Just in Time

This little parcel is packed up in a courier bag ready to be sent off to the recipient tomorrow. A dear friend of mine has moved out into her own place and I am so thrilled for her. BFF gave me the Stampin' Up! stamp set from last year's Sale-a-bration promotion and this is the first chance I've had to play with the stamps. As soon as I decided to make the recipient a 'welcome to your new home' card I knew I wanted to use this set. I searched Split Coast Stampers for some inspiration (easy designs only) and this is what I cam up with from my scrap stash.

There's been a bit of a gap since the last blog post but there's lots going on - some of it positive, some of it challenging and some of it unexpected. With the goal of blogging at least once a month, this blog post made it just in time ;)

Happy to be what I call "creative"

How good it feels to be creating again! I sat down and devoured the latest Creating Keepsakes magazine last weekend (Nov/Dec 2010) and I was inspired to use the 15 Minute Layout idea. Now, I don't normally scrapbook using a sketch but I thought I would give it a go. Trouble was: I had to clear a space on my desk which was still overflowing with bits and bobs from my last project (yes, unfinished - hangs head in shame). So, a quick 15 Minute (cough - 30-60 minute) layout turned into a 2+ hour marathon with the initial 1hr+ needed to clear a usable space on my desk. I still have three sorted piles left to put away but I didn't want to waste any more of my precious scrapbooking time/energy in cleaning up. I know the 'clean up as you go' freaks out there are probably wanting to put their two pennies in here but let's move on before they can :)

The 15+ Minute layout turned out quite well but of course it took me longer because a) I don't have a complete, coordinating line to work with and b) I have to ink the edges of everything so that there is at least one unifying thing that ties it all in together (because it's not from a complete, coordinating line). It is A4 size and now I have the problem of where to store it as the only A4 album I have is for the dog (yes, he has his own album!). I must confess that I popped it in the back of the dog's one - must get on to creating either a new A4 album or more A4 [human] layouts to join it and thus making it not quite so weird. I'm not ready to share it as yet, need to get the parents permission as it has a pic of BFF's second daughter - Miss 2.

Currently I'm working on my 2010 double layout. Yes, I may be a bit behind (ok, 1 year) but at least I am getting back on track in early 2012. Every year since 2007 I create a double layout using index photos from that year. It is very simple and follows a similar design each year: Black cardstock (although 2009 broke the tradition & used green), index photos, [handmade] chipboard numbers for the year spanning both pages two thirds the way up the page, photo corners on the four outside corners, and mini journaling. Of course, I don't want to show that on here either - too personal to share with all the cyber stalkers out there!

Instead, you get a picture of some fridge magnets I made for my Mum. Those of you who actually read my blog will see that the paper on the pegs matches the paper used on the recipe folder I made for her last year. They were super quick and easy to make (yes, might even be doable within the 15 minute mark). Now the fridge has a set of magnets that blends with the kitchen design instead of a mishmash of all the free, advertising, rectangle magnets that you get given. Ah pretty!



Just as a final note: I watched a rerun of one of my favourite shows last night (Miranda) and I fear that parts of this blog may have been influenced by her style - apologies. It really is lovely being what I call "creative" again! Such Fun! ;)

What's On My Desk?

What's on my desk right now? A lot! I'm working on a little something for my niece which has turned into a little something multi-layered and time consuming. The first photo (below) is what the album started out as - $1 target mini album. It is no longer pink and I've had to make spacers for all the items I needed/wanted to add to the album. Still not finished which is why there is literally so much on my desk right now. I keep losing things and wasting time looking for things that I know are under the mass (not a typo) somewhere. You know you have to tidy up or reduce your stash when you can't find things. I 'lost' a new porcelain sanding foam within days of placing it on my desk. I can't find either my half-full large bottle of Kraftex or my glue gun. Neither live on my desk or in my creative space but I still can't find them. I ended up having to open a new, large bottle of Kraftex and buy a new [mini] glue gun. It's getting too expensive to be overwhelmed with mess (which is why I only replaced the glue gun with a mini version for $8). I think I may have lent them out and they never made it home again along with my chiffon ribbon spool that went missing over a year ago. Note to Self: maybe a New Years resolution should be start making notes/lists of items I lend out. I don't do New Years Resolutions, but if I did, I think that is a good one to start.

Lots of Blog-hopping going on at the moment - lots of competitions and inspiration on offer. O and I've recently discovered Pinterest! What an amazing, wonderful, distracting site! As well as the constant distractions there is the little issue of getting 4 weeks of work done in 3 with the Christmas break rushing it's way towards us. Plus: it's the Silly Season! So, there's a lot of celebrating going on. Not just Christmas celebrations happening around here either: I've had four birthdays to celebrate in the past three weeks (not all mine!). On top of all that, there has been some visiting friends from away, a wee bit of socialising, and maybe, not that I am confessing to anything here, a little, coughalotcough, of online shopping. O yeah, I am also contemplating submitting for a design team again - sucker for punishment? (That would require finding some time to actually create some submissions though). Phew! That's a lot going on which is why I hope you will forgive me for not updating or inspiring you.

