Scrapbooking layout for CSI #157: Everyday morning rush

Hi!
It's been a while since I played along CSI (Color - Stories - Inspiration) weekly challenges. This weekend I felt I just had to do some scrapbooking, and the inspirational CSI challenge was the perfect start to get the inspirational juices flowing.

Challenge #157 contained a great sketch by The Nifty Pixel. On my project I rotated the sketch by 90 degrees. In addition I used the following elements to solve my case:
Evidence: Polaroid frame, hearts
Testimony: Selfie


And here's my 12" layout:


The selfies on the layout are maybe not of typical type. However, I wanted to document the everyday morning rush we are witnessing every morning. I'm not a morning person at all, and getting the kids ready for school on time is an everyday challenge. There's never enough time for having a proper breakfast, reading the newspaper all the way through, enjoying a long cup of coffee uninterrupted, nor making the hair or make-up perfect. I'm always hoping for an extra hour or two to the evenings, but having even an extra half an hour to the mornings would not hurt either!! :D
 


The splashes on the background are made with watercolors: I splashed a few watercolor drops of various shades of turquoise on my crafting mat, and picked up the colors with my sheet of white cardstock.





 I loved making this project. Scrapbooking was just the thing I needed this weekend!


Wishing you a great week.
Thanks for stopping by in my blog! Hope you have time to leave a comment


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12 Tags of 2015: March. Beautiful Spring

Hi!
I've been exceptionally busy over the past few months. Unfortunately this hastiness hasn't had anything to do with crafting projects but daily work life, and I've not been able to allocate as much time for my dear hobby as I wanted to. Or needed to!

Luckily the busiest times are now over and I will be able to spend more time at my crafting table. This weekend I finally had the chance to start my '12 Tags of 2015' series with the March tag. Oh how I had missed those monthly projects! Tutorial for the March tag can be read on Tim Holtz blog, just follow this link! Here's my take:


Again I did not try to copy the sample project, but created my own version of it. The thing I love about these monthly tutorials is that each time I'm able to pick up a new technique that I've not tried out before. This month I learned how to use embossing powder over texture paste, and I love the result! And I'm sure that I'll be using this on many projects to come!


The birds on the top are stenciled using Dina Wakley's stencil 'Birds in Flight'. Black bird stamp is from a Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous set 'Nature Walk'. The small leaves on the bottom of the tag are stamped on a leftover piece of paper I used for wiping off the rest of the paint from my crafting mat. Stamp is from 3rd Eye collection.

The background is embellished with a yellow die-cut honeycomb pattern (cut using one of my all time favorite Sizzix dies). The branch under the bird is die-cut, too, using another Sizzix / Tim Holtz desing die from a few years back.



I'm so happy my tag year 2015 has kicked off. Can't wait for the April tutorial! :D
It would be great to hear if you are following the series and making your own 12 Tags of 2015. If you are, just leave a short comment below, and I'll pop into your blog to get inspired!

Wishing you a great day!
Hugs,
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More stamping inspiration for March Take It, Make It challenge


Hi!
Have you already entered your project for March Craft Stamper 'Take It Make It' challenge? This month 'Anything Goes', so you can create any kind of project - just remember to use stamps somewhere on it.

We already have 80 gorgeous entries. Woo-hoo! The prizes are amazing - follow this link for viewing all the challenge details and for getting inspired by the DT creations.
More DT inspiration projects can be viewed here - aren't the projects amazing!

My second March project is a card with stamped, watercoloured and fussy cut images in the front (love the 'From The Past' stamp set by Dina Wakley). The doilies in the background are heat embossed with cream colour embossing powder.



The images in the front were stamped on heavy watercolour paper which made the colouring pretty easy.





Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
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Layout for 123 Get Scrappy: Love you, Beautiful


Hi!
It's time for another great challenge grid at 123 Get Scrappy:


Again, there were many great and easy options to choose from. But this time I wanted to challenge myself a bit and went with the top row: Lace - Mint color background - Feather. Especially for the fact that mint is so not my colour. Something I use very, very, very seldom! :D

And this is my layout:


The inspiration for this page was the picture of my daughter, taken last summer. Her blue/mint T-shirt and pink trousers fixed the base color palette for this project. I love layering little elements on the layout, and thought that the paper, transparent and embellishment collection by Heidi Swapp was just perfect for this project.


Feathers and chipboard 'Beautiful' are from Prima.


Blue leaves under the photo are die-cut using my all time favourite Sizzix die.



Before attaching any embellishments I stenciled flowers and leaves on the layout background. Medium is standard texture paste I colored with drops of mint mist. The stencil from Prima is quite new, and I can already now say that this one will be used frequently!

I hope you a nice day. Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment so that I know you were here! <3 p="">
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Cupcakes!

Hi!

My sweet daughter is soon celebrating her 9th birthday, and she's going to have a great party with nine friends. Having the birthday party at home was an option we considered, but due to the fact that I've been traveling for business quite a lot lately, and wanted to arrange her party the easy way, we decided for a theme party at a nearby wall-climbing center. So yes, she and her friends are going to learn wall climbing, instructed by a professional climber! This has been her long time dream, and I thought her birthday party would be the perfect occasion to give her the chance to try it.

