Scrap The Music

Hi there,

Gosh, I've been busy lately and just haven't had time to get to my poor blog. I've got so much scrappy stuff going on at the moment!

I can't share too much now but what I can share are some layouts that I made for one of my Workshop Secrets articles in Scrapbooking Memories magazine. My article was about how to take the best photos possible at music events and how to scrap them. It's often difficult to get great photos at these events so scrapping them can sometimes be a challenge.

Here's what I made:

I used bright colours in this to make the dark photo pop. Most of the products on this layout came from the lovely Katherine at Scrap Everything.

Some close ups:

And here's my second layout:

I made the 'spotlights' by spraying a white mist through a stencil and spraying it heavier towards the centre so it fades out at the edges.

Thanks for looking :)

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

One for my Hubby

Hi there,

To all you people enjoying warm weather at the moment, lap it up while you can. It's soooo cold here now!

Anyway, cold weather is perfect for scrapping so I've been hibernating in the scrap room. I had a wonderfully interesting mix of products to use from Scrap Everything and I've had a lot of fun experimenting with them.

Here's what I came up with:

I received a pack of the Manor House Wood Elements - 'Going Places' which is available here. These are very cute wooden words in circles, kind of like flairs. One of them said 'Epic' so I grabbed a photo that I took last week of my husband when he collected a huge mushroom from our paddock. This was the most epic thing we had seen for a while! Last week, I left the wood elements raw on my layout so this week I decided to paint this one. I also outlined the word in black pen then highlighted it in a Zig Wink of Stella clear pen. It's available here.

What's a Wink of Stella pen I hear you ask. That's what I wondered too. It turns out to be a pen that adds a gorgeous shimmer to whatever it writes on. It comes in colours but this one is clear which means I can add a shimmer to anything without changing the colour of the element. I used the pen on the word 'Epic', my arrows, my chevrons and I added a few simple stars around the page.

Do you like the cool arrow? I made that using a Sizzix Tim Holtz chevron die! It's available here. You can do amazing things with this die! In it's most basic form it cuts out negative and positive chevrons. I chose to cut up the negative shape and made the arrow with it. I then cut a yellow paper with the die and filled in the arrow head with a yellow chevron. The black chevrons were also made with the die.

I outlined the black chevrons with the Wink of Stella pen and coloured the orange/yellow arrow with it.

I hope you get to do a bit of hibernating and scrapping this week.

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Feeling Nostalgic

Hi there,

I'm back with a new layout for Scrap Everything. I used a gorgeous pic I took while holidaying with my family in Mykonos a few years ago and am feeling very nostalgic. What a fabulous place!

Here's my layout:

Aren't those Manor House Creations Wood Elements stunning? The Memories frame is available here and the stamps are available here. I simply left them raw. I love the natural, rustic look this gives the page.

 

I just cut scraps of paper - nearly all the paper on this layout is Maja paper - to fit the stamps. This is so easy yet very effective.

Scrap Everything are also selling these amazing Tim Holtz framework dies. The one I used here is a chevron but there are other styles available. Framework dies can be used in several ways. They cut both positive and negative shapes and can be linked together to form continuous shapes. In this layout I have used the inside shapes which are standard chevrons. Framework dies are handmade and can cut through paper, material and plastic. The die is available here.

To make the word "Mykonos" I used a stencil to paint it then outlined it in a new Zig Artist Sketching Pen. I love the tip on this - it's perfect for journalling and is available here.

Thanks for dropping in for a look. 

Happy Scrappin'!

Heather

Ewww! A Doggy Kiss!

Hi there!

I have a layout to show you that I made a little while ago using Glitz Design's Wild & Free papers for Scrap Everything. This is such a distinctive range and I absolutely love it! It comes with letters, stickers and heaps of interesting features that can be cut out and added to your page. All I added to this was a few bits and pieces I had lying around.

Here's my page:

My niece Maddy was obviously torn between smiling for the camera and going "Ewwww!"!

The Wild & Free papers have a very American Indian feel to them so I continued this with my theme of arrows. I decorated a wooden skewer with mists and beads and added chevrons and feathers at the ends.

I cut the paper beneath the photo to represent Indian fringing and continued the arrows, beads and feathers throughout the layout.

Happy Scrappin'!
Heather

Happy

Hi there,

I have a layout for Scrap Everything today. I was sent some really interesting products and had loads of fun experimenting with them.

Here's my layout:

Isn't that photo adorable? It's one my sister-in-law took of one of her daughters. The Carta Bella paper was the perfect background for it.

Now the interesting thing about this layout is that I have only used two key products to make it - one is the pack of Fabscraps French Heritage Stickers and the other is a sheet of X-press It Sticky Barc. If you're not familiar with this second product I will explain further down.

