Once Upon A Sketch

Slow Going Around Here


Hasn't been too much scrapping going on here lately... have only managed to get some DT work up to date.  Still having some computer problems which is driving me nuts and hubby is away at the moment, so it won't be looked at until Monday night... I so hope it's an easy fix problem.

I am hoping to get a few challenges done next week and I have 3 classes on Sat and Sun at the Papercraft Expo which I am really looking forward to, so I should be able to show some creations next week.

Live in the Moment

Here is my take on this month's Once Upon a Sketch challenge.  I decided to use a gorgeous Scrapmatts chipboard frame as the focus for this LO.  I painted the chippie black and added some flowers and leaves and a border of lace around the frame.  The muslin background I sprayed with scarlet glimmer mist for a lovely contrast with the black chipboard.  I also used a Glitz Design stamp for the journaling spot which reads:  "Brittany, Always remember to live in the moment and make so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."
A few MS punched butterflies with button and pearl centres to finish off and add a bit more contrast against the red and black.

Sneak Peaks

A couple of sneaks of some upcoming DT creations.

 Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving some love :)))

Bird Is The Word - Amazing

Haven't been able to post, leave comments or email as I've been having major dramas with our computer.. it crashed and hubby has been working really hard to get it up and running.. I'm really hoping it's fixed this time!!! You don't realise how much you use it until it's down... what a frustrating week!!

On to something a little more interesting.  The new challenge is up at Bird Is The Word and the new challenge word is AMAZING.   There is also a fab sketch from Nadia if you would like to use it to inspire you, which I did for this challenge.

 

Used some Crate Paper & Echo Park pp's with some stamped elements and a gorgeous flower which was given to my by the lovely Karlene.. check out her blog A Pocket Full of Pretties to see some of the beautiful hand made flowers she has for sale.

Retreat LO to Share - You Light Up My World

Here is one of the LO's I created at the Wicked Princess Retreat.  I needed to add a title and tweak it a little before posting.  Used some old Bo Bunny and Shabby Green Door pp's  which I layered, hand cut and punched.  I gessoed the background to create a little light airy feel and added some gorgeous Prima flowers and some chippies from Scrappmatts. I misted and glossed the lamp post and added a few pearls and with the flowers and leaves I used some paper behind them to add a bit of colour.

WP Retreat Group Photo
Here is a pic of our Wicked Princess group photo.  So many gorgeous girls here.. had a fab time and am already booked in for next year.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving some love :)))

Beyond The Door - June Challenge

The new challenge for this month is up at Beyond the Door.  Be inspired by the colour combination used in the room, the patterns, the decor, the textures, the objects in the room or by what the room is itself (for example, for a kitchen, create a page about cooking with your kids). The inspiration pic is of  a craft room.  You will have until the last day of the month to submit your layout, card or OTP project, and winners will be announced on the 5th of each month. There are some fabulous prizes up for grabs... pop on over and check out the gorgeous DT examples for some inspiration.

Blowing Bubbles

Here's how the room inspired me.  My eye was immediately drawn to the lovely green, blue & aqua paper lanterns, so I used these colours and a circular design with some Prima, Sass Lass & October Afternoon pp's.  Kept the circular theme going with some bubble wrap stamping on my background, aqua droplets and some circular punched designs which I coated with glossy accents.  I cut out some of the pp's in a circular design and bordered them with bakers twine and a lovely braid trim.

Sneak Peek

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving some love :)))

New Challenges for the Month

My second post for today as it's the beginning of the month and I still have some CT creations to share.


KIU JUNE CHALLENGE

This month your challenge at KIU is to create a layout on KRAFT/KRAFT PATTERNED PAPER using a "TIME LINE"
You will need to use a minimum of 3 photos (any size) and journaling, telling the story of what your "time line" is about.
This could be a collection of photos of your child playing a sport, dancing, or a school carnival, it could be a layout documenting certain events in your life, when you had children, bought houses, what you do in a day or month...
Inspiration can be drawn from anywhere as long as your time line is in chronological order, ie from start to finish...  Your entry must be linked to this post no later than 11.59 June 30th.

Pop on over and check out the site HERE to see all the amazing CT examples for some inspiration.

