Jenny - Sue's sketch

This is my entry for 'Sue's Sketch'. It has turned out very purple, I think, I didn't want it all blue. Too 'boyee' So hopefully purple is a good compromise. I'll take note of the reaction on the weekend, when I show him.

Great interpretation of the sketch Jenny! Purple is a nice comprimise instead of lots of blue. Look at those cute smiles too! The Princess looks like she would tower above your little Prince LOL.

Fab job of an inspiring sketch.

retreat tips = it's ok!

This last tip is about a situation that we are all probably going to find ourselves in at the retreat.

Sitting, chatting, eating, drinking, laughing, socializing.

No scrapping.

And i am here to tell you that

it is absolutely fine if you don't scrap.

Our aim is for all of us to have some hard earnt 'time out'.

The retreat is an ESCAPE. If you CREATE then it is great and an added bonus. If you are ESCAPING and CREATING = woohoo. If you are just ESCAPING = excellent and woohoo too.

If you sit there, for three days and just relax.............. that is wonderful. I know i will probably just plonk down, look around, sip my glass of wine and soak in the atmosphere a lot more than i will be productive. And this is ok.

No pressure. No competition on who is producing the most layouts. No one judging you on what you have or haven't done. Just time out.

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Hmmm bring it on i say!

Amanda - colour challenge

Ok, ok  it is more cream than white, and there is a touch of aqua..... but hey the orange is there! (rules were meant to be broken anyway!)

Tiff - banner

Well, better late than never. Maryanne gave me the germ of an idea for this one with cupcake brushes. Aren't they so cute!!

The torn paper between the lines of sewing inspo came from Natalie Perks LO 'Sick' in this months SBM.


cheers
Tiff

nice rip and stitch effect Tiff.

And you are right = those little cupcake pics on the banner look great.

Creativity Quote #11

"I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for"

-Georgia O'Keeffe-

Children's parties and some ideas ...

Just as a little interlude to our retreat information I found this link ...







http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/write_click_scrapbook/2010/03/prty-favor-gift-ideas-on-the-cheap.html

Above is just one of the ideas! Photo from writeclickscrapbook.

Then I found these decorating ideas on the same blog ...

http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/write_click_scrapbook/2010/03/lets-decorate.html

Sandra - challenge #1

Oooooooooh that little blue heart just screams "LOOK AT ME".

this is so cute Sanrda. The stitching, the Kraft and the elements really remind me of Lou Nelson. Lovely work Sandra.

e2c 2010 group challenge...

ok here it is.

Imagine ink. Arms. Tattooist in house at the retreat 24 / 7 over the weekend.
A little something to remember your weekend forever....

Some idea of what we have in mind:

Are we nuts / crazy / insane?

Yes.

Are we kidding?

Yes :)

...........................................................................................................................

ok now THIS is the (real) group challenge:

As part of our retreat we would also like to challenge you. We want you to feel creative from the top of your head to your feet on this weekend away. We have been firing up that spark on our blog with daily quotes and tips and now it is the second 'team building' part.



We would like to see some creativity on your TOENAILS. Go crazy with toenail polish and show us just how creative you can be! If you are having a lull or suffering scrappers block, one look at all our amazing toenails is sure to inspire. There will be a prize for the best, creative and coolest toenails on the retreat!

photo : Stacey Julian

From the tips of our heads to the tiniest toenail we will all just ooze creativity. Hopefully we can get as many people on the retreat involved in this as possible. It will be fun to see what you get up to with your toes!

I really hope that i am not the only one who rocks up with bright toenails in two weeks time!

Creativity Quote #10

“Some people use things; they destroy. You’re a creator, a builder.”

-Amelia Atwater-Rhodes -

Sandra - colour challenge

Hi Amanda



Here is my entry for the Orange and White challenge.


Seeing as it is Harmony day at the school on Friday the 19th of this month I thought it was quite apt to do a Harmony day layout.


Thanks to Tracey for permission to have Jessicas photo on the net.

Cheers

Sandra

Ps LOVING all the layouts and photos on the blog...so nice to see all that participation!

This is so crisp and clean Sandra. The way you have punched varying sized circles in that semi circle looks incredible! Great find with that orange pen too! Clever clever chook.

retreat tips = vision

Another of my Wednesday retreat tips i will share is having vision and preparing yourself mentally.