Firstly the stickers - these are transparent so they can be used in a number of ways. Firstly I just placed two of the stickers directly onto my background paper. Their transparency means that you can still see the paper through them. It almost looks like they're part of the paper design. I really love this look. It's kind of vintage and funky at the same time!

I then backed the remaining stickers with white cardstock and placed them randomly around my photo and beyond. In keeping with the aged look of the layout I distressed the edges and outlined each sticker with a brown pen, raising some of them up on foam tape.

Next I used the X-press It Sticky Barc. I love this product! It is real wood (very thin!) backed with super strong adhesive. You can stamp on it like I did or you can paint it, ink it or whatever you like. You can just cut it using scissors like it's paper.

To make my butterflies, I simply stamped on the Sticky Barc with black ink and cut out the images. I removed the backing from the centre part of the butterflies only so the wings could stand free and 'fly'.

I then stamped the word 'happy' onto it and cut this out. What a simple and unique title!

I could also have used a die cut machine to cut out a title or embellishments using the Sticky Barc.

I then just added my journaling around the photo and a bit of stamping and ragged stitching.

This page really was so simple and easy to make. If any of Katherine's customers would like more info on how I made something just drop me a line in the comments.

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Family Glam

Hi there. It's been a busy week this week, both on the scrapping front and the home front.

Scrapping wise, I've been working on some layouts for Scrap Everything. Katherine sent me the most gorgeous products to work with. I made the layout here using the stunning Peacock Feathers papers from Fabscraps.

The feather is also from Fabscraps. I coated it with a Pearl Pen, available here then added gold and silver Metallic Melts, a kind of embossing powder that I adore, to the tips and centre. I used glitter glue to make the dots.

Don't you just love that zip? It's another Fabscraps product. You can cut it to any length which is so handy and you get two zipper pulls in the pack. I fussy cut flowers from one of the papers and filled the open end of the zip with them.

To make those 'cabochons' I took some of the French Heritage stickers and attached them to cardstock. I cut them out and applied a thick layer of Glossy Accents to the centre to create that raised effect. You can keep layering Glossy Accents (after each layer has dried) if you want to raise that centre higher.

I made the flowers from the paper as well and those little dragonfly brads are from my stash. They're really old but I thought they worked well here.

Thanks for taking the time to look. I hope you've gained some inspiration!

Happy scrappin'!
Heather

Happy New Year!

Well it's the beginning of a new year and it will be an exciting one for me because I can now announce that I am part of another wonderful design team. I'm on the DT for Dusty Attic! In the short time I have been working with them I can honestly say that you wouldn't find a nicer group of ladies anywhere. An added bonus is that they're all incredibly talented! You can find the full DT announcement here.

I'm looking forward to sharing some of the gorgeous Dusty Attic chippies, paints and flowers with you. You'll be amazed at what's coming up.

Also, the new DT has been announced for Scrappy Chat Designs. Renee and I are staying on and Sandra Wallace has joined us - yay! It should be a fabulous year with many exciting things coming up. The Scrappy Chat kits are truly awesome.

You can see the full DT announcement here.

Here's the team:

And here are the team members' blogs:

http://beckbt.blogspot.com.au/   Beck

http://reneeaslette.blogspot.com.au/   Renee

http://backinmycorner.blogspot.com.au/   Sandra

Again, I am so lucky to be on a team with such amazing, inspirational and lovely people.

I'm also staying on at Scrap Everything so this year should be sooo much fun!

I hope this year brings you many wonderful experiences and is a rewarding one for you.

Heather

Wild and Free with Scrap Everything

Hullo there.

Today I have a layout to share that I made for Scrap Everything. Katherine sent me the absolutely stunning new range from Glitz Design called Wild and Free. I adore this range! The colours are mostly bright and happy but there are also some softer colours that make fantastic background papers. Take a look at the range here.

My layout today is about this gorgeous place we stayed at in Crete a couple of years ago. It oozed charm and character. The window in the photo is one of the windows in our little pension. It was so picturesque!

That background paper is very easy to work with. That watercolour effect is so versatile - this would go with just about any theme. I flicked a bit of Dylusions ink across the page to add a bit of interest. I also used some prima packaging behind the photo. All the letters, words and shaped stickers are included in the Wild and Free pack.

The large flowers are from a Prima collection and the small ones are Kaisercraft roses, available here. I gave three of them a quick spray with Dylsusions ink spray and they coloured up really well. I used Lemon Zest, available here. Anyone who is a regular follower of my blog would know that I adore Dyslusions sprays. I confess, I'm a Dylusions junkie!

