Happily scrapping out the year

It's the last day of the year and I've done LOTS of scrapping this year. In fact my stats are:

60 pages inspired by Jowilna
22 for Let's Scrap Sketches
32 for ScrapPlezier
9 for Stick It Down
2 for Off the Rails Scrapbooking
2 for Let's Get Sketchy
and a whole bunch for other online crops too.

In total I scrapped 196 layouts = 99 doubles and 97 singles... which translates to 295 pages.... that's a lot of scrapping! Not nearly at a layout a day goal standard yet, but definitely getting close. Now I need to file most of those too!

Not to forget I also made over 120 cards, 11 calendars and a whole host of quilling creature too. I think it's been a busy and successful year, don't you?

My most successful month scrapping was in July. December was also a good month with over 39 pages (27 layouts) done... and that's with Christmas and a week of family visits as well. Not too bad I say.

 Here are a few of the pages I've managed to finish during this past month:

Did you see where I spilled my walnut ink on this page in the bottom corner? I nearly cried and then thought what the heck and made it part of the design... yip mistakes happen! I am also proud of myself for trying something new on this page... I've had my Curio machine for two years now and this is the first time I used my sketch pens... I found some fishy clipart and turned them into sketches for my page.

I used up some very old stash of stickers on this page as well as some stamping.

All these papers are based on Jowilna original layout designs.

Thanks for following along with my blog and scrapping for this past year and here's looking forward to a whole bunch of the same in the New Year.

Sketch N Scrap - good news

I heard late last night that I have been chosen to be the Guest Designer for January for Sketch N Scrap.... yippee!!! More scrapping in January for me.

You can see my layout that got me chosen in my post from a few days back. Why not follow along on their facebook page too and come join the fun?

Let's Get Sketchy - DT

I am soooooo excited to say that I made the design team for Let's Get Sketchy ..... boy oh boy is 2018 going to be a busy scrapping year for me!

Here is my layout that I made for the design team call:

Come play along each month and join the fun.

Off The Rails - Calendar Tutorial

The year is drawing to a close and it's now definitely time to be thinking of getting your dates in order for next year. Well that's where my tutorial today might just help you out a bit. Why not make your own desk calendar so you never loose track of the date, plus this is the perfect project to de-stash your ever growing pile of leftover scraps.

You can see my full tutorial on the blog.

ScrapPlezier - Christmas Tutorial - Star

My last tutorial is up today on the ScrapPlezier blog... all about making a star for the top of my tree which is now all beautifully decorated too.

I decorated my tree with ribbons and bling sprinkled all around. Just a fairly simple decoration for this year.

ScrapPlezier - Christmas tutorial - Tree

I found some amazing DIY ideas on pinterest for making Christmas decorations and thought to try a few this year. This one has intrigued me for a while... folded magazine Christmas Tree.

These trees can be various heights and fullness depending on the book you start with. To see my full tutorial, head over to the ScrapPlezier blog.

I will show you more next time on how I decorated and finished off my tree.

ScrapPlezier - Christmas tutorial - Foiled Ornaments

I put up our Christmas tree on Monday and added a few new ornaments that I made myself to the tree. I made a simple tutorial that is up on the ScrapPlezier blog today to show what I did... go take a look.

The one surprise I got was when I hung the foiled ornaments near one of the lights, they glow and change colours...the gold one even turns into various rainbow colours... super cool.

Cotton Candy Scrapping

At the end of October I attended the first Cotton Candy Scrap day hosted by Short Cut Crafts. Wow, this day was awesome with LOADS of fantastic new papers designed by Jowilna that we got to use first, plus goodie bags and giveaways. It was a wonderfully creative day, despite being a bit grey and wet.

I've finally managed to finish my layouts that we did on the day plus the two bonus pages, so can now share.

Looking forward to the next event (hint hint!).

Sketch-n-Scrap Be Merry & Bright Crop

Yes it's online crop time again at Sketch-n-Scrap and I decided that it's time to take part... seeing as I had planed to do the November crop and then ran out of time. Here's the layouts I created:

Challenge 1

Challenge 3

Guest Designer Challenge

So why not follow along with the group on Facebook and take part next time too?

Summer layout

On the 13th of December I did the night class with Jow at Shortcuts... what a fun evening with friends. I even managed to finish my page with photos and all.

I have a whole pile of scrapping to do this month for my January DT commitments. Hopefully I will get them all done plus a few more great layouts like this one.

Let's Scrap - 15 December

The reveal is up and here is my layout all about the hotel we stayed at for our seaside holiday two years ago.

I used some papers from the beautiful Ubud Dreams and Indigo Skies collections from Kaisercraft on my page... they are just so calm and serene and the perfect complement to my photos. My title is made up of old chipboard letters and some stickers. I added an inked tag and ribbon too just for some added interest.

Here is the sketch we worked with:

Come play along on the blog and get some inspiration from the team. You have till the end of December to create with both this and our earlier sketch.

