Tuesday 30 June 2015

My PRIMA Debut!
What makes for a FAVOURITE project?






Quite a thrill to see my name there in an 'official' capacity!  The layout shared is actually
 an old one as the spec was to share a favourite!!  Well where Prima is concerned, 
there's not really a Prima page I don't like of course :)  But I could only choose one!!
See the post HERE.  



Prima Products:



Monday 29 June 2015

♥Sharing my Heart♥








Hi everyone!  It's been a long time since I've shared a truly personal post here.
Life is such that I struggle just to get my Design Team posts published within 
their time frames let alone have extra time to sit & compose something else.
I also decided, a long time back, that this blog would be about my artistic
journey with a smattering of personal content but not about the rest of my life.  

I love my blog, Facebook page, FB Public page, Instagram & of course all my
Design Team involvement.  If I ever had to stop it it would be very sad for me,
because I have made some wonderful friends that I truly treasure & I get so 
much "soul" support here & elsewhere online.  

Recently I have been facing some personal challenges but hoping always
 that the situation would turn itself around.  Unfortunately it hasn't but 
rather has now become something very uncertain, difficult, 
challenging & time-consuming.  Not something easily solved.

I have had a wonderful time recently with some truly fantastic news
 & great successes coming my way in June & am so thankful to
 have had a few days on top of the world with my Prima news, 
before "real life happened"again.  I got 3 days of euphoria!!  

On Thursday came some devastating news that came as a complete
 shock, out of the blue.  It has nothing to do with scrapbooking but 
rather my very real life & family.  The reason I am talking about it
here is because it means I will most likely not be able to be such
a good friend as I have been to many in the past. 

 I may not be able to return your comments, read your posts & be 
as much of a support as I have been previously (although of late I 
haven't been the best!!).  Please know that 'It's not you - it's me'

It's taken this weekend to process the information/situation
& I have been trying to continue as normal.  I am still with 
all my design teams & doing my best to keep my head above
water & will continue to do so as far as possible, for as long 
as possible. I do not have a terminal illness - just to
make that clear :)

 I know I am not the only person in the world
to face a setback.  At this point I can't discuss the details
of what has happened because it makes me a) too sad
& b) I don't have the time because I'm busy doing my 
best to try to fix it so just wanted to let you all know :)

There will come a time when I will share the story here
I guess, because it means my life will change, but for
now please do not worry about me, just know that
if I am not 100% on top of things all the time 
there's a reason for it...




Friday 26 June 2015

JT Layout - Studio 75






Hello everyone & HAPPY WEEKEND!!
I am up on the Studio 75 blog HERE today with this new layout
using the Mr & Mrs Black Collection papers.  


As it is a masculine layout I used a dramatic colour scheme of gold & black
as well as more masculine elements such as the graphic straws & metal binder clip.


The photo is of my son who enjoys writing & singing rap music.
The JT photo above is of a graphic made by my other son, who helps
him with his music by producing it for him as well as working on all the digital imagery.


I used all sorts of textural elements here, including mica,
 microbeads, thread & tassles.  


The Studio 75 papers are so versatile - I love to use them!
You can decide which way you want to go with them rather than them deciding for you
& that, in my book, is a big plus as I like to be free to choose my own colour schemes. 


The neutral tones also mean that any inkwork, splashes & drips also show up
great against them.  I used some large gold/mustard Prima flowers under my
photos.  I cut them in half to stretch my stash further & give the appearance
that the rest was underneath the photo - a good trick for being more economical
with your supplies.  I hope you enjoyed your visit today - thanks for stopping by!!


Don't forget about our monthly challenges - this month is to use anything
METAL on your project.  It is not compulsory to use Studio 75 products
but if you have some & do use it then please mention what it is. 
 Prize is a 30 Zloty voucher to the Studio 75 online store HERE



Wednesday 24 June 2015

Sail Away Layout - 7 Dots Studio - Destination Unknown






Hello everyone!  Happy Hump Day to you!!
Half way through another week!  Where does the time go 'eh?!
Well it's time for me to show off my stuff on the 7 Dots Blog again so here's
a layout I made using the Destination Unknown Collection along with
the wonderful Stencil that was created to match with it.
You can see my post on the blog HERE.


I used modeling paste on the stencil followed by Color Bloom Sprays whilst the paste
 was still wet, which gives more of a shiny, gel medium effect to the paste.  


I hand-painted my title using my black ink & a water-colour brush as that
 seems to be quite a trendy thing to do these days, then fussy-cut it out.  


I used lots of lovely layers of paper, stickers & stamps, all from 7 Dots Studio.
I am honestly still so excited to be on this team, over a year later, as the 
products are so artistic & cool yet also good quality!


I sprayed the central stenciled area with white gesso mist I make up myself, to help
 draw the eye to it more by differentiating it from the rest of the background.  


As you can see there are so many co-ordinating tags, stickers, sentiment stickers,
that it is really easy to create a cohesive piece with them all, including the
cute star chipboards from Um Wow Studio that also co-ordinate.


