Nuts About Sketches - Week 350

Last week of 2014... phew but this year has flown past... it has been a year full of lovely memories (most of which still need to be scrapped!), and also a busy year at work for me. It may not have been as successful a year scrapping (I don't think I even cracked 100 layouts this year!), but I am happy to have learnt lots and done lots of fun things this year.

Today's reveal is up and I can say that I stretched myself a bit on this page... no pattern paper was used at all!!!  I die cut my letters and a doily, painted some sticker letters and then used up lots of leftover stickers for the rest. I added some ink splats and splatters for an extra touch.

Check out the blog for some more lovely ideas.  Here's to lots more scrapping to come in 2015.

Scrap your scraps - December 2014

Merry Christmas to one and all...

My first post for the new design team is up on the blog... all about incorporating the humble Christmas tree onto your layout in various ways... go have a look see.

Hope that your Christmas season is filled with loads of love, laughter, family and friends... plus lots of photos to scrap in 2015.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 349

Wow can you believe it... Christmas is on Thursday.  yikes the day we always look forward to with longing is now just around the corner. Technically I am on two weeks leave as of today, but I am actually still working on stuff, so hopefully will have it all done before Wednesday and then I can have a decent break.

I haven't stopped scrapping though!  Last week I edited and printed photos for a whole bunch of unfinished layouts... got about 18 done.  Feel like I accomplished a heck of a lot in a few days.  Must just do some journalling on a few and a couple needs titles.  I still have a pile to tackle and hope to have them done before 2015 hits.

This is my page for today's reveal at NAS.... I flipped the sketch left to right to make my title work better.  My title is a chipboard one that I lightly painted in white and then added some chalk accent colours.  I was chuffed with how it turned out in the end.

Do you need inspiration for scrapping?... Head over to the blog to see what the others on the DT did... there are lots of ideas this week.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 348

Phew... feeling a bit "deurmekaar" today.... I think the year has caught up and I am slowly shutting down.  BUT I still have to work this week and get tons done, so best I buck up and do something.

Anyways, in between dealing with Aaron burning himself this weekend (he is fine!), I have managed to get a bit of scrapping done too.... like my page for today's reveal.

I changed a few things to help me get the photos on that I wanted... plus I wanted to use the chipboard tree so replaced another photo with the sun ray background.

There are some more ideas with this sketch on the blog, so be sure to check them out too.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 347

Another week has flown past.... in this last week:
- Aaron had prizegiving at school and finished Grade 7... that's it now with primary school.  Onwards to highschool now and a whole new adventure.
- we've had to replace our fridge... last one died a slow death.
- we've had load shedding of note and been without power for hours on end - four days in a row (thankfully all during the day this time round!)

BUT none of that has stopped me from scrapping.... yip been able to carry on and get a few pages done, including this one for today:

I am super chuffed with this page... I used two different vellums on it, did some ripping, embossing, some splattering, even sewed and played with ink to change my letters from baby pink to brown.

To change my letters, I started just rubbing an inkpad over the letters but it didn't do the job very well. So then I found some spritz in brown and just sprayed them till they were the right colour.  Of course being slightly glossy the spriz didn't adhere too well and I ended up with spots... but you know what, I actually quite like that as it gave me a funky effect that I was trying for.  To end off once they were dry, I applied dimensional glaze to them.  I tried cracking it, but didn't make any difference.  I have seen that Tim Holtz now has a crackle dimension glaze on the market, so think I might get me a bottle and redo my letters at some stage.... but for now I am truly happy with them.

 This is the sketch that we got to play with this week:

Be sure to check out the blog for even more great ideas.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 346

Beginning of December already... boy oh boy the year has flown.  We had Aaron's birthday party on Sunday... he had fun with 8 friends.  Now we are in the last stretch of Grade 7... eeck end of primary school on Friday.  There have been some really special times over the last 7 years and I look forward to a few more in the next 5 of his school career.

Anyways, back to scrapping.... Here is this week's layout that I did... again changed a few things to make it work for me and my pics.

I added in a laser cut for some more animal detail and changed the circle photo for one popping out of a vellum envelope.  Also did some stensilling for added effect.

Check out the blog for some more great ideas.

Scrapbook Challenges - Sketch 421

Another page that I did this past Saturday... added a few extras to it to really make it mine!

I used a chipboard film strip which I inked for the backing of my title.  Added some vellum behind it to give the effect of a negative strip and then added bead lettering to each block for my title.  Also used a PL card for the journalling, with a fussy cut camera for extra embellishment.  I even managed to dig out some old gold photo corners for my main pic.