Off The Rails - December reveal

Today was the last working day of the year for me... yippee now it's time for holidays and hopefully a bit of scrapping. What better way to get into the Christmas mood than with a bit of Christmas scrapping. The mid-month reveal is up today and here is what I have created.

And for your inspiration, the moodboard:

Follow along on the blog too and see some fantastic inspiration.

ScrapPlezier - Christmas Tutorial- Wreath

I have a tutorial to share with you today that is up on the ScrapPlezier blog... a very simple (but fiddly!) Christmas Wreath.

Go check it out for all the details.

Making a new choir

I got a huge order in November for 24 angels... all in white. Phew it took many hours and lots of paper but they all turned out beautifully.

I started by making lots and lots of little bits... and then ran out and had to make more. It's amazing how many little curls you need to make one little angel.

And at the end of the day here's what I made:

There were 11 of the standing angels and 13 of the ones at the back.

ScrapPlezier - December moodboard

It's time again for the new moodboard colour challenge at ScrapPlezier, and as it's December our theme this month is Christmas.

I was inspired by the cold snowy pic and the new Kaisercraft Mint Wishes paper was just perfect for this moodboard. As we don't get snow at Christmas, I chose to scrap some photos of our Canadian family during their Christmas celebration last year.

I started my layout with the Frosted paper for the background and then added a strip of the Fresh Pine paper as a border. I then used some stickers from the sticker sheet and cut a tag from the Spearmint paper to which i added a piece of brown bakers twine. Finally there is some gold stitching.

Come and be inspired by the moodboard and play along with us on the blog.

ScrapPlezier - NaughtyNice

The year is drawing to a close and Christmas is around the corner. There are lots of Christmas celebrations happening and therefore lots of photos to scrap. I've chosen a pic from last year's "Secret Santa" day that we had a work to do today's layout.

As we have summer Christmas I wanted to use some bright colours to do this layout. I used the Merry Medley Collection and cut squares from various sheets of the paper which all got adhered to a piece of white cardstock. Before I stuck this down, I wrapped a length of red bakers twine around it to resemble a parcel. I then added some stickers from the coordinating sticker sheet and finally raided my stash for some more Christmas themed word stickers which I scattered around the page. Finally I added some bling and journalling.

This is a great way to incorporate lots of different pattern papers on a page but without overpowering everything. Give it a go and come play along on the blog too.

Stick It Down - December sketch

Today's reveal is up and there are a whole host of layouts on the blog to feast your eyes on. This is my page.

I had fun combining various techniques on my page... first up I used some brown all purpose ink to colur some embossing paste which I then used through a stencil (from Jowilna). The big hearts are stitched and I coloured some Celebr8 scribbled circles with brown ink for added details. My title is made from old lettering stencils and stamps.

This is the sketch we got to work with:

Come play along with us on the blog and be inspired to create.

Trying my hand

I keep one eye on the new DT calls coming out all the time and every now and then will try out for a new team. One such team is Let's Get Sketchy. I am off to make a layout for this challenge and then hold thumbs like mad that I make the team. Why don't you try out too?

Let's Scrap - 1 December

It's a new month.... yikes the end of the year already! This has been a crazy busy few days for me that I didn't even get to posting my layout on Friday. We had our work Christmas function on Friday and yesterday was also a full day of doing all sorts... plus I was physically exhausted all day and never got close to the pc to do any blogging. So now we will slowly get back on track.

Here is my new layout for the new sketch at Let's Scrap.

I decided just to do a single page for this layout and added an extra photo along the bottom. I used a range by Simple Stories for my layout and then used a chipboard title from Penelope Dee which I inked. I also added in some stickers.

Just in case you thought it was your eyes... no the photos on this page are rather fuzzy... the light at the Barnyard is not really conducive to taking good photos.

How's that for a coincidence... these pics are from a ladies night last year at the Barnyard in Cresta and our work function was at the one in Rivonia... will have to see if the photos come out any better.

Here's the sketch we got to play with:

Come and join us on the blog for some fun.

ScrapPlezier - Clarens

It's the end of November and at the office we are all counting the days till we go on leave. Though we as a family are just going to be spending it at home it's always nice to remember times when we have been away. This layout is part of a trip my Mom & I took two years ago to our favourite place, Wyndford. Part of that trip included a day out in Clarens.

This is a Jowilna inspired layout with my definite spin on it. I used the Kaisercraft Hippy Girl Collection for my layout, specifically the Luna, Earth and Harmony papers. There are strips of all of them as well as the fussy cut flowers.

I added some Basic Grey letters for my title and then added a clock, stitching, buttons and bling to tie the whole page together. Lastly I typed up my journalling and cut it into strips to add to my layout.

Come and join us on the blog for a lot more inspiration each month.

Christmas layouts with Jow

The Saturday before my birthday I did an all day Christmas scrapping class taught by Jowilna at Shortcut Crafts.... what a glorious fun day. We made two stunning pages which I have even managed to finish with photos on!

