Stamps Ahead

 Here is a layout I have created today for a Tic Tac Toe challenge over at Soul Scrappers Challenges The challenge board - I choose twine, black and white photo and one-word sentiment. The photo is of our grandfather (Pop) standing beside the Crawford Road street sign.  I estimate the photo was taken in about 1970 or earlier.  Google tells me that Neptune Oil was sold to Shell in 1975. From Lake Macquarie Library community history an entry records "Crawford Road was named after a local resident in 1930's by R.H.Marshall, the timekeeper of the relief workers road gangs. A locally name road it appears to have been named officially in 1948." As a family, we know that our grandparents had a dairy and residence in Crawford Road. It provided an essential service during the wars providing milk and food to the good folk of Morriset and Cooranbong before moving to Asquith to run a general store.  It became of right of passage that we would travel to Morriset, often taking our...

Lockdown is over, restrictions are reducing and a slow return to regular activities. On Saturday 13 November, my sister and I took a drive to Yarramalong (just up the M1) and whilst there we relaxed and had morning tea.  Here is layout I have created for Hello Spring Cyber Crop at  White with 1 challenges.  The challenge: So often we are behind the camera so please 'put yourself in the picture'. Take a selfie, ask a friend or family to snap a shot of you.  Add one colour of  your choice and be sure you add some flowers to your layout to give it a 'Spring' feel. My sister took this photo of me in the sunshine, reading a magazine and enjoying a cup of tea and a pastry. Afterwards we browsed the gift store and then headed on a round trip back home fitting in a spot of shopping! I firstly swiped Bundled Sage Distress Oxide onto an acrylic block and then smooched to my white cardstock. I then used all the stamps in the JOFY102 stamp set from Paper Artsy. Flowers, bra...

One of the projects I was working on over lockdown here on the Central Coast of NSW, was a journal for a friend, Jo, who was earlier in the year was gifted a selection of papers, maps, serviettes, a coaster etc. and Jo then subsequently gave them to me to see if I could do anything with them.  Here is what I came up with (a longer than normal post of photos follows) - a fun journal project. For the journal I used a Kaszazz chipboard mini-journal kit (7795) comprising 6 chipboard pages and 3 hinged rings. I created each page differently. Front covered with a serviette napkin, embossed with texture paste, inks and a cluster made with bits and pieces from my stash.  Throughout the journal  you will see tulle featured.  The tie closure has been made with torn calico and the hinges decorated with torn calico and tulle. I also used this project as an opportunity to try out new techniques to me.  On the left you can see a snippet roll I made.  These two pages have...

 I completed this layout today.   The designer of the layout was Natalie May (2017) and I purchased it in kit form - the kit included the paper, stencil, chipboard and hardware.   Everything else I used came from my stash. The photo is of my great nephew doing a spot of whale watching.  Thank you for looking, Margaret

Here is a Christmas Card I have made using JOFY for PaperArtsy JOFY 107, I loved the look of this set as soon as I saw it.  I have used only a portion of the largest stamp in the collection and coloured with alcohol markers. Now a serendipity moment - I had decided to use Gold KindyGlitz (as it was on my table from a previous card) and it went 'gloopy' on me.  My first thought "NO !!!!" waste of a card but then the thought that I would smoosh that gloop around and added more and got a lovely glittery background. The card below, hopefully shows you the glittery background. Thank you for looking, Margaret

Today, I have made a card using a stamp from JOFY from PaperArtsy 102.  It is not a Christmas stamp, however I was drawn to the colours on the packaging to make a Christmas card. I also made a small gift card - this was my practice piece before I started on the main card.  I also used bits and pieces from my stash. I coloured with alcohol ink markers. Below is the packaging for the stamp set.  I can see more uses for the set. Thank you for looking, Margaret

 I created these 3 cards for another challenge over at Soul Scrappers Challenges The challenge? A lot of Christmas collections these day come with cut apart sheets.   You may use a few of these for your Christmas layouts but inevitably you will be left with a number of leftovers along with small paper scraps. The challenge was to use these to make THREE (3) Christmas cards. I used papers from DCWV 2018 Blue Noel collection. In there is 2 papers like this above - I had used one partially previously.  My grandmother would say I 'gussied' ( Smartened up, in a showy or garish way)   them up by adding Gold Kindyglitz, gold sequins and some of the printed cardstock with Gold Glitter included in the papers collection. Why not head over to Soul Scrappers Challenges by clicking on the link above and having a go at the scrapbook challenges and this month there is also 6 card challenges. Thank you for looking, Margaret

First off I need to say "I don't do Halloween".  There is a Pick 3 challenge over at Soul Scrappers Challenges  to create a pick 3 layout - more about the challenge below the layout I created The photo is not of me - it is of a friend of mine "J" that she posted onto her Facebook - it was taken at her workplace and she has given me permission to use it on my layout.   The Pick 3 challenge was to select 3 of the following - Halloween theme, people in costumes, pumpkins, black cat , candy, texture such as doily, cheesecloth etc, pictures showing outdoor decorations.  I used those highlighted.  The black cat stamp (where I will put my journalling) was the from a set of 8 stamps available from Kaszazz Happy Cats 2 uncut set (6065Q).  The background paper is also from Kaszazz Floral Stash collection - White Wash (7761) and is a favourite of mine.  I sprayed the cheesecloth with a spray I had in my stash (it was one that I had made up previously...