Let's Get Sketchy - 15 Dec sketch reveal

Hi there!

While I am sitting in my lounge typing this up, Christmas carols are playing in the background (yes, hubby is feeling quite festive) - hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner ... and then the year is over. SO without further ado ... the last challenge for 2017 at Let's Get Sketchy:

Loved working with this sketch - and I decided to turn it anti-clockwise and work with it like that - and here is my take on the sketch:

As you can see we go back to 2004 - when my daughter was all of 8 years old ... this is one of my favourite photos with my own mom and my daughter. I used a chipboard frame and covered this with paper. The flowers are from 49 Market - alas the paper I have had for a while and cannot recall the name of the range.

Would love to see your take on the sketch - and pop it up over on the Let's Get Sketchy blog.

Have a great Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. I will be back for 1 January - a new year and a new sketch for Let's Get Sketchy......

Till then ...

Michelle -----

Let's Get Sketchy - 1 December

And I am back again for another December blog  and this time for the Let's Get Sketchy 1 December reveal. Use a sketch to create a page .. let your imagination run ...

Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on the sketch:

I just love this photo of my daughter ... and I thought that the title Just imagine went well ... because it does look like you would be wondering or imaging something if you were sitting there too ...  :)
I have gone with very subtle colours for this photo .. because I do want create the image of calmness, and thought these colours did that well.

I would love to see your take on the sketch up on the Let's Get Sketchy blog ...

Thanks for popping in :)

White ... with 1 ... December

Hello from sunshine NZ!

And here we are last month of 2017 ..... where has this year gone??
So with the 1st of December - is a new reveal over at White ... with 1. And the perfect colour for the festive season WATERMELON RED ....  and we have a lovely sketch to match!

 And here is my take on the colour and the sketch:

 I turned the sketch and this is what I came up with ... this is a photo of my two precious angels taken about 20 years ago ... they are now both  grown up 21 and 24 year olds! It goes so quickly, doesn't it! And what more perfect than the little red outfit my daughter is wearing and the colour of the month ... 
Here I have just done some spraying an rubbed on some red chalk in the background. I then stamped down the one side and added two strips of washi tape. Added to this is the paper and I used a punch for the middle white card stock, and put a ribbon over this. The title is from some Thickers I had in my stash.

Thanks for popping in to look. Would love to see your take on the challenge on the White ... with 1 blog - the sketch is optional only, but your white and watermelon red is a must...  

See ya soon!

Colourful Creations - mid-month reveal

It is with a sad note that I write this blog as the final challenge for the Colorful Creations creative team, as this is the last challenge for a while while Colorful Creations takes a wee breather until further notice. It would really be great to see some of you take part in the challenge this month.

The mid-month reveal is a mood board with all my favourite colours:

Isn't thi just beautiful - what a great colour combo isn't it??

And here is my take on the challenge:

Here I have used a plain brown paper which I have stencilled with liquid pearls and then used various inks to created the sprays in the background. I then inked the chipboard clock and frame and finished off with flowers, twine and tags.
This photo is of me and one of my very close friends at a party about a year ago. We had to dress to the theme of Great Gatsby - and when I saw the lady with the hat on the moodboard I thought of this photo.

Hope to see your take on the challenge up on the Colorful Creations blog.

Lets Get Sketchy - 15th November 2017 reveal

Welcome to the next edition of Let's Get Sketchy - the mid-month sketch reveal
And here is the sketch:

 

And here is my take on the sketch:

 

Here I have used a light blue cardstock mounted to a patterned paper from an Authentique range. I have used inks to splatter red and blue drops on the page, plus I have stamped stitches behind the photo. I have also stamped randomly with different patterent patterned acrylic stamps with black ink and red ink . The photos have been matted onto red and blue cardstock. I have also used stickers for the stars and the arrow from a Simple Stories sticker collection. The title and circles are chipboard which I have inked with blue ink. I think used some blue chalk and smudged around the photo to highlight it.

These are photos of my now 24 year old son taken about 20 years ago - just the cutest!! They sure do grow up fast don't they.

Would love to see your take on the sketch challenge - pop on over to the Let's Get Sketchy blog for the details ...

Let's Get Sketchy - 1 Nov 17 Sketch

Scary to think this year is almost done - here we are now the 1st of November. Of course this means a new challenge over at Let's Get Sketchy.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on the challenge

Oh I do just love this photo of my son Brendon and our friend's dog, his name is Tyson. He is a big dog but thinks he is a lap dog - he is just such a gorgeous animal. I thought that Strike a Pose suits this photo so well - it's almost as if Tyson knew he had to pose especially!

