Creative Scrappers Sunshine Crop On NOW!

Hi there everyone!

How's your weekend going?!

Mine has been just great so far but I am exhausted and in need 

of a hot shower and warm bed.  Cami has a dance show this 

weekend aswell as singing auditions for a local talent show that

Jack is also involved in so we have been driving back and forth 

ALL day, clocking up over 4 hours in the car!

Anyway, DID YOU KNOW that Creative Scrappers is having

an online crop RIGHT NOW?! Look HERE for all the details

and join in if you had a scrappy evening planned for tonight!

There are sketches due in by 9pm and 11pm EST tonight,

as well as some for Sunday too.  

Great sketch for using up your scraps or washi tape!

So get creating if you are free and in need of a creative fix,
 take a quick pic and get uploading for a chance to win
 some prizes.  There are lots of sponsors and all the draws
 are random.  Enjoy!!

Happy 1st of June and my June Giveaway!

Happy June!

Half way through the year!!  Oh my goodness!!!

I'm sure the older you get the faster time flies - it

certainly seems like that to ME anyhow :)  So before 

I carry on showing you my latest projects I'm just putting

up my June Giveaway - finally I'm more organised this month!

*** I forgot to add that there is a whole pack of rather exotic

 REAL guinea fowl feathers in there too!***

I have all sorts of goodies here and have added some text 

to make it easier to see what's what.  Some stuff is old but

I've added in some stuff that I've bought 'specially for you

to make it up into a pretty kit.  I'm not including 12" papers

and I never send those out in envelopes, it just doesn't work

 internationally and the paper gets pitted and messed up 

& the post here is VERY expensive for boxes - even 

more than USPS so I have another plan for that!

I've been making up concertina flowers with my older papers

and they are making such cool looking embellishments, so

I will be adding those into my giveaways soon - so glad I can

find a way to make use of those papers - particularly the 

prints that are just far too gaudy for my taste these days, yet

put them on a white space layout and they'll be like KAPOW!!

Giveaway Rules {What you need to do to win}

1.  You need to be a follower of my blog.

2.  You need to leave me a comment telling me how approximately

long you've been following my blog and where you originally 

"found" me, as far as you can remember! (this is just for my

interest and won't prejudice you as it's a random draw!}

3.  You need to post my giveaway image into your sidebar OR

into a post on your blog - together with a link to my blog, 

telling people that I have a giveaway running until the end of June.

4.  You need to come back to THIS POST (I will keep it linked

up in the sidebar so all you need to do is CLICK ON THE IMAGE

to get back to here) to leave ANOTHER COMMENT saying you

 have posted it and paste in the link into the comment so I 

can check up on you :)

A BIT MORE THAN USUAL BUT YOU HAVE THE WHOLE MONTH!

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY TO ANYONE

ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD AS ALL GOOD GIVEAWAYS

SHOULD BE DON'T YOU AGREE?!?

Giveaway Closes Saturday 30 June midnight EST

and the winner will be announced on Monday July 2nd

Open to anyone who has NOT already won a RAK 

from me in the past so everyone gets a chance :)

11 Ways to Modern Shabby Success! Tutorial

***I am having problems commenting on several blogs -

I keep getting a Malware Warning telling me not to proceed!

Apparently there is something "infectious" on the blogs from

Shabby Blogs.   Carly, Rachael (Scrapping4me), Karen & 

Agnieszka & Sabrina - I will try to visit you again soon!***

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Hi girls!

Happy Hump Day for yesterday!!

I totally forgot to wish you!

So glad we are on the downhill slide of this long week

but also shocked to realise that June is upon us 

TOMORROW! As usual I have a file FULL of all the

 May Challenges I'm supposed to have completed {in my dreams!}

 but the reality has been that with my new Design Team obligations
& real life setbacks I have been kept on my toes so much so that
 I haven't had a chance to squeeze in any more challenges...aaaah :(

Good news though!

