LOVE layout...

Welcome to release day at Kellie Stamps and I have been finding it so hard not to share this layout with you using the new digital set "Happy Routine".

I need to be honest here though, for the past several weeks my mojo decided that it needed a holiday and just got up and went.  Left the building. I was struggling to get creative and with deadlines looming I was also starting to feel somewhat stressed.  During these times I find that doing something different or learning something different is a good way to get my mojo back.  One of my favourite places to learn from is Big Picture Classes so I headed to their site hoping to find a class that would kick my creative butt into gear.  

I found a class by Paige Taylor Evans (Paiges pages 1) now I absolutely love her pages but there is not way I could re-create them.  I have a much more simpler approach to my memory keeping and my pages are generally clean and not too cluttered.  But I sat through her class and wondered how I could create a page similar to hers but keeping it to my own style but I also wanted to be able to use digital files from Kellie Stamps that I needed to showcase.  I loved the page she did using the letters LOVE and decided to give this layout a try.  

WOW!  This has turned out to be my favourite layout ever.  Don't get me wrong it took a long time to get to this finished layout but trying something new was just what I needed.

In Paiges layout she painted the letters LOVE in watercolour, onto her layout and then adhered embellishments to each letter,  using embellishments the same colour of the letter.  

This was my take on her layout...

I hand painted the letters using watercolours (I used green and brown as they went with my photos).

Once the letters were dry I then scanned them into my computer.

I then turned them into digital files.

Next I added the digital stamps (in white) to each letter to create a pattern.

I then printed each letter out onto cardstock and then hand cut the letters out and adhered them to by white cardstock.

Then I embellished my layout.

here are a few more detailed photos...

This layout did take me quite some time, but once I figured out the scanned water coloured letters the rest came pretty easy.

You can find the class here from Big Picture classes to learn out to turn your watercolours into digital files.

"Happy Routine" clear stamp set is also available for pre-order here.

Thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions please leave them in the comments section.

Happy Stamping

Love me :-)

Pixel Me...

I was lucky enough to have last Thursday and Friday off from work and while I had many things to do I decided to just enjoy the day with lots of coffee and craft.

I was procrastinating over Project Life (doing that alot lately) and couldn't quite get into it so I made (another) coffee and sat on the couch with my ipad and did some pinteresting, blog reading etc.  I popped on over to Big Picture Classes to see if there was anything that appealed to me.  I came across "Custom Cross Stitch Characters" by Laura Wonsik.  What a totally fun idea and a fun class.  I haven't cross stitched in years but I couldn't wait to find my aida cloth and DMC threads and get into creating "pixel me".

I couldn't wait to start stitching but I soon had to put this project on hold because I didn't have any black DMC thread.  OMG I have just about every other colour but no black.  So off to the shops I went.

With black cotton in hand I continued to stitch my little character.  I changed the pattern slightly from my original as I felt I could make the pattern look more like me.

I even added a brad necklace and knew I wouldn't be complete without a coffee!!

This was such a fun project and I completed it all within just a few days.  There are some great hints and tips in the class for other ways to use your patterns.  Now lets see, who will I create next.

Love Me :-)

Planning some #littlesummerJOY...

Happy Sunday everyone, hope you have had an awesome weekend.  I am enjoying these last few hours before my holidays end and I start back at work.

This weeks class for #littlesummerJOY over at Little Paper Projects was all about planning some JOY into your life.  As I mentioned earlier I am not a "planner" as such.  I do keep a diary/planner to organise my day but its separate from my memory keeping projects. However, I did think it would be fun to take the prompt and turn it into a layout.  Last weekend my husband and I went into town to try out a new cafe. We walked lots and saw lots so I created a "diary page" as the base for my layout and then added all the fun things that you would add to a planner.

This was such a fun page to do and I loved that I could add lots of little things like stickers, stamps, embellishments and lots of writing.  I wanted it to look like a planner page rather than a layout.  Totally loved how it turned out.

I hope you are enjoying this class as much as I am.  Cannot wait for the next lesson!!

love me :-)

#littlesummerJOY - learn something new...

Sometimes when you are feeling a little less than happy you need to find something that will lift your spirits and keep you going forward.  A friend told me about a class at Big Picture Classes called "Doodled" by Brandi Kincaid so I went and checked it out.  OMG!!

