A Crafty Challenge.

It's Monday which means it's time for a new Crafty Challenge over on the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum, and it's my turn to deliver.

Something a little out of the ordinary for you today....a real challenge!

I'm sure we all love to scrap gorgeous photographs.....the perfect sunset, or that particular shot that captures your loved one's beautifully, but today's challenge is to scrap some of the 'bad' ones........you know, such as the wedding shot where you look as though you have a wall light protruding from your tiara! (I have one of those!).

Now before your mouse finger twitches with the urge to click on to a more saner topic, bear with me and I'll explain.

We Srapbook to preserve our memories....yes? And every photograph holds a memory....the good, the bad and sometimes the plain old ugly.

A few years ago, when my daughter was around two years old, she would constantly 'borrow' my camera and take inane shots of anything really.....a chair leg, part of her foot, 20 pics of her favourite stuffed toys!  It wasn't until I downloaded photographs that I would find out what she'd been up to, which then made me smile as I spent the next 10 minutes deleting them.

Then one day I realised that in ten years time, when she had hopefully outgrown the habit, I would have completely forgotten this memory, and how it was one of her funny little quirks.  That's when I decided to scrap some of the bad photo's, or in her case, these are some of the better ones!

Here's the layout I did.........

This page was created a few years ago, so probably not my best, but I'm sure you get the general idea.

I do hope you'll get a chance to take part in this weeks challenge, as I'm sure as I was, you'll be glad you did.
Don't forget to upload your creations to the Gallery and Forum, in order to collect buttons towards your next gift certificate to the store.
Have a great day,
Jayne.

All your eggs in one basket!

Well hello.  It's Thursday, only one more work day til the weekend, and the sun is oh so shiny!  I'm not one for just sitting in the sun, and I hate the bugs that warmer weather brings, but there's something about a sunny day that brightens things up and makes you feel.....well.....hot! (lol)

I'm hoping the title of today's post will become clear shortly, but first I have to mention one thing...... as I'm writing this, my blog counter thingy down in the bottom right there shows 9999........WOW!  I hit way from 10,000.  When I started my blog 18 months ago, I was hoping I would gain a sympathy view of maybe 10 hits per week (hopefully!), so I'd like to say a BIG thank you to all of you out there who visit, I really do appreciate it.  Also, to those lovelies who take the time to leave a comment....makes my day believe me, so if you don't mind putting up with me for a little longer.....here's to the next 10,000!

So, on to what we are here for....today's creation.....not a card......not a scrapbook page.....what could it be....can you stand the anticipation?

Well don't get too excited, but I thought I'd show the last of my DT creations for Two Scrapbook Friends, using the We R Memory Keepers 'Cottontail' collection.  As Easter is fast approaching, what could be better than a little basket to keep those eggies safe and sound...........

I love the little sentiment tag on the front there, which is actually cut from one of the sheets of patterned paper.

The main body of the basket is a straight forward box I made, then 'fence' panels which were cut using my Slice, are adhered around the sides.  There's also a border strip from another sheet of PP, on there too.

The handle is made with strips of paper and a border punch, and there's a nice little accordion flower attached.  Here's a close up of one of the chipboard elements in the collection, which I tied on there.......

Well that's it from me, so hope you enjoyed it. Now move away from the computer and go enjoy the sunshine!
Have a great day
Jayne.x.

Egg Hunt.

Good morning....is it a Happy Monday?  The sun is shining, the kiddo's are back to school, which means myself and my house can finally recuperate!

Today's creation is a scrapbook page, and a double no less!  I confess, I am definitely not a double page person.  I'm just not comfortable creating them and when I see the gorgeous creations others seem to manage, I'm never quite satisfied with my own efforts.  Anyhow, I didn't have much choice with this layout, as I had so many photo's to try and fit in there.........double page, here I come!

This one's called "Egg Hunt 2011"........

Wish I could make the photo a little larger, but alas 'No', so you'll just have to click on the image for a better view.

This is my final LO using the We R Memory Keepers 'Cottontail' collection from my Design Team kit for Two Scrapbook Friends.