1,2,3 Jump 

Here is the LO I created using the above criteria.  Used Kraft for my background with some Basic Grey Oliver pp's with some doodling and paint splats.  A bit of twine for some texture and aqua droplets to tie in with the water theme.

Challenge Heaven - Series Challenge

Check out this link HERE to see all the challenges for this month at Challenge Heaven and the fantastic DT examples.

For this challenge you are to scrap a series of photos, must use at least 3 pics and an extra criteria - use stars.

Here is what I came up with using some pics I took at Easter of Luke hamming it up with his uncle...  I think someone has hair envy!!!  Thought these Bo Bunny Cambridge pp's with some grunged hessian would be perfect for these pics.  I used an EK Success star border punch and used the negatives and placed them randomly around my title.  I also added a cluster of stars to fit the star criteria of the challenge.

Challenge Heaven - Image Challenge

For this challenge you are to be inspired by the pic and the extra criteria is layering.

Lots of layered and hand cut elements using some Prima pp's & flowers and also some lace doilies.  I  was inspired by the colours and the lovely floral arch.  The cute little birdhouse charm I purchased from Tracy at My2Angels.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving some love :)))

Exciting News My2Angels

Can finally share my exciting news, which is that I am now part of Tracy from My2Angels DT. 

First up I'd like to give a huge thank you to Tracy for asking me to be part of her very talented Design Team... am so very excited and I hope I will be able to inspire all you lovely ladies with my creations. Secondly you should take the time to pop on over and check out her site as she has a SALE on at the moment

SALE TIME
Up to 50% off ALL pattern papers (most of these will not be restocked)

 
30% off rhinestone chain
30% off Rhinestones words and shapes
50% off Felt Ribbon
35% off rubons
10% off scrapware chipboard
up to 50% off ribbons (excludes organza ribbon and lace)

AND until 10th June 2011 enter "stocktake" at checkout to receive an additional 10% off your order (not valid with any other promotional codes and discounts and excludes any future new arrivals)
There is no free gift this month with your order due to the discounted sale we are offering you.

Well here goes.. this is my 1st DT LO which I created with some of the yummy goodies I received from Tracy.

One of the things I love to do is mix different ranges of pp's together and with this LO I thought the Girls Paperie Twig and Tinsel , Basic Grey Jovial and Websters Trendsetter, went together beautifully.

I was inspired to use a lovely Scrapware Blossom Stem chipboard piece which went perfectly with this lovely pic of my daughter Brittany.

I traced the leaves on some Twig and Tinsel - Festive Brocade (spotty side), cut them out and inked the edges with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink, placed them behind the chipboard leaves to create a shadow effect.  Couldn't resist using some of the new red roses which Tracy has just recently added to the store and placed them randomly as flower centres on the chip board.  I also used some  red multi-coloured acrylic rhinestone chain, snipping off single rhinestones and placing them in the rest of the flower centres.

and had to add a gorgeous little ladybug charm for a bit of extra cuteness.

The red flipside of the Basic Grey Jovial - Pomegrante was perfect for my background... such a luscious red!!  I then layered some Twig and Tinsel pps.  A strip of  Twig and Tinsel - Deck The Halls (the text side up) and the same paper on the reverse side which I hand cut to make a lovely border and added some Christmas Red Stickle Glitter Glue around the diamond pattern to add a bit of bling.  On top of that I added a layer of  Twig and Tinsel - Festive Brocade to accent my photo, cut some red multi-coloured acrylic rhinestone chain to make a frame for my photo, tucking in a bit of gathered red tulle underneath and machine stitching around the the edge.  I also inked my edges with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink and distressed them for a bit of definition.

The title was made by hand cutting the letters from a piece of Websters Trendsetter - fashionista and then coating them with some Inkssentials Glossy Accents and the journal spot was stamped with a Teresa Collins Notepad stamp and red ink, I then coated the heart with the glossy accents to make it pop.

A gorgeous little cluster to tie in with all the beautiful pp's made with a felt heart, grunge date pin, love key charm tied with red & white Bakers Twine and a layered flower made with 2 red mulberry flowers, a white mini gardenia with some diamond dust on the edge of the petals for a bit of texture and a sweet red & white plaid fabric brad for the centre.