Come and play along at Let's Get Sketchy - we would love to see your interpretation of the sketch!

See you again for the mid-month reveal :)

Colorful Creations - Thankful

Welcome to the 1st of the month - and Colorful Creations has a new challenge out for the month. The theme this month is THANKFUL. What a beautiful topic - and fits well in with the States and thanksgiving this month. But also a great topic for a challenge - life is so amazing and there is s much to be thankful for. I have chosen my amazing husband and my wonderful children for my thankful theme

Along with this theme, the other part of the challenge is that at least 50% of what we use on our page had to be from your stash - another great way for being thankful for the stuff that we already have. Here is my take:

I have used a Blue Fern Studios paper for my background which has been stencilled with texture paste, and splattered and also inked. I have used really old rub-ons for the stitching and the clocks. I have also had the chipboard in my stash for ages. Some of my flowers are new from 49 and Market - but I would say that at least 80% of the layout is from my stash. I have used two photos here and matted one on top of the other to create a 3D effect - but the photo is not quite showing the effect effectively

Come and play along with Colorful Creations   -  we would love to see what you are thankful for too.

White with 1 - November

A bright and vibrant colour over at White with 1 this month ... PINEAPPLE DREAM  - this colour just oozes happiness. And as we are moving into the summer months here in NZ, it is just the perfect colour for the summer season!!

And here is my take on the challenge for this month:

I have cut down the white card stock slightly, distressed this and add it to yellow cardstock for my background. I then used a stencil and texture paste to create the mask behind the photo. Yellow paint watered down was then drizzled over the masked effect. I then used some of my project life cards as the mats behind the photo. The heart and circle are chipboard and I coloured these using a yellow stamp pad. I then dribbled yellow splats on the page to finish. I have also used some yellow mesh as part of my matting.

This photo is quite old - this is my Dad and I at a family holiday in 1979  taken in South Africa in a town called Durban. We often went to Durban for family holidays when I was growing up. I have some rather fond memories, as I am sure you can imagine.

I hope to see your page up on the White with 1 blog!

Thanks for popping over to visit :)

Colorful Creations - Mid-Oct reveal

And me again with another mid-month reveal and this is for Colorful Creations :) And the challenge for Mid-October is a sketch.

Here is the sketch - a sketch with a difference!

Isn't this sketch so cool? And here is my take on the sketch:

The triangles are from a Blue Fern collection - here my hubby and I went to Hanmer Springs for our 24th wedding anniversary. Hanmer Springs has lovely hot pools - and although it was December (which is summer in NZ) it was actually quite cold, and there was even a dusting of snow that weekend .... the warm pools were very welcome!

I look forward to seeing what you all come up with and your interpretation of the sketch ... come play along at Colorful Creations.

Thanks for popping over to visit.

Michelle xxx

Let's Get Sketchy - Mid-Oct Reveal

Well hello from a lovely spring New Zealand! And it's the 15th of the month - which means reveal day over at Let's Get Sketchy - yay!!! And here is the sketch for this reveal:

And here is my take on the sketch using an (old) Prima range - Stationer's Desk. Just love the maroon and vintage hues in this range. I went along with this as I thought it matched my daugher's make up very well!

Here I have used a background paper and then used a lighter paper which I cut down slightly and distressed. I then cut the strip through top left to match the sketch - about a 1/4 of an inch taken off and this was also distressed. The photo is also matted with cardstock and the Prima range and also distressed. I then finished off the layout with chipboard inked with maroon to match, the flowers, some extra leaves and some twine. The title is also chipboard and inked.

Come and play along with Lets' Get Sketchy - I would love to see your take of the challenge sketch up on their blog.

Thanks for popping over and taking a look!

Michelle xxxx

Colorful Creations - 1 October reveal

Hello again!

Let your creativity run wild for this month with the challenge over at Colorful Creations - using "numbers" in your project (layout or off the page). You can be as creative as you wish - and as long as "number" is represented in some form on your page, whether you choose to use a paper with numbers on it, or whether you use numbers as embellishments or have the number in your challenge - this is entirely up to you.