The above picture is something I whipped up for a birthday - there seems to have been a real run on 40ths this year! I have Pinterest to thank for the idea - thank goodness the recipient had a sense of humour too! I think that this idea might be one I pull out again in the future (if the run on 40ths hasn't stopped).

Now, if you were reading closely you would've seen me mention blog-hopping and competitions. Well, I found out I received a prize from one of the blog comments I left! I was so stunned and blown away to receive the prize from Jennifer McGuire's blog. The prize was a Gift Certificate from Simon Says Stamp! I'm sure I will have no problem spending the voucher (and then some).

As a small way of showing my appreciation for their generosity I thought I would add links here for both of their sites:

Jennifer McGuire:http://www.jennifermcguireink.com/

Simon Says Stamp:http://www.simonsaysstamp.com/servlet/StoreFront

I'm in Love...

I'm in love with Tim Holtz Tissue Tape - sigh! There may be an order of more than one wending its way to me as we speak (I neither confirm nor deny that statement).
When I was at one of those $2 shop style paces I came across some Kraft Paper Tape (just under 2" wide). As soon as I saw it, the wheels in my head started turning...imagine what I could do with that! Unfortunately, when I opened the packet (of course it came home with me!) the Kraft 'Paper' had a glossy finish which shut down many of the ideas churning around in my head. I thought it was plain paper topped and could be stamped and embossed. I did try embossing it but it was a disaster! Hmmm, I could try dry embossing it I guess but I might as well use Kraft cardstock for that. I did experiment with a grid stamp and stazon and that worked fine (spritzing it with Glimmer Mist did not work FYI!).
The strip on the left is a Tim Holtz Tissue Tape, did I mention I love Tim Holtz and his product? The middle strip is the kraft paper tape and the one on the right is the kraft paper tape I stamped on. It wasn't as versatile as I originally thought but I'm sure I will pull it out for the odd project here and there (not acid free though).
Just as well I have a few original Tim Holtz Tissue Tapes on their way :)

Sometimes You Have To Do What You Have To Do

You remember I said I didn't like to make cards right? Well, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

Here's two cards I made with the stash from Create Auckland. They are 6x6" (new size for me) and I used a piece of Bo Bunny paper that already had fancy 6x6 designs on them. All I had to do was decide which ones took my fancy, throw on some Bo Bunny bling and brackets, a little stamping/embossing, some edge inking (Of course) and they were done. Not sure where I would find envelopes for them! The colours of the ETC range are great for masculine cards but I'm sure a female friend will be equally as please to receive one of them (once they are returned to me from Create of course).

Disclaimer: I need to add that, if you intend to make both the layout and the cards on this blog from the same stash of papers (as I'm sure someone is really going to bother to do!), you will need two pieces of the Bo Bunny paper. To make the cards I used the reverse side and used the 6x6 that had the tag on it I used in the layout. This can easily be avoided by not using the upper right 6x6 square (but I really liked it)!

Sick of the Blue Background?

Sick of the blue background? Me too! So, for the picture of my latest creation I changed the photo shoot location. I created this layout based around the die-cut Bo Bunny paper and a swirl from Bo Bunny in my kit from Fiona. The swirl direction didn't suit the layout design so I flipped it over and spritzed it with Smooch. Again it is a very different style for me but I totally love it! I may have given myself RSI spritzing all the doilies and used up all of my favourite Smooch colour (the brown) but I think it was worth it.

Two tips I learned in the creative process:

The dark rectangle shape under the swirl is actually one of those [really old] metal word plaques - I just coloured it with Stazon ink to match my layout

I wanted to emboss the pre-printed ring on the die-cut paper but my embossing pens always run dry before I even have a chance to use them. I used a refill bottle of Versa Mark ink to dab ink around the circle and then smeared it carefully with a paint brush (I'm not sure the colour it came with matched but it was too late to turn back once it was done!).

My Mum got given a present in the presentation box and passed it on to me - score! I glued mini pegs inside it with glass glaze so I can display my latest creations in it.

The Next Installment for Create Auckland

The latest parcel has arrived from Fiona @ Create Auckland. I have already started mapping out my project[s]. It's arrival meant I had to clean off my scrap table from the last project I worked on! Clean slate and ready to go.

On a side note: I am booked in for a class Wednesday night at a local scrapbook shop. I am looking forward to attending and having the project already designed for me. It is a mini book by Kathy Kirsten and I will load a picture when it is done.