Apologies to my blog friends

due to some rather suggestive comments left by a sex site, it is with regret that I have had to put comment moderation back onto my blog. It is hoped that they can not then link to your blogs too. I am disgusted that Blogger allows them to get through to be honest. I have enough to do out at work all day without having to patrol my blog.

Anyhow, finally I have a photo of a layout I made about two weeks ago! It is a very old photo taken during a very difficult period of my life but I remember this as been one really nice day. We were all dresed for winter but it was gloriously hot. We were friends & step brothers & sisters back then.

I made it bright & cheerful even though that time of my life was miserable & dark. All the same the photo holds a memory that I have of sun, laughter & holidays. The girl at the very front was a friend I met up with each weekend when we stayed in our caravan. Photo taken around 1978/9.

Materials used from Studio Calico September 2009 kit Cotillion, with the odd few embellishments used from older kits. I thought this Basic Grey paper screamed 1970's. Names printed onto blue dymo tape.

October page for my Year of Studio Calico

I have had a week off work from 24th Oct until today and I went away to visit my sister, Tracy in Newcastle for a very long weekend. Bless her, she had got Swine Flu and despite nasty hallucinations from the Tamiflu drugs, she looked a lot better by the time I got up there and we had an amazing girly time together. I had the pleasure of relaxing, listening to the sound of silence interupted only now & then by the sound of cash tills as we shopped. :) :) Once I got back home I decided on a total break & spent my hours home making. I love burning scented candles while reading in a corner wrapped in fleecy blankets. I find it the only way to truly recharge my batteries. The home making bit was defrosting the freezer & cooking to fill it up for the winter months ahead.

I took some lovely photos while up at Tracy's and this one of the hens waltzing into the house to see what she was doing just begged to be scrapped.

The materials are all from the October SC kit- Yearbook and the add on Fall Festival. (Another page will foloow once I can get photos) I only got this kit when i got home as the postman left it with my designated safe place but we kept missing each other the whole week.

It was great to get it & have a few days to sit & decide how to use it.

Jenni Bowlin calendar page (Dec 08 kit)

Paper - Jillibean Soup, Lentil Soup-Vegetable broth.

American Crafts Remarks Garden Walk journal block.

Sassafrass Lass Paper Whimsies Beatnik Buds.

Prima Flower centres.

Title both stamps from the kit.

Paper edges & calendar distressed & inked with Versamagic Chalk ink in Gingerbread.

Guest Designer for Little Shop of Sketches

I had the pleasure of being guest designer over on Little Shop of Sketches this week. My dear friend Pearl contacted me early last month to ask if I would return the favour as she had kindly done a GD spot for me on mojoholder. The sketch was fun to work with & I kept my page simple to show off the tranquil photo that I had taken at Xmas while staying with my sister, Tracy.

Here is a close up of my simple cluster of embellishments.

The materials I used are all from my last 3 SC kits.
I have been away from blog land for a while as I am rather tired. I am at the stage where getting out of bed is difficult in a morning and I'm finding myself late getting ready for work. The warmer duvet is partly to blame. I'm only up this early today because I have a train to catch in an hour!

Thankfully I am having a week's holiday from work starting with a long weekend this Saturday, when finger's crossed I am going up to Newcastle to stay with my sister, Tracy. I say finger's crossed as right now she has the flu & as a precaution the doctors have given her the swine flu drugs, Tamiflu. Once I get home I have a day out at Meadowhall shopping and plan to rest. I made a layout just for the hell of it last weekend but so far haven't had the right light for a photo then the day it was perfect, both sets of camera batteries were flat!!! Still they are fully charged & ready for my trip.

3 days & counting!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANGE!!

Today is my fellow Scrapbooking Teamie, Angela's birthday. I made this mini layout card for her as I know she is at her happiest near water. Paper is Dovecraft, Sequin waste from haberdashery. Photo was taken by me at Christmas during my stay at my sister's house.

Welcome Millie Jane - Crazy Amigo Challenge

One of my teamies, Nic & her husband Ian welcomed their new daughter Millie Jane into the world on Sunday. She will be adored by her big sister, Isabella. This is the card I made for them all. I hand stitched the row of tiny buttons onto the lace. It was rather fiddly but worth it as it looks unique.

A friend of mine, Rein, stopped by to tell me that the challenge over at Crazy Amigos is baby/ birth cards. So I am adding the link & entering my card.

Travel Project

This is a recent project I made to give away to a friend of mine, Marjolein & it took a while to get decent photos as the camera had flat batteries. The moment they were charged the weather was too bright or too dark, typical really.

The first picture shows the front cover & the tag I made to send with it.

This is page 4 of the 6 page book.

This is page 5.
The other pictures are really not good enough quality to blog. Shame but that's how it goes sometimes. I hope you are all having a relaxing weekend so far. I am having a great time. I had my feet up all afternoon flicking through a magazine & I feel like I have had a more than a day off work.

A Challenge

I am a team member of Scrap Shoppin' Girls and we haven't done a lot of team stuff in a while. You know how life gets in the way & time flies by. Babies are born to some ( well one born & another due VERY soon), Grandchildren for another. University study for one and new jobs for myself, followed by a career for the university student. So we decided to do a sketch to get the creativity flowing. The sketch we picked is an old Pencil Lines one. Here is my version below.

My designed is made mainly from my August Studio Calico kit -Over the Rainbow & the add on No Place Like Home.
Patterned Paper; Knave of Hearts, Summer's Day, Crafty Strips & Collage Cuts - Tell Your Story-Collage Press.
Making Memories -Great Escape -Compass Foil.
Large Brad, Cherry- American Crafts
Title - Bamboo Alphas - Making Memories
Reverse Tiny Circle Alphas, Jenni Bowlin.
Ric Rac from my stash.
Photos - from my sister, Tracy taken in France 2007.

