The Colours of Autumn

Hello! I've been very inspired lately by a number of challenges. There are some gorgeous mood boards around at the moment! The ones that influenced this creation are Our Mixed Media Moods, Art Playground,  Scrapki-Wyzwaniowo and CSI- Color, Stories, Inspiration. I have never entered four challenges with one project before but these all feature autumn leaves or an autumn theme!

Firstly, here's my project. It could be classified as a layout or art journal page but it will go into my album and fits on 12 x 12 paper so I'll call it a layout! I had so much fun making this.

I've included many of my favourite techniques on this project. Black, white and book paper is a favourite combo of mine. In this case it's black, cream and book paper as the book paper I used is fairly old and has a yellowed look about it - awesome! The messy stitching is something I use a lot - I love it! I also used some of my favourite products such as the punch along the right hand side and the Tinby Designs Colour Crush on the background.

I used a metallic copper paint through a stencil and matched it with a funky copper-coloured fibre.

I wanted to highlight the leaves on the Dusty Attic chipboard so I found a punch that had tiny little pieces that are roughly leaf-shaped. I punched these shapes out of book paper and added these to the chipboard. It was fiddly work but I love the result.

I love messy stitching!

The photo was taken in a gorgeous forest in Italy where the leaves were just starting to turn a stunning yellow. Coming from Australia, we don't see many forests with autumn leaves so I was pretty excited by this!

Two of the challenges I'm entering are intertwined. The challenge at Art Playground is to use some colours from their mood board and to be inspired by 'My Muse'. Here's the mood board:

I used a range of the olive colours on my background as well as the more coppery colour. The colours look metallic here so I used metallic copper paint. I am inspired by a number of amazing scrappers and artists and one of these is the incredible DeeDee Catron. I love her quirky style and the way she creates pieces that look stunning without being cluttered. She is definitely 'My Muse'.

DeeDee helps run Our Mixed Media Moods which also has a challenge this month. After watching DeeDee's video I rushed straight to the scrap room and created this piece. Here's the mood board:

I was inspired by the photo in the bottom right corner, as well as the text on the aged-looking pieces in the top left photo. DeeDee's creation for this challenge is awesome! You can check it out here.

The challenge up at Scrapki-Wyzwaniowo is to use leaves. Easy!

I have autumn leaves in my photo, book paper leaves on my chipboard and some plain chipboard leaves in the corner of my photo under the title.

Last, but certainly not least, the other challenge that was sitting on my desk as I made this was CSI. Again, it's an autumn- themed mood board.

I clues I used are:
Evidence:
Book paper
Leaves and branches
Fall-themed elements
Twine
Something woven (the copper fibre)
Distressing

Testimony:
Document something about autumn
The Scheme:
Khaki and flax yellow (on the background)
Dark, dark brown (on the branches)

Phew - that was a long post! I hope you can jump on board and join in some of the challenges too!


Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Petticoats and Pleats

Hello there!

I got a bit excited when I saw the challenge over at 13arts. The challenge board is called 'Petticoats and Pleats' and is all about retro dressmaking. When I was young, my mum made most of my clothes. I have some gorgeous photos of me all dressed up in mum's finest creations, but my favourite photo is this one. I must have been two or three years old. I was clearly absolutely delighted with this fantasy of tulle, judging my the look on my face. I was 'All Smiles'.

My journaling at the bottom explains how I must have felt like a fairy princess.

I used papers from 13arts' stunning new Aqua Flora range plus bits and pieces from an older range. I lightly gessoed over the Shades of Black paper, allowing the numbers to peep through in places. On top of that I layered up Tinby Designs Colour Crush, Lindy's Magicals and a variety of stamps.

I coated most of my Dusty Attic chippies with silver Metallic Melts, again from Tinby Designs. I love this chunky, shiny effect. Very glam but a bit rugged at the same time ;)

I mixed some Colour Crush and Magicals with water to make watercolours and painted my butterflies with them so they coordinated with the rest of the layout.

Obviously, my main inspiration from the challenge board was the overall theme of vintage, hand-made clothes but I also used machine stitching, loose thread and an old photo. I hung a round chippie from the photo cluster.

I hope you can join in at 13arts. Here's the challenge board. You can find the details here.

Thanks for taking the time to have a look. I had such fun making this!


Happy scrappin'!

Heather

I'm Back!

Hello there! Welcome back to my blog.

For those of you that might have noticed I was missing for a while, I've been travelling so I haven't been scrapping. I was very privileged to see some amazing sights on this trip.

One of the highlights was the incredible cultural shows in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. I was blown away by how colourful and spectacular the costumes and makeup were. To top it off, the people were so friendly and welcoming, yet so proud.

I wanted to capture all of this on paper so I used part of a photo plus a variety of mediums to try to capture the colour and impact. I hope I succeeded.

I started by cutting out part of a photo that included the face of a spectacularly painted performer.

I used a mix of Tinby Designs Colour Crush, watercolours and acrylic paints to make the head-dress and used watercolours for the shoulders.

