" Remember the Moment "

Hi there,

today I combined 2 challenges to create this beautiful page. The first challenge I took inspiration from was CSI. (Color,Stories and Inspiration).

 http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/forum/topics/case-file-no-124-case-closes-on-june-1-2014

When I saw the awesome colour combination all I could think of was a  a vintage page ago. I don't often do vintage but I think that this one is lovely. The three young girls in the page are my Mum and her 2 older sisters. My Mum is 86 now and she is the little on sitting on the beautiful chair so this photo was taken many years ago. One of her sisters is still alive and she is now 92 but unfortunately the other one has passed. I have so many amazing memories of these women that are very personal so I have hidden my journaling behind the photo. You can see the pegs to the right of the photo, that's where my stories and memories are of them , just for me to see and reflect on.

The second challenge came from Once Upon a Sketch.. I tried to follow the layout of my page as best as I could using the sketch.

http://onceuponasketchblog.blogspot.com.au/

THE SCENE; All colours were used in this layout. Grape, pale pink, white, light orange and pale yellow.

EVIDENCE; I use (2) I used butterflies,glitter,stamps,wings (on the butterflies)ruffle (lace around the picture),

TESTIMONY; This is the part that I always struggle with as I find journaling so hard. This time it was fun for me. I saw on some of the Design Team members layouts that they had hidden their private stories behind photos so I decided that this is what I was going to do. I made three tags, one for each and on them I wrote their dates of birth but I also added some of my beautiful childhood memories of my Mum and my Aunties on the tags. Rather than pieces of string I put glittered pegs on them so they can be pulled out at a later date to read my memories.








 

These are the 2 challenges that I was inspired by. The colour palette is from CSI and the layout from Once upon a Sketch

Thanks for stopping by

keep smiling

Carol xx

" Cherish "

This is my layout " Cherish " that I created from Case File #123 over at the Color, Stories and Inspiration (CSI) challenge site

http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/forum/topics/case-file-no-123-case-closes-on-may-25-2014

The photos I used in this layout are of my gorgeous eldest granddaughter  " Milly May ". 

I nearly didn't take up this challenge as I struggled with the colors and couldn't find any photos. I came across these two beauties of her playing with "sparklers". I think they are just so fitting to the case file. In one of the photos her Dad Scott, "photo bombed " her,  but a few of well placed flowers and and angel and sorry to say Dad faded into the background. Milly loves sparklers as she can makes all sorts of shapes and figures out of the trail that they leave. She takes such good care not to burn her little fingers when they get close to the end. In one of the photos you can actual see where the line has been left from the sparkler making a fantastic effect to the photo. I always keep a couple of packets in the house for those warm summer nights as a special treat just before bed.

 THE SCENE;
Turquoise, red, pale blue, navy and white, what a combination and at first very daunting for me but I have used all the required colours in this layout and a couple of others.

THE EVIDENCE;  (choose at least 2)

In the evidence list I chose many of the clues to use in my layout. Mixed media background, jewels (on the scroll) stamping (on the background), floral pattern (on the paper layers), border punch(on the 2nd paper), dragon or other creature ( my cute angels), wings (on the bird and the angels) and lastly flowers, pretty evident that I love to use heaps of flowers on my layouts.

TESTIMONY; (choose at least 1)
The Testimony is the hardest part for me, I'm not one to add any journaling to my layouts. This layout and photo called for the journaling to be added like a fairy-tale. I chose the scroll to write my fairy-tale as I thought it complimented the layout so well.

 This is the case file #123 over at CSI that I got my clues from to create my layout.

thanks for stopping by
keep smiling 

Carol xx

" The Magic of Us "

This layout was inspired by Case File #122 over at CSI

http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/forum/topics/case-file-no-122-case-closes-on-may-18-2014

The photo I used in this layout is a beautiful photo of my gorgeous hubby and myself. We won a photo shoot and this is one of the photos from the day. When I saw the case file colours I knew that this would be the perfect photo. The orange in my dress and the green of the bush go perfectly. When we were deciding which location to use for the shoot, it was the photographer who came up with the idea of Blackbutt Reserve for the Australian bush as a background. I'm so glad that we did this rather than the sea scenes that most choose. It was an overcast day and not to hot so the lighting was brilliant and  " no" squinting. 

Case File 122 relies on the following
THE SCENE :
I think it is evident that I have used all the colours that were required for the scene. Orange Sherbet, Guacamole, White, Black and Green.

Having to do my layout using a sketch was in its self a challenging for me as I have never tried to do one before. I also don't usually add banners to my layouts so for this one I made my own base of the banner from string a dab of Inka copper and then added some paper bunting. I loved the finished effect.