Two pages from last weekend

I unplugged the phone last weekend for some chill-out "me" time. I am frazzled from the last few weeks of staff coverage & needed to shut myself away.

The first page is using my FountainSquare/Hobson Grove Studio Calico kit from November 2008 but I used the photo frame from this months kit as it fitted with my design. Leaves are stamped with some Habico clear stamps I bought over two years ago. Title was using the Making Memories Bamboo alphas that went perfectly with tis photo.

This 2nd page is from my latest SC kit. White cardstock. MM eyelet die cut paper which I inked with Broken China distress ink to make it stand out. The papers are Basic Grey-June Bug Aggie & Anna Griffin- Darcey Multi Floral. Yellow trim is Maya Road. Title June Bug chipboard Alphas.

Photo is my sister's cat, Kia.

I just need to say sorry to my regular blogs that I visit, but some of them I just can't get onto to comment. I get so frustrated when my computer freezes & I ended up having to shut down so I have not blog hoped very much lately. Time is a little too short, any spare time I have, I want to spend creating, while listening to music, breathing in the scent of burning incense.

Finally.... Something to share!!

I have had a busy few weeks at work as it is peak holiday time & everyone is jetting off to warmer climes. I have also been busy completing a travel project, when I could fit in some crafting time, which I can't share until it reaches its destination. I really need to get it posted off ,but I was run off my feet yesterday & missed the post office!!! Still I can get it all sorted out & post at work in the week. Someone should receive it throught the letterbox soon ;)

Anyway here is a page to share from my new September SC kit, Cotillion. I really want to create with this one as the papers that came are far nicer in reality. Sometimes photos just don't do things justice. I love the last kit too, but am lacking inspiration for it right now. But, the beauty is these kits don't really date so I can always use them anytime in the next year.

The page is another for the Year of SC album & again is made from the Jenni Bowlin calendar that came in the 2008 December kit.

Materials List;

Patterned paper, Studio Calico double sided Papillon.(butterflies/stripes)

Mini Frame stamp, Studio Calico.

Title, "you & me" & red flowers; Anna Griffin Darcey flocked stickers.

Sub title; sisters, Jenni Bowlin reverse black stickers.
Inks; Rangers black archival. StazOn Teal Blue.

Year of Studio Calico - August

As I only got this kit two days ago I am late making a contribution to my Album. I chose this photo taken by my sister, Tracy on her trip to France in August 2007. This is the first time I have created anything in days. I had my sister with me over BH weekend & the mojo forum took a break. I have two pages ready for when we get back so Im glad as time is very short for me right now.

We had sad news on our forum, our dear friend Suse passed away and we had little to say & crafting seemed a little pointless. I found creating hard as I was also very busy, actually am still very busy at work covering staff holiday time in our office & another of our branches in York. I have several projects half started & I'm certain I will get round to completing them eventually.

Just two more weeks to go & life should be back to normal at work & I will have some time for myself.

Materials; From the SC August Kit "Over the Rainbow" & add on kit "No Place Like Home" except for the Jenni Bowlin calendar page which came in the December 2008 kit.

Mini Compass Mask; Tim Holtz

Fired Brick Distress Ink.

Paper; Making Memories, Great Escape- Foil Compass. Collage Press, Knave of Hearts Collection-Crafty Strips.

Black cardstock. Black ink.

Title - Making Memories, Great Escape- Bamboo Alphas.

Mojoholder # 122 Kelly Goree

Something went wrong and this did not upload on Friday evening!!!!! I only found out 5 minutes ago!!

This week over on Mojoholder, we are featuring guest artist, Kelly Goree. Make sure you duck over there and see what the other DT ladies created. My page features another Australian photo that my Dad took but printed on my printer..... yup MY printer is back in action. Seems the problem I have had was simply that the ink cartridges I used were remanufactured ones & it upset my printer real bad. I won't be doing that again, in a hurry, I can tell you. Any how, I love this picture taken at Billabong Koala Park, New South Wales, Australia. Dad stayed with friends in Poret Macquarie and he went along with his camera for some excellent photos.

Materials List; (I'm being good & using up some old stuff!)

Bazzill Kraft cardstock.

Bazzill Rain Forest cardstock (photo mat)

Patterned Paper strips;

Basic Grey -Urban Couture-Pashmina

Basic Grey -Mortifica -Jade

Basic Grey -Scarlet's Letter-Desire

Basic Grey -Scarlet's Letter-Repose.

Inks; Rangers Archival black. Rangers Adirondack dye ink, Meadow.

Fiskars border punch

Title:- K&Co Adhesive Woodgrain Alphabet.

Green & silver embellishment - The Range as one of the Craft Works products that being at 99p Super, smashing, nice value!! :0) They do tiny foam alphas brads & all sorts.

I'm very impressed that this layout used up old papers but I kept looking longingly at all the new stuff!!

SaWo #68 Make a Journal Page

This week over at Saturday's Workout, the theme is to make a journal page.

I don't have a journal but I have always fancied making random pages & making them into a minibook. The page below is a kind of mix of all that is in my head right now.

I used to live on a Dairy Farm & I love Friesian Cows. I was very lucky to find this image of a cow in a magazine a few days ago & cut it out hoping to use it with the sellotape transfer method that I used on my tag for the TIO challenge on Wednesday. Perfect for this journal page. I have painted gesso over a book page & applied distress inks in a rainbow effect to illustrate that I love all colour. The travel words, bicycle & Paris ticket stamp are because I'm working on travel themes for my DT layouts & two other (secret for the moment) travel themed projects. The thistle picture, again sellotape transfer method as i just loved the picture as soon as I saw it. The clock because time is important to me, I have a fixation with images of clocks. The heart because mine is sad right now but all the happy colours cheer me. The rest are fill in pieces that represent things I like really.

