Christmas Tidings!

Wishing one and all a very Merry Christmas! :)

Top Ten Chipboard Faves

Here's a list of my top ten fave projects of all time that feature chipboards. Why chipboards? Because of all the gorgeous chipboard shapes that are currently available out there! And the myriads of ways you can alter them and incorporate them into your projects! So, here they are (not in order of merit).

1. Butterfly Sonata - I have to start with this one as it holds a very special place in my heart. It was the very first layout I ever did using chipboard pieces (from Maya Road and Queen & Co.) and I altered them in a total of eight different ways! The layout was featured on the Maya Road Design Team blog, and here's the link to a tutorial I did on Embellishing Chipboards.

2. How Time Flies - I just love how this large Skeleton Clock Face chipboard piece from Dusty Attic combines so perfectly with the Timepiece collection from BoBunny that I used for this layout. It was a perfect fit for the theme of the layout, and for some added texture, I've altered the clock face with Tim Holtz distress stickles.

3. Life - Butterflies are a fave of mine, and Pink Paislee's Butterfly Garden collection was a must for me! I inked the edges of the butterfly shapes with Tim Holtz distress ink, and then used Tim Holtz distress stickles to provide added texture and sparkle to them. I then placed the butterflies to nestle among the flowers and journal tags in the layout.

4. Take Flight - More from Pink Paislee's Butterfly Garden collection. I sprayed the die cut alphas and birdcage with some Tattered Angels Iridescent Gold glimmer mist for some added shimmer, and then decorated the birdcage with pearl strands, ribbons and flowers, adding a couple of pretty butterflies onto the cage for a 3D effect.

5. Sydney Mini Album - What more can one ask for than this gorgeous little Modern Purse chipboard album from Maya Road? I decorated it with Basic Grey's Out Of Print collection papers and embellishments, and added flowers, pearls, ribbons, laces and some metal embellishments to create a pretty little purse album.

6. Sydney Calling - Raw chipboard shapes from Dusty Attic - the Arch Window piece to complement the arches in the photo, and the Fancy Trim to complement the lace trim below the photo.

7. Little Moments - I just love these Vintage Frame and Fancy Flourish chipboard pieces from Dusty Attic. Here, I've coated them first with Tim Holtz Rock Candy distress crackle paint, and then brushed some Tim Holtz Black Soot distress ink over them to give a darker shade.

8. The Peaceful Heart - This must be one of my favourite quotes. I combined this and the Wrought Iron Trim chipboard piece (both from Dusty Attic) with Webster's Pages' Country Estate papers for a very nature-inspired layout. The chipboard pieces have been coated with stickles for that added sparkle.

9. My Sweet Angel - Don't you just love chipboard flourishes? They're so versatile and can be used so wonderfully to accent floral layouts. In this layout, I've used Kaisercraft's flourish pieces in their raw form, with just a slight inking of the edges.

10. Handmade Notebook - I used Maya Road's chipboard flourish on this notebook I made, applying Tim Holtz crackle paint and distress ink to it for texture and shade, choosing colours that will complement the patterned paper I used for the book. I then tied some ribbons and pearls to the chipboard piece, to create a very pretty cover for the book.

11. Our Family Moments Mini Album - Ok, I know I said ten, but I just had to add this to the list as well - it's a mini album I made that features this beautiful die-cut chipboard bird and birdcage on the cover. I covered the bird and birdcage with patterned paper, and then inked the edges with Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink. I then applied some Tim Holtz distress embossing powder to parts of the cage, and further added some Tim Holtz distress stickles to this. I just love the effect this produced. The cage is then embellished with lovely flowers and metal pieces.

So there you have it - some of my fave projects using chipboards in a variety of different ways. Embellish it, ink it, emboss it, stamp on it, apply stickles to it, mist it, or just use it in its raw form - it makes for a wonderfully versatile product to use on your projects, or as your project itself! Thanks so much for dropping by. :)

Aussie Scrap Source

Just a quick note that my layout, 'Sydney Calling', was actually featured on the Aussie Scrap Source blog on 11 November, when they did a Weekend Inspiration post on Authentique Papers.

This is the second time my layout has been featured on their blog. On 7 January of this year, they did another Weekend Inspiration post on 7Gypsies, and featured my 'Inspire' layout using the Conservatory collection from 7Gypsies.

What a nice beginning and end to the year. :)

Childhood Memories

I found this photo of my older daughter and her best friend in playgroup while I was doing some packing and thought I had to scrap it. They were only together in playgroup for a little over a year but had kept in touch even after her friend went back to Japan with her family. This photo was taken when her friend came back on holiday and paid us a surprise visit some years ago. As you can see from the photo, they were still chummy as ever!

I used Prima's Romantique collection papers and flowers for this layout. For the background, I sprayed Tattered Angels' Mel's Diner glimmer mist over Prima's Brick Wall mask, to match the red brick wall that formed the backdrop of the photo. I tore out the sides of the Prima paper, sprayed the mist onto the cardstock backing, and then used the residual mist on the mask to stamp onto the Prima paper.

I then embellished the layout with flowers and a lovely butterfly, and I created this collage on the top left of the layout, with a piece of chipboard from Dusty Attic, and a flower and bird's nest from Prima. The chipboard pieces from Dusty Attic were first sprayed with Coffee Shop glimmer mist from TA, and then treated with a coat of Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. The leaves in the layout were sprayed with TA glimmer mist in Iridescent Gold, to give them a lovely gold shimmer.

Some more close-ups.

