Catching up!!

OMG it's been a long time since I posted! There is so much to share that I'm not sure where to start. Let's see...

First up a few projects for WoW
Words or Whatever chipboard, stencils and wood products

 Inaugural Monthly challenge - November

Still time to get in on this one, post your creation to the Wow FB page.

My October blog post page

My Triple Treat challenge

And then there is my final, leaving post for Gauche Alchemy. I am gonna miss those awesome girls! I spent 3 years creating with them and felt it was time to move over and make room for some fresh creativity.

So the steampunk themed November challenge is my last. Still time to get in on this one too, post your creation here.

This is mine, there are more pics and details if you follow the link above.

And in amongst everything I had a trip to Hong Kong with my youngest. An opportunity to hang out with a long time friend and his young family, see the sights and catch up on several years worth of each other's lives.

Yum cha at the Sai Kung waterfront

A visit to Monkey Mountain, Tai Po Rd.

After a walk through the Sai Kung Old Town.

The amazing cable car ride to the top of the mountain to see..........

The Big Buddha

Mick & Me

We also did The Peak, the ramps, Mon Kok markets, and had a special visit to Mick's place of work to see the Cathay flight simulators, Ed's eyes nearly popped out with excitement! It was only 3 days but we packed heaps into it and had a fantastic time. Many thanks to our gracious hosts xxxx.

Well I think that's enough for one post, I'll put up a challenge page I managed this month shortly.

Thanks for coming by,

A Different Take on Haunted Glamour?

Being the month of October the Gauche Alchemy challenge is all about Halloween. Being an Aussie, I am not. That said, I really did enjoy myself with the mood board this time around and got a little bit naughty. Yes, like this sneak peek says, "It's all about the boobies"

You can see the full page and details here, enjoy.

This is the mood board, click on it to go to the Gauche release post. 

Come and play along, as usual anything goes, post your project here.

Check out the Gauche blog throughout the month to see how the Alchemists are being inspired and have fun!

Thanks for coming by

Wonderful Gauche Inspiration

It's such an inspiring mood board at Gauche Alchemy this month, full of bright colours and sunshiney feelings with just a hint of snark. My project is up on the blog and it's a favourite, I love it so much, so head on over and check out the full page. Here is a sneaky peek...

I used some chippies from Words or Whatever and a background technique I learnt recently from the seriously fabulous Naomi Cox. If you want to get your hands on some cool vintage and retro art supplies for your pages check out the Gauche Alchemy shop here.

Thanks for coming by

Coming Soon!

I am sooooo excited about the Gauche Alchemy shop re-opening soon.

You can be in on it as it happens by following on Facebook here.

Or follow the blog here.

Can.not.wait!

Gauche in June

The new mood board is up at Gauche Alchemy, it's cool, colourful, and Asian inspired. Here is a sneak of my layout, you can see the whole thing over here.

And did I tell you that the shop is to be re-opened soon!

I can.not.wait to see what funky and unique arty finds they will be stocking *squeeeee*

This is the June Mood Board, link up your project here and remember it can be anything inspired in some way by these images, that includes colours, shapes, patterns, etc...

Thanks for coming by

Getting messy with Gauche (and a DT call!!)

There's a new challenge over at Gauche Alchemy for May and the Alchemists are sharing how-to's. Lots of interesting posts are going up.

Mine has a bit of a run down on how I create my unique backgrounds, you can check it out here.

This page was the final result.

There is also an open call for the Gauche Design Team, you can check out all the details here. I must say that this team is truly one-of-a-kind AWESOME!

Thanks for coming by

Ooops, running late

Sorry!

April was a mad month, in the BEST way possible :-D

With a school holiday family trip to Hobart, Tasmania, and a long-weekend art retreat with my most awesome gals, I have spent a fair bit of time without screens. It has been GOOD!

I will catch you up on my fun in a little while but for now here is my Gauche Alchemy project for April. 

You can look here for more details and the amazing mood board. Then check out the blog home page for what the other Alchemists have done. There is some seriously amazing work to inspire you in your creative pursuits.

Thanks for coming by

Love a Quote

Quotes are my fave kick off point for a challenge

so this month over at Gauche Alchemy was perfect.

I had a play in my art journal and came up with this.

Head on over to the blog for more deets and 

the story behind it.

This is the challenge board, you don't have to use it, you can create anything you want just make sure you use a quote. Entries here.

Have fun!

It's a Love / Hate Thing

The February challenge over at Gauche Alchemy is a twist on the regular schmaltzy Valentines and gave me something to think about before I came up with this. It's a layout very much in keeping with my warts and all documentation of life. I love and adore this man for so many reasons... 

Smoking is not one of them.

This is the mood board

and you can check out what the other gals are doing on the blog.

We'd love you to join us, the linky tab is looking a little neglected so come and get your gauche on with us! Anything goes, creatively speaking.