The missing girl has been found!! Not sure if she is okay or any

 more details but she is alive and reunited with her family :)

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I had a tutorial due on the ScrapThat! blog today so thought 

I may aswell share it here in case anyone finds it useful.  

Hi everyone!
Helen here with a few TIPS & TRICKS to share!!

1)  If you are anything like me you just LOVE flowers and wish you had more of them!  

Without actually having to BUY them or spend HOURS making them - well I have a way!  

See what I did here?

 Yup I actually CUT the Sea Foam flower from the main kit in HALF

so now it looks like I have TWO!!

I have a few other things to share with you about my layout construction process.

I do hope you find this information useful.  

If you decide to use any of these ideas

I would love for you to post what you did under my  Tutorial thread in the forum HERE.

2)  If you see a sketch that calls for a scalloped/die-cut paper

don't feel like you HAVE to use one that is pre-cut.  When you have

a piece of this type of paper in your stash, before adhering it to your

background paper, trace around it, cut and save it as a template,

then you will be able to use ANY paper you like and simply cut it

to shape as I have done above!

3)  You see I cut that pretty carefully hey?

Reason being that I don't waste AT ALL!

Any teeny piece of paper can be used for something so I strongly encourage you to hang onto your scraps and place them in a small bag back together with the rest of your kit contents.

Often little bits can be punched into small shapes like butterflies for example.

4)  See the yellow identification strip along the top of this paper?

I have used that on my layout!

(Scroll back up to spot it)

Told you I didn't waste a thing!!

5)  If you want to go "Modern Shabby" - which is a phrase I've coined myself for my own

personal style {shabby but clean, with white space and strong saturated color}

then you need to be brave and choose vibrant paper.

 Of course you only need a bit of it so here I have laid the bright pink BEHIND

the scalloped paper - just the right amount of KAPOW factor!!

6) "Audition" your elements.

Lay down the backing paper you have just made by adhering

your newly cut scalloped paper to a nice bright but subtle (in design) print.

Now go through your kit placing the elements you THINK you will probably use

on your layout on your page and start shifting things around until you are

happy with the way they look. 

NO ADHERING AT THIS STAGE!

7)  Use your packaging!

Look in the photo above and you'll see that I have used

the white with green print packaging from the flower pack -

it's there under my tickets and if you scroll up to my finished layout

you will see that it ended up to the left AND right of my photo!

How did I do that?

8) Well I cut it down the middle to give me 2 pieces so merely

created the ILLUSION of a much bigger piece of paper.

 More on that further down!

9)  Can't afford fancy tape runners?

No problem!  Neither can I!!

I just buy the good quality double-sided tape

(the cheap stuff is terrible as the backing doesn't peel of f easily and

this is essential if you need to work fast like me) 

Now lay it down around all the curves of your scalloped paper,

bending as you go, don't worry about it,

when you peel off your tape those folds will flatten out and

be totally unnoticeable from the front.

10.  Ink your edges.

This transforms your style from MODERN to MODERN SHABBY!

Inking is not used a lot by modern scrappers (the clean and simple sort)

but is essential to add the depth required for a truly shabby layout.

My favorite colors are Toffee, Chestnut Roan, Creamy Brown and Dark Brown,

all cat's eyes inks by Color Box and cheap and easily available.

11.  STRETCH your paper!

Create the ILLUSION of a long strip of paper by measuring how much of the paper

you want to have showing at the top and bottom (or on each side) of your photographs/

other papers, then cut that amount PLUS an extra inch for tucking under.

NOW cut that piece into 2 pieces according to your measurements.

One for the top and one for bottom (or each side).

Now each piece will have a HALF INCH for tucking under.

This way you are GUARANTEED that both pieces will be exactly the same

width and your illusion will be completely believable!

I have done exactly that with the Cherry Blossom paper above and below

the photograph above.

I do hope you have found my TIPS & TRICKS useful!