And here is my take on the challenge:

I have used various chipboard numbers in all shapes and sizes to create my layout. To start with, I have used the new Kaisercraft Factory 42 range. The background of the paper has been gesso'd lightly to lighten up the dark paper. I then layered various papers from this same range, distressing each of these and layering these before adhering my photo on top of these. The huge cog was fussy cut and I used some of the stickers off the sticker page. I gesso'd all the numbers, before spraying them with three shades of ink (not quite visible in this photo) - the colours were gold, metallic brown and a metallic copper shade.
I have a punch that cuts the tiny chevrons added to finish the page off.

I love this photo of my husband and son - they were both sitting on the beach near Ashburton here in NZ (the beach is all pebbles and no sand!) - and both just sat there in the same position staring out to sea.

Love to see your take on the "numbers' theme on the blog over at Colorful Creations 

----- M -----

Let's Get Sketchy - 1 October reveal

Hello to a new month!

And of course the 1st of the month means there is a brand new sketch over at Let's Get Sketchy.

I have decided this month to with a very simple and easy layout - but bright and vibrant. I just love this green and red/orange combination. This is a photo of Mum and me on our way out before popping out to town - quite amusing really, that we ended up wearing the same colours without the other knowing what we were wearing ;)

Thanks for popping along - and do join us for the this month's challenge over at Let' Get Sketchy - all you have to do is use the sketch in any way you interpret it.

----- M -----

White ... with 1 - October reveal

Hello to  a new month over at White ... with 1.

October already .. wow! And this month is a very special month - in honour of breast cancer and creating awareness of this disease. White with 1 have chosen the colour PINK WHISPER in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness.

Here is my take on the challenge for this month:

Using texture paste, I used an 12x12 stencil for the background, down the middle of the page. Once it was dry I sprayed the background with pink ink. I fussy cut the lady's head from a range  of paper I had, and then finished off the page using flowers, ribbon and chippies.

We would love you to join the challenge this month, and if you need a little help to get going, there is also a sketch that can be used (this is of course entirely optional)

 
Hope to see your challenge up on the White ... with 1 blog!

------- M --------
 
 

Let's Get Sketchy - Sketch 15 Sep 2017

Hello again!

And this middle of the month, Let's Get Sketchy has a really beautiful sketch for their mid-month challenge! Here it is:

Isn't this just fabulous! I love this one... and here is my take on the challenge using a Theresa Collins range that I have had for sometime:

It's hard to believe this photo was taken 8 years ago when my daughter was just 12 years old, and this weekend she is turning 21 ... wow doesn't time fly. Scary isn't it! I love this range of papers, and I have had them for a number of years - glad I was finally able to put them to use.

This is a really great sketch - and I would love to see your interpretation of this - why don't you join us, create something and pop it up on the Let's Get Sketchy blog - click here for the details and check the rest of the DT team and there gorgeous creations too.

Till the 1st of October for the next sketch reveal, have a great week :)

M

Colorful Creations - 15 September Reveal

Hello there!

Colorful Creations has a great theme for this middle of the month reveal. And it's all about the weather!! Create something that indicates your favourite kind of weather .... here is my layout:

 
 We had only been living in New Zealand just short of a year when we had a good dumping of snow. Living in an area of New Zealand that doesn't get the snow in winter, this was quite an event - and coming from South Africa, not something we are accustomed to either - so what do you do when you get to experience it for the first time? You play in it - just like my dear husband here! I love the snow - although a few of my NZ friends would very much disagree with me on this one.

Come and take part in this challenge - Tell on your layout your favourite kind of weather. :-) Is it stormy and thunderous weather, sunshine, rain, snow...etc… be creative! And pop it up in the Colorful Creations blog - would love to see what your favourite weather is too. Click here to go to the Colorful Creations blog.

Colorful Creations - 1 September - one word challenge

And it's a new challenge at Colorful Creations - and this 1 September reveal is a one Word challenge. The words for this month are SCHOOL, PRIMARY COLORS, FUN and PLAY.  We had to incorporate these words into the challenge, and it could be in the way of the title, picture, pattern paper, etc… let creativity be your guide, as I would love to see what you come up with on their blog!

Here is my take on the challenge:

I have incorporated the word FUN into my layout. This paper is a very old range of Bo Bunny that I dug out of my stash. This photo is of my daughter and her friends, who had attended a Cluedo evening. They had to dress up. Here is one of their silly moments having such fun that  night.

Hope that the words for this challenge will encourage you to take part in the challenge!