Next in the case file is 
EVIDENCE:
Flowers, Think I have this covered as there are heaps and of different colours as per usual on my layouts.
Metal, There are bits of metal on the light bulb and on the top pf the tassel and also the heart on the tag is metal.
Ribbon, a couple of bows on the flowers.
Glass/something transparent, the light bulb near the title.
Circles, the clock chipboard was my take on the circle.
Fabric, the pieces of black burlap under the photo.
Tags, that my journaling
Sprigs,leaves, I think that they are plain to see on this layout.


TESTIMONY:
For this component of the case file I went with journaling on a tag. I included words from the Inspo words being setting and place.

This is case file #122 on the CSI challenge site that I used to create my layout. You can also see the sketch  that I designed my layout from. 
This was created by Emma Stafrace  http://emisjustagirlwithideas.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by
Keep smiling

Carol xx

" Its the simple things "

This layout was  inspired by the May mood board challenge over at Berry71bleu

http://berry71bleu.blogspot.com.au/

This layout is based on the theme of the mood board being "Simple Pleasures ". I think there is nothing like the simple pleasure of  making a wish. Its something we all do continuously through our lives, some of us do it many times. How many things do we make wishes on, the first star we see at night, throwing a coin in a fountain, pulling the wish bone apart from a chicken, blowing out candles on a birthday cake and the list goes on. These are just a few that I can remember, how many can you think of ?   This is a photo of my youngest granddaughter  Eliza making a wish with a Dandelion but I remember when I was a child we called  them "one o'clocks".

 What did you call them?

For this challenge I chose to use the colours of the pinks in the flowers and the drink, the aqua in the flowers and the background of the wallpapers, the cream from the cup and the pages of the book, the brown of the chair and the yellow in the flowers.

I love using these colours in my layouts and I think this is evident in the flowers as I think most of the pretty colours are there. I made quite a few of the embellishments for this layout. The butterflies were a "mistake " which is usually how you come up with something that looks amazing. I think that the final result was butterflies that look like mother of pearl. They are so cute that I will definitely using them again.

As you can see I have used heaps of layers in this layout and added the sewing element around the edges. Lots of laces and ribbons, stamping and of course the media that I absolutely love, Gelatos for the background colours. Gesso and stenciling added heaps of texture to the background. On the mood board was a couple of metal elements being the coffee pot and hanging plant holder so I added the little zip handle.

This is the wonderful mood board  at Berry71Bleu  that inspired me to create a layout that I'm very proud of. The person who created the board is  Tusia Lech  http://www.ototusia.blogspot.com.au/ 

Thanks for stopping by

Keep smiling 

Carol xx

" Happy Birthday "

Scrap Around The World

May Challenge

This is a layout that I created for my daughters 5th Birthday.   I got my inspiration for this layout from the Scrap Around The World's mood board for May. " Celebrations " being the theme for the mood board I could think of nothing better than using a birthday photo for this challenge.  Birthday are our way of recognizing each year that we have been alive.  Scrap Around the World is celebrating their first year and my daughter Kyra will be celebrating nearly 30 years.

http://scraparoundtheworld.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/may-2014-challenge-13-celebratory-mood.html

                                                                                                                                                                   

There were so many beautiful elements in this mood board that I wanted to use. I started with the colours. Pink, green, yellow, cream, gold and white were my choices from the board. In the background I have used heaps of Impasto paste to create stars on the background. Then using my fantastic Gelatos I added all the colours above, even the gold.
I matted my photos on gold cardstock for something a little different. I used cream cardstock rather than white and pretty cream pearls. The little green bows from the shoes I used to hold the bunches of balloons which were also on the mood board.
The pinks and greens are prominent all through my layout.
The cute pink crown on my daughter head was a last minute addition.   The parcels have gorgeous doilies on them which I love to use on many of my layouts and this one being no exception I have used them again.                                                                                                                                                            

I noticed that there were some tiny hearts on the macrons which I have also added to the background. Found this little girl in my stash and thought she would like to be at a party as did all the friends that were invited.

This is the beautiful mood board created by http://helentilbury.blogspot.com/ for Scrap Around The World that I based my layout on.

Thanks for stopping by
keep smiling

Carol xx

" My little piece of scrap heaven"

Just some photos of my " scrap room "

My craft room has been a work in progress for a while now. It started as a trestle table in front of the window and a couple of boxes in the wardrobe to the right of the window. As my stash grew so to did my space in the wardrobe. Then my husband made me the new benches and shelves so I could have all my stash out on display. This was soooo much better when I was working on a new layout, everything is just so easy to reach.

