Frosted Designs...

Its FRIDAY!!  That means another Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs.  This time around the challenge is to use black, white, and one other color on a project or layout.  I really enjoyed this challenge.  I had a plan in mind and set out to accomplish that look.  Well....it proved to be a bit more challenging that I anticipated!  But in the end, I love the result.  These boys of mine totally have my heart.  I just love them so.

Its hard to tell in a photograph but I misted the black cardstock with pearl glimmer mist.  It gives it such a nice sparkle without distracting from my photos or other elements.

Don't forget to link up your projects to Frosted Designs.  I'd love to check them out.  Hope you have a Fabulous Friday!  I've got friends coming for scrap night at my house and I can't wait!  Time to get my fingers inky....or painty!  :)

Challenge Me Happy and a little something fun...

I've found a new inspiration site called Challenge Me Happy.  This is their first challenge and I can't wait to see more.  They provided a really cool picture for inspiration.  You can check it out on their blog.

This is what I came up with.  I really liked the colours and the feeling of this photo.  Kind of has an antique feeling about it, even thought its not really old.  I thought this photo of the boys was just the right one to use.  

I am a very tiday house keeper but sometimes a girl just needs to do a bit of deep cleaning.  :)  After my cleaning, I got down to playing in my scrap room.  I needed those painty fingers just as much as I needed a deep cleaned house.  I think its funny that in my scrap room I have two eight foot tables and yet I work in a space smaller than my 24" wide mat.  :)

At this moment, I was enjoying my morning tea break of carrots and hummus and a hot drink all while doing a bit of facebooking.  :)  Multi-tasking....that's what I'm about!  

This is a peek of what I was working on.  I'm not quite ready to share the whole thing yet, but I will when its finished.  Oh yes, I'm loving that bubble wrap rainbow!  :)

Ok, I can't quite figure out why my text looks normal on here and then shows up tiny!  Hope that's fixed by next time.  :)

Frosted Designs and Monster Creations...

Yesterday I shared just a teaser of my album I made for Frosted Designs journal tag challenge this week.  My album is one being featured on their blog so I wanted to share the rest of it with you.

I was given the 6x6 album from Monster Creations to play with and this is what it looked like when I received it.  I really wanted to do something a little different with this album.  I started by painting it brown.  I love the way it took the paint!  It almost looked like a woodgrain stamp.  (I forgot to take a picture of it painted before I started playing with it.  I was too excited!)

I used these journal cards from K&Co.  Some of them I used just as they were and some I cut and used titles off of.  I've had these cards for awhile and they were just perfect for the photos I wanted to use.  There were plenty of cards for my project, to share with friends, and I still have some left.  And let me just say $4.12 for 44 journal cards??  What a bargin!  :)  I paired them with tags, papers, and brads from Basic Grey's Marjolaine set and flowers and buttons that I had in my stash.

I chose pictures from a Saturday hike our family took to Tunel Beach, about 10 minutes from where we live.  Its one of our favourite spots here in Dunedin and the views are spectacular.  Here is my album....

I really liked the way I could use this album folded up as a book or spread out like this to display more of the pages.

This is what the back of it looks like.

Thanks so much to Monster Creations for this album!  Make sure you check out their website to see the other styles they offer.  Such a great selection!  Don't forget about the special Frosted Designs discount they have right now.

"Any one who emails me personally at amy@mymonstercreations.com and mentions Frosted Designs will get 50% off your entire order and FREE shipping for USA. Out of country residents will be a 10.00 shipping charge."

Also remember to link up your creations to Frosted Designs using journal tags.  (To qualify for this week's prize you do not have to do a mini album, just use journal tags on your layout, card, or project.)

Frosted Designs...

Hi Everyone!  Its time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs.  The challenge this time around is to use journal tags on your project or layout.  Amy, owner of Monster Creations has generously provided not only this week's prize but mini albums for us design team girls to play with.  Thanks so much Amy!!  I really enjoyed playing with my album.  For now I'll just show you a peak of it and stop back by tomorrow to see the whole thing.  :)

See you tomorrow!!

Oh before I leave you.....Amy has a great deal for YOU!


Any one who emails me personally at amy@mymonstercreations.com and mentions Frosted Designs will get 50% off your entire order and FREE shipping for USA. Out of country residents will be a 10.00 shipping charge.  

How sweet is that!  So head on over to Monster Creations and check them out!  I know you'll be happy you did.  :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

Just a quick post today before heading out for my day.  Scrapbookers Anonymous is still running their challenge this month to use at least 3 papers from a mini stack of paper.  Also if you make a card with your scraps, you get another entry into the drawing for a great prize.  Here is my card....

I used the same weaving pattern that I had used on my layout and another sheet of paper on the inside of my card.  Make sure you link up your creations!  I'd love to check them out.

Happy Scrapping!  :)

The past few days...and some scrapping...

Late Sunday afternoon Bryce...my husband left for Auckland at the top end of the north island for work.  (Dunedin is toward the bottom end of the south island.)  So I've been doing the single mum stuff for the past few days.  Boy, am I ever glad I don't have to do that all the time.  And for those that do, I applaud you.  Its a tough job.  Not only have I done the normal duties of being a mum....laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, running boys to and from school, mowing the yard, but I've had to take our van in for some maintenance.  Nothing major but a few stops that Bryce would normally take care of.  Yesterday was a beautiful day so it made my running around a little easier.  

