Monday, November 30, 2009

The Scrappiest layout sketch 41




Sketch 41 is up over at The Scrappiest.
Check out all the fab DT exanples here.

Took the opportunity to play with the newest Jenni Bowlin Red/Black line pps .


a little misting on the MME Life Stories kraft background
always adds a little more depth of color for me .
I just can't leave muted colors alone it seems.
and a little stitching with hemp to add something different .

Photography by Metal_Minish 

Sunday, November 29, 2009

52sketches52weeks #48







The latest sketch is up over at 52sketches52weeks .



This is one of those layouts I wouldn't have thought to use these supplies together
but I do like how it turned out in the end.

Supplies : Pink Paislee Amber Rd pps ,
Making Memories' glittered chipboard word & rhinestones,
Maya Road Velvet stitched ribbon
Glimmer Screen +Mist, Stickles

Work In Progress Kits has so kindly donated
 a FABULOUS October add-on kit
 to be given to one lucky winner this week

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thank you to Christina !


for this award !

I am bad about awards these days ,
mindful about the fact that it tends to exclude people ...
so I''ll just do the 7 interesting bits about myself :

1. I am 1.69m tall ( about 5'6" I think ) - that's tall over in our part of the world ! lol.
2. I still haven't travelled to the USof A yet ( or for that matter to Africa! )
2. I did learn catwalk modeling at the age of 18 or 19  and that's where it ended too !
3. I have ZERO piercings - not even for earrings !
4. & along the same lines ,I have ZERO tattoos & dont think I'll ever get one
5. I played the cornet in my marching band days in school .
6. I loved reading most Enid Blyton book before I was 12.
 From 13 onwards I probably can't say here who were some of my favourite authors then .
but yes ! I can tell you privately , if you ask ! ;)
7. I am self taught when it comes to my art,
 which is really amazing as I rarely , if ever got an A
for art in school.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Misting fun on a cardstock background

First off, I just recently discovered how to make my own version of Glimmer Mist right at home -
 here's a link on you-tube that got me started -
Basically the formula here is : some water in a bottle that can mist + arcylic paint + glitter glue .
Other variations include : water +Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Reinker + Perfect Pearl powder.

 So if you haven't invested in a lot of $ buying these Glimmer Mists/ Maya Mists etc
try making some of your own perhaps ! & have some spray bottle fun with them ! :lol:



I love using more than one color of Mist on my projects usually - love layering several colors especially .

For this particular layout , starting with the top half - here's what I did :

1. I start with the lightest color of choice in this case - Avocado Maya Mist -
I randomly sprayed it over the top half of the cardstock especially in the areas outside of the photo .
( I usually mist first before I glue anything down to the background.)
2. The color I wanted to use next is Charcoal Maya Mist - to add some depth of color,
as the photo I'm using here has rather bright colors.
I sprayed this color closer to the edges of the cardstock.
3. I decided to try splattering some Mist for this layout, for the first time .
 I used my own light metallic blue mist ( my base color is blue metallic acrylic paint & added some black stickles ) for the splatters ( use a paintbrush ) .
And then I made an accidental discovery after this step as the splatters I made interacted with the Avocado & Charcoal Mists that I had sprayed on earlier and
 had not quite dried up when I splattered.
Hence some of the splatters had some depth of color.
4. For the bottom half of the cardstock ,
I sprayed Seafoam Glimmer Mist ( a blue/green color )
 to match some of the color in the pic I was using here.
I also sprayed some Brown Glimmer Mist after that -
 going in towards the middle of the cardstock.
5. Lastly , to anchor all the misted colors down on the background , I inked Black Soot Distress ink all around the edges . Alternatively I could have dry painted the edges with a dark paint color .
 All in, for this layout, I used 5 colors of mists for the background .



I hope this helps you to give your own misted background a try ! :lol:

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Di Hickman's card sketch Nov #3




Supplies: Making Memories' Mistletoe line - patterned paper and embossed glittered cardstock, Bazzill embossed cardstock, Graphic 45 cardstock alphas 



Here's wishing all our US blogging friends 
a blessed & safe Thanksgiving weekend !!!

Monday, November 23, 2009

The Scrappiest layout sketch 40




Sketch 40 is up over at the Scrappiest .
It's a simple linear sketch with room for circular elements.



I had some misted fun with a new found ability to create my own mists with what I have at home.
My basic formula : a bottle that you can use to mist with + some water + acrylic paint + glitter glue.
Just shake everything up & them start misting away!



Buttons and  fabric strips are a great way to embellish with when in doubt .
I also colored a piece of  crochetted lace with my own mist to match the colors in the photo here ,  of
 little Nino..

