Thursday 28 July 2011

Colour is it colour? Blue

I am a bit behind this week as its been a bit hectic here with the children being off school and my Nans 89th Birthday, but I have managed to get this completed today:
excuse the shadows this was taken a few minutes ago in my lounge and I have a tree on my front lawn! 

I scrap a lot of blue so I decided to stick with Nic's sketch and also almost her colours too but where she used orange I used green (just so I could use up some old Daisy D baby boy papers I have been hoarding forever!).  I made the tag on the left at my last crop and it really has nothing to do with a theme park but the colours matched so I decided to use it on this layout - although this isn't one of my favourites or indeed one of my best pieces of work I am pleased that I have managed to use some templates and stamps I have had unused in my stash for a while, a premade tag and also use up five difficult to scrap photos in one go too!

Not sure I have learnt much about the colour blue this week as I have been a bit too busy to concentrate on it but I am pleased that I got a chance to have a play! 

Our fabulous kit turned up yesterday for our charity crop so I can't wait to get playing with that tonight too - if you are interested there are just 6 spaces left - details are on the right hand side just click on the picture.

Thanks for looking :)

Sunday 24 July 2011

Another quick layout

Not!

Isn't it typical that I thought I would just do another quick green layout (get me - I never do green so I am definately learning on my Colour or is Color? course!).  Anyway four days later here is the finished article:


Not sure why it took so long because it's not really complicated but I did faff around deciding upon the zoo/trees/leaves as for the first two days I was planning on using birds.  Also the fact that I have hand cut out all the leaves/animals and trees slowed me down too!

Anyway stash used was:
My Minds Eye Quite Contrary papers - "Little Man" Journaling card and Zig Zag paper and "Curious" Who Loves You paper.  Distress inks used were: Vintage Photo, Forest Moss, Tumbled Glass, Worn Lipstick, Pumice Stone and Frayed Burlap.  The doily was sprayed with an orange glimmer mist and I used orange bling for the coconuts in the trees.  Stamps used were: Autumn Leaves Mindy's Zoo, Stampers Anonymous "The journey...", Woodware Woodland Mushrooms (the leaves) and Creative Expressions Vintage Aviation (the balloon).  The two chipboard accents are by Colorbok part of their my Wild Life range. Layout is based on a July 2011 Page Map .  Hope you like it!

Also I finally have put the finishing touches to my red layout from 3 weeks ago:

so it finally has the birdcage and a few extras on the top right and the red on the left hand side didn't sit right with me as I felt it needed a bit more but another material flower was too much so I added another birdcage and a few bits there too.

Thanks for looking - am off for a sit down now as we have all been out our bikes today as we managed to get DS1 and OH new ones yesterday thanks to the 20% off sale at Toys R Us. Whoo hoo.

Monday 18 July 2011

Green layout

This week on my Colour or is Color? course its green.  Here is my take on the sketch we were given:
You will have to forgive the rubbish quality but I dont know how to edit on Windows Live Photo Gallery and thats all I have on my laptop which is why I couldnt remove the school name from the sign nicely!
Anyway I have used:
Creative Imaginations - Narratives "Remember Ledger" cardstock and some K & Co. papers.  Bundled Sage and Vintage Photo distress inks, Tim Holtz car embossing folder, Stampers Anonymous Reflections stamp and tickets, Time stamps are Recollections "Time Flies", Martha Stewart vine punch, I paper pieced the owls, dymo labeller, hemp twine, tissue tape (hidden underneath the brown pom pom ribbon), brown pom pom ribbon, acorn buttons, black bling for the owls eyes and a few staples.

Thanks for looking :)

Thursday 14 July 2011

Sketchy Thursday

Thought I would have a go at the monthly challenge over at http://sketchythursdays.blogspot.com/.  Now I have learnt from my colour course - honest I have, I really, really have.  I read and understand that red, orange and yellow are best used as accent colours otherwise they are very overpowering - and I did that in my layout for the course last week (in fact deep down I already really knew it too) but I have to admit that I just love bold bright colours so, even though I have learnt and know the rules to using bright colours, as the above sketch is their monthly challenge and needed to include red, orange and/or yellow I thought I would go for a bright Disney layout, and here it is:


The criteria for the challenge is to use the sketch (had to change the circle to a rectangle as I have used a postcard - the 2008 one which is one of those changing images so it shows either the number with the hats on or with the characters faces on depending upon which way you tilt it), then it had to be a summer topic - these photos were taken in the summer of 2008, use red, orange and/or yellow - think I did that! and also to use a journal spot which again is my red postcard as the title says it all really!

I used a yellow core cardstock, Echo Park "A Walk in the Park" papers and stickers, Creative Imaginations epoxy rocket sticker, orange hemp, red ribbon, Crafters Workshop template (the clock), Brushed Corduroy and Spiced Marmalade distress inks, the Mickey ears were cut on my craft robo, Reminisce Real Magic "My Favourite Ride" sticker, staples, the stamps I used were: Recollections "Going Places" map, Cloud 9 Designs "Travel" We Love it Here, K & Company "Happy Trails" Photo Op, My Minds Eye "Lost and Found" Fun and Family.

Thanks for looking and I hope you like my bright funky layout!

