Sketchy Thursdays by Diana

The new MME Abbey Road Round & Round collection

has such cute die cut designs .

This die cut here is called "Nice Ride - There yet ?" lol

I had to use it up ASAP ,

& using the latest sketch by Diana here ,

a really fun one

with lots of squares for possibilities

I also couldn't wait to try out these new Technique Tuesday

Ali Edwards' Simply You clear stamps set.

Pink Ninja's Prompt #9 - Chicks

It doesn't matter much to us,

here thousands of miles away from CHA Summer-

that the show is one third the size of the previous .

The products are just rolling in much faster ,

than before, it would seem to me.

& Not much complaints about the products that we are seeing either

in terms of colors , designs etc

Using Pink Ninja's Prompt No 9 - to scrap about chick/s ,chicky's

& Twisted Sketches No 8 -

This week's twist is to use at least one Flower - it can be any sort of Flower - paper or fabric, die cut or stamped, hand drawn or real.

I used up some new MME Stomp Plant Life Die Cut , MMe Round & Round pp ,

Hambly clear stickers , Prima mulberry leaves ,

May Arts Grosgrain ric ric & ribbon ( love the super large size ! )

Check out the new Prima Sugar Coated Daisies - look at the sugar coating ! lol

click to go to a larger view .
I also used both Prima's kraft & green product packaging pps .

Love the new Karen Foster Sparkle brad- Mediterranean

Just Be

I'm not sure why I'm so taken by the papers of 7 Gypsies Victoria line -

probably love the ethereal layers since I am unable to do that myself ! lol

there are at least 3 papers that I would find so hard to cover up because

just adding pics to the papers already look great.

This background paper here is called Walker .

I used a small paper doily as a mask

so as not to cover up as much of the paper as possible

as misted with 4 colors of Glimmer Mist.

I also used Sketch 17 by the Scrappiest ,

yet another sketch blog discovery.

& I finally got my hands

on the elusive Martha Stewart Lace Doily Punch here !

peeking out from under the vintage white lace .

;-)

7 Gypsies' Victoria - Looks Good !

I more a hoarder of 7 Gypsies' papers usually

but these new Victoria papers are so easy to use it totally surprised me !

Really great with for those with a shabby chic/vintage style I can see !

Using Liz's July 26th Sunday Sketch - I went Prima floral happy - partly challenged by Liz to bring on the flowers for girlie layouts ! so any excuse is a good one !

Party It up

Everything seems to arrive earlier this year

from the CHA Summer releases for us here .

No complaints at all !

No time to be bored with the latest & greatest then ! lol

Trying out some GCD Party It Up papers

with some Doodlebug Silk flowers , cardstock stickers

I used Got Sketch #85 as well .

Twisted Sketches #7 - Girls at Play

This week's twist is to use Brads or Buttons - it can be any sort and any shape.

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Buttons & brads are in vogue as much as ever

as far as I'm concerned !

Trying out the new Creative Cafe glittered scalloped edge diecut with

Dream Street Papers Nature's Poetry papers -

Among the Flowers ,Blossom's Song, Petal by Petal,

Alpha diecuts

Buttons by Autumn Leaves

Prima Cadoobles

On the road of Life ..

Lots of travel related papers this season -

I have combined older MM's Passport, K&CO products with MLYB Fresh Print Traveller pps

to go with this pic.

Glimmer mists in Lemon Meringue, English Ivy & Denim.

Using sketch 42 by Little Shop of Sketches .

Weds Sketch - Graphic 45

Graphic 45 has great daily inspiration overat their blog

& one of their weekly features is their Weds Sketch ,

Which I've only realised now, I haven't tried .

Quite a few manufacturers have challenges over at their blogs-

be they weekly or monthly

so it's a great way to use up that brand of stash .

lol.

I used 4 colors of mist here on the Transatlatique Exotic Destinations pp-

Maya Mist -Charcoal & Metallic Copper

GM's - Candy Red & Chocolate

The mask is a Maya Road Sheer Die Cut ( which I think will now forever be a mask ! lol )

really love those shapes & sizes of circles !

The thing about using masks & mists for me

is probably the instant gratification & unexpected results

each time I use even the same mask .

Ultra fun with great impact !

& don't forget anything can be a mask -

leftover negative chipboard shapes , alphas ...

some of the simplest & most effective shapes -

is circles of any kind .

ICS #26

Another fab sketch by Dawn to get you inspired -

the DT examples are very fun too

check it out

here

Using Anna Griffin pps & Heartwarming Vintage cardstock sticker .Q&Co pearls.

Prompt 8 - Pink Ninjas - Stripes or Polka Dots ??!!

It definitely is easier to work with polka dots -

the lazy scrapper that I am

I told myself to work with the first polka dotted pp I came across -

& this is a Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts that I never quite knew how to use

but with Diana's Sketchy Thursday design in mind

I simply used the sketch as a guide !

easy peasy !