Supplies : Buttons by Such Sweet Tierney,
Photography by Metal_Minish,
MME Life Stories pps
Maya Mists - Avocado & Charcoal

If you want to try the sketch email them to Liz at thescrappiest@frontiernet.net
and you'll be entered into the chance to win the Nov kit from Jen's House Of Scrap

Sunday, November 22, 2009

a Star decor for Christmas





Inspired by the Day 7's  project over at Webster's Pages 12 days of Christmas crop.

DT member Audrey Pettit is the Queen of Festive Decorations .
Her original project makes use of a wooden snowflake base
 that you can use as a wall hanging upon completion .




I went with a felt star decoration base the minute I saw this in the store .
A mix of handcut paper embellies as well as ready made Christmas decorations
and lots of Stickles , especially icicles.

Friday, November 20, 2009

My first Acrylic Mini Album



Thanks to Jaz over at Day 6 of the Webster's Pages
I finally put together an acrylic mini album.


I used a Fancy  Pants' 8x8 Mixed Media Bracket Album
& Webster's Pages Nature's Storybook pps  mainly .


Most of the diecuts are the K&CO Que Sera's.
With Q&Co pearls for some added dimension.



Learnt to use Staz On ink todistress the acrylic pages here.

The last page is chipboard
which I misted on with 4-5 colors-
Walnut ,avocado , English Ivy Garden, Lemon Meringue , Khaki


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Webster's Pages 12 days of Christmas Crop



My acrylic stand project here was inspired by 


Iris Babao Uy's project where she used a glass frame

 & displayed it on a wooden easel. 




( click for a large image )

First time using Adirondack's metallic mixatives on an acrylic surface.
always fun to try out something new.

Other supplies used : Prima Holiday poinsettas , K&CO Brenda Walton's Christmas dimensional stickers , MM Glitter bling sticker for the photo frame , Q&Co Gold pearls.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Little Shop of Sketches - sketch 57



Yup, so "fawn'd" of my 2 little muses - Konami & Nintendo ! ;)
Thanks to Metal_Minish for allowing me to scrap them !
I thought of the Sass "Fawn'd of You"pps the instant I saw the boys atop this fawn sculpture .
I used the images from one of the pps as cut outs in the end ,
& mixed them with some Jenni Bowlin, Pink Paislee  Amber Rd ,
Collage Press Knave of Hearts., The Paper Studio


Still having a blast using my own Shimmerz type paint with Perfect Pearls + Mod Podge !


I can have painterly flowers all the time now - way to use up some older Primas !

If you play along with the Little Shop of Sketches,
Link them back to this post or – if possible - upload them in the gallery and who knows, maybe you’ll win some of Tanya Leigh Design products!

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Scrappiest layout sketch 39



For The Scrappiest this week, I had  fun with some BG Nook & Pantry .

Other supplies : Prima Sugar Coated blossoms , 7 Gypsies velvet leaves, 
Hambly swirl overlay 


Try the sketch and you will be entered into the chance to win the oh-so-cute kit "Grandma's Attic" from Jen's House Of scrap. Email your LOs to thescrappiest@frontiernet.net.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Christmas projects in progress



Webster's Pages has a
12 days of Christmas Crop in progress right now !
& their timing is just perfect to get some Christmas projects /gifts done
- not too early , not too late !
I reckoned with at least 12 projects to choose from
I would be able to do something festive
during this time and true enough -
Day 3 's fun project by Wendy Kwok -
creating a photo frame with a  fave technique of mine too - distressing paper with water -
was a  fun project on a lazy Sunday afternoon here.



Head on over to Webster's Page's Ning site to get the full instructions for this photo frame project !

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Di Hickman's card sketch Nov #2



It's all about Christmas cards for me
with this month's card sketches by Di .




Supplies: MM Glittered cardstock, Melissa Frances trim, Making Memories' Foam stars , 
Fiskars Apron Lace Border punch

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Twisted Sketches #23 / Kid Lit Challenge #8



This week with Twisted Sketches #23 -  the twist is "to use a Punch" - any how, any way!  
That's easy enough - I used 2 MS punches here - the loopy punch & a scallop . 
& a new challenge site discovered - Kiddie Lit -
a challenge blog with challenges inspired by children's literature. 
This month's challenge is to : 
Use GREEN
Include PLANTS- leaves OR flowers (either in your photos or in products)
Include a SECRET -hidden journaling or pics, or the word SECRET in your title.

For the journaling I used part of a poem : 

by Joseph Kallinger

I discovered a secret of life
in a single line of poetry.
That was a week ago.
Today, I celebrate a new week
yet have forgotten
what the secret was.




& a new happy  discovery I just made here - I can make my own Shimmerz type paint right at home !
We can't buy the Shimmerz brand at the moment in our stores here & I have been wondering about them.
I stumbled on a youtube link to get me started .
The ingredients are so simple - mod podge + Perfect Pearl Powder for me .