Now, as it's a double, and me being completely out of my comfort zone, I knew there wasn't a hope in you know where of me pulling this off alone, so I reverted to a 2 page sketch from Sketch Support. 

There are obviously lots of photo's on there, as well as layers of paper, plenty of trim, pearls and chipboard elements dotted here and there.

The Easter egg is just an oval I cut and embellished with a border punch, ribbon and a button..........

and the title is cut using my Slice......couldn't resist turning the '0' into another little egg........

Every Easter in our house, we do a little treasure hunt to find the eggs, complete with rhymed verse clues (which 'Mom' is usually sitting up writing out way past midnight, on the evening before!).  I thought it would be cool to print these out and make a pocket, to keep them on the page.....so that's what I did.......

 So that's it.....make the most of it, cause I can pretty much guarantee there won't be another double around these parts for quite some time!

Have a great day enjoying the sunshine, and I'll be back again sometime this week.
Take care
Jayne.x.

Celebrate Spring!

Well I think the sentiment on today's card is pretty appropriate.....although it's more like Summer out there right now!

Today's creation is another DT project from the We R Memory Keepers 'Cottontail' collection, which I got to play with a few weeks ago.

Fairly simple card, just a few layers of patterned paper.  The little chick image is from one of the really reasonable clear acrylic stamps by Imaginisce, coloured with Copic's.

The sentiment is using one of the chipboard stickers from the collection, and I believe the flower is cut from a piece of trim.

That's about it from me, so I'll see you in the next couple of days with further installments of this collection.  Have a great day......make the most of the weather!
Jayne.x.

Fairy Fatigue!

As promised, here I am! Back with project number 2 from the We R Memory Keepers "Cottontail" collection (which you can find over at Two Scrapbook Friends of course!).

This one's another scrapbook layout, showing two tired little girls, after a long day of 'fairy business'.....you know the kind.......floating, dancing, wand waving, that sort of thing! It definitely takes it's toll, you end up with Fairy Fatigue...........




I wanted to create an overall softness to this page, so the title is partly created using Maya Road chipboard letters covered with Flowersoft, and teeny alpha's. All of the photographs are matted with a handmade paper to give them that 'fuzzy' feel...........



I added part of a die cut patterned paper, together with velvet trim and ribbon threaded through a punched border..........



I managed to get some journalling in there, on one of the chipboard tags from the collection, and couldn't resist 'popping' another of those little bunnies........



There's also a flower die cut tag, finished with a button to round up a full dose of 'girliness'!




So that's all for today, but I will be back pretty soon with project number 3.....a card.
Take care,
Jayne.x.

Sweet sisters.

Good evening....sorry I've been a little absent this week, but March Break and all! I had to revert to my second job.....children's entertainer extraordinaire!!!!

Anyhow, I've also been working on my DT kit from Two Scrapbook Friends for the last couple of weeks - can't reveal that just yet, but I realized I hadn't even shown my previous projects! Now will be the perfect time, so I'll post them over the next few days, whilst in the mean time, I try to grab a few hours of crafting to come up with more marvelous creations!

For my last kit, I got to work with the Easter collection from We R Memory Keepers....."Cottontail", also perfect for those Spring projects.

Today I'm showing the first scrapbook layout I did called 'Sweet Sisters"...............



Kept the design fairly simple for this one.....just wanted to frame the photograph really. The title is laid over one of the chipboard elements available in this collection, and consists of a combination of alpha stickers from Cosmo Cricket and chipboard from Maya Road (covered with some of the patterned paper).


There are various embellishments added to each of the rectangles.....buttons, twine, borders, and I loved this sentiment on a strip I cut from some of the PP, so it had to be layered and 'popped' for a little dimension..............



I also couldn't resist this tag cut from another piece of PP, and had to fussy cut the cute little bunny too.............



Stitching provides a nice little border and that's about it.

I hope to be back tomorrow with LO number 2, so I'll see you then,
Jayne.x.

Time for another Sketchy Challenge!

Yep it's my turn again for a Sketchy Challenge, over on the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum.
My last design was fairly simple, so I thought we'd have a little more detail on this one. Here's my sketch...........