For the invitation cards I chose the lovely cupcake die set by Sizzix - she looooves cupcakes, so this image was a perfect choice for the cards. There was no need to use a folded cardstock for the card base, as I was able to fit and print all the party details on the single white cardstock we used on the background.


The tray underneath the cup cake is die-cut using the smallest die in this Framelits set, and the framed number is cut with a Sizzix decorative strip alpha die ('Inside Out') from a few years back.







The cards were simple and quick to make, and she loved them.

I'm sure we'll have a great party :)


Wishing you a nice and sweet day!

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Tag for Take It Make It March challenge: Beautiful women


Hi!

March Craft Stamper Take It Make It is all about stamping. Anything goes, as long as you have used stamping somewhere on your project. And again, the prizes are amazing:


The winner for our March sponsor prize will be chosen randomly from all of the entries. Our sponsor is:



www.paperartsy.co.uk

PaperArtsy are a wonderfully innovative company, selling all things altered art. Fresco Finish paints in a huge rainbow of colours, substrates and of course their very wide and varied range of rubber stamps. The prize we have on offer is a set of limited edition paints by Lin Brown, designed especially to complement her hugely successful stamp range:

Prize for March challenge by PaperArtsy
The prize also includes this fabulous stamp set, designed by PaperArtsy signature designer Darcy:

Prize for March challenge by PaperArtsy

Our second winner is our Design Winner. This winner is chosen by our DT, who all vote for their favourite design from all of the entries. This winner will have their winning project published in Craft Stamper Magazine, they will have a GDT slot for an upcoming challenge, and will also feature in their very own Winners Profile blog post. How cool is that!!

View all inspiring DT projects here, grab your stamps, and play along!



My project is is a size #8 manila tag with stamped background and a stamped, watercoloured and fussy cut image on the front: 

Tag with stamped background and stamped main image.

I'm a huge fan of Jamie Dougherty's drawings and paintings, and I love seeing her art in the inspiring Bloom Girl Stamp collection by Prima. This girl is one of the collection images, with name 'Hope'.

Tag with stamped background and stamped main image.

I coloured her and the tag background using my new favourite colours, Japanese Gansai Tambi watercolours by Kuretake. These colours are vivid, rich in pigment, and their almost creamy consistence make them very easy to work with. My set includes also 3 metallic colour pans which makes the set even more versatile. Love, love, love!

Tag with stamped background and stamped main image.

The quote on the tag is by Sophia Loren. Spot on.
With this tag I want to wish you a wonderful international women's day on March 8.
♥ ♥ ♥

Hugs!
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Mixed Media Card Challenge March: Hint of Spring



Hi!
In some parts of the world we have seen massive snow storms over the past few weeks, and even if March has already started, we may still need to wait for the first signs of spring. In Finland snow has almost melted from southern parts of the country, whereas the Northern areas still offer perfect skiing conditions. This winter my daily job has kept me really busy, and I hate to say that I've not been skiing even once this year. I'm not too fond of winter nor the cold weather but I still love skiing. Well, maybe next year will not be as hectic as the current, and I'll have the chance to enjoy winter the proper way!


In the March Mixed Media Card Challenge we are already putting winter behind us and are looking for the first signs of spring:




And here's my card:




As background I used heavy watercolour paper, on which I stamped the main image. Using masking fluid I masked the bird and the birches, and coloured and stamped the background. Once dry I removed the mask, coloured the bird, and glued down some black thread in the bird's nest.


The little grean leaves are cut from folded green cardstock.


I made this card to my colleague, who will start working for another company soon. I'm wishing her all the best for the future - hopefully her spring will be filled with sunshine!

Wishing you a nice week!
Hugs,
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Layout for Allt Om Scrap: Stamped background

Hi!

I love stamping. Especially creating different kinds of patterns with my stamps. Don't get me wrong - I'm also fond of beautiful patterned papers, but creating my own designs by using just a few stamps is always lot of fun. For this I like to use small sized stamps instead of large background stamps, as the small ones give me more options to play and to be inventive with building the pattern. Layering different patterns and textures is what I usually do, but sometimes it's nice to work on a simpler pattern, too.

This month's challenge at Allt Om Scrap blog was just perfect for a stamping enthusiast like me: The task was to create a project background using five different stamps. And that's what I did: The different triangle shaped stamps are from one triangle stamp set by Cocoa Daisy. Don't you just love this set!


To some of the triangles I glued down blue micro beans, using gel medium as my adhesive. Micro beans are not that easy to work with, and especially getting the remaining beads back to the jar was a tricky thing to do. However, I really like the effect they make, and and when using proper adhesive one can be sure that the tiny beans will not fall off the project.


In addition to the micro beads I used some wooden and paper triangles to make the pattern more interesting. The light blue in the background is coloured with PanPastels.



For more stamping inspiration I suggest you hop over to Allt Om Scrap and have a look at all the gorgeous projects the DT has put out for you. I hope you get inspired and play along!

Wishing you a great day,
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