There's also a bit of twine in there. At $1 for 5 metres it's amazing value. I don't know where I'd be without my twine. It's my go-to when I have a gap to fill.

Here are some close-ups:

I hope you can get your hands on these papers cos I think they're stunning!

Happy scrappin'!

Heather

Family Is.....

Hello everyone.

Were you fortunate enough to be able to spend Fathers' Day with a special dad? I got to spend it with both my hubby and my dad, so I'm doubly lucky! I forgot to take my camera when I visited my dad but luckily I had my phone on hand to record the day. We just had a simple lunch with mum and dad but it made my dad's day.

Of course, when it came time to make a layout for Scrap Everything I had to use this photo! By the way, take a look at Scrap Everything's new blog. Not only does the new design look terrific, Scrap Everything is turning 5 so Katherine's offering 30% off almost everything. This lasts until midnight on Sunday so jump in girls!

I'm using the new 'Family Is' scrapping pack. It's available here. At first I had trouble getting the layout to come together. I was trying to use a busy background paper but every time I tried to add things to it it just looked too cluttered. The paper would be perfect if you want to scrap quickly and just put a photo and an embellishment or two on it. As a Design Team member though, it's my job to do more than this! In the end I ditched the background paper and used plain white cardstock. I could then scrap to my heart's content!

Here's the layout:

The blocks of patterned paper are cut from one of the 12 x 12 papers and I fussy-cut the banner from another one. Yes, that took a bit of time but that's ok - it's fun! I added a few of the buttons. These are soooo easy to use! They are self-adhesive and I'd love to know what adhesive they use cos it's super strong! So it's just a matter of peeling them off and sitting them where you want them. Super easy!

For the background, I sprayed some mist then decorated it with tiny hearts using Sassy Pink Smooch, available here.  I love the applicator tips on Smooch products. They're like a cross between a brush and a felt tipped pen which makes it so easy to create tiny detail. It's perfect for colouring in stamped images.

Here's a close up:

Those cute little chippie banners were included in the button pack and I used the letters from the Combo Stickers sheet to make the word 'Fathers'.

Cheers to all the dads!

Heather

PS - sorry about the black text. I worked out what happened but I can only fix it by re-typing it all. Black text will just have to do for this post!

My Crazy Family

When Katherine from Scrap Everything sent me Bo Bunny's new "Family Is" pack I knew I wouldn't have trouble finding photos to suit it. The theme of the pack is very much about crazy families. My family fits the bill perfectly!

The pack contains papers, chippies and sticker sheets. There are a lot of words in the pack, great if you struggle with journaling.

Here's my layout:

I made the most of the words by running a strip of them down one side of the page. Although I love the background paper I wanted something brighter behind the pics so I attacked it with my gesso and stencil. The only other product on the page that isn't from the Family Is pack is the gorgeous twine on some of the buttons. You can get it here. At $1 for 5 metres it's one of the best value scrapping products you will ever buy.

Here are some closies:

Now if any of you saw my post before this one then you might notice a similarity between the design of the two layouts. This was completely unintentional and I didn't notice it myself until I sat one layout down on my desk next to the other. The weird thing is, I made this layout before I even saw the Scrap Around The World sketch. My Scrap Everything layouts always get posted on a Friday, which is why the other layout went up first on my blog. To make matters worse, I used the same stencil on both layouts. (I tend to do that - if I make something and like it why not do it again?) What I'm trying to say is I didn't scraplift SATW's sketch for this layout! I'm sure this sort of thing must happen all the time but it's the first time it's happened to me.

Happy scrapping everyone.

Heather

Loving the Retro Look...

Hi there,

I'm here today with my latest layout for Scrap Everything! I based the layout around those gorgeously retro We R Memory Keepers cardstock cards, available here. There is a real variety of them, some with plain colours, some with patterns and some with wonderful retro pictures and sayings.

Here's my layout:

The only thing as gorgeous as those cards is my nephew! He has a thing about playing with the balls on our pool table. The funny thing is, he can barely reach - he has to stand on tiptoes to play with them!

The paper on the outside halves is Webster's Pages Plum Tree. I simply cut a 12 x 12 sheet in half, rounded the corners and added some old lace. The trim at the top and bottom of the layout is a genuine 1960's ricrac from my stash that matched the papers perfectly. The strip at the bottom of the page is Prima Wishes and Dreams washi tape. Running a strip of it along here not only helped to balance the layout but helped to hold down the lace too. Still in that bottom corner, I added some more of the cardstock cards plus a camera chippie from Fabscraps. It comes in a set with chippie binoculars too. I sprayed it with white Dylusions and added a button in the middle.

Here's a close up:

For the title I used one of the larger cardstock cards, added a few embellies, and wrapped it all up in Maya Road twine.

