Layout - love you

Another layout to share with you today, this time featuring Altenew's "Beautiful Day" stamp set.  Isn't it just divine? I hadn't been able to find it anywhere, and then - FOUND IT - and bought it straight away.  Since it arrived on my craft desk I've barely stamped anything else, I love it just so much!

I love this picture of hubby and I, so very happy together as we muddle through this adventure we call life!  The title is just perfect, and I couldn't think of a better one to describe how we felt (and feel) when this picture was taken.

Layout recipe:

Paper: kraft (no brand), whisper white (stamped on, Stampin' Up!)

Stamp set: Beautiful Day (Altenew)

Inks: various (Altenew), white (Stampin' Up!)

Stencil: Theresa Collins

Dies: lovely, thank you (both Heidi Swapp - note I used longer words/phrases and just took what I wanted)

Other: blending tool and foam (Ranger Inc), blending pen (Stampin' Up!), scissors

Techniques:

Background stencilling

Adapting dies

Watercolouring with inks

Stamp layering

Fussy cutting

Challenges entered:

Altenew sketch challenge #9

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Much love,

OMM xox

Layout - who am I?

The challenge this month at Scrap The Girls is "Who am I?" - a question that made me stop and think.  My life has changed so dramatically since last April, with long internal discussions about what direction my life should go in following a redundancy.  Who am I? What do I want to do in life? What is important to me?

So this challenge spoke to me on a few different levels.  I'm now working in a role I find both challenging and fulfilling, and refocusing on my own personal goals which fell by the wayside last year.

BUT the problem was - there are simply no photos of me to be found! Sure, there are my wedding photos, and quite a few selfies with either hubby, or our son (or both), but very very few of just me.  I'll have to remedy that!  Ask hubby to take a few snaps (he'll need some lessons LOL) and document my life rather than just everyone else's.

I found this photo of (just) me from my uni graduation - so very long ago it seems!  I never ended up working in that profession for one reason or another (and deep down I knew I never would), but I like to think of that part of my life as a big learning phase (not just academically, but of life) and a time of change.  I started that course straight out of school, living at home.  I finished as a married woman, with a toddler and of course living with my own little family.  Older and definitely wiser.

Who am I?  Professionally, I am a chameleon.  All of my jobs have been so different from each other, but I have worked hard to evolve and grow in each role.  Personally, I am a rock.  Steadfast and loyal, with all the time in the world for those that I love.  I am creative.  I am an achiever.  I am a warrior.  I am a peacemaker.  I am a wife.  I am a mother.  I am a know-it-all.  I am a lifelong learner.  I am ME.

Layout recipe:
Papers: Ooh La La! (Kaisercraft)
Die: "document" (Heidi Swapp)
Techniques: Fussy cutting, tearing and distressing, die cutting, ephemera layering

Challenge entered:
Scrap the girls: Who am I? 

Who are you?  It's not too late to enter the challenge, but be quick as entries close 30 April.


Much love,
OMM xox

Layout - the bird bites!

Scrap the Boys has a fun challenge on this month, to use geometric shapes on your layout!  I L-O-V-E using blocky shapes on layouts, and I just knew that this gorgeous Happy Snaps paper from Kaisercraft would fit the bill perfectly.  I've had the paper pack for a while, but I have used every square centimetre of it because I love it so much!

These photos were taken at Birdworld in Kuranda, when The Boy met this overly friendly parrot.  He had to wear his hat the whole time not only for sun protection, but also so that the birds wouldn't eat or steal his cochlear implant processors!  Not sure how we would have explained that to Cochlear.... LOL

Recipe:
Papers: Happy Snaps (Kaisercraft)
Dies: "happy" (Heidi Swapp), alpha dies

I always like to get inky on my layouts, but it was fun this time to stay with a clean design with lots of horizontal and vertical lines, as well as those gorgeous chevrons!

Challenge:
Scrap the Boys: Let's go geo!

Layout - enjoy

After a bit of a scrapping hiatus, I was excited this last week to finally find some time to join in on some online challenges.  The current one from Kraft+ was particularly fun, with a recipe challenge featuring four rules:

And here is what I came up with!

Something old - Papers from the Prairie Lane collection (Kaisercraft - released in 2010, and sitting in my stash since then!), Gorgeous Grunge stamp set (Stampin' Up!)
Something new - "enjoy" die from treat bag die set (Stampin' Up!)
Something borrowed - blue pen for journaling (Typo, and borrowed from a friend but I'm gonna need my own now!)
Something blue - TiffanyLou Blue starburst spray (Lindy's Stamp Gang), Sapphire glimmer mist (Tattered Angels), kid in blue onesie (LOL)

Other stuff: stamps (Theresa Collins), gold glimmer mist (Tattered Angels), circle and heart dies (Stampin' Up!), whisper white and early espresso inks (Stampin' Up!), gold brads

Entered into the April Kraft+ challenge.

Thanks for visiting!

Layout - Explore

Another fun Tic Tac Toe challenge is up at Scrap Our Stash this month, which I couldn't wait to have a go at.  The challenge board is:

 

I chose to use MAP PAPER - THE COLOUR BLUE - EMOJI.   Note that I used the map paper to show where we were when we took this photo! (Alotau, PNG).

Layout recipe:
Paper: Atlas (Pink Paislee)
Embellishments: stickers (Simple Stories), cork arrows and chevron (Studio Calico), palm charm (unknown, from stash), paper clip (Stampin' Up!), emoji (printed from internet), rhinestones (Bo Bunny).

Challenges:
Scrap Our Stash: August Tic Tac Toe challenge (see image above)

I hope you find time to join in the challenge before the end of the month!

Until next time!

OMM xo

Layout - happiness [is] you and me: wild, barefoot and free

I'm kinda in love with coordinating papers and embellishments, just like you I'm sure!  And when I saw this stunning collection from Kaisercraft called Island escape I just had to have it - papers, collectables, stamps and all! 

Aren't those hibiscuses just beautiful!?  So tropical!  And perfect for more of our PNG cruise photos.  If you love it too be sure to check out Pinterest for some really awesome layouts for inspiration - just search "Kaisercraft island escape".  The bottom strip is that little bit we often cut off with the branding on one side - I just trimmed the paper a bit from the top instead this time!  Perfect!

Layout recipe:
Paper: Island Escape (Kaisercraft)
Collectibles: Island Escape (Kaisercraft)
Stickers: Island Escape (Kaisercraft)

Challenges:
Stick It Down: August single page sketch

Happy scrapping!

OMM xo

Layout - Discover, Explore, Journey

I knew as soon as I saw that the August layout challenge at Kaisercraft was to use cogs that I wanted to scrap a photo from a trip to the Herberton Historic Village.  I love this picture of my dad and my son, who had a ball checking out all the old vehicles and buildings! 

Layout recipe:
Paper: Salty Kisses (Kaisercraft)
Cardstock: various offcuts
Collectables: Garage Days (Kaisercraft)
Stamps: Polaroid, Pack Your Bags, Just Landed (all Kaisercraft)
Dies: Tim Holtz thinlets - cogs
Inks & pen: Stampin' Up!

Challenges:
Kaisercraft: cogs
Stuck?! Sketches: 15 August  (see below)

There is still time to join in the fun! Check out the challenges via the above links for details.

OMM xo