Hong Kong Sevens Layout {Webster's Pages Everyday Poetry} ScrapThat! Kit Club

I showed you this layout a few posts down as it was part of 

my ScrapThat! Reveal post, using the gorgeous "so me" sketch 

of the month for the contest you can find in the forum HERE.

Below is the sketch and I used supplies from the 

MAIN KIT ONLY for this one.  

You can purchase that kit for yourself HERE.

I'm sure my regular blog readers are wondering who on earth

the couple are in this layout!  They are my husband's university

friend Grant, with his girlfriend Peach.  He went with them this

year to the Hong Kong Sevens as they live there so he combined

his business trip to China with a trip to see them and experience

the international rugby tournament.

I cut my patterned paper into this scallop shape by using a 

piece of die-cut paper as a template and tracing around it.

I then inked the edges quite heavily and used the actual

rugby tickets on my layout as the colours weren't a bad match!

I adhered that luscious lace all the way down the layout 

as the kit has a very large quantity of it.  I used Fabri-Tac

 glue by Beacon behind the thicker sections as tape would

 show and glare when photographed.

The photo was taken on my husband's cellphone so it wasn't

the best quality and of course the background was quite

distracting as they were in a crowd, so I used a white vignette

around the edges to blur out some of the distracting elements

and added a nice "Museum Matte" border in Picasa to make

 the most of it. 

I created my own bouquets from the loose roses

in the kit and I cut the greenish flower in HALF to make it look

like TWO - I fussy-cut the birdcage & adhered it with Fabri-Tac 

and dimensional glue dots - onto the white flower beneath.

Of course there was plenty of opportunity for fussy-cutting with 

the Webster's Everyday Poetry papers, including the butterflies, 

one of which I stuck right down (see above) and one of which 

I only stuck down the middle and folded up the wings for dimension.

I cut up the Zva Creative swirls provided to make my own 

combinations & I used the flower packaging on my layout

 (the green print under the swirl above) as well as the border 

strip - see the yellow strip under the butterfly above.

I thought the bright colour combination I chose

 was very Eastern and also celebratory.

Supplies List for Hong Kong Sevens Layout

Base Paper - Webster's Pages Everyday Poetry Wordsmith

Cherry Print - Webster's Pages Everyday Poetry Love & Dreams

Blue Print - Webster's Pages Everyday Poetry Harmony

Butterflies and Birdcage cut from Webster's Pages 

Everyday Poetry Glorious Day

Lace - Green Tara

White & Green flowers -Green Tara

Roses  & Leaves - Zva Creative

Bling - Zva Creative

Alphas - Webster's Pages Everyday Poetry Collection

Ink - Chestnut Roan - Color Box

Packaging and ephemera {tickets}

A Beautiful Day Layout {Creative Scrappers Sketch 210} using Les Papiers de Pandore

Hello there!

I hope you are all well!!

I have had a terrible time since I last saw you all.

I have been dealing with some heavy stuff this side,

 an awful series of events here.  A local girl my kids 

know has gone missing and 3 others they knew were

 killed in a car crash over the weekend.  Wasted lives.

  Gives you a reality check and makes you reassess your
 priorities and make some tough decisions over how you
spend your time and which relationships are mutually
 beneficial and which are not.

Great sketch over at Creative Scrappers HERE right now.
Went live on Sunday - you only have until Thursday to get
this one done as it's the last sketch of the month.  There's
a great prize to be won from The Paper Passion though
and also a Design Team Call going on so apply!

 Kristine is super nice to work for and gives great blog
makeovers too!

This is my Design Team layout for Creative Scrappers, 

using Les Papiers des Pandore papers 

(their beautiful Maison de Campagne collection).  

You can buy these papers direct at a very good price and the

 postage from France is reasonable.  I got 2 of each paper and 

the full set of stamps for Euro 11.50 postage, which equates 

to $14, cheaper than I pay to receive via USPS!

