Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

This is my favourite time of the year - the week between Christmas and New Year's Day when not much is done, the cricket is on the television, the family is in a constant food coma.....  It's the perfect time for scrapping and catching up on challenges.

Have you seen the December Challenge over at Scrap Matrix?  It is about using all things Paper Artsy.  If you haven't come across Paper Artsy before, (and I have to admit I hadn't before I started shopping at Scrap Matrix!)

For this challenge, I went way out of my comfort zone, for a start I used no patterned paper at all - simply unheard of for me...lol...

I used this gorgeous stamp available at Scrap Matrix

Then I stamped a whole heap of various flowers on white card. 
 
While they dried, I took out a piece of white cardstock and stamped some more flowers diagonally down the page.  I then painted them with the Dina Wakley paint too.  Something I have learned over time is how to create balance on my page.  Basically, large is heavier than small, and dark colours are heavier than light colours.  So, when stamping, if I had a large image at the top, I was careful to either cluster a few smaller images, or paint the large image in a light colour, and the small image in a darker colour.While I waited for all the paint to dry, I worked on my photo mat.  I cut a strip of black cardstock, and simply layered across some drywall mesh, some washi tape, some lace and some of these gorgeous German Scrap Renaissance Petite Black paper strips.I backed my photos in some red coloured, and then put it all together.  I then adhered  the photo mat across the base cardstock.  Once I cut out the other painted images, I layered them over the flowers painted on the base cardstock to add depth to my page.I used the "sisters" word from the 13 Arts Art Journey chipboard 
sheet.

Here are some close ups:

The products I used on this, available at Scrap Matrix, include:

Paper Artsy Stamp EK D06
Dina Wakley Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paint.
German Scrap Petite Renaissance Black Paper Lace
7 Dots Homegrown Clear Stamp Set
Tim Holtz Ideology Label Letters

That's it from me for now.  Hope you enjoyed my post, and don't forget to have a go at this month's challenge.


Monique xx

Scrap Matrix November Challenge

Hi Everyone,

Tonight I am sharing the layout I have done for the November Challenge over at Scrap Matrix.  It is all about 7 Dots Studio this month.  The criteria is pretty simple really - create a layout using 7 Dots Studio papers and embellishments.

I chose to use the awesome Hazy Daze range.  This range is fabulous for those grungy boy layouts I love so much.

This is what I created:

The details of my process are on the Scrap Matrix Blog.

If you are keen to give this challenge a go, head over to the Blog for the details, and upload your layout to the Scrap Matrix Shares Facebook Page.  There are sooooo many yummy 7 Dots Studio ranges at Scrap Matrix, I'm sure you can find something that will take your fancy.

Well that's it from me tonight - hope to see heaps of entries for this month's challenge on the Facebook Page soon.

Monique xx

Watercolour and Words Inspiration

Hi Everyone,

It is such a crazy time for me at the moment - hence being so quiet on the blogging front.  That hectic fourth term never gets any easier I'm afraid.

Today I am sharing my second creation for the Scrap Matrix Watercolour and Words challenge.  This time I decided to do a layout, and just use some ink sprays, stamps, stencils and these gorgeous Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks which can be found in the Scrap Matrix shop here.

Anyways, this is what I created:

It was so much fun creating this - just getting messy and arty is always good for the soul I find.  I used the scribble sticks to colour some of my texture paste stencilling and also to colour my stamped images.  I keep raving about these Scribble Sticks - they are just so good, so creamy and divine.

For a a short tutorial on creating this layout, and for more information about how to enter the Scrap Matrix Watercolour and Words challenge head over to the Scrap Matrix Blog now!!

That's it from me for now - I will be back soon to share some more inspiration.

xx
Monique

October Kraft Plus Challenge

Good morning!

Can you believe it is October already?  I can't - it is going to be Christmas in just over two months....eeeeep!!!

This month, Scrap Matrix are one of the fabulous Sponsors of Kraft +  Challenges and it was my turn to be a Guest Designer.

Here is the criteria:

I Can See Clearly Now

Use something see-through on your layout.
Think vellum, plastic, glass, bubble wrap etc etc.

Cool hey?

This is my interpretation of the challenge:

I was inspired by this photo of my son.  We were all on holiday in the beautiful South West  WA.  Some good friends were taking us around to the beaches and the vineyards and it was one of the most magical experiences of my life.

As usual, this layout is chock a block full of amazing products from Scrap Matrix.  First, I used some texture paste on Prima Stencils in Tuberoses and Grid.  Then I brushed some Gesso over the background and flicked on some Lindy Stamp Gang Spray in Mad Hatter Mint.  The Gesso also helped bring up the gorgeous gold colour from the Finnebair Art Alchemy Opal Magic Acryllic Paint.
(This paint is amazing - creamy, shimmery....and, depending on your background colour, can come out in a variety of colours!)

