Joy!

This week's challenge at the Create:Blog is to create a Christmas card using non-traditional colours. I love the lime green/light blue/pink colour combo for Christmas, so this was an easy task.

Pin It

I bought the We R Memory Keepers flocked lace in a Crafty Steals' deal a couple of years ago, and I am so happy I finally got to use it. It was a bit tricky as it is not as white as it seems when it has the backing paper, so I had to use two layers, which took some time and effort to make them match perfectly. Totally worth it because I love the delicate look of the lace tree. The buttons are from my button box and the star is by Teresa Collins. The patterned paper is not Christmas paper, but Watermelon Gazpacho Soup by Jillibean. And the fabric behind the card is part of my new Christmas fabric stash, not sure what I will do with this one yet, just liked and bought it, inspiration will come soon enough! (and that is how my stash begins to grow).

Woo hooo!!!!

Wooo hooo!!!! I have finally found a fellow scrapper who lives in the area and we are getting together to scrap!!!! I have missed my scrapping buddies (and friends) so much, I am really looking forward to our crop!!!!!!!!! I know, too many exclamation marks,  but I am that happy!!!!!!!!!!!

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you a very quick project I made this morning, based on this week's sketch at Let's Scrap, 11-23-11. Just a little bit of cutting, pasting and embellishing, a quick page for my sister's wedding album, which is getting thicker but is not much closer to getting finished....

Lots of Jillibean Soup paper, die cuts, alphabets and pins, together with a BG metal flower and MME buttons. Here is a close up of the layout. Love those buttons, and the pins are totally yummy.

Fa la la

Christmas is now in the air everywhere. In Trinidad it means Parang sounds anywhere you go, and you can't help getting into Christmas mood. This kind of mood made working with next month's Freehand Scraps' kit SOOOOO easy! It is a yummy kit full of the most fabulous Christmas papers, die cuts and embellies, plus some extra details you'll enjoy for sure. Here are some sneak peeks for you to have a look at it:

For a look at the projects, come back on December 1st. I will have a little Christmas giveaway, too. Now, off to sewing Christmas pijamas for the whole family. Considering that I had never even threaded the needle of a sewing machine until last week, they are turning out pretty fab! And my daughter is so happy she keeps thanking me every time she puts them on. Can I ask for anything else? So I'd like to thank this tutorial, which made it possible, it is easy, clear, and the results are fabulous, don't miss it:

http://mycottoncreations.blogspot.com/2010/07/christmas-eve-pajama-pants-tutorial.html

40% OFF at FREEHAND SCRAPS!

Now through Monday, November 28th get your scrap on with some great Black Friday deals at Freehand Scraps!! 
40% off ALL kits!! 
Value grab bags with $30 retail value for only $14.50!! 
There are so many yummy things it is hard to resist temptation!!!! Click here for more info. Enjoy your weekend!

Ready to use up your Christmas stash?

The challenge today at Practical Scrappers is using up your Christmas stash. I bought lots of Christmas stuff a couple of years ago when we did a charity Christmas fair in Tripoli and I was in charge of making cards, so this was the right challenge for me! I took a bunch of die cuts I have had for ages and used only once, and I decided to find a way to use them ALL in a layout. Here is the result:

Pin It

Not your usual Christmas colours, but still a good combination. I also used some brads that I've had since I began scrapping, and they look great, too! Now I am ready to use some of my newest Christmas stash, and it is YUMMY!!!

Create:blog challenge - Cards using wood

Today I'd like to share a card I made for this week's card challenge at the Create:Blog, which asked us to use wood on a card. As soon as I saw it I thought I still had one of those yummy wooden rulers that came with Freehand Scraps' November kit, Sweater Weather. I had so much fun making this card, and I did it really ahead of time, but I then forgot about it and did not mail it :(. Anyway, here it is:

Pin It

The badge you can't see says HOME SWEET HOME, which I thought was very appropriate for this image. I am working on lots of Christmassy projects, so there will be bells jingling in this blog very soon!!!!