I really enjoyed making this. It was great & I will make more now I have tackled my first!

Daring Cardmakers - Lace

The theme on Daring Cardmakers blog is Lace. It's been a year or more since I entered a challenge on this fabulous site. They are all very talented ladies & I had the honour of being Guest Designer in September 2007!

The main reason, for my not having entered any challenge o this fabby blog is, I just don't seem to make cards anymore! If I do make them its for a particular birthday, but I no longer make them every week. However I feel quite nostalic today as sadly my BIL Nigel passed away 5 years ago on this date, & I thought I would enter my Paris Postcard.

I made this postcard to pop into an envelope with some documents for my sister & as it has just a strip of lace I thought that it might just pass! Background is pink core'dinations card (Earth tone pack)The Gold Floral stamp is Elusive Images Damask Florals stamped in Adirondack Butterscotch dye ink. The torn page is from a book. I have painted it with artists Gesso & inked the edges with Adirondack Wild Plum dye ink. The torn paper ontop of that is some handmade paper using Adriondack inks & perfect pearls spray.
The Eiffel Tower (Elusive Images, Paris Stamp Collection) is stamped onto watercolour paper & coloured loosely with inks & a waterbrush. The blossoms are stamped with a script stamp. I layered up the whole piece with the strip of lace & added a gem for the flower centre. I stupidly forgot to take a photo of the back of it as it was stamped to look like a postcard!

Wednesday Stamper - Paisley

Here is my entry for this week's Wednesday Stamper Paisley theme. I had stained a piece of card with coffee and used a section of it for the Birds tag in the post below. Having enough left to cut into a 4x4 I decided to use this paisley stamp from a free Papermania pack of stamps that I got as a subscription gift. I thought at first that the stamp set would be too "cute" but teamed with natural colours & my favourite image (I call her gypsy) I think they look quite grown up. I watercoloured the images with a selection of Adirondack dye ink pads. I used my favourite Colourbox Fluid Chalk Ink pad , Dark Brown to ink over some sequin waste to add a bit of contrast.

TIO #16 Strictly for the Birds

This week's theme on Tag it On challenge is to make a tag with birds in mind. My tag is white card, stained with coffee & left to dry naturally for a day. Then I overstamped the whole piece with a crackle background stamp & Distress ink, Brushed Corduroy before cutting into the shape of a tag. The tree stamp (CI) was stamped onto some very thin paper & glued directly to my tag. I stamped the bird (CI) cut out & coloured with adirondack inks. The bird is meant to be a member of the Tit family but I have coloured it to make it look more like a Jay. The large bird was a picture in a magazine & I used a large piece of sellotape (clear parcel tape) to make an image transfer. I layered it over the other image to give a collage feel to my piece, but as the tape is clear it gives a more transparent look than a thick layer. I could have used tissue paper for a thinner layer, but I have no large bird stamp.The flower (CI) was stamped on cream card & I water-coloured a very loose thin brown ink over to give it a more vintage look. I then stamped a leaf design in the bottom corner. As usual I haven't made my mind up how I want to use the tag so I have not finished it at the top with ribbon, fibres or brads.

Mixed Media Monday

I made this little watercolour last night for a travel project that I am creating & this morning when I checked the lastest challenge for Mixed Media Monday, I saw that it fitted the theme of Blues & Greens. I stamped the Italian Building image (Cherry Pie) in Black Versafine ink & then using a water brush (Royal & Langnickel) I watercoloured using Distress inks, Faded Jeans & Broken China for the sky. Brushed Corduroy for the building & a mix of two Adirondack dye inks for the grass, Meadow & Lettuce.

SaWo No.67 Textured Paint

The challenge this week on Saturday's Workout is Textured Paint. I can tell you that earlier this evening, this piece of work was sat in the bin as a piece gone wrong. Then I had an idea & it was resurrected. I didn't use paint, I used a very thick layer of gesso but it dried too flat really for my liking. Still, after adding red acrylic paint in two shades the texture stands out far more.

Stamps, Cherry Pie. Paint Folkart & Anita's. Ink, Rangers Adirondack Dye pads, Cranberry & Currant. I wrote the words Dream & Wonder in the wet gesso.

Mojoholder Challenge 121 - Micayla

It was a major rush this week for me to produce my Design Team piece as when my ink replacement cartridge finally arrived, it was no better than the other one! So I had to place an emergency order to another company to see if I could get it here in time to do a page. Then I ended up having to go to work by bus as there are no trains in our area for quite a while due to track repairs. It means leaving home at 7am & not returing home until 7pm so I am a very tired, grouchy pixie right now! Everything was against me from the weather to the sheer cost involved & the total lack of daylight to take photos after 7pm at night.

On Mojoholder we are featuring one of my friends tonight, Micayla Metcalf. She makes some ubberly gorgeous things and has a very beautiful daughter who I'm certain will provide her with enough scrap matrial over the next 20 years to sink a ship. Do pop on over to her blog, the link to it is her name.

Due to lack of time it is a pretty simple layout but I am totally happy with it :o)

Materials List;

Bazzill Cardstock-Lagoon? not really certain on that one

Patterned Paper - Jenni Bowlin - Navy Harelquin (Studio Calico Kit Aug '08)

Title - "Venice" - American Crafts Patchwork black fabric thickers (I adore these & want some in every single colour!)

"beautiful" rub on by Crate Paper.

Corner swirl stamp- Kelly Panacci -clear Damask Set

Word stamps- Travel, Discover, Destinaition, Explore from travel sets by Royal & Langnickel & Clear Design.

Inks - Rangers Adirondack Dye- Denim, Rangers Archival -Black.

