October Scrapathon ideas ...

Okay so we are doing some research ...

1/. cocktails ... we could supply crushed ice, blender, cocktail shaker, glasses, little umbrellas
        
                   ... you could bring your choice of mixers & alcohol or go for a mocktail

                   ... good idea??

2/. A masseuse ... ????

                        ... how many attending would be interested???

3/. skinny dipping ... how many interested???

whoops that first one is out!!!

Lauren - Fran's August Sketch

Hi Amanda,

Here is my version of Fran's sketch. I've replaced the repeated embellies with the sheet music and the first half of my title :) ...and then forgot about the sketch (whoops!!) when I added the birdcage :)
Thankyou Fran for the inspiring sketch...and all the layouts this month are amazing!!

Happy Sunday,
xx L

Oh Lauren - i do love this. The black lace, those adorable photos, the birdcage and of course the sheet music. I am so envious of your ability to use mists and for it to look so bloody good!! This layout has quite inspired me for the next month's challenges - thanks Lauren ;-)

Awesome and inspirational you are - woohoo YAY.

Colour challenge - Meredith

Fran's sketch - Meredith

Marika - Fran's August sketch (2)

Marika i love how just by using the brown cardstock, you have turned those OA papers and colours (which i always think of bright sun and summer) into a fab winter layout. Also loving seeing the sketch in the bigger 12x12 size....

Great series of photos that really tell the story about the kids. They make me feel cold just by looking at them!

That die-cut punch from SU is a fav. of mine too - just so cute!

Marika said : "Fran's sketch has really inspiring everyone to get scrapping"

she sure has inspired us all!

Sue- colour challenge

Here is my answer to the colour challenge. I was not quite happy with the stamped lettering on this one....didn't quite look like what i was envisaging...but oh well!

I am loving how all the colour challenges are looking sooooo different. 'tis great to see everyones work!

Tiff - June colour challenge + large photo/vertical title

Wow Tiff. I have always thought that photo of Sean is amazing. His eyes look stunning and so crisp. Definitely one to be proud of!

The autumn colours in your cluster are lovely as is the touches of blue and the string is perfect.

Lovely!

Amanda - colour challenge

I was going to delete these photos but thought that maybe i should use them instead. A quest for less perfection lol.

Journalling says: I should have realized that getting a 'nice' photo of us together at 4am after a night out was too much to hope for!

Karen - Fran's August sketch (2)

I spied this over on facebook and convinced Karen to send it through for the blog also.

She has used Fran's sketch again and rotated the whole thing... using squares for the repeated elements.

Love it, love it, love it.

Notice how all those random papers just seem to 'go' together. Beautiful stuff...

Ali - Fran's August Sketch

Hi Amanda, here is my simplistic take on Fran's sketch challenge... thanks for the fantastic sketch Fran!

Ali

Ali ... simplistic = totally unreal in my book! 

The little stapled loops of baker's twine, the splats and the delicious kraft look amazing together. Fabulous butterflies too - the whole page looks just so awesome.

Fran's sketch certainly has produced some fabbo pages! What an inspiration!

Michelle - colour photo

WOW Michelle those flowers on the ?raffia? really pack a punch... love how the little birds, leaves and butterflies appear to be perching/growing out of them. Excellent work. The photo is awesome too - i spy a 'thirds' effect there!!

Also anyone who journals by hand has my instant admiration. Great job!!

Karen - Fran's August sketch

*sigh* perfect.

Karen this is brilliant. Just beautiful. So glad to hear you are scrapping again. You are so very clever it would be a huge shame to not see your work.  What a sensational photo too! awesome.

Sue- Fran's sketch challenge

When i spotted Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's LO in the July/ August Creating Keepsakes, i instantly thought of the graffiti art i saw around Berlin.....and together with Fran's sketch....i was inspired to do a layout of Berlin Graffiti Art.

'tis something different for me, but it reminds me of all that graffiti....and you can sort of see Fran's sketch amongst it!

