My Inner Baker - Jun 2017

I really enjoyed using inspiration from Double D Challenges Blue & White comp. Somehow these colours didn't suggest a card to me but a digi scrapbooking page instead and I channeled my inner baker.

For some years now its been difficult for me to follow recipes and concentrate enough in the kitchen to do anything except for what I know best. The last few years I have been able to follow the backs of packet cakes or cupcakes.

But very recently I finally have enough headspace to look at recipes again and bake things. It's a small step to some, but a giant leap forward (to quote a famous quote - thanks Neil) for me.

So I used this blue and white challenge to come up with a page featuring my most latest bakes and a bit about that for me. I used IRL items which I don't use that much these days - like the window (which I made into a cupboard) and the basket, and the french metal gate. I loved the colours of the challenge- all those blues and checks, metallic, greens and white.

My Inner Baker - digi scrapbooking page Double D June 2017

It's hard to describe to others how I put a page like this together, considering its so many elements over so many different kits. I do alot of changing colours and lighting on pieces to get them to match - particularly things like the key, whereas others like the tea pot I didn't edit at all. The basket, for example, was light brown cane with two teddy bears in it. I cut the teddies out and made the basket white and put my flowers 'into' it. The French metalwork was in gold and was around a fancy doorway, and I just cut out the bit I wanted and repeated it to make this pattern. The checked heart I used above the photos, but I also upsized it to make it the 'table cloth' for my basket. It was originally brown and white. I used a combination of material items and hard surfaces like wood and metal to match the inspiration photos.

Ingredients :

Kimeric Kollections Sisters - Patterned paper no 12 (blue background) | Far Far Hills Freebies Kit Light Wood 007 (white fence) | PrelestnayaP Because of You Element 28 (finding chainlet) | PrelestnayaP Designs Shades of Love Element 13 (key)  | Laithas Designs Nocturn Whispers Elements no 13 (linen page), M Mullens Among The Wildflowers kit - prong (finding slider),  Far Far Hills Sweet Christmas Dreams Skimersan 0011 (tea pot), Far Far Hills Feast Love Skimersan 008 (clock), Far Far Hills Gentle Spring 002 (basket), CSI #45 digi pieces (double window frame), Yalana Designs Light Feelings no 107 (cloth heart), Lara’s Digital World Bye Bye Summer Elements flower 1 (blue flower), Rachael’s Scraps Flowers Vol 24 no 6 (white flower), Disasterpiece Studios Goldilocks CU no 3 (gold cord), Far Far Hills Vintage Doors freebies kit 002 (French style metalwork), Lara’s Digital World Under Palm Tree - Fish Stripe (used for shape of fish), American Crafts City Park Patterned Paper no 2 - River Front Park (stripes/spots on fish), Far Far Hills Old Worn Metallic Surfaces 003 (silver work at top), JBS FreshLove - Sticker 20 (title is in it), my Nanna W’s cross shaped doiley.

Suppliers : Far Far Hills, Digi Chicks, Sugar Hill Co, Pickleberry Pop,  Sweet Shoppe Designs, American Crafts Digital, CSI digi freebies, etc

Super Me June 2017

I signed up for a two month challenge with my fitness group and the first week was a doozy - something called "burpees" as many as you can do in five days. Well, I struggled to the things at all and ended up breaking them into pieces. However, my down dogs in my yoga sessions improved no end, so it wasn't all bad.

I found the last few CSI challenges too much of a challenge, and #231 was the same, but I got sick of skipping ones that I found hard, and thought I'll just do it anyway. The primary colours (plus green) is always a challenge for me as I associate those colours with children or my childhood - from my push plastic lawnmower, to that sided ball that you pushed the shapes into, to the lego blocks. So it was hard to come up with something else cause I don't have any childhood pics or kiddies I want to scrap ATM.

So this is what I came up with below. I did something similar many years ago on an IRL page but that was a whole story and always wanted to give it a go in digi scrapping but it never seemed to suit.

The sketch was an added challenge. How do I incorporate it when most of the detail I wanted in and around the text? I decided to stitch the sketch in behind and use an A4 sheet on its side.

Super ME digi layout Jun 2017 CSI challenge #231

Scheme: all colours there, Testimony: What's your super power? / Write in exclamation marks, Evidence : animals, white background, bow & string, eye glasses (mine), googly eyes, speech bubbles, punctuation marks, stars, hearts.

Ingedients: will come back and pop in.