Check out the blog for some more ideas using this sketch.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 345

In amongst birthdays and power failures, I still managed to scrap this past weekend.

I had fun putting this page together... used my diecut circles and lettering, plus added funky stitching. I even managed to incorporate Aaron's actual hospital ID bracelet.

Here is the great sketch that we worked with:

There are some lovely layouts by the team this week, so be sure to check out the blog for more ideas.

Super duper exciting news...

When I got the "YES" email on Sunday 16 November it was sooooooooo good to read... for what? I hear you ask.... well that I have been accepted on a new DT team.

I will be working with the girls there from December to May next year... all about scrapping with the stash that I already own.... and yes there is a lot of it.  So keep your eyes open for lots more posts to come in the future.

Also, check out the blog for lots more fun ideas on using up your scraps.

Scrapbook Challenges - Sketch 420

I've been a bit stumped for scrapping layouts at Scrapbook Challenges... mainly as I haven't had photos to fit the last few sketches.  But this week's page came together so quickly once I decided on the photo to use... a day when our temperature reached 35 degrees C!!!

A fun page really about noting but the heat...but I love how it all came together.

Check out the blog for some more ideas.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 344

It's birthday week! Yippee... just two more sleeps till my birthday.  Why I am excited, who knows as it will be a rather low-key day I am sure... but I just feel like celebrating anyway.

Most of the week still involves Aaron having to study for his exams, plus me having to deal with work stress.... but thankfully I do get to scrap now and then too.  Like Friday, when I put this page in the late evening hours just before bed.

I did a bit of "retail therapy" this week too and bought myself this chicken wire die from Country Crafts. So I really did need to use it straight away to make sure it worked... hehehe.  Love how it came out and adds just a little bit of fun to the page.

I decided instead of adding a paper circle to the page, just to stitch it on.  Added some rub-on flowers, ladybirds and a butterfly for extra interest.

There are some really delightful pages to see on the blog this week, so go take a peak.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 343

This past week has been super hectic with work.  I simply had to take a few hours on Saturday and scrap before I loose my sanity.  So I turned to the next sketch for NAS and this is what I created

I definitely took a few liberties with creating this layout... I didn't have the right number of  pics but made those that I did have work.  I reduced the circle and made it into a life buoy onto which I put my title.  I then replaced the title section with the banner.  For the journaling strip I created a pocket and included the pamphlet from the boat showing the deck plan.

I must admit I am very chuffed with how my page turned out.

Pop over to the blog to see what other ideas the DT had this week.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 342

It's November... birthday month in our house... but before then there are exams to study for and loads of work to do.... another busy month ahead.  As I keep saying, at least I have my scrapping therapy to turn to to keep me sane!

Today's layout is really special.... it came together pretty quickly once I finally decided on the photo to scrap.

I changed the penants for flowers and substituted some of the circles as well. Below is the sketch we got to use

Check out the blog for even more lovely layouts.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 341

It feels like it's been a very busy week since I last posted, but when I look back on it, it wasn't actually that busy as I even got to scrap one or two afternoons last week. I was mainly trying to get today's layout put together.

My page came together fairly quickly, but it sat for a day or two before I got to finish it.  I added a few little "Jowilna" touches to my page... stitching and buttons. Oh and I rotated the sketch so that my photos fit a bit better.

Check out the blog for a few more idea on what to do with the sketch this week.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 340

Boy oh boy but did I have fun with today's sketch from NAS....

I worked on this page on and off for the past two weeks... added two flaps to the top left page and a mini-book to the bottom right page.  All in all there are 31 photos on my layout!!!

Here are a few more pics to show you.

and the mini book

Not forgetting of course the great sketch that we started from.

There are lots of other great layouts on the blog to see, so remember to pop over there too.

Scrapbook Challenges - Sketch 416

It's time for another sketch reveal...

Here is the sketch for this week.

Remember to pop over to the blog to see lots more.

Scrapbook Challenges - Sketch 415

This week's layout ties in with last week's one... from the same event, but this time just showing us all getting ready to watch the Lippizaner horses.

I kept my journalling to an absolute minimum on this page... mainly just the date and the rest as part of the title.  This is now the 4th page of this day so I am sure somewhere between them all I must have said something about the day!

There is lots more to see on the blog, so head over there for a peak.

PS.... this is my 1000th post on my blog! WOW!!!

Nuts About Sketches - Week 339

Phew it's been a busy week... family to stay and a friend's wedding, never mind working and scrapping a page or three.

