Once Upon A Sketch

Hi there,

I haven't entered a Once upon A Sketch challenge for a while but this sketch really caught my eye so I thought I would give it a go. The criteria this month is to hand write your journalling.

And here's what I created:

I really enjoyed making this layout. I got to play with my latest favourite colours, I experimented with new techniques and got to use a mix of new and older stash. What more can a girl ask for? I used Tinby Metallic Melts on the title, and the Page Pebble and words are from The Dusty Attic. The flowers are a mix of brands including Manor House Creations and acrylic flowers from Spotlight.

Don't you just adore this little girl? Along with many people in her town, she was participating in a full moon ceremony in Bali. She delighted in being cheeky for the camera while her grandmother egged her on. I had to get some shots of grandma too, to keep her happy!

Here's my journalling.

And some close ups:

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Scrap Around The World

Hi there,

I've made a layout for the September Scrap Around The World Challenge. The mood board is a really interesting one:

Now I'm not a fairy kinda gal but I'm having this thing for pinks lately so I picked up the pinks from the books and binoculars. I also included translucent, sparkly elements like the fairy's wings.

Here's my layout:

When I work in my office I look out over part of our garden and our weeping cherry tree is right in front of me. I've been watching it slowly burst into life lately as it's spring here. These blossoms only last about a week so I really wanted to record the spectacular show it puts on.

I made the circular shapes on the background by using texture paste through a stencil then applying Gelatos to the pattern when dry, then using a water brush to colour the shapes completely. I added clear beads to help create that bit of sparkle without overpowering the page.

I hope you can join in the challenge this month - there's still time!

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

My Little Cub

Hi there. I'm here to share the first of my layouts using the Freestyle kit from Scrappy Chat Designs.. What a fabulous variety of papers there are in this kit! I was able to create three very different pages, all from the one kit.

Here's my first layout:

For all the info, head over to the Scrappy Chat Designs blog. I give all the details there on how I made this page.

If you would like more information about this kit you can email orders.scrappychatdesigns@gmail.com or check out the website here.

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Coffee in Carlton

Hello again.

Oh gosh, I've been having fun with this layout! It came together in an interesting way. My sort-of-sister-in-law (it's complicated!) sent me this photo of my daughter, niece and mother-in-law from her phone with the title 'Coffee in Carlton'. I loved the photo and the title and used them both on this layout - thanks Sue!

I was inspired by the theme for this month's challenge over at 7 Dots Studio. You can find the challenge here.

The theme is A New Beginning and I thought this photo was perfect for it as my daughter is now living at university and is now doing things like catching up with relatives on her own for the first time.

Here's my layout:

I used lots of different Dusty Attic chippies on this. I kept most of them bare to match the gorgeous 7 Dots papers. These papers and tags are all from the Nature Walk  collection. I love the romantic, rustic feel to these. To highlight some chippies I added brown ink to the Viewfinders and used Tinby Metallic Melts on the main words of the title.

The Typewriter alphas matched the feel of the page perfectly and I mixed it up with some Tile alphas for the smaller word. I used Copper Metallic Melts on 'Coffee' and a mix of Copper and Carbon Metallic Melts on 'Carlton'. I also used the Metallic Melts on the hearts scattered around the page.

Dusty Attic products used:
Typewriter ABC Set
Tile ABC Set

Love This, Love That Arrows

Him & Her Border

Geometric Panel

Mini Cameras

Viewfinders

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Scrapki Wyzwaniowo: Can't Say it, Better Scrap It!

Hello there!

I'm excited to be entering the Skrapki Wyzwaniowo challenge for the first time. I can't pronounce it but I certainly love the site - lol! The challenge has fabulous 7 Dots Studio prizes to be won. I'm having a bit of a 7 Dots thing at the moment and I'd like to thank Lizzy Hill for pointing me in the direction of S-W.

The challenge this month is to use the word "Imagine" as your inspiration. Here's what I created:

This layout is about my daughter's first day at university college. I really felt like it was the first day in a whole new part of her life.

The background is made with Izink sprayed with water then I layered it up with stamping and stenciling with texture paste. I've then added some Dusty Attic chippies on top and kept them natural to match the papers and the photo.

Underneath the photo I've had a lot of fun stenciling with gold Tinby Metallic Melts.

I made a 'vine' that crept up the column, like the ones in photo.

I enjoyed working with the bright, bold colours mixed with the vintage feel of the 7 Dots Studio papers. I used these papers for my column and I wrote my journaling on a 7 Dots Studio tag behind the photo.

I hope you get a chance to join in on the Skrapki Wyzwaniowo challenge this month.


Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Dusty Attic is Going Retail!

Hi there,

Gosh - I just seem to be sharing news lately. There's so much going on!

The big news is that The Dusty Attic is now selling retail! And to celebrate, they're offering 10% off evverything - that means all thir yummy chipboard as well as flowers and all their paints.

You can find the website here and the blog here.

