Scrapbook Boutique Colour Challenge - believe

Here's my entry to Scrapbook Boutique Colour Challenge - pink, brown and white.  These aren't colours I would use together normally but the final card looks okay, I guess. In fact, it's better than I expected.

I used a base of brown to begin with. I ran the card through my Cuttlebug (I so so so love this thing now) with a Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing folder - patchwork. A Spellbinder scallop circle die has been used to cut the white card as well as a stencil. The white card was coloured by sponging on distress inks: Frayed Burlap, Spun sugar and Worn Lipstick. I found spun sugar too light so I decided to add some worn lipstick. I also stamped it with some Tim Holtz stamps (Regal Flourish and Lost & Found sets).

I just wrapped some brown twine over this and glued on some white pearls for added interest; I don't use pearls much - have had these for years!

It didn't take me long to do and it was fun. I'm really enjoying doing challenges.

Scrapbook Boutique September Challenge

Here's my second entry to the Scrapbook Boutique September Challenge using pink, lilac, white and green.

This was fun, fun, fun to do.

I used a Stampin Up Sizzix embossing die - really gorgeous impression.

Then, I sponged on some Tim Holtz distress inks: spun sugar, dusty concord and shabby shutters, leaving some white bit to suit the challenge requirements. And to give it a bit of a shimmer, I sprayed on some Perfect Pearls mixed with water, using a mini-mister.

Spraying the sponged-on distress inks actually did 2 things:

(1) give a shimmery effect
(2) blend the colours better for a water colour effect.

I love this technique....watch Tim Holtz do it in the embedded video.

Again, all these products - apart from the SU die - are available from Scrapbook Boutique.

Scrapbook Boutique September Challenge

This is my first entry to Scrapbook Boutique September Challenge to use pink, lilac, white and green. I like this combination but hardly ever use it so it was a bit of a challenge. Once I started though, I got quite inspired and ended up with two cards. Here's the first one.

This uses a Hero Arts flower silhouette cling stamp which I embossed clear to leave a white background. I used Twinkling H2Os to colour the flowers and the stems. The heart is from the new Cuttlebug Embossing Plus Vintage Collage die. It has also been coloured with Twinkling H2Os to match the flowers.

All these links are to Scrapbook Boutique. They sell all these fabulous products.

Great source of Inspiration - Mojo Monday

I found Mojo Monday via Crafty Kim.

Mojo Monday is a fantastic site as a source of inspiration as it is a sketch blog. They publish one out every Monday AND they collate all into a downloadable PDF every month and then every year.

The sketches are designed for cards but there's no reason why these can't be used for scrapbooking, especially the square layouts.

Here's this week's layout.

Wedding Card

A colleague is getting married on Saturday. I volunteered to make a card for the IT department and here's what I came up with. I'm happy to report that everyone - especially the bride-to-be - was impressed; as was I.

I wouldn't normally use black on a wedding card but this lady is actually having a black-and-white wedding; her bridesmaids are wearing black.

It's a big A5 card (A4 folded in half) which meant there was a fair bit of ground to cover. This was really a mash-up of techniques and brands, but nothing fancy. I did toy with the idea of having the two birds face each other but in the end decided with this as the sentiment on the envelope actually stated something about love involving looking in the same direction (so true).

more scrapping layouts

I did these 2 relatively quickly, taking the cue from details on the photos. Both were fun to do.

In this one, I used Tim Holtz masks and distressing inks to make an interesting background. The die cuts were made using Cuttlebug dies. It's all about the wheels. Megan wished for a go-kart for her 8th birthday. She finally got it 9 months later.

In this one, no special techniques were used so it was really quick to complete.

Inspired by Jennifer McGuire

Jennifer McGuire is so creative and her blog and YouTube channel are certainly worth visiting.

This scrapbook page was inspired by a few of her techniques:

1. stamp on background paper to make it unique and help with colour coordination -  I used circles on the stripy background and flourish on the white photo mat
2. emboss die cuts - I used Cuttlebug swiss dots on the blue circles
3. layer inks on stamped images - see close-up of heart
4. punch a hole for the twine to keep it in place
5. use perfect pearls in a mini-mister: your very own Glimmer Mist; check out the glimmery edges of the flowers

This is practically a tribute to the talented lady!

I hope this inspires you to visit her blog and watch her videos.