Thanks for coming by

Scrapbooking Memories Masters winning submission

I am still gob-smacked about being chosen to be a Scrapbooking Memories Master this year. I have seen some of the unsuccessful subs and know a few amazing artists who also subbed and so I feel humbled and privileged to have been selected. Here today to show you my entry.

Challenge 1 - Use a 5x7 portrait that engages the viewer.

I used a lot of old rub-ons to make a background for the photo. Messy mists and some stamping with bubble wrap, a bit of punchinella from Gauche Alchemy (shop to re-open soon), and some Dymo.

Challenge 2 - Use a non conventional scrapbooking item
I love briefs like this that really get you thinking outside the box. I used a playing card, some gyprock (drywall) tape, and a piece of old 35mm film which I embossed and inked. The background was done using a piece of basket-weave handmade paper as a stamp with black paint. A bit of colour added with some card scraps and spray inks, Hazel & Ruby tape, Prima wood, Heidi Swapp acrylic letters, and some brads and Dymo

Challenge 3 - Focus on Journalling
I love telling stories on my pages too, even if sometimes I have to hide them. This was another opportunity to use my old typewriter (love!), I had to trim the page to fit it through but the join is hardly noticeable. Again a misty background using a heart stencil and spray inks, a gorgeous WoW leaf frame (painted and stamped), Prima flowers painted with Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, Kaisercraft rhinestone flourishes, Dymo, and old chippy numbers coloured up.

Challenge 4 - Art Journal cover

This was messy and fun. I dug into my Gauche Alchemy stash of vintage book pages and fabric and used similar colours to challenge 1 because I had them out at the time. The wood letters are from Pink Paislee.

And that's it.

It was fun and obviously worth it, although I must admit to feeling completely overwhelmed by the huge amount of prizes so stay tuned this year

for a couple of giveaways.

Thanks so much for coming by

Gauche Alchemy November Challenge

Have you seen it yet?

It is all gold and glittery and inspired by Gustav Klimt.

This is the page I did

Gold is very popular right now in the Scrapbooking industry so there is an amazing array of products that would suit this challenge. I have used some Prima sparklets, Martha Stewart gold leaves, Heidi Swapp glitter frames (which I cut up), Viva Decor Inka Gold through a stencil, Twinkling H2Os, gold mesh, and anything that wasn't coloured I painted gold.

There are some close-ups and details on the Gauche Alchemy blog where you can also see the amazing projects done by the other creatives.

This is the mood board for November.

How gorgeous is this!

Hope you play along and share your work with us.

Thanks for dropping by

A taste of Halloween

I totally loved the mood board inspiration for October from Gauche Alchemy, it's up here if you want to play along (and I think you should). I could have gone a dozen different ways with it but chose to do a page using creepy photos I have been taking for years because I am just drawn to creepy, it's in my blood (lol) and this page explains why I suppose.

There are some close-ups and a little back story here if you want more :-)

Thanks for coming by

New place for challenges

With the Gauche Alchemy store on hiatus the powers that be have been so gracious as to keep us Alchemists on and give us a cool new monthly challenge to play with.

I feel blessed to be able to continue to create with this amazing bunch of women and I'm very excited about the challenges we might be given, knowing the quirky and down to earth natures of these girls.

Our first challenge was based on Frida Kahlo and after some soul searching

I came up with this journal page.

It was based on this mood board

When you have your project finished make sure you link it up to the Entries tab on the blog.

Can't wait to see what you do!!

Guesting :-)

Twice this month, what fun!

Firstly at UmWow Studio, I feel so privileged to have been asked, love their products and their Creative Team is amazing!

This is the page I did

If you follow the link you can see all the UmWow goodies I used on it :-)

And secondly at Berry71bleu because Gauche Alchemy is sponsoring one of the prizes, there are many more as well so you should head on over and play,

still a little time left. I should also say it may be your last chance in a while to nab yourself some Gauche goodness as the shop is currently on hiatus and will be until further notice.

 Here is my page....

This month's theme is Favorite Movie/TV Show & the challenge is Multiple Photos. I have a lot of little pics from meeting fabulous crafty people through scrapbooking and so my page was inspired by 'Friends' and the black and gold colour scheme of the images in the mood board.

There are still a few days 'til the end of the month

so go get your scrap on and play along.

Thanks for coming by

Feeling Sketchy

UmWow has the best sketches!

I love the fabulous one up for June so I had to play along again.

Here is my page using the Light Bulb Mask (a personal fave!), A heart from the Confetti pack, and a circle from the Layered pack.

I also used some Nature Walk patterned paper and Gauche Alchemy sequins.

Alpha is from American Crafts, gold paint from Kaisercraft.

and this is the sketch...

It's an easy one, but so gorgeous!

Thanks for dropping by