At the right hand side of the work bench is a set of draws on wheels, this sits next to me when I'm working. It has all my left over pieces of chippies, bling, paints, stickles and the pink basket on the top has all my adhesives in. This is one of the best pieces of equipment I have made to use, its usually those little things that I was always getting up and down for.My chair is on wheels which makes it so easy to get around my room with ever getting out of my chair. Like most scrappers everything in my room has it rightful place and is labelled or stored well. All my ribbons, inks, punches, gesso, washi tapes are on the shelves to my left. Oh and of course all my flowers are in the boxes on the top shelf. I came up with the idea of nailing the lids of my glitter containers to the bottom of one shelf and then just screwing the bottoms back onto the lids. Also did it with embossing powder wow doesn't this make life easy.  To my right in the wardrobe I have rack that my hubby made for all my papers making life so easy. I have a green set of draws which has laces and spare adhesives and the like. Boxes of photos and of course my dies are stored in a binder folder on magnetic sheets next to my Big Shot machine. 

This is my newest addition to my room " the cupboard ". My son made this for me over the weekend  to store all my chipboard and embellishments in. I didn't realise how much stash I had till I started to hang it all up. The cupboard is so big I was able to hang all the chippies in one side and the embellishments in the other. I love that I can shut the doors and my room looks neat and tidy again. Thanks to my son Wade you made me very happy.

Well I hope you liked the tour of my  " scrap room "
Thanks for stopping by
Keep smiling 

Carol xx

"Wades First Year "

"Scrap the Boys"  

May challenge....Grungy/ Messy

/http://scraptheboys.blogspot.com.au

Scrap the Boys May challenge is for a Grungy/Messy page. This is my take on that challenge. Wanting to create a page that not only suit a male but also wanted to create a page that suited my youngest son who is now a carpenter. The layout needed to be messy and grungy to mirror the way he comes home from work. What a change from the cute and clean little man in the photo in his "first year " at school He is in a profession that is both grungy and messy. I think that this was just the perfect challenge for this page about my son.

I didn't have a piece of bazzill card stock in the right color so I used my paints and mixed the colors till I had the right color then painted the base bazzill. Lots of paints and "manly embellishments. The black netting is "gutter guard" from my hubby's shed. Cogs, black corrugated card, arrows and lots of other interesting bits and pieces poked in here and there make for a great page.

Thanks for stopping by for a look

keep smiling

Carol xx 

" Love "

 A very special day in my life....



I created this layout for the White With One challenge for the month of May. This month the challenge was to only use the colors white and gold.
                                            http://whitewith1.blogspot.com.au/

This palette was a bit of a challenge as I had heaps of embellishments that would work perfectly but I didn't have any papers in my stash with the color gold in them. So after deciding that a wedding photo was the way I wanted to go with this layout I went about making my papers. This is a photo of my wedding day at Surfers Paradise, Queensland. Walking along the beach  just on dusk after the ceremony we had the most beautiful thunderstorm storm in the background. With all that happening it made the perfect lighting to create the most beautiful photos.  

I used heaps of gesso and glitter to create the base page on my layout. There is so much texture in the layout as I used embossing stamping, glitter, punching, painting and lace. All that was just to create the white and gold papers as I didn't have any in my stash. I loved the layers in this layout and the result from the gesso and glitter on the paper was better than I expected, very pretty.

All the flowers had to be colored as I also didn't have any gold flowers. Lucky for me I had a little of the white and gold ribbon to use. The twin hearts were colored with Stayzon, as silver was just not going to cut it on this page. I love the gorgeous 2Crafty hearts across the front of the photo and the title too. he white feathers were a last minute inclusion and I must say that are so pretty and soft on the layout.

Thanks for stopping by
Keep smiling 

Carol xx

"Cute"

 My Beautiful little granddaughter "ELIZA "

Hi there, 
just sharing a gorgeous page of my grand-daughter Eliza This page is not based on any challenges this time. I loved these photos taken at Christmas this year and wanted to do something special with them . Her little red and white skirt was a sweet matched with her white top, just so pretty for Christmas day.

This is something new that I decided to try on the page. I am so happy with
"pulled back" look.It looks like she is pulling back the paper to have a look at the flowers and the butterfly. The cheeky look on her face like she has been caught doing something she shouldn't.

I love this technique, layers of lace, heaps of red paint, simple technique but very effective. I decided to fussy cut the photos for this page because I couldn't decide which one to use.I originally was going to do a monochromatic page but the red was a bit overpowering so I put a touch of aqua with the flowers and I loved it. Heaps of die cuts and the lamp post finished it off. 

I hope you enjoy
Keep smiling

Carol xx