This would have to be one of the most fun classes I have ever done.

Learning something new is always a great way to lift your spirits and to take your mind off things.

Learning to doodle has certainly taken my mind off things and is putting a smile on my face.  Please don't worry I am not seriously ill or anything, just having lots of headaches so I am currently having tests to see if they can find out why.  But with the headaches I am getting nausea and it was getting me down a bit but doodling has made me forget all about that, at least for a little while.

This week's class is up at Little Paper Projects for "LittlesummerJOY and its all about planning some JOY into your days and documenting it.  I do keep a planner/diary but its where I write stuff, scribble etc and its not one I decorate so I was looking for a way to plan some JOY into my day and this certainly did that.  Although this weeks class is about using planners to plan JOY into your day you don't need to use a planner.  I have doodled a "to do" list as a way of planning and I will be sharing a scrapbook layout soon showing another way to plan JOY into your day.

Sometimes you have to find or look for JOY in your day.

Trying something new and fun certainly gave me some JOY.

JOY to you

love me :-)

7am/7pm layout...

Happy Monday... hope you week has started off well.  I wanted to start by saying a huge thankyou for all your love and comments on Instagram about this layout.  You have all be so kind and I really appreciate that you take the time to stop and leave a comment and some love.  I thought I would share the finished layout here and some extra photos.

My favourite scrapbooker/memory keeper, Ali Edwards (you could say I have a huge girl crush on her) has created story stamps and story kits, a monthly subscription based around a theme to get you thinking and recording more stories.  Not only do you get amazing stamps and a fabulous kit but there is an education element available as well.  For this layout I used the am/pm story stamp and kit. As part of the prompts Ali challenged us to pick a day and to take a photo at 7am and then again at 7pm and create a layout using the photos.  You can see Ali's layout here.

I kept the base of the layout pretty much the same as hers and then added a few of my own ideas.  Right now I am totally into stamped backgrounds so I stamped the top half of my cardstock with "morning" words and the bottom half with "evening" words.  I used black ink but for some of the words and for others I "stamped off" the image first onto a scrap piece of paper and then onto my cardstock to give a lighter stamped image.

Next up I created pockets so that I could add  my journaling about each of the photos.  I stamped the top of each tag with "the story of this morning/evening" stamps and then I stamped the date.  I drew lines and then added my journaling.

Lastly I added some of the chipboard pieces from the story kit to finish off my layout.  I used a total of 12 stamps from the story stamp set, pretty good if I do say so myself.

 I didn't actually take the 7pm photo till 7.30 as that is when I walked in the door but it was close enough.  This is a story that I would never have documented but I am so glad I have.  These kits are bring back my mojo in a huge way and it is bringing back my passion for stamping... you have to love that.

Have a great week.
love me :-)

Trail ride...

Happy Sunday, hope you are doing something wonderful!

in amongst all the usual housework/washing/ironing stuff I am finishing up some layouts.  Some of you may know that I have signed up over at Big Picture Classes (I was a member of the original site) and have already taken a few of the classes.  This layout is from one of those classes "Like" and it is being taught by April Foster. 

I have made a promise to myself this year to use my stamps more (instead of just collecting them, favourite habit of mine) so this class was a good choice.  The stamp that was used in the class was available but I wanted to try and use one of my own instead.  It took me ages to find a stamp that was going to work and I will be honest I almost gave up.  I went right back into the archives of my craft room and searched through my Ali Edwards stamps from Technique Tuesday. This stamp set is still available, just follow the link for Technique Tuesday.  I picked out the "Life right now" stamp set which I got back in June 2012 and had never been used.  

The technique we used was to fill the stamped image with watercolour paints. I don't own any water colour paints but wondered if using a water brush and a stamp pad would work the same.  I used a stamp pad from Stampin Up! These stamp pads are great because if you push the lid of the pad down while closed you end up with ink on the inside of the lid.  You then use your brush to paint in onto your project.  It worked great and I was please how it came out.

I have another layout that I am almost finished which uses another stamp from this set.  Its a layout from the same class but teaches another technique.  I am really enjoying finding new ways to use my stamps. Actually I am enjoying using my stamps.

Thanks for stopping by, if you have any questions please feel free to leave your questions in the comments section.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Love me :-)