Friday 26 December 2014

"Celebrate" Layout - 7 Dots Studio
Dreamer, Illumination, Nature Walk & Cold Country!







Hi everyone!  I hope you had a fabulous Christmas!!
Today I am sharing my latest layout for 7 Dots Studio, that you can find HERE.  
We have had a postal strike here recently which has played havoc, so I am still
 waiting for my new 7 Dots Studio papers to arrive so I worked instead with the 
beautiful Dreamer Collection, starting with “Sweet Dreams” as my base paper. 


 I worked with my off-cuts for this layout & pasted onto the background pieces
of patterned paper from ‘”Night’s Fever”, which as you can see incorporates
many different shades of colour, making it perfect for cutting up!


To build up my background I also used the negative area from one of the Illumination
Sticker sheets {the part left on the sheet once the stickers are all removed}.  You do
not have to wait to use up all the stickers first though as you can carefully remove
this background area from your sticker sheets & your stickers will still remain in tact
on the sticky background.  I use this area of stickers all the time as it adds another
interesting textural layer.  I love too that it means there is less waste!!


I added some stamping to my background as well, using my favourite
number strips stamp from the Nature Walk Collection as well as another
favourite from the Cold Country Collection – It is just a part of a much
larger stamp but I like to use it as a sun shape by placing my finger
behind that area when stamping.  I think it makes a great accent!


I used some words from the Illumination 6 x 12 inch die-cut sheet 
to decorate my page.  So I ended up using 3 totally different collections
 on my page!  A lot of Dreamer, a bit of Illumination & a pinch of Cold Country!!
The GREAT thing about 7 Dots Studio is that everything can look good together!!!


To blend things together & tie in with my photo I used a brick mask stencil together
with some modeling paste then sprinkled embossing powder into the wet paste.
I hope you enjoyed my page today & it is time to wish you all a very happy
2015!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  See you again in January :)


Supplies List for ‘Celebrate’ Layout

Papers – 7 Dots Studio Dreamer – Sweet Dreams & Night Fever
Stickers – 7 Dots Studio Illumination
Modeling Paste – Finnabair for Prima
Mists – Prima Color Bloom Spray – Lime Wedge & Worn Leather
Embossing Powder – Lindy’s Stamp Gang –
Terracota Rust & Hydrangea Blue Mauve
Stamps – 7 Dots Studio – Nature Walk & Cold Country
Black Archival Ink - Ranger
Tags & Die-cuts – 7 Dots Studio – Illumination
Flowers & bling – Prima Marketing Inc.
Heart – Webster’s Pages
Stickpins – Maya Road
Gauze, Resin Frame & Metallic Thread – Stash




Wednesday 17 December 2014

♥ My Favourite Projects of 2014 ♥






Hello everyone!  I am currently away on a little break at the moment. 
 It is so lovely having a change of scenery & a slower pace of life.
 Time to think - reflect on 2014 & think about the direction my life
 is going & what I want to try to achieve, God willing, in 2015.  

Things are on the verge of getting very busy around here with our 
Christmas plans & by this weekend we will no longer be at our tranquil 
beach hideaway but more centrally located for all the Christmas "shenanigans" 
so I am getting this post "out the way" so I have a record of my 2014 work {my faves...}

I have all my layouts {that are published on my various Design Team blogs}
 in a Facebook Album called 2014 Designs.  It is a PUBLIC album & this is the LINK
 You can also find it down my right hand sidebar.  So far I have 88 projects but have
 another 2 still to show this year that will be up at 7 Dots Studio shortly.  
(So I cannot include them in my faves as they aren't "live" yet).

So 90 projects in 2014 averages out to about 8 projects a month.
{I create for about 10 - 11 months of the year as sometimes I am away 
from home & don't take supplies with me as I use too many different things
to be portable - also I need a creative break as I find it improves my work).

I am happy with my productivity as there are also many more things I work on
 "behind the scenes" to run my challenge blog, Scrap Around The World,
plus other design team duties for my other teams, etc, & these things take
about 4 times as long as the actual creating!!  I am also working on branching
out in some new directions next year!  Well I have whittled it down to 20...

