Shine On

Every now and then Gemma & I set a scrappy challenge to help the mojo get moving. This month was my turn and I decided to set us a colour palette challenge 

I admit I found this harder than I thought at first mainly because I was so obsessed with getting the colours to be spot on. But then after looking through my stash for the third time I found if I loosened up I had plenty of things which were similar tones to the colours and used these. I then picked a photo from last summer as the colours screamed summer to me and made this 

The background paper is an old MME paper which I had two of thanks to grab boxes, so I decided to be brave and experiment with some paint (if I went wrong I had another sheet to fall back on)  I used Broken China distress paint and just scribbled onto the paper after deciding roughly where my photo would be. I had to mat this onto a sheet of Basic Grey paper as it did buckle once it had dried. I delved into my stash and used some paper from Amy Tan Sketchbook collection as these fitted with the scheme. 

Embellishment wise I used some old Dear Lizzy Polaroid cut aparts, some Lillybee Designs stickers and a Heidi Swapp flower from Gemma, Studio Calico tab stickers and a doily. For the title I used my favourite Poolside Thickers. The filter I used on the photo inspired the title. 

52 Cards Wk27: Pick a colour or two

For week 27 over on the 52 card challenge Nat gave us another colour scheme challenge

When this challenge went up I had just finished my Sketchy Scrappers layout using the Flea Market collection from Maggie Holmes and thought the colours from this collection went great with the colour palette. I had a couple of friends birthdays coming up so decided to use the palette to make them a card each, I made them the same card but ssh don't tell anyone! 

I used a couple of scraps from the collection, the floral paper had most of the colours in it. For the sentiment I used Elle's Studio letter stickers and a Flea Market project life card. 

Sketchy Scrappers: Never Fails to make me Smile

This months sketch on Sketchy Scrappers was set by the lovely Sheena who chose this sketch, with the optional extra to include flowers 

I dug my neglected flower stash out ready to use, but then as the layout progressed I needed up barely touching them and instead used flowered patterned paper. 

I mainly used Maggie Holmes Flea Market papers, project life cards and embellishments. There are flowers on the paper, project life card and a crochet flower which I had randomly on my desk. 

A few months back there was a photo a day prompt for never fails to make me smile and I had used this photo asy photo for that day, hence the title. 

Fire Mountain: Studio Challenges June Triangle Challenge

The challenge for this month over on The Studio Challenges blogwas to use triangles. I found this a challenge as I've never used triangles on a layout as I wasn't really sure how to use them. I have nothing against triangles and think they look good one layouts, unlike the hexagon trend which I never really got. I probably cheated a little on the challenge as rather than using triangles as a shaped element on my layout I opted instead to use a piece of triangle patterned paper!

I challenged myself further by using fabric on my page. I have a few pieces of material from past kits or I'd brought to use on a layout but then had no idea how to make it work. This star piece came from a Quirky Kit and I thought it would look great with both the black card and the photo. The photo by the way is of one of the famous sunsets over the mountains at Shell Island. Looking at the layout now I probably could have used less fabric and more triangle paper but never mind. 

52 Card Challenge catch up!

As usual I'm playing catch up with the 52 Card Challenge. In fairness I had made these cards a couple of weeks ago I just hadn't had the chance to blog them! 

Wk22: 50 shades of green 

For week 22 Nat asked is to use predominantly green on a card. I went through my scraps bag and pulled out all my green paper but then I was stuck as to what to do with them. So in my normal fashion k did a lot of faffing and decided to add a pop of another colour to help break the green up. In doing so my card does seem to be more pink than green but never mind! 

Wk 23: photo inspiration 

For week 23 we were given another pin to use as a starting point for our card

I picked up on the aqua and yellow colour scheme along with the floral pattern and little birdie to make this 

The floral scallop is a Papermania die cut which came in an old kit. I also used some very old K & Conpany rub ones and an MFT stamp. 

Wk 24: Chevron, Glitter & a number 

For this week we were given three prompts: chevrons, glitter and a number. 

I used my Stampin Up chevron embossing folder on a scrap piece of card for a background. I then used scraps of Amy Tann & American Crafts paper to add to the boldness. I had intended to use a glitter number 1 from a set of Thickers where I only have numbers remaining, but when I looked at the set I had in mind the 1 looked more like an L! So back to the drawing board I used a number 1 from a Deer Lizzy set and a glittered heart button instead! 

Mission Completed: A walk in the Park

Back in March I started my 30 layout challenge. Now it's mid June and I'm happy to say I've completed all 30 layouts! 

These photos were taken in St James's Park last summer. There were deck chairs everywhere to relax on so we rested our tired feet for a while and had an ice cream. After 5 minutes a guy came along and said we needed to pay! We didn't see any signs anywhere saying this so we moved on to more a short distance away! Looking around we were not the only ones doing this as everyone the inspector went up to stood and moved to different chairs! 

To highlight the bright summery colours in the photos I used papers from Amy Tangerine Yes Please, including a tree from a cut a apart sheet (when else would I get the chance to use it!) I added a couple of Elle's Studio pennants and used Thickers for my title. 

This is layout 30/30! And not being one to hang around I placed an order with Sarah's Cards roughly two hours after I finished the layout which arrived today! 

I'm not sure if I'd do another 30 layout challenge for a while. Instead I'm thinking I'll make it a 15 layout challenge as it's good being on a spending freeze and using up my stash but let's face it 30 is a long time to wait! 

Together: Challenge YOUrself June Challenge

The June challenge over on the Challenge YOUrselfblog asks us to scrap a photo of us with the men in our lives. Flicking through my photo box I obviously have pictures of me & Ian, but then I found one from my brothers wedding two years ago, a family shot of me, my brother, my mum & dad, and Ian. All the men in my life in one photo, perfect!

I used two pieces from Amy Tan's Yes please collection for the background before layering some scraps from Crate Paper Close Knit and some cut a parts from the same collection and Maggie Holmes Flea Market on top. I was stuck for a title so used one of the cut a parts. 

This is layout 29/30, and the good news 30 has also been completed and will be blogged soon!