Although first impressions when looking at these head-dresses is that they are made of feathers, there are actually many other objects in there. I saw sticks, wool, plastic, sparkly objects and, commonly, long blue strands of plastic that look a bit like the much-desired Bird of Paradise feathers. I have no idea what they are but I tried to incorporate them into this head-dress.

I had some ideas in my head of what I wanted to create and when I found the challenge over at Mixed Media and Art I knew I'd found the right challenge for me. Here's the mood board.

The theme is "Colours of Life", such a perfect description for my proud Highlander in his traditional costume. I was inpired by the blues and yellows of the moodboard but also by the swirls, swipes and splats of paint.

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Snug and Warm

Welcome back!

It's Mini Challenge time over at More Than Words and the word to use this month on your card, tag, ATC or postcard is Warm. I've made a postcard.

I must say I love this colour combo. I've used some Dusty Attic chippies on this, some vintage lace and Tinby Design Colour Crush.

A question - does anyone know what the cockles of our hearts are? Lol!

You only have til the end of the month to join in the challenge. You can find all the details here.

Happy scrappin'!


Heather

Perfectly Delicate

Welcome back!

It's the start of a fresh new month so there's a fresh new challenge over at More Than Words. The challenge is to be inspired by the word Delicate and to use some Fabric in your layout, canvas or art journal page.

I made an art journal spread.

I recently took this photo of a butterfly and it wasn't until I looked closely at the photo that I realised the butterfly has one crooked wing. It could certainly fly ok though so that inspired to write the journaling.

A butterfly is one of the most delicate things I can think of and I tucked some fabric behind the photo. I made the background with Tinby Designs Colour Crush. I'm continually amazed with the variety of effects I can achieve with these.

Does the word Delicate inspire you to create something? Come on, give it a go! You can find the details here.


Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Sing at More Than Words

Hi there!

Have you seen the new Mini Challenge over at More Than Words? The word to include on your card, tag or ATC is 'Sing'.

Here's what I made:

I made the background with Tinby Designs Colour Crush. It was so easy! The heart shape is a real leaf that I found while out walking. I just had to scrap with it!

I sure hope you can join us this month. You can find the challenge here.


Happy scrappin'!

Heather

It's All About Harmony at More Than Words.

Hello again!

There's a very 'harmonious" challenge over at More Than Words this month. The word to be inspired by is "Harmony" and the creative challenge is to use song lyrics on your page.

Here's what I made:

The word "Harmony" made me think of a bike ride that I did while on holidays. I'm not a big fan of bike riding so I was really thrilled when I found the ride to be really enjoyable. I felt very much in harmony with the bike and my beautiful surroundings. I used the lyrics from the Queen song "Bicycle Race". Not only are the words perfect for the page but Queen have some of the best harmonies in the world!

I used large circular elements on the page to reflect the image of bicycle wheels and I placed the letters in my title in an up and down way, reminiscent of pedals. The background, the title and the circles were made using Tinby Designs Colour Crush. I love what I can do with these!

I hope you can join us over at More Than Words this month. Here's the challenge board - what a stunning image!

You can find the challenge here.


Happy scrappin'!


Heather

Art Journaling in Scrapbooking Memories Magazine

Hi there! I thought I'd share with you some more art journal pages I made for the series of articles I'm writing for Scrapbooking Memories magazine.

I used an image printed on transparency over some gorgeous Tinby Designs Colour Crush. I also used the Colour Crush to colour the title and the stars. And the background? I was actually working on the other side of the paper and hadn't cleaned up my mat properly. When I saw the colour had transferred to the back of my work I immediately turned my page over and started again using the blue as my background. Perfect!

More Colour Crush and some gorgeous Denim Tampons stamps on this one. Here's a close-up:

Sometimes it helps to express yourself when life deals you a rough hand.

If you'd like to know more about my art journaling journey you can check out my articles at Scrapbooking Memories magazine.

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Art Journaling - A Different Direction

Hello and welcome back to my little blog. I've been working a lot with art journaling lately. I find this is such an amazingly creative outlet. I'm writing a series of articles about this for Scrapbooking Memories magazine.

Here are some of the pages I've made for the magazine articles:

This one is made entirely with Tinby Designs Colour Crush and pen (plus some alphas). This is a great example of how you can create something when you're just playing.

This one also predominantly uses Colour Crush. I love those Colour Crush butterflies!

I know my work is usually very colour-driven but I also adore book text with black and white. I love how this turned out!

If you'd like to learn more about art journaling I hope you can pick up one of my articles in Scrapbooking Memories magazine!


Happy scrappin'!


Heather

FOR SALE!

I've never put anything up for sale on my blog before but I've been completely besotted with Tinby Designs Colour Crush and watercolours lately and I've been doing some serious playing with them. I made these funky chicken paintings! These are for sale for AUD$30 each plus postage. I can post to anywhere in the world.
They are painted on heavy-duty 425gsm watercolour paper and are A4 in size. Each one has some kind of 3-D element to it.

"Confetti Chicks" has punched confetti shapes on it. Here's a close-up:

"Peace" has a 3-D twig:

Here's a close-up:

I adore the soft pastel colours I can create with Colour Crush. I hope you like them!

