Monday, July 18, 2011

Using Packaging

I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to packaging and it paid off this week the bonus handout was all about using packaging so I decided to finally use the saved up packaging to create this layout.

 Apart from the black and white cardstock the patterned items are all from Prima Packaging including some of the plastic flower backings.  I used the same layout sketch as from my post yesterday.  I started off thinking I would do another sketch but the mojo was slow and time was at a premium so I reverted back to the familiar one and am pleased with the way it turned out.  This week's class sketch is very versatile. 
 Tim Holtz film strip was used to border the three tiny photos. 
 I felt that the row of circles depicted soccer balls.   The layout was finished with a Prima bling flourish. 
 The photo is sewn onto a frame of Prima Packaging.
The layout was finished with yellow and green ric-rac and a soccer ball brad together with more packaging with the words grow, play and COURAGE.
Prima have been leaders in providing pretty packaging but more suppliers now seem to be doing the same so consider how you  could use what you are throwing away.  Recently I was given some gifts wrapped in beautiful paper so have saved them in the hope just the right layout will be worthy of it - that way it is saved. Not  only is Nic's class making me more aware of the colours around me I will probably be hoarding more (lol). 

Hope your Monday is going to plan.  Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. 

Goodbye for now.
Dianne

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Green This Week

After a few issues getting the class downloaded I managed to compete the green card for the week, a green layout and also a
'green green' layout (made with packaging).  I have had trouble with the Big Picture site all weekend but it seems it could be something to do with my Firewall so have tried a couple of things and it seems a little faster but definitely not instant.

First my green card page.  Another retro pic of my brother and I in our paddling pool. 
 I have had the little green flower with ladybird since I first begun scrapping - nice to use it at last. 
In keeping with the challenge to myself of adding to two of my daughter's albums while participating in the Colour Class this layout is of my eldest daughter's formal a few years ago.  I had scanned and printed out the photos but they just weren't any where near the quality of originals so ended up using the originals and putting the reprints in my slip album so I didn't leave complete gaps.
These photos do not show the detail on the dress either - it was a lovely Aubergine colour with a patterned chiffon overlay over the bodice and the scarf was made of the chiffon also.  I would have liked to include some chiffon on the page but it overtook the page.  I was pleased to finally use the Dusty Attic Vine which was glimmer misted and inked and finished with Kindyglitz for some sparkle.  PPs are Bo Bunny. 

 The butterflies and flower vine were cut from the Bo Bunny Papers.  Note the 'remember' word tucked in the vine above - from Prima packaging.
Finished with some lace and trim and Wild Orchid roses placed throughout the vine. 
 It has been a busy weekend - we now have half a kitchen and it will be like that for a few weeks.  Amazing how we can improvise when we have to and NO we haven't had takeaways YET!

Today was a warm sunny  beautiful winter's day here - I had planned to go to Dunedin for a couple of nights but couldn't leave this lovely weather and all the jobs today so reconsidered and will just go for one night.

I will leave it here for today and post my other 'GREEN' Green page next post. 

Wishing you all a good week.   Until next time...
Dianne

Saturday, July 16, 2011

A little Prima Card

I am still working on the colour 'green' projects for this week's Big Picture Class so in the meantime here is a little card I made in April - you could say it is green too.  Made totally from lovely Prima papers with the addition of a handmade 2. 
 
 The little people were cut from the papers and mounted with 3D tape to pop them up.
 The inside
Right - back to the green task - only today left to get it completed.

Have a great weekend everyone.  Thanks for calling by.

Until next time.....
Dianne

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Winding Up Orange and Yellow

I have been hanging out for this week's 'Green' Class all day and it was put up at 7.00 p.m. however while I got to watch Nic's video everyone else in the class must be trying to download at the same time as the PDF files will not appear.  .... So in the meantime another post on Orange and Yellow.

