Skissedilla #177 'Fabulous Details'

Loved the sketch over at Skissedilla (when do they ever do a bad one??) and managed to find time to do another layout for the Italian album.

These statues are in the garden of le Vittoriale, the home of d'Annunzio. There are amazing pieces all over the place some are crammed into corners, a real place of decadence, including a full size war ship and an aeroplane! I fell in love with these two :0)

new washi tape :0) it was the tape that inspired the misting: Tattered Angels Firefly, Comic Shimmer Pewter Grey with a little copper thrown into the mix and Lake Mist paint watered down and flicked.

Anna Griffin rosette, Heidi Swapp butterfly, Basic Grey journal spot

Heidi Swapp stamp and an Elle Studio tag stamp

Here is the super duper sketch that inspired me:



Thanks for popping in,

Ali x 

Birthday Boys....a couple of cards

Both my Godson and DH celebrate their birthdays next week and here are the cards that I will be sending them :0)

this idea has been pinched from the PLS blog. Paper weaving with old Basic Grey papers and a bit of kraft and a PLS journal card stuck onto a homemade tag. A Spellbinders die cut label, edged in white gel pen and stamped with a Hero Arts stamp and a Anna Griffin star.

weird angle I know but the camera wouldn't focus with all that white! Another bit of lifting from Etsy ;0) I did the graphics in Word and then overstamped. Punched some holes for the tag and then matted onto pop dots. The stamps are Hero Arts and American Crafts...the little insignificant stamps that you don't take much notice of on a sheet!!

Thanks for popping in,

Ali x  

CSI #38 a before and after look at 'Beautiful'

I loved this weeks's Case File at CSI, the colours are so soft and subtle and almost monochromatic...right up my street!

I knew that I had some Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden papers that were perfect for this case, however I kind of forgot my style and was just following all the prompts without really putting my spin on it.

It has taken me a long time to 'know' my style, do you know what I mean? So that you understand where I am coming from I will give you the example of when we got our first home. The only real influence we had was our parents' and extended families' homes, at 20 years old we were the first ones out of friends to set up  a home, they were all living in rented or student accommodation! In effect, our decorating style was to mimic those influences. Over the years we have found 'our style' and it is really quite minimalist. We love wooden floors, white walls, modern art, the odd splash of colour and always, always one piece of object d'art rather than a collection! Poles apart from our parents!!

The same can be said for my scrapbooking style. I love to look and admire other people's work. My blogging friends that I follow avidly are brilliant at covering every inch of paper! However, whilst I can appreciate their style I don't feel comfortable doing it.....I struggle to use a coloured background!! When I first started scrapping I 'mimicked' pages that I loved and once I discovered the land of blog and following, my style was all over the place!! Now, my scrapbook style is reflective of my home, lots of white, minimalist and the odd splash of colour!

So why are you telling us this woman, I hear you cry, just get on with it! Well, dear readers, I am telling you all this in order to set up my post for today and show you 2 versions of the same challenge. The first one.....following the prompts...hating it...ripping all the pieces off......to make the second one.....Ali style!

BP Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden

Pink Paislee Artisan Bird, Flowers from iamroses.com

Mats cut on Silhouette and a little stamping and embossing.....can't remember the last time I did that!

and here is the one that I am happy with:

Evidence: colours and sketch used.

Birds and flowers. I fussy cut the bee from the original BP paper. I didn't notice that I had ripped some of the wording on the banner till writing this post....oh well, call it distressing! The rub on is an old one from Basic Grey.

I added a tag of the BP to my journaling so that it can be pulled out to read. Puffy hearts...so ancient I have no idea where they came from! I have stuck washi tape behind the die cut banner...bet you didn't notice it on the last lo!

Journal about a pet

Ahh, so much calmer :0)

Here is the challenge at CSI, pop over and have a play there is still loads of time!!



Thanks for popping in today, hope to see you soon!

Ali x 

happy times....a Frosted Designs challenge :0)

I finally got around to sorting all my photos out for Project Italy, all neatly in their pockets in chronological order.....OCD Queen at her best!!

So whilst the 4 x 6ers will take a little time I thought I would whizz up another 12 x 12 of the hotel and make this my first page.

