January Once upon a ... sketch

 I so admire all of the beautiful layouts created at this blog, and decided to play this month. I particularly liked the journalling prompt - 'Hello 2012 or Goodbye 2011?' and the sketches are always inspiring.

Faith

 

I have used a smaller format for this layout because I really wanted the focus to be on my journalling. The Prima paper was ideal, just the right color and not too fussy, and I Glimmer-misted both my 2 Crafty alphas and the Rubyrock-it trim to match.

Shuffling through my drawers I found some felt that I stitched in concertinas and cut into simple flowers, fastening them with a Kaisercraft brad in the centre. 

I have wanted to try this stitch and rip technique for some time now (any excuse to do some stitching on my page) and found a great tutorial by Tiff Firth in an old Scrapbook Creations Mag - Volume 9, no. 6.

It's good to see my new Dymo labeller in use too, although I still have mountains of supplies to label for the kids' schoolbags.

Hope you  like it!

Christmas card project

This little project is becoming a bit of a tradition for me. I gather together all of the Christmas cards that we received and bind them together as a keepsake.

 

I felt liberated using some very old Creative Imaginations product from my (far too large and impossibly messy) stash. The best bit is it only took 30 minutes to complete, unlike so many other projects I agonize over. And I'm happy with the finished product.

Maybe my children won't grow up as sentimental as I am, with mountains of old letters and cards piled in boxes in the shed. At least this way we have an ordered way of keeping our cards together, and some day they may well wonder who they were friends with way back when.

Daring you to scrap

Woo hoo, a new challenge site, Daring your to Scrap is really daring us to scrap! I found this challenge site on my friend  Leesa Harris' blog and loved the concept - create a layout using scraps to create a background.

Serendipity

I used the self-timer on my camera to take this photo when we stopped for an impromptu picnic one afternoon. The park had big, beautiful climbing trees and the kids were happy for ages.

Again I have used 'Fancy Pants-it's the little things' paper range. I have already made countless layouts using this beautiful collection so had lots of scraps at the ready. 

I have simply cut some squares of pp and arranged them in a grid, some are matted on left-over cardstock, others aren't. I had some Kaisercraft clock overlay left from another project, so adhered it using Scrap Dots and finished with lovely Prima alphabets.

I stamped some branches using Heidi Grace stamps and some Distress Ink-antique linen. What you can't see is some hand stitching from the branch to a bird cage from the Fancy Pants matching die-cuts and some clouds floating off my page.

Scrapbooking Memories Masters Honorable Mention

I was fortunate enough to get an honorable mention in this years' Scrapbooking Memories Masters, but the layout they chose was my least favorite of those that I submitted. 

So here is my entry and the inspiration behind it:

The first task was to use the sketch provided. I had to adapt the sketch to suit my ideas, but even with some jiggling it used many more photos than I normally would. 

I tried to keep the layout clean and simple, so as to not detract from my lovely new car. The buttons kinda accented the wheels and the idea of motion and lots of machine stitching added some additional dimension. 

The result? A layout design I never would have tried before but am really glad I did. Without doubt this is my families favorite page I completed for the challenge.

The second task was to complete a single page layout, of any size or theme, ensuring you included a 5"x7" photo.
This layout was more my style, using a photo that I loved the moment I took it, you know, when your lens just captures the essence of someone? 
Lots of distressing and natural elements made this an easy project to complete, with raffia, hessian, skeleton leaves, buttons and ribbon. No wonder all of my albums are so lumpy and bumpy! 
The journalling reads " Drover... he's our little man on the land."

The third task was to create a layout with hidden journalling or memorobilia. I had so much trouble completing this project, I think I started 3 times before I was happy with the direction this page took. It is still my least favorite of the entries and was thrown together without much regard for the finished product.  
I loved the paper range and have used it many times (Fancy Pants) and thought the idea of little flaps revealing what makes me happiest could work.  I still love this cuttlebug butterfly die and love the idea of tactile elements, so used some acetate to make them fly.
So, I am happiest in your arms Scott, today, tomorrow and always! xx

The last task to complete was to create a double page layout using the color palette provided. I think I like this entry the most. I loved the colors, the Scrapware chipboard is awesome and I added a little texture with some buttons, sandpaper, quilling and felt die-cuts.  

Summer screams fun in the backyard at our house, and I wanted to create something that my kids will look back on and remember good times, and just how happy their smiling faces made me feel.

"These are the smiling faces I see when I look through my lens"

Welcome 2012

And so we say good-bye to 2011 and all that came with it, and welcome 2012. 

Beware: this is a long post, and pretty much sums up what I achieved in 2011 and what I hope to achieve in 2012. I'd love to know what everyone else plans for 2012 so leave me a comment and I will check out your blog in return - thanks xx

I have a huge pile of scrap-booking layouts from the year that I need to file away. Super happy with what I achieved during the year, even though my 'to do' pile is still overflowing I am content that I have done all I can for the moment. 

I managed to complete my Scrapbooking Memories Masters entry and get a highly commended, enter the Melbourne show and win a prize or two, keep up to date with many challenge sites and win a month at White with 1, experiment with 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 page size and completed mini books with both Candy from Graphic 45 and Cari from the Prima Roadshow.

A big kiss and cuddle need to go direct to my little grubby princess who fell and broke her arm at a Christmas party. Yes she's a princess at times, but a grubby grot most of the time, after-all she was absolutely filthy after rolling in the grass and  crossing a creek when she fell. So its plaster for 6-8 weeks, 3 weeks in and we are both already really tired of it. Woo hoo to whoever invented the fibreglass plaster cast which we get fitted on Friday, both more durable than traditional and waterproof, yes you read waterproof!

Now I did have good intentions to undertake project 365 (366 this year) with a photo everyday, but I forgot on the 1st and 2nd of January - not such a good start. So instead I'm creating project 12. Each month I will create a layout of our doings for the month past. At the end of the year I should have a fairly substantial record of what we have all achieved and failed, what we laugh at and what makes us cry, how much the kids have grown both in size and maturity and all of our general business. Stay tuned.

Ali Edwards continues to inspire me and I think I will follow her example and also create a one little word project throughout the year. For those of you who aren't up to speed go to Big Picture Classes and check it out at  http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/

Hmm, I could think of a few little words that are really important to me but deciding on one to put all my focus on was pretty tricky. I have decided to choose FAITH, in the sense both of a trust and confidence in myself and my religious beliefs. It is an area of my life that I rarely think about, but must have a profound subconscious impact on my decisions since religion is playing a large part in my children's education, and more often than not I look to others to have faith in me rather than reaching inside first.

So it is with FAITH  that I embrace 2012. The good, the bad and the ugly. My scrapbooking may not always be up to date, the neatest, fanciest or embrace the newest product or techniques but I have learnt to love this craft for what it is, a way to keep memories for the future.

Please, if you are reading this, thank-you. Lovely comments are always welcome and appreciated, as I so often leave little comments for others and rarely receive them on my blog. I know its not very exciting, and I'm not a scrapping 'superstar' but your little words of encouragement (or not) mean a lot to me.