If you're interested in either of these please just message me here or on Facebook.


Happy scrappin'!


Heather

Enchanted Beauty

Hello to my bloggy friends. I'm back today with another layout using the O-M-G-I'm-in-love new kit from Scrappy Chat Designs. In case you missed my last post, I absolutely adore the Lucky Charm kit! There are gorgeous Prima papers with dusky pinks and stunning metallics plus custom-made Colour Crush and Metallic Melts plus loads of other goodies. Yum!

How cool is that retro Vespa! I just had to use this pic with these amazing papers!

Scrappy Chat members will receive a Tech Sheet with step-by-step instructions showing how to make this page.

Are you a Scrappy Chat member yet? If not, here are the details:
Joining Scrappy Chat Designs is like doing 3 classes each month - all in the comfort of your own home!

Each premier kit comes with:

• Videos and full instructions to complete the three featured layouts while showing you many techniques with products that you can use well after the life of the kit. (With all of our kits you will receive plenty of product and knowledge that you can apply to future projects.)

• Photos of each project including close up detailed pictures.

• All the product needed to complete the projects with a list of additional basic items used such as paints, texture paste or sprays you may need from your supplies.

The kits focus on how to use a range of products and teams them up with sensational papers to compliment them. There are always less- or non-consumable products in our kits that you can use for a long time afterwards.

Kits are $45 + postage and come out monthly. Please e-mail us at orders.scrappychatdesigns@gmail.com if you would like to order this kit.

For more kits and other products visit www.scrappychatdesigns.com.au

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Looking Rosy

Hello again. Welcome back!

Have you seen the new Lucky Charm kit from Scrappy Chat Designs yet? OMG! I'm in love! The dusky pinks, the gorgeous coppers and the coordinating Colour Crush and Metallic Melts powders are awesome! It's an incredibly generous kit with ribbon, word stickers, 6 metallic papers, cardstock, drawing ink and more. Wow!

Anyway, enough of my raving - here's my first layout using the kit.

This layout is alive with coppery shimmer and coordinating Metallic Melts shine!

Scrappy Chat members will receive a Tech Sheet with step-by-step instructions showing how to make this page.

Are you a Scrappy Chat member yet? If not, here are the details:
Joining Scrappy Chat Designs is like doing 3 classes each month - all in the comfort of your own home!

Each premier kit comes with:

• Videos and full instructions to complete the three featured layouts while showing you many techniques with products that you can use well after the life of the kit. (With all of our kits you will receive plenty of product and knowledge that you can apply to future projects.)

• Photos of each project including close up detailed pictures.

• All the product needed to complete the projects with a list of additional basic items used such as paints, texture paste or sprays you may need from your supplies.

The kits focus on how to use a range of products and teams them up with sensational papers to compliment them. There are always less- or non-consumable products in our kits that you can use for a long time afterwards.

Kits are $45 + postage Australia wide. Please e-mail us at orders.scrappychatdesigns@gmail.com if you would like to order this kit.

For more kits and other products visit www.scrappychatdesigns.com.au

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Guesting at Kraft+

Hello there. I was thrilled to be asked by the absolutely fabulous Sandra to be a Guest Designer over at Kraft+ this month. I was also a bit concerned at first though cos kraft scares me a bit! My style is very colour-driven and I struggle to get them to work on kraft background sometimes. My solution was to use my gorgeous Colour Crush powders on white cardstock then cut out shapes and layer them onto the kraft. I love the result!

I'm also a little bit hooked on book paper at the moment and I loved that I could incorporate this into my page. The other great thing about working on kraft is that I can leave my chippies raw and they match the page. Too easy!

Another fave product I've used on this page is my Kaisercraft stitched circles stamp and die set. The banner stamp happens to be a Kaisercraft one too.

I hope you can play along at the Kraft+ challenge this month. Here's the challenge board:

You can find the details here.

Happy scrappin'!


Heather

More Than Words in January

Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to a wonderful new year of scrappy fun!

You might have a sore head today from too much celebrating but the team at More Than Words are keen to give you a creative kick-start with our new challenge! The inspirational challenge word this month is Celebrate and the creative challenge word is Bling. Here's what I was inspired to create:

I was inspired not only by the challenge board, but by the movie "Arrival". If you've seen it you will know what I'm talking about. If not, I won't spoil it for you. I can only say that I sat in the cinema with scrapping ideas running around in my head - lol!

My circles are made using Tinby Designs Colour Crush. I'm a  bit of a Colour Crush tragic - I can't stop using it!

I think my interpretation of the word "Celebrate" is obvious. For the creative part of the challenge I added some (very old!) sparkly alphas and stars as well as some rhinestones for my "Bling".

One reason we chose the word "Celebrate" as our challenge word, apart from the fact that many people have just celebrated the New Year, is that More Than Words is turning one! Our very first challenge began on January 1st, 2016. We have loved watching all the amazing entries come in over the year. I sure hope you find time this month to join in our challenge on our first birthday! You can find the details here.

Happy scrappin'!

Heather