As my journalling says, I have never really cared for going abroad on holiday, I love some of the beauty this country has to offer & there is so much I haven't seen, but I would love to go to Venice & float down a canal on a gondola. I would love to see Paris too!

TIO #15 Nature's Beauty

The Tag it On challenge this week is be inspired by something you consider to be natural beauty & make a tag. If you can add a piece of nature to the tag. I'm a bit late with this as I got home too late last night for me to create my piece & get a decent photo of it.

So tonight, despite very horrid dark weather I have managed to get my photo.

Stamps are Cherry Pie. Shells from my own little collection that I keep in my bathroom.

Inks, StazOn Timber Brown & Teal Blue. Distress ink, Broken China.

Mixed Media Monday

The theme over at Mixed Media Monday is Nature's Blues & Browns. I have carried this idea in my mind all day at work & am thrilled that it translated to the "page" exactly as I planned it. (A rare thing for me!) My ATC is made from a book page coverd with gesso. I stamped my images in Timber Brown StazOn. Once the images were dry I sponged on blue distress inks Faded Jeans & Broken China. Straight after this I sponged areas in Brushed Corduroy. I then spritzed it with a little water & mopped the puddles with kitchen towel. Before it was dry I re-applied more Brushed Corduroy to add to the distressed look. I decided to keep the design minimal & kept to just the teasels & butterflies. (Teasels from Big n Wild Things, Gel-á-Tins, Butterfly from Crafty Individuals CI-226)

SaWo No.66 Peeling Paint & Petroleum Jelly

Here is my entry for this week's Saturday's Workout challenge. To create a background using paint & petroleum jelly (vaseline). I made this 4 inch canvas. It is actually a piece of canvas board and is a cover for a Bind it All book. They come in packs of two for you to use with your BIA. I haven't made the holes as I wanted the image to go to the very edge before I did. I plan to make a mini travel book so this stamp of Sacre Coeur was perfect for the front. I had bought the stamps in April & began an envelope book, but when my printer refused to recognise the ink cartridge I had to put it to one side as I needed some photos of France printing. My sister took a few pics of some stunning buildings while on holiday last year. Now the ink is back I can get it completed!

I first painted the background with Peach Bellini acrylic paint by Ranger. Once dry, applied the vaseline in random areas & then painted Anitas Lemon Yellow acrylic paint over the top. Once that was dry I removed the vaseline areas of paint to allow the background colour to show through. Once my images were stamped I coloured bits in with cotton wool balls & Adirondack dye ink pads. Adding a touch of blue to the sky area. I used my favourtie Stampers Anonymous Artful Mosaic stamp & several travel words from various sets. (its good to be using those words as I have owned the sets for nearly 6 years!!)

You may need to click on the picture to get a clearer view.

I noticed that in my Design Team page below. I have used fabric rip strips in place of patterned papers & you can't really see that unless the photo is larger!

Mojoholder Challenge #120

This week on the mojoholder we have the fabby Jennifer Mcguire. I have to admit this isn't one of my favourite pages to work with as I really do shy away from multi photo layouts. Im a believer in minibooks for lots of pics & no more than 3 or 4 on a page. Even then Im struggling to use 4!! So you will see that my page is a very basic version of the original. But, that is what mojo is all about. Finding your mojo from another source of art that inspires you to create your own unique piece.

This is another page for my Year of Studio Calico album, using the current monthly kit Documentary. Only 10 days & my new August kit will be here :)
Still clutching at straws for photos as the ink cartridge replacement only arrived today, or at least it is sat at the sorting office (ggrrr!!!! not remotely funny anymore)

Materials List;
Jenni Bowlin Calendar page (Dec SC Kit)
Square of Blue Spotted Patterned Paper - Scenic Route Garden Grove-Joy Street.
Two pieces of the Studio Calico Fabric ripstrips - marevellous stuff & it looks great in place of paper pieces! A little something different to try.
Circles of paper - Studio Calico - Tickets Please.
3 Blue Buttons taken from Great Escape Blossom & button pack -Making Memories.
Photo - Taken by my dad in 2006 in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia.

So, to recap, a simple page, but with hidden extras. Honestly I am thrilled with how the fabric ripstrips worked out!! I wasn't sure they would work but I'm all for giving it a shot :)

WS - Take a Ride

The theme over on Wednesday Stamper is Take a Ride & I was inspired to create this piece of art from a set of travel stamps I have sat on my craft desk. I made the 4x4 background by stamping a protion of it with my Crafty Individuals Harlequin stamp in Rangers archival black ink & colouring over it with Versamagic Chalk ink, Gingerbread. I tore a strip of black script paper from 7gypsies & glued it down next to the stamped section & inked the rest of the piece with caramel & butterscotch Adirondack dye inks & a touch of Versamagic chalk ink Pumpkin Spice. The tag is torn & inked in denim Adirondack around the edges. I stamped the car, masked it off & stamped the sign post so it appears to be behind. Then I added the word travel. I finished ot off by stamping the word journey & inking the string attached to the tag.

Shared Art & Tag It On

Here are two pieces of art that I made this week for my Chrysalis forum friends.

The first piece is a matchbook for Jo.

Front Cover; Chipboard "N" covered with Rangers Crackle Glaze. Overstamped with StazOn.

Back cover; lightly gesso'd & inked in Shabby Shutters & Peeled Paint Distress inks.

The back & front is a strip of Basic Grey Urban Couture Pashmina patterned paper. It measures 11x3.5ins, scored into a matchbook.

The inside; made with Vanilla Bazill cardstock scored to make a tiny book. Pieces of the BG paper glued on the back & background papers made & cut to fit the front of each page.

