You know how sometimes

it’s hard finding the right paper to suit the photo for a layout? That’s what happened with a photo I wanted to scrap of my Mum in the early seventies. I pulled out some stuff to try to get it to work a couple of times, but it never quite looked right. Then I got some American Crafts papers last week at work, which seemed just right. So I did the layout this afternoon. I also used Thickers, and all my embellishments were round to continue the theme:

I used the words from that song ‘Pictures of you’ for the title. It seemed to all fit. My dymo labeller provided the journalling, which just says ‘Mum in the early 70s’. It’s very bright, but I like it with the black and white photo.

I taught a class

at Chandon this week, which went well. I was excited because I ordered some stuff from the US that I had been wanting for a while, and it finally arrived. Some brands are a lot more common than others, and one of the brands I wanted is hard to get in Australia. It’s called Bam Pop, and it’s very bright and funky. I got some papers and die-cuts:

     

I also got some Love Elsie and Ki Memories papers and embellishments, and some transparencies from Hambly. All very bright and modern stuff. I can’t wait to start using it all! I love all the little critters, robots, unicorns, and the die-cuts will be great for journalling.

I’m waiting on another order now from the US too. For a while I’ve been thinking about getting a wheel tote, because I need to be mobile for when I go to Sugar and Spice. Also, I don’t have a lot of stuff so I thought I might be able to fit it all in a tote, then I don’t have to pack and unpack all the time. I’ve already got my AMM caddy for tools, pens, etc, so I did my research and realised the one I want isn’t available in Australia, so I’ve ordered it from the US. I’m going to be paying as much in postage as for the tote itself, but the dollar is good for importing and it would have cost more to order it from an Australian shop. It’s called the XXL tote, from Crop In Style. Here’s a picture I found:

 I can’t wait to get it and see how much stuff I can fit in! I’m a very compact scrapper, so I think I should fit nearly everything. It’s mainly embellishments, ribbons, buttons, etc. that I want to store in there. Some people have huge scrapbooking spaces, but since I don’t I think this is a good idea.

I started using some of my new stuff last night, combined with buttons, felt, ricrac:

 

I’ve shown some of the detail closeup too.  The journalling says “C is for cute, C is for cuddly, C is for Chopper. Photo session in our driveway, April 2008.”  I used a pipecleaner to make the corner. This layout is bright but not girly, which is good because Choppy is a boy…

My sister made this

wooden letter for her boyfriend. She got it from the Kaisercraft outlet when I got all my stuff for Sugar and Spice. I’m very impressed with it, considering she’s always saying how uncreative she is. It just goes to show, that we have creativity in us somewhere, we just need the right inspiration.

She painted the edges and back red to match the red paper on the front (which is also from Kaisercraft), added photos, and a Collingwood logo and ribbons because he’s a magpies supporter. There’s also buttons, black rhinestones, red droplets and red labels using my dymo labeller. I think she wanted to put more stuff on it, but Mum and I convinced her it had enough. I do understand how hard it is to say when, though (!) She gave it to him last night, and I think he was quietly impressed with the lovely gesture. There’s nothing like gifts made from the heart.

Here’s my latest layout made for Chandon with Raqual’s photos:

 

I used the new My Mind’s Eye 29th Street Market papers, with American Vinyl Thickers. They go really well with these gorgeous photos.

This is a Mother’s Day Card

I made for my sister to give Mum tomorrow. Mum and Laurelle are GFC members, so Laurelle gave me stickers to put on the card. I don’t think many other Mums will be getting a personalised footy card tomorrow!

I’ve been working at Chandon a lot this week, as Debbie’s been away on holidays. I really enjoy the work, which is a blessing. Lots of website stuff, as well as working in the shop and teaching a class.  This is the class I taught on Wednesday:

I really enjoy teaching the classes, hopefully the students enjoy coming! I made this layout of my beautiful cat Choppy last night, the little details really don’t show up well, so I’ve taken a close-up too:

 

 

I like using all the little cute embellishments, like these little cherries and brads.  I got another order from Kittyrobot on Etsy this week, so I’ll have fun playing with all that stuff too.

 I’m very excited because I went to the Kaisercraft factory outlet this morning and got some great stuff. We stock the whole range at Chandon, but this was my first time visiting the outlet. I was looking for stuff my girl’s group can use, so I got arrow albums (for $1 each!!), brushes, papers, and rhinestones and droplets. I didn’t know that all the money from the factory outlet goes to overseas missions, so I was doubly impressed. Also, when I told the lady what I was buying for she gave me even more discount! I can’t wait to see what the girls think, and I will definitely be back to the outlet!

 

So I was wondering

what to do with the new Heidi Swapp chandelier overlay, and this is what I came up with:

 It’s hard to see all the little details I added, so I this is another photo:

I cut the overlay down the middle, and placed it in the middle of the cardstock, then put the Love Elsie paper on the right side. I used my Dymo labeller to describe the photos, and the fabric picture I got from an op shop. The little cat on the right is from a vintage picture story book, and I put it in a Love Elsie frame. I put a Hello Kitty button in the middle of the flower, and the other embellishments are buttons, stitching, brads, and a felt flower.

I had a lot of fun doing this layout, as I like to use new things like the chandelier overlay. I’ve really come to see that it’s not worth saving things for later, I use what I want now, and the layouts look better. There’s always something new coming out, and this way I don’t end up with too much stuff. It’s more me.

 

Just scrapping for fun

and seeing what I come up with. No pressure, using lots of new stuff we’ve been getting in at work lately. Here’s a couple more I’ve done this week:

The journalling of this layout reads: ‘Why do I make cupcakes? because I can, they taste yummy too’. I took a photo of my latest batch, and made this layout with heaps of different papers, including Basic Grey, American Crafts, Sassafras Lass. I also used my little cupcakes I got from etsy, which were perfect!

This layout is called ‘precious little manny’, which is what I’ve called Monty for years. I was excited because I got him with his eyes fully open! I’ve used the new Heidi Swapp trenchcoat paper for the background, which I love. I’ve also used Love Elsie Toby paper and a Making Memories 5th Avenue label, amongst other things. I like the Toby embellishments, I’ve done a bit of stitching too. I bought the Elsie 52 challenges book yesterday, so I guess that’s where the inspiration came from.