Stuck?! Sketches March 15th DT Reveal

Welcome and thank you so much for visiting my blog!

Today is the Design Team reveal for the March 15th challenge at Stuck?! Sketches!!! I am so excited to be on this team with such a talented group of ladies!!

Take a look at the awesome sketch that Laura has created for us to use for this challenge...

Here is my take on the sketch...

"Hello"

I really enjoyed using this sketch as the starting point for my layout! The photos are of Abigail on her 2nd Birthday. We bought her this Wiggles pop-up tent for her birthday and she loved it! She kept popping her head out to say "Hello" - hence my title!

The papers that I used are Glitz Design - I think that they are so fun and pretty! For the circular element on the sketch, I used a Silhouette cut file to create a large doily from the yellow paper. The embellishments are a mixture from my stash including Maggie Holmes stickers and chipboard, Simple Stories Bits & Pieces, My Minds Eye Sticker and Enamel Dots, BasicGrey flair and sticker, American Crafts Thickers, as well as some co-ordinating stickers from Glitz Design! I wanted to create a bright and fun page with lots of colour!

Here are some closeups of my layout...

How awesome are enamel dots!!

I'm loving adding gold embellishments to my layouts at the moment and the sparkly gold thickers are so eye catching!

My title is another Silhouette cut file that I cut from black cardstock and then mounted with foam tape to give it some dimension.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my layout. Please do pop on over to the Stuck?! Sketches blog to check out the other design team members' layouts - they are amazing as always! And we would love you to join us by creating a layout with the sketch and linking it up. There are some great prizes up for grabs from our sponsors:

Well that's it from me! Thanks for taking the time to visit and for any comments that you leave! I do appreciate them!

Mandy

Picture This!

Hi Scrappy Friends!

In case you haven't seen it already, there's a new challenge blog that started up this year called Picture This and they are currently having a Design Team Call! Go and check them out!

Here are the details for the Design Team Call that you can find on their blog...

We do hope that you have been enjoying our challenges thus far!  It has been 3 months and so far we are doing pretty well and I know it’s only going to get better.  We are not looking to add 2-4 more members to our already fabulous Design Team.  The DT term will run from April 1 through July 1.  You will be responsible for at least 2 layouts a month as well as commenting on entries each week.  I am only looking for dedicated members.   If you are interested and would like to be considered for a position then here is what you need to do:

Why apply for our team? 

• To be inspired and to inspire others 
• To be on the ground floor of an up and coming blog 
• You will be a part of an amazing group of women and develop lifelong friendships with women from all over the world. 
• Your work will be featured on Facebook and Pinterest. 

What is expected of our Design Team? 

• You MUST be a follower of our blog
• Complete 2 projects a month (you will be given challenges at least a month in advance). 
• Comment on participants entries (THIS IS A MUST!).  Any team member not adhering to this rule will be promptly removed from the team so please make sure you can do this before applying. 
• Commit to a 3 month term (Beginning of  April to the beginning of July) 
• Keep an active blog that is updated frequently 
• Post our challenge and your project on your blog on reveal day and link back to the Picture This! blog.

How to apply:

• Leave a comment below indicating you would like to apply 
• Create a layout based on the design team call challenge below. Email that layout topicturethischallenge@gmail.com.  In your email also provide links to your blog and any online galleries. 
• Add our link and DT call to your blog

DESIGN TEAM CALL CHALLENGE:

(Picture This:  1 photo + corners+ splatter)

You MUST have a Facebook account as we will have a private DT group on Facebook

Anyone interested in applying please send your application to picturethischallenge@gmail.com.  Make sure you put DT call in the subject line.

We are accepting applications through March 15^th.   New design team members will be notified by March 16^th.   This is an open call, what that means is, I have the right to close this call at any time if I feel all the positions have been filled.    The first reveal will be April 1st.

No previous DT experience needed.

I can't wait to see what you come up with!  International members ARE welcome to apply!

Exciting News!!! Stuck?! Sketches Design Team!!!

I am so very excited to announce that I have been invited to join the Stuck?! Sketches Design Team!!! I am so thankful to Laura Whitaker for giving me this fantastic opportunity as I did not expect to be one of the lucky people chosen for the team!! Laura's sketches are amazing, she is very talented, and if you haven't yet joined in on the bi-monthly challenges at Stuck?! Sketches, I would highly recommend you give it a go - you will love using Laura's sketches for inspiration!!

If you would like to see the announcement on the Stuck?! Sketches blog, click here. There are three other new design team members- Carmen Cohen-Henriquez from Brazil, Nadia Meyer from Switzerland, and Vasso Sofou from Greece. If you get a chance, go and visit their blogs - you will be very inspired!! We will be joining in on the March 15th challenge, so stay tuned for my first DT layout!!

Mandy

The Black & White Duo - 123 Challenge Blog & Feb 15th Stuck?! Sketch

Hi there!

Today I am posting my layout that I completed for both the February 15th Stuck?! Sketches challenge and the February 123 Challenge!

Take a look at the awesome sketch, I love all the layering of patterned papers...

And this is the fun challenge at 1-2-3 Challenge Blog this month...

 

I created a double layout and used the sketch as the right hand side of my layout. Here is the entire layout...

"The Black & White Duo"

And here is a closeup of just the right hand side that was based on the sketch...

I had a lot of fun creating this layout! My Dad turned 60 this month and he had a 'Black & White' themed birthday party. Abigail and Isaac decided they wanted to wear some fun dress-ups so we went & purchased hats, ties & moustaches for their costume. They loved it & they came up with the name 'The Black & White Duo' for themselves!

