A few more layouts from January

Remember I told you I did lots of scrapping in January....well I am still trying to blog about them all, so here are a few more:

First up are some scraplifts from my good friend Jowilna... I love stretching myself with learning the techniques she does so easily. I also enjoy making her layouts my own, by using my own stash.

These next two are from Scrapbook 'n Things... notes that I've had sitting around waiting for the perfect photos to scrap.

These layouts made a huge dent in my 2013 album which is really a good feeling.

Anyone for coffee?

My goal for this year is more coffee, more chocolate and more scrapping... so what's better than scrapping about drinking coffee and eating chocolate...hehehe.

So this is a scraplift of a layout I saw on pinterest and decided this would be the perfect topic. To make the mugs I found a clipart pic that I then traced and cut. All the papers are Lady Pattern Paper.

I made this layout for the Mercy Tiara 27 days challenge for February. The challenge is based on a "love potion" recipe:

Start by creating a project about something or someone you love (this is, after all, a LOVE potion)

Add an image of the object of your affection by including at least one photograph

Variety is the spice of life (and love), so add at least three different patterns in your creation.

This is a love potion, so it must be extra-special. Add sparkle to your potion with glitter, sequins, jewels etc.

Put yourself into your potion: use first-person journaling that starts with “I”

And finally, because this is a love potion, include at least one heart somewhere on your project!

So there you have it... I love coffee and it makes a beautiful scrapping subject.

Shape Challenge

My scrapping over the last few weeks has been slightly hit and miss... with Aaron in hospital and me having lots of work to do, I haven't done too much. Thankfully there are some challenges around that get me motivated. Scrapbook Generations had just one such challenge... use a large shape and create a filled layout.

I have been eyeing cutfiles for a while and wanted to use a 12x12 one as a background to stretch my scrapping. This star from JustNick was exactly what I wanted to scrap.

Well as I only have an old 8.5x11" silhouette and my 6x12" curio this posed a bit of a problem. Thankfully the kind people at Shortcuts Crafts cut my background for me on their shop Cameo...so there starts my layout.

My background I made whilst testing my new neon irresistibles from Imagine Crafts. Once my start was stuck I filled it with bits of cardstock and then dug out my sticker words for even more fun.

Crazy me... I even handstitched all around the star just to finish it off.

Love that a simple inspiration challenge can lead to an accomplished goal.

Let's Scrap Sketches DT

It's time for happy news...yippee. It's been announced and is official. I am part of the design team for March to August 2017 for Let's Scrap Sketches.

I am looking forward to creating some awesome double layouts in the coming months. My first layout will be up on 1st of March.

January layouts

I had a good month of scrapping in January... managed to complete 21 layouts in total which relates to 34 pages... wow for the first time in I don't know how long I managed to meet (and exceed) my layout-a-day goal for a month. So here's some of what I did during the month:

This layout is using one of the many sketches I've saved over the years... calls for lots of photos, which is really how I like to scrap. I used some crackle paint through a brick stencil for the edge effect.

Next up is a layout based on a travel page by Lara Hanna of Scrapbook n Things. Also a page with lots of pics on it.

These few pages are all Jowilna originals with my own special twists.

At the moment I am slowing making inroads into my planned pages from my 2013 album. I have also now planned all my layouts for my 2014 album and am busy with a major photo editting project to get the pics all printed. There will be lots of happy scrapping days ahead this year.

Scrap Affairs - Sketch challenge

In Issue 51 of Scrap Affairs there was a sketch challenge issued by Laura Whitaker.I have been following her for a few years so couldn't not do the sketch. Here is my layout:

I used lots of old stash on this page and added in a few extras from the sketch. Am very chuffed with how it turned out. Now to hold thumbs on winning (hint hint!).

You can see Laura's original sketch and layout on her blog.

Lets Get Sketchy Guest Designer Application

I read about applying to be a guest designer for Lets Get Sketchy back in December and then found the perfect photo for the layout that was required. I scrapped it, took it's photos and then left it stewing on my pc till after the deadline of submission... silly me. I didn't realise I had missed the deadline till I sat down to submit. Oh well,guess I just chalk it up to another page done and leave it at that.

I did manage to use quite a few bits from my leftover stash and also a set of diecuts that I found when I was having my clearout. Amazing what you find when you're not looking for it!

January scrapping

Every year I make it a goal to do a page a day.... not physically every day but the aim is 365 pages in a year. Yes I have yet to hit this target, but some years I have come pretty close. Maybe one year I will actually surprise myself and get there.

So in this line of thinking, today is the 12th of January and so far this month I have scrapped 7 doubles and 4 singles which equates to 18 pages. So guess I am ahead of the game for now... yippee.

I won't bombard you with them all in this post, but here are a few for now:

Both these layouts are Jowilna Nolte originals but with major twists from me...ie not the usual white backgrounds, using my stash and even flipping left/right pages around.

A funny (and hard lesson) learnt on completing the double layout is to make sure you have enough dimensional glaze in the bottle before you start doing your title....hehehe yip you guessed it, I ran out halfway! Had to go buy a refill and then could only get a big bottle of the stuff (which I hate using too!). Guess I won't have to buy more for a loooonnnnnggg time.

December singles

I mentioned in my last post about doing a few singles in amongst that horde of doubles... well here they are:

This first one goes with my batch of pinterest inspired pages using my scraps... it sat on my desk for a while as I needed to print the small photo and cut the title. Eventually managed to get them done.

This layout is another one that was an amalgamation of inspiration from pinterest and an idea that I had rattling in my brain for years. In my tidying up that I did in Oct/November I came across this family chipboard album that I had bought to put on a page. I decided there was no better time to use it instead of just hording it... so a layout was made.

As this chipboard album is quite thick, I had to find ways to keep the pages from drooping when it is put into an album. I found some magnets which I added to a few of the pages and hopefully they will hold the book together. Each letter flips open and has photos on both sides. The pics were taken on my Mom's birthday in 2015 when the family was all together.

Bumper scrapping in December

Wow it's the 1st of the New Year... a whole new slate lies ahead of us and the adventure awaits.

But still I look back on last month and reflect on a bumper month of scrapping... I did class 5 times in December and managed to get 8 doubles and a single done. Yes not a major amount as compared to some previous months, but a great deal when you think that I did sewing and baking too, plus read 3 books.

So feast your eyes here on some creativity done (or finished) in December...

All these layouts are Jowilna Nolte originals with a my own special twist... yip I tend to add my own uniqueness to my layouts too even when doing a class... be it extra photos, changing the embellishments, leaving off the stitching (opps sorry Jow!), and even using my own stash.

Jow's classes are super relaxing and stress free... my kind of scrap therapy. I definitely hope to do a lot more of this in 2017.

My year's tally of layouts completed in 2016 was 62 doubles and 108 singles. That's a total of 170 layouts. I am super chuffed that I managed to do that many. It equates to 232 pages. This is the most I've scrapped in one year since 2013... guess it was a good year on the scrapping front. Now to get some filing done!