Love it when I can hang washing out on a winter's day!  The sun felt so good and the clothes got dry the same day!!  :)

And a winter's garden.....so pretty and nice to have colour in the yard.  Nothing like our midwest winters that are brown and barren.  I mean, I mowed the yard yesterday!  I didn't ever do that in Indiana during  winter.  :)  

Today it has felt much more like winter.  Rainy and chilly.  So this is a picture from my kitchen window.  My Dad made me these salt and pepper grinders and brought them when they visited last month.  I love them so.  (You may notice, no screens.  NZ doesn't really have bugs so when we open the house, we really open the house.  So nice!)

Oddly enough, there was a faint rainbow in the sunrise this morning.  Before it started raining.  Beautiful but strange.  This is from the back of the house....

And here is the sunrise from the front...

Now onto something scrappy....Since all my work was done (for now as a mum's work is never really done) I played in my scrap room today. Sketchy Thursdays had a great 3 photo sketch this week.  I pulled out these photos of Aden licking the beaters after we mixed up some chocolate pudding.  Mmmm.....I did have to laugh remembering that he also asked if he could lick them the next time I made mashed potatoes.  :D  That boy loves his mashed potatoes!

A few close ups...

I love that photo with his eyes closed.  And it wasn't a snap while he was blinking.  He really had his eyes closed enjoying that pudding so much.  :)

I also worked on the sketch over at Pencil Lines.  They too had a 3 photo sketch.  I chose photos of Ian this time.  I took these a few months before he turned 10.  He looks so much younger to me but look at those blue eyes.  They really are that blue.  I just love them.  Well, I love the whole boy but those eyes...

I don't typically do hidden journaling but for this page I have a note in the brown envelope just for Ian.  My boys are growing up too quick.  :(  I do love the young men they are becoming though.  

Tonight Bryce will be home.  And we are all happy about that.  But for now, I have tea (dinner) to fix and Aron (11)  has a school disco tonight.  He is so excited.  I asked if I could come along with my camera.  I about fell off my chair laughing at the look he gave me.  And a strong "NO" came with that look!  lol....I'll settle for a pre-disco picture at home.  :)

Something just for fun...

I have and always will love scrapbooking but lately I've really wanted to try something different.  My sister-in-law Michelle does some amazing art journaling and I've always admired her creations and wanted to try it myself.  But I'll admit I was scared to try.

So my good friend Lynne and I decided we would try making a mixed media project of our own.  One afternoon we sat down and watched quite a few different video tutorials.  We especially liked the "She art" by Christy Tomlinson.  (I didn't attempt a girl for my first project but in the near future I'll be making one.)  I really wasn't sure that I would be able to make a mixed media art canvas and it not look like a 5 year old had done it.  (no offense to any 5 year olds out there!)  And if you know me, I like to create with a plan in mind.  So trying something that I really didn't have a plan for and really didn't know what it would end up looking like really did scared me.  But thankfully I had Lynne by my side encouraging me on.  Thanks Girlfriend!  :)

Here is my finished project.....

 This canvas has a heap of layers on it.  Paper, gesso, modeling paste, mists, paint, and so much more!

I used bubble wrap, stencils, and a few odd bits to make the texture on my canvas.

This is my other canvas I made.

For this one I used old dictionary pages to cover the canvas.  I loved the camera in the bottom corner so I highlighted it with a heart.  I really should post this one yet as I want to write something on it.  But I'm not sure what yet and I was really excited to share it.

Another project I did recently just for fun was make this mini album.  My good friend Stephanie sent me a paper pack by Echo Park and I wanted to play with it.  I didn't put photos in it because I'm not sure what I'm doing with this album yet.

This album is actually acrylic.  Its hard to tell in the photos though.  One side I covered with paper and one side I left the acrylic showing and embellished on top of it.  I am still loving my DT assignments and challenges, but it was nice just to make for....well, just for making!  Thanks Stephanie for my box of fun!  :)  I'll be back with some other projects before too long.  See you then!

Frosted Designs Show me Sunday...

Hi Everyone!  Lydia here for Frosted Designs Show Me Sunday tutorial.  This week I have a butterfly home decor project for you.  I saw a piece of art like this somewhere but never could remember where so I decided to make my own.  (and because I can't remember, I can't give credit to the original creator)  This project only took me a couple hours from start to finish.

To make your butterfly project only requires a few supplies.  A butterfly punch, paint samples, glue, 1 sheet of 8x10 white cardstock, a rub-on, and a frame.

I decided to go with a rainbow theme for my butterflies but this project would be just as stunning with a monochromatic color scheme.  First step is to punch and punch and punch butterflies.  I had a heap leftover, perfect for another project.

Next is to decide where you would like your butterflies placed.  I chose to make mine into a flying, arching rainbow of sorts.  I drew my pattern out on a paper first and then used it as my template to place my butterflies.  I glued down my butterflies in just their middles so it would look like they were actually flying off the page.

When I had my basic pattern filled in, I added butterflies to the outside edges so I could widen my arch just a touch.  I decided where I wanted the rub-on and rubbed it on.

The finishing touch is putting it in the frame.  I used the glass behind my paper with my butter flies so it would give it more stability and also let the butterflies "fly" without being smashed.  If you wanted to, you could spray a little glimmer mist on them to give them a little shine as the paint chips are quite flat.

Here is the end result.

Its a simple yet beautiful piece of art.  I think I'll be making another one soon.  I'd love to see your projects as well.  Thanks for stopping by Frosted Designs.  Have a crafty week!  :)