This first page was such fun to do... we coloured the truck with various inks and then heat embossed it too.... it is truly a stunning element to add to a page.

This second page was super simple to make yet just as effective. The coffee journal card was an inspiration for the coffee we drank that day too... yummy Christmas inspired cappuccino.

Thanks to Jow and the lovely staff at Shortcuts for making this a truly fun day.

Scrap The Boys - November challenge

I found a new blog (at least new to me) this month and decided to try my scrappy hand at their challenge this month. Here's what I created:

The challenge was to be inspired by this moodboard

I used all the colours and a layout idea from Jowilna for my inspiration. I dug out some old brad stash and used up a few buts and pieces as well as doing some stamping.

ScrapPlezier - Journey

It's my birthday (hint hint nudge nudge and say no more!!! heheh) and what better way to celebrate than showcasing what I love to do... scrapping.This is my latest layout up on the ScrapPlezier blog.

This layout is inspired by Jowilna. It's one of those classes of her's that I wanted to do for ages and never did, so now I had the perfect pics and managed to even put my own spin on the layout.

I used lots of leftover strips from the Simple Stories travel range and stuck these randomly across the two pages. Once all stuck down I lightly painted some white gesso over and left it all to dry. Then I added my photos.

The globe I cut out on my Silhoutte machine and then embossed it in three different colours.

As I had more photos that the original layout had, I decided to turn the one photo into a waterfall album. Inside here I have my journalling as well as extra photos.

Lastly I added some scattered star stickers, some bling and a few hand stitches.

My Kaisercraft elelment on this is the word "today" which comes from the ScrapYard Collections collectables pack.

Hope you get inspired to play along with us at ScrapPlezier.

Christmas Angels

I am busy making a whole host of different angels for order just in time for Christmas and these are just a few for one of my orders.

They are going to make some little children very happy when they see them hanging on the Christmas tree. Wouldn't you like one too?

Let's Scrap Sketches - 15 November

Phew this month is flying past and I've done hardly any scrapping... yip I've been busy quilling up a storm... got a whole host of orders. (remember to see more on my other blog or facebook). Anyway, the main reason for today's post is there is another sketch reveal up on Let's Scrap.

Yikes I only managed to do a single page this week... I simply did not have enough photos on hand to make the double and so decided to downscale my layout. It still works and is just another option for using a sketch. I must still also just add my journalling to this layout.

I used some old "Art from the Heart" papers by Tracy Schimper for my layout... still must say that this is one of my favourite ranges.

So come and play along on the blog and see what the rest of the DT did this week.

A little threesome

Last week I was busy with a fun order... I made these three little creatures which will soon be jetting off to Cape Town.

3D - owl

3D - Rabbit

3D - Sheep

Each of these creatures started out as just an idea and then after searching pinterest they were born. Yes I am not totally original, I'll be the first to admit I work best from a pattern, but these three are definitely more my own than not.

So if there is something you are looking for and I haven't made it yet, don't be scared to ask... it might very well be the next creation made by me.

ScrapPlezier - Recycled

I have a new layout up on the ScrapPlezier blog

This layout is all about Aaron's Grade 8 art project that he had to make. They had to make an outfit out of recycled stuff. He choose a steampunk theme. He altered an old belt; turned a pair of pants into a waistcoat with old buttons and paperclip closures; made a pocketwatch out of a bedside clock; made a newspaper bowtie; and then made a hat from scratch using milk carton and foam. He had loads fun making this project.

To enhance the photos I used the Kaisercraft Barber Shoppe Collection (Aftershave) as well as a few of the cards from the Shave piece of paper. I added in a couple of stickers from the ScrapYard Collection sticker sheet. The layout includes lots of little details such as stamped dots, stars and words, ink splats, buttons and bling on photo corners. I also assembled my own rosette using leftover scraps and just layered everything together. Lastly I used a variety of black letter stickers for my title.

This is another Jowilna original inspired layout.. love putting my own twists on her awesome designs.

Come over to the blog and get inspired some more.

ScrapPlezier - November Moodboard

We have been feeling the summer heat here this last week, but it's always nice to be able to scrap a different seasonal layout..and today it's autumn for the moodboard challenge at ScrapPlezier.

On my layout I used a variety of Kaisercraft collections. I started with the Dear Santa Collection - Doll House paper for my background colour and this is where I matched the inspiration in the moodboard. I then added the Green Ruler which is the title strip from Cottage Rose Collection - Crochet. The other little strips are
Tiny Wood Collection (bar code strip) - orange leaves
Fly Free Collection - Bestie (bar code strip) - green leaves
Bows and Arrows Collection - Forest - blue and wood circles

To continue the autumn theme I cutout leaves from the Bombay Sunset Collection - Daybreak. I added a few dots through a stencil using some green crackle paint which I darkened by added some memento brown ink to. Lastly I added some stitching and scattered a few bits of bling around my page.

Thanks to Jowilna for the original layout idea that I worked from. Here's the moodboard too.

So come and play along with us on the blog.