Finished the LO with some sweet butterflies which were hand cut from some Websters Trendsettter - Style 105.

I will be back a bit later on to share some CT challenge LO's for the month.

Thanks so very much for taking the time to stop by and have a fab day :)))

Cheers

Cathy :)

Catching Up

Have been absent for the past week and have a few challenges to share which I managed to create at the Wicked Princess Retreat on the weekend.  Had an amazing time and met so many wonderful ladies.  Krissy did the most awesome job organising her 1st retreat.. everything was just perfect and she's just the most beautiful person.. such a sweetie.  Was so happy to finally meet Karen Grose who is on the Bird Is The Word DT with me, what a gorgeous girl!! Has some fabulous conversations and she & Tam had me in stitches over the weekend.  Some of the other girls I also had the pleasure to meet in person and see their gorgeous creations up close were Lauren Bell who is on the KIU CT with me, Anne Patterson who's work I admire on Scrapmatts, Lisa K, and Barb Turner.    I don't think there was much sleep had by all and I am so dreading seeing what some of the pics taken of me will look like.  My mojo wasn't really flowing, so I didn't create as many LO's as I would have liked and there were so many lovely ladies to chat with, that I kept getting distracted.  Can't wait to attend Krissy's next retreat.. should be a pro the 2nd time around.

Stuck Sketches 15 May


This was one of the LO's I created at the retreat for Stuck Sketches.  Decided to go for a bit of grunge on this one.  Used some very old FP pp for the background which I masked with a Prima mask and some Tim Holtz ink then overlayed with some sapphire glimmermist.  Distressed, inked and punched the side strips using 7 Gypsies, WRMK & Scrap Within Reach pp's.  Added a few rubons and some hessian bits and also some Tim Holz tape which I purchased from Krissy on the weekend which I absolutely adore.

Show Us Your Stuff - May Sketch

Another LO created on the weekend for SUYS.  Found this very old pic of Brittany which I just adore and used some gorgeous Girls Paperie pp's and a felt frame to accent the photo.  Created the little banner from the paper using a circle punch, twine and buttons.  Just LOVE these new Prima tulle flowers, and had to add one on my LO as it was just the perfect finishing touch.  The adorable felt heart I purchased from Tracy at My2Angels they come in a pack of 4, she also has the felt frames in black.

Don't Forget - You Still Have Time

 Don't forget, you still have time to submit your entries for:

Kraft It Up -  No Pattern Paper & Kraft Cardstock

Beyond The Door - Room Inspiration + extra criteria

Challenge Heaven - Plenty of challenges to get the creative juices flowing

There are some fabulous prizes up for grabs.  Pop on over and check out the challenges.

Sneaky Peeks

A couple sneaks for upcoming challenges

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving some love :))))

Bird Is The Word - Life/Live/Living

Life's Been Busy

Sorry I haven't been around much lately.  Have had a lot on my plate and been very busy with life at the moment.  I am attending my 1st Scrap Retreat this weekend with Krissy at Wicked Princess and am very excited, but still have so much sorting and packing to do.  I want to bring everything with me and it's so difficult to figure out what is most important and what I REALLY need!!!

I am hoping to pop around sometime today and tonight to check out all my fav blogs and leave all you gorgeous girls some love.

New BITW Challenge 

The new challenge is up at Bird is the Word, and the word/s are Life/Live/Living.  All you have to do is use the word Life, Live or Living as part of your title or in your journaling on a LO, card or OTP and enter it for a chance to win a gorgeous kit from Tidbitz in Time.    You can also choose to use the lovely Nadia's sketch for inspiration.    Pop on over to Bird is the Word and check out the DT examples and be inspired by all their gorgeous creations.

Just a reminder to let you know there are still 13 days left to enter your Sun/Sunshine challenge LOs too, we have some beautiful entries in already.

Enjoy Life

Decided to make a card for this challenge using Nadia's sketch for inspiration.  I used some gorgeous Websters pp's which I layered, distressed and inked.  The artisan shape label is a Cuttlebug fancy labels embossing die and the doily stamp is from MME doily stamp set. 

Exciting News

I will have some exciting news I can't wait to share with you at the beginning of the month.... stayed tuned!!!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave some love :)))