I fussy-cut this big rose right out - placing it over the

photograph to cover up a really ugly handbag!

That gorgeous crackle badge, German sticker and

 doilies are all courtesy of  Mitra .  Thank you!

Lots of layering going on here!  Lots of Etsy finds too!!

Supplies List for A Beautiful Day Layout.

Printed Papers - Les Papiers de Pandore - 

Maison de Campagne Collection, 

Ouvrages en cours, Au Jardin and Secrets

Craft cardstock - American Crafts

Staples - Making Memories

Inks - Lime Pastel, Dark Brown and 

Chestnut Roan (all Color Box)

Black alphas - October Afternoon Mini Market

Circular alphas - October Afternoon Sticky Keys

Pearl flourish - Zva Creative

German sticker, crackle badge and doilies - stash

Beautiful Day sentiment, remember badge, ticket,

journaling sticker & resin rose - Etsy

Scrap That! June Kit Reveal - Webster's Pages Everyday Poetry

*** Hop ends midnight CST (one hour behind EST) on Sunday May 27th

For this reason I won't be posting again until Monday - Happy Weekend!***

Welcome to the ScrapThat! June Kit Reveal and Blog Hop!!
If you have arrived from Jamie Harder's blog you are in 
the right place and your next stop is your last - our
forum HERE.  Scroll down for the blog hop order
DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE RULES :)


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We have some special treats for you this month starting with 
our uber talented Guest Designer for the month of June!

Please Welcome Gerry Van Gent

But wait, the excitement doesn't end here, we have teamed 
up with a few of Webster's Pages Design Team Members
 to make this month EXTRA SPECIAL!

Be sure you visit each blog listed on the hop to see 
what they have done with this month's amazing kit and sketch!
ScrapThat! is offering a HUGE Grand Prize for 1 lucky Blog Hop

 winner by random draw to all that qualify, be sure you
 complete the Hop to see this months generous prize!


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Without further ado ScrapThat! 
is delighted to introduce to you our June Kit

"Life's Muse"

This month’s kit features Webster's Pages Beautiful
 'Everyday Poetry Collection'

The kit is chock full of gorgeous goodies, such as lace, bling, 
an array of pretty flowers and much, much more!

　
Main Kit $39.99

Webster's Pages Everday Poetry Collection

1 sheet - Love & Dreams

1 sheet - Be Open

1 sheet - Your Thoughts

1 sheet - Messages To You

1 sheet - Little Birdie Told Me

1 sheet - Harmony

1 sheet - Little Stories

1 sheet - Word Smith

1 sheet - Die Cut

1 sheet - Alpha Stcker

Bazzill Basics Card Stock

1 sheet - Ivory

1 sheet - Pink

1 sheet - Blue

1 Pkg. Zva Flowers

1 Pkg Zva Self Adhesive Bling

1 Prima Wooden Envelope Embellishment

2 Tim Holtz Tickets

1 Zva Sea Foam Tulle Flowers

2 Pink and Green Leaves

1 Prima Genie Stone

1 yrd Green Tara Lace - white

NOTE: The Main Kit cost for non-members is $44.99

Flower Add-On $12.99

(only 12 of these kits are available each month 
and sold on a first come first serve basis)

1 Pkg. Prima Velvet Rainbow Pastel Flowers

1 Pkg. Petaloo Flora Doodles - Velvet and Lace

1 Pkg Petaloo Velvet Wild Roses (small)

Embellishment Add-On $14.99

1 Pkg. Prima Flowers - Strawberry Ice

1 Pkg. Green Tara Pink Flowers (5 ct)

1 Doodlebug Design Slim Cupcake Sunburst Card

NOTE: The Embellishment Add-On cost for non-members is $17.99)