Once my background was finished, I layered up some corrugated card, doilies and papers from the 7 Dots Studio Verano Azul range.  This paper is perfect for beachy layouts with its teals and wood backgrounds.....

Finally, I added some Blue Fern chipboard, a variety of flowers from my stash, some shells, diet leaves, a piece of driftwood (painted with Lindy Stamp Gang Magicals and some more Opal Magic) and the fabulously beachy 13 Arts Dried Roots (Ecru.)  They come in a variety of colours and are wonderful for creating texture on a layout.

Now, back to the Challenge.  The clear element I used was this glass bottle which I filled with shells. Mini glass bottles add some much to your page - I fill them with beads, shells, sometimes even my journalling.

Here is a couple of close up of the other elements on my page.

What do you think?
If you enter the Kraft Plus October Challenge, you will be in the running to win a heap of awesome prizes including this from Scrap Matrix.

 FOUR Stencils and FOUR sticker sheets created by 

Marta Lapkowska (Maremi's Small Art) for 13 Arts. 

Pretty cool prize right there if you ask me.

So if you want to enter the Kraft Plus October "I can See Clearly Now" challenge, head over to the blog for more details.

Happy scrapping everyone!

Monique
xx

Another Grungy Layout.....

Hi Scrappy Friends,

Just thought I'd pop up a blog post while I am watching the Grand Final.  The Mighty Hawks aren't a show this year, so I am really pretty neutral about the outcome - kinda leaning toward the Crows, but would like to see the Tigers win a flag after so long too.

Anyway, back to scrapping.  Today I am sharing another layout I did a while ago:

I used the gorgeous "Believe" kit from Scrappy Chat Designs.  This paper is from Bo Bunny - and the range is full of grungy deliciousness.  

I started by using a bit of texture paste and the "Subway" stencil from TCW.  Next I used some Lindy's Stamp Gang Mist in Cattail Copper Brown. This colour can be found in a set at Scrap Matrix here.  I then added some blue colour to blend in with the blue denim in my photo.  I did this by  using the fabulous Distress Oxide Ink in Broken China.  I applied the ink pad to my craft sheet, sprayed it with water then sponged on the colour.  For extra layers, I stamped my Carabelle Studios "Grunge Metre" stamp randomly on the background until I was satisfied with the result.

Once I was happy with the background, I prepared my embellishments.  I embossed the chipboard chain and chicken wire with Lindy's  Queen of Sheba Silver Embossing Powder.  With the chipboard cogs, I painted them in Dusty Attic Chocolate Brown, then added some Dusty Attic Rusting Powder.

I LOVE the rusting effect this powder has on chipboard - it makes it look so real!!

Then I put the whole thing together, layering my chipboard cogs with metal cogs and clocks, and some metal numbers as.  Finished it off with some Finnebair microbeads.  Here are some closeups:

I found a metal cog that fit perfectly over the top of this Finnebair Fob metal.  

The paint/Rust Powder effect makes the chipboard cogs look so realistic.

That's it from me for now.  I hope you enjoy Grand Final weekend, and also fit some scrapping in!

Have fun,

Monique xx

There is No Place Like Home

Hi Folks,

Today I am sharing something that I went a fair bit out of my comfort zone with.  

This photo is taken straight from our back balcony - it's of a sunrise.  Don't be too jealous, but this is what I wake up to every morning.
 Moving close to the water is the best thing I have ever done.  It totally rejuvenates my soul.  Every afternoon after work I look out at the water and the stress just evaporates.

I wanted to document the love I have for this place and the good it does for me, mentally and emotionally.

I order to emulate the sunrise on my background, I created the colours of the sunrise on my background using Lindy Stamp Gang Sprays in Tea Pot Purple, Pineapple Paradise and Hibiscus Rose. I kept spraying with water and adding layers until I was happy with the "sunset" look.   Lindy's Sprays can be found here at Scrap Matrix.
I then used the Bloom Stamp "Poppy" to stamp the sun, which I coloured in with a Gelato in Lemon.
I finished off the background with some stamping. I drew the palm tree freehand and painted the 2 Crafty chipboard leaves black.  Finally, I finished off the layout with some pretty flowers.

Here are some close ups:

That's all the shares from me for the evening.  Hope you got some inspiration.

Happy scrapping folks.

xx

Good morning folks,

It is my turn on the fabulous Scrap Matrix Blog today - sharing what I did for this month's Moodboard Challenge.  If you haven't checked out the challenge yet, it can be found here.

