Stamps Ahead

This is a layout inspired by one in Ali Edwards book "A designer's eye".  It was published by Creating Keepsakes in 2006.   It remains one of my go to books when looking for inspiration and it is still relevant today.   Her challenge on page 147 was to use 7 different prints on your layout - now anyone who can count can see that I have only used 3 different prints - but can you see that I did 7 strips of these old Stampin' Up! designer series papers.  The layout also had the photo/journaling block on it and this is what originally drew me to the layout design.   I placed my journaling on gold cardstock. Due to gold and light strobing my journaling shows does not show up clearly - so here it is: "What do I want to say about this photo?" This photo was taken at my Uncle Bob and Aunty Marie's 60th wedding anniversary on 20th October, 2013.  It was a surprise celebration organized by my cousins, their daughters Julie and Sandra. A...

Have I said recently that I love the idea of Tic Tac Toe (TTT) challenges.  Here is a layout I completed for Soul Scrappers TTT4.  The layout is just waiting for photos from my holiday coming up later in the year.   Here is the TTT board - I used the top right line - vellum (word phrase beyond words), adventure (word and photos of adventure to come) and ticket/s (bottom right): Thank you for looking.  Margaret

Settle back this is a long post. Soul Scrappers have a song and lyric challenge this month.  Ends tomorrow so I have just made it in time.  The inspiration was Words by F.R. David, come on sing-a-long: Words, don't come easy to me How can I find a way to make you see I Love You Words don't come easy. The criteria You must use a word....OR a couple of words...OR a sentence OR even the song title on your page. My inspiration was the word "words.  Here is my layout: These photo's were taken at Winston Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri. I have kept the layout clean and simple - as it is the words that I want people to read.  You can see that top right that I have made a flip out tag to record my journaling.  Now what are the words that are have been placed on the image of Winston Churchill in that photo?  A chance to know the man better. Brain - Keen intelligence Eyes - Far sighted vision Ears - Hears different drummer Nose - Nose for news ...

My second layout as April guest designer at The Memory Nest .  Here is the sketch for Make it Monday 38: and here is my clean and simple layout: I have used Stampin'Up! (r) designer series paper called Park Lane.  I chose these papers as they closely matched the patterns in the dresses we were wearing.  I did not want a layout that was predominately black as this was a happy occasion and I hope I have captured that with the papers I did select. I have edged the papers in SU Blackberry Bliss for a little more definition..  The glitter chipboard stickers are from Recollections - which has the motto - capturing special memories - so true for this layout. Here is a close up of the journaling that I did on the layout about my sister, Heather (on right) being nominated for this award.  Congratulations Heather. Thank you for looking, and thank you to The Memory Nest for the opportunity to be a guest designer this month. Why not head over there an...

A card inspired by one made by Helene den Breejan - I have left her some love on her blog.  This card using Stampin' Up! Sheltering Tree stamp set is heading to a friend who is currently undergoing rehabilitation and it is to let her know that my sister and I are thinking of her. A quick post today.  Thanks for looking,  Margaret :)

What do you do when your inspiration, your mojo, your creative burst etc has taken a holiday? I will Google "Unusual celebration days" and I did this today.   I found that today 15th April, is Titanic Remembrance Day, a day dedicated each year to the memory of the Titanic, and over 1,500 lives lost. Here is my layout (and I just realized I have a spelling mistake in the title!): My top journalling says : Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Halifax sent four ships to recover bodies following the sinking of the ‘unsinkable’ Titantic. One hundred and twenty-one victims of the Titanic sinking are interred at Fairview, more than any other cemetery in the world. Most of them are remembered with small gray granite markers with the name and date of death. Some families paid for larger markers with more inscriptions. The occupants of a third of the graves, however, have never been identified and their markers contain just the date of death and marker number. Sur...

Challenge Two was a sketch challenge - see sketch below. 23rd June, 2013 I applied the SOLD sign following the sale of my home - it was the coldest day for a long time but I was warm in the knowledge that I had sold.  This was my second property purchase and had been my home for 24 years.   It did take some time to sell, however I kept calm and knew that the right purchaser would come along.  I have taken this photo of my layout at night and it does not really capture that the cardstock is Stampin'Up! Strawberry Slush - a mush more pinker colour than the photo does justice. Now to complete it's companion page - the purchase of my new villa on the Central Coast of New South Wales. Thank you for looking and thank you to Scrap Girls for interesting challenges over this Easter period. Margaret :)   

Here is an idea I created to make as donations to my sister's church fete in May. I have put together a little pack of treasures sufficient to make one small 3" square note card and a tag - see my samples above.  Not all packs will have the same treasures as I am using up those little pieces and pieces and scraps that I save.   The purchaser will only have to supply their own tape or glue to complete - of course they can also distress etc if they so desire. Here are my samples close up.   I am going to make just not vintage/shabby chic but some birthday and holiday themed as well. Thanks for looking.    Margaret :)

Challenge 4 was to be inspired by a layout at Words or Whatever  (WOW) and to use a WOW product on the layout.  The only WOW product that I own is a template called Lou's Flowers - here is my layout: I remember this day 22/4/96 distinctly - my Dad had just picked some of his beautiful roses and I said "I want a photo." He waited as I went and found a black jumper for background and took the photo.  It has taken me 19 years to finally give it a proper home in a scrapbook!!! Now this layout is not really about the roses - it is more than that.   The photo shows my Dad's strong and caring hands and that is even more important given that he passed away Easter Saturday 8 years ago aged 87. The photo does not clearly show the WOW product I used - so here is a close up of the tag (my journaling is on the back of it) and embellishments I made. I had intended to use the Studio 490 white texture paste as backg...

