Wednesday 10 November 2010

Exceptionally Beautiful {Colour Combos Galore #165/Pencil Lines Sketch # 212}






This is the most recent challenge over at Colour Combos Galore here - Challenge 165.  Perfect for Christmas layouts.  As I only got down to mine at the last minute I wanted to avoid having to find & select new photos to print so I looked in the A4 bag on my desk, where I keep a "printing session"s worth of recent photos.  I came across one of one of our cats, Cocoa, which matched the colour scheme so well.  
I combined the colour challenge with a sketch challenge over at Pencil Lines here.  This sketch challenge is STILL OPEN & due in Saturday November 13th {this coming weekend}.  I am trying to combine every colour challenge I do now with a sketch or inspiration challenge, "to kill two birds with one stone" so to speak!

 I tried all sorts of Christmassy reds & greens & everything looked too regal, too old-fashioned, heavy & dreary!  So I stuck with some pale lemon cardstock & a couple of fun Jillibean Soup papers. 7 Gypsy's Gaffer Tape,  Chatterbox button/bling flowers.  Creative Imaginations sticker strips,  Basic Grey Urban Prairie Elements Stickers {red}, Jenni Bowlin alphas, Kaisercraft mini-alphas, green brads {stash}, Prima Pearls (red) & embroidery thread, Colour Box Ink {sage green}. {11}
I positioned the bling flowers to form a visual triangle around the photograph & added some extra pearls here in the top left hand corner for some more visual interest.  They are meant to be "floating away" LOL...

Hand-journaled again.  Journaling reads:-  "You are one seriously highly-strung kitty but we love you!"  She is indeed & I am naming my next layout about her "Psycho Cat!
These Jillibean papers were perfect.  Clean & modern & in the right colour palette!  I printed on the photo at the bottom, then left a space for some big self-adhesive alphabet stickers.  A good way to squeeze in a title without taking up too much space, as the 4 x 6inch photo is already bigger than normal. 

I made the little fan out of left-over gaffer tape t{pleated with a glue-dot behind} then threaded a button through & tied it in a decorative bow on top.  To draw attention to the title I had to re-ink the swirly red sticker {to a darker shade} before applying it, interspersed with brads to make it stand out. 
Colour Combos Galore always comes with a "Designer's Challenge" as well as the Colour Challenge, this week it was to create something with texture/distressing or let the photo inspire you in any way.  I chose to be inspired by the stripes of the slats in the blinds & use stripes on my layout instead. 






15 comments:

Kirsty Vittetoe said...

Very cool layout Helen, very elegant with that color scheme. Great way to combine a sketch challenge with a color palette, I am so bad at these stuff, I hardly do more than one, have you seen those with like 23 challenges? wonder how they do that.
Let me know how the scheduling thingy work for you.

Gloria said...

WOW Helen, I adore this page, it´s SO elegant! The picture of your cat is amazing as well. I also really like to combine challenges and sketches on my pages, it´s a good way to challenge yourself to use different color choices and designs...I really have to start doing it again. Your pages are gorgeous Helen, your are on a roll girl, keep inspiring all of us:) TFS

Bernadine said...

Lovely layout. I am getting a lot of inspiration from sketches and they really help in dong layouts.

Christine said...

Oh, she sure is a beautiful cat! What a stunning page, those colours look amazing!

Lynette Jacobs said...

This is truly beautiful...the title says it all! I love the simplicity and the elegance of this layout.

Shayne said...

This is beautiful Helen. So simple and classy. Suits your kitty down to the ground. I must def start taking part in some of these challenges!

tania said...

Gorgeous!!
beautiful layout about a beautiful cat:)

Pearl said...

that is a very good idea indeed Helen to combine the color combo challenges with another sketch challenge ! saves time for sure ! i used to do that ! ;)

What a blessed kitty to be in your household & so loved ! ;)

Great paper choices you made for this layout !
I'm just too lazy to "shop" through my stash ( unless the color combo obviously fits a particular new paper line on hand that I have ! )

jessica_haley555 said...

Love the paper layering on this page. It turned out really elegant.

Diana said...

The LO looks like a formal living room. That's meant to be a compliment! It's beautiful! You rocked the colour combo and the sketch. Great work.

topkatnz said...

Very cool Helen! What an interesting sketch. Gotta love that cat!LOL

Ella Swan said...

Thanks girls - we call Cocoa the Queen so it was only fitting that she get a posh layout LOL!

Shane said...

Don't be fooled by that sweet, innocent looking face...I have the scars on both my hands and arms from many a battle when I was just too slow. Cocoa the Queen is eager enough to draw blood when it suits her! I'm not artistic enough to comment on the gypsy's & jillibean soup (???) but the layout looks great ! Well done my girl!!Aren't you glad I encouraged you to take up scrapping? x

Jules the Bling Princess said...

I thought I recognised your name on the list! Helen, this is a fabulous mix of CCG and Pencil Lines. I love what you have created with both. And you were right - these Jillibean Soup papers were perfect. (-: Thanks for joining in the fun at Pencil Lines and CCG. I look forward to viewing your next creation.

0s0-Pa said...

Nicely done on the color combos. i particularly enjoy the sage green accent on the off-white walls :)
-Jackie @ Alphabet Stickers