If you're interested in how I created the background, read on, otherwise skip this paragraph. I tried a technique that I hadn't done before that I read about in an article by Fiona Paltridge in the current issue of Scrapbooking Memories magazine... I smeared some yellow (Mustard Seed) Distress Ink onto a piece of plastic packaging, sprayed it with water and then used a piece of scrunched up glad wrap to apply it to my background. I really like the effect! Once that was dry, I also applied some red (Festive Berries) Distress Ink through a stencil to create the red polka dots. Then to finish it off I flicked some blue glimmer mist on the background as well.

Here are some more closeups of my layout...

Here is my use of the word 'Duo' for the 123 Challenge :)

 

My journalling is hidden on my layout, so I've included a photo of it here. The journalling tag is tucked in behind the black & white chevron paper above the photos, with just the scallops showing so that it looks like a decorative strip :)

Here is how I used glitter on my layout for the 123 challenge criteria... I applied silver Kindyglitz to the yellow banner! There's also glitter within the photos on the black hats that my kids are wearing!

And here's a closeup of the cluster in the bottom ride hand corner. I haven't yet jumped into the project life world yet but i purchased a pack of project life cards and embellishments and I've used the 'You are awesome' card here as part of this cluster. The gold stars on my layout are from the pack as well. I love that huge moustache sticker... I thought I would never have a use for it, but it was perfect for this page!!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and looking at my layout! Thanks in advance for any comments that you leave as well - I really love reading them!

Mandy

You are a Star - Stuck?! 1st Feb Sketch & Jot Mood Board

Hello!

Today I am sharing a layout that I created using the February 1st sketch from Stuck?! Sketches and the February mood board at Jot Magazine!

This is what the sketch looks like...

 

And this is the Jot mood board...

 

When I saw this mood board, I straight away knew which photos I was going to scrap - I've had these photos of Abigail wearing a red, black and white dress waiting to be scrapped for awhile, and this was the perfect motivation! I was inspired by the bright red combined with black & white stripes on the mood board. I also included the word 'love' on my layout :)

 So here is my layout...

"You are a Star"

I love these photos of Abigail! They were taken when she was 3 1/2 years old on Christmas Day. We've had a tradition since she was a baby that each year she gets a new 'Christmas Dress' to wear on Christmas Day. She loved this dress because when she spun around in circles it billowed out and looked so pretty!

Here are some closeups of my layout...

 

My title is made up of chevron letters from Typo along with Ruby Rock-It mini alphas and a Heidi Swapp word.

To create the white splatters on my layout, I mixed gesso with a little bit of water to make it a runnier consistency and splattered it sparingly across my page.

I also added a few embellishments here including a BasicGrey flair and a Heidi Swapp sticker. To create the banner with the word 'love' written all over it, I covered a rectangle of cardstock with washi tape before cutting it into a banner :) I sort of came up with this because I didn't have any coordinating red patterned paper, and I think it worked quite well!

And a closeup of the small cluster at the bottom of my page :)

Thank you so much for visiting and taking a look at my layout! Thank you for any comments that you leave as well - I do love reading them!

Mandy

Hello Sunshine - Kraft+ February Challenge

Hi there & welcome!

Well I'm sure lots of you have seen the new challenge blog Kraft+!! I must admit that I don't often scrap with Kraft, but when I saw the colour challenge for February, I knew that I wanted to give this one a go... the colours are so yummy and they look stunning against a Kraft base!! The Kraft+ Design Team are an amazingly talented group of ladies and their gorgeous projects for this challenge certainly inspired me!!

So without further ado, here is the very first challenge from Kraft+, 'Mango Breeze Colour Inspiration'...

 

 I created a double layout with photos of Abigail & I swimming in the pool when we were on holidays in Port MacQuarie 7 years ago...

"Hello Sunshine"

Here are some closeups of my layout, so that you can see the details...

I love that 'Hello' sticker from We R memory Keepers! I used my Silhouette Cameo to create the 'Sunshine' Banner. After I cut the word out, I used 3 different colours of Distress Inks to create a watercolour effect and backed it behind the banner so that it would show through the negative space.

I added a small cluster of flowers in different colours and textures, and also a flair by BasicGrey.

I used an Amy Tangerine die-cut for my journalling :)

A closup of some of the layering on the left-hand side that includes a glassine bag, a die-cut tag, a doily and a sticker.

Some more die-cuts, stickers & flowers up in the left-hand corner. You can also see that I outlined my papers with black pen to make them pop off the page more.

Thank you so much for looking at my layout and for your lovely comments as well :)

Mandy

Handsome Little Man - Show Us Your Stuff & White with 1 January Challenges

Welcome!

Well I've got one final layout to post that I completed this month!

It's a double layout, but I'll show you each side separately as I'm entering them into two separate challenges. 

So first up, the challenge at Show us Your Stuff for January was to use this sketch (and as always to include a handmade item on your layout):

 

This is what I created using this sketch...

"Handsome Little Man"

My handmade item is my title... I created the word 'Handsome' using my Silhouette Cameo!

Here are a few closeups...

So next up, the right hand side of my layout I created for the White with 1 challenge which was this:

White with 1 teamed up with Sketchabilities for January, so we also had to use this sketch...

 

Here is the layout that I created...

I had fun creating this layout... I think its the first time that I've created a layout with only one colour!!

Here are a couple of closeups...

So, the completed double layout looks like this...

Thanks so much for visiting & taking a look at my layout! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Mandy