more art pages

Art journal

It was a short solo break over Easter (less than 48 hours) but in just one day - starting at 9am and finishing up at around 2am the next morning - I managed 13 page layouts which I was all pretty happy with. Here are most of them, the others I need to add some words to. What a learning experience!

Weekend update

I returned from the Melbourne wedding trip on Tuesday but have had a yucky old cold this week. So I've been sleeping every spare moment I get. Happy to report that I did get the first few pages started on the mini book album from the trip - shouldn't take too long to finish another time. Tomorrow I'm off for my 48 hour parent retreat - solo - as is our little tradition. I'll take the babies to have lunch with Daddy tomorrow then we'll swap.

So here's the plan: I'm going to take lots of paints, inks, white 12" paper, stencils, and others bits n pieces to encourage me to have a bit of a play in my art journal - which is delightfully blank so far. I'm also planning to do some pages for my "it's all about me" album of which there is only one sad lonely little page so far.

The other thing I'm looking forward to doing is filling up my toolbox journal with ideas from the dozens of scrap mags I've dogeared. I never did get around to finishing that from the last solo retreat in December! So looking forward to having lots to upload when I return on Monday.

Have a great Easter :-)

wedding card

How's this for a bit of weekend fun - flying off to Melbourne at 0-dark-hundred hour in the morning (read: early!) for a WEDDING. Where's the downside? Where there's always one, and in this case I can't take my beloved as he has to stay home and mind the ankle-biters. However I've decided to be a bit adventurous (read: crazy!) and take a mini book with me to journal in and leave spaces for photos while I'm gone. My sister, who is accompanying me, is apparently taking student assessments and uni assignments with her so there may be time. We get back Tuesday. Oh how I'm going to miss my little family.

Another scrap page about Tasmin - and it's CURRENT!

You may remember I've been procrastinating for quite some time about doing scrapbooking layouts for Tasmin's and Angus's baby albums. I fell into that trap of thinking the pages would have to be perfect works of art, so of course I never felt ready to start! But it occurred to me the best thing was to start somewhere - anywhere - with current photos. And as it turns out, it's really more fun when you approach a page playfully and just go with your instincts, committing to your first impulse. So I completed a WHOLE page last night, after I got back from my job. Not bad, eh?


Materials: Cardstock: American Crafts, girl paper: Kaisercraft, smiley paper unknown source, date stamp, Bic CD labelling pen.

Journalling: Oh Tasmin - you say such funny things, you have an incredible memory, you are a fast learner and so full of joy! You are also quite the little tinker, like your Daddy :-) And you do have your moments. But always you say "I love you Mummy, I love you Daddy" and "Angus, I love him a lot." And you always have a kiss for us before bed - for Angus too! xxxxxxxx

At last a scrapbook page completed for Angus's baby album

Materials: Cardstock: creative memories
Paper: Grant Archival
Pen: Signo gel pen
Punch: Fiskars scallop border
Title: handcut from foam
Date stamp, hand drawn swirl from stencil

Journalling: today you: 1. drank half a bottle of water and liked it; 2. sipped banana milkshake from a straw, like Tasmin; 3. sat STILL through a whole story this afternoon, then toddled off to the table, reached up high for a second book, and brought it over for me to read! 4. stood up on the bathroom bench for Daddy to dry you after your bath, 5. Tussled on a pillow with your sister on the floor, giggling.

Summer '09 scrapbook layout

I had such fun doing this summer layout. Lately I've been printing the photos I know I want to scrap, placing them where I want on the page and then coming back to it a few days later to create the page.

Cardstock: Bazzil

Paper: Graphic 45 Playtimes Past Collection, Kaisercraft

Embellishments: handmade from paper scraps, ScrapFX Flutterby

Title: hand cut from foam

Ink: VersaMagic cloud white, Staz On black, Splendor, Signo gel pen

Punch: Fiskars 2" seal of approval

Adhesive: Bella double-sided tape

Date stamp

It's so fun playing with colours. My latest purchase is the Fiskars punch which I'd had my eye on for a while. I bought it on a whim on Friday, being right near Spotlight, then got home and stressed when I realised it was slighter different to the Marvy scallop circle punch I see on many layouts. So I did a bit of Googling and was amazed to discover all its applications. So I went ahead and ripped open the packet and used two scallop circles on this layout: one for the sun, and the other I cut into three. Purely by accident, the middle strip looks just like a file tab. Ohh, I love serendipity. But that's one of the best parts about scrapbooking isn't it? Love this craft.

Journalling:

These are the sights of sumer at our place: Angus enjoying his swing - 1st birthday present from Manda, Mike and Ga - and Daddy giving Angus his bedtime bottle.

Yellow paper

It's so inviting!

Scrapbook layouts with yellow paper

We're leaving the summer months - reluctantly - and approaching autumn. What better way to embrace a change of season than with colour?

Cardstock: Bazzill Kraft
Embellishment: Chinese New Year (source unknown)
Pens: Marvy Uchida

Stamps: making Memories

Stencil: Kaisercraft

Ink: Splendor

Christmas tag: Karenika

How fun is this - yellow paper! It was actually a free digital paper from Kevin and Amanda which I simply printed and have this week used on everything. Crazy! I have even made a little pile of all the yellow papers I have, which turns out to be quite a bit. It injects so much warmth and excitement and happiness into pages I think, and two layouts above are so basic and simple. What I want to do is start being a bit more creative with making my own paper with paints and inks, which you could EASILY do to recreate this paper. I am inspired by this layout made by Ali Edwards:

Ali Edwards' "Celebrating Mom with a layout"

What's your absolute must-have colour at the moment?

