so Monday came and went and scrapbookchallenges released another fabulous sketch! this is right up my alley since it contains lots of circles. so the thing with circles is that it really is so versatile. since scrapbooking and being creative is all about lines, repetition, shapes etc it falls right into the basic design principles don't you think? be it as it may you can use the sketch and take from it what you want...like it or love it, change it or keep it as it is - the possibilities really are endless. so this layout is not my norm...cause instead of working on white as a background i worked on kaisercraft patterned paper. so everything else was kept to a minimum. Oh and in case you were worried about me running out of white card stock for my layouts - i just got back from a shopping trip to the paper factory where i stocked up on my favourite smooth white card stock ....a whole 200 sheets - just enough to keep me busy for at least a month of layouts! (smile)

so if you wanna play along head on over to scrapbook challenges to see what the design team has come up with. you may just be inspired to work with circles once again!

have a wonderful crafty white background kinda day!

although i have come to a place in my life and in this life where i am ready for white again all around...i still love colour. and nothing quite says colour like distress inks, distress stains and perfect pearl mists. and nothing creates the effect of playing and re-inventing and discovering quite like these products.

made with love...
hope you have a wonderful Sunday afternoon.

it's march madness over at scrapbookchallenges and we are having loads of fun! we started off with a fun challenge where the design team goes head to head with each other. we are in the race to complete certain challenges over the next couple of days and weeks. it started off with the 16 of us - we had to create a layout using the latters from our names and finding the corresponding item and then use that on a layout e.g j - journaling, o - one little word, w - washi tape, i - ink, l - lace, n - neon ...you catch my drift! yeah well what;s up with the neon and lace? so not my thing but i had fun creating this one....
so if you wanna play along then head on over to scrapbook challenges and look for all the march madness going on. you could play along and win a fabulous prize - or you could just head on over and give my layout a vote if you wanna! OR just become a member and join in the fun. well there you have it and so this is my layout...

i added loads of neon colours (who knew i actually had some in my stash) in the form of a double matt in neon orange and neon pink. then alongside that i added a "inchie" square decorated with the most amazing neon coloured calligraphy inks.

my journaling was printed onto white paper and then i used a circle punch to add some interest to it. orange (almost neon) sewing was added around the edge.

and then some neon orange and pink buttons sit alongside my lace and washi paper strip.

a fun combination none the less. hope you are having a super creative weekend!

it's the 15th and time for a new sketch over at scrap Africa. the challenge site has had such an amazing response from all over the world and we just love seeing all the creativity gathering at the tip of Africa. this is such a versatile sketch and there is loads of opportunity for adding your own spin to it.

it's been said that i love circles a tad too much and it may be very true - but that's my problem! i love circles and they truly are the most versatile design element around. i combined loads of different papers together and the end result is truly me. yellow oranges by American crafts, background and red check by kaisercraft, brown pattern by MME, large brown unknown, circus images by graphic 45, rub-ons by 7gypsies and kaisercraft, card stock elements by glitz, buttons, embroidery thread, tile spacer, old postage stamp, color wash by ranger industries
head on over to the scrap africa blog and play along - you may just be the next guest designer or win a fabulous prize. hope you have an amazingly creative week.

so a long time ago i realized that i hate being told what to do. i have also realized that i am not the only one - yes they are out there and yes they are watching you. so i realized that i am best at doing just what i do. i love being creative and just pl;aying and seeing what happens. of course there is some purpose behind the playing as well as a couple of design principles but those are all built in - not something you can really teach people. and that is what this layout is all about. it was recently published in a local magazine - although very min-nute in size. i just loved the way it turned out - totally spontaneous and free.

i used distress stains to create my technique pieces and combined them with loads of patterned papers. just the way i love it! lots of stamped details and bling of course...
then i also made a couple of cards alongside using the same left-over technique pieces and papers. for the stamped image i used distress stains to stamp the image. they are wonderful for creating multi-coloured stamped images.

love the effect of ink, water and pure luck!

i can't imagine life without inks and paints and colour and patterned papers. love it all! and it's the one thing that no-one can tell me how to do - and i love the freedom it brings to my life! hope you are having a creative week.