i used mostly scraps from the Sunshine in my soul range of papers by Glitz, Simple Stories, stamping and washi tape. layouts using scraps are still my favourite - economical and using all those pretty bits and pieces instead of throwing them out!

i even added a dotty paper from Project Life in the mix. the little camera sticker is from the Simple Stories range with a little diamond added for some sparkle.

the dots on my background is a stamp - i stamped it directly onto the background and then added some colour selectively using my water-colour paint.

i made some very tough decisions this week - and with some loving support from my DH we will get through even the toughest of times. but as i suspected when you give God and opportunity to open bigger and betetr doors in your life, you sometimes have to walk away from your comfort zone. but human nature is a funny thing and sometimes walking away is very difficult until you do it. so excactly 12 hours after i took action the first door has opened - and may i add....

it's one that i am very passionate about!!! here's to serving a MIGHTY GOD and many more miracles! Thank you from the bottom of my heart and never forsaking us!

There are loads of beautiful paper ranges out there. Sometimes they appeal to you and sometimes they don’t! And that’s OK. Sometimes I find that in a particular range there is a paper that I love and yet nothing else – it’s like my personal style just can’t work around that little something that it lacks. Lucky for me I have had enough training in art that I can solve the problem quite easily. This week I chose to work with the beautiful Sunshine in my Soul range from Glitz. I love the papers and the designs but found that combined together they tend to be rather dull. So what’s a girl to do? Well throw in an accent colour! 

Accent colours are colours that are used in small quantities to boost or to add wait to a colour scheme. They should in essence be complementary colours – but I have never really been one for rules. Accent colours work best if they are bright and exciting. It will add lift and punch to your design and colour scheme. In most colour schemes you will also introduce variations on saturation, tint and shade and that’s what you will find in my layout. I chose to add pink as an accent colour and combine it with the blue/grey and yellow of the Sunshine range of papers. Remember that you will also almost always add a neutral colour to your design like brown or black for matting, stamping and embellishments. 

For my layout I used the brown on the back of one of the patterned papers as well as a brown cardstock for matting. Notice how the pink just adds that vibrancy that the layout would otherwise lack. Remember that accents are used in small amounts and strategically placed throughout the layout – much like a visual triangle to draw the viewer’s eye from left to right across your layout. You will notice that my colours the blue/grey and yellow are complimentary colours on the colour wheel. But where on earth did I find the pink? Well that’s where the triadic colour combination comes in.

You can visit The Wholesaler's blog here to see more information of my triadic colour scheme.

I am slowly getting caught up with my version of project life - week 2. And it just so happens that today is the day we can start ordering the "real project life" stuff here in South Africa. As i said before, it will never take over my traditional scrapping but i am really in love with the fairly quick and easy way i can include all those experiments i normally throw away and everyday stuff i collect.

this week i teamed my left side with a single page layout designed for Scrapbook Challenges. I love how it worked out. and as you can see i in my ignorant and sheltered life discovered TYPO by accident. i happened to look for a photography shop in Brooklyn Pretoria and the center which had 2 very good shops now have none but they do have a typo. so it turned out to be a good and a bad day.

i also found these amazing digital wood grain images and also photographed a few pieces of wood around the farm - LOVE! I used the wonderfully versatile 24/7 range by Simple Stories for my accents. I ended up dismantling the dimensional stickers and ended up with 3 of almost everything - now there's value for money. the foam dots pulled apart really easily and the residue cleaned up well with my TW 4087 Therm-O-Web Adhesive Pick-up Square.

The pink heart is one of my favourite Hero Arts stamps embossed in Blush American Crafts Zing embossing powder. I embossed 2 layers - adding the second layer of embossing powder while the image was still hot. this gave me a nice solid embossed heart. I also did some stamping directly onto my photo using Brilliance ink and a swirl stamp.

hope you are having a wonderfully creative week. thanks for stopping by and leaving some love! you are appreciated and loved!

it's time for another sketch over at scrapbook challenges.this week's sketch was a single, but by now you know that my hearts lies in doubles and so i turned the single (right hand side) into a double creating my own thing on the left. i also scrapped our little puppies' operation - yes a memory and things we need to remember and want to remember - it's part of my real life! but the best thing about this layout is that i had a light bulb moment (well for me anyways) - i knew i had some stamps....that would work perfectly, so i went a digging and found the little *medicine* bottles from Graphic 45 - and i loved them on this layout....

i used a really old range from Kaisercraft and i also only had the 2 sheets of paper that perfectly complimented the blue of Jacks' blankie.