Stamps; Crafty Individuals CI226 and PaperArtsy Petals plate no.4 (words)
Background papers made with Mustard Seed/Shabby Shutters/Peeled Paint Distress inks & sprayed with Interference Green Perfect Pearls. I stuck to a limited colour scheme & one plate of stamps throughout. But I had to use the second plate for the words to finish the project off.
All images stamped in Butterscotch/Meadow/Caramel & Lettuce Adirondack dye ink pads.


This second piece is for Penny.
My Angel Tag

This background was intended for another project, but once dry it wasn't quite what I was after. Later on that day, I was clearing away when this piece fell into my hands. It was the perfect size & colour for another idea that had formed in my head.
It was made with Distress inks -Dusty Concord/Broken China/Scattered Straw and a quick dab of Shabby Shutters! Spritz with Perfect Pearls Interference Blue.
Images are stamped in Adirondack Dye ink,Eggplant and the background piece is edged in Denim.
Girl image is an acetate from crafty Individuals.
Clock from Artistic stamper, "clocks & keys" plate.
Butterfly & wildflowers from the same plate above on Jo's matchbook.
Flower Scroll; ATC mini elements SSGuild.

One of my Chrysalis Forum friends advised me that this piece of art for Penny would fit the Tag it On Time Flies challenge so if they don't mind my entering this piece, I think it fits well.

Saturday's Workout No.65 ......

This week the theme at Saturday's Workout is to create a Canvas Back Shrine/ Shadow Box.

I was shopping yesterday in a local arts & crafts store & found a pack of 4 mini canvases, each measuring 7cms square. I threw them into my basket sure I could create something with them. I also bought a pack of 2 mini easels for displaying my artwork at home. So you can imagine how pleased I was to see that the Saturday's Workout would be the perfect excuse to play with one straight away!! It is, of course, the very first one I have made so please go easy on me if it isn't as beautiful & elaborate as some of the ones I have glimpsed already.

Front view. Painted with gesso and inked with Distress inks, Faded Jeans / Broken China.

The inside has had gesso applied and a sheet of white text covered in gesso stuck inside. Over the top of the text I have stuck on some white tissue which was stamped in Teal Blue StazOn with the Artful Mosaic stamp by Stampers Anonymous. I had to cut sections of the tissue to allow it to fit nicely across the back. I then stamped my favourite image (the smaller version) 3 times in Archival black ink and layered her on foam pads. Adding blue colour to the final set of flowers.

Side View. I stamped the words Treasure and Memories around the edges and glued a tiny shell on the inside ledge. The pictures are not brilliant ,but if you click on them they do go bigger.

The light is very good but my camera is still not 100% happy!

Mojoholder #119 - Marjolein

This week on mojoholder we are featuring a good friend of mine, Marjolein Bussink.

She says, my name is Marjolein Bussink, pure Dutch but live in Canada for 3 years now and am very happy here! I love anything vintage, mixed media, freestyle, and start to get hooked on stamping! I am a member of the DT for the blog wijDUS (DUS stands for Dutch United Scrappers) DUS is short for SO if you would translate it! As usual the other DT members have all done there takes on this layout and can be seen over on our blog.

I know you may have seen this photo before, but I have nothing else. As you know I had to miss out on last week's DT page as I had no photos. The good news is my ink cartridge replacement will be here by the middle of next week!! (big sigh of relief!)

Materials list;

Cardstock-Bazzill Kraft

Patterned Paper - Scenic Route, Garden grove-Lemonwood Lane (July '09 SC Kit)

Studio Calico - Papparazzi (July '09 SC Kit)
Studio Calico - Fabric rip strips (July '09 SC Kit )

Rub on Filmstrip - Royal & Langnickel

SEI - Performated Tickets - En Route (July '09 SC Kit)

Stamps;

Camera - Studio Calico (July '09 SC Kit)

Lace Border - Studio Calico ( Dec '08 SC Kit)

Mini Numbers - Studio Calico (Sept '08 SC Kit)

Old fashioned camera - Travel set of stamps - Dimensions

Title;

"The" - Basic Grey Boxer stickers (July '08 SC Kit)

"Camera" - K&Co Woodgrain Chipboard Alphabet (July '09 SC Kit)

"never lies anymore" - Black Tiny Alphas (Dec'08 SC Kit)

Other bits;

Chipboard Swirly Bird & Ric Rac -American crafts Thickers - Patchwork Accents (Mar '09 SC Kit)

Inks; Adirondack Dye pad in Meadow, Rangers ARchival Black pad

Paints; Adirondack Dabbers - Willow & Pebble. (Used around picture & main layout)

You could say that this has been a Studio Calico colaboration!!

Happy 30th Birthday, Louise!

I made this card in a similar vein to the one I made for Suse & the Wednesday Stamper challenge. The difference being I had the sense to make enough coloured background before I started ;0) Despite how free the colours are, matching them up mid card is very difficult. The Distress inks used were, Faded Jeans/Broken China/Dusty Concord. Once made I spritzed with Perfect Pearls Interference Blue mixed in water. I tend to allow these pieces to air dry whenever possible as they naturally flatten. Heating them to speed the drying time does warp the card & it is annoying having to flatten under heavy objects.

Card front; The dragonflies (cover issue stamp of Craft Stamper) were stamped on the card in StazOn Teal Blue & the vellum wings are embossed in clear powder. I used a fiskars border punch for this one & silver embossing powder.

The inside; I stamped the feather design from the Venaissance Set-Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen in Adirondack dye inks Wild Plum & Eggplant to give it a two tone effect.

The back & behind the front panel; You can see the colours of the distress background far better in this photo. I love the imperfect bits where a bit of white is showing. I overstamped the whole pieces with my Hero Arts Old Letter Writing background stamp in Adirondack Dye ink Eggplant. The trick with this is to ink the stamp & stamp it down onto a scrap piece first so that the second impression is much lighter. This way it doesn't dominate the design.