This may possibly be my last layout for the time being, as I'll be shifting house next month and most of my scrappy stash have been packed away into boxes. :( Can't wait for us to get to our new house and unpack our things so I can start scrapping again! Until then, thanks so much for dropping by and for all your lovely comments. We'll talk again soon! :)

Materials used:
Patterned Papers - Prima Marketing - Romantique Collection (Orchard, Hedgerow, The Courts, Hilary)
Cardstock - Bazzill Basics (French Vanilla)
Flowers - Prima Marketing - Romantique Collection (Jardinere, Coventry Rose, Avon Rose)
Vines - Prima Marketing - Christmas Vine (Carmine)
Leaves - Prima Marketing - Heirloom Paper Leaves (Cornflower)
Butterfly - Prima Marketing - Fantasy Collection (Bronze)
Chipboard Shapes - Prima Marketing - Romantique Collection Chipboard Stickers; Dusty Attic - Fancy Flourish #2, Mini Corners #2
Bird's Nest - Prima Marketing - Cradle Nests (Robin)
Alphas - Prima Marketing - Romantique Collection 8x10 Alphabet Stickers
Mask - Prima Marketing - Brick Wall
Mists - Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - Mel's Diner, Coffee Shop, Iridescent Gold
Ink - Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Fired Brick
Crackle Paint - Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint - Rock Candy
Adhesives - Beacon’s 3-In-1 Advanced Craft Glue, Kokuyo Dotliner

Picadilly - A Class At Made With Love

Exciting news - I'll be teaching my first classes at Made With Love this month! I've designed three layouts for the class using Basic Grey's Picadilly collection, complemented with laces, pearls, cheesecloth and the latest Prima embellishments.

The layouts are currently on display at Made With Love, and you can check out the Made With Love November Workshop Schedule here.

Hope to see you in class! :)

Dream Big

Here's a layout using MME's Lost & Found 2 papers. I mixed papers from the 'Breeze' and 'Sunshine' collections, creating a raised "frame" with the "Fun Day" Borderline Paper from the 'Breeze' collection.

The fabric flower at the centre of the cluster is from Pink Paislee's Mistables range. I sprayed it with a mix of Caramel Apple and Jazz Blue glimmer mists from Tattered Angels, to match the blue and brown tones of the papers, and left parts of the flower in its natural state.

And these lovely crystals are from Zva Creative - one of my favourites from them.

I also played around with my Martha Stewart punches and Prima masks for this layout.

Thanks so much for dropping by! :)

Materials used:
Patterned Papers - My Mind's Eye - Lost & Found 2 - Breeze Collection ("Fun Day" Borderline Paper, "Dream" Wallpaper Paper), Sunshine Collection ("Sunshine" Music Paper)
Cardstock - Bazzill Basics
Die-Cut Shape - My Mind's Eye - Lost & Found 2 - Breeze Collection ("Dream" Title)
Flowers - Pink Paislee - Mistables Collection (Fabric Flowers), Zva Creative
Crystals - Zva Creative
Punches - Martha Stewart Crafts - Punch-Around-The-Page Woodland Branch Edge Punch, Bird Branch Corner Punch Around The Page
Mists - Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - Caramel Apple, Jazz Blue
Mask - Prima Marketing - Brick Wall
Ink - Tim Holtz Distress ink - Walnut Stain
Adhesives - Beacon’s 3-In-1 Advanced Craft Glue, Kokuyo Dotliner, EK Success 3D-Dots, X-Press It Foam Mounting Tape

Birthday Card

I created another birthday card today using Pink Paislee's Butterfly Garden papers. Lots of dimension here with the die-cut and the cut-outs. :)

Some more views ...

Thanks for dropping by! :)

Materials used:
Patterned Papers - Pink Paislee - Butterfly Garden Collection - Butterfly Wings, Botanical Gardens
Cardstock - Bazzill Basics
Die-cut - Pink Paislee - Butterfly Garden Collection - Ephemera Die Cut Pieces
Alphas - Making Memories - Tiny Alphas - Brown Ledger
Flower - Prima Marketing - Fairytale Roses - Coral
Adhesives - Beacon’s 3-In-1 Advanced Craft Glue, Kokuyo Dotliner, EK Success 3D-Dots
Others (From Own Stash) - Laces, Pearl Strand

Basic Grey Gallery

My Sydney Mini Album can be found in the Basic Grey Gallery. :)

Sydney Calling

I used papers from Authentique Paper's beautiful Uncommon collection for this layout. I love how the grey tones of the Gifted paper matched the greyish tones of the wall in the photo, and the gorgeous rose prints from the Unique paper just lend themselves so wonderfully to hand-cutting. I applied some stickles to these roses for some added sparkle.

The chipboard pieces are from Dusty Attic. The Arch Window complements the arches in the photo, while the Fancy Trim below the photo complements the lace trim it's placed over.

I added some muslin behind the flowers for a soft touch against the brick wall in the photo, and to complete the layout, I used a couple of beautiful black crystal flourishes from Zva Creative as a contrast against the overall soft palette of the papers.

Here are some close-ups.

Thank you so much for dropping by, and for your much appreciated, lovely comments. :)

Materials used:
Patterned Papers - Authentique Paper - Uncommon Collection (Unique, Gifted, Special)
Cardstock Shapes - Authentique Paper - Uncommon Collection (Tabloids)
Chipboards - Dusty Attic - Arch Window #1, Fancy Trim #4
Metal Frame - Tim Holtz Idea-ology Collection - Ornate Plates
Alphas - Provo Craft Halfabitties Stickers - Rat-a-tat Half-a-bitty
Crystal Flourishes - Zva Creative Self-Adhesive Crystals - Lovely (Jet), Triumph (Jet)
Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Black Soot
Stickles - Ranger Ice Stickles - Crystal Ice
Others - Lace Trim, Muslin