Great sketch Fran....love it!

Sue- page 100 challenge.

Well, at last i have scrapped!!

I have attemped Meredith's page 100 challenge. I found this inspiration from the real living magazine, August 2010.. ( i actually had to buy a magazine as i had nothing but scrapping ones left in the house!...i had a big chuck out before i left for OS)

What i was inspired on this page was the many different sized black framed photos....and i loved the font along the bottom.


And i thought it would be a perfect way to quickly scrap some photos from our day in Paris.

Now, to see if i can attempt another challenge!

Amanda - Fran's August Sketch

Marika - Fran's August sketch

Oh wow Marika. Brilliant colours - they work so well on boy pages! That orange is just striking! This goes to show that you don't need heaps of embellishments for it to be a repeated theme... those three circles are brilliant!

Really like that little button on the orange star too.... just add a little extra KAPOW.

again those HS round stickers are just so Fran too!

Michelle - Fran's sketch

Hi Amanda

Here is my submission for Fran’s sketch this month. 

I enjoyed completing this challenge.

I would love to give a special mention and thank you for the inspiration from Julie Winks for the “banner of hearts”.  I loved it so much that I have scraplifted from one of her recent layout.

Thanks

Michelle

This is lovely Michelle and that row of hearts is gorgeous! Lovely vintagey colours - great take on the sketch!!

Those prima blooms are just stunning aren't they?! Fabulous work.

sorry your pic is so small Michelle - i tried to make it bigger but it just pixelates :(

Take a look at this ...

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http://www.timholtz.com/vid_distressink.htm

Wow ... this may have been around for a while but it is worth a look for some inspiration!

Floral art ...

Photo from Maya Road Blog

http://mayaroad.typepad.com/mayaroad/2010/08/sneak-peek-week-wrap-up-and-flower-tutorial-1.html

Wow these flowers are delish!! I'm on the look out for this ribbon!!

A huge thank you ...

I would personally like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has been posting us layouts lately ... the blog seems to be really busy at the moment!

At times we feel that we could just shut it down but it's times like these that we feel invigorated and want to carry on with free abandon

... okay I might be getting a little carried away

... but thank you, thank you and again thank you!!!!

Fran's sketch - Lou

I feel like I am repeating my self but ... WOW!!

Love what you have done here Lou!

The white ? brads for the repetition (they actually look like Mentos to me ;-)), the title and the strip of chipboard (I think) looks wonderful! And I really like how you have "poked" the butterfly at the top!

Just worked out this is Nat May's daughter and husband ... I think??!!

Thank you!

Amanda - page 100 challenge

wow this one was a fantastic challenge Meredith. Very very different and got you thinking! I liked it very much :)

My page 100 was from and old O magazine (Oprah's) which i found heaps of scrapping inspiration from in the past simply by the layout of the beautiful adverts and features.

on opening it to page 100 though......... blergh. Lots of text and one tiny, teeny drawing.

BUT WAIT! I had been toying with the idea of turning a photo of myself into a cartoon for a while so this was the perfect layout to do it on. It turned out to be a VERY long process in photoshop because i didn't like any of the action type of cartoonizers..... so this is the end result.

and it has a lot of dimension - which is unusual for me...

Fran's sketch - Tracey

Tracey said ...

my layout to answer Fran's challenge. 

I found the repetition thing hard (it doesn't take much to confuse me!!)  

This layout also has no pink on it which is highly unusual for me, I'm not really a red kind of girl.  

What a stunning photo! I love your layout Tracey - I love the facts about Charlotte too, a great way to remember those things!

Beautiful colours too.

Thank you again for supporting us! :-)

Colour challenge - Lou

Wow Lou - beautiful photo, love the embellishment clusters and the brads (I must try that as I have heaps of brads!).

Oh and maybe a sprinkle of mist or paint? Really love the butterflies too. And what a groovy paper to use as the background - gorgeous!

Thank you!

