July ARTastic challenge

It's been a while since I shared any papercrafting projects but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things, starting with this month's ARTastic challenge. The challenge for July is to make a project inspired by the following artwork by Roger Kemp, and to also use pen.

I was inspired to by the colour pink to make a pocket page featuring some photos of my daughter on her first birthday.

I used a pen to outline some of the elements (including the hand-cut "1") and to add the journalling. It's amazing to see how much she has grown in just a year. As you can see from the layout below (that I made earlier but forgot to share here), she was such a tiny little angel.

As promised in my last post, here's a look at the quilt that I finished up for her first birthday (one of the projects from my quarter 2 list of proposed finishes).

Given that it seems to take me a year to finish a quilt, I had better get started on the one for her second birthday :)

Kat

May Kraft Plus challenge

Just a quick post to share a layout I made for this month's Kraft Plus challenge:

I thought this challenge was a good opportunity to document our tradition of making the 17th of each month a "hot date day". It's not always exciting or romantic (especially now that we have three young children), but my husband and I try to make time once a month to do something nice together.

I've addressed the "date" criteria in three ways; the word "date" in the title, a mini calendar and a date stamp.

I can't wait to see what changes are in store for the Kraft Plus challenge next month.

Kat

Happening now layout

I'm back again, linking up another last minute layout for the National Scrapbook Day challenges hosted by the Cut Shoppe. The final challenge is layering with a cut file. For this one I used three different cut files from the Cut Shoppe; Geometric Art;  and Guy Stuff.

Iused the Geometric Art cut file to make the patterned background. I'm really enjoying backing cut files with different pieces of patterned paper. It feels almost like making a quilt - but much faster. I also used the What's Happenin' and Guy stuff cut files to make the title and some of the embellisments. The controller share was perfect for these pictures.

I've now finished all the NSD challenges (with less than an hour to spare!). My cutting machine has seen more use this week than it has all year, and I can't wait to use it some more.

Kat

Love your laugh layout

Today I'm sharing a layout that I made for the May Scrapbook Boutique challenge, which has a pink theme:

I was inspired by the colour scheme of pinks, reds and gold to scrap a silly photo of my daughter and I. I found some paper from the Paige Evans Oh My Heart collection that matched the colours and went from there.

I added a cut file to the background (the free Heartbreaker cut file from The Cut Shoppe) to give the layout a delicate touch (inspired by the delicate flowers) and added some machine stitching down the centre stems of the cut file. I love how it allowed me bend up the sides of some of the hearts and give the layout some more dimension.

I'm loving the look of pink and yellow together and might have to revisit this colour scheme again - perhaps as a quilt.

Kat

A layout about me

I don't usually make layouts about myself (I'm usually the one behind the camera) but today I thought I'd play along with the April Scrap the Girls challenge and document a little bit about myself (or at least one aspect of myself). Most people know me as 'Kat the data nerd' or 'Kat the craft addict', but not 'Kat the group fitness instructor'.

This month I finally feel like I'm getting back in shape after having twins. Not many people appreciate how hard I've been working to make that happen or why it is important to me. I thought it would be nice to document my progress so I took a couple of selfies at the gym this morning (I never take selfies) and stuck them on a page with a few extra stickers and a whole bunch of journalling.

It's not the fanciest page I've ever made but I quite like how the page acted as a prompt for the journalling. I'm also linking up with the April Scrapbook Boutique challenge (black and white plus one) since I've used a colour scheme of black and white plus different shades of green (from a yellowish mustard green to a dark sage green).

Kat

April Kraft+ Challenge

Today I'm sharing a layout that was inspired by this months Kraft+ challenge.

It has been aaaages since I joined in the Kraft+ challenge but this one was an easy one for me to decide what to scrap about: my little sister's wedding.

For the 'something old' I've used an older Kaisercaft paper collection, which is actually called 'Something Blue'. I used a couple of blue bits and pieces from the collection as well, just to make sure the 'something blue' criteria was well and truly covered ;)

For the 'something new', I used a 'new' (previously unused) stencil to add a bit of detail to the background. The 'something borrowed' critera was a little harder but I think I've covered it three ways; 1) the design of the layout was borrowed (scraplifted) from this layout I saw on instagram earlier this week, 2) the lace was borrowed (re-used) from the wedding invitations and 3) the vellum elements were borrowed from another collection (I'm normally a one collection per project kind of gal so this is unusual for me).