Thank you cards and Studio Calico Giveaway

Today's feature at Practical Scrappers is cards saying THANK YOU. I have been having lots of fun with shaped cards in my Silhouette, and so has DD, who tries every card with me and gives them her personal touch. For this card I chose a flowerpot design by Lori Whitlock that I loved at first sight.

Pin It

It is so bright and cheerful that it could make anybody happy. The pot is the front and the envelope as well, inside there is another pot with some space to write a message (sorry, I forgot to take a picture when I took this, and it is raining now!). 

If you'd like to get some inspiration, visit Practical Scrappers to see all the fabulous Thank You cards featured today. And if you'd like to win a Studio Calico kit (Yes! Isn't it a fantastic prize?), click here to see Practical Scrapper's SC giveaway.

Layouts x 3!

I am so happy to be scrapping again this week! First of all, I added a double layout to my sister's wedding album. I started with this page, based on last week's Sketch Inspiration's sketch.

Pin It

And then I added another page to the left, keeping the banner and the same kind of embellies.

Pin It

Almost all the materials I used for these layouts were part of last month's Studio Calico kit. Loved the colours, and all the butterflies. I even decided to use the negative of the kraft butterflies in the layout!

And that was not all! I had some creative time to spare, so I made a layout for this week's fabulous DT challenge at Let's Scrap. I had to use something on the layout that was not a scrapbooking supply, so I used some stars that I got from hair bands. We have plenty of those at home!

Pin It

I love the look of the tags as a background. I find it difficult sometimes to open a new pack of supplies and use it up on a single layout, like with these tags, but I think this was really worth it. If you want to play in this challenge, you have time until Thursday at midnight.

30 minute photo banner

For my Freehand Scraps altered project this month, I decided to create a photo banner. It was a very simple process that took less than half an hour, and if you'd like to give it a try, I have posted a tutorial here. 

Pin It

I am finally working on a layout! And it is a double pager, believe it or not. I used this week's Sketch Inspiration's sketch for the right side, and I am now working on the left one. I will show it to you later on, once I have finished both sides. 

Cards with no sentiments

The Create: blog had a no-sentiment-card challenge this week. I haven't participated in their challenges for some time (October was a crazy month!) and I decided to make a no sentiment card this morning. I wasn't sure it was going to make the deadline but it did, and it is always an honour to find one of my cards among so many gorgeous examples. You can see my card below, and if you want to drool over some fabulous no-sentiment creations, visit the Create: blog.

Pin It

List of supplies: 

Cutting file: Lori Whitlock for Silhouette

Patterned Paper: My Little Shoebox, Pebbles Inc

Rhinestones: Doodlebug

Pins: Webster's

Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon

Markers: Gelwriters, Uniball

Gue: Glue dots

Sweater weather?

Well, living where we do, it is never sweater weather, and I sometimes really miss the feeling of warmth a sweater brings... that kind of feeling is what I got when I started working with this month's kit from Freehand Scraps. There's warmth in the colours and the materials, and you feel ready for a cozy layout as soon as you open the box! Here are the layouts I've created this month:

Pin It

This is my favourite layout this month. I used a Pagemaps sketch, and got inspired by my friends Kathy Perry and Betty Anne Orr, who used these circle/squares for a Let's Scrap challenge, with fabulous results. I just had to lift that idea!

Pin It

This one was so easy to make, as the paper itself was like a sketch! Just stick the picture and start embellishing. Don't you just love those rulers?

Pin It

And you'll have to take my word for this, but this layout looks much better in real life; I couldn't get a good enough picture of it. Just one look at this splashy paper and I realised I wanted to make a layout about the Splashers' pool at Atlantis Hotel in Nassau. And I even made my own letters with cardstock and glitter. I think this was also based on a Pagemaps sketch, but I can't find it right now to confirm... :(

I also worked on an altered project I love, and I will share it tomorrow. If you want to have a look at all the inspiration in the gallery and the yummy things in the Sweater Weather kit, visit Freehand Scraps!