FYI ... Steamboat!

Okay we interrupt regular posting to bring to you all a cooking delight

... the steam boat

... my Mum calls it the Steamboat Shuffle and in some articles it is referred to as a hotpot!

Some of the articles show ceramic steamboats, some are stainless steel or brass.

Some links for you ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot

http://ilearn-culture.com/chinese-hot-pot-or-steam-boat/

I remember it as being lots of fun but you wouldn't want to be worried about "double dipping"!!

Hope that this information has been helpful.

We will now return to regular posting!

Marika - Fran's August sketch

oh beautiful Marika. AND you have used a trademark of Frans.... those round Heidi Swapp stickers!!

Love your wave element along the bottom and those yellow thickers are one of my fav. ones. Great, bright summery colours also in the banner.

Just sensational!

Page 100 challenge - Tracey

Tracey said ... 

Attached is Page 100 from Travel Africa magazine.  My page looks nothing like it except for photo placement if you look at it with a squint, a very dodgy effort at the challenge.  All other mags I looked at had very boring page 100's with loads of writing. My page was very easy and used up some summer photos of which I have too many, as always.  

This is wonderful Tracey! I think you have used the p.100 well to achieve the layout of your photos and the title placement.

By the way I think your photos are great and give across a fantastic feeling of your holiday!

Thank you for sending your layout in!

Nic's sketch & misting challenges - Sandra!

Sandra said ...

Bit late I know but here is my answer to Nic's sketch and the Misting challenge
can you see Nic's sketch under there??
and I glimmermisted the pennyfarthing, the tree and the alphas.
and yes....I crocheted the border!! (my Grandmother would be sooo proud!! lol)

WOW Sandra!! Thank is brilliant!! The crocheting is sensational!!

Something I have all the equipment for ... now I juts need to get a lesson or three!!

The colour of the Glimmermist on the chip looks perfect for your layout

So beautiful!

tonight....

... i had the most amazing reminder of what scrapbooking is all about.

I had the privilege of looking through an album that was lovingly created in memory of a family member. This album was OVER 80 pages long and had taken over A YEAR to create. Absolutely amazing.

Each page told a story about this person and by the end of the album i felt as if i had known him personally. It was so touching that i felt his loss, even though i had not known him.

The creator told me that she had kept the page designs 'simple' but any other adornments / embellishments would have detracted from the beautiful, stunning photos and the real meaning behind the album.

It was a master piece and i feel so lucky to have seen it. What an amazing keepsake and an incredible thing to create. Well done K. A beautiful momento of a special man.

Thank you.
xx

Jenny - Nic's sketch

This is cute, cute, cute Jenny! Loving those pink pearl scattered across the page  - gorgeous! The lace is so delicate and pretty - just like that sweet little dress. And oh what a great cluster of elements.

Fantabulous!

Michelle - large photo and vertical title

oh the colours in this are stunning Michelle! Love your yo-yo flower, the chip grasses behind it and that vertical title is fabulicious! Great tie in with the photo colours too!

This is beautiful!

Ali's magazine challenge

Ali said ...

I was really inspired to do the Mag challenge. I chose a Thai Magazine that I bought while we were there a couple of months ago, I flipped to page 100, and loved what I saw. I basically used the design AND the colours. Thanks for the challenge.

Wow Ali that looks wonderful!! A great interpretation from the original!

Love your photo too - I love Asian food!

My Mum has a steamboat although I have only had one it was lots of fun!! I should look out for one next time I'm in Adelaide at the markets!

Thank you!

Tracey - August colour challenge

Howdy Amanda,

 shock horror, yes I know, I can hardly believe it either, answering a challenge in record time for me!!! Actually the colour challenge has been very loosely followed ... sorry a lack of orange but substituted with yellow!!  This was an easy layout for me not too much brain straining going on, its quite the miracle. I love this photo of Charlotte, she was so loving herself in her bikini, it was hilarious! Have a good week. 

