Stamps Ahead

This weekend I was at a scrapbooking retreat local to where I live.  First I want to share with you sunset Friday night. In one word - SPECTACULAR. Look at the reflection on the water. Here is the first layout completed this weekend that I am sharing. Completed for a sketch challenge over at Soul Scrappers . The photograph of me was taken on World Chocolate Day July 2017 and here I am enjoying a cup of hot chocolate to celebrate. The sketch follows. I have used a Kaisercraft emboss resist paper (that does not show up well in the photo but it is embossed with flowers and leaves) and I added watered down Gelato's in two colours randomly onto the paper, I have fussy cut the flowers from a piece of paper I had in my stash, applied lace and some added embellishments. Thank you for looking, Margaret :)

Getting my mixed media on!!! I had so much fun creating this page today.  I was wanting to use my lonely Gelatos I am sure they were feeling unused and unloved (Okay I know inanimate objects but you have to smile) when I stumbled across a You Tube video by Fiona Paltridge from May 2014.   I did Gesso the background paper before I started as past experiences with water on patterned paper have not been successful. What did I love about Fiona's layout - the washi tape border it is so reminiscent of the borders I do in my patchwork quilts and I wonder why I never thought of it before!!  I loved the layers of gesso, texture paste, gelatos and stamps. The photos where taken last year at Red Rock on the north coast of New South Wales and I had just successfully crossed a very small stream!!! on the way to the Red Rocks.  The photos are actually a mix of me going and coming back from the rocks. Thank you Fiona for your inspiration, I have left a thank ...

Here is a layout I have created for Soul Scrappers Challenge called "In the Garden".  You may recall that yesterday I posted some photos of the beautiful Bird of Paradise flowers that are growing in my garden. We were posted a selection of items to be used on the layout - and here they are. Now what did I do with them? Will firstly I used the two die cut flowers as stencils onto white cardstock with Gelatos that I had shaved and made into a liquid with warm water. I also flicked some of the liquid onto the cardstock.  This I then cut down to a 11.5" square and distressed the edges (not shown) and placed onto blue cardstock. I deconstructed the vanilla burlap (hessian) and soaked it the diluted solution. The flowers and mini-cup cake after stenciling and additional painting with remaining liquid. I then painted with acrylic paint the wood pattern paper with a mixture of white and yellow. The fabric butterfly I also painted with acrylic p...

A layout I have completed (yes, I know it is not the one referred to in my previous post of today - that is for later today after I have recharged the camera) and have posted to a couple of challenge sites that I love....   The first is from Artastic challenge blog and we were to be inspired by the following photo: I was inspired by the water scene and village in the background.  I searched my photos and whatever picture files I was in, the photo of Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was the last on the list.  It is a photo I took when I was there in 1998.   It had the bridge with its span shaped like a sailing boat and it had the view of San Francisco in the background.   I also used the corrugated paper to tie in with the wire suspensions of the bridge.  The patterned paper I used as it had baroque type designs on it reminiscent of Arabian influences.   I coloured some chipboard and added sequins for sparkle. The next challe...

In January of this year, the book club that I attend came to my home for lunch and after lunch a walk along the beach.  This layout uses all Stampin' Up! (r) product except for alphas and glimmer mist sprayed onto the cardstock.  Inspired by a layout by Sue Parsons p108 Celebrating Scrapbooking Memories Vol 15 No. 9  In October last year I attended a scrapbooking retreat run by SFS.  We were asked to go to an op shop and purchase an outfit for I believe $20.  All that I am wearing came from various op shops around where I live.  I love the skirt and as you can see I worked it - a full flared skirt.  I have kept the skirt and the two tops and wear them regularly.  The reminder I donated once again. I have attempted to replicate certain elements of the skirt on my layout - the colour, flowers and wavy lines. The photo does not show clearly that there are dots between the wavy lines on the skirt. I dabbed my gelato crayon o...

I am a guest designer over at ARTastic Challenges   this month.  The inspiration is this mixed media work titled Listen by New Zealander, Jenny Grant.  The criteria for the month was free choice, make of this what you will. Mixed media (according to Ebay) is loosely defined as any work of art that uses more than one medium.  I loved the colours, the writing you can see peeping through and that hair effect.  I am relatively new to this mixed media application for scrapbooking and initially I was what - 'scared' to put ideas onto paper. After deciding to use a brick stencil/mask, Impasto medium and Gelato's painted on after medium had dried and then sprinkled with salt.  I played around with three variations of these until I got the background I wanted. In this case a patterned paper already with writing and flowers on it and a thick layer of Impasto medium. I wanted to match the different clothes and hair colours of us all.   These are some ...

This card is inspired by a card created by Kerry Crocker (not sure if Kerry reads my blog or if she has a blog I can link this to).  It uses non-traditional stamps, in this case Betsy's Blossoms by Stampin' Up!(r) and retired SU inks.  The WOW factor in this card is the clear embossing and sponging over the embossed images and surrounds - the photograph captures the embossing magnificently.  Why not consider using non-traditional Christmas stamps on your next project?   This was created for a class I taught recently at a local community centre and the ladies had the option to put another greeting and several put Happy Birthday. Christmas card using non-traditional Christmas Stamps During last week I played around with Gelato crayons and using patterned paper from my stash, I rubbed crayons on the top of the paper, spritzed with water and allowed it to drip by holding paper up for a short time.  I then applied salt whilst still dry and the salt absorbs the m...

As promised in earlier post, here are more layouts I completed the past weekend at the retreat. The first was a layout completed in a blind challenge where you are given the instructions for a layout but don't get to see what it looks like. Christmas 2010 These photos have been laying on my desk waiting for inspiration to put them down on paper.  I think it was the multiple colours of what we are wearing that held me back.  Finally, did the layout.  We have been friends for what seems forever. Us girls all went to the same high school, although none of us really knew each other there.  We have been there for each other through many of life's ups and downs. 2012 This is a photo of my parent's wedding reception in 1948.  I was inspired by a layout in Scrapbook Trends, March 2010.  I cut 1/4" strips of paper, angled off one edge and then applied them to background cardstock (CS).  I was rather uniform in my strip placement (as it seemed to suit ...

After a week and half of illness, I recovered sufficiently to attend this retreat this past weekend.  Here are a couple of photos of the sunsets over Lake Macquarie, where the retreat was held. There was still the smoke haze from bushfires in the area in the preceding week. Thursday @ sunset Friday @ sunset Saturday @ sunset (my favourite) As well as enjoying the sunsets I did manage to scrap some layouts - here is one, with more to follow in later blog posts. Cousins This layout was done in a class at the retreat.  The white CS had Gesso applied, left to dry and then Gelato crayon sticks used for the background (unfortunately it does not come up clear in this photo), the resulting streaks of Gelato's where then diluted with a baby wipe as I went around and around in a circle motion. Washi tape, a stamp of leaves coloured with Gelato's and a titlel complete the page of my cousin Julie and I. There is about 10 years difference in our ages (me being the elder) ...