Scrap Friends - sketch # 11

Hi everyone...thanks so much for popping by today!

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone so much for your amazing comments on my last post.  It is really wonderful & so uplifting to see that you all think so much of my work...and ME.  Your comments mean the world to me & have got me right back into feeling like I want to scrap....so scrap I did! :)

I really liked the look of this months sketch challenge over at Scrap Friends...so that was a good place to start, and this is what I've come up with....

"366 & counting"

Using the gorgeous Lemon Owl - Attic Door collection {which is available over at the Scrap Friends  online store}....plus there's a little piece of 2crafty chipboard in there as well :)

 

Pics are of me staggering my way up the 366 steps from Wreck Beach down on The Great Ocean Road...and as you can see, I am struggling & I look knackered!!! lol

 

 

And here is the fabulous sketch

 

 

 

and now for some close ups....

 

Small cluster of MHC & The Scrapbook Store flowers,

along with a D'Lish Scraps flair button & punched leaves

 

 

Here you can see the 2crafty Funky Heart that I've painted in acrylic paint & then heat embossed with a script stamp....love the effect of this!

 

 

Another small cluster

 

 

 

And I love this little camera stamp....from Typo!

And a fabric covered button that I made myself using a button covering tool

 

Plus you can see here where I randomly stamped on the background using glimmermist {Trunk Bay} painted onto my textured stamp...really happy with the outcome too!

 

 

Some Kaisercraft stamping on the background and you can see some of my journaling, which goes right around the outside of the page.

 

  

Well, that's all from me for now....there's a million other things to do, as always!

Including some blog visiting :) 

Have a great weekend peeps!  xx

Some exciting news to share!!!!

 

This morning I received an email from Vanessa at Scrapbooking Memories magazine....telling me that my layout "Hells Gate" had won the 2012 Peoples Choice Award!  

WOW!!!

I was, and still am, totally gobsmacked!!! 

 

I did not even know that this competition was running (shame on me for not seeing it in the magazine :-/ ) ....I have also never participated in the voting in previous years (double shame on me!!)  The timing of receiving this amazing news is just as incredible as the win...as I have been seriously doubting, not only my work, but also myself, for a little while now (I won't go into the reasons why here in public)....so that is why I've been totally gobsmacked by this news....but nontheless....I am also super excited!!

 

I've just found the article & information in SBM - Vol 15  No 6 - page 33....and OMG, if that is the Kaisercraft prize pack that I will be receiving....WOW WOW WOW!!!!  It is ginormous (spelling?).

Thank you so much Kaisercraft  - that is simply amazing!!

 

Ok, I am off to share my news with hubby :)

Have a great day everyone....I know I sure did!  xx

2 Leibster Awards!

Hi everyone....yes, I'm still alive & well, just a bit quiet on the scrappy/blogging front at the moment!
And my apologies for not visiting your own blogs of late....I'm hoping I can do a blog blitz over the next few days!

Today I'm posting about 2 Leibster Awards that I received earlier in the week....the first one from my online friend & fellow 2crafty DT member, Di Garling,  and the second one from .....Zeneva, whose blog I have just started following  :)

Thank you so much ladies....this was a really lovely surprise for me!

The Leibster Award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion. It is awarded to blogs that have fewer than 200 followers to encourage new visitors to them. Once you have been nominated, you award it to five other blogs.

The rules are: post the award on your blog, give the award to 5 bloggers who you appreciate that have fewer than 200 followers then leave a comment on their blogs to let them know you have given them this award.

 

 

From Di's award....here are the first 5 recipients that I'm paying it forward to

in no particular order.....

 

Belinda Spencer

Fiona Johnstone

Monica Brady

Marelize Frisby

Lizzy Hill

(yep, I know you've already received this award, Lizzy....but you so deserve to have it again!)

 

 

 

Ok, now for the next 5 from my award from Zeneva....

 

Monique Follett

Leonie Neal-Dawson

Linda Langes

Charlotte

Lauren

 

 

 

All of these ladies inspire me with not only their gorgeous work....but also for leaving me such beautiful comments on a regular basis (sometimes on facebook too!!), and I find it hard to believe that they all have less than 200 followers on their blogs!

So please visit their blogs & become new followers....I know you won't be disappointed :)

 

 

Thanks so much for dropping by today :)   xx

 

 

In case you missed it....

Just thought I'd share my layout in full that features a new technique I've been playing with, that was up on the 2crafty blog on 1st March.

I had 3 layouts to share on the 2crafty blog, but 2 of them I have already shared here for my GDT gig with CSI.

So, on with this single layout show....

I've used 7 different pieces of 2crafty for this one, with a few different techniques applied to them - 11" Round Flourish Frame, Retro Xmas Tree, Pretty Butterflies, ATC Butterflies, Flag Banner, Mixed Buttons & 11" Viney Page Frame 

 

 

The grey'ish piece running under my photos is a piece I cut from the 11" Viney Page Frame . I literally just globbed a heap of texture paste onto the piece with my brush, then when it was dry, I've lightly painted it using watered down glimmermist...which I think highlights the texture beautifully.