In no particular order :)


1.  "Happy" for 2 Crafty Chipboard.  I love subtlety & have worked 
hard over the years to tone down my style & lighten my hand.





2.  "Heart Strings"" for 7 Dots Studio.  I just love this page. 
 Love the paleness of the base & the rich purply browns 
as well as the texture & circular shapes.  





3.  "Time Flies" for 2 Crafty Chipboard.  Again I love the paleness
 of the base as well as the texture.  These days I am definitely
 more into texture than I am into colour!





4.  "Chase Happiness"" for my Prima Guest Design Spot!
I love this new "Forever Green"Collection from Winter 2014, especially 
the fern stamp - so delicate - always after a light touch these days...





5.  "You make me Happy when Skies are Grey" for 2Crafty Chipboard. 
 I love the colours here & the "Something Blue"" paper from Prima
 {toned down with gesso} & love Prima's new microbeads.  





6.  "Gateway to Growing Up" for Lindy's Stamp Gang.
  I love pink & green together & I adore those sparkly butterflies I made
 using Inkido papers & LSG glitter, as well as the local sparkly thread!





7.  "Penguins" for Lindy's Stamp Gang.  I adore the cardboard background
 & keep forgetting to use box cardboard again - the effect of tearing through
 to the core creates awesome texture.  I also love all the white, the pale
 tones & the diagonal design has long been my favourite composition.  






8.  "Paris" for Inkido.  I love the background.  It took ages to achieve
 but I love how it turned out!  Love the texture too.  Texture is definitely my jam...






9.  "Chips Chips" for the Prima Product Pick Competition in July.  
Quite a full page I know but I still like the itty bitty pieces of 
all sorts in the background & the small pops of brighter colour
 {the theme was 4th of July colours - red, white & blue!}






10.  ''#Love"" created for a challenge I won at Paperdhviznik.
{I was invited back as their Guest Designer but am still waiting 
for a date from them!}.  I love how the background turned out.
I was testing a couple of new stamps from "Crafty Individuals"UK.





11.  "Always Follow Your Dreams" for 2 Crafty Chipboard.
{I will miss this team when my term ends.  Their chippies are
really inspirational as is their team!  I love that there are brand new designs
 SO OFTEN - no chance for boredom!}  I love the stronger colours here.  
I worked hard to tone it down with white to keep it from garishness.  





12.  "Lido" for 2 Crafty Chipboard.  A great paper is half the battle won. 
 I love this print from Inkido & also love their little blooms that I recoloured.  
Those black flowers are also my very favourite EVER Prima flowers.  

That doily stencil, sent to me by my friend in the US, Mitra Pratt, is my
FAVOURITE EVER STENCIL & is actually an original vintage doily.
Using GREAT SUPPLIES makes me SO HAPPY, despite the cost of
it {nothing is cheap by the time it reaches South Africa as postage costs
are high & our currency is on a typical 3rd world downhill slide constantly}
but beautiful stash feeds my soul way more than pretty shoes!!!






13.   "Brothers" for 7 Dots Studio.  I simply adore all Finnabair's products
 & love "Cold Country" - designed by her for 7 Dots.  I love the look
 of the background brick work& love that finally those flowers
 I've owned for years found a home where they fit perfectly!






14.  "Happy Love"" for 2 Crafty Chipboard.  I really relived my love for embossing
 powder this year & also indulged heavily in Prima flowers, but mostly from my 
expansive stash of them, which I have whittled down quite considerably!  
That heart punch from Martha Stewart was one of my best buys for 2014.





15.  "Our Holidays" Album Cover for my Guest Spot at Prima in November.
I love the stash they sent me from their December Special Delivery Kit,
especially those amazing sequinned leaves.  Autumnal colour schemes are
definitely one of my faves {spicy Fall Colours} & I'm really happy I 
managed to stick to my 2014 RESOLUTION to create more OTP projects!






16.  "Dec 2014 Cape Town" - the inside of my travel album for my Guest Spot
 with Prima.  I had to do a step-by-step tutorial for this for the "Live with Prima"
 blog {for the December "Special Delivery" kit & was really happy with how it 
turned out from a "teaching to others" point of view.  