Digi Cardmaking Shifting Gears

I've started to unravel my inner card maker and really let the creativity flow and rip. In the past this would be something reserved for family members cards, and I would rarely share it elsewhere, but I've started to lift the veil and see what I can really create in cards with my digi skills if I really try and am inspired.

I found Path of Positivity a few days ago from a link on another card makers site. These are the kinds of cards I love to make.

Their challenge no 50 was hard - I haven't done alot of anniversary or wedding work. But I didn't let that stop me and I had a go anyway. I imagined people I knew who have celebrated 50 years of marriage or more and what is special about them. Then I made up the wording to include the faith, hope, and love theme. The card is an anniversary card but could easily be converted to a wedding or engagement by changing the wording slightly. The colours can also be changed easily as everything is toned to a colour group. The font is one I actually don't use a lot - AR Decode, yet I was happy that in large and bold it worked for the title as well as for the finer faith love and hope.

This is the card I created.

Path of Positivity June 2017 digi card fath hope love

Ingredients : [Lara’s Digital World Inner Peace Elements Driedelement (puple seedhead), Branch (purple flower branch)], Feli Designs Inner Peace Kit pp09 (background paper), PrelestnayaP Designs Shades of Love el2 (white rose), Tiramisu Designs Nicol el14 (flowers n butterflies), A2Z Scraplets Doodlet 04 chipboard swirl (scanned), A2z Scraplets doodlet 02 chipboard swirl (scanned), fonts: AR Decode & Book Antiqua

Vintage Style.. with cats - June 2017

It looks like a cold wet winter this year, with plenty of time stuck indoors to do housework or scrapping! I'm really into vintage artists right now, particularly Australian ones, and was really inspired by the Artastic comp. Vintage is such a beautiful style, but I get too annoyed when publishers get it confused with Heritage or Antique which can be 100 years earlier!

I find it hard to get digital vintage - retro has made a comeback, so I usually end up editing my own pieces to fit, or scan in items from cards and then edit them for my pages. When I talk vintage I'm usually looking at 1930s - 1950s. But then everyone has a different take.

The subdued colours in peach, green, lemon, and blue and the soft outlines of drawings. The focus on nature and children and beauty in the smallest things. I loved my parents books - Digit Dick (although that one could be scary!) or other children stories for children.

So, of course, I had no trouble coming up with a page! I focused on my share cats - you know - the ones that other people own that I visit often or whom are neighbours and therefore share their cats. I'm really good at kitty massages and all my share cats know it and immediately flop over on the furniture when I arrive to get their massage. My closest three share cats have now all passed, and I miss them, even though they weren't my cats.

Tales of Share Cats Jun 2017 - Artastic comp

Artastic inspiration for June 2017

Black n White - I miss you May 2017

That black and white theme from The Sisterhood of Crafts really got me going. I created a second card! This time I thought about all my pen work (black pen on white card IRL) and what I love about that, and could I make something digital similar.

I took out my best photos of seagulls flying (they are so relaxed looking and elegant I always think) and drew around them creating (mostly white) silhouettes. Then I arranged them on the digi page for my card. This worked. Really happy with the result. YAY.

I miss you digi Card - The Sisterhood Black & White 2017

Ingredients : none - I just used my graphics software - Fireworks.

Black n White May 2017

Is it black and white? Chalk and cheese? Or a colour statement? Its definately not MY colour combo. Black and white are too extremely on the ends of the colour table for me. Put another 'real' colour with them and I'm in heaven, but without.. well, its darn challenging! So for that reason I had a go at The Sisterhood's challenge.

That said, I have done alot of black penwork of late on white card and enjoyed that very much and the patterns left behind, but when it comes to scrapping its a little more difficult with solid blocks of colour, or at least I find it so!

Hello card - in black and white - The Sisterhood of Crafters Black n White challenge 2017

It probably doesn't look like much, but being a digi card I put on every single one of those jewels and pearls individually, re-sized AND gave alot of them individual shadowing to help them pop up and out. I repeated the white damask/filigree in the background for a black-on-black effect which to me helped make it look more 'groovy' 60's revival rather than 1890's! I tried to use lace or ribbon as well - but the overly patterned effect created with the jewels and pearls stood alone and didn't want any further embellishment! I used a different damask/filigree for the sides to give it added interest. Happy with this.

I use alot of Hello cards myself to send to friends or family when its not their birthday!

Ingredients : will come back and pop them in. Mostly Far Far Hills.