A new Kit for Daisy Chain Scrapbooks

Hi friends, it's so nice to be back here on my blog after a break that has been longer than I expected.  I've still been working on lots of projects, just haven't had a chance to share them here.

This weekend is one of my favourite weekends of the year, the Brisbane Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo!  I'm looking forward to meeting up with scrappy friends, hopefully meeting some online friends in person for the first time, learning in the classrooms and definitely a bit of shopping too.

I have a few layouts that are being sold as kits at the Daisy Chain Scrapbooks stand.  This kit uses the lovely Teresa Collins Design | Memorabilia collection.

I so love chalkboard themed products and this collection features them heavily.  There is a lot of fussy cutting and a lot of stitching, both of which seem to have become a regular feature of any kits that I make.

I also love to make one-off DIY embellishments for my kits.  The feathers that feature on this layout are made from a template that comes with the kit, and they are then hand cut, sewn and then hand cut some more.  

The Studio Calico chevrons have had a little bit of a bling treatment ha!

I always, always include instructions and product for a bonus card to make after the layout in my kits.  I pretty much always do this myself when I make a layout and its a good way to use up all those little left over pieces.

There are three more of my kits that the Daisy Chain girls are stocking this weekend, so if you're at the Expo drop in and take a look.    This layout featuring Crate Paper's Boys Rule collection, a dreamy Prima Seashore layout, and also a bright and happy (and sparkly!) layout to document who you are right now using the Teresa Collins Design Daily Stories Collection are all bundled up and are ready and waiting on the shelves.

If you're at the expo and you recognise me from my profile pic or from my Instagram feed pull me aside and say hi - I'd love to meet you!

Happy weekend!!

A Super Quick & Easy Card

Hi friends, and Happy Friday!

Sharing today a super quick and easy card that I put together for Brent's birthday recently.  Brent is pretty much a minimalist, clean lines and white on white is his kind of thing.

I had some new goodies on my desk from October Afternoon's Daily Flash collection - some Flash Chip - Frame Up chipboard, and a pack of Tin Pins.  

So with Brent's minimalist style in mind, I started with a white card base, layered patterned paper and some more white cardstock, a chipboard frame and border and a smattering of ink.  Topped off with the Awesome tin pin and this card was done and dusted in a matter of minutes.

I love that the tin pins fit so well inside all of the frames in this chipboard pack, and while I have them on my desk I'll be putting together a few more cards for my stash.

As I didn't have any papers from the Daily Flash collection, I pulled one of the patterned papers from the Travel Girl line (one of my favourite collections ever), and it matched perfectly.

Did you notice the ink I accidentally splodged on the frame?  I have to confess I may have cursed a little at that, but yes, I'll remember to cover my elements a bit better next time I'm throwing ink around ha!

It's Autumn here, my absolute favourite season, and the weather is delightful with blue skies and lots of sunshine.    We're planning a day out in the hinterland, walking trails and maybe even picnicking tomorrow and I'm so looking forward to it. 

Hoping you have a little something planned to enjoy your weekend ahead!

Project Life Guest Post for Scrapbook Creations Magazine Blog - Photographing the Unwilling

Today I have a guest post over at the Scrapbook Creations Magazine blog, sharing my 2014 Week 4 Project Life spread, and some of my go to methods for documenting the every day with teenagers, even when they might be unwilling photography subjects!

Hope you can drop by!

Boys Rule Feature on the Crate Paper Blog

Very excited to have my layout featured on the Crate Paper blog today!  The CP Girls came up with this challenge to celebrate their new Boys Rule collection.  This is such a fun filled boys themed line with lots of bright colours and retro graphics.

I've been working on a new kit for Daisy Chain Scrapbooks and it fit the challenge perfectly.  This is my layout, and the kit is coming soon to Daisy Chain.

I do tend to shy away from bright colours so this layout was a chance to push myself to go all out with colour.  I instantly fell in love with the Attaboy patterned paper and wanted it to be a major part of the layout.  So that it didn't overwhelm the embellishments I layered a sheet of vellum over the lower part of the paper to tone down the strong graphics.