Trace xx

oh Trace that photo is so funny - she really does look like a little model in that bikini and pose. Gorgeous green title and love your cluster of elements. I also really like seeing those bright colours against a black background... they really pop! Beautiful work.

Thanks for showing us!

More CHA photos ...

Check out this girl's blog ...

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com//

she has tonnes of photos of the goodies to come our way some time in the future!!

August guest sketcher

Well i am sure this lady needs NO introduction. I have been a massive fan for a very long time - everything she does is gorgeous. I was so excited when she agreed to be our special guest sketcher for e2c for the month of August while Sue is still away.

Our sketch artist this month is FRAN TYNAN.  Fran is on the DT for Anna's Craft Cupboard, Karen's Scrappin kupboard, has also been on the Kaisercraft DT and regularly appears in our scrapping magazines.

She has provided us with an amazing sketch. Really different and unusual - not only is the sketch itself brilliant but how she has presented it is WOW... in fact i have never seen a sketch scrapped!

and here is her example:

I hope you are as inspired by this as i am!

Thanks so much Fran!

August colour challenge

August Challenge .... the first one!

Notebook magazine Issue 60, page 100

Okay so you are probably think ... "what the?"

Step one ... grab a non-scrapbooking / craft magazine

Step two ... open it to page 100

Step three ... be inspired!!

Step four ... take a scan or photo of the page (& tell us which magazine it is from) to send to us with your layout

So just as an example from this magazine page above you could be inspired to ...

1. use various shades of blue
2. use various shades of blue paint
3. use two fonts that are like the fonts
4. use string, as is attached to the paint chip
5. use a paint technique
6. use fabric
7. use blue and white
8. whitewash (the paint sticks look whitewashed) a piece of paper as seen here on the Studio Calico blog

So hopefully that will help you get started!!

You may want to look at a couple of magazines to find the right inspiration

... the first one I looked at was the latest Masterchef mag and the page had a photo of lamb chops with green beans!!

The only idea I came up with was colours!!

Can't wait to see what is created with this!

Ideas, ideas, ideas ...

Hello everyone!

Things have been a little quiet lately so I thought I would look for some inspiration on the Web!!

Misting ...

 http://studiocalico.blogspot.com/2010/07/tutorial-misting-masks.html

I have been using the Maya Road mists lately!

http://www.mayaroad.net/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=198 ... some yummy colours there!




New products ...

http://www.thescrapreview.com/

this site has reviews and new stuff from the Craft and Hobbies Association (CHA) event that is on in the USA at the moment.

http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/write_click_scrapbook/2010/07/the-products-our-picks.html

I really love ...

Aren't those alphas cute!!

Oh my I have a thing for punches at the moment ... mainly buying them!! These slim line ones are great!!

As my boys say "I want to punch stuff" but I think they mean something else!!


Mini books ... 

http://diaryofarenegadescrapbooker.typepad.com/my-blog/

this girl rocks mini books ... very inspiring! I haven't made one for ages and feel the urge coming on!!

A scrap night ...

contact one of our / your local scrap shops and get out so seek some inspiration!!

I know that Scrapworkz have one each Thursday night,

Sheoak Craft Cottage are having one on Friday 6th August

and the Shabby Chic Shack have been having Friday night scrap night fairly often!

Blogs ...

I love looking at other people's scrapping

... we have a list on the side bar of girls that attend our retreat who have blogs

... Japan has some really clever scrappers
... take a look at this one I found last night ... http://poki.air-nifty.com/blog/

Magazines ...

My favourite magazine has a new blog ...
http://northridgemedia.net/blogs/create/


Where have you found your inspiration lately? Post a comment with your info!


Ooohh and stay tuned some new challenges will be posted soon!! 


Amanda and I had a little meeting at the footy yesterday to discuss!!


And we have a great guest sketcher for you this month ... her sketch is apparently very unique in its style!!


And our favourite regular sketcher is going to be back on the block soon!!