Today was spent packing up my kitchen in readiness for a makeover.  It's surprising what you rediscover and due to the Colour Class take notice of.  I found this little pottery tea set which I won in a raffle about 12 years ago that had found its way to be back of the top cupboard.
 Other Orange and yellow discoveries were our Wedding present dinner set with orange and yellow flowers on it - definitely retro now and some plastic place-mats under appliances in the Pantry with Orange and Yellow poppies on them.  I don't think there will be a place in the new kitchen for this little teaset - it may be destined for the grandchildren to play with.
 Still digging deep - here is the only other Orange and Yellow layout I have ever done (a couple of years ago).  It was a spur of the moment decision to 'have a go' at para-sailing as I had never been into heights, and had I been sitting in a more comfortable position I am sure I would have enjoyed the experience more.  On the layout  I was pleased with the sequence of the parachutes and cut the top of the two bottom ones with a craft knife and inserted the one above. 
We were on holiday with friends and the three 'mother & daughters' all had a go.  The journalling is hidden under the circle.
Well that is all for now.  Will get back to Big Picture Scrapping and see if I can get the downloads now.  Nothing like keeping one in suspense. 
 
Thank you so much for visiting.
 
Until next time .....  'Keep Warm' (if in NZ  where lots of the country are experiencing an icy winter blast.  So far Timaru has been spared and today was another nice day).

Regards
Dianne

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Yellow - How does it make you feel?

I always think of yellow as a bright and sunny colour and today we were lucky enough to see the lovely sun for a good part of the day and feel it's warmth. 

The Big Picture Colour Class made me realise I do not scrap with Yellow - I struggled to find yellow in my stash and ended up using just some cardstock and ribbon on my layout.  I can only recall one other Yellow layout that I have created in recent years so will try and find it too.  First is my Yellow Card.  A cute pic of my little brother quite a few years ago.
 The little card embellishments were bought from the $2 shop (3 packs of cards for $2)  Here is my layout for the colour Yellow.
 Bananas in Pyjamas provided the colour scheme.  My youngest daughter's 3rd birthday with her cousins and all was going well until her 2-year old cousin blew out her candles. 
 The image was found on the net and matted with corrigated card.  The Number '3' also had a timely arrival in the prize pack from Birds of a Feather Craft together.   I gathered the ribbon and added a strip of pearls.  The blue and  cream trim was a wide trim so I cut one strip off and divided it to balance the layout.
 A photo of the cake is popped up in the corner and was required to cover up a glitch on the photo.  .
 Here is the only other yellow layout I can remember doing - not sure if I have shown it before or not.

 Well I am finally on holiday for the next couple of weeks although there is a big list of things to do in the next week.

Well it is time to prepare tea again so must sign off.
Many thanks for visiting.  I appreciate your comments.
Until next time .....
Dianne

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Colour! Or is it Color?

That is the title of Nic Howard's current class at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  This week's colours were Orange and Yellow so today I will post the Orange theme.

My layout ended up pretty much the same as Nic's instructions and example except I included two photos, a border around the text and corner borders and the whole page is matted in 'you guessed it' Orange.  It is great having instructions when the mojo is low however it got me going for the yellow layout. 

First of all each week we get a printout about the colour in which we are making a mini book with examples of using that colour.  This week I used a retro photo of me and my siblings all dressed up for a wedding on 11 January 1969.  Mum did all our sewing and used the same pattern for all three although in different colours - you guessed it I have the orange one on. Another time when we were having the treat of going to the Moscow Circus in Christchurch she made two of us woollen trouser suits - mine red and J's green - we were nicknamed the 'Stop and Go Girls'.  We had all these 'old' photos taken off slides so it is good to be putting them to use. 
 Now to the layout.  The topic going back to 1986.  A lot of hard work has been done since then - hard to believe our place was once a pile of stones, dirt and paddock.
 The birds are little felt ones and the cogs Dusty Attic - inked and embossed with thick clear embossing powder.
 We were taught to make a faux frill which was very effective. And thank you to Sonya at Birds of a Feather Craft Together the arrival of a lovely prize pack which included orange cardstock and pp which I have used for the matting and the star strip of the layout.  Also see my new little punch from Deb at Stamping Up
This morning I spent time at my new job to learn what I could (lots to learn).  Back tomorrow to learn some more - hope I can retain it all over the holidays lol.  It is a pity I wasn't there all day as with some spare time I popped into town and you guessed it came home with a few bags.

Well best away and get tea prepared for DH and ready for scrap group.

Back next time with bright and sunny yellow.  Until then .....
Take Care and thanks for visiting.
- Dianne

Monday, July 11, 2011

Let's Get Shabby Challenge

Let's Get Shabby Challenge #25 co-insides with their 2nd Birthday.  The challenge was to be inspired by this pic.
We needed to use the NUMBER 2 on the project and use TWO THINGS from a list of Lace, Chipboard, Ribbon, Material/Fabric and Book/Music page.  We were allowed to use other items on your project as long as you use ONLY TWO FROM THE LIST.