I find Diana's sketches a cross between Julie Bonner's & Janelle Richmond's style.

So it's really easy to get a layout done !

Di Hickman's card sketches - July#4

Supplies: Prima Fleur Danseur - Basque ; BG Lemonade pps & cardstock sticker ,

Webster's Pages trim, Glimmer Mist - English Ivy

I Glimmer Misted the Prima fleur danseur to enhance the color

& then I use my fave doily as a mask & misted with English Ivy to tone down

the busy pattern & color on the BG Lemonade pp.

Why not use up more of that GM that's been bought every now & then ? lol

Oh the places you will go !

I discovered at least 2 more challenge blogs this week

and this layout is a combo for 2 challenges -

Sketchy Thursdays with Diana

& her blog brought me to discover The Pink Ninjas -

& their prompt this week - oh the places you'll go !

I sprayed 4 colors of mists - 1 gray , 2 browns & a metallic copper

over the MLYB travel lace die cut unto the Orange Ledger pp.

I also used my Fontwerks stitches stamp &

inked it up in Brilliance Black & stamped it all over !

WRMK Teen Angst line

Not much is heard of WRMK usually - they simply release awesome lines !

at least for this year to me .

I presume this is their latest for CHA Summer - Teen Angst line

I have used their designer brad for the title & as well as some chipboard & cardstock stickers.

layout is inspired by Nancy Burke.

52sketches52weeks #29 - How to be

Bg Lemonade seems to go well with Webster's Pages Magical Wishes pps too !

This layout came together quickly following Sketch 29 at 52weeks52sketches.

we go ? - SF Me Likey

Couldnt resist trying out another layout with the new Sassafras Lass Me Likey collection pack -

Like we always like to say - use a little , hoard a little !

usually after at least 2-3 projects ! lol

Layout design inspired by Crystal B.

other supplies : BG Doiley , MS Embossed petal punch, Sakura Aqualip pen for doodling

52sketches52weeks #28 - SF Me Likey

I am pear-y happy to say

This year's CHA Summer releases are upon us already-

faster than ever !

what's not to likey ! lol

Using SF's Me likey pps here- title is also inspired by the line .

52sketches 52 week's sketch #28.

Di Hickman's card sketch July #3

Love the G45 Communique line for cards I keep saying , so I finally got round to making some.

You can check out the sketch here .

Supplies: Graphic45 Communique pps ,Making Memories Black velvet scalloped ribbon , Gold distressed stickles.

More fabric/stamping fun on layouts

"yesterday" is inspired by a layout by Jolanda Goes at G45's community site

Smooshing of fabric onto cardstock , then I placed Tattered Angel's decorative corners & sprayed 2 colors of Glimmer Mist for a fun pattern on the cardstock.

Stamped out 2 birds using the sameCBX set.

For h2o fun , I used the loopy KI diecut as a mask

& watercolor paints - in3 colors to get the fun pattern going .

Added some knotted fabric strips &

used my longtime in the stash flourish stamps.

the finishing for these may be a bit rough as I probably finished them within an hour or less.

Just discovered stamping & using fabric in layouts now

This is the most stamping I've ever done on a layout ever, I think !

Now I think I should be hooked - not sure what I was waiting for before .

I stamped 2 CBX birds on a coordinating brown houndstooth pp

in this Nikki Sivils' Sweet as Cherry Pie line.

I also stamped the words - Enjoy IT . Here.now. from the same clear stamp set.

I pleated a little strip of fabric under the green ball trim -

love how rich the colors are on a fabric compared to a pp !

I think it's my go to must have on a layout for now!

The offwhite cardstock was misted using

Lemon Meringue, Candy Apple, Khaki & English Ivy

using a Maya Road Sheer as a mask.

CHA Summer 2009 sneaks so far

based on what little I've seen so far & I have seen at least 50 brands/companies' sneaks ,

my faves are :

1. Prima ,Prima ,Prima x ...........lol

2. Webster's Pages

3. Tim Holtz - never bought his stamps yet ! Now's the time ! lol

4. 7 Gypsies

5. American Crafts - Glitter Papers & Elements !

6.Pink Paislee - new shimmer alphas ! woohoo

7. Graphic45 - Renaissance themed ! now that is very unique to me !

These brands have either not shown anything or much yet

but they have been universal faves so we'll see :

Creative Imaginations

Basic Grey

Making Memories

K&Co

Guest Designer at Mojoholder this week

My heartfelt thanks to Mojoholder for having me as the Guest Designer this week !

They choose my Sunset Beach Frolic layout

for their challenge 117 :

.

If you choose to play along :

You can check out the sketch created from my layout

or

scraplift it

( yes , please & send me your link when you're done so that we can come & admire it ! )

or simply take elements of it

as your source of mojo !

easy as that !