This may sound a bit 'mumbo jumbo' but what i am really saying is to 'get your self in the right frame of mind with the right tools on hand'.

It may be a simple task of grabbing your photos that you would like to scrap and making up little kit bags with embellishments, papers, ribbons and alphas. In fact maybe try something different and grab an embellishement first! Think to yourself - "ooooh i really want to try and use that embellishment on a page at the retreat" and then grab coordinating / complimentary papers to go with it. Pop all of this in zip lock bags - one bag per 'kit' and you will be surprised at how much that helps pull layouts together quickly at the retreat. It will also be a massive help in cutting down the amount of stash you will bring along 'just in case'.

Another part of getting mentally prepared is recognizing what blocks your scrapbooking. Is it that pile of washing? Can you not scrap until you have gone for a run? Does a lack of recent photos leave you uninsipred? Do you get stuck at the design stage of your pages.

My suggestion is to realize what blocks you ... and do something about getting it all sorted prior to the retreat.


If it is the washing block = have it all done (or do what i do and forget it completely!).
If it is the photo block = get out snapping right NOW!
Need to run before getting creative? = run your buts off in the weeks before so you don't feel guilty kicking back and scrapping.
Need chocolate to scrap properly = bring a huge amount along!!
Stuck with designing the pages? Visit some of our sketch links on the sidebar
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and print off a heap of sketches for you to do at the retreat.


I have already saved a fair few pages that i hope to scraplift on the retreat as i know as soon as i get into that big shed my mind seems to go blank for a while. Scraplifting or following a sketch is a great way to get productive without straining the brain and getting frustrated with yourself. (which actually seems to work like a vicious circle and block you up even more!)

Soon i will reveal my 'retreat challenge' to you all, which i hope some / any / a few people embrace and do as otherwise i am going to feel like a complete dong doing it on my own!

Creativity Quote #9

"The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life."

-William Faulkner-

Lisa - being funky!

oooooooh i totally love the 'moodiness' in the second one! Looks awesome Lisa. Great fiddling!

Creativity Quote #8

The creative effort is a lot like sex. It's not so much the equipment you have as what is in your mind. The real excitement and beauty is in what we think and feel and what we do about it.

-Kelly Borsheim-

(yikes! Bet you weren't expecting that!)

Tiff - Sue's sketch

Hi Sue.

I lost my mojo for a few days and your sketch got it revved up again. mwah to you. I also used March's colour scheme from Twiddleybitz ning to get me going too. Happened to work perfectly with this photo.

cheers
Tiff

Hi, i got home from Adelaide late last night......and after going thru 95 emails (i hate it when there is sooo many emails to go thru)....this one was amongst them, sorry Tiff for not able to post it earlier. Good to see sooo much action on the blog and great quotes happening Amanda too.

Glad the sketch got your scrapping mojo happening again Tiff, LO looks great....love the tiddlybitz on it too.

Ali Mc - Befunky and Sue's Sketch

Ali has been super busy!

Hi Amanda, here is my take on the Be Funky photo challenge, it's me at my DH's 40th, all dressed 60's style! I loved playing dress up!! I loved the sketch too, thanks for the challenge. Also have been going through my stash for some PP fpr Bev Mantle's sister, hope to have a little bit of a pile by retreat time!! Back to My Kitchen Rules!!



Ali M

Good on you Ali. Love what you have done here for the befunky challenge and Sue's sketch. All that handwriting has me breaking out in a cold sweat but you make it look so damn good!! Great job!

And great job also on your collection for Bev's sister. It's great that so many are willing to help :)

Creativity Quote #7

“Creative minds are rarely tidy”

-unknown-

(ppsssttt - I think this is my favourite!)

Tiff - challenge #1

No surprises here that Tiff chose purple as her main colour. The hint of green really makes the whole page pop. The awesome flower was one of Annie's hair ties that had seen the end of it's days holding back wayward hair and moved on to greener pastures ;-)

Wow Tiff - these colours look amazing together.

Creativity Quote #6

To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance it’s beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.

-Osho-

Mel - befunky layout!

A very warm welcome to Mel Forbes - our guest retreat teacher - who had a fiddle with the befunky site and loved it so much she scrapped the photos!

And what an amazing layout! Love the yellow and bright orange with the darker rusty red/orange background. STUNNING Mel.