Get messy!

How fun does this look?

image

I chose it as this month's Technique Challenge over at SHOW US YOUR STUFF.

Go here to join in!

Here is my DT example....

Lots of handmade goodies on here:

Heavenly Heart from Charm's Creations

Fimo cloud, scalloped tag and yellow doily from The Chip Chop Shop

Nellie G buttons (yellow flower and lime green)

Lil Red Rocket covered button (blue dotty)

Stacey Young's textured background technique

Lots of doodling and hand colouring!

While you're over checking out Show Us Your Stuff, see if you can convince your kids to enter Sophie's Corner this month! We'd love to see some more entries!

Squishy Heart Tutorial

I came up with this kinda quilted-look paper heart today. Here's what I did:

1. Cut out heart freehand (mine's about 2 inches square)

2. Stick some foam adhesive on the underside (not too near the edges)

3. Adhere to your background card or layout and sew around the edges with embroidery floss. Pre-punch holes with sharp needle first to make things easier

Cute huh?

Oh - how about scrunching your heart first?

Or tearing the edges.

You could do any shape you like!

Ooo I know - middles for flowers!

I am gonna have so much fun with this........

:)

Blanket Stitch + Share

Blanket stitch looks really cute when done on cardstock as part of your layout. I like it best when it's a little bit wonky (translation - I can't sew neat!)....

It's the Try This challenge during November over at Show Us Your Stuff and above is a peak of my DT layout. I'll reveal it tomorrow!

If you can't remember how to start off your blanket stitch - or you've never tried before, this link takes you to a tutorial on YouTube.

I think I forgot to show you my "stuff" for last month's SUYS challenge.....we had to use circles, flowers and misting. My misting was more like sponging and blobbing paint all over the place - but there you have it!

"Bran Nu Dae" was the track Gum Flat School danced to for this year's Eisteddfod, hence the title for these photos of the girls dressed up for their performance. 

Enjoy today's heat!

xxx

Sad News

My dear old Gran passed away peacefully in her bed last night with Mum and Dennis by her side.
At 96 and a half - she is and always will be an inspiration to me and my girls.
Love you Grandma.
Rest in peace.

 On a happier note, I have scrapping to show you.
My creative efforts have slowed down to once a month - I just struggle to get the spare time these days.
Thank goodness for my DT gig with SHOW US YOUR STUFF to keep me going.

A simple little "recipe" for the September #2 Challenge.........

Multi photos (i.e. - more than one!)

Stripes

And of course something handmade

How cute are these handmade flowers?

I found them for the SUYS Try This Technique.

SO cute and SO easy. 

How gorgeous would they be on a hairclip or headband?

More news and pics to come.....Book Week, Kate's BD, etc.

See you soon!

Lesson learnt...

.....crocs are not suitable footwear for fetching firewood from the wood shed.
Big rusty nails go straight through and cause excruciating pain. Owwwey!!!!!

If I could walk, I would go down and take a photo of the nasty culprit to show you....it was a bigg-un! Tetanus booster done, now on antibiotics, strong pain killers and instructed to keep my foot elevated.....(we all know how impossible that is in a busy household)!

To cheer myself up a bit I might go and make a birthday card for my lovely sister in law using these gorgeous butterflies I made.....

So cute! They are for the new monthly technique feature I'm running over at SUYS.....check it out!

Sorry for the slackness of my blog updates lately. I will do better I promise!

Big shout out to MUM (who's having a wonderful adventure in Europe....jealous!), JOY (yes, I'm still here!) and LINDA (miss you!)

xxxooo

Layout share

Been scrappin again.....

This time for the latest sketch challenge at Pencil Lines.

.....correction tape makes a great base for strip journaling on a dark or patterned background....

....continued my latest fad for crumply edges....

.......this is the sketch......versatile don't you think?

....and great for wallet sized pics....print them in one strip and cut down on trimming.

That's all for now!

Mega Handmade Flower Workshop

Last week's class I ran at Gum Flat was all about making flowers......pretty, pretty, pretty!

(I forgot my camera, so the following grainy old pics were taken on my mobile....and not everyone got their layouts photographed - sorry!)

The girls in a flower-frenzy....

Some of the finished works of art....Deb....

Chris.....

Gloria.....

Katrina.....

Lee.....

Libet....

 

Lisa.....

We used the soft & lovely Little Sprout collection from Fancy Pants, some fabric, pearls and buttons and my latest fave tool - the Paper-Shapers butterfly punch.

I found these great video tutorials, if you want to have a go yourself!

This first one demonstrates the fabric rosettes.....we used a circle cut from JAC paper as our base, rather than the adhesive strips she uses in this video....

Fabric Rosette Tutorial

This one was a hit with the Gum Flat girls......the spiral roses......we experimented with inking our spirals, tearing the outer edge, fraying and scalloping. Some people squashed the finished rose with something flat (like the bottom of a jar or cup) so they sat better on the page. We also dabbed them with Shimmerz Blingz for a lovely sheen.

Spiral Rose Tutorial

Speed scrapping & Mia's important day

I whipped up this page in under an hour today (incredibly speedy for me......)

...I like the circley bits.....simply scribbles on white cardstock, cut out.  And I added colour to my cardboard thickers with a quick swipe of inkpad.  Done!  When I showed Beth, she said she doesn't remember me taking the pictures....no wonder.....look how totally engrossed she is in that tomato sauce-covered dish!

Finally got around to scrapping our October happenings....close up.....

....and the whole layout.......

....it's fun to combine those odd leftover photos on the one double layout as a kind of 'monthly review'.  November is next on the list.

Ballet concert is in full swing.  Four performances down (since Tuesday!) and four more to go.  It all ends Sat night with the big presentation.  We will all be totally wiped out by the end of it.

Here are my two beauties in their makeup just before leaving the house....

....(remember my other beauty has switched from ballet to karate this year!!)  And here they are in costume ready to go.......

.....the production is Cinderella.....Mia is a Night Fairy who leads Cinderella home after the clock strikes 12.....Kate is one of the Townsfolk and is involved in two different scenes.

Mimi is dreadfully impressed to be in a tutu.....how cute are her golden wings and tiara?

A huge day for Mia today....following her ballet performance this morning, she arrived late to preschool for her final day EVER.....we brought along a plate of 'Reindeers' to share.....

......had icy poles outside in the shade, then the mums and dads chatted while watching the kids play happily....

.....a lovely way to spend an afternoon, delighting in the way my little girl has grown - not just in size, but in confidence and sense of self.  Was kind of a sad moment to say goodbye to preschool - but also exciting knowing that this little person has a big and happy future ahead.

Nite nite.
xxx.

Lollipops!

"Lollipops" by Penny Hackney, inspired by Elsie Flannigan's Challenge No. 51

Here's a cool can-do technique! Gather up a heap of paper and cardstock offcuts in some fun bright colours. Throw in a couple of fabric or felt pieces too. Draw some freehand circles with your black pen. Cut out and arrange all over a cardstock background. Add a couple of small embies like buttons or charms to the centre of some of the circles. Slap on a photo. Ta-da! Thanks for popping in. See you next time! x

A Groovy Technique....

Can't find the perfect stamp for your project? Hang on - you may have just the thing lurking in your stash already! Felt, foam, chipboard........either bought or hand cut, make great stamps!

For my "Queen of My Tub" layout I used a Fancy Pants chipboard flourish to stamp out a border, and a variety of Bella, Making Memories and Everlasting Keepsakes chipboard letters for the title.

I've posted the easy peasy steps for stamping with chipboard on Aussie Scrapbooking....have a go! I'd love to see what you come up with!