Celebrate!!!

June and July are busy months in our family calendar for birthdays.  My brother-in-law celebrated a "big" birthday this year along with the others we jam into these couple of months.  We headed to a local restaurant to celebrate 2 of the birthdays which fell into the same week and thanks to a lesson from Nic Howard in her Dimensional Details class with Big Picture Classes this was the resulting layout

The scan cut the black border on the left hand side off but you get the drift.  Really enjoying Nic's class as always and knocking out far more layouts than I normally would in a week which is exciting.

Now I've just received the new range of embossing folders from Couture Creations so I'm off to the scrap room to play cards :)  Have a couple of Christmas card workshops to devise - wish me luck  and thanks for stopping by xxxx

When all links lead you somewhere it's time to follow

As I browsed the net this week seeking inspiration for my next scrapbook layout I was presented with the same idea from two of my favourite scrapbookers!  As many of you are aware - I am currently taking Nic Howard's Dimensional Details class over at  Big Picture Classes and one of the lessons Nic has presented was using up old alphas to create a background.

Strolling through the various blogs on my reading list and I found Tiff Sawyer demonstrating the same idea.

I figured that obviously it was time I gave this a try as well.

Thanks Nic for the page design - taken from the Dimensional Details class - here is my version!

Dragging out those old punches!

I completed a fabulous class today designed by Nic Howard for Aussie Scrap Source.  Nic's layout was created as a page for a calendar but mine is a scrapbook layout about my little girl lazing on the beach in Cairns during our holiday last year to visit my little brother and his family.

Love pulling out my basic tools (which I don't do often enough) and finding a new way to use them!  The dimensional circle border which runs portrait style down the page is made from 2 different sized circle punches.  So simple and ever so clever!  Thanks Nic.

Because I enjoyed the technique so much I decided to apply it to a simple masculine card as well

Hope you enjoy these as much as I have enjoyed making them - thanks for stopping by!

Back to the classroom

Whilst school classes were sometimes a bit of a bore - there is nothing I enjoy more these days than being back in the classroom - this time however, it is online and it's scrapbooking!  I'm currently signed up for a 12 week course with the talented Nic Howard who is teaching a Dimensional Details class over at Big Picture Classes - www.bigpictureclasses.com.

One of the things I love about taking part in an online workshop such as this is that it makes me scrap regularly.  Although there is never pressure to "keep up" - it does motivate you to at least attempt to complete each of the week's assignments and get scrapping!  and the talent of the others scrappers from around the world sharing their work is inspirational to the scrapping mojo as well.

Here is a layout I've just created for class where we were working on using ink to shade behind the photos.  I love the soft look it gives instead of a photo mat.  Throw in some sanded edges, layered patterned paper strip and build it all up with the embellishments cluster and there we are.  I'm back in the habit of using baker's twine again too I've noticed - enjoying the movement it gives a page as a finishing touch.  As always the journalling has to be included - this time it's hidden in a little pull out pocket behind the central photo.

Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoy!

Other scrappers inspiration

I've had one of those weeks where everyone else's scrapping has inspired my layout.  It started with a theme challenge at a Facebook challenge site called Crafty Crops to create a Christmas themed page.  The next inspiration came from Michelle - a DT member for www.my2angels.net who used a Prima brick mask - I love the background look of the bricks so this inspired me to bring out my brick template from The Crafter's Workshop - not the same look but in the same vein.

Next was a challenge in my Big Picture class for Dimensional Details to use scraps and a kraft coloured background - thus the papers used here.  I have altered my background with a background crackle stamp and the brick template and some Gesso but this is where it started.  The papers are all scraps from my scraps folder.  I've applied some new shading techniques from the clever Nic Howard to my wooden title, a new die from Tim Holtz - the lamp post, some Kaiser wood flourishes, two different Martha Stewart border punches, some pearls from Kaisercraft and VOILA!

I hope Christmas isn't creeping up on us too quickly - as you can see, this is only the 2009 version......

Enjoy the Moments that make you smile!

In the past couple of weeks my Mum has lost two of her dearest friends.  I have known both these beautiful women for over 40 years and they have each played a large part in my life.  Sitting in my family church in Avalon Beach in NSW yesterday at one of their funerals,  I listened as family members and friends stood up and remembered the things about one of these women that made them smile.
Simple things like a full table of people sharing a meal and a story, a look that she was able to give her children which spoke volumes, her endless supply of energy for helping other people and how those efforts made those peoples lives richer, lamington drives, time spent with children and someone who was always at the end of the phone if you needed her.  Whilst this day was sad to be saying goodbye - it was also a celebration of all the things in her life which had made us enjoy our moments with her so much more and a reminder of all the things about her which make us smile when we think of her.

When I sat to write this blog post having just returned back to Queensland, I realised that the last layout I completed for the wonderful expanded version of the Dimensional Details class with Nic Howard that I'm doing over at Big Picture Classes is in fact entitled "Enjoy the Moments that make you Smile".  Life has been very hectic of late and perhaps I needed a gentle reminder that there is so much in my life I'm thankful for and sometimes I need to sit back and remember to celebrate those moments.  Thank goodness for my scrapbooking - it allows me to celebrate those moments and keep them on hand as reminders.

Here is my latest scrapping endeavours

The Dimensional Details class has just kicked into Week 2 - I'm not sure if it is still open for new registrations but if you're thinking about it - check it out.  A fantastic class for content and the support of the other participants from all around the world on the gallery and the forums is incredible.  I'm sure you'll love it and make some new scrappy friends along the way! www.bigpictureclasses.com  is the link.

Sorry the photo looks a bit dark - there is a transparency over the top of the photo and it has made it a bit hazy when I scan :(

Thanks for looking and I hope your week is full of moments that make you smile!

Social Media of the past.

I hear so many people these days complaining of how the youth of today are constantly hooked up to an electronic device for their entertainment.  I laugh a little, remembering that I too was guilty of this in my youth. Today we have internet, facebook, video games & mobile phones with a multitude of applications to keep us entertained.  Back in my day it was a C.B radio.  I would spend countless hours in my room with a microphone in my hand and chatting to my friends.  The greatest threat from them was to ring the house if I dared to sign off!  Horrors.....

This layout celebrates the role this radio played in my youth and the friends I am blessed to still have in my life today as a result.

Thanks again go to Nic Howard for design inspiration on this layout.  I recently purchased a class Nic did for True Scrap 3 called Flower Frenzy - check out Nic's blog for details http://nichoward.typepad.com/my_weblog/.  This layout was inspired by Nic's example layout for this class but veered off drastically after the journal block.  Thanks for the kickstart though Nic.

Completely aside from this layout - if you want to learn about how to make some incredible flowers and how to incorporate these and other store purchased flowers into your scrapbooking or cardmaking - make an investment in this class.  I've been playing in the scrap room the past couple of days designing cards for an upcoming workshop and have already used 2 of the handmade flowers Nic taught in this class - simple and quick - even my 9 year old has been out here with me making some!

Of course if you follow the link to Nic's blog you will also see details of the Dimensional Details class Nic is teaching for Big Picture Classes starting on 5th July!  I did this class back in 2010 and it changed the way I scrap forever - 12 weeks of sheer bliss and a wonderful and interactive forum and gallery to boot!