Cry Laughing

Question: What do you do with a whole bunch of photos that were taken at the wrong end of the day in really poor lighting right there in front of the spag bol cooking on the stove?
Answer: You pick the best of the bad lot and print them small (you can't notice how blurry they are then) and do a layout.


Every time I look at these photos I get a smile on my face. Renae and I really did cry laughing while we were taking these selfies together the other day.

This was a "no-agonising" layout just for fun to recreate the fun Nae and I had. I have a Mont Marte 12"x12" art book which I use as my drop sheets when I am spraying, masking, painting and things like that. I love the things that happen on those sheets as a result of some other art work I am creating. Dina Wakley, of whom I am a great fan, uses those same bits of paper (not mine, but hers of the same kind) in her art journaling and on layouts, so I thought I would give it a go.

I also used Bazzill, 3 Bugs in a Rug PP, Basic Grey pp scrap and Alphabet Stickers rubbed over with some Grape VersaCube ink, a Sharpie, some KaiserScrapbook Rhinestones, Making Memories Colored Staples, and the Stampin Up Spiral punch.

Also...
Somewhere, in the last week... now where was it?... I saw some challenges involving contrasting colours. Oh yes. I remember!!! The Hero Club Blog. I get a little bit of inspiration from The Hero Club Blog and the inspiration this time was the contrasting colours thing - purple and yellow. Just thought I'd tell you that.

People Like You

The art journal challenge over at Blue Bazaar is to play with texture and music so that is what I have done.


This page started out dressed in green and brown. It sat on the floor in my art room and I hated it. It took me a long time to realise that it was the colour that was putting me off ever doing anything with it. When I eventually worked that out I painted over the offending colours (perfectly fine, just not for this project) and changed my whole attitude to the page. I've never painted over something before. It was satisfying.

So, I did a few layers with texture paste and stamping things into it. Also I wrote a few things in the thick paste - just for a bit of interest. Then lots of layers of paint in various colours and different ways of application. Next, I added some punched bits of music from the old hymnbook that Sophie-Lee scrounged from the side of the road for me - she knows me :) - from which I have removed about half the pages. (More about that one day!)

At this point I was again inspired by Liesel Lund's gorgeous art journal page. I sewed on a flower and bud that I cut out of a scrap of material I have had for years (remember it, Jillian?) and then some of the beautiful hand-dyed silk stuff from Vivian Bonder.

Finishing touches include more music punched into butterflies and some Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastels along with some words from a song by Clare Bowditch that I really don't know the meaning of... I understand the words that I wrote. I just don't understand all the words of the song.

That's all for now.

A Sister is....

... a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. That's what Isadora James said and I like it. So I added it to my layout of me and my sister.


It's not the best photo - we were facing into the very bright sunlight - but it was the best of a handful that we managed to get while we were together on the long weekend just gone.

I was obviously inspired by this lovely layout by Carine that I found in entreARTiste magazine.

I used a white sheet of Bazzill, a pretty mask from scrapmatts.com and some Memories Mists for the initial spraying. Then I fished out the Making Memories Diecuts, some ribbon and the American Crafts Thickers to add to the layout. The Zig Writer added a touch to highlight the masking and to write the quote. Finally a light spray with gold Glimmer Mist for the finishing touch. Oh, and a brad!

Friendship is not a big thing...

It's a million little things. That's what someone said. I read this quote the other day and it just so happens that the most recent photo of myself with a friend happens to be one of Peg and I. So here's the layout I did, utilising the June Boxx of Scraps from Scrapboxx. Not my usual style but man I had fun doing it!

Products: We R Memory Keepers Patterned Paper; Bazzill; Sassafras Brads; Felt flowers (?); Alphabets - Carolee's Creations, Pink Paislee, Making Memories; Uniball Signo gel Pen; Zig Writer; Stazon Ink.

A History of Haircuts

Oh yes. I have a history of cutting people's hair. Mostly my own kids' hair but it all started out when I was a kid about 5 years old (I think) and I cut my sister's hair. That's all I remember. That, and the fact that my sister used to have curly locks (so I am told) and they never grew back again after the boyish bob she was given to salvage the hacked style that I had endowed (read inflicted) upon her!!!

Here's a photo of us at the beach with our beautiful hairdos.



Move forward many years...
I am not a hair dresser by any stretch of the imagination but I have cut my friends' hair and I have even cut a stranger's hair! Once I took my friend to the hairdresser for salvage cut (a bit of history repeating itself) - I didn't know how to layer and E and her mum were prepared for me to experiment. :) (I chuckle as I write!!!)

Hennyway. Nowadays I still cut the boys' hair. They are all different. They have different hair and different styles. Their hair often gets way past too long before I cut it. But then I do, and we all breathe a collective sigh of relief. Until the next overdue haircut.

So I did a layout to record this historical event.
Dina Wakley (of whom I am a fan) has a challenge at Scrap Diner (which I joined so that I could do the challenge) where one is challenged to use ink and paint on patterned paper.