The offer only lasts til the 20th of September so be quick!

You'll need a code which is DUSTYFB10. 

Jot Magazine is out!

Hello all,

Just a quick message today to let you know that the latest issue of Jot Magazine has just been released. For those who don't know, Jot Magazine is an online mag and it's really quick and simple to download. I'm seriously impressed by this magazine - the work and articles are fabulous and the great news is that it's free! And it also might be possible that I have a layout in there on page 72 - lol!

To get your copy just click here. The new issue is issue 7.

Happy readin'!

Heather

September Sketch

Hi there,

I hope your weekend has begun well. I've been busy making a layout for the September sketch challenge for The Dusty Attic. Here's the sketch. It's another beauty!

And here's my layout:

I love the circular element in the sketch. I created mine with gesso and stitching. I went crazy with stamping, in both black and white ink.

All the chipboard pieces have been spray-painted white. I find this much quicker than hand-painting them all with a brush.

The background paper is the only paper on this page. All the other elements are created with stamping, stitching, painting, thickers and, of course, lots of lovely chippies!

Dusty Attic chipboard used:

Chevron Panel Large

Page Pebbles #1

Trellis Small

Pointer Tags

Him & Her Border

Seagulls

I hope you can join in the sketch challenge this month.

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

A Quick Share

Hi,

I've just got a quick share tonight. This is a layout I made in a class with the ever-talented Joanne Boak. It was at the Imagination Factory in Ballarat a few weeks ago. Sadly, Jo hasn't got the time for blogging so you won't find much of her work around. I think she's amazing!

We had great fun playing with Gelatos and stamps. This is my kind of layout!

The photo is of my friend Jo Baker when we caught up at the Brisbane Expo in 2013. It was taken inside the giant Ferris wheel beside the river. I finally got around to scrapping it Jo!

Thanks to the two Jo's for making this layout happen!

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Experimenting with Scrappy Chat Designs

Hello there.

I've been doing some playing and experimenting with the latest kit from Scrappy Chat Designs. I'm being very careful to use the word 'experimenting' here cos sometimes things don't go as planned! I made this layout, made a video for it then, a few days later, the cool background I made started to fade! I've worked out what the problem is though and, for those Kit Club members who get the video, I will show you how to not let this happen to you :)

Here's a sneak of the layout:

For more details head over to the Scrappy Chat Designs blog.

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Arty Backgrounds #2

Hi there,

Well the Melbourne Paperific Expo has come and gone and what a fabulous time we had. It was great to see so many familiar faces there and meet many new ones. It was the busiest I've seen for a number of years.

A few weeks ago I showed you some layouts I had published in Australian Scrapbook Ideas magazine. I showed you two layouts that were in my article about Arty Backgrounds and, finally, here are the other two:

This stunning photo was taken by Shanaya Photo and Video. It's way too good to be taken by me! This lady's photography is amazing! This layout was created using watercolour and stamping techniques.

This layout concentrated on reverse stencilling as my arty background technique.

I hope you were able to get the mag as full instructions on how to make these layouts were in there.

Happy Scrappin'!

Heather

My First 7 Dots Challenge

Hi there.

I've just got back from a very busy Melbourne Paperific Expo. I was working on the stand for Scrappy Chat Designs and Tinby Designs and we were flat out most of the time. It was fabulous to catch up with old friends and to put faces to the names of a few facebook friends. Of course, I met so many wonderful new ladies as well.

Fortunately, our stand was next to Hobbysew Echuca, who happen to be one of the few Aussie stockists of 7 Dots products. I had been keen to give them a go so Karen very kindly brought some papers down for me. I wasted no time in using them!

I decided to enter the August/September challenge at 7 Dots. The theme is "Five Senses". You can find the challenge here.

My daughter is 19 and is experiencing her first year away from home. She is facing many new situations this year so I decided to go with the title "Listen to your Heart". She has everything in her to make the right choices, all she has to do is listen to what she already knows.

I really enjoyed using the 7 Dots papers. They are thick and strong and take mixed media really well. Before I put my embellishments on top I sat the finished background under a stack of heavy chipboard overnight and my page is now completely flat. I'm very impressed! My background paper is from the Cold Country range and the tags under the photo are from the Nature Walk range.

I've used texture paste through a stencil on the right hand side then sprayed with Heidi Swapp Color Shine. I've added some stamping and some purple ink through a Crafters Workshop stencil.

I've painted my Dusty Attic chipboard with Dusty Attic paints (of course!) and added a splash of purple from my ink pad.

I've used Metallic Melts on my Dusty Attic title and used Color Shine to paint the stamped hearts gold. I used a brush with the purple ink pad to paint the heart on the right which I fussy cut out.

I gave the 7 Dots tags a light spray with the Color Shine to tie them in with the rest of the layout. I adore these little Bo Bunny heart stamps.

I hope you can join in at the 7 Dots challenge this month.

Thanks so much for dropping in.

Happy Scrappin'!

Heather