Wow - when I first saw this I fell in love with the colours, and the hearts.  This is what I came up with:

I don't really have a scrap room anymore (one of the negatives of Apartment living.)  I usually create on our dining room table.  To be able to do that efficiently, I find it easy to have all my go-to bits and pieces easily accessible.  My two Raskog Trollies are the absolute bomb.  It is so easy to store all my mixed media and scrapbooking essentials on them, and then have kits of other necessities made up to grab as soon as the mood to create takes hold!

As you can see I was really inspired by the teals and the pinks in the mood board, so those colours formed a basis of my layout with the gorgeous 13 Arts Strength in Numbers Paper range, available at Scrap Matrix here.  I also loved the circular theme to one of the pictures, so I added some of those awesome Blue Fern Studio Broken Rings chipboard pieces - which I coloured yellow with a Faber Castell Gelato in Lemon.

Of course, I had to add lots of layers on my base paper with ink sprays and stamps.  I absolutely adore using 7 Dots Studio stamps on my background.  On this layout I have used the Homegrown Clear Stamp  and the Cotton Candy Dreams Clear Stamp, both available at Scrap Matrix.

Finally, I added some Feathers and Hearts from the 13 Arts Strength In Numbers Chipboard, some 13 Arts Marta Stickers Small Messages A5 which I backed with some coordinating paper, and finished the whole thing off with some well - loved paint brushes and some flowers.

Here are some close ups:

I highly recommend having a go at this challenge - the colours are yummy, the images are lovely, and who doesn't love have a sticky beak into someone else's magical creative place?

Bonus - up for grabs is a Scrap Matrix Voucher.  It is a fabulous shop, with so many wonderful brands and products - Blue Fern, 7 Dots Studio - Vicki is the only stockist of 13 Arts in Australia!!

Also, don't forget to visit the blog to get some creative inspiration from the other DT members.

Don't forget to get your layout uploaded into the relevant album on the Scrap Matrix Shares Facebook page, with your name and country.  For example, Monique Crisp (Australia)

Here are the links to all the gorgeous products I used that can be found in the Scrap Matrix store.

13 Arts Strength In Numbers "Synthesis"

13 Arts Strength in Numbers "Full Potential"

13 Arts Marta Stickers Small Messages A5

13 Arts Strength In Numbers Chipboard

7 Dots Studio "Homegrown" Clear Stamp

7 Dots Studio "Cotton Candy Dreams" Clear Stamp

Blue Fern Studios "Broken Rings" Chipboard

Fabre Castell Double Scoop Gelato - Lemon

Scrap Matrix Curly Rose Cream Large

Scrap Matrix Swan Rose - White

Thats it from me today - hope to see all your wonderful creations in the Scrap Matrix Folder on the Shares page soon!

Monique

xx

Perfection

Happy Monday everyone!!

Well school holidays are finally here, and I have to say I am enjoying a few days of unwinding and getting creative.  I did this layout a few weeks ago, but haven't shared it yet as I have been very very busy.....

Anyway, here it is.  I used 49 and Market Papers, Distress Oxide Inks and chipboard to created lots of layers and texture.

I love the way the Blue Fern Studio Treasured Floral Frame really draws the eye to the photo of my cheeky monkey.  All I had to do was emboss it with Blue Fern Studio Embossing Powder and it was perfect.
You can find it here in the Scrap Matrix Store.

I did some fussy cutting to get the bollard and bird embellishments, and just added some random flowers in coordinating colours.  To add some extra texture, I used some of this gorgeous 13 Arts Ecru in White.

You can find it in the Scrap Matrix store, here - you can get it in a variety of colours too!

Here are some close ups.

Thank you so much for popping by my blog - I hope you have a lovely week.
xx

Hazy Days Love

Happy Sunday Everyone!

How has your Father's Day been treating you?  My day has been pretty quiet, my boy went to spend the day with his Dad, and my gorgeous man went to work this morning, and then spent the afternoon chillaxing.

I do have another layout to share with you.  Once again, I have been playing with the gorgeously grungy 7 Dots Studio Hazy Days collection.

This is what I did:

First of all, I gave my background a quick coat of clear gesso.  I then used some texture paste and the ever so cool 13 Arts Stencil "His Time" - adding it across the page and in the bottom right hand corner.  I used some Lindy's Stamp Gang Cattail Copper Brown to add some colour to the texture paste, spraying it with water and drying it to add some depth to the colour. Finally, I used the Hazy Days Stamp set to stamp some blue splats onto my background.

I then decided to use some of this Finnabair Art Alchemy Antique Brilliance Wax in Red Amber so I gently rubbed it over the raised bits of the texture paste.  I love how it turned out.  You can see it here peaking out from under these layers.

I painted some Dusty Attic Pipework Chipboard silver, and some Dusty Attic Corner Cogs brown, then I used some Rusting powder on the cogs to add texture and a Rust colour to my chipboard.  You can see the smaller cog on the left in this picture to see how it turned out.

