it's another week and time for a new sketch over at scrapbook challenges. i loved working with this one since it has a lot of the elements that i love in scrapbooking - like repetition and shapes. i kinda just grab a quick glance at the sketch and then did my own thing as far as the placement goes. i liked how it turned out since i was able to use loads of different patterned papers together. so why not hop on over to scrapbook challenges to see some more wonderful inspiration from the design team. but for now here's the sketch - and remember there's a single page version too...

and my layout. the photos were taken one Christmas of my niece opening some presents. we don't do the whole commercial Xmas thing but when Etlone' came along we got a new tree and put it up for her. the decorations were simple - only cream little teddy bears and some lights - elegant and child proof -  a winning combination.

i added some tied knots using embroidery thread along some of the edges of the shapes. love the texture and simple detail it ads to a layout.

and some distressed embossing added onto chipboard honeycomb. the red was just perfect to embrace the red found in the photos on the Persian carpet. my advice - embrace the not so perfect rather than trying to make it go away!

here's wishing everyone a wonderful and creative week ahead. i am working on some exiting projects this week - details to be revealed later this week. thanks for stopping by - and if you don't know it yet - your visits are appreciated!

it's time for another sketch over ta scrap Africa! i simply loved working with this sketch - it's one of those kinda sketches that can turn into anything - it's clearly evident in great variety the design team members has put together for you all. i hope you find plenty of inspiration - so head on over to scrap Africa and check out all the beautiful works of art.

here's what i did with the sketch... scrapping some really old and ordinary photos.

and here's the original sketch

i recycled some flags i made for a bunting that i use at the Rooi Rose valentines' day presentation i did in February. i love book paper and being able to recycle stuff that i have made before is such a bonus in my line of work! for my background used a beautiful stencil and lightly misted it using espresso color wash. i simply love the versatility of inks and mists.

Various chipboard elements from Crate paper sits alongside a Kaisercraft angel element.

and some more crate paper chipboard pieces, flowers dressed up with some liquid pearls, old making memories stickers and buttons. i also used some rub-ons cut in half and used them in two separate positions on my layout.

please head on over to scrap Africa and play along with us. there are some awesome goodies up for grabs and we would love to see what you can do with the sketch. hope you have an inspired week filled with creativity! and thank you for taking the time to stop by and say hi!

I hope you all had a wonderful (inter)national scrapbook day on Saturday. i sure had a weekend filled with loads scrapping goodness and lots of laughter.over at scrapbook challenges we had a really fun blog hop filled with puzzles. the sketch was broken up into pieces and each design team member got a puzzle piece to reveal a bit of their layout. well today is reveal day here for the entire sketch and my full layout. so i hope you will enjoy this one. remember you can always play along and become a member to stand a chance of winning some awesome prizes.

and here's what i did with the sketch...

i used some photos of our spring blossoms on some of the indigenous trees in our garden. i love the vibrant colours and wanted to finally create a layout using them. i used the beautiful prima paper range, then threw in some basic grey and teresa collins. i love how they all worked so well together with a pop of yellow accent colour.

for my paint splats i used watercolour paint. the brown spots are distress re-inker and once the water colour paint hit the brown it did its funky little reaction with the water giving a beautiful mix of colours. the curiosity words is a tim holtz stamp and a favourite of mine.

i hope you are having a creative week filled with lots of goodness. remember to check the scrapbook challenges website to see the new sketch reveal for this week.

welcome to the NSD Scrapbook Challenges Bloghop. this event will run from 4-6 May with loads of fun, prizes, inspiration and games. so why don't you play along. this is a fun one and if you are feeling a little puzzled, don't worry you will soon fit all the pieces together.if you arrived here from Lauri then you are in the right place.

first things first - here is the puzzle piece you need to collect. for this bloghop you need to collect all the puzzle pieces and then design a layout using them all put together. puzzled? well don't be - it's a lot of fun.

and here's a little peak at my layout puzzle piece  just to inspire you...

and before you head off to find your next puzzle piece here's a reminder of some goodies you can win on your way. the first prize is for someone who participates in the hop on section. yes meaning that you went through it all with us.

 and a wonderful prize for someone who comments of all the blog hop participants' posts...

 and for someone who becomes a new member of scrapbook challenges...

Carmen: http://kalahenscrapjoy.blogspot.com/

mother's day here in South Africa is around the corner so the pressure is on. lucky for me i had some left-overs from another project - and you know they are my best kind to work with! so i managed to whip up this card really quickly. the background was done using distress stains on the amazingly new cutmates card stock and it worked like a dream. the rub-on is like a million years old from a local company 'enmarc' and then a few new pieces from prima, dyed silk ribbon,basic grey chipboard, cricut cut title word negative used (and the rest used on a layout a week ago), and some real pressed flowers using my microfleur. can you see how the little petal on its own looks like a heart - truly amazing.

it's amazing how a few things 'scraps' really thrown together can make for something pretty. hope you are all organized for mothers day with some special gifts.

thanks for stopping by and hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with loads of scrapping in celebration of National Scrapbook day all around the world. my weekend is filled with loads of goodness - predicting the future here a bit LOL.