The corner stamps are Design Objectives & I had forgotten I owned them as they were hidden away in the back of the stamp drawers!!


I really love making these background pieces & spent an hour creating plenty for future projects. Pop back soon as I have another piece of art to share, but not before I share my Mojoholder Design Team page tonight!

Just playing around.....

with my inks & stamps, because I can! I have this week off work & after packing in all the appointments such as dentist, doctor, shopping etc... I finally can get down to some crafting. Still no sign of my printer ink replacement cartridge, but I do have a photo to use if needs must to complete my Mojoholder DT piece for Friday night. Meanwhile I completed this piece and am working on something else.

This piece came together in just an hour & then got pushed to the edge of my craft table for another hour, as I considered how to finish it off. I struggle to finish pieces originally!!

I made the background from distress inks & stamped random images over the edges. The girl is, as many of you already know, my favourite Crafty Individuals image. She is stamped in Adirondack Eggplant dye ink & covered with a piece of vellum to soften her. The torn piece of paper is from a book painted first with gesso & then inked up to blend with the background. I also inked the lace in Tea Dye Distress ink, again, to age it slightly. It looked far too stark left white. The pansies are real dried flowers & now that I have finished this piece the top flower will be covered with glossy accents to prevent it ageing & falling apart. Had I done this prior to taking the photo it would not have dried sufficiently to get a decent shot! You can tell I have made that mistake before, can't you ;-)

The cardboard is a piece from an old SC kit box & I have inked a mix of colours to distress it further.

Saturday Workout Challenge - No.64

During the morning I caught up with some of my favourite blogs and found several of them showing off wonderful pieces of art for the Saturday Workout Challenge, using Perfect Pearls. I'm a huge fan of these tiny pots of shine so set to work to make an entry. I have never taken part before but as I can't do any scrapping (see post below) I thought I'd make something pretty instead.

I sponged a white card blank with a bit of colour from 3 adirondack dye pads, Eggplant, Cranberry & Lettuce as the card was a little too stark. Then I set it aside while I made my background strip of card using the tin foil distress ink technique. Whilst the inks were still wet I sprayed with a mist of perfect pearls in water to give the whole piece some shimmer. Once dry I stamped lightly in eggplant with my script background stamp. I overstamped top left & bottom right corners in Cranberry & while still wet I painted over some Interference Red Perfect pearls.

I set it all using some hairspray & put it aside while I created my image piece.

I love the watercolour look, but have no watercolour paints. However I find Adirondack dye pads can be effective. I inked up La Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris stamp in several colours of ink (wild plum/eggplant/denim/meadow/lettuce with cranberry) here and there & stamped it onto smooth white card. I immediately brushed the whole image with Interference blue perfect pearls. Once it was all nearly dry i spritzed on just a tiny bit of water to get the inks to run ever so slightly giving a watercolour appearance. I gently sponged over the entire piece a bit of eggplant to make the white look more sky like. (the denim pad was too dark)

Sadly the camera can't pick up the real shimmer of this, but if you click on the picture for a larger view you might see the lower part of the building has a bluish/green appearance.

Mojoholder - No page from me this week!

Unfortunately my printer has refused to recognise one of my new ink cartridges and it has had to be returned to the company for replacement. I couldn't print anything at all so stepped out of this week's design team piece. However the girls have all still done their pieces and you can find them on the mojo blog.

Card for Suse - Wednesday Stamper Challenge

A lovely lady, Suse, from our Chrysalis Form is having health problems right now so I made her this card. I really enjoyed the entire process, it was relaxing.

This is the front. The stamp is one of my favourites and I also know is one of Suse's favs too. I mounted stamped & embossed the design before gently sponging on the inks. I used a soft cloth to buff up the embossing & get traces of the distress inks from it. The flower is Prima Artful Collage from one of my Studio Calico scrap kits. The black dots are from a Damask Set by Kelly Panacci I bought last month as a big treat for clearing my credit card bill.

The inside.

The stamp in black & butterscotch inks part of the Venaissance set by Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen.

The back & behind the front panel

I made all the panels with distress inks & sprayed them all with Perfect Pearls to give some shimmer. I then stamped & embossed them with one of my favourite Crafty Individuals Stamps. Ink colours; Fired Brick, Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw.
Clear embossing pad & gold powder. I used a gold krylon pen around all the edges. The front edge is cut with my corner rounder to create scallops. I love craft Stamper magazine & in particular my favourite pages every month were Rachel Jacksons' Fancy folds. (Cards folded differently) The feature ended but whenever she makes anything in the magazine she often uses novel ideas for finishing off her artwork, so I pinched this folded idea. You might see another one next weekend as I have made a silver, blue & purple one for a 30th birthday & I have used a border punch on that one not my corner rounder!

I saw that the Wednesday Stamper theme this week was Dream so I have entered my card. I haven't participated in any challenges for nearly a year as I had a new job & a lot of new stuff to learn to enable me to do the job, but I have been in my job nearly a year now, where has the time gone!!!!

Mojoholder Challenge 117

This week, well, hello where did the last one go!! As I was saying, this week I am pleased that us mojo girls are featuring as our guest designer, a dear friend of my from Singapore, Pearl Liu.

Here is what Pearl had to say," My name is Pearl and I'm a SAHM to 2 wonderful children, living in Sunny Singapore. I first started scrapbooking after my wedding in 1993 , without using any acid free products .There were very few acid free products available then here . Needless to say , that album is now yellow with age ! After the birth of our daughter in 1995, I started cardmaking via punchart and acquired the tools , punches and papers in the hopes that they would be useful for my kids at the right age. Well, I'm still the main user of all that product and tools ! From 2006, onwards ,there was such a shift in products available in the papercraft industry and I started using more scrapbooking products in my cardmaking. Magazines and on-line galleries were full of inspiration, so by October 2006 I started scrapbooking again and have never looked back since.
Some of my best memories on my scrapbooking adventures include being the first International Guest Designer to be featured on the Prima Blog , getting on round 2 of the Magistical Memories' Chipboard Artist DT call, winning first prize in a Glitz Design contest -prize included US$500 worth of Glitz Design products and my winning layout being displayed at CHA Summer 2008. Who I design for : Di Hickman's Card Sketches Such Sweet Tierney ( on Etsy ) you can find her resume here http://pearlliu.blogspot.com/2008/06/design-teams.html

Anyway, here is my version of her sweet layout.

