Friday 25 September 2015

Maddie & Hazel Layout for 7 Dots Studio






Hello everyone!  I'm happy to be back with a new layout to share - that went live today
 on the 7 Dots Studio blog in this post HERE.  I combined quite a few different
 7 Dots Studio products here, starting with one of my favourite patterned papers
 as my base paper.  'Tolerance' from the Illumination Collection HERE


I began by doing some background work using a stencil from the
Destination Unknown Collection HERE, along with some mists,
 then I started layering up some patterned papers.


I used “Drive All Night” from the Dreamer Collection HERE,
 as well as 'Night’s Fever' from the same collection HERE
 I also used Illumination “Acceptance” HERE


After adhering my photos & title I used Illumination die-cuts to embellish my layout.
See the 6 x 12” elements HERE.  The black zigzag chipboard comes from 7 Dots Studio
too, from one of the chipboard sheets (the negative area that is left after removing all
the chipboard pieces).  I have simply painted it with black & grey paint to recolour it.


To tie all the colours together I used a bronze & gold coloured mists as well as coloured
Staples in gold & a bronze metallic ink pad to edge the die-cuts.  A really simple page
that is quick to create yet effective & cohesive.  I hope I have inspired you today!


7 Dots Studio Products Used :-


Other products used:- Modelling paste, mists, coloured
staples, inks, black paint, grey paint, alphabet stickers.



Thursday 24 September 2015

Rock Stars Drink Beer Layout - Creating with Sketches
Volume 2 - Throwback Thursday!






Gotcha!  Throwback Thursday!!  
Can you believe I have LOADS {too embarrassed to admit to how many...}
unpublished/drafted posts on my blog here & the other night I was going
 through them deleting things I'd ended up blogging under a new post.  

Yeah don't know why I used to do it but ... most of the unpublished stuff
 are things that were published in books or magazines.  The long delay 
between completing the project & being allowed to share it got me like... 

   
This was published in Kristine Davidson's 'Creating with Sketches Vol. 2 in 2013!
NO mixed media AT ALL!!  I had by this point started experimenting with
mixed media BUT I still had NOT settled on a signature style.  CRAZY...
Yup I was real SLOW on that one!!

Although this is not the way I create at all anymore I really like this page
& it takes me right back to true scrapbooking with it's story content :)

These days, more often than not, I journal more emotionally as opposed
to factually, in other words, about the person rather than the event.
For me I find that more meaningful generally, but to be honest
I don't have a whole lot of 'big events' to scrap about!

Supplies List for ‘Rock Stars Drink Beer’ Layout

Printed papers – Pink Paislee
Music Note Paper – London Market – Kensington – B side
Yellow stripe – Nantucket – Oyster Bar
Circles – Nantucket – Clam Chowder
Die-cuts – Pink Paislee – Portfolio Collection
Rubber embellishments - Artisan elements – Pink Paislee
Alphas – Pink Paislee Portfolio Collection
Black & white stripes - Heidi Swapp packaging
Woodgrain washi – Etsy
Dymo tape
\


Tuesday 22 September 2015

Sweet Patchwork Card for Studio 75
using Splash it! Collection





Hello again everyone!  Today you can find me up on the Studio 75 blog HERE
sharing a simple idea that I think is very effective!  When you have a lot of 
left-over papers creating a patchwork is a good way to use them all up!


All you do is cut your off-cut pieces of paper into rectangles to fit your space.  
You can use this technique on a card, layout, tag or anything you like!

  Start in one corner & measure your pieces accordingly, to fit across your space. 
 For better effect ink your edges to give more dimension & to finish off nicely, 
use a black fine-liner pen to draw some fake stitching!  

Please remember Emelia's FLOWER challenge is closing on the 2nd October
 2015.  We would love you to join in with us & show us what you create!



Monday 21 September 2015

Love You Home Decor Project - Prima - Tutorial






Hi there everyone!  I am so excited to present to you today my first ever PRIMA tutorial!


The focus for this project is the new set of OIL PASTELS from Prima, 
in collaboration with Iron Orchid Designs.  You can read about them HERE.