Thanks for visiting!

---- M ----

Let's Get Sketchy - 1 September Reveal

1st of the month means a new sketch over at Let's Get Sketchy! I cannot believe how fast this year is going ... September already! Here is the 1st of September sketch:

And again I took a twist on the sketch and turned it side ways:
Here is my interpretation of the sketch:

One of my favourite pictures of my son, taken at Lake Clearwater in August 2012. It had snowed and we took a drive out to look at the snow. We had such a lovely family day that day!

I have used an Authentique range here. The cogs and the title are chipboard which I have inked.

Hope you enjoy the sketch ... and would be great to see your take on the challenge up on the Let's Get Sketchy blog!

Thanks for visiting!

---- M ----

White ... with 1: September 2017 reveal

Hello there ...

For those of us in the southern hemisphere - happy 1st of September, happy spring day! The weather outside says quite the opposite though!

And ... as it's the 1st of the month, it's White .. with 1 reveal day ...and the colour with white is SOUL PEA

I decided to do things a little differently this month, and use the colour for the background with my elements all in white. And here is my take on the monthly challenge:

I love this colour for this month. Come and play along with us! Would love to see your challenges up on the White ... with 1 blog :)

I have use two different types of stencils for the background. The chipboard frame and title are covered in white liquid pearls. I have also used some white stickers in the background.

Look forward to seeing your layouts up on the White ... with 1 blog this month!

Thanks for popping along!

------M ------

Colorful Creations - 15th Aug - Fussy Cutting

Yes it's the middle of the month (gosh time is flying) - which means another exciting reveal over at the Colorful Creations blog. And this reveal is one of my favourite scrapbooking techniques - here is the challenge:

Yes - the theme for the 15th is fussy cutting! And here is my take on the challenge

This layout has been created using a Heartfelt Creations collection. The flower vine is two flower vines which I fussy cut from two different papers and then layered on top of each other. The bird is also fussy cut, as is the fence :)

Hoping to see you take up the challenge and would love to see your challenges up on the Colorful Creations blog - so come and play along!

Let's Get Sketchy - 15 Aug reveal - It's All about the Girls

Hello there!

It's Let's Get Sketchy 15th of the month reveal  - a great follow on from the 1st of August sketch - all about the boys and of course, now the 15th is all about the girls! A great sketch duo - have a look 1st of August sketch - and now the 15th of Aug is a perfect match. Here is the sketch:

 

And to match these beautiful girlie colours:

 Aren't these just beautiful colours? I drew my inspiration off the pinks and blues. Here is my take on the sketch and the colours:

 I have used a very light blue card stock, and then stenciled some text paste in the background behind the photo and the bottom right corner of the page. Then I sprayed the background with pink ink and also rubbed on pink chalk. These papers are from Cocoa Vanilla Studio Love Always range.

Perfect colours for the mood board I thought! Come and play along with Let's Get Sketchy :)

Thanks for popping along - until next time with the Let's Get Sketchy reveal for 1st September.

------ M -----

Let's Get Sketchy - 1 August - Sketch with a twist!!!

And hello again for 3rd blog entry of the month .... and it's the sketch challenge over at Let's Get Sketchy. And just as the title says - it's a sketch with a twist this month. Here is the sketch

And here is the twist.......... the moodboard - but it has to be a male layout

 And here is my layout inspired off the sketch and moodboard:

And this is my gorgeous son ... about 19 years ago. Wasn't he just such a cutie? Of course he is now a handsome young man. I decided to turn the sketch sideways and create my layout that way. The papers are all from Simple Stories. It's a great range - and how perfect the papers are for the challenge this month - the theme and the colours!

Pop on over to the blog for details and some inspiration from the rest of the design team. Looking forward to seeing your take on the challenge on the Let's Get Sketchy blog!

Colorful Creations - 1 August Reveal

Hello again to the start of a new month!

And of course the new month means a new reveal and new challenge over at Colorful Creations. 
For the 1st of August we were given a picture as follows:

 

We had to hero one colour from the picture with with white - so the theme for this month is White+One, and here is my take on the challenge:

So of course I drew my inspiration on the blues - one of my favourite colours! This photo is of me and my daughter a couple of years ago on a mother and daughter shopping spree. We had such a lovely day that day!

I used gelato's and white texture paste which I blended together. I used one of my prima stencils and only used part of it in parts over the page. The swirls and hearts is a dusty attic chippie - and I cut this in half (eeeek!) which I place under the flower cluster. There is also a chippe behind the photo.