Supplies : 
Photography by Metal_Minish of
Prima Blooming Retro pps & pearls
Pink Paislee alphas

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Pink Ninjas' Prompt #24 - What 2009 Song are you ?


because we all know that we have that one song that we couldn't get out of our minds this year!!

------------------------



This week's prompt over at The Pink Ninjas 
is set by none other than
moi, yours truly ! lol


This challenge was inspired by a Facebook quiz - same question -
What 2009 song are you ?
No mattter how many times I took it - the answer is still the same - ack !
The Climb !
Love the lyrics of this song , nevertheless .

I realise that I have never tried a cardstock based layout in a while nor
layered misting on cardstock for that matter.
So i had to try it for good measure.

Mists used here : Glimmer Mists - Khaki , Chocolate, Denim
Maya Mist - Charcoal
papers are MM Vintage findings , butterflies from the Artsy Urban line


Monday, November 09, 2009

The Scrappiest layout sketch 38




Here is Sketch 38 up over at The Scrappiest .


This month's prize , sponsored by Jen's House of Scrap,
is their Nov kit filled with fall themed goodness ,
including some Lily Bee Designs Audrey pps .



I really had a load of fun putting this layout together , using a few of my favorite things -
The MS Loopy punch set, I even unearthed a long forgotten large spiral punch
to hang some spiral punch outs on the hemp string .



As always , my monthly mailing of Such Sweet Tierney buttons
 arrived just in time for me to use some on this layout .



I rarely use Fancy Pants papers and was only too thrilled to put these Rough & Tough pps  to use here.

other fave supplies : Robin's Nest dewdrops , KI Memories lace cardstock,
Heidi Swapp alphas

Sunday, November 08, 2009

52sketches52weeks #45




The latest Sketch 45 is up

This week there's a yummy Magpie Club Nov kit to be given to one lucky winner .

I went a little to the shabby side this week -
using up some Webster's Pages Hello Beautiful papers ,
some Hambly Old Lace overlay strips ,
MAMBI's puffy flourish,
MM Vintage findings ,
Glimmer mists

Friday, November 06, 2009

New inspiration !




I came across a young talented Swedish comic artist/illustrator -
who also happens to scrapbook & create his own BJDs ( ball jointed dolls )
-Konami & Nintendo .
The B JD style has huge aesthetic appeal to me being influenced by anime -
 lovee  East-West  inspiration !!!
I just had to borrow Konami & Nintendo for a little while as muses
 and am so fortunate Metal_Minish agreed ! ;)

Supplies : Photography by Metal_Minish ,
OA Farmfresh pps ,

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Di Hickman's card sketch Nov #1




Supplies: Making Memories Mistletoe line for papers , epoxy stickers , 
Prima Poinsetta & leaves , Autumn Leaves brad, Bazzill embossed cardstock


Catching up with Christmas cardmaking with this month's sketches ! 

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Little Shop of Sketches - sketch 55 - So very happy !



Check out the latest sketch by the Little Shop of Sketches here
and all the fab  DT examples.



Took the opportunity to play with
 more of GCD Studios'  Artsy Urban collection by Melody Ross here.


Lots of glittery goodness in some of the papers and embellies .

Other supplies used : MAMBI's puffy flourishes , fabric cutouts , Glimmer Mists


on more scrappy reasons to be happy - 


 Over at Webster's Pages InspireMe,  I'm this quarter's winner for their Banner of the Week prize 
with my Paris Couture  Inspired dress layout .
 That's one prize I'm sooo stalking the postman for now ! 


& over at Lily Bee Design, I'm an Audrey Challenge winner with my Story layout 






Monday, November 02, 2009

The Scrappiest layout sketch 37



Check out Sketch 37 here 
and all the wonderful seasonal layouts
that were created
by the DT .
this month's prize , sponsored by Jen's House of Scrap,
is their Nov kit filled with fall themed goodness ,
including some Lily Bee Designs Audrey pps .


I went almost totally Jenni Bowlin here 
except for the Prima flowers & 7 Gypsies' velvet leaves. 
The alphas are BG Nook & Pantry's & G45. 
Another heritage page for the album , these pics are circa 1958-1961.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

52sketches52weeks #44 - he loves to sk8



The latest sketch inspo is up over at
This week's yummy prize is a Ready , Set , Learn Oct kit
sponsored by Shabby Chic Memories -
 it's filled with OA Report Card & Jillibean Soup goodies .

Supplies : I used Rouge De Garance Urbaine pp , Cosmo Cricket's the Boyfriend rub ons & elements pp , Maya Road Mist - Charcoal & sheer journaling spot, Magic Mesh


DS trying out his first skateboard here .