.  MME were kind enough to bring out their Lost & Found range which has some coordinating brads and buttons in it, so I indulged myself with lots of product and started an epic hand cut of all the flowers on the sheet.  With the bits left over I punched out scalloped circles in two sizes to give me extras to fill in the gaps.

I did stick to the sewing, and drew a shield shape, then sewed big stitches, alternately in embroidery silk and MME Bakers Twine. I also added some K&Co sticky lace to tone down the yellow a bit.

My grandparents were very special people, sadly long dead, but still missed.  I love that my Granny has written on the photo as it is a memento of her handwriting, and the hidden journalling gives some background info for future generations, should they want to know!

Thanks for looking.

Snowflakes are Winter's butterflies - Kirsty's embellishment challenge

A few weeks ago I mentioned in passing a blog challenge - Curiouser and curiouser - that I'd found, where Kirsty Merran was offering a giveaway with a twist, namely that she'd made some highly cute and desirable embellishments and was offering them IF you used it in a project - these would then be linked in a blog hop and the whole array of ideas for cute embellishments would be displayed in all it's glory in one inspirational and diverse hop.

Well, this is it - at least my part in it. I'm not sure how inspiration or diverse I've been with my standard 12 x 12 layout, but I had a load of fun. As soon as I opened the envelope, I thought of the phrase 'Snowflakes are winter's butterflies' and this, with my two embellishments became the basis of my planning.

Paint, glimmer mist, a scrap of fabric from Spoonflower, a few scraps of pp, letter stickers, bakers twine, a charm and snowflake brads all took their places on my latest favourite LO base - a sheet of Bazzill (in this case to match the paint) overlaid with 8.5 x 11 kraft paper. I think the embellishments make it - do you?

Now please make your way to the next stop - Becky's gorgeous blog - here. Thank you for hopping by.

Four days of LSNED

I am so chuffed that I'm up to date with my Learn Something New pages. I have been keeping it simple, I have all my pages cut out, a supply of tags and a template for the shape I'm using for most of my kraft pages (although I've cheated a bit when the mood takes me!). I have my pile of scraps and my circle cutters, and wonder of wonders, I've actually used a few stamps in the past couple of days - I don't often do that!

My learnings - perhaps more obvious: the joys of a relaxing Sunday lunch with friends, I realised my habit of picking up conkers just for their sheer mahogany beauty and stashing them in my pocket!, a trip to the airport allowed me to note how much I love going there, to fly or not, just because it widens my horizons for a few hours, and finally, as a struggler with stuff, I noted my new resolution - little and often - to apply to my cleaning/tidying/decluttering routine.

I'm enjoying this...

... and at halfway through, I'm glad I did it. I didn't know what to expect, but I'm finding a snapshot of everyday life and noticing things that haven't penetrated my scrapping life yet, but which are interesting to note down.

Starting Point w/b 11/9/11

What a great LO for using up scraps of stash - I headed straight for my bags of scrap to find coordinating pieces for this challenge. One Tim Holtz, three Bo Bunny Paperazzi and a strip of gorgeous paper from the BG Mellow collection that I have been hoarding for ages made my initial starting point LO.

As my main photo was of a tree fashioned from old exhaust pipes I wanted to infuse a bit of grunge/rust/distress (you know what I mean!) into it. I actually used my blending tool with an ink pad successfully - I usually make a complete mess of it, dug out some of my Mrs Grossman's Scrap Metal papers which were one of the first things I ever bought for scrapbooking and punched a strip, and added another couple, including the label strip which was perfect for the photo!

Letter stickers are a mix of ancient Basic Grey (ECO), Crate (inked Sculpture) and Lily Bee (canal etc.) A few cogs from Tim, a Fancy Pants sticker, a date stamp and it was done.

Serendipity meant that the letters on the Tim Holtz papers were L M N - and the photos were taken in LeideN - so I added the 'eide' over the 'M', stamped a swirl, and the location was there in lights. I so love it when things work out :)

New Beginnings

This is my interpretation of Twisted Sketch #119 - the challenge for this week, and the twist is 'start', which I have incorporated in my title, with a photo of my DD's first day at school. Using the delicious LilyBee papers from their Picket Fence & Stationary collections - all my favourite colours - I inked, distressed and then, unusually for me, had a go at machine stitching around my papers.

I also further forayed into unknown territory, using gesso before inking and using a stamp for my journalling. I'm quite pleased with the result.

Matching stickers from that generous array of colours that go with the collection, some apples for the teacher, stamped using a WRMK stamp, and then double up for dimension.

Finally I made a couple circle & star embellishments to finish the LO off.

A little bit of card making

Having been tied up with lots of activity to do with LSNED, it occurred to me that my stock of cards was getting very low and there were lots of birthdays fast approaching - mainly girls at my crop - so I had a little play with a stamp I'd had for ages but not really used, and another from the Crop Advent Swap goodies from last year. My trusty new punches came into play once again with some scraps of lovely paper I had tucked away and some bling to make them feel celebratory.

I made 4 - all different but on the same theme. These are two of them. Look away crop girls if your birthday is coming up, you might spoil the surprise!!