Scrapbooking layouts

Here it is... the first page for Tasmin's baby album! I spent ages trying to figure it out but of course the finished product is very simple. I loved using a Heidi Grace rub-on for the title, as I don't use those very often, and some pretty ribbons from my Mum's old craft stash. I included the ankle tag from the hospital...

And more finished pages from the long weekend...The 365-project album

A card collage... I wanted to keep the cards people had sent after Dad's passing last year, and I love using the EK Success 2" square punch for this to create a little grid - another Ali Edwards idea!

Christmas 2009:: photos collaged on 12" by 12" cardstock. I will scrapbook a 12" page for the Christmas album - soon I hope! This will include the Christmas letter we send each year.

Five pages to share soon

Well yesterday I had the chance to do some scrapbooking. Hooray for that! Five pages in all, three finished. Pictures soon. And hooray for long weekends!

Tassie's album begins

It's great to have least started the baby album for Tasmin, who is now 32 months old! Better late than never. Yesterday was one of those days where I was busy all day with the babies and housework, but looked forward to the evening for my chance to scrapbook. Only when the time came, I was too tired, having a frozen dinner and falling asleep on the couch! Those days are the most frustrating. But I am grateful to be able to catch up on sleep though.

new years eve 09 double layout

At last another double layout completed. I'm trying different styles at the moment. This is Cheryl Ametewee style, sort of, but on a distressed and inked paper background, which is more me. I think?

I used recycled bread packaging clips as little heart arrows

And a bit of string on the tag. Fun!

365 Project - january and february

I started this project in the third week of january so the first two weeks have been done retrospectively and involved a bit of trial and error. Since starting, I've taken only landscape framed shots which is a really fun creative challenge. I find they're much easier for scrapping and give you more options for cropping or using the 'white' space in the photo for journalling. I love that the photos and journalling are enough for these layouts, with a little patterned paper here and there to fill the gaps. I'm really loving documenting and recording our everyday lives. I have really struggled with short term memory since having the babies and I feel this is really helping me to remember. It's so doable, too, not a huge commitment, and there's the instant gratifification of pages completed. This project is really meeting my creative and story-telling needs at the moment. I print my comments from my Scrap Happy Valley blog each day and trim them to fit the spaces at the bottom of the album. Love it. Definitely plan to do it again next year.

The new flash

New flash

the camera's built in flash

I finally, after a month, scavenged around the house for four AA batteries - all mismatched of course - and decided to try out the new flash that cost as much, if not more, than my lovely new camera. Now many people say Oh you won't need that! But the difference is astonishing. No nasty intrusive shadow and light like natural daylight!

Scrapbook page layout - all about me

So, this is the first page I have completed for the current album of "me" which until yesterday was a vague, theoretical idea. On Saturday I had the great privilege of attending a professional development course for Year 12 English Teachers and it was GREAT. I love that the next day, I picked up the flyer and just scrapped it. I WANT TO DO THIS MORE!

Journalling reads: It was wonderful to get back to a SAETA function.It's been surprising to find I still have the passion. Alison Robertson gave a great overview of Year 12 (new SACE 2011) and I had the bonus of catching up with English buddies - Genevieve, Moira and Emma. A great morning.

I photocopied the flyer and glued it over some plain cardstock. Then I used bubble wrap and yellow acrylic paint for the background, Fancy Pants and butterfly stamp and Tim Holtz distress ink, and handwrote the journalling strips with white Signo gel pen. Easy pages are more FUN.

I'm having to rewrite my blog post - computer said "no" and crashed! I'm uploading some pics of my latest scrapbook pages from 2009, and a bit excited about a possible way forward for scrapping many photos. There are stories I want to tell while they're still fresh, so my approach is this: to start with one special photo for a single page layout (not my usual style, but oh so luxurious!). The layout below is inspired by a Kathie Link layout, mixed in with my fave technique: stamping!

Then... collaging a mass of photos on the other page, leaving no white space, and including journalling strips straight on to the photos.

I'm off now for a sunday excursion to the Paper Fair at the Wayville showgrounds (Adelaide) to see if my fave shop, Seriously Scrapbooking, might have some Glimmer Mists to try. Would love to start with a purple. What else of course?

New scrapbook pages to show

At last! I've finally been freed up to do some more scrapbook pages. I made the word stickers myself. Too easy: coloured paper scraps, word stamps, black Staz-on ink, Xyron sticker maker (Tasmin calls this the "missing X", from Sesame Street). LOVING bold colours, thanks to Cheryl Ametewee. Right now I'm interested in documented our stories from last year. I have only photos and memories, no notes to work with. It was a hard year, with Dad's passing, Ian's work troubles, step-children issues and so on. But we're here now, we got through the hard stuff, and we're all much happier and stronger for it. I can't believe I'm working and being a full-time stay-at-home Mum AND enjoying both. Six months ago I wouldn't have believed it.

Here's a teeny tiny confession: because it's now been two and a half years since Tas was born, I think I'm actually putting off scrapping hers and Angus's albums. I'm scared they won't be good enough. Silly I know. Hmmm...

365 project album started

I'm going to ink up the journal cards a bit more but otherwise the format will be the same every week. I'm modelling this on Becky Higgins' 365 Project Life album, but using page inserts to stick the photos down, in the traditional way!