How cute are the tiny alphas!?

My little nephew Josh scored this awesome superhero shirt from one of the Gold Coast theme parks while my sister and her family visited us over Christmas.  He loved it so much that he practically lived in it while they were here!  These photos of him in it are such a great match to this collection.

Let me know if you'd like to pre-order the kit at all, and I'll be sure to update my blog just as soon as they're in stock at Daisy Chain.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Day She Turned 18

Sharing a layout today that was recently published in Scrapbooking Memories magazine.

This layout is one that's very close to my heart, and celebrates the day that my gorgeous daughter Kayci turned 18.

I've used the My Minds Eye - Find Your Wings & Fly - Sky's the Limit collection.  This collection really matched the sentiment of my layout - a message to my girl that the sky's the limit - she can achieve anything she wants to in this life.

I typed my journalling on a Dear Lizzy tag, tied it with some twine and slipped it in an envelope towards the top of the layout. I got a little bit excited with my metallics on this layout and went for both silver and gold! 

I fussy cut an extra hot air balloon from a Kaisercraft printed acetate sheet to layer over the two balloons on my background patterned paper.  I also fussy cut a few quatrefoil shapes

and applied some gesso with my fingertips to soften their colour.

Just love that this collection has so many little positive affirmations, from the brads right through to the tags.

And lastly a close up that shows some of the layers, my hand stitched border using embroidery thread, and the light application of watercolour to my background.

My Hot Tip included in the magazine was how to create an even hand stitched border.  To do this take the thread out of your sewing machine and set it to a long stitch - for me this is usually a length of 4.  Run your machine around where you want your border to be, then using your embroidery thread, backstitch your border in your colour of choice.

Thanks for dropping by!

Project Life Guest Post for Scrapbook Creations

I'm super excited to be a guest on the Scrapbook Creations Blog today, sharing some ideas on how to create layers and add dimension to your Project Life spreads.

If you get a chance I'd love for you to stop by their blog here for the full post.

A Pretty Mixed Media Card & Some Scrap Therapy

Three different happenings coincided to be the inspiration for this card, which is for my dear Grandma's 83rd birthday next week.

1.  This tutorial by the super talented Janine Koczwara really put me in the mood for some mixed media play.

2.  I received some happy mail from the lovely Kim Jeffress, a little gift from the Heidi Swapp team following the Make Pretty Stuff Down Under Tour.  There were two sweet Heidi Swapp masks in that package that I really wanted to try out.

3.  And finally, a little bit of scrap therapy (more on that below).

The background has layers of a children's story book, gesso, texture paste, mists and stamping.

The frame is my favourite chippy piece ever, from Imaginarium Designs, their brackets on oval frame.  A layer of gesso, then some Mod Podge to adhere the gold micro beads.

I also used some chippy flowers from Scrapmatts.  Again with a coat of gesso, and before it dried misted it with some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pop Rocks. I then layered the small flower over the larger one and adhered them together.  A pearl for the centre of the flower and randomly applied small amounts of Mod Podge for some more micro beads.

I finished off with a range of flowers, some sequins and enamel dots, and rhinestones.

Now that scrap therapy I mentioned?  Yesterday when I made this card it would have been my Mum's 61st birthday.  I had an empty kind of feeling, like I wanted to be spending it with her, but of course I couldn't do that.

My Mum was a paper crafter - that's something we loved to share together.  She also used to read to my kids a lot when they were little.  So for this card I pulled out a Little Golden Book that she used to read to them.  I only needed one page of it, and cut it into squares and used it as the base layer.  On the first photo you can make out some text on the bottom right and top left.  The act of using that page is only something little, but I had that connection with my Mum on her birthday, and it's kind of special as well because this card is going to my Mum's Mum.  There you go, some simple scrap therapy!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, I'm totally looking forward to 2014 and all it has to bring!