Products I used for this layout: Bazzill; Collage Press PP; Luminarte Radiant Rain; Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink; Jenni Bowlin Tickets; UniPin Fine Line Pen; Pink Paislee and Making Memories Alphabet Stickers (I'm not sure about that R. it looks a bit E-ish and makes me think of the word faery!); and Making Memories Color Staples. Oh and I used the actual scissors as the mask!!!!

Sweet

That's what I decided the title for this layout would be.


Why? you may well ask!
Because it looks like we both just sucked on one of those very bitter bush lemons in our back yard that the kids bat around.



Why are we even pulling faces, if we haven't just sucked on one of those very bitter bush lemons in our back yard?
Just because! :)

What I used:
Basic Grey Acid Washed
Little Yellow Bicycle
Making Memories 5th Avenue
SEI Simple Sets - Sassy Tags (remember them?!)
Delish Bistro Snack Pack Rub-On Transfers.

Happy Family

God has blessed me with a happy family. That's probably an understatement. When I hear the stories of sibling rivalry and family discord of some people, even my friends, I am sad for them and made very aware of God's goodness in my life.

I had the opportunity to visit my sister on the Long Weekend. I got to see her new house and where she runs her new business. I got to spend a little bit of time with my nephews and niece and my brother-in-law.

And I also got to go and visit my Mum and Dad and see them in their new place as well. Me being me, just had to take some photos. We used Dad's nifty little pocket-sized camera to do some selfies. Oh what fun!

I just needed to do something creative and what better way to feel good quickly than to use a photo that makes me smile every time I look at it and completely scraplift a favourite artist. No strain. All gain!!!


So yes, I scraplifted Dina Wakley and used Black Market Paper Society and Sassafras Lass papers, Making Memories Acrylic Paint and Tiny Alphas, American Crafts Thickers, and Hambly Screenprints. Oh and Dymo. Gotta love the dymo!

Also on the weekend, I visited Metro Church (which was cool as), bought a cossie (that's a swimming costume!), visited Peg and Louise at South Bank and beyond, and had dinner out with my son, after seeing his new place and meeting his flatmates.

All in all, a bonzer weekend.

Blue Dad's Birthday and Other Imaginations

Since Declan could speak he has had a Blue Dad. His Blue Dad lives in a Blue House, sometimes in Armidale and sometimes just far away.

I'm not sure what started the whole Blue Dad's Birthday scenario on April 19th - maybe the excitement of two brothers' upcoming birthdays with the eager countdown to the consecutive days in May.

But this is how it went. Declan's "other" dad, his Blue Dad, was having a birthday party. Declan was preparing himself to go to the party. His real Dad entered into the story and shared the excitement (a little too heartily, perhaps), asking questions and suggesting things to pack in his special bag on a stick. This concreted the occasion as real and important.

I had tried to stand off a bit and let Declan go with his imagination, alone. He bugged me a bit, asking me if I could take him to his other dad's place. I suggested that we could draw a map with pictures of the car, train and plane that I was told would be needed to get there. This didn't satisfy Declan at all.

Try as we might to ignore, or at least quell, Declan's enthusiasm for the birthday party, it was not going to settle down and go away. Eventually, DH decided to take Declan on a short drive in the hope that it would satisfy Declan's strong desire to get going.

After a quick trip around the block Declan stomped inside with a dark look on his face.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Dad was just FAKING it!" came the knowing reply.
He was not happy, Jan.

Declan really thought that he would be going in the car to the train and in the train to the plane. I'm not really sure where, though. I whipped out my mobile phone and captured the moment. Not a fabulous photo but it holds the memory.

Today I was inspired by a Tuesday Tutorial on Ali Edwards' blog. The tute was by Jennifer McGuire. I liked the simple nature of the layouts and decided to sneak into my art room and finally scrap the photo of Declan that has been sitting on the printer for the last few days.


Done.

Inspiration and a Walk Around the Garden

I'm just going through the list of blogs that inspire me and I thought I would share some of them with you. There's a bit of scrapbooking, a bit of mixed media, a smattering of letter press (a newfound pleasure), and lots of fabulous photos, heaps of colour and excitement and enough inspiration to keep me awake for days!!!


Here they are, in no particular order (except maybe alphabetical in Bloglines).


The lovely Louise Nelson and her unique style at An Uninterrupted View


Mixed media artist Julie Fei-Fan Balzer at Balzer Designs


Clean and simple scrapbooking by Cathy Zielski. I love her blog Bits & Pieces - she is SO funny.


I'm definitely a fan of Loretta Grayson and her creative style - a shoebox of photographs.


And Ngaire Bartlam and her colourful and lively blog, Blog Me Baby.


I get lots of inspiration from Elise Blaha :: enJOY it.


I don't understand a word they're saying at entreARTistesmagazine but I am inspired nonetheless!



So there you go. And you had a quick walk around the garden between showers as well. :)