When I saw the challenge at FD this week is to use triangles I had to play along...they are definitely this season's must have!! In my own personal challenge not to buy any more stash (except for my monthly Scraptastic Kit) I made my 'stamp' out of Cut and Dry foam....works a treat :0)

BP is Studio Calico, from my kit, as are the OA circle tags. The stars are a die cut from a Glitz transparency, the chevrons are cut from another piece of SC paper and the word is courtesy of the ever present Silhouette!

paint, paint and paint on this one!

a little bit of mist never hurts :0)

I used white embossing paste on the bracket then dabbed a little paint on

It was so nice to do something with Frosted Design again....it's been a while....I won't leave it so long next time :0)

Thanks for popping in,

Ali x 

CSI #37 'Dream'

Not very original as titles go but I found this stamp and I really wanted to use it!!

Loved this week's case file at CSI....if you haven't played before, you are missing a treat!

Another lo for the Italian album...at this rate it's going to be all 12 x 12s and Project Italy will be out the window :0)

super, super simple: no paint, no misting, no patterned paper....I wanted the photo to be the main event (as it should be) Evidence: colours and sketch used

Prima circle and dream stamps from an ancient 12 x 12 set! Yacht from Studio Calico painted and inked to try and get the right colour....NOT! A die cut dictionary page...please note it's the definition of boat LOL, a 'circle' of thread and a button. The angles...what would you call them????...are the waste from a thing I cut on the Silhouette for this lo but I liked the leftovers better :0)

washi tape :0)

my journaling that had a bit of an ink mishap, it  will be stuck to the back of the page. I know it's not strictly note paper but I really do like writing notes on graph paper!!

So here is the Case File and the evidence that you can interpret as you see fit...evidently, I hear you cry!! Enjoy :0)



Thanks for popping in,

Ali x 

'Beauty' Skissedilla Challenge #176

I squeezed this challenge in between drop off and pick up times at Nursery yesterday :0)

The photo is of a post that was jutting out of Lake Garda...I don't know why, or what it's for, but I loved the beauty of it......hence the title!

background paper is MME , the black dp is.......get ready Lizzy...Websters Pages!!! Yes ok I know not the most flowery of all I own but at least I have used one of them!! I cut a random square background on the Silhouette, but I'm not sure it's obvious on the photo.

MME label and woodgrain stamps and a wee bit of a PP screen print. Blue alcohol ink and Tumbled Glass Distress Stain. Studio Calico stars, some have been swiped with an Aqua Paint Dabber

Tim Holtz ticket stamp and MME arrow and a new buy from Stash Panache the tin button :0)

 inking and misting :0)

I wanted to keep the colours 'monochromatic' to echo the photo. I used the inspirational Skissedilla sketch

 love the simplicity :0)

Thanks for popping in,

Ali x 

'You Make Me So Happy'

I know that with that title you are expecting to see one of my loved ones...well it is one of my loved ones but not of the warm blooded variety :0)

It's another of my lo's for the Italian album and what is more Italian than good coffee??? Oh ok, maybe pizza, past and ice cream would be the first things to spring to mind and I certainly had my fair share of them, but coffee is a staple part of my diet and I LOVE it!!

This layout was done for the Scraptastic Club's September Challenge #2. Use either colour palette from the new kits and make an embellishment from a  punch.....done!

I am struggling to cut into my last few patterned papers......I know I should but I just can't! I supplemented my kit with a handful of scraps from PP and OA, plus some homemade washi.

delicious tags from my kit, MME stamp, my punched banner

I stamped the grid but it was too dark so I over stitched in white to tone it down. MME stamp and a GCD heart stamp

Beautiful SC heart.....struggling to use these too! Die cut label stamped with a MME stamp and edged with a Pro Marker

I adore this colour combination and am having so much fun with my kit from Scraptastic.....looking forward to next month's and really need to break into the August one, but it is soooo beautiful!!! LOL

Thanks for popping in,

Ali x

'It's Written in the Stars'

G'day! There's another beaut of a challenge over at ScrapFriends (forgive my attempt at an Australian accent!)

This time it's a colour palette challenge....I am really into these at the moment!

