Blog hop with a difference.....

Hi everyone....Happy Monday to you all :)

I received a message a few weeks back from the lovely Catie asking if I'd like to participate in a blog hop....with a difference.  It is a blog hop that is not affiliated with a scrap store, or scrap company etc, it's a blog hop to share a little more about yourself, introduce your readers/followers to some scrappy lovelies that they may not already know.....and it's all about having fun, so I thought, why not :)

Catie's is such a beautiful person & her work is always gorgeous & very unique....she loves to create her own unique backgrounds and they always have the WOW factor.  So I feel very honoured to be chosen on her list of blogs to share - Thank you Catie <3 xx

By clicking on the link HERE, you can "see what I'm talking about" regarding Catie's fabulous work....she would love to have you drop by for a visit :)  And if you're wanting to go directly to her blog hop post to find out more about her, you can find it HERE

 

Ok, now on with the hop...and a few questions to answer....

 

1.  What am I working on right now?

At the moment I'm kind of feeling like I'm chasing my tail (I'm normally super organised, but these last few weeks, that seems to be out the window)....I feel that I have so many deadlines looming!  All secret squirrel stuff.  I've recently finished my 2nd last article for Scrapbooking Memories Magazine, so just one more to go.   I have ideas spinning around in my head on what to do my article on, and hope to get started on it in the next few weeks.  I've been working on my July DT work for All About Scrapbooks - using the gorgeous Simple Stories "The Story of Us" & Kaisercraft "Be-YOU-tiful" collections - these will be revealed in the coming weeks.  As you probably know, I recently made it onto the Kaisercraft design team...woohooo!!  So I am eagerly awaiting to receive my DT goodies to get started....again, with lots of ideas spinning around in my head. 

 

And lastly, I may, or may not, be working on some Master's entries :))))

 

 

Here are a few little sneak peeks of what I have coming up in the next few weeks....

 

 

 

2.  How long does it take to create a project?

 

Ummmmmm, Usually too long!  Well, I feel that most times I spend way too long on each

page/project.....I seem to fuss around, moving things here & there, swapping this around, changing that colour, etc etc etc (sometimes I can change the colour of say a piece of chipboard 3 or 4 times...if I'm not happy with it, it's not going on the page!  LOL...so I keep going until I get the colour just right).  I need to learn to scrap quicker!  Occasionally a page will come together really quickly for me - in 2 or 3 hours (not sure why...but it usually happens when I'm working with scraps.  Perhaps it's the starting off with whole sheets of paper that I struggle with??  I dunno...just surmising).  On average, I would say most of my pages would take around 6-8 hours or so (not all in one sitting though)....and occasionally if Mr Mojo has gone walkabout, it could take even longer! 

I am a "don't stick anything down until I'm happy with the look" kinda gal :) 

Perhaps that's part of why I take so long too!

 

 

3.  What are my favourite things to create with at the moment?

 

Oh my goodness...this one is hard to answer - ummmm, everything?!?! lol

Ok, I'll narrow it down to a few things.....I love to create my own backgrounds, so stencils & modelling paste are on the list.  I rarely create a page without chipboard on it - 2Crafty of course! - so chipboard is there too..... &  FLOWERS...I do love me some flowers on my pages....oh, and flairs would have to be there as a fav too :)

 

 

4.  How does my creative process work?

 

This differs all the time....it depends what I am working on at the time.  If it's DT work (which is mostly all I have time for nowadays) the paper collection I'm working on tends to determine the style of layout I'll create.  For me, the paper collection really does determine what style of layout I will create - Whether it's something with clean straight lines, lots of layering, lots of background work etc etc etc. 

 

I love to work with a good sketch, so I tend to look around at my favourite sketch blogs to see if their current sketch will fit in with the style of layout I want to create (I hope that makes sense!).  If I am free to create with whatever I like, I either start with a photo I'm itching to scrap & then choose a paper collection & embellies to suite, or sometimes do it the opposite way around...start with the papers & then choose a photo that will work with it.  I usually pull out just about every embellishment on the planet trying to decide what to use, and end up with a whopping big mess!  Of course, most of what I've pulled out doesn't get used, so then I need to put it all away again...lol.  Once I've fiddled & re-arranged everything umpteen times, I eventually stick things down.  Sometimes I get so frustrated with myself that I end up saying "Just stick it down, Linda!!" Hahaha...yep, I do talk to myself :-/

 

 

5.  How do I become inspired & stay inspired?

 

For the most part....by all the gorgeous product that surrounds me!  But also by many other things like, my photos - especially holiday/scenery type pics..... my family & wanting to record our stories, events, thoughts & feelings....and also by the many super duper talented scrappers in this industry.

 

 

6.  What is my signature style?

 

This is a question I've always struggled with as I don't feel that I have one!  Not only has my style changed dramatically over the years that I've been scrapping (don't ya just love looking back at really old pages and think OMG did I really do that?!?  LOL), but I also like to change things up a bit.  I could create something on the arty side one day, then something very plain with clean straight lines etc the next.  But I do love to have clusters on my pages....so maybe that's my style?  Perhaps I am The cluster lady?  LOL!! I think this is perhaps a question that others should answer, rather than the person themselves......so if you think I have a particular style, I'd love to know what you think it is :)

 

 

 

Ok now to share a little about 2 gorgeous ladies & their fabulous work.

 

 

Val Thorpe

 

Val is one of my favourite scrappers and she is a really beautiful lady - and funny too!

I cannot remember how I first "met" Val in this online scrapping world, but I am very glad that I did.  She is one of those people that you just know you would have a lot of fun with, no matter what it was that you were doing.  It's such a shame that we live on opposite sides of the world! 

We seem to have a lot in common...perhaps that's why I like her so much :)

 

Her creations always have such fabulous photos & she also tends to mix things up a bit with the style of her layouts (I think I see a bit of my own style in her <3).  What I love most about her work though is her journaling.  This lady should write a book!  She journals so beautifully & there's always lots of it, on each.and.every.page!  And for me, this is what scrapbooking is all about :D

 

Pop on over to her blog for a looksie at her beautiful work...

http://valbellesramblings.blogspot.com.au/

Fiona Johnstone

 

Fiona is my partner in crime over at All About Scrapbooks, and I first met her from us both being on the 2Crafty DT together a few years ago.  Our styles are very different, but I think we compliment each other very well & I love Fiona's work.  Fiona tends to create with clean straight lines with lots of bold colours & patterns...although she does dabble in a bit of mixed media on her backgrounds as well.  Having said that, she can sometimes be a bit of a surprise package & occasionally step outside her normal style & come up with something very different.

 

Be sure to pop over to Fiona's blog to see her gorgeous creations......

http://fionajohnstone.blogspot.com.au/

 

 

These ladies will be posting for the blog hop next Monday (14th) to share a little more about themselves & their scrapping style & inspirations.  So make sure you give them a visit next week to catch their blog hop post, where you'll learn more about them & also see who they are passing the blog hop onto......or if you pop on by their blogs now and become a follower, that way you won't miss their blog hop post when it goes up next week....or any of their future posts showcasing their amazing work :)

Thanks for stopping by & listening to my ramblings....I hope you've learnt a little something about me that you may not have already known. 

Cheers  xx