Today's page was one of those that I scrapped last week... came together real quick and I love how it turned out in the end.

This is the awesome sketch we got to use... love the circles.

Check out the blog for some more great layouts.

Scrapbook Challenges - Sketch 414

It's time for another reveal... this time I went for a summery Easter page

I got the Easter egg buttons as a freebie and wanted to use them... they worked well with the theme of Easter from these photos.

Don't forget to check out the blog to see lots more great ideas.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 338

We are back from our holiday, back at work and right back into the usual routine.... well sort of.  It's still school holidays so at least there is a measure of sleeping in a bit and not quite as much traffic.  Hopefully I will get a chance to do a spot of scrapping during this week too.

Here is my layout for today's reveal:

This page is all about the very rare trees that we saw last year at Gethlane Lodge... they only grow there in South Africa.

The sketch we worked with is also fairly versatile:

There is a wide variety of layouts on the blog today, so go check them out for more inspiration.

Blog Tour

There is a blog tour going on and I have been nominated by Jowilna (thanks my special friend and scrap mentor).  None of us are affiliated to any one site... just a friend asking a friend and recommending another friend.... so hop  on and take a tour around blog land... you might meet some interesting people.

Here's some fun questions and answers that might give you a bit of insight into my creativity.

1. What am I working on right now
Mainly doing scrapbooking layouts for my DT commitments.

2. How long does it take to create a project
Most of my pages take me 2 hours... now and then I have managed to knock one out in 15 minutes!  There is one though that has been hanging around for nearly 3 years! ouch!

3. What are my fave things I love to create with at the moment
I love playing with paper, so most of my creations are scrapbook layouts.  I tend to stay away from mini-albums unless I can add it to my page.  When desperate I will make a card or two as well.

4. How does my writing/creating process work
I usually start a layout with a sketch, then find photos that will work.  I then will pick out pattern paper to make the pics and lastly some cardstock.  I usually will dither about the title while putting the page together and this will either be done with letter stickers or diecut lettering.  My journalling is 99% of the time done by hand... I used to do it all on the computer but I've gotten to the point where I accept my scruffy handwriting and just get the job done.

5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired
I get inspired by browsing the net.... yip spend quite a bit of time on pinterest.  Also I mainly look for sketches which I like as I find them to be a blank canvas which I can adapt.

Oh and then taking classes with Jowilna definitely inspires me to be a bit more creative and stretch myself to use some of my stash!... thanks buddy.

6. What is my signature style
My style is very simple.... it's all about the photos and the everyday moment.  I don't used posed pics... just happy mommy snaps and capture the moment.  I tend not to over embellish, but rather let the papers and extras enhance the story.

Hope this all makes sense and you have gotten to know my style a bit better.

And now the blog tour continues....

I nominate Shawn Lahr (from Nuts About Sketches).

Please leave me a comment so that I know you've visited and then head over to the next stop (or three) on the journey.... till next time.

Scrapbook Challenges - Sketch 413

Even while on holiday, the reveals continue... so here is this week's layout and sketch.

To make my layout work better with the photo I chose, I rotated it 90 degrees.  I also then "cheated" in using preprinted pattern paper for my background so that I didn't have to find another one to do the insert square... yip it all worked!  I used a project life card for my title and then scrounched some old lace to add in too.

Check out some more great pages on the blog.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 337

We are on holiday.... Aaron's school has a two week break now.  We decided to have a week away at Qwantani in the Free State.... a great way to recharge the batteries.Thankfully I have internet access while on holiday (mainly so that I can do some important work stuff!) so at least I can still show my layouts for this week's reveal.

This is the sketch that we worked with:

Be sure to check out the blog for more inspiration.

Scrapbook Challenges - Sketch 412

Loved the sketch this week.... loads of pattern paper potential

I used leftovers from some pages of a kit that I got last year... they all pulled together well for this page.

This is the sketch that we worked with:

Be sure to check out the blog for more inspiration and great challenges.

Nuts About Sketches - Week 336

I was on a creative roll a few weeks back and this is one of the pages that I made.

For this page I used some zebra paper to highlight the zebra in the photos... and then enhanced the theme more with black and white flowers.

This is the sketch that we worked with:

Be sure to check out the blog for more inspiration.

Scrapbook Challenges - Week 411

The new sketch is up on the blog ... I created my layout too for this sketch but changed it up a little by adding in an extra photo and moving the title down a bit.

This is the sketch that we worked with:

Check out the blog for this week's lovely reveal from the DT.