I backed my photo with a lot of tags, and stickers and elements from the Hazy Days collection, then adhered my photo over the top of the cog corners.

Finally, I added a few Prima Mechanicals - Steampunk Gears, Washers and Hearts to finish everything off.

That's it from me for this evening.  Hope you all have a fabulous week.

xxxx

All of the following products I have used are available at Scrap Matrix:

7 Dots Studio "Hazy Days" Collection. 12x12 Tags and Zip

Hazy Days Word Stickers

Hazy Days Elements

Hazy Days Element Stickers

Hazy Days Clear Stamp Set

13 Arts "His Time" Stencil

Lindy Stamp Gang Cattail Copper Brown

Finnabair Art Alchemy Antique Brilliance Wax

Prima Mechanical Steam Punk Gears

Some Exciting News!!!

Hi Everyone,

Yes yes I know I have been very quite in Blogland, but I can pretty much guarantee I will be making more of an effort to post my  creations.

I have some very exciting news.....

I was one of the lucky girls to be selected for the first ever Scrap Matrix Design Team!!  To say I was excited was an understatement.  I think I spent the first 24 hours grinning stupidly from ear to ear.
I just feel so lucky to be a part of an awesome team of creative talent, and to be creating for such a lovely boss lady, with such gorgeous products.....

So, anyway....
While I am here I thought I'd share one of my latest creations.  I have used the beautiful 7 Dots Studio Hazy Days collection, which can be found in the Scrap Matrix Shop here.

I love the way this turned out.  I used Lindy Stamp Gang Sprays (in Cattail Copper Brown and Shabby Turbine Teal) and Some Distress Ink (Blueprint Sketch) on my background.  The edges were distressed with some Distress Oxide Ink in Vintage photo.  (Who doesn't love those awesome Distress Oxides?)  The Chipboard I painted in some Dusty Attic Chocolate Brown paint - then I used some Dusty Attic Rusting Powder to give a gorgeous rusted, worn look to the cog and steampunk chipboard.   I added some rusty Prima Mechanicals (also found at Scrap Matrix) to keep that grungy cog look flowing.

These awesome letter stickers by Tim Holtz were used in my title, and scattered around on the background as well (something I do often just to add a bit of extra texture and interest.)  I was getting a bit desperate because I was running low on my stock, but now I've discovered Scrap Matrix stocks them I will be popping them in my order next time...hehe.

Anyway folks thats all from me tonight, it is getting late and I have a big day tomorrow at work.  Happy scrapping on the weekend xx

Monique

More Than Words Challenge

Good Morning Scrappy Peeps!

I know I have been absent in blog land again for over a year.  There IS a very good reason for it - I went back to full time teaching, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE.....  But, unfortunately, it has left very little time to create, much less blog about it.

So now the holidays are upon us, I have been spending more time being creative (BLISS!)
I needed some inspiration, so I went over to the More Than Words Challenge site - I challenge site I have been stalking for quite some time, but just didn't have the time to do any of the challenges until now.

So - the word inspiration for this month's challenge was "Father" and the creative inspiration was "Steampunk."

This is what I came up with:

Now, for those of you that have been following me for a while will know that the man in the photo is not my son's natural father.  His father and I separated over three years ago.  Since then, I have met a wonderful man who has taken on all the challenges of parenting a child with ASD with me.  He treats him like his own son, and supports us both in every way possible.  He is a fantastic role model and really, I couldn't have hoped for a better "father figure" for my son.  Connor still has a relationship with his father, which I would never try to stop, but it is a relief for me to know that he also has another man in his life who is kind, caring, loving, respectful and hardworking.

I didn't directly use the word "Father" in my title, but the inspiration is there, with the subtitle and title "It's not DNA that makes an Awesome Dad"   Pretty much sums it up really.  As you can see, I have use lots of cogs, bulbs and metals in keeping with the Steampunk Theme.  I have used a mixture of Kaisercraft and 7 Dots Studio paper, with dimension added through the use of Colour Blast Colour Paste in Stormy Sky, and some Colour Blast Shimmer Spray in Stormy Sky and Lindy Stamp Gang's Ink Sprays.  I have Embossed some Blue Fern Studio chipboard in Blue Fern Embossing Powder (Ginger) as well as a sprinkle of Colour Blast Embossing Powder in Coffee.   I also added some Imaginesce Chevron chipboard which I had covered in Dusty Attic Rusting Powder.  I raided my metal trinkets stash to find some cogs, bulbs, keys etc to add and voila! One Steampunk themed layout created!

Thank you for popping by, folks, hope you enjoyed my shares.

Monique
xx