After All These Years

Core'dinations: Baby Wardrobe Dividers

I recently attended a sweet cousin's baby shower. We know she is expecting a little girl in July and has gathered quite the collection of gorgeous baby girl clothes so I created a set of wardrobe dividers for her, to help keep the sizes organised!

 

I searched the Silhouette shop for a doorknob hanger shape and when I found the shape I was happy with, I set about cutting six in the pastel shades of pink and green Core'dinations cardstock that the nursery is decorated in. To add more detail and prettiness to them, I then embossed the hangers with the flower embossing folder and sanded them to reveal the lighter core.

 

Each divider is decorated in the same way: a die cut white label (adhered with pop dots), size numbering and a paper bow. The numbers and the bows were cut with the Silhouette Cameo and I also embossed the numbers to match the actual hanger. 

 

 

The verdict: my cousin loved them and I can't wait to see them in action next time I visit! 

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Oh yeah - after the photos were taken, I cut a slit in each divider so they could easily be popped over the clothes rod! 

Core'dinations: First Face Paint

I have been dying to use some of the Core'dinations shattered cardstock as it's such a unique effect! When I printed these photos of my son's first face paint I knew it was the perfect excuse!

The majority of the background is the green shattered cardstock which I gave a light sand to bring out the effect a bit more. 

I then built up a few layers with some patterned paper scraps and more cardstock which I have embossed and sanded to add even more dimension and texture. 

 

 

I wanted to add a touch of yellow on the layout without it standing out too much. The perfect solution was to use yellow whitewash cardstock! Once I embossed and sanded it, it was just enough yellow! I think the whitewash is my new favourite collection! For the finishing touch I built up three little clusters of embellishments using layers of Core, with bits and pieces from my stash.

 

 

But the definite star of the show is that shattered cardstock! And of course my sweet boy in the photos!

Sketch + Simple Stories + Rainbow

= FUN!

 

It's time for another sketch reveal at Inspired Blueprints! I grabbed some colourful photos of Amelia and the new I {Heart} Summer line from Simple Stories and got creating!

 

 

The background of the sketch got me thinking . . . Inspired by the rainbow face painting, I used a heart stencil from Heidi Swapp and inked the hearts in rainbow colours across the page. What an amazing effect - love it! 

I snapped a couple of photos with my phone of the process. I used washi tape to hold the paper and stencil in place and as I inked each heart, I masked off all around it with small post it notes so I wouldn't get ink where I didn't want it! 

 

 

I added a couple of stickers and cut out phrases on pop dots for dimension. And also a couple of chipboard hearts here and there - the colours of my inks were a perfect match to the I {Heart} Summer line!

 

 

 

And as I went to school to pick Amelia up after creating this layout, a beautiful rainbow was out! Must be a good omen I think!

 

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

Core'dinations: Photo Booth Fun!

When you're scrapping with black and white photos, you can pretty much decide what colours you want to use. When it came to scrapping these photos you'll see below, I knew exactly what colour I would use: yellow. It was the signature colour of this year's Escape 2 Create retreat that I attended in March. 

I grabbed three varying shades of yellow Core'dinations cardstock and got to creating my ombre-inspired background. 

 

Just for fun and extra interest, since I wasn't using much patterned paper, the bottom cardstock is from the spotted collection and was pre-embossed with the large spots. I just gave them a light sand to expose the core.

The top two strips I embossed myself and I even embossed one of the tags. Can you tell I'm loving core???????

 

I added a touch of black and white to the layout also. 

 

 

And for the record, those ladies in the photo were crazy fun! And they truly are some of the most inspiring people I've ever met. Makes me smile every single time I look at it! 

 

 

Mastering The Art: Sunbursts

Each month in Scrapbooking Memories magazine, one of the master's has an article showcasing a particular technique. I chose to do a step-by-step on how to create a sunburst background and I'd love to share my layouts on the blog today as they are a couple of my favourites!

 

 

 

 

It's such a fun way to add interest and dimension to a background! I tend to use subtle patterned papers but obviously, the sky's the limit!

 

 

 

And here's a look at them in the magazine and a peek at the step-by-step instructions.

 

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AND I was super excited to see that some scrapping friends have been inspired by this technique to create their own layout! Pop on over to the blogs below and check out the variations! 

Kerryn Lawson

Yvette Fanciulli

Chloe Nielson

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Thank you so much!

 

Core'dinations, May Arts AND Stampendous Blog Hop!

Welcome to Day 4 of the Core'dinations, May Arts AND Stampendous Blog Hop!

 

 

We are hopping all week long for some AMAZING prizes! Each company is giving way prizes on their own blogs AND there will be surprise winners on the individual team member blogs as well. Make sure you check back every day for more chances to win!

