Cre8 Till L8

I am really excited for my weekend.  Tomorrow is a Cre8 Till L8 day here in Mackay.  Studio M Designs host these days every month or so, and they are full on, starting at 9.00am and literally going until the last person is standing - midnight or later.....  An entire day and night of non-stop creating.
Through in some friendly challenges and competitions,  a workshop or two hosted by the talented Michelle, and some pretty awesome creatively minded peeps and it is one of the best days to be had.

Also, Michelle releases BRAND NEW Kits 2 Go.  They are only available at the crop for the weekend, and get uploaded to the shop the next week, so it's a good time to get in and grab a kit before anyone else has a chance.

Tomorrow, one of the layouts I created is being released as a kit.

Here is is:

As I have explained before, these kits come chock a block full of all the paper and embellishments you need to create this layout, PLUS detailed, step by step instructions explaining how to put it together, including details of the mixed media products used so you can create an exact duplicate of the layout using a photo of your choice.

Pretty cool huh?

Also released tomorrow is a kit by the very talented Anguree Jansen Von Rensburg.  This lady's work is AH-MAZING so I can't wait to see the kit myself.

So, if you are in the Mackay area and would love to join in, contact Michelle Grant at Studio M designs or visit the shop here.

Thank you for popping by my blog, hope you all have an awesome weekend.

CSI Case File 198

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for popping by my blog.  Tonight I am sharing the layout I did for the final challenge in my Special Investigator stint over at CSI Colour Stories Inspiration.

Here is the challenge:

Now I have to admit I did find this a bit tricky - especially with the colour combinations, as I don't usually scrap with a lot of green.  Don't know why - it's just one of those colours I don't use much....

Anyway, this is what I came up with.  

I used some paper from Pion Designs and the Kaisercraft Coastal Escape Range, as well as a Kaisercraft Die for the large seagrass, and Coastal Escape Collectables.
To cover all of the colours, I painted the large seagrass diecuts with some Dusty Attic Paint in Forrest and Crushed Olive, which you can get from the Studio M Designs shop here.  My background work included some Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals in Tweedle Dee Denim and I also added some netting with the Kaisercraft Fishing Net Background Stamp and Lindy's Stamp Gang embossing powder.  I also splattered some Lindy's Stamp Gang mist in Tweedle Dee Denim and Sunshine Yellow.

The Evidence I supplied was the striped paper, leaves/flowers, string, and the mesh I used as part of my photo mat.  My Testimony was about nature, and was partially hidden in the bottle.

Here are some close ups:

If you would like to play along with this fantastic challenge, visit the CSI Color Stories Inspiration site here.

Cheers, and I hope you are having a good weekend. xx

Hi Everyone,
Hope you are all having a good week - thank you for stopping by my blog.
Today I am sharing a "Just Because" layout.  I had these photos of Connor I took in Cairns up against a graffiti wall.  He was being his typical uncooperative self, and it was a real struggle to get some decent photos of him.
Anyway, when I saw this stencil from Dusty Attic I knew I wanted to do a grungy boy layout to fit the cheekiness of the photos.

I am pretty sure you can get them at Studio M Designs here:

So this is what I created:

I created the cityscape background with the Dusty Attic Stencil and Colourblast Colour Paste in Steel.  I chose to spray the background with a Kaisercraft Spray Ink in Red, and a Lindy's Stamp Gang Spray Ink in Tweedle Dee Denim.  I also added some Colourblast Colour Paste in Snow with another Dusty Attic Stencil, and did some background stamping with a Kaisercraft Texture Stamp.  Loads of other texture was added with some ink splatters, letter stickers, Viva Decor Inka Gold Paste, and Gesso splatters.  The papers and diecuts I used was from one of my go-to grungy boy ranges "Off The Wall" by Kaisercraft.  I finished it off with some florist wire and some metal embellishments from Prima and Tim Holtz.

Here are some close ups.

You can get the Colourblast Colour Pastes, Dusty Attic Stencils and Kaisercraft Spray Ink here at the Studio M Designs shop.

Hope you all have a great weekend and get to fit some scrapping in!!
Bye for now,

CSI Special Investigator Case 197

Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for popping by my blog.
Today I'd like to share with you the layout I did as a Special Investigator for CSI Colour, Stories, Inspiration Case 197.

Here it is:

As you can see, this challenge comes with a sketch done by the talented Em Stafrace.