i punched some of the circles out of the paper and raised them onto the paper for some added dimension. love the look

combined some old 7gypsies stickers for the *operation* theme and then pulled the red through using more paper elements and buttons

and the bottles up close - i stamped them onto the back of a glitz paper that is cream with a bit of a texture and print. i combined the bottles and raised some of them to give the illusion of them being in the front of the others. so glad Jack did not have to have some of those medicines.

hope you are having a wonderful week....i am still fighting the bug and hope it will let go sooner than later! this week is a hectic creative week and so looking forward to catching up with some good friends - good people - special people, finalizing some business deals that can be quite exciting in the long run and scrapping loads of layouts! be blessed!

pretty crate chipboard, punched flowers and buttons

i adhered the stamps to a strip of cardstock and then trimmed it into the chevron shape for my layout

i added some sewing along the edges

i love how this layout came together - a bit different for me in so many ways, and yet so true to my style. i so very much love my scrapbooking! hope you will play along with us so head on over to scrap Africa to see what the rest of team came up with. here's hoping you have a wonderful week.

remember those chines lantern style lights that were so popular way back when...well i think they are making a come back - even if only in the crafting world. i decorated this light using a range of flowers and some elements mad using the beautiful Pretty in pink range by Glitz. I so love this range. i had 2 curved rows going down the front and back of the light using a selection of the pretties collected.

i used a four piece die set from Cuttlebug to cut the leaves. I sewed 2 leaves together folding the top one upwards for dimension. I did the same with some of the butterflies.

to alternate the butterflies i hand sewed some pearls to the centers of the butterflies. with the paper scraps left over i punched some smaller flowers and added diamante or pearls to the centers.

vintage pearls....

after sewing i left long strands of thread hanging from the leaves and butterflies - i loved the messy look they bring to this project.

i am still trying to get the actual light hanging with a bulb inside LOL - and will then post a pic.

Christmas festivities are loads of fun when you have fun toys to play with - referring to the new Cuttlebug v2 machine. this week i used my machine to create some fun cubes by embossing patterned paper and adhering them to wooden cubes.

for this cube i used the Christmas village embossing folder to both blind emboss and add colour to the images transferred onto the paper.

for the top section of my decor cube i used a recycled bottle cork and added a glitz giant gem to the top. a beautifully coloured seam binding ribbon from Scrapbook Studio was added on top of a glittered snowflake die-cut.

colours to dye for....

the embossed papers were finished off with some glitter using glitter glue and a pigment mist.

beautiful gold american crafts glitter was added on top of a die-cut snowflake. the festive season will be extra special when you add some glitter to your projects.

i am building a Christmas village using some of these festive blocks alongside other simple vintage decorations covered in book paper. what are doing around the house to get into the festive mood? and just in case you need some festive crafting supplies - Scrapbook studio is well stocked up with products distributed by The Wholesaler. for a detailed step x step on using the cuttlebug head on over to www.thewholesaler.biz/blog

another month and time for a new sketch over at scrap Africa. this is an awesome sketch and i simply love what the design team came up with - all so very unique and creative. The sketch is so unique and as usual perfect for those single pages, but i turned my into a double page layout.

and here's what i did with the skecth.

i stretched the sketch and changed things up a bit as usual. i loved working with the new Glitz papers and embellishments. to make things interesting i also added basic grey chipboard and crate cardboard stickers. other elements include a prima butterfly, some teresa collins brads and washi tape.

i love how this one turned out. simple yet filled with bits and pieces grouped together for impact.

remember to play along with us over at Scrap Africa - you can win some amazing prizes just for playing along with us. hope to see you all there....

time for another sketch over at scrapbook challenges. how time flies when you are having fun.i loved working with this sketch. i think it's because i can make a double page layout comfortable with only using 1 or 2 photos - and that's ok. so for this layout i used the beautiful range of washi tapes from K-Craft. you can find more about them here. i am also using her beautiful washi tapes for my upcoming card class in October. can't wait to see old and new friends.

i used about 6 diffferent washi tapes together to create the horisontal lines for my background.

a few embellishments in the form of buttons and cardstock heart. i also used a couple of patterned paper in between from crate, glitz design and websters.

and journaling sewn to the background after printing it

the photo of the cat has been floating around our house for years. my brother took the photo years ago of my sister's little kitten inside his army boot - a classic and a well loved photo resembling happy times - i think. and on a personal note (not sure if anyone cares)....

we need to make some tough personal decisions around here. struggling to hear God's voice on this matter and praying for clarity and peace while i enter into this new phase of life.

wishing you all a very crafty week - i think i feel like throwing paint at a canvas.