As you can see I dusted off the old pencil and paper again, so I'm hoping the image is clear enough.
Here's my scrapbook page using the sketch.........

A tribute to my parents who I am truly thankful for, regardless of our 3000 mile separation!
So, as you can see I used a single 4"x6" photograph, but feel free to use multiple, and also flip or rotate the sketch as you wish.
Papers are from the Echo Park 'Victoria Garden' line, so my layout is fairly feminine. It has a slight Victorian feel to it with the doily and flowers.

I would really love to see a masculine version too, by changing up the flowers and using the other elements, such as the banner here.............

This one was cut using a Nestie and layered for extra dimension.
There's also plenty of room for some strip journalling..........

I do hope you'll get a chance to try out the sketch and play along with the challenge. You have until April 15 to upload your creations to the Forum and Gallery, as we always love to see your results.
Most importantly, enjoy!
Have a great day
Jayne.

Beach babe!

Good morning, I'm flying in and out here with a teeny, tiny card.......I just didn't want you to think I'd forgotten y'all by neglecting my blog for another day!

Anyhow today's card is NOT square......how about that? It's also extremely small, as this is one of the largest circular dies I have (still not very large!). Hence it's also pretty clean and simple, due to not having any room to fit anything else on there.

No matter, it's another Saturated Canary image, so that's cute enough all alone.........



This California Babe was coloured up for a couple of reasons:

#1 To enter challenge #11 "Shaped Cards" over on the Saturated Canary challenge blog.......well, I didn't quite make the deadline for this one!

#2 To enter Sharlene's challenge over on the Two Scrapbook Friends forum, which was to create a card or scrapbook page showing some Summer attire.

I did meet the deadline for this one, but felt it safer for everyone concerned if you were looking at this bathing beauty in her swimsuit, rather than me!!!!

She's coloured with a combination of Promarker's and Copic's.........



and the only other addition is the Martha Stewart ribbon I can't get enough of (spritzed with a little water and scrunched) and a starfish sequin from the dollar store...........


That's all folks, but I'll be back tomorrow because it's Sketchy Wednesday over on the Two Scrapbook Friends forum, and guess who's up for the challenge this week?

See you then
Jayne.x.

Friendzy Friday at Two Scrapbook Friends.

Hello and Happy Friday! It's my turn for Friendzy Friday this week over on the Two Scrapbook Friends blog, so I thought I'd cover a little technique I use on most of my cards, using Distress Inks and Nestabilities.

Most of us use Nesties or similar dies on our cards or scrapbook pages to cut, but it's often forgotten that they can be used as stencils too. Most of the cards I make contain coloured images, and I use this technique on 90% of them. Not only does it look effective, it can stop the image 'floating' so to speak.

So first of all as previously mentioned, you'll need Distress Inks in the colour of your choice, a Nestabilitie/Sissix or similar die, and a Blending Tool. You can of course find all of these at the Two Scrapbook Friends store.



First lay your die over the image you are using on your card.....I tend to use a little sticky tape on the corners to keep things in place.




Ink up your Blending Tool with your chosen Distress Ink and using a circular motion, start to blend the colour into your framed image. It's quite useful to dab off any excess ink on a scrap piece of paper before you actually start to blend......you can always add more ink, but taking away can be a problem!




I've found also that it looks more effective if your 'inked' area is not too regimented........you need to loosely follow the outline of the image, leaving maybe half a centimeter of white space. I've drawn a dotted line on this view to show what I mean.



Once you've covered the whole area, remove the die and voila!



Don't forget you're sentiments too..........




Just remember not to rub the blending tool over the print as some inks, especially printer inks will smudge.

When you're feeling more adventurous, why not reach for other dies in your stash and experiment to create interest in your backgrounds such as hills or waves. Blue's work awesomely for skies, and as you can see here, I used a flower die........



to create clouds............



I do hope you'll give this technique a try the next time you reach for your dies, and don't forget to upload your creations to the gallery. We always love to see what you've been up to, but most importantly, have fun.

See you next time
Jayne.

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'Dude' surfer entered in the following challenges:
Pollycraft Monday Challenge - #129 Teenage Dream