 

For the Pretty Butterflies & ATC Butterflies, I've used the same technique as the 11" Viney Page Frame piece - a heap of texture paste globbed on, then painted in glimmermist.

 

 

 

Here you can see the Retro Xmas Tree {obviously, used on a non christmas layout...so this piece is suited for any style of layout}....and I've again added some texture to this piece, but this time by adding some sand to my gesso, then dabbing it on with my brush & finally finishing it off with painted glimmermist {this seems to be a fav colouring technique of mine!!}

 

 

 

And again, the same technique of globbing texture paste & painting with glimmermist, has been applied to the 11" Round Flourish Frame - this time painting it in 2 different glimmermist colours.

 

 

 Now, for the Flag Banner pieces & the new technique I mentioned....this is a new technique that I experimented with a few months ago for a feature in the latest issue of Scrapbooking Memories Magazine (New Ways with Chipboard - Vol 15 No 6), but I've been waiting for the feature to be published before sharing the technique here on the 2crafty blog {if interested, you can see the feature on page 66, along with Di & Fiona's fantastic tecnhiques & layouts too - although there are no close-ups of the technique in the mag, so it's a bit hard to see - I hope you can get a better view here!}.

 

Each Flag Banner piece has been coated with layers of cut up pieces of muslin & applied using gesso & a brush to manouevre each piece into position. Once enough layers have been applied to cover the pieces & the texture is looking right, allow to dry then paint with watered down glimmermist - I love the texture & the way this technique came out.

I then placed 4 of the smaller Mixed Buttons on top of the banner, after priming in gesso & painting with glimmermist.

 Here are a few shots taken during the process to give you a bit of an idea what I'm talking about...

First cut your muslin into pieces approx 1" x 1".

Coat your piece with gesso & then while still wet,

start layering your pieces of muslin with gesso added between each layer.

Don't worry about being too neat - the more bunched & creased up they are...the more texture you will achieve.

 

These are not the best pics, as they were taken at night...but hopefully you can get a bit of an idea from them...here I am manouevering the muslin & gesso with my brush.

Thank so much for dropping by....and I hope you'll give my new technique a try! :)

last 2 weeks of Feb FMS photo a day

Better late than never, I guess :-/

I've fallen way behind on this challenge
But anyways...here they are.....

15. Inside your fridge - I thought I'd do something a bit different for this one - I put my camera inside the fridge, taking a photo of me reaching inside.  It was a little bit harder than I thought, but after a heap of shots, I finally got one I was happy with.

 

 

 

 16. Perfect ~ Although it is far from perfect now, once upon a time, I'm sure this was the "perfect" little home for whoever it belonged to....

 

 

 

17. In your hand - An apple, with a few added effects to highlight it.

 

18. Something you don't like - Mondays!! {said in my best BoomTown Rats voice} 

 

 

 

19. I am - Stressed!!

 

 

20. Where you stood - On the banks of the river

 

 

21. Full - But not for much longer....

 

 

 

22. Makes you smile - Playing around on google earth & finding the house where my Granny used to live in Northern Ireland....really made me smile (ahh the simple things) :)
I took the pic of my pc screen

 

 

 

 

23. A word - Create {it's what I love to do}

I created these letters years ago & they are hanging in my scrap room,

right above my desk where I work

 

 

24. Cloud - A sky full of them, out on the Hay Plains - taken through car side window at 100kmph
{photo was not taken that day, as all we had was grey clouds blending into each other...which doesn't make for a very interesting photo!!}

 

 

25. On your bedside table - Nothing too exciting....lamp, candles, angel of friendship {from Shaz}, my watch & an altered book I made years ago

 

 

 

26. Quiet - & peaceful...
{no such thing as quiet for this day, so this is an older pic}

 

 

 

27. Playing - With secret squirrel scrapping stuff

{try saying that really fast 10 times! lol)

 

 

28. Upside Down - My pooch, Oscar....loves being upside down like this {except for when I need to get a photo of him upside down & he soon gets sick of me behaving like a crazy lady trying to get him to lay upside down!! lol)

A new technique to share over on the 2crafty blog!

Hi everyone,
Being the 1st of the month, it is my turn to share my DT work over on the 2crafty blog...and todays post includes a new technique I've discovered :)

Here is just a little sneak peek of what you will find over on the 2crafty blog....

 

 

 

Some of you may have already seen the following, but I'm hoping you'll still pop over to the 2crafty blog to still have a looksie at my March post....and I'm hoping you'll think the new technique on the layout above will be worth it :)

 

 

 

 

You can see my post on the 2crafty blog in full HERE
Thanks so much for popping by & showing me your support :)  xx