There's a new challenge up over at Scrap Africa - recycle! right up my alley! With the challenges i like to make tags - they are a quick and easy reference for me to just play and create and experiment and get things done of course.

i used this tag as my starting point for a gift tag - it's from a new fitted sheet i got a couple of months ago and i just love that recycled emtini liner cardstock it is printed on! i only used the 'care instructions' part of the tag though

i used Graphic 45 and Dina Wakeley stamps for my background...

some coloured ribbon, washi tape and pearls add some finishing touches!

we hope you will play along, so hop on over to the blog and see what everyone else did with this challenge! hope you are having a wonderful week!

There's a new challenge up at Nuts about sketches and this is a great one - i loved everything about this sketch, and i loved how my layout turned out! i did a LOT of Christmas layouts last year for a lot of different reasons, but this was a really special one (even better up close and personal).

this was of my regular friends' Christmas dinner we had together. i used a single sheet of Prima patterned paper for this layout - the piece on the left hand side running down.

the remainder of the paper was cut out and you can see that below - the feather and rose grouping. just love that. i combined it with some Heidi Swapp and Teresa Collins' elements and cut out bits from papers. the red and black striped tape is a Heidi Swapp product from way back when and it just worked beautifully.

i used the die-cut circle i made on my Cuttlebug using washi tapes, with some stamped images inside it. a few diamante were added to finish it off.

i used this beautiful washi tape to add some delicate writing to the top edge and the gold just picks up on the gold in the photos and in the paper. a few gold confetti circles works really nicely scattered amongst some other elements.

and here's how i got to that die cut again as written about it here

hope you feel inspired - i love scrapping themes but not necessarily using themed papers and elements. it can be done to suit your style - and this one is right up my alley! have a wonderful week and thank you for popping by - followers of blogs are special people and you are truly loved and valued! thank you!

I am for ever losing my most used tools on my desk that is always so full of work in progress projects. This also leads to me losing my sense of humour and some other things every now and again. So what’s a girl to do?

With a little bit of imagination and some recycling you can make something so simple and functional. And those die cuts sure do make life a lot easier – they cut like butte through paper and cardstock which makes decorating your everyday life so much prettier.

i love how my XCut tools perfectly fitted into the holes and the colours are really pleasing with everything beautifully co-ordinated!

Products Used 

Crate Flea Market Paper Pad Cuttlebug V2 [PC 2000293] 

Glue Dots Pop Up [GD12296-75] 

Tombow Mono Multi Glue [TB 62191] 

Purple Turtle Double Sided Tape - 48mm [PT13] 

Xcut A5 Die Set – Flowers [DXCU503195] 

Xcut A5 Die Set – Leaves [DXCU503194]

it's time for another sketch challenge over at Scrap Africa.i loved working with this sketch - i turned the sketch 90 degrees so i could use portrait photos. for my background i used a stencil and inked through it using distress ink and an applicator tool. i moved the stencil and kept inking to create darker and lighter areas. love how it turned out. for my patterned paper i used scraps of Kaisercraft paper, some Prima word stickers, buttons, diamante and sewing.

as a focal accent i used one of my die-cut felt hearts cut on my Cuttlebug - yes it cuts felt perfectly - and scrunched up some gold thread underneath it. the heart hold the thread in place with a small amount of Tombow Mono Multi adhesive, and a small cross stitch sew afterwards holds it securely in place....just to make sure. simple and elegant, perfect for a layout of a little guy reflecting on life.

head on over to Scrap Africa to see what the other design team girls did with their designs. and why not play along to win some awesome goodies.

Happy new year to everyone!here's wishing you a wonderful new year - one filled with all good things. my word for 2014 is grow - for lots of reasons. this past year was as good as it was difficult. so grow i will in many different ways. i see growth in my business, i see growth in my faith and personal relationship with God, i see growth in making it work for me, growing in confidence, to flourish in life, friendship, relations and career, to evolve and move forward from the pettiness that surrounds me. it's a positive start, a step in the right direction of growth as i set my mind on it all.

and as i grow in getting more organized and set into routines completed my cover page for my 2014 Project Life album. i am so not a green person so this was a challenge for me. but with growth comes green and life and organizing - the green paper is the inside of a Kate's Paperie bag from New York that i cut up and used. it's time to get rid of those things gathering dust and prohibiting growth and this was a good start to it all. to mix things up i added pink, red, avocado and black into the mix for fun. so now with all good intentions i am on track with my album and hope to keep it up and not fall behind. How's your album coming along?

wishing you a creative day week and year! thanks for stopping by!