I haven't added any journalling as this layout is actually for my sister's scrapbook and she'll add it later. She's not a scrapper herself (I am trying to convert her to the dark side) but has an album of pages my Mum and I have made for her (often at her request).

While I had the photos and supplies out I also made a couple of quick PL pages for my 2016 album.

I  still feel like I'm missing my scrappy mojo, but I'm hopeful that if I keep going with my 100 day project I'll eventually find it again.

Kat

Scrap the Boys April challenge

I've been plugging away at my 100day project, spending a bit of time each day (even if it's only a few minutes) playing with paper. Today I managed to get in more than an hour (thanks Mr. Gray!) and managed to finish up a few projects I've been woking on this week, including a layout for the Scrap the Boys April challenge:

For this one I used a geometric cut file background to make a layout featuring one of my favourite pics of my little man that I hadn't yet scrapped.

If you look closely you can see lots of different geometric shapes; stars, circles, rectangles; squares, triangles and diamonds.

I also made a card for the April card challenge, but only belatedly realised that it was only supposed to be black, white and one other colour. I guess that's what happens when you try to scrap while severely sleep deprived!

I'm still quite pleased with the card and will pop it away for my little man's birthday later this year. He loves all things space and is a fan of sparkly things so I'm pretty sure he'll like it too.

While I had my papers out, I also made a project life spread about his visit to Scienceworks Museum last week.

It's been a very long time since I played along with the Scrap the Boys challenge, but I hope to get back to participating regularly, especially now that I have two sons to scrap about.

Kat

April Jot Magazine challenge

My scrappy mojo seems to have gone AWOL since I fell down the quilting rabbit-hole, so this year I thought I'd participate in the 100 day project and commit to spending a little bit of playing with paper each day for 100 days. Whether it's working on a layouts, pocket pages, greeting cards or tags, or handmade embellishments, or just a few minutes of paper play in the car on the way to work, I hope that I can rekindle my love of papercraft through daily practice.

To get me started, I thought I would play along with the Jot Magazine April challenge. Their stunning moodboards are always great for getting the creative juices flowing.

The grey and yellows and the different fabrics in the moodboard made me think of some photos that I took of my children last year, so I made a double page layout documenting these.

I thought that the quilt that the babies are lying on was a good match for the colours and textures in the moodboard. I also added a few pops of pink (in different shades), and some black and white stripes to match the other moodboard elements.

The whole time I was playing with this colour palette I couldn't help think that it would make a great colour scheme for a quilt. I finally gave into temptation and pulled out some fabric to match. I think this will become the basis for this year's beehive quilt (thanks for the inspo, Kim!).

I love how one craft can inspire another. Hopefully the urge to quilt doesn't take over again and I'm able to stay on track with my 100 day papercrafting project.

Kat

January Scrapbooking Top 50 challenge

This year I'm thrilled to be staying on the Scrapbooking Top 50 Aus Design Team for another year of fun challenges. For January we have a fabulous sketch challenge to play along with. You can find all the details on the Facebook page. We are also trialing loading entries to our Facebook page instead of the blog this month to see if that makes things easier for everybody.

For my Design Team example, I made a layout about the difficulties in taking photos of twin babies. I started with the mixed media background, but scraped big lines or acrylic paint rather than the splatters pictured in the sketch. I also moved the smaller cluster from the top left to the bottom right, but hopefully you can still see the bones of the sketch on my layout.

I really liked the way my background came out so I kept the embellishments minimal to let it shine. I also didn't want to take away from the photos too much - just look at those facial expressions. Priceless!

This weekend looks to be a scorcher in Melbourne so I'll be locking myself in the craft room and playing with paper - anything that doesn't involve turning on the iron. I hope you find some crafty time too.

Kat

November SBT50 challenge

I'm a few days late in posting, but thought I'd share my project for the Scrapbooking Top 50 November mid-month reveal. This month we have a fun sketch challenge to play with:

Sleep deprivation seems to be killing my scrappy mojo at the moment, but sketch challenges are perfect for times like these. I stuck pretty closely to the sketch and kept it clean and simple, which I think worked well for this photo of my two special guys.

Head over to the SBT50 blog for all the details and to upload your entry. You've got till the end of the month to play along.

Kat

September SBT50 challenge

Today I'm also sharing a page I made for the September SBT50 challenge. This month we have a beautiful bright moodboard to inspire you:

I was inspired by the silhouette of the ballet dancer to scrap a pic of me from my ballet days. I used papers that included elements from the mood board (music notes, paint texture, butterflies etc.) and made a vellum pocket to hold a recital booklet that my Mum kept for almost 30 years!