Here is my write-up on the Prima blog - “Love You” Off-the-Page Project – 
I chose the smaller Prima Carte Blanch Vintage Wall Décor base for this project,
 to show you all how quickly & easily you can create a pretty home décor project,
 in just an hour or two!  


These wood bases are AWESOME – they are so sturdy & strong.  
Without the flexibility of a canvas it makes for easier work & holds many 
dimensional elements firmly.  As for the Iron Orchid Designs Oil Pastels – 
they are AMAZING!  I had no idea what to do with them when they first arrived,
 but spent an evening playing around with them & working out the best way to use them.  


These little guys LOVE water!  I dip them straight into my water jar before use
 then immediately after applying them to my page I go over them again with
 a brush dipped in water as well.  LESS IS MORE here  –  they are 
very rich, creamy & concentrated so will last you a very long time.  
A fantastic investment! – another absolute WIN from Prima!!” 
Helen Tilbury


I was naturally intimidated by the box of pastels that landed on my desk this week so,
before beginning, I spent an hour or so playing about with them on some watercolour
paper, just to see how they worked & what brought out the best in them...


FINALLY my Prima box arrived & was SO FULL of beautiful goodies that finding
some items that matched perfectly was easy as pie!  Including this awesome twine!!


I spent longer thinking up this project than actually doing it!
I wanted to come up with something that was simple to do
 therefore easily replicable yet also pretty & fun to make!!


GOLD DOILIES BY PRIMA - yes that is all that needs to be said!!


After all my planning, putting this piece together 
was a piece of cake & I LOVE how it turned out!


I would love to teach this as a class!  If only I had more
 of everything but alas I had just one of each...


WHAT a stamp!  Another masterpiece from Finnabair!!  GRUNGE DELUXE...


Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you enjoyed the project :)

Supplies used :- Carte Blanch Vintage Wall Décor Base 583057, Prima Distress Tool {Ingvild Bolme} 890940, Prima Trim 576882, Julie Nutting Watercolor Paper Tag 910853, Resist Tag 582791, Finnabair Clear Stamp 961961, Gold Doily 583644, Love You wood icon 582524,Leaves wood icon 579722, Metal Key {Timeless Memories Metal Trinkets} 579838, Coffee Break Bloom 578534, Flowers from vine 581916, Oil Pastels colors Yellow, Yellow Orange, Yellow Green, Cadmium Green, Cobalt Green 814328





Sunday 20 September 2015

7 Dots Studio Challenge Sep/Oct - Frame it!
'Unique & Free' Layout







Hello Everyone!  Time for a new challenge at 7 Dots Studio!!  This time the theme is
 FRAME IT & you can interpret this any way you like.  Although I did not add any
'literal' frames to my project I kept the theme in mind the whole time I was 
creating & tried to 'frame' my photos within the centre of my page, using
stamps, drywall tape, stickers & die-cut elements.


I used white cardstock as my base, which I love to do, but often don't because, 
crazy fact, white cardstock is THE most difficult to get hold of here in South
Africa :/  The photos are several years old & depict my son & his then best
friend, graffitiing our back wall.  My son went through a phase where he
loved graffiti art so of course I encouraged it & gave him his own wall!


I used elements from the Illumination Collection HERE as they are black & match
with everything!  I used stickers from the Soulmates Collection HERE because 
they are a neutral stone colour so also great to match with many colourways!


I used Tsukineko Liquid Black ink because it is very dark & matt so very striking!
I used stamps from various 7 Dots Studio Collections as their stamps are really
awesome!  I used the text stamp from the Soulmates Collection HERE 
because text stamps ALWAYS grab my attention - I just LOVE them -
 & they kind of go with the graffiti/self-expression theme. 


 I also used some background stamps from the Illumination Collection HERE
& I also added a lovely big flair from the Destination Unknown Collection
HERE.  Apart from 7 Dots Studio Elements & ink splats I also added
some dry wall tape, staples & some pre-misted cardstock.


I'm preferring flatter layouts generally these days so haven't added
 any bulky embellishments.  I also hand-journalled the story on some
more pre-misted cardstock (I keep it when I'm testing my mist colours!)