LSNED - update

I felt very emotional yesterday with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 being commemorated. It brought back so many memories, seeing all that pain, and nostalgic memories of my primary schoolfriend (long lost touch, but fondly remembered for all our violin lessons together) who died in one of the planes that hit the Twin Towers, and of my visit to the top of the WTC on just such a blue, clear morning as 9/11. Thinking of all those still suffering, and those suffering as a consequence of the response to the atrocity.

However, my learning had a much happier bent, as we had guests for lunch, which always generates a frantic clear-up, but ends in a nice lunch (as the kids tell me, much better than the ones we get on our own!!) - usually a roast dinner (lamb this time) and pudding (the most important part - in their opinion). The bit I like best though is the after dinner time when you just sit and chat over coffee, rather than feeling like you ought to do chores or some other dull thing. My page will reflect this as my learning for the day.

The above are the last few pages from my book - very diverse learning, and I'm enjoying trying to keep some continuity in the book despite the differences in the things being learned.

Playing...

I don't often sit down for a play without some idea of what I'm aiming at, but having joined a decorated chipboard swap on UKS, I was only constrained by the shape (square) that I'd committed to.

So what to do? I dithered over various ideas, then remembered a spray ink I bought in the years Before Scrapbooking - when I was a card maker. It is by the same people as make Moon Glow embossing powders and is called mystic something. I bought it thinking it would be like walnut ink. It's not, but it does have this wonderful green malachite after glow - the ink is brown. So I inked with my chalk inks, then sprayed them. They came out wonderfully autumnal and a bit woody.

My first thought was the apple stamp I got recently, so I embossed it with mirror gold and then triple embossed with clear UTEE - fail! The embossing powder just disappeared beneath the UTEE. Thank goodness you can reheat it. I plunged the apple stamp into the reheated UTEE et voila, a perfect apple stamp, which I then used rubon tint (no idea what it should be called), which makes the UTEE look like wax (top right). The next apple, I just embossed and added some rubon to add colour (bottom left).

I then hit on a leaf stamp which I stamped then embossed with copper penny embossing powder, before triple embossing. The malachite spray really showed up with this combination, and I went with this x10 for my swap (top left). With the one that I messed up, I triple embossed, then stamped into the hot UTEE for a debossed leaf which I then coloured with rubons (bottom right)- it would have been a shame to waste it!

Finishing up..

I am the world's worst offender when it comes to finishing layouts that I haven't finished at a crop - I can't come home and finish up immediately because life gets in the way. Mostly it takes a few days for me to get out my crop bag and unpack. If they are in mid flow, that's ok, I can leave them in the bag with the supplies and finish up next time I sit down to scrap.

If they are finished except for a little thing - usually journalling, or an embellishment, they go into a pile and stay there! I have a least two pizza boxes of unfinished layouts!! Obviously the problem is that I don't have enough albums, but I am resolved - I will finish these layouts by this time next year, and not have any more in the pipeline.

Above is number one! All that was lacking was my white journalling pen! Why didn't I finish it? Who knows? but it's heading for an album now - hooray!

LSNED - the next few days...

These are my pages from the last few days. The 5th is half done - mainly because although I know the lesson I want to express, I haven't worked out how to express it yet! Page 6 sadly I did the wrong way round, but hey, we learn from our mistakes! Obviously the photos are missing - although I'm not using a photo every day.

I've managed to stick to my pledge only to use up scraps, which is cathartic, and if only I didn't have quite so many, I would be feeling happy that I could buy new stash to replace it!!

My latest best buy have definitely been the little scalloped punches which I have used tons - on cards as well as scrapbook pages - think I might need just one more - about 1.5" to complete the set!

It's new counterfeit kit time...

It's come round again, time to raid my stash (slowly being sorted and arranged for maximum accessibility) and put together a kit for this month.

From Sweet Peach in September 2010, there were two to choose from - a blue one, based round Sassafras Indie Girl, and a Juicy one - with more autumnal colours.

As I had some remainders from the couple of sheets of Indie Girl I bought, and some of a sticker sheet, I went with the blue one as my main kit. I didn't have any letters in a similar colour, and I cut down the number of papers from last month when I went a bit mad!

Citrus lace, some coordinating ribbon, K&Co paper lace, some Crate paper brads, some french khaki button brads, and a pink MM houndstooth brad, plus some metal ribbon slides from ancient stash, Imaginisce metal flowers, and some leftover Jenni Bowlin pearl flowers and a few chipboard accessories made up my embellishment kit. I added letter stickers by Sassafras and Echo Park and a few extra scraps of paper.

Banners will have to be hand crafted and I'm definitely going to have a go at the flower tutorial.

Papers: kraft, peacock blue, cream cardstock, cream and green coredinations cardstock, part sheets from Indie Girl, October Afternoon Five & Dime, WRMK die cut sheet, MME Lost & Found, SEI and Echo Park - sorry not very good at which ranges they are from!

I also made up a page kit, based more on my subjective interpretation of the Juicy Kit, which I am also really pleased with - I've had the burlap stuff for ages and now I'm going to really try to use it! Can't wait to get started now.