CSI - challenges for serious scrappers

What I really love about CSI scrapbooking challenges is that they are so darn challenging! There's the colour palette, the embellies or list that could be included (but hey - why stop at the minimum? I try and meet 99% if I can), and the Testimony which lists criteria or interesting inspiration to sites I've never even heard of and are really cool - like the magnetic poetry. Again, I try to do one of the trickier Testimony items - not just the three words to use in the journalling.

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I never get sick of the challenges - but sometimes I lose my creativity and have to plug it back in again. That's when I go out and trawl other comps and enter those. Occasionally I'll need to do a page with my own colours rather than following a palette, but actually I prefer using palettes.

I've been on the Design Team a while now, and I find it great to network with like-minded people and share triumphs and sadness alike. We all seem to rub creativity off each other and go-go-go, and I really like that.

At first I thought a page a week was ridiculous - but actually I've found its really easy now, and often I do more than one page a week. There are very few pages I create that I hate (or bin) and the topics are wide and interesting and just keep me on the edge of creativity.

CSI 141 Design Team 'Lyrebird' 2014 my digi page
Ingredients: Lara’s Digital World Under the Palm Tree - grass5 (fern leaf), Christmas Wish Joyful - K Cronin Barrow - leaf4 (changed to purple), CSI Coordinates #96 Word Art - Typewriter keys (LYRE), Traci Reed Bad Sewing Machine No 29 Bursted - Set 1 (stitched sun circle), [52 SmashUp S Clingerman - pin-heart, pin-arrow], [SBasic I Heart Flairs - no 54, no 26 (keep calm)], Cilenia Curtis ArtBox13 - B1 2b (mask used to create the photo splat and the purple in behind), Basic Grey Romani Textures GYP D830 Texture2 (black drawn scroll edge), Laura Burger Time Travels Doodad 5 (wire butterfly), far Far Hills Freebies Kit -Clock & Gears 009 (collection of gears/cogs), Emarta Designs I Wanna Be Chevron patterned paper no 2, Far Far Hills Freebies Kit Spring Labels 0010 (journal block for journaling), Far Far Hills Freebies Kit Leather Labels 006 (Q & A journal block), etc

CSI 142 Design Team 'Left Side, Right Side' 2014 my digi page
Ingredients: ValC Designs Fly With Me -apaper1 (water drop patterned paper), [Feli Designs Gentle Spring - rose & rose 2 (orange-yellow roses), Foliage5 (lime branch),], Tinci SA - Leaf, Rachael’s scraps - Bittersweet Branches Vol 2 no 2, Lara’s Digital World Bye Bye Summer elements - branch1 (rose hips), Fayette Designs Beach Therapy - funky wave, Emarta Designs I Wanna Be - star, far Far Hills Bright Spring Time - 0050 (blue birdie), far Far Hills Freebies Kit Festive Bows 004 (red bow), Studio Basic Designs I Heart Flairs - no 15 (light globe), Fayette Designs Cool Breeze - Circleray celery (pins), Lorie M Designs Doodle Flowers and Leaves 2 - no 10c (flower graphic with stem), Tiram designs Poppy Smell - el21 (outline of flower), Christmas Wish Joyful - k Cronin Barrow - Berry Wreath (changed to blue), etc

CSI S365-8 Design Team 'My Overactive Imagination' 2014 digi page
Ingredients: toadstools - created myself, Far Far Hills Freebies Kit ‘Spring Day’ 005 (bunny), American Crafts Digital City Park Patterned Paper 2 - Skyline Park (clouds), American Crafts Digital Becky Higgins Seafoam Papers no 12 (zig zags), Fayette Designs Cool Breeze ‘circles no 2’ (target circle), Yalana Designs Light Feelings no 144 (crochet butterfly), Jasmin Olya Designs CU Flowers Lilies of the Valley Vol 9 - No 01, 03, 06, 07, Rachael’s Scraps Retro Buttons Painted No 10, Indigo Designs Always In My Heard no 23 (ribbon bow), etc

CSI 140 Design Team 'Alias' 2014 digi page
Ingredients: Far Far Hills Freebies Kit - Vintage My Love Dreams 0018 (metal frame used in behind portholes), Feli Designs A Thing Of Beauty - Frame 3 (piece cut for the swirls between the portholes), Far Far Hills Freebies Kit Clock & Gears 0010 (porthole), Aida Domisiewicz Frosted Life - Cold Wall 13@Arts (background paper scanned in and colour edited to match palette - also used to create the backgrounds for the letters ALIAS), The Paper stack No 2 Papercrafter Magazine - Bohemian Curtain (red patterned paper), Cilenia Curtis Changes - Banner (tag banner), Far Far Hills Freebies Kit Leather Labels - 002 (usernames are on it), CSI Coordinates #84 Word Art (anchor), Christmas Wish - Joyful - K Cronin Barrow - pp2 (stripey patterned paper), Armina Designs Splatters Brush 1b, 1c, 1d (red splats), Rachael’s Antique & Vintage Buttons Vol 2 - no 2 (metal button with spots), Ettes Time 4 Dreams - paperheart - melon, Mint Printables Birds Exotic - no 11 (parrot), Rachael’s Flowers Vol 24 (tiny white flowers), Tiramisu Designs Poppy Smell - various poppies, etc

Click to see CSI's Current Challenge

Getting back into things.... slowly

I have been really 'into things' the past few weeks. More paintings into local exhibitions (sales) and more unsold paintings coming back into the fold here at home. I went out and painted IRL out at a site which is very dear to my heart - Wonga Wetlands in Albury - which is a brilliant site for bird watching, and was darn good to paint from my little easel too.

I felt a little like a Heidelberg School Artist; looking at gum trees, brown water, and those muddy greens and staring constantly at the warm reflections in the water and amazed at how much sky shone through. I was a frenzy of nerves beforehand and over-planned the exercise to ridiculous proportions, but was able to find a combination where I could carry everything; including a chair, mini table, mini easel, 3 blank canvases, and all my paint, brushes, water (for drinking and separate for painting) and tissues, etc. I couldn't have gone miles with this combo - but easily got out of site of the car park! There were only two other brave souls (even though the days was brilliant - sunny and clear and not too hot) but they decided not to lug stuff and just took a sketchpad and pencils!

The painting was like nothing I've ever done before. It looks respectable and traditional! (that would be a first!). It is almost finished after 3 hours outside.

Then the weekend before I went on a birding marathon with my Mum (and driver Dad). We did Wonga on the Saturday (62 species) - highlight for me was a male Little Eagle overhead (being bombarded by Sulphur Crested Cockatoos) which we got a really good look at, and Chiltern Forest and Chiltern Valley Rd no 2 site as well as Eldorado dredge and sportsground. We got lots of wildflowers at Chiltern Forest - more than I've seen there in a long time, and a few special birds here and there.

Since then I have been undercoating various projects just to see if they are paintable, and doing the Big Spring Clean of the house - so much has already gone out the door, but so much more to go.

My painting from Wonga Wetlands (unfinished) after some outdoor on-site painting!

I forgetus its nameus

Caladenia cucullata

Grevillea alpina

Brachyloma daphnoides