When creating unisex or masculine pages I often use staples as I like the light
industrial touch it creates.  Metallic thread is another favourite of mine.
This local one is perfect as it's fine so not bulky under my layers
yet it has a way of holding it's shape when looped into circles.


Don't forget our monthly challenge over at 7 Dots Studio & come & play along.
You only need to use 1 7 Dots Product, although of course you can use more
if you have!  There's always a huge prize of 7 Dots goodies for one merit winner.



Tuesday 23 June 2015

7 Dots Studio Design Team!
July - December 2015
{Staying on for another term!} WooHoo!!!






This weekend was a Social Media FRENZY!!!  I felt like I had won an Oscar!!!!!!
THANK YOU so much for all the love left for me on my Facebook & Instagram accounts.
Definitely a highlight of my online artistic journey so far!!


Not only did the PRIMA announcement go up on Friday but the 7 Dots Studio
 new design team announcement went up on Sunday HERE as well!!

I am delighted to say that I am remaining on the 7 Dots Studio team until the end
of the year!  WONDERFUL news!!  I truly LOVE the collections & there are 3
new ones coming up next month too!!  Verano Azul, Lost & Found & Yuletide.

I will be bringing some of these in to South Africa to sell direct-to-
the-public, so do let me know if you want to be added to my list!

SUMMER COLLECTION



VINTAGE COLLECTION

CHRISTMAS COLLECTION


Happy, happy news all round!!!
It's been a WONDERFUL start to my week ♥




Monday 22 June 2015

Finally I'm a Flower Girl!!!!!!!!
Prima Design Team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Hello dear friends ♥  I have some very exciting news! ♥♥

You can see the announcement on the Prima blog HERE.  



For those of you who follow my blog regularly you will know that it became
a kind of "open secret" that I had my ♥ set on making the Prima team!


For me it's a personal/professional goal I set myself some years back
actually but as the years progressed so did my determination & focus.

Last year I was so honoured to be selected for a Guest Designer
 Position at Prima, in November HERE {that was on my 3rd 
application}.  As a word of encouragement for any wannabee
Prima designers {aren't we all?!?} - it can happen!


It is certainly not easy & does require tenacity & consistency,
but if you want something badly enough & set your mind to
working for it then I believe that there's a really good chance
 of success!!  For me, living in South Africa, is always a 
disadvantage for international applications, due obviously
to the high cost of postage & the wait for parcels to arrive,
but, even if you are in a similar situation to me as an
"international" Prima are known for always including
internationals in their team so keep believing!!

I think I am correct in saying that I am the first African EVER 
to have made the team & that feels pretty darn great :)

***My apologies to all my friends for dodging the Prima questions
these last couple of weeks but I had to keep this secret even
 though I was busting to tell you all!!***



Friday 19 June 2015

Time Flies - 7 Dots Studio - June Challenge






Hi ladies!  Up at 7 Dots Studio it's time for a NEW CHALLENGE this month
& the theme this time is TIME FLIES so interpret that in any way you will 
as long as you please play along with us!  There is always a glorious
 big prize for the merit winner!!  See the challenge HERE


I hope you will come on over to have a look at the Design Team's take
 on the challenge & consider playing along with us - you need to use
 a minimum of ONE 7 Dots Studio product on your project as well as
 including the above inspiration circle in your post.  


I used paper from the Destination Unknown Collection, which is really rather 
beautiful by the way.  Lots of lovely dark tones & map type papers. 
 Perfect for the TIME theme.  


I went for a simple composition with my photo in the centre of my page, some 
nice texture on the background, made up of old sticker negative elements, 
gessoed over the top then left to dry overnight with a layer of crackle
 glaze  over the top.  There's also a fine scattering of MICRO MICRO
 beads {yeah they are really TEENY!!}


A small clock we had broke rather timeously (pardon the pun!) so I pulled it apart 
& used the real clock hands under the title & the real plastic parts around
 my date & location stickers.


I also used some Um Wow packaging along with some of their chipboard,
 which I left raw.  The owner of UmWow, DeeDee Catron, is also a 
7 Dots Studio product designer & designed the Destination 
Unknown Collection & the chipboard pieces tie in with it.

THANKS FOR THE VISIT & HAVE A LOVELY WEEKEND EVERYONE!!





Monday 15 June 2015

Make Good Art Art Journal Page for 2 Crafty Chipboard





Hello again & Happy Monday!
I hope you all had a GREAT weekend!!

Personally I LOVE weekends.  Like, REALLY love them!!!
I get to be creative for so many hours on end it really is a decadent luxury!

My children are in their teens & twenties now & often out & about "jolling" as
 we say here, so I wait up for them & scrap away into the wee hours!!  
I created this page on one of thosevery nights, when all was quiet 
& I got to lose myself in something I love ♥


The quote "Make Good Art"comes from the very famous Neil Gaiman speech HERE.
It's 20 minutes but the best 20 minutes you will ever spend if you are creative & wanting
encouragement.  I have lost count of how many times I have watched it.  I practically
know it off-by-heart now!  Whenever I am feeling discouraged I watch it & weep!!
Okay I don't actually weep LOL - it just gives me goosebumps...