17.  "Follow Your Heart" Canvas for 7 Dots Studio.  I love this!  I made it as a gift 
for my MIL but REALLY wanted to keep it!!  This is the look I am ALWAYS after. 
 Everything came together perfectly for me here!!  

I have seen that, for me, I would rather not scrap than "Try to make a silk purse
out of a sow's ear".  I am so happy creating with beautiful, high-quality products
& so unhappy trying to create with bad quality, cheap ones.

  It's the reason I have never taught lessons here.  Because making something
 beautiful costs more money here than people are prepared to spend.  






18.  "Extraordinary" Canvas - 2 Crafty Chipboard.  
I love me a bit of colour & am happy that I managed here to get the balance right
with it through the addition of the white & paler tones.  I hate garishness & think
I succeeded in avoiding it.  Love all that prettiness in one place!  These are now
 on my studio walls & greet me every evening.  They make me very happy!





19.  "Make Good Art" Reverse Canvas - 2 Crafty Chipboard.  

This is actually made from a perspex "Ferrero Rocher" Chocolate box lid
 but looks like a reverse canvas!  I love that I used something FREE as my base
 & I love the colours & all the little bits of chipboard, flowers & goodies that
make up this piece.  That honeycomb stamp from Prima is my favourite stamp EVER.





20.  Trio of Cards for 2 Crafty.  I really don't know why I don't make more cards.
I loved creating these & have enjoyed giving them away.  Working on a small
space/area is not easy for me {Just answered my own question of why I don't 
make more cards!} but I'm happy with how I managed to do it here.  

Let me know if you post about your faves for 2014 {share your link in the comments} 
so I can pop over to take a peek.  It's always fun to look back & I'm happy
 with what I achieved in 2014.  Finally I can see a signature style!!

I know what I like now & creating with my faves is an absolute joy!
I notice I have PRIMA on EVERYTHING!!
I am seriously addicted...




Sunday 14 December 2014

Winners, Winners, Chicken Dinners!!
My Giveaway Winners PLUS Some News!





Hello everyone!  I hope you are all well & getting into the Christmas spirit!
No matter what religion you are or where you are in the world it is always lovely
to have a time where you prioritise friends & family & enjoy catching up with them,
not to mention some extra spoiling of oneself & perhaps even a vacation!

In South Africa, where I live, this time of year is the height of Summer which
means glorious long days, with night only falling at 8.30pm!  Currently I am
away with my family in Cape Town, 1 600kms from Durban, where we live.
It is COMPLETELY different here.  The indigenous people are from different
tribes & there are a lot more Afrikaans speaking people here, whereas in
Durban most people are English speaking {or Zulu speaking}.

I have taken MANY photos of our road trip as we took ''The Garden Route"
to travel here, which took us THREE DAYS! but that was partly due to our
car breaking down!!  Due to lack of space in our vehicle, with our 4 kids
tagging along too, I used mainly my iphone for photographs along the way,
so don't have any to share here at the moment but if you are interested
in seeing some you can head over to my Instagram account HERE.



Photo credit

Finally, one year in, I am seeing the benefits of Instagram & enjoying it,
& do recommend it to anyone who is a really visual person like me.
I love the inspiration it gives & eventually you build up a little
 comeraderie too which makes you feel at home!  

Now onto the business at hand - my giveaways!!

Firstly, my apologies for drawing them a month later than anticipated!
The last month has been HORRENDOUS for me on every level.
3 deaths in our family & the loss of my kitten who was very ill & needed
around the clock attention from all of us.  Plus getting our house prepared
for our house-sitters requires a lot of organisation in Africa where there
are so many security situations to consider.  Finally - IT'S ALL DONE
& we are away enjoying the beach somewhere totally secluded!!


I took this photo off Google but that IS an African penguin 
& we do hope to get to visit them this trip too - they are adorable!
So without further ado here are my winners!