This is how I solved the case:

For a change I decided to use a fair bit of pink in my layout, and this photo of my gorgeous niece went perfectly with what I wanted to do. I sprayed a white background with pink and yellow spray, and backed it with black and white paper. Just used a small bit of the pale grey in my title.

The Evidence provided included the stripes in the bow, chalkboard elements, flowers, decorative borders, a lightbulb and my painted chipboard title.My testimony was using a prompt from Easy Street Prompts "Gypsy Soul."I kept mainly to the sketch provided, but used a 6x4 photo and moved the embellishment cluster more to the side of the photo.

Here is a close up:

As you can see, I added lots and lots of yummy layers with paint splatters and stamping as well as the sprays.
These cool leaves are from 2 Crafty, with you can get at Studio M Designs.
I used Blue Fern  "Ombre Dreams" Paper and the other flower chipboard is also from Blue Fern Studios
Well I'm off to do some creating in my scrap space now - hope you get some scrapping done this weekend, and if you would like some inspirations, don't forget to pop by CSI for a challenge or two.

xxxx

Creating Cards

Hi Peeps,
Thanks for popping by.  Today is just a quick post sharing a card I created for a friend who recently lost her father in law.
It has been a while since I created a card, but I was quite happy with how this one turned out.

All I really used was white and two different shades of grey cardstock I had in my stash.  I used an embossing folder I haven't opened in the 3 years since I purchased it, as well as a Spellbinders label die and a Couture Creations Butterfly die.
Hope you are all having a good week and can get to your scrap table over the weekend. xx

CSI Guest Detective Major Case File 196

Hi everyone, thanks for stopping by my blog.
I am super honoured and proud to be a Guest Detective over at CSI Colour Stories Inspiration this month.
Major Case File 196 is open now and all the Design Team Contributions are there for inspiration.

This is the challenge:

This is how I solved the case:

I have used predominantly Teal, Copper Brown and Buttercream Yellow on a White Background, with splashes of Marigold Orange.
The Evidence I supplied included the circles in my background, chipboard and epoxy circle stickers, cogs, lightbulb and solid brads. I could have also included in my evidence the moustache Mr Connor was holding as a photo prompt.
My Testimony was my journaling about the background story to this photo, and how funny Connor thought it was posing with a moustache.  

Do you like the rusty effect on the cogs?  I got it by using Dusty Attic's Rusting Powder, which can be found here.  At Studio M Designs.

Here is a close up:

Hope you have a great week everyone, don't forget to head over to CSI and join in the fun!!

Have You Tried These?

I'm sure you've seen me write that Michelle Grant has a fantastic online shop, which is also available at her workshops here in Mackay.

Did you know that she also has super awesome kits available in her shop too?  These kits come complete with all the paper and embellishments you need to complete the project, as well as clearly set out step x step instructions.  What more could you need to get your scrap on?
With talented scrap artists like Michelle Grant herself, Anguree Jansen Van Rensberg and Lynn Good you are sure to find something that appeals.
I have also designed a few kits for Michelle.
One of them is for this layout:

You can find the link for it here:
http://shop.studiomdesigns.com.au/kits-2-go-k2g0054-amazing/

If you go over to Michelle's shop, you will find at least one kit that you will just have to have - I am telling you there is an awesome selection!!

Thanks for popping by my blog xx

Then and Now

Hi Everyone,
If you know anything about how my scrapping has changed over the years, you'll know that I have gotten very messy and grungy.  I certainly use a lot more mixed media than I ever have before, and I use lots and lots of layers.....  Gesso, stamps, mists, texture pastes and embossing powders are now never far from my fingertips at my scrap table.

Just to bring back how much I have changed style wise I found a layout I did five years ago on the "Memories" post on Facebook.  As you can see, I have a little bit of spray ink misted on, and I used layers - but with paper rather than mixed media.  I also tended to stick to the one paper range for safety, whereas now I am more inclined to mix things up a little - well, OK, a lot, and use different papers from different paper ranges etc......

Here it is:

Here is one I did a few months ago - using the fabulous grungy boy range from Kaisercraft called "Off the Wall."  Again, it is one of my go-to ranges for me at the moment, it is a little bit older, but it is seriously cool for creating fun boy/teen pages.

The photos are of my awesome nieces and nephew.  I have use so many different layers here - Included are gesso, Lindy's Stamp Gang spray ink, Fabre Castel gelatos, Dusty Attic chipboard, Kaisercraft transparencies, alfoil......  The list goes on really....LOL.

How has your style changed over the years?  I really can't believe what a difference five years makes......


Thanks for stopping by.