I have scrapped another lo of DH in Italy, I am going to have to do some multi photo layouts or use some 4 x 6 pocket pages as there are far too many to go down the traditional route...thing is, I am totally loving doing my 12 x 12s these days :0)

Stamping, Mists, Silhouette and Die Cutting ....aka lots of fiddling about! BPs are Bazzill Fig Swirl and Studio Calico Tiny Chevron. I have stamped the Kaisercraft Number Background stamp in white. The photo has been mounted onto some textured kraft, PP Nantucket and Studio Calico Heyday.

Letters are American Crafts Remarks, the background on the banner is Kaisercraft and the sentiment is an old one, Cosmic Shimmer Chalk Ink, Studio Calico stars

Elle Studio Notes stamp, Teresa Collins star stamp

Here is the challenge and also the sketch that I used from ScrapFriends...told you I would be back for more ;0)

       


Thanks so much for popping in,

Ali x

'Slip, Slide, Away'

I am on a roll!!!

The truth is that I have had a chunk of time and have beavered away on some challenges but am drip feeding them to the blog.....I don't want to overload you :0)

This one is for the ScrapFit Workout #76, use the colour palette. A deliciously cool and sophisticated colour combo....I adore it!! I did have to cheat a bit though and added a dash of pink to echo DGD's T-Shirt. I know that I shouldn't but hey, without the pink it would have sat on the easel and now it can go in her album :0)

Lots of stamp play on this one! Tim Holtz, MME and Martha Stewart dot stamps, Cosmic Shimmer and paint splats, al little bit of ink through a mask and voila....one background!

MME Miss Caroline papers and those lovely little freebie printables again!

Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type letters.....love these!!

Hop on over to here to have a play with this little beauty



Thanks for popping in,

Ali x 

'So Happy Together'

Don't you just love it when you follow someone and they lead you to a happy place?

I have been following Lizzy Hill for a while now, our styles are very different but our tastes are the same...we often discover that we have the same things in our stash! Anyway, Lizzy is on the DT for ScrapFriends and I have to tell you they have the nicest sketches I have seen for some time :0)

With my new found scrapping time I was eager to give their latest one a go and will certainly be back tracking as there isn't one I don't LOVE!

So here is another lo for the Italian album of my Mum and Dad. Completely different to what I would normally do...3 4 x 6" photos on one page??? Unheard of! However, I do kind of like it :0) Of course being this far removed from my comfort zone I had to return to a white background!!

Sadly we are back to grey days here in the UK and the flash has caught the edges of the photos, but you get the idea :0)

Lots of washi tape loveliness and a resourceful bit of crafting...the orange strips are the packaging from my new Elle Studio stamps!

This title is a freebie that I found on Pinterest. The heart and star stamps are super old Hero Arts - I am trying to use stamps on all my layouts - especially the old ones :0)

The 'comfy' sticker is Crate Paper, and the label at the bottom is typed, then die cut on the GC and then edged with Pro Marker ...it's a bit of a trend in this craft room at the mo!

Elle Studio striped cut out, arrow from Studio Calico, the heart stamp is MME and the 2 tag is another freebie from Pinterest - I must start making a note so that I can give them a shout out and a thank you! The background stamp is from Prima

So hop on over to ScrapFriends and have a play with this sketch:



Thanks so much for popping in,

Ali x 

CSI #36 'Toughnut'

......and another one!

Oh I am loving all this scrap time :0)

This time I am having a go at the latest CSI challenge, there was a time when I started on it the minute it was uploaded, these days I am hot footing it to get it done before time runs out!!

When I first saw the challenge I was a bit stumped, especially as this month there is an added element to use the OUAS sketch. Yes, their sketches are beautiful and I see people make spectacular things with them, but it is as far removed from my style as you can get! However, the purpose of a sketch and the Case File is to inspire you and that is just what this one did.......

Evidence: Colour palette and sketch used. Scattered journaling, Organic Shapes (circles), fibre, mesh (stamped)

artistic license with the washi but I needed a hinge for the photo and this was the closest I had to the colour palette! the banner is die cut PP Nantucket, circles are misted using diluted chalk ink and a Heidi Swapp mask. The tab is from OA 

Letters are Prima, the chipboard butterfly is Studio Calico, the mesh stamp is PP Screen Prints

I printed one of the Co-Ordinates papers and then journaled onto it. The photo flaps down so that you can read it.

Here is the case file if you would like to have a play:



give it a go, you won't regret it!!

Thanks for popping in,

Ali x