Paper Add-On $9.99

Webster's Pages Everday Poetry Collection

1 sheet - Love & Dreams

1 sheet - Be Open

1 sheet - Your Thoughts

1 sheet - Messages To You

1 sheet - Little Birdie Told Me

1 sheet - Harmony

1 sheet - Little Stories

1 sheet - Word Smith

1 sheet - Die Cut

1 sheet - Alpha Stcker

Bazzill Basics Card Stock

1 sheet - Ivory

1 sheet - Pink

1 sheet - Blue

　NOTE: The Paper  Add-On cost for non-members is $12.99

　

We are currently accepting new Kit Club Members,
 please follow link to provide us with your wish list:

New Subscriber Wish List

for more info please email friends@scrapthat.ca

June's Sketch by: Amarilys Doria

Please join our June Sketch Challenge HERE.

　

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Our Blog Hop features 9 fantastic blogs from our 

Design Team  as well as 7 more fantastic blogs from 

Webster's Pages Design Team.

To qualify for this month's HUGE Grand Prize 

you must complete  ALL OF the following:-

*Visit each blog listed on the hop to see what each Designer 

has created using this month's kit and sketch

*Each designer's blog hop post will feature a word 

to make up a secret sentence, collect these words 

along the way and follow the directions provided in 

ScrapThat!'s forum when you are all finished

*We also ask that you become a follower of ScrapThat!'s 

blog along with each Designer's blog

*Post ScrapThat! blinkie on your blog

*Stop by our Facebook Page 

(link provided on blog hop list) and like us

*Our last stop in our Blog Hop is ScrapThat!'s Forum, 

follow the link provided and complete the remainder 

of the blog hop instructions

　

***PLEASE NOTE THAT TO BE ELIGIBLE  TO WIN 

YOU MUST FOLLOW ALL THESE INSTRUCTIONS 

SO PLEASE READ CAREFULLY - 

I can assure you it will be worth your effort, 

not just for the prize but for the inspiration too!***　

　Hop ends May 27 12am CST

Grand Prize must be claimed within 3 days of the 

announcement that will be made on ScrapThat!'s blog 

on May 31st.  If left unclaimed a NEW winner will be chosen.

Please Note: for anything larger than a standard envelope, 

winner will be responsible for the cost of shipping.

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This kit will take you far!  I made 3 layouts and 2 cards

and I still have enough for one layout , 2 tags and one more card!

Here is my take on the sketch challenge!

I will be going through all these projects in more detail

next week, showing you all the close ups, a tutorial and

giving your some tips and tricks on how I made them all!

Here is the Blog Hop order 

ScrapThat! - http://www.scrapthatchat.blogspot.ca/

Gerry V. Gent - http://gerryscrafts.blogspot.com/

Jenifer Evans - http://heldscraptive.blogspot.ca

Stacey Michaud - http://staceymichaud.blogspot.com/

Sandi Smith - http://sandi-smith.blogspot.ca

Jaz Lee - http://www.jazmescrapping.blogspot.com/

Alissa Wells - http://willrunforstamps.blogspot.com/

Diana Brodeur - http://dianabrodeur.blogspot.com/

ScrapThat! Facebook Page - 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ScrapThat-Kit-Club/111009852256498

Amarilys Doria - http://amadrian8.blogspot.com/

Emeline Seet - http://www.scrapvilla.blogspot.com/

Sandi Clarkson - http://softsideofsandi.blogspot.com/

Kay Roger's - http://rogerskk.typepad.com/

Marilyn Rivera - http://marilynrivera.blogspot.com/

Iris Baboa Uy - http://irisbabaouy.typepad.com/

Keren Tamir - http://kerentamir.blogspot.ca

Jamie Harder - http://ahappyscrappyplace.blogspot.com/

Helen Tilbury - http://helentilbury.blogspot.com/

ScrapThat! Forum - 

http://scrapthat.ning.com/forum/categories/kit-reveal-and-blog-hop/...

***My Secret Word is POETRY***

Happy Hopping Bloggy Friends!!