I think I'm finally getting the hang of art-journaling & this is definitely my favourite
 page so far {I am just an art-journal "dabbler"so have only done a handful of pages}.


You can see my post up on the 2Crafty Chipboard blog HERE where I have quite a few
***tips & tricks*** for you on how I got that whole background thang going on...


Art journaling is really FUN & a great way to EXPERIMENT with new techniques.

I have a large {A4} art journal I bought a few months ago & am trying to do a couple
of pages a month to keep practicing.  I love paging through it & it will make an 
awesome keepsake for my kids one day.  I am focusing on quotes that are
really meaningful to me & my life so it will be a significant piece of family
 history LOL!!!!  That sounds far too serious but you know what I mean :-p




Friday 12 June 2015

Amaze Yourself DOUBLE-PAGE Layout
for 2 Crafty Chipboard





Over the weekend my Design Team post went up at 2 Crafty Chipboard HERE.
Sadly my term there has come to an end, but I have loved every minute of it
& am now a firm fan of 2Crafty for life!!  ANY LOCALS WANTING ANY - I WILL
STILL BE IMPORTING IT SO LET ME KNOW - IT IS UBER GORGEOUS!!


So I made a DOUBLE PAGE!!!!!!!!
Haven't done that in a few years.  Since 2012 actually!
And you know what, I enjoyed it!!


So here is the LEFT-HAND side close-up.  You can refer to the 
2Crafty post, linked above, for all the chipboard detail.  

The reasons I created a double-pager are :-

1.  I'm teaching classes locally so it's good to have a sample of a simplish
 double-pager for those that want it {it's the most popular way people scrap here}

2.  I actually wanted to record all these photos together anyway, because
 they tell a story as a unit, so it made more sense to do a double page.  


Here is the RIGHT-HAND SIDE.  I used white cardstock as I wanted the mist work to 
stand out clearly {to teach people how to do it in my classes} and also because cardstock
is cheaper than patterned paper & keeping costs down on class pages is key.

I used packaging instead of patterned paper, gauze & dry-wall tape {as those are both
cheap & easily available products in Africa where scrapbooking is expensive} but of
course I couldn't resist a couple of lovely flairs & Prime flowers to finish things off!!

So what do you think?!?!
Weird for me I know but as a class page I think it's really do-able & I'm 
excited to be able to spread the mixed media love around South Africa!!



Thursday 11 June 2015

Enjoy Today Layout - Studio 75







Hi everyone!  I have a new layout up on the Studio 75 blog HERE at the moment!
I had quite a lot of artsy fun on this one as you can see!!


I used the awesome Rosalie in the Garden Collection you can find HERE
as well as some Studio 75 flair buttons & their lovely butterfly stamp.


I embellished with flowers, gems & some pretty local resin frames,
plus of course Prima twine, glitters, mists & modelling paste. 


To begin I started by pasting down some strips of patterned papers from the same 
collection, some of which I punched with my Martha Stewart Heart punch, then I 
used a 7 Dots Studio stencil on top of the central area, dried that off then I 
sprayed on my Color Bloom Sprays from Prima, immediately followed by
 a spray of water to get the drips flowing.  After drying that off I added 
some splats by flicking the mists using the uptake straws!


Just the right amount of messiness for my liking :)
What do you think?  Too much??


Thanks for looking & don't forget to visit the blog HERE to check out our latest 
challenge!  Merit judging by the DT & Studio 75 products of your choice to be won!!




Wednesday 10 June 2015

Never Explain Yourself Layout - 7 Dots Studio
TUTORIAL Time








Hi again!  Back today as promised with a tutorial on how to put this page together.
Looking at it finished it looks quite complex but let me walk you through the steps
so you can see that really it is just like baking, follow the recipe & it will turn out similar!


This mist is pretty pale.  Give it a good shake up before you begin!
Side to side like ringing a bell remember?  Never up & down...


I used that thick sheet of 7 Dots Paper {above left} to reinforce my page,
 by gluing my base paper to it then rolling over it, after I'd applied my mixed
 media, to get it nice & flat again & make it strong & easy to work on.


I am always on the look out for local things I can add to my pages to pad out
my imported embellies.  Dry-wall tape & paper straws are 2 of my "go-to's" ATM.


I always work with a set-square to keep things straight & at right-angles to each other.
I eyeball a lot too but sometimes being just slightly off really bothers the eye so
I prefer to play it safe than be sorry as I like to use STRONG adhesives!!


I use my glue gun A LOT - mainly because glue-sticks are readily available here
& I have a source where I get them at a really good price!  None of the nice tacky
glues I see other people using are available here although there is a good 
Bostik GEL glue but again, for me in Durban, it is difficult to find here
 but easy to find in Joburg & Cape Town apparently...


And here it is again just to remind you!
So not so tricky now is it?!
Hope you enjoyed my tutorial today!!
Thanks so much for visiting & see you soon :)