More She Art

A couple more She Art girls - I'm really enjoying getting completely covered in paint and ink and they're completely addictive! I think I might give these two away to two of my colleagues to brighten up their desks :D

The full shot of the red/orange/yellow canvas is a bit fuzzy - which I apologise for - but I've got a 50mm 1.8 Canon lens winging its way to me as we speak, so hopefully the next lot will be better! To say I'm excited is something of an understatement...

Girly Canvas

My second attempt at a She Art girl - not quite as happy with this one, but the recipient liked it so that's the main thing. Though, as she pointed out, it might be all the pink that's putting me off - it's not really my colour!

My giveaway is still ongoing, check this post for details, and the lovely Holly is giving away a pile of goodies on her blog too which you won't want to miss out on! 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone's managing to enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend despite the weather!

Wish You Were Here

It's challenge time over at The Studio again! This week, Amanda has challenged us to scrap about something that we're looking forward to. I decided to base my layout on this postcard that my parents sent to me when they were visiting my relatives in Vancouver. I haven't been out to see them yet, but I'm hoping to get there one day!

I've used mainly Sassafrass on this page - the papers are 'Ellie's Tale' with the matching foldies. I added some Pink Paislee 'Hometown Summer' paper to build up the layers. 

The alphas are Jillibean Soup and Pebbles. I've also used some Lily Bee chipboard and rub ons, American Crafts rub ons, Crate Paper lace and a Hambly transparency.

I decided that i didn't want to lose what my Mum had written on the postcard by adhering it to the page, so it's held on by the mini pegs and tucked into the embellishments at either side.

Pop over to The Studio blog and have a look at what the rest of the DT have come up with - you won't be disappointed!

My giveaway is still running -you could be in with a chance of winning a copy of the new Sassy Lil' Sketches eBook! All you have to do is become a follower (if you're not already) and when I hit 100 I'll let random.org do its stuff and choose one of those 100 people to receive the eBook :D Good luck!

She Art & a giveaway

In and among DT work I've finally managed to catch up with everyone else (several months later, but never mind!) and create my first She Art girl :D

She's on a 5" x 7" canvas board, which I painted with various Reeves acrylic paints and stencils. I used dictionary pages for her arms and head, and her dress is paper from an old DCWV stack. 

I finished with some blue trim, which I think is American Crafts, a stamped flower and a quote that was left over from my 'Feel' kit. 

I think her hair needs more work, and I prefer the bottom half of the background to the top, but all in all I'm pretty happy with my first attempt.

But enough about that I hear you cry, what about the giveaway?!
Well, I've been thinking for a while that I'd like to do a giveaway when I reach 100 followers, as a little thank you to those of you who check in regularly, and the lovely Cherie at Sassy Lil' Sketches has given me a copy of their new eBook as the prize! All you have to do is become a follower (if you're not already) and when I hit 100 I'll let random.org do its stuff and choose one of those 100 people to receive the eBook :D Good luck!

Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook

The Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook has been released, and I'm lucky enough to be in it! 

Here's what the guys at SLS have to say about it:

At Sassy Lil' Sketches, we are happy to announce the first Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook has been released!

 

The Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook features about 70 brand new sketches designed by Cherie Averill!

 

You'll find sketches for layouts with one, two, three & multiple photos! You'll even find double page sketches! Plus, sample layouts from talented designers that will spark your creativity!

 

Most of the sketches use standard photo sizes (4x6, 5x7, 8x10). To get extra mileage out of the sketches, switch it up! Use the sketches to create cards, double pagers, etc.! If you need ideas for "switching it up", check out the cards in the Sample Layouts section or stop by the Sassy Lil' Sketch blog on Saturdays.

 

The Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook is available for online viewing or you can easily download and print it. It's your choice!

 

Visit www.sassylilsketches.com to get the Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook & get scrapping!

Bookworm

I'm really excited to be staying on for another term at The Studio Challenges, and especially excited to be creating layouts! The first challenge for August went up today, and is all about books.

"Your challenge is to gain your inspiration from books, whether that is a book cover, a title, story or something else..."

I decided to focus on my love of reading, and used a couple of rare photos of me taken by my DH, with my nose buried in a book.I used a past kit from Sarah's Cards, full of MME 'Stella and Rose' papers. I added some white paint to the base paper using the lid of my Adirondack paint dabber and some bubble wrap. I then built up the layers using strips of patterned paper and some of the fabulous embellishments from the kit, including the MME transparency and those gorgeous felt hearts.

This month the sponsor is Scrap Rat Kits. There is already a £10 voucher up for grabs for the scraplift challenge (redeemable against anything in the store) and Amanda is giving away a £15 voucher for the main August challenges! 

My craft room is now up and running, and I'm absolutely loving it! It's not completely finished, and the furniture will need to be moved around at some point in the future, but I've got everything stored on the Expedit unit now, and the desk is a joy to work on - much better than the kitchen table!

Thanks for stopping by :D

Happiness Blog Hop: Buying Happiness

Welcome to the Happiness Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Scrapworthy Lives. This month we are focusing on the concept of 'buying' happiness.

I read Stephanies posts on Scrapworth Lives with interest this week. Scrapbooking is an expensive hobby, and yet being creative makes me happy, so when I buy scrapbooking supplies am I essentially buying happiness? I suppose in a way I am. But I agree with a lot of the points that Stephanie makes (do visit her blog if you haven't already):

1. You need to take time to enjoy what you buy.
This is so true; the actual purchasing of scrapbook stash is enjoyable, but only brings a fleeting happiness. I do try to spend as much time as possible creating, and therefore using my purchases, so I think I do this quite well, but I'm sure there are old purchases hidden in the back of my stash that haven't seen the light of day since the day they were bought!

2. Don't save stash for the perfect layout.
Oh I'm so guilty of this, and I bet I'm not the only one! Being on Design Teams has helped with this, as I have to use the items that I'm sent, so it forces me to use all that lovely paper and the fabulous embellishments on layouts and projects, and I'm getting better at doing the same with my own stash, but I've still got a way to go!

3. Donate unwanted supplies to a good cause.
I tend to mainly make layouts, but I have a couple of card making friends, and so I'm pretty good at passing on unwanted stash to them. Anything that they don't want goes to a local school, so I reckon I've got this one covered *quietly polishes halo* :D

I hope there's some food for thought there for you! Which are you most guilty of, 1, 2 or 3?

Thanks for hopping with us! Your next stop is Pie for Breakfast :D

Here is the full list of participants in the Happiness Blog Hop:
Scrapworthy Lives
Scrapping Mojo (that's me!)
Pie for Breakfast
Scraps & Sass
Take a Picture and Remember This
1200 Some Miles
Slice of Life
Our Life with Spiky Potatoes
Abstracts Mixed with Extracts
Your Memory Connection
Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking
Melissa's Blog