CONGRATULATIONS PAM ELLIS!!
You have won the prize shown above!
Please let me have your postal address :)

langeatheart said...
I am of course a follower of yours :) Your work is what led me to try out for SATW! I love your blog. You explain your layouts perfectly and I like your photo tutorials. I also like to watch how you experiment and adapt your style with mixed media. Loving the lighter side! I have shared on FB https://www.facebook.com/langeatheart . All the best! :)
I just adore your beautiful talent! ! And love a Video! ! Thanks for the tutorials love the one with the frame of empty tags I would have trough it away! 


Hi Helen I have followed your most inspiring blog forever would be lost without. I do like all the interesting photos you put up on Facebook as with your wonderful words and thoughts. xo

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my giveaways & rest assured 
THERE WILL BE MORE!! I love to share my stash with my followers & 
have a very tiny studio that I need to maintain in an organised manner 
{so as not to lose my DT stash hehehehe} so don't worry if you didn't win - 
I will have another giveaway in the first 1/4 of the year!
 But for the moment...I'm at the...


Monday 8 December 2014

''Dream Big" Layout - 2Crafty Chipboard
{7 Dots Studio - Prima Marketing}







Hello again!  Just sharing my 2nd layout for 2Crafty Chipboard with
 you today.  You can see my post up at the moment HERE.


You can read up on the 2Crafty blog about how I dealt with all the chippie treatments.
I love this quote I found for my page.  I love finding apt quotes to match my themes.  


This was a fun & fast layout to create - my favourite kind!
As well as 2Crafty chipboard I have lots from Prima too - 
the blooms, leaves, bling & Color Bloom Sprays of course.


The beautiful base paper comes from the 7 Dots Dreamer Collection.


As you can see I used the chipboard leaves as a stencil around my photo before 
adhering them down.  This was done before adhering my photograph of course. 
 I had an idea of where I wanted to position the photo before I started spraying.  


For my recent Guest Designer position at Prima last month I was sent their magnificent 
Special Delivery Kit FULL of yummy Christmas goodies, including a lovely big berry branch 
full of crystals & glitter, which I cut up into smaller pieces to use all over this layout.  


I have honestly grown to ADORE chipboard since I started working on chipboard teams. 
 There is nothing like it for adding dimension & no doubt about it 2Crafty is at the top 
of their game.  I feel very blessed to be a part of a truly amazing design team led 
by a wonderful woman who is ultra generous with her designers.  


I am the official 2Crafty supplier here in South Africa & can order direct for you at very 
reasonable prices.  If you are elsewhere & are not sure how to get hold of 2Crafty
 chipboard you need to email Vanessa at sales@2crafty@optusnet.com.au 
& she will put you in touch with your closest supplier.  You can choose
 anything from the 2Crafty website & have it sent to your closest 2Crafty stockist ♥





Sunday 7 December 2014

'Always Follow Your Dreams' Layout - 2 Crafty Chipboard
{Prima Cartographer Collection}






Hello everyone!  Here is one of my 2Crafty Creations for December!
You can see my post up at 2Crafty Chipboard HERE for all details
on the chipboard pieces {that can be ordered through ME if you
are in South Africa & would like some!}


As you can see I've used the beautiful 2Crafty butterflies 
which I simply inked up then sponged over lightly with gesso.


I used a TON of Prima Color Bloom Sprays on my background & flowers
& am ever so happy with the results.  Essentially this is a page comprising
the 3 primary colours of red, yellow & blue but the tones are muted down
with a LOT of gesso.  This page ended up VERY heavy LOL!!


Mixed Media really is about getting the balance right between slapping it on
 & sponging it off!!  I love to see where it will take me as no 2 pages are ever the same!!


Something GREAT about chipboard is it's versatility & how you can customize it
 to match your current page, so there is no fear in stockpiling it because you can
 dress it up according to the fashion of the time you get to using it!


I kept my title simple black {using Ranger ink} to help it to POP
 off the background so it could be immediately legible. 


I hope you enjoyed my creation today!
2 photos on a layout is normally too busy for me but 
with these types of holiday photos it makes more sense
 than scrapping 2 very similar photos individually.