I hope that you will join in the challenge by entering ANY project using at least 
ONE 7 Dots Studio product.  There is always one great prize for the merit winner!


You can view all the 7 Dots Studio products on their website HERE & order directly 
from them or one of their retailers, for example The Flying Unicorn in the USA.


Thanks so much for your visit today!



Thursday 17 September 2015

God Gave us Cats Layout - Scrap Around The World September 2015 Mood Board






Hello everyone!  The mid-month reveal has recently gone up at Scrap Around The World
for September HERE.  Such a simple & pretty mood board!  Looking at that quote
 made me think about my cats & how they are such great examples to us
 of relaxing & not worrying about anything!



I got digging into all my older stash again for this one & used the colours
 & the textures of the mood board as well as the floral element, 
butcher's twine & the book paper.


I used a broken bulldog clip - in keeping with the work/stationery theme of the board.
Notice that the story I found in the old story book I use for book pages is actually
a story about wanting to be a cat!  That was simply fortuitous that it was the
first page I looked at - now what are the chances of that?!


Staples again are along the work/office/stationery theme of the
 board & do a good job of holding the twine in place too :)


I fussy-cut the cat image out of my old kid's story book too & actually think that said
 kitty looks a lot like my very own cat, Cocoa.  We actually have 4 cats but Cocoa
 is very antisocial so has become "my" cat as she rarely ventures beyond 
the main bedroom & has very little to do with the other cats or the kids.


This layout is very basic for me but I think it conveys the simplicity of the mood 
board well & has an overall relaxed feeling to it that I like.  


The papers are old My Mind's Eye & Glitz Design with some more recent Kaisercraft
 {the wood grain} & the flowers, leaf die & brads are from Prima Marketing.
  The stamp is so old I can't remember where I got it & the twine is from Etsy.


Thank you for your visit today.  I hope you like the new September mood board 
at Scrap Around The World this month & that you feel inspired to join in 
& play along soon!  Remember there are less than 2 weeks to go!!




Wednesday 9 September 2015

Made with Love Layout
Studio 75 Challenge 9 - Flowers






Hello everyone!  How are you all?!  I hope you are all having a GREAT week & if you 
are here you are AWESOME!  My life is just so busy these days that I struggle to have
time to update my own blog let alone blog hop.  If you are on Instagram I am slightly
better there as it's much quicker!!  You can find me on Instagram HERE.


There is a new challenge up at Studio 75 at the moment HERE.  All you need to do
 is use FLOWERS on your layout.  You do not have to use Studio 75 products
 but of course we love it if you do!  Please don't forget to mention what you
 use if you have some Studio 75 product!!  PLEASE PLAY ALONG!!!


There is a 30 Zloty prize up for grabs which means you get to spend that amount in-store
if you win!  The winner is voted for by the design team so give it your best shot!!


I used THIS  beautiful patterned paper for my background, from the Craft Love
 Collection.  It was my LAST sheet!  I have a love/hate relationship with my
 last sheets of paper LOL!!  The red tag comes from the Yummy Collection
HERE & the circular sentiment "Made with Love" comes from the 
Love Letter Collection HERE.  The words I used down the 
right-hand side come from the new Splash it! Collection HERE.  
So all in all I used FOUR different Studio 75 collections on this page!


Of course I used wonderful Prima Color Bloom sprays on my background!
I have really fallen in love with them & their big triggers!!  They work so
well for adding drips when you squeeze the trigger just halfway! 


 I used a foam square to stamp the diagonal design using Prima Heavy Gesso -
LOVE the stuff!!  Such a great consistency.  The little flowers are some I've
 had in my stash FOREVER & I thought they were just what was needed
 to finish off my layout.  I also used some dandelion transparencies
 from Hamley (sadly now defunct) so I've had them a while too!!


I also used the very beautiful Studio 75 butterfly stamp HERE.  I use it on 
practically every Studio 75 creation I make, it's THAT versatile!!


Another very old photo I dug up from the archives :)  Truth is I'm making over the
frames we have on display at home & as you can see I haven't done it in a while hehehe...