Once the texture paste had dried I used a chalk and rubbed a bit over blue chalk powder over the stenciled areas.

Pop on over to the Colorful Creations blog for all the details on how to enter the challenge. I look forward to seeing your take on the challenge!

Thanks for visiting!

White with 1 - August 2017

Oh wow did I have fun with this colour! White ... with 1 and the August colour is SILVER LIGHT. And judging by the rest of the team - they had fun too - the layouts by the design team for this month are just amazing - go take a look.

Here is my take on the August challenge:

Just love this photo of my son - taken about 6 years ago. Here I have stenciled on some chevron's on the background with texture paste. I have sprayed some silver/grey ink lightly to the background and used paper and washy tape to finish off. The brads I used are from a very old range that I bought many years ago that Karen Foster bought out .... that is sometime ago! The cogs are from Imagine If, that I gesso'd and then sprayed with a metallic silver ink.

Here is also a sketch that White with 1 have provided - I turned the sketch upside down

The sketch is entirely optional!

I look forward to seeing what everyone creates using this month's colour!

Thanks for popping over!

Let's Get Sketchy - 15 July Reveal

And another reveal over at Let's Get Sketchy for the 15th of July! Here is the sketch for the challenge

I went along with a very simple layout - but with these gorgeous colours from the Kairscraft Lilac Whisper range, it is easy to make something very pretty - I just love these beautiful colours. Here is my take on the challenge sketch:

This is my lovely niece who I have scrapped.

Pop over to the Let's Get Sketchy blog and check out the inspiration from the rest of the team.

Thanks for popping over

--- M ---

Colourful Creations - 15th of July reveal

Hello from a very cold New Zealand!

It's that time of the month again - 15th of July and this means reveal day at Colourful Creations. This month we were given a recipe of ingredients that had to be present in our project. Here is the recipe:

And this is what I have come up with:

The background paper is a wood grained paper from Kaisercraft, which I sprayed with bright pink ink. Once this was dry I rubbed in some teal chalk. I then cut down the paper and mounted this on to bright pink and black cardstock. I have layered some paper (also distressed) behind the 2 photos. The bold colours can also be represented in the bright flowers. I also dripped some ink off the flowers. The die cuts are the banners added to the layout.

Hope that the recipe will inspire you to create a layout or project and post it up on the Colourful Creations blog.

Thanks for visiting!

Colourful Creations - 1 July reveal day

So with some exciting news - my first reveal as a new member of the design team for Colourful Creations! I am so excited to be here and I do hope you will all enjoy the amazing projects each month. This challenge reveals twice a month - the 1st and the 15th of the month. And creations can by anything - not just 12 x 12 layouts. I look forward to working on this team!

Here is the mood board with the colours that we were asked to work with for this challenge. I love these colours!

But I ran out of steam when I started putting this layout together ... no matter what I did, to me, nothing felt like it was working. Don't you just hate it when you have one of "those moments"! I scrapbook with a number of lovely friends - we call each other "sistas" - and with their encouragement and support, the following layout resulted with these lovely colours:

This is my lovely niece who I haven't seen in almost 7 years since we immigrated to NZ. She had been playing around with the photo edits on her phone and edited her hair to the teal colour - and how perfect for my layout!
I have used mainly stamping and plain cardstock to bring out the colours from the mood board.

Pop over to the blog and see the great inspiration from the rest of the team ... and you are welcome to make anything with these colours - I would love to see what you come up with!!

Thanks for popping over!

--- M ----

Let' Get Sketchy - 1 July

Hello to a new month - which means its reveal day for the 1st of the month with Let's Get Sketchy. And here is the sketch for the 1st - I loved it!

And of course with Independence day in the States this month, what better way to celebrate by adding the appropriate mood board:

Don't you just love the blue, red and white combo - and there is so much in the mood board to draw inspiration off. Have a look at the creative team and their layouts - I just love how each one of us drew something different off the mood board - and the creations were just amazing!

So here is my take on the challenge:

I drew my inspiration for my layout with the red, blue and white colour combo using Authentique papers. And for change I have scrapped my son - who just hates his photo taken - so have so few photos of him. Isn't he so handsome?

Well I do hope that the team have inspired you to create something to post on the Let's Get Sketchy blog this month - I would love to see what you come up with.

---- M ----