I painted an offwhite circle behind the photo

on this Pink Paislee pp

so that my title would not get lost on it.

& then I started adding circular elements

until I was happy with the final layout.

Such Sweet Tierney July project

I just love how the BG JuneBug was great for quite a coupla

Josh Groban layouts -scrapping some fave songs by him.

These were my last buttons leftover for the July DT reveal.

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Josh Groban /Michael Jackson trivia :

Even Josh Groban recorded & performed live a Michael Jackson song -

She's Out of My life

Such Sweet Tierney July DT reveal

is up !

This month the whole DT team was given the same set of buttons to work with !

Unknown to us of course - what a lark!

For some truly creative use of buttons on a layout

do head over & have a lookie !

It's hard for me to pick a fave amongst my DT projects for this month .

I really loved how they all turned out ,

but this is probably my fave

simply because I think it's totally different from how I normally create.

Had a tonne of fun creating the cardstock background stamping with a Frap bottle cap ,

using off white acrylic paint,

had to do some paper smooshing ( or squishing as some might say! lol )

for more added fun & texture.

& nothing like a few choice spritzes

of Maya Mist in purple to finish everything off.

The 3 bigger Such Sweet Tierney chipboard buttons

were just the right size

to provide a visual triangle.

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Di Hickman's July Sketch #2 - Merci Beaucoup

Supplies: BG Cardstock, Prima fabric blossom, K&Co Que Sera Sera Dimensional Sticker , Lily Bee French Couture pps , Jillibean Soup Kraft pp, Crafty Little Secrets Sentiment Sticker

Still loving the BG Lemonade I decided

to make another card with the same sketch ,

using Prima Parlor Petal & some polka dotted feathers.

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Michael Jackson trivia :

I never knew he sang I just cant stop loving you

in French , & Spanish

oh MJ ! His music will live on ...

"Way before Tiger Woods,

way before Oprah Winfrey,

way before Barack Obama,

Michael did with music

what they later did in sports and in politics and in television,"

the Rev. Al Sharpton

His music was definitely a part of the soundtrack of our lives,

We grew up listening to MJ on records,

now the fave MJ songs in our household

are Black Or White, Beat It, Thriller , Billie Jean from youtube

But the song I don't remember very well from MJ

is Childhood

We'll be catching the Memorial Service

for Michael Jackson

on CNN

with the rest of the world

cps123 - have fun

http://cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/

Having some cardmaking fun with

Graphic 45

Communique & Fashionista pps ,

Prima lace misted with MR Charcoal Grey & GM Khaki .

Cardpatterns 22

http://cardpatterns.blogspot.com/

Trying out the Martha Stewart Embossed Petal border punch here

on a pearlescent cardstock.

I am convinced that it looks best with cardstocks

that have a sheen, otherwsie the embossing can hardly be seen.

Using the G45 Communique pps mainly for the rest of the card with a Fashionista tag .

Getting the dust off my almost 9 yrs old butterfly punch

here for some mini butterflies.

Playgroup days ( or daze ! )

Couldnt resist trying out a retro layout

with these Victoria's Street papers from Nikki Sivils,Scrapbooker.

DD looking a little dazed here I have to say ! lol .

This playgroup was the first ever she attended before 2 yrs'old

& an absolutely fab all round experience -

it was first of all held in my neighbour's house

which is so comfortable , inside & out ,

with great garden space & all.

I thought this paper line is great to help

recapture those days at Aunty Jane's house.

Sketch by Lana , Cister's Stylish sketches

Twisted Sketches #4 - Berry Precious

What fun !!!

This layout is LOTD over at CMK , 5th July!

woohoo !

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This week's twist is to use at least 1 Transparency - it can be any sort of see through embellishment.

& there's a great sketch to use as well by Anam .

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CHA Summer '09 releases are already upon us

& this week Nikki Sivils,Scrapbooker

Sweet as Cherry Pie & Victoria's Secret lines

have landed .

But only the papers & clear stamps -

they do have some very cute & different embellies

that did not arrive at this time

I misted 4 colors of Glimmer Mist within the frame of the die cut

using a curly KI Lace cardstock as a mask.

I am loving the new Lemon Meringue , Cherry Limeade GMs !

Also used Khaki & Seafoam .

My transparency is over the photo of DS - by MAMBI .

I also tried out pinching the scallops at their centers a la Jen Matott

& then I lifted them up so that more

of the background paper behind the diecut can be seen.

I added some Prima Parlor Petals for the circles on the sketch.

Here's what Prima says about these flowers !

Inspired by a child's imagination, these whimsical Parlor Petals are sure to capture your heart.

Made of a soft solid fabric with designer fabric centers and a touch of frosting along the petals edges.

I didnt realise all that especially the whimsical & child's imagination part - so it's all good !