Sunday 10 July 2011

A card for my Father in Law

Had a lovely play day yesterday - finished off the layout in yesterdays post below, made some tags - did some nice ones and also made a couple of disasters too - will post those later in the week.  My mojo seems to have come back this weekend though so I have managed to join in with a challenge too:


The challenge over at http://daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/ is pack your suitcase and this quick and simple card fits that bills nicely so I am entering it into their challenge - haven't entered a card for a few weeks now so have been getting withdrawal symptoms!  Uses a le Blanche stamp, My Minds Eye papers, inked and glittered chipboard letters, some hemp and a charm - nice and simple!

Am hoping to do another layout today too in between the cooking, gardening and water fight I need to do (that's the trouble with having two boys and buying them water pistols you have to get wet! doh).

Thanks for looking :)

Saturday 9 July 2011

Colour or is color? Orange

Here is my layout for the orange part of the course:
am much happier with this one as I have had more time to spend on it and make it my own rather than scraplifting which is what I did with the red one.  Would have been better with a black and white photo too but hey ho I want to reduce my current photo pile not add to it!

Stash used was:  Black cardstock, white cardstock, Imaginisce Hallowhimsy "Eat, Drink and Be Scary" and "Velcome Inn" papers, Magnolia ink (I know! have actually cut into a sheet - wow!)So Spooky "Halloween Star" paper and My Minds Eye Haunted "Raven" this is the main kraft sheet which is really cool as the raven is flock and very touchy feely (again I have the whole pack of this set of papers and I bought them in November and this is the first time I have used them so I am well pleased about that too!), also used a couple of the bits from the accessory sheet too. For the top I used my Martha Stewart gravestone punch, I hand cut out the Magnolia paper scallops in the hope that they would look like gravestones - not sure whether this is conveyed or not though!  The stamp in the bottom left hand corner is a Lavinia cobweb.  The mini birds and Upon A Time Alphabet are Sizzix dies and the ghosts, pumpkins and spider are quickutz. Have used Rusty Hinge, Black Soot and Mustard Seed distress inks and Orange, Lava Green, Black and Gold Inka gold paints.  The letters and spider have been covered in glossy accents so are nice and sparkly too.

Whole layout is based on a sketch by Nic Howard.

Thanks for looking :)

Thursday 7 July 2011

If that's not enough

I am doing another online course too!  This one is over at www.bigpictureclasses.com/ and is the Colour or is it Color? course by Nic Howard.  I only enrolled yesterday but the course actually started last Thursday so I hurriedly did the first weeks colour (red) last night by making my quick 6x6 pages like this:
The heart isn't stuck on yet because it needs to have red bakers twine wrapped around it but I definately got it out and put it on my craft table last night and as I had to leave the crackle paint on the heart to dry overnight I came to wrap it around this morning and I have lost it!  the whole reel!  if you see it let me know!

And here is the layout I did:
This is basically a complete scraplift of the one done in the class due to me wanting to finish it by today (this took me all night and then I left the sewing until today so that I didn't wake the children up using my machine!).  Not sure I like the placement of the red flowers by the birdie so I might have to add another one there and also I meant to put a small birdcage on the sewn strip on the right hand side and for some reason that completely slipped my mind today but I am sure I can manage to add one on there tonight.  Birds, swirls and flowers are sizzix dies - the birdies have been inked with Pumice Stone and covered with Burnished Bronze mica powders, the flowers are made from red fabric and inked with black soot, the swirls are inked with Pumice Stone and covered with Glittering Gold mica powders.  Papers are My Minds Eye and Basic Grey.

I have then spent about three hours today doing these two quick?? 6x6 pages:

have no idea why I had to spend so long messing about with them but they just weren't talking to me today and I did have the tv on so I guess I was just wasting time really.  Still onwards and upwards hopefully these courses will get me out of my scrappers block!

Thanks for looking :)

Tuesday 5 July 2011

Looking to learn

Oooh am quite excited as I have signed up for this course:

http://limegreenbogiegirl.blogspot.com/p/online-classes.html

and am going to go to this workshop:


can't wait to get started on the first one although it won't be today as the girls and I are off on a jolly to Bramble Patch in Northampton - it's our Summer Fayre is over treat!
Whoo hoo.

Also can I say a big hello to Sam - thanks for following me :)

Friday 1 July 2011

Craft for a Cure

Well I finished my stint as Chair on my sons PA yesterday with a really good summer fayre - weather was great, turnout was great, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves which was great! so I am rather relieved (and very tired!) today. 

As they say when one door closes another one opens so this brings me onto my next fund raiser which is Craft for a Cure - Morag and I are doing another charity crop this year, once again all proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK - much more poignant to me this year due to losing my friend Cathy last Christmas to this horrible disease.

Here is the flyer that has been wonderfully designed by Morag:


If you would like to come along and support us in raising money for this very worthwhile cause please email either myself or Morag (our What Housework website is currently down at the moment due to technical issues but it will be resolved soon so watch that space too!)  - Cost is just £40 which will include a lovely venue, lunch, a fabulous paper kit and two classes. 

I will leave this post at the top of my blog for the next few weeks so for later posts please scroll down.

Thanks