Included in my kit was a bottle of Glue 'n Seal. As the name says, it's both a glue and a sealer. It comes in a bottle with a brush - I felt like I was back in kindergarten using the Clag! I liked the way it was slow drying as this is great when you're trying to place embellishments. It gives you a chance to moves things around a bit. I found the brush a bit big for small, fiddly items but it seemed to work well on the things I used it on. I will try it out on more items and get back to you.

I used two different styles or wording above some of the pics. I took appropriate words from the washi, adhered them to cardstock and cut out the shapes. I could have stuck them straight onto the card beneath but it would have shown the pattern beneath a bit and it's a bit tricky to cut sticky washi (try saying that three times quickly!)

For the other text, I used a fabulous set of mini stamps from Kaisercraft. I can see myself using these a lot. They'd be perfect for cards as well as layouts.

And just because he's so cute - here's Archie again!

Bye for now!

Heather

I just want to Scrap Everything!

Hello again. We've been having some wild wintry weather here. It's nasty outside but cosy in my scrap room!

It's time for a new post for Scrap Everything. This month I have a gorgeous range called Sisters by Echo Park. It's available here. I had a few photos on my desk that I've been wanting to scrap for a while and I was looking through these with the Sisters papers in mind. I also received another sheet of Echo Park paper from the "here and now" range called chalkboard.. When I found the photo of my daughter with a blackboard I realised I had found the perfect match!

Here's my layout:

Aaaaw, I forget how cute my kids were when they were little! This is my daughter who is a very talented artist now, so I'm stoked that I have a record of her early artistic days.

To create the background for the photo, I layered two of the Sisters sheets after punching along one side and inking the edges. I tied them up with Maya Road twine.  I cut out a chevron section from one of the papers and added this across the bottom. I backed the photo with two We R Memory Keepers cardstock cards, available here. I used more of the cards as journaling blocks. The journaling blocks set the retro rounded-corner feel so I rounded the corners on everything else too. I never tire of this look!

Here are some close-ups:

To make the blackboard background I raided my daughter's arty stash (quite appropriate really!) and found some chalk pastels. These worked beautifully on the paper. A few simple child-like drawings and I was done!

I reckon there are endless ways you could use that grey chalkboard paper as a blackboard on layouts.

I wish I had taken lots more photos of my kids when they were little. If yours are still small, get that camera out!

Bye for now.

Heather

30 Cards In 30 Days

It's the first day of winter and it sure feels like it! It's grey and miserable here.

Here's some news to brighten up the day of the card makers though. Katherine at Scrap Everything! is having her annual 30 Cards In 30 Days challenge.

This is a fun challenge with a prize as well. You can find out more info here.

Hope you can join in. Just think of how much you'll achieve! You might make enough cards to see you through the year!

Have fun!

Heather

Oh Snap! Part 2

Hi all,

If you're in the southern part of this amazing country I hope you've got your winter woollies on! It's freezing! I think we're feeling it more than usual as it's been so warm until now. The good thing about the cold weather though is that it allows me to scrap guilt-free!

You might remember that I made a layout using the new Oh Snap! range from Echo Park a couple of weeks ago for Scrap Everything! At the time I said I would get at least 2 more layouts out of the pack. By adding two pieces of cardstock I have now made a double layout and still have a full sheet, half the stickers and some part sheets left. At $9 this is definitely a great value pack.

Here's what I made:

I think a lot of you might relate to this situation. There's a group of happy people, they're all keen for a photo but none of the photos are perfect. Someone's eyes are shut, someone turns away, the wind blows someone's hair in their face and, in this case, they have a little chat in the middle of it!

Here's the first page:

I wrote the problems that occurred with each photo underneath it, so it told the story of how I had to keep taking another photo and another..... Thanks goodness for the digital age!

The background is quite simple. I just cut a sheet of the Oh Snap! paper in half, put a half on each of the two pages and added a bit of a contrasting colour trim at the top and bottom. I then just took some scraps, cut them into the right size and shape, and created a banner along the bottom of the block. A lot of the banner is hidden by the photos but it creates an extra bit of interest and isn't difficult to do.

That long title is self explanatory really!

 Here's a closie of the second page:

I love that Oh Snap! shape. What do you call that shape? An explosion? I also snuck a date tab onto my banner so it forms a part of it.

Those film strips are so useful - and there's two sheets of them in the pack! I like the way that you could use just about any photos with these. I still have a full sheet left so expect to see these pop up again in my layouts.

And the last close-up:

 If you get this Oh Snap! pack I hope you get the mileage out if it that I have. I'll let you know when I make another layout with it.

Bye for now.

Heather