I loved the circle theme she had going on & as usual went off on my own tangent.

A close up of the dragonflies so you can see those vellum wings.

Materials List,

Cardstock, Bazzill Vanilla

Patterned Papers; Thread Love-Studio Calico, Cherry Hill-Recipe Box; October Afternoon both from the May Studio Calico kit.

Turquoise Papermania Scalloped cardstock. Holes created by Big Bite.

Circles cut using circle cutter & scalloped with corner rounder.

Rub ons, Pink Paislee-Fascinating.

Stamps; Journal block-Studio G, Corner Scroll - Damask set Kelly Panacci, Dragonfly; Free cover stamp from Craft Stamper magazine.

Inks Versamagic Moonlight White, Stazon teal Blue,

Colourbox Queues Cats eye pigment, Colonial blue & Cerulean.

Vellum- dragonfly wings & journal box.

Blue photo turn & brad, Papermania.

Heidi Swapp Chipboard Invisibles- bird.

Aquamarine opaline pearls, Basic Grey (dragon fly bodies)

Ranger white paint dabber around photo edge.

Foam blue alphas, craftwork.

I really enjoyed creating this piece as I adore circles, pretty paper & stamping & I love the effect i got using the vellum for the wings.

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

It is my big sister's birthday today. I know she is having a great time as she went to Edinburgh shopping!!!

Mojoholder Challenge 116

This week's talented designer is the lovely Edleen Maryam. Check out her blog & gallery to see more stunning designs. I really loved the shape & the elements of this week's page & felt they needed a vintage treatment. So I picked these photos of historic areas of Grimsby. I was born in Grimsby & now live in Scunthorpe but I commute to Grimsby every day. Strange how you end up back in places you thought you had left behind forever. Both these places are within walking distance of the office too!!! As the journalling says, the Ice factory (top picture) was one of the places used to film Atonment. Corporation Bridge (lower photo) featured in a pop video for the duo Erasure. I love history & archaeology so being able to combine these interests with scrapping is fab.

Materials List;

Cardstock, Kraft.

Paper, 1959 Vintage Classified Page- Studio Calico

Stamps- Clearstamps Damask set-Kelly Panacci.

Ink - Adirondack Dye Pad, butterscotch. Rangers Distress ink - brushed corduroy.

Title - Making Memories tiny brown ledger "Historic"

American Crafts black fabric thickers "Grimsby"

Maya Road rub on calendar.

Bracket was drawn on using a pink paislee die cut as a template & a whispers black pen.

Happy Birthday, Den!!

I already know she is having a fabulous day! here is the card I made. I called it my recycled range using vintage colours & pages from an old book. The Whitewash Co-ordinates paper is excellent for running through the cuttlebug embossing folder as the soft pink dots that came through gave a really vintage girly feel and the scallops (made with my corner rounder) added a soft touch. The flower was lemon but I inked it with chalk ink & overstamped with my script background stamp. The ribbon was given to me from off someone's birthday gift.

Mojoholder Challenge 115

This week over at Mojoholder, our guest designer is Nancy Van Den Berg. I was very disappointed with this page in the end. I had it visualised in my mind long before I put it to paper & it didn't really quite come out right. I wanted to use this paper as it is glittery & pretty & the cardstock hinges (cut out using my grungeboard ones as templates) were supposed to make the page look like a book but it never really came off. The photo is one given by a friend, she stayed in this hotel in Las Vegas. I made a smaller title of rubs ons that says the stuff of...

and ends ... and dreams with the word Fairytales between but you'll need to get close to see them.

Full Materials List;

Bazzill Cardstock, Heather. White, for scalloped edge (made using corner rounder)

Patterened Paper, Die Cuts With a View- Once Upon A Time.

Grey cardstock for hinges, Earth tones Co ordinates. Brads- Papermania.

Title - Papermania Cardstock Stickers.

Small words & sentences, Doodlebug Simply sweet Rub Ons.

Stamps - Snag 'em duos, Papermania.

Blossoms - Prima.

Gems, Papermania.

Happy Father's Day! Dad.

I made this card using Black Magic Co-ordinates cardstock & the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder, run through my Big Shot. Stamp is PaperArtsy.

Mojoholder Challenge 114

Here we are again, Friday night is Mojoholder Night & our guest this week is the talented Laura Price Fiore. Pop over to the mojo blog & see the other designs & check out Laura's blog while you are at it.

I received my latest Studio Calico kit early this week, Soda Fountain so I used the kit to make the June page of my "Year of Studio Calico" album using the back of the 6" Jenni Bowlin calendar that came with the Christmas kit. My thoughts turned straight to summer when I saw these papers & memories of childhood holidays spent in strawberry fields with our grandparents came flooding back.

Materials List;
Patterned Paper, Ducks in a Row/ Sleep Tight - October Afternoon
Early Bird - Cherry Pie - Cosmo Cricket
Hello Hen - Studio Calico
Teal flat back pearl gems- Opaline - Basic Grey
Pinwheel Stamp- Studio Calico exclusive stamp
Porcelain alphabet- Basic Grey
To make the tiny pinwheels, I stamped the design once on the front & once on the back of two double sided sheets of paper. Then I cut away bits of the design & glued them onto the other to give the appearance of doublesided pinwheels.