My inspiration  came from the subjects of the pic depicting  domesticity so I decided to complete a layout I had partly started two years ago.  At the time it was to acknowledge our 30 years of Marriage. 
 From the list I used music page paper and lace. The shabby edges around the photo are from music paper and layered up with the photo being sewn on from underneath. 
 I made the '2' by cutting a 2 from cardstock and using dimensional magic covered it it clear beads - let it dry and then finished the slightly overlapping cardstock with liquid pearls.
 I used some tatted lace given to me by my great auntie and most likely tatted by my Great Grandmother.  I hand stitched the lace on as I didn't want to put sticky tape or glue on it.
 I am a bit of a hoarder and I think I have kept almost every card that has been given to me and am often looking at them to see how they could be included in projects.  This was cut from the card my parents gave us on the occasion of our 30th Wedding Anniversary.  It is always a special time of year as their anniversary is the day before ours (they are coming up 55 years).  I added the pearls as 30 years is a Pearl anniversary and have them trailing from a little music note butterfly with the word 'dream' on it.
This little image is cut from a 1909 post card.

I am pleased with the layout and also pleased that I have it finished at long last.

Have a great week everyone.  Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time....
Dianne

Sunday, July 10, 2011

WP New Home Card

Just a quick post for now.  I am in a scrapping frenzy this weekend so need to carry on.  I will be back with those once the photos are taken.

This card today was one I made for a House Warming Party a couple of weeks ago.  It is made from 1 sheet of Websters Pages Paper and a Martha Stewart Punch. 
 The inside.
A very simple card but the Websters Papers are so pretty they do not need much more.

Speaking of new homes or not exactly - I have my last day at my current job tomorrow and will be starting a new position across town on 1 August (1st day of Term 3) and am so looking forward to it.

Anyway must get back to the Scrap Room and see if I can manage one more LO for the day - I have already done the colour ORANGE and am now going to have a go at YELLOW for Nic's Colour Class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking.

Thanks for visiting.
Until next time....
Dianne

Monday, July 4, 2011

The Colour RED

As I mentioned last week I have joined Nic Howard's class "Colour! or is it Colour?" over at Big Picture Scrapbooking.  The first week class was the colour red.  Each week we make some pages for a mini book using a template of the colour from Nic and then adding our own photo example on the other side and also a 12 x 12 layout with a sketch and instructions. Nic also offers a video clip of techniques and tips for finishes on the chipboard and flowers and also a handout about the colour for the week.  It is not too late to join - Registrations close on 6 July.

I had a few reasons to join the class - 1.  I am always keen to learn new things.   2.  I wanted to get back onto my daughters' albums for their special birthdays next year   and... 3.  It is the middle of winter and always a good time for scrapping and projects. 

Over the weekend I created the 1st page (it took lots longer than I should have but in the end I am happy with it) and it is another page for the album.  The patterned papers are Prima.
 I included hidden journalling about the holiday on the tags under the where and who tag.  I felt the frame punched with a Martha Stewart around the page punch made the photo pop but was not overdone.
 Prima and Wild orchid flowers.

I ended up applying a few layers of experimentation on the Dusty Attic Snowflakes - ink & embossing, ink & embossing but still didn't like the colour so then it was acrylic paint and embossing and glimmer mist and Kindyglitz before a satisfying finish was achieved.
So far so good and I hope I can keep up the pace.

I got another wee surprise last night while scrolling through Google Reader - I was a winner over at Birds of a Feather Craft Together.
How about joining in their sketch challenge for this month.  Sonya and Carol also offer some tutorials, tips and inspiration over at BOAF.

Well that is all for today.  I had a glitch with the word processing project I was supposed to be doing tonight so I couldn't do it thus time to update.  Also I have had people saying it has been difficult to leave a comment so tonight I have changed a setting to the pop up comment box so hope this will be easier.  Let me know!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Until next time....
Dianne

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Gabrielle Pollacco Giveaway


Gabrielle Pollacco is one of my favourite scrappers. Currently she has a generous giveaway up on her blog.  See HERE for details. She also lists a number of tutorials you may be interested in.

Have a great weekend.  The sun is shining so that is a good start for us. 

Until next time....
Dianne