To play

Look what I get to play with....

Yep, Love Elsie Forrest is here! All the papers, some chip frames, chip buttons, gel stickers, cardstock stickers and rubons are in stock at Kiti Q. Yay for me, I have it sitting here on my desk :) I'm really happy about this range, I love the nature theme, and the colours are so happy and outdoorsy. Perfect for Ash and, I'm sure, plenty of other subjects. But I do want to scrap Ash a bit more on layouts, rather than just mini albums, so this is perfect.

If you live in Melbourne, check out this month's Melbourne's Child (the free mag) - an ad I designed featuring my photography etc is in there on page 16 I think. It is for Perfect Amity Nature Hats, and I have to do some more photography for them this week and next week too, so I'll show a few pics when that is done. Here is the ad in it's original non-newsprint form :)

A few

These top two were in Scrapbook Creations issue 54, the current mag. Man of Mine was in the gallery, Into the Wild was in the Top Ten Monochromatic layout.

This one is a new layout for the current ScrapMojo challenge - the requirement was to recycle an old layout and to use 5 things. I used five kinds of fabric, and recycled an old layout by literally pulling it apart (I had never been happy with it).

Scrapscene and other stuff

Well this morning I was excited to see my name in two Scrapscene posts in a row - the second one, here, is an honorable mention for the Truly Trendy competition they had recently, for the mini-album I made with February's kit from The Dozens. The truth is, the mini isn't quite finished yet. Oops! The making it is easy enough, I need to stick more photos and journaling in it.

The first mention was to do with this announcement by Lusi Austin - I am lucky to have been asked by Lus to have a 'play and display' with her products designed for Buzz and Bloom! How cool, especially when I saw the awesomely talented women who are also on the list - and then little 'ol me :) I am hanging out to see what new goodies are released... today, I think it is.

Actually I've already had a play with Lusi's designs that I already had in my stash - Kiti Q stock some of her fab stamp designs, and some chipboard frames. You might have noticed I've stamped on a few recent pages, such as 'Toughen Up', 'Gelati Faces' and the painting 'Blah Blah Blah'.
I also used the chipboard on this boy mini-album class kit I designed for Kiti Q. I designed four class kits (yep, that's why I have been so busy) for Kiti Q to release at the 'Picture to Page' show on the weekend. The two mini-album kits sold out on the Saturday morning, but I believe Kell will be putting a few more together, so contact Kiti Q if you are interested. They are $25 each. There were also two layout kits (which, btw, leave you with plenty of product leftover, to do with as you wish!), which will be online here soon. Here are the piccies. The layouts are older designs (earlier this year I mean) which only just got put together - and of course, I'd lost the instructions I'd originally written and had to rewrite. Of course. *eyeroll*




Hmm what else. Oh yes, the painted tree with paper birds and leaves and music notes from the Daisy D's wonder years range won me 2nd prize in their April designer competition. Yay! I get $50 of product as my prize, I wonder what they will send....

Shipped May's Q Tea kits yesterday, there are actually some left this month, so if you like a bit of vintage-y drama in reds, blues, purples, check out 'The Court Jester'. I'm currently making a mini album from it.

I've been scrapping but I don't know what I've photographed, LOL, as I have been a bit slack in that regard. Let me see :) Hmm, no new pics. I'll just try and post tomorrow with some NEW layouts (I'm being optimistic here, but that's a good start - right?).

Cool Storypeople quote from the other day. Summed me up. Which might be a bit sad actually, but I liked it anyway.

New Friend

I'm at that point in the day where I'm tired of myself, she said, so if you don't mind, I'm going to be someone else until bedtime & we had a lovely time together, my new friend & I.

Arte Y Pico

So I have received a blog award from two people and have been incredibly slack about following it through. But here we go at last :)

Sue and Sharmaine nominated me for the Arte Y Pico award, which is quite amazing actually as it is given to bloggers who share their art and creativity making their contribution to the blogging world. Cool!

It works like this:

1. You pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5 arty bloggers who inspire me (by no means all of them, just 5!) are:

1. Sylvia King, Germany - I love Sylvia's sense of freedom in her layouts and projects, it always inspires me to simply relax and create (and enjoy it!)
2. Emily Falconbridge, United States - Always always makes me want to get back to my sadly neglected art journal. And use paint. Not that I don't anyway, but she always makes me want to do it more.
3. Stephanie DosReis, United States - I'm a new fan since the release of her Wonder Years product range from Daisy D's. Seeing her work inspires me to look at other art forms as well as scrapbooking, and makes me want to get back to mixed media canvases, which I always love love doing. And I'm having an absolute ball scrapping with 'Wonder Years' papers and stickers.
4. Celine Navarro, France - The place I go for colour inspiration, and for looking at products in different ways.
5. Emma Ballereau, France - So I can't actually understand much French, but I adore this girl's work! Between her, Celine and Nikki Peterson (Scrap in Style TV), I've been looking at my edge distresser with keen eyes.... mwa ha ha.

I'm supposed to tell these people I've nominated them, but I'm not sure, LOL, I have never even met two of them but that is what is brilliant about blogging, no? To keep up with the people you know and love, or just love :)

Ooh almost forgot I have a share today, made this last night for the April 123 challenge. Handmade fabric embellishments, stamping with an egg carton and April somewhere in the journaling. This pic is when we were on holiday in New Zealand (South Island - I love Christchurch! and Te Anau... and Queenstown was awesome, Dunedin also v. cool...) and I was pregnant with Sienna.

Stuff I've been making

Layout just for fun - using Elle's Studio tags from the Q Tea Baboushka Baby kit, and a few items from Kiti Q, such as this Sass Lass paper.
Check out the funky stamp, one of Lusi Austin's designs for Buzz & Bloom. This journaling spot is from this stamp set.
The layout also features a couple more Sassafras Lass papers from Kiti Q, some new Hambly (from the RAK I got from them), and some Pink Paislee alphabet stickers. Photos are of Viv's girls and Sienna eating gelati at Noarlunga in March.
I did this layout last night for ScrapBoutique's April cybercrop challenge. One of the challenges was to use a new technique you've not used before on a layout, and I've never used wire before. I got a cute little spool of red wire in a RAK from Emily F, so was glad to try it out :)
These PJs for Ash. I *thought* I was making them a generous size, actually they are exactly right just now. He is always bigger than I think he is. Size 3 now, and very little difference between him and Sienna. I made Sienna a top (below), but am still playing around with getting necklines right on stretch tops. I keep trying different methods - Ash's PJ neckline was more successful. I also made Sienna a vintage-y embellished cord skirt, will hopefully photograph this week.