Mojoholder Challenge 113

I'm back again this week with another bright & colourful, fun page featuring my step-niece Lucy. I really had got low on ink, but my order arrived last Saturday morning in time for this week's Design Team page. Pop on over the blog to see the original page by talented crafter Frances Sylvia and see what the other DT girls did.

Materials List;

Background paper; October Afternoon, Hometown-Depot Park. (SC kit Sept.08.)

American Crafts Elements -Dandelion photo turns & brads.

Green cardstock- papermania- scalloped with corner rounder.

Numbers 1, 2, 3 and flower centre- Sassafrass Chipboard stickers (SC kit. May.09)

Red Blossom- Prima.

Title Word - Heidi Swapp - Play.

Border hand stitched using DMC embroidery thread.

Lucy was a bit nervous of the bouncy castle, hired for brother Oliver's birthday, but after seeing all the big girls & boys having so much fun she took her first step up to the top. Once back down she grinned from ear to ear and spend hours on it.

Mojoholder Challenge - 112

Crikey its already this time of the week, where has the last 7 days gone!!! Well we mojo girls are back again with a fab guest designer, Danielle Flanders. Pop on over the mojo blog & she the rest of the Design Team pages.

I loved this design & stepped out of my comfort zone to scrap something quite bright & funky. Mind you I had just the right materials. For more information see below.

All items from the May Studio Calico kit, Playground except the Hambly clear border stickers which were in a previous Studio Calico Kit.

This page was made for the ongoing album "A Year of Studio Calico" and for those who have not seen any of this album so far, the actual page is the 6" Jenni Bowlin calendar that came with the December kit.

Materials List;

Patterned Paper; Sassafras Anthem -ticket & Anthem - Classic. (both doublesided sheets)

Title - Cardstock Alpha Stickers Black Ledger - Jenni Bowlin

Orange Chipboard Bracket - Sassafras Self Adhesive Stickers.

Black Tab Sticker - Jenni Bowlin.

Pink Paislee - Fascinating Press Ons.

I really enjoyed working with the bright colours they went perfectly with this photo I took on Cleethorpes Beach in April last year.

Mojoholder Challenge 111

This week's Guest Designer is Nicole Stark. You can check out the Design Team work & a little bit about Nicole over on the mojoholder blog.

I went with an 11 x 81/2 page this week. I managed to find this photo of the farmhouse my sister lives in. Only two weeks more & I can buy some ink. I must not go over budget or it will have a knock on effect for all my plans in June & July.

Materials List; White Bazzill cardstock.

Green Spotted paper (unknown as was given a while ago)

Black Magic Colorcore cardstock spellcaster embossed with a provocraft texture embossing file & sanded to allow the green core to show through as the pattern.

Green Trim, Making Memories, passport.

Fabric & paper flowers, Making Memories.

Green textured brad, Lemongrass collection, Crate Paper.

Stamps; Journal Spot-Studio G & Corner Scroll- Stamp Away

Title - Moxie, Quickutz

Mojoholder Challenge 110

This week's guest designer is May Marix Marte. Pop over to the Mojoholder blog to see her page & the rest of the design teams. As always with lifting, I just see an idea & go off on my own tangent. I loved the circular design but only used it as an element. I also decided to make it using items from some of my Studio Calico kits.

Materials List;

Kraft cardstock.

Crate Paper- Lemon die cut (Oct '08 SC Kit)

Paper - Jenni Bowlin Vintage Blackbird (Feb '09 SC Kit)

Hambly Vintage White Rub Ons (July '08 SC Kit)

Rub on title- WHSmith Commercial Script (I kept my title small so it didn't dominate my design)

Scalloped Journal spot - Rebecca's Scrapbook stash (sadly no longer)

Versamagic Chalk inks - Gingerbread & Tea Leaves.
Photo - Taken during my sister's wedding. It is Langley Castle. Hexham, Northumberland. It made a fabulous wedding venue and we were all made to feel like royalty the whole day.

Mojoholder Challenge 109

Its Mojoholder time of the week again and we girls on the DT had the pleasure of lifting the fabby Lizzy Wurman. I started off really chuffed with my piece but ended up actually hating it!

Materials List;

Cardstock Bazzill -pale blue.

Paper; October Afternoon - Night Light Katie coverd in Artists' Gesso & inked with Rangers Broken China Distress Ink. Sassafras - Vintage Yummy - Memory Lane (brackets)

Colourbox Queues - blue ink Peacock.

Felt flower & patterned flower, brad, word stickers - Studio Calico kit embellies.

Blue Dragonfly chipboard- unknown.

Hambly stick on borders.

Title - small foam letters- Craft Work Craft Stickers - The Range

Photos taken by my Dad in Australia in 2003.

I still have no ink for the printer and 3 weeks to go before I can get some! But it will be worth the wait knowing ALL the bills are paid :0)

Mojoholder #108

This week on the Mojoholder Design Team we are lifting the wonderfully talented Chris Millar. I have to admit that my budget is way too tight right now after paying out for tons of bills & my printer has completely run out of ink. So this week I had to use a photo a friend took for me as she knows I adore squirrels & would love to have got this close for a shot of him. I made another page for my Year of Studio Calico using materials from the April kit & also from older kits (tree)

Materials List;

Jenny Bowlin 6" calendar page.

Paper, Studio Calico Happy (double sided sheet from the April kit)

Sassafras Paper Whimseys - flower & circle

Maya Road Cherry Blossom & Birds-chipboard tree, (Feb kit) inked with Colourbox fluid chalk ink Dark Brown

Making Memories tiny alphas (Dec kit)

Capture the moment words from a stamp by Technique Tuesday & Ali Edwards (Swan Lake add on kit Dec)