Tons of beautiful drawings & sketches

Yes, I have been scrapbooking, but haven't taken any photos. Winter is like that, it is not 5:30pm yet, and it is pitch dark.

Never heard about it before, but there is something called sketchbook project, going for years. I read about in Geninne's Art Blog,  check the posted entries, so many amazing artist around the world are taking part/have taken part. Like mashaa, emilayusof, Haifa Malhas, Alinac.

Run!

I am pleased with this one, a bit time consuming, but it came out as I envisaged.  Another "inspired by" is LO, this time by a layout by Piradee Talvanna in Creating Keepsakes. She had punched out endless rows scalloped borders in craft paper in both ends of a double page layout. The result that was both understated and elegant. Not to mention stunning. I had done something like that before but she just put the whole concept in a new level.

I went with graduating the colours from blue to white.

* Punch: Xcut
* Stamps: Studio Calico
* Ink: Colorbox
* Embossing Powder: Stampendous
* Font: Underwood Champion

Inspiration doesn't mean results

Lately I have been feeling like this - I felt  inspired, but when I sat down to make something, the results were pretty disappointing. To try to get out of this hole, I decided to change my usual way of doing things:

- I hardly ever scraplift, my inspiration comes either from the photos or what I around me, a dres, ads, interior design magazines, cd covers, etc. So now I'd try to see a layout that spoke to me and scraplift or use as a base for my own. (*)
- Limit my choices. Since I had just purchase a scrapbooking kit (November's Studio Calico kit), I'd try to use it to the max.

I am not so good with rules - I quickly go of on a tangent, but it did help me to have some guidelines, even if it was to break them.

This layout is a scraplift from one by Lisa Truesdell, as seen in the October issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.  I want to start submitting for publication and CK has a running call for layouts inspired by ones featured in their mag.

*patterned paper: Scenic Router (grid), My Mind's Eye
*small tag: Fontwerks
*Circle (behind photo): My Mind's Eye
*Letter Stickers: Making Memories (green), October Afternoon
*Punches: Martha Stewart (lace), Woodware (scalop circle and small circle),
*Flowers: Prima
*Stamp: Studio Calico
*Also:  Stickles, sequins, string and thread

It is a close scraplift, besides changing the design from 12x12 to 8.5x11, I didn't stray much from her design. But while hers is stunning, mine is average. Not horrible, but you would'nt pick this one up from a crowd, would you?

Analyzing it, I think I didn't nail the colours right, there's not enough contrast, there's not enough punch. I tried to use lilacs and purples and that never works for me. I wear these colours but have difficulty using them in scrapbook pages and would never thing of using them in the home.

A step in the right direction I think.

From Celtic Tiger to Celtic Meltdown

How did it happen?
Sorry for the OT title, but I can't help wondering.

Anyway, here's a suggestion of what to do in lean times.

My daughter got this blouse in Penneys.

It was marked €3, but at the cash desk we found out it had been reduced to €1.

I asked if she'd like if I added a few crochet flowers around the neckline. She said yes.

I'll try to take a photo of her with the blouse, it goes really well with her colouring.

Nice weekend!

Celebration blog hop

The Baker Dozen is celebrating its first birthday of being Shimelle Laine's Digital Creative Team with a blog hop.

Today I am celebrating my family - the family I grew up with and the family that my husband and I made.

* Digital Paper: Bazinga! kit by Shimelle Laine @ Two Peas in a Bucket
* Frame: Write it Down Prety Labels by Shimelle Laine @ Two Peas in a Bucket
* Title Letters: A New Leaf by Paislee Press and Audacious Designs
* Font: CK Ali's Hand Official

The next stop in the hop is Rani.


And here are all the Blog Hoppers:

Karen m. http://talesfromthescrapheap.blogspot.com/
Kate http://libertycottage.blogspot.com/
Avital http://www.CreativityPrompt.com
Dolly http://dollysdreamings.typepad.com
Elisa http://hybrid-alien.blogspot.com
Rani http://www.scrapyoga.typepad.com/
Yvonne http://yvonnes-inkyfingers.blogspot.com/
SJ http://www.scrappyfairy.blogspot.com/
Anso http://glitteradventure.blogspot.com/
Nadine http://hello-love.org/
Sheri http://www.auntierere.blogspot.com/

Take a look their fabulous creations! 

Halloween - from 2008 to 2010

I am convinced that I have only 10% of the stash of an average scrapbooker/paper crafter. All my papers fit in a since shelf. Another shelf for my bigger embellishments, and a few shelves for bits and pieces - so what's on the rest of my lovely shiny white IKEA storage cabinets?

Magazines (tons of them!). Plus "things-that-could-be-useful-sometime-so-I-wont-get-rid-of-them".  So I hit on this brilliant idea: why not actually use these things instead of only storing them? I'm a genius, don't you think?

Like this 7 gypsies mini book that is probably 5 years old. Since I had previously made a mini with the Halloween photos up to 2007, this one starts where the other one stopped.

Very simple, most of the digital elements are from Karla Dudley's kit which I won in her blog.

 cover

For every year, I wrote a short journaling about the kids' costumes
the opposite side was looking bare so I added 4 tiny photos from the same year

Two photos of each  child per year, sometimes with word art or doodles

there's even a photo of the 4 of us, taken by a neighbour while we were trick or treating

TFL!

*Digital elements: Swank Labels by Jennifer Pebbles @ Two Peas in a Bucket (frame), Paper Crave (bat image, not seen), Spook by Karla Dudley @ Design House Digital
*Mini Album: 7 Gypsies

{No} Joy :-)

Like last year, I'll be giving a customised 2011 calendar to my immediate family this year. Since Photobox had a special offer until last Thursday, I was rushing trying to sort out the photos for the calendar. For December I wanted to have a photo of my two children with the Santa Hat.

That was the plan. I couldn't get a half decent photo of my son, on his own or with his sister. He'd make faces, cover his head with the hat, turn back, etc etc. So I gave up, and let my children take photos of each other and of me.

Digital layout
*Patterned paper: Delovely by Paislee Press @ Oscraps.com
*Frame: Pictures + Words by Paislee Press @ Oscraps.com
*Word Art: Penned Words::Christmas By Shimelle Laine @ Two Peas in a Bucket
*Font: 2 peas Sailboat @ Two Peas in a Bucket

Journaling:

"Trying to get a decent picture of
you for our 2011 calendar is no
fun, No good photos, only outtakes. But at lease we have
some laughs."

Did I get frustrated? Me? Nooo...