It's not too late to play along - entries are open until midnight 30th September. We'd love to see how this mood board inspires you.

Kat

September ARTastic challenge

I'm quite late in posting the September ARTastic challenge, but better late than ever, right? This month our challenge is to create something inspired by our feature artwork (Peter Graham's bright and vibrant painting called Monaco Coast) and to use paint.

I was inspired by the beach scene to scrap a photo of my boys at the beach. I've used watercolour paints in the background and have chosen colours that match the colours in the painting.

The inspiration for the paint work came from a lesson in an online class by Paige Evans. I used a large star shape as a mask and covered the background with a coat of gesso and splattered lots of different watercolours.  I usually avoid adding lots of mixed-media artist but I quite enjoyed this technique and am really pleased with how it turned out.

There's still a few days to play along with the challenge, and two great prizes up for grabs. I hope you'll give it a go.

Kat

August SBT50 Aus challenge

The mid-month reveal for the August SBT50 Aus challenge is now up on the SBT50 Challenge blog. This month we have a fun sketch challenge to play along with:

The sketch can be rotated, flipped or adjusted, as long as we can see the bones of the sketch in your creation! For my DT example I rotated the sketch 90 degrees to suit the photos that I wanted to use.

Head over the the SBT50 Challenge blog for all the details and more DT inspiration. You've got till the end of the month so there is still plenty of time to play along.

Kat

August ARTastic challenge

Today is mid-month reveal day for the ARTastic challenge blog. This month we feature this striking artwork by Joshua Miels called Illustrations.

The challenge for August is to create a project inspired by the above artwork and use Black and White PLUS One (which can be any colour). For my example, I made a pocket page using black, white and gold. I was inspired by the faces in the artwork to document my children at their current ages.

Head over to the ARTastic challenge blog for all the details and lots more examples. We hope you can join in this month.

Kat

July Kraft + challenge

I haven't played along with a scrappy challenge for a looong time, but I have two very good reasons for that (and their names are Gregory and Harriet). However, they are now two months old and quite enjoy being in a baby carrier so I've managed to get a bit of scrapbooking done.

I thought I'd play along with this month's Kraft + challenge, which is to use roses three ways:

For this challenge I made a layout documenting the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy, which was not all roses. I wanted to document the struggle but also how grateful I was to make it to 36 weeks.

My layout uses roses in six different ways. In addition to the word "roses", I've also used a rose patterned paper, rose die cuts, resin roses and some rose washi tape.

I also busted out a Heidi Swapp screen printing kit I had never used before and added some screen printed roses to my background.

I love how scrappy challenges encourage me to try new techniques and supplies. Fingers crossed I can squeeze in one or two more by the end of the month.

Kat

SBT50 July challenge

The July mid-month reveal is now up on the SBT50 blog. This month we have a pretty mood board to play along with.

For this challenge I was inspired by the image of the pooch to scrap a photo of my fur baby and I from when we were both quite a bit younger. My outfit also goes quite well with the other main image in the mood board - denim jeans with a black and white top.

I used mainly papers from the Kaisercraft Boho Dreams collection because they included lots of patterns present in the mood board; a nice black and white stripe, demin print and pretty florals. To finish the layout I added some black and gold glitter embellishments from the Crate Paper Hello Love collection. How perfect is that tag!

You've got till midnight 31 July to link up your entry and go in the draw to win a $50 prize from ScraphappyKat. We can's wait to see what you create.

Kat

SBT50 June challenge

It's already the middle of the month, which means it is time for the mid-month reveal for the Scrapbooking Top 50 Australia challenge. This month we are challenging you to scrap some non-perfect photos:

For my Design Team example I made a layout about our trip to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum last year. I'd been putting off scrapping the photos from this event because they were far from perfect; out of focus, taken from weird angles and had a yellowish tinge. However, I really wanted to document our visit, and these were the only photos I had.

I ended up using a sheet of patterned paper that was cream based (which helped to make the photos appear brighter) and printed the photos smaller. I also included a memorabilia pocket (to hold the brochure) and a large block of journalling to take the focus away from the not-so-perfect photos.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out and am glad to have captured this memory. I hope you'll be inspired to play along with these challenge and scrap some real, not perfect, photos.

Kat