So I am doing the challenges out of order - I know.   Challenge 5 was to make something with the scraps left over from completing the challenges. Here is my card - can you see where I got my scraps from? Yes they are from the pastel challenge.   I had lots of torn scraps, my brad container was still open and my sewing machine was still up.  A quick and easy card to complete - I did sew the strips onto a green piece of paper, see right to give it stability.  Inside is a smaller piece of patched papers that I could slip a gift card into or a tag or note. My favourite form of patchwork is doing this strip patching in fabric - I would tear fabric and expose some of the torn edges - so I suppose I am going back to my patchwork days in doing this card. Thanks for looking.   Margaret :)

Challenge 3 was to take this mood board and inspire you to make a layout: And here is my layout: As a family we would regularly holiday at The Entrance on the Central Coast of New South Wales. This photo shows from left, my mother, sister, me, and my brother at the swimming pool at The Entrance.  The back of the photo has identification of the photographer/photograph number so I can only think that in the 50's they took photos of people enjoying the sun.  I tried to google the photographer but alas nothing there.   My sister and I still talk about those swimsuits - they were shirred with elastic and I tried to replicate that with the sewn down pink washi tape on my layout. I made the mini pinwheels from 1.5" squares.  I am trying to save a number of old photos from old albums hence the black and white photo.. And some of the detail: I like a challenge that gets me out of my comfort zone - I don't usually use pastel colours. 

I am a guest designer over at  The Memory Nest  this month.  Make it Monday No.37                                                                           Here is my layout: I have used photos from a sail on board "Amoeba" in Baddeck, Canada last year.  The sail had been postponed from the previous late afternoon due to inclement weather in the area.  However, we did get to go the next day, it was COLD and the skies again looked foreboding.  It was a fantastic cruise, we had lots of fun.  Here I am rugged up with my scarf over my head (how did Princess Diana look so re...

A blind scrap is where you are given a list of what you need for your layout and then bit by bit the steps to complete the layout are given.   Here is my layout - light not the best at nearly 11.30pm. These photos were taken in January 2011 when my friends from Missouri visited me here in Australia.   This day we went to The Blue Mountains - and this stop provided them with their first real view of the magnificent Megalong Valley.  Next stop was The Three Sisters and for them a walk down into the valley.  They loved this part of Australia and still talk about this trip to this day. The papers/alphas and stickers are from the Take A Hike collection by Simple Stories.  The rest from my stash!  I have only just purchased these papers and they were perfect for this long time not scrapped photos.  Thank you for looking.    Margaret

It is a wet and miserable day here on the Central Coast today - a good day to stay inside and get a bit of scrapbooking done.  I went over to my sister's - she only lives 3 minutes away in the next suburb - and we did some scrapbooking.   Anyway, as we were searching her stash for papers, embellishments etc she found this layout that she completed last year and she did not like and did not want to put it in an album.  I said "if you like I can take it and work on it for you."  So she agreed and I took it home to my stash. My first reaction was that the photos are in the Andy Warhol style and they needed bright colours to make the photo 'pop'.   Andy Warhol (6/8/28 to 22/2/87) was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art - thanks to Wikipedia for that information. I finished it off with a quote by Warhol, "the world fascinates me".  I hope she likes the final result. I have been lucky enough...

 Scrap Girls is having an Easter At Home Retreat on Facebook - all the fun of a retreat in your own home!  A Tic Tac Toe is the first challenge.   Here is my layout.  My sister was nominated for a Lifeline Central Coast Steel Magnolia award this year - she is in the middle of the photo below.  The award is made to a woman who has overcome adversity and has significantly contributed to the community. She did not win the overall award however the recognition of her nomination is proof enough of her good works. I have used Kaisercraft Tea Break Collection (rather appropriate as photos were taken at an afternoon tea); Kaisercraft Bubbles template; Studio 490 metallic gold embossing paste; Stampin'Up! buttons. Now a blast from the past I coloured the circles and edge of background paper with CHALK - yes, I still have that old standby from when I first started scrapbooking and cardmaking. Here is a close up of the embossing paste.  It is a we...

I was over at Splitcoast Stampers having a look and they had a challenge to make a card just using one colour cardstock - no ink, no stamping, no bling etc etc.   I was intrigued.  So I got out my Stampin'Up! Deco Labels Framelits dies (okay so I may not have used them since I got them!  Surely I am not the only one!) and Tim Holtz Alterations Die Tattered Florals (okay I have used these before).  Here is the first one I made in white cardstock - Love it.  After cutting out the flowers I wet them, curled them, pushed them down in middle, the edges. So I decided to go with blue for the next one - Love it.   They may not fit into a regular sized envelope (I suppose if I flattened the flowers it would work).   They just look good enough to eat - like cake decorating flowers don't you think.  Here they are together.  This is a close up of the layers of dies that I raised with dimensional foam tape. I might just g...

I am near to finishing layouts of my photos from my holiday (vacation) in USA last year.  Today is bought to you by Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan.  The village is part of the Henry Ford Museum complex and it's catchphrase is 300 years of America everywhere you turn.  A great place to visit. I had paper, Tim Holtz stamps Life's Possibilities, Tea Dye Distress Ink,  Kaisercraft clock template on my table after finishing other projects recently.  I then raided my stash to find other vintage type embellishments - an old round tab that I distressed/added clockface stamp, some wire, Tim Holtz (TH) idea-ology salvage stickers and from the depths of one drawer TH idea-ology tokens! Oh and one black brad that will surely reduce my stock!!!!  Some of the detail is below.   Now my inspiration started with this sketch from The Memory Nest  Make it Monday No.36.          ...