Here is what I created for you today using Core, May Arts ribbon and Stampendous Stamps:

I decided to create a couple of cards as the stamps I was given were perfect card background stamps! Here's the first one:

 

 

I used some wider black and white ribbon and twisted and folded it into the rosette, glueing it down as I went with a hot glue gun. Mounting it on a Core tag just finished it off nicely so it wasn't "floating" on the card! Lol!

 

 

And my second card, instead of using the large alphabet stamp as a whole, I trimmed the letters for my greeting out instead. 

 

 

Don't you just love the ribbon tails hanging down? That glitter ribbon is to die for!

 

 

Now, if you are after even more inspiration, here's your hop list for today:

Core'dinations Cardstock Team:

Gail Lindner ----------> you're here!
Kate Nolan-Denham
Vivian Keh

May Arts Team:

Karen Baker 
Lalo IK 

Stampendous Team:

Kristine Reynolds
Rhea Weigand 

 

Don't forget to leave a comment on here to go in the draw to win a fabulous prize from Core!

Happy blog hopping!

 

Core'dinations: Engagement Cards

I've had a couple of family members announce engagements recently so I created some cards to celebrate the good news!

I started by choosing a gorgeous card from the Core'dinations Chocolate Box  collection and cutting a couple of designs out from my Cameo. In the end I settled on the fun sunburst and polaroid and went from there!

 

 

For the blue card, I chose the background from the Core'dinations Gemstone collection as the gave it an elegant feel. I've embossed the background and adhered my sanded polaroid over the top with pop dots, adding some patterned paper and a red Gemstone card underneath the cut out pieces. 

 

Similarly, behind the sanded sunburst below (be careful sanding the fine frame) I used a pink Core'dinations Glittersilk card to add a bit of elegance. The leaves were die cut from Gemstone cardstock also and the project was completed with the fun pink flower!

 

 

I added the same greeting to both cards, stamped on a Core Bookmark which I then trimmed with the banner ends. The white bookmark card was so wonderful to stamp on! 

 

So there you have two card designs, made into elegant engagement cards by using specialty cardstock but imagine the same designs in different colors for any occasion! 

 

Thanks for visiting!

Celebrating a Very Special Grandma

A change of pace on the blog today and I want to share a bit of my story with you. This past week I said goodbye to my Grandma. It was an emotional and tough week. 

I'm however now able to be grateful. Grateful that she was part of my life. Grateful that I got to say goodbye. Grateful that I've already documentd lots about her to share with my children. 

I'd love to share a few layouts that I've created over the years, dedicated to Grandma. 

 

 

Once again I'm reminded of how much I love this craft. This is the reason. I've told stories on my layouts that otherwise might be forgotten. 

She was awesome and I miss her.

Core'dinations: Introduction Post

It's Friday and my introduction post is up on the Core'dinations blog here! We had to create a layout about ourselves/that reflected us. The idea for my layout came from the “currently” lists that I’ve seen floating around the internet. I recently celebrated my birthday and took a self portrait with my iphone on that day so I thought the two tied together nicely!

 

 

I wanted quite a bold, look for my layout and of course I wanted to incorporate my favourite colors! I ended up creating my own background by cutting strips of the black cardstock and adhering them to my white background, in diagonal stripes. I love that by sanding the edges of the black strips they seemed to “blend” into the background a bit more. I was then able to add accents in watermelon pink, aqua and that gorgeous chartreuse green!

 

 

 

 

For a fun photo mat, I used my Scor-Pal to score a simple border around the cardstock mat that my photo was layered on. I was aiming for a polaroid-type feel!

When I was almost finished my layout, I thought it was looking a bit flat so at the last minute I tucked a white core tag in behind the photo mat and tied a big ribbon bow. Finishes it off nicely!

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I think I’m addicted to creating striped backgrounds with cardstock now!

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NOW if you want to a chance to win a pack of Core'dinations cardstock, go to the blog and leave a comment on my post! That's it! 

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Have a great weekend everybody!

 

Simple Stories: I {Heart} Summer

If felt a bit weird to be scrapping summer photos when our weather has cooled right down and we're heading into winter, but when I received a happy parcel in the mail from Simple Stories - their latest collection called I {Heart} Summer, I just couldn't resist and I had the perfect photos!

Noah, not content to just play and splash around the water play table, climbed right on in and had a wonderful time! Just another example of how this little boy keeps me on my toes!

 

 

The colours, patterns and embellishments in the new range are so bright and fun! One of the things I love about Simple Stories are all the little words and phrases that come in each collection! I love adding one, or usually a few rather, especially near my photos.

 

 

Look at that cheeky boy will you???

 

 

Simple Stories now have some AWESOME 3x4 and 4x6 die cut cards called Sn@p Cuts. On this layout (hard to see in the photos as it's quite subtle) I actually used one of them as a mask for misting on my background. So fun! You'll have to go back and try and see!

 

You can check out my blog post on the Simple Stories blog here and see the whole I {Heart} Summer range here. AND for all you Aussies, I know that Anna's Craft Cupboard has got this new range in stock now!

Thanks for visiting!