ATDML Alphabetical Challenge - Letter E

Another challenge is up on Created by ATDML with yours truly and we have moved on to the letter E. There are a set of prompts over on their blog which I illustrated with the layout below which not only met these criteria but also rose on this months #Calvinball2019 challenge.

I really love this grey/white striped background paper which I bought lots of as I think it adds just a little something more than using cardstock which inevitably ends up being my background for 90% of the pages I create. I kept the colours soft and beach line for this page bringing in the sandy colours and blue for the sea. Great to be using up my wooden pieces for the Calvinball challenge - most of which I have had for over 5 years, so at the moment when point stacking is permitted, I get 3 points for using these wooden stars!! 

I'm not competitive at all me(!!)  but wish I could stay home, read all morning and scrap all afternoon whilst the challenge is on - this going to work for a living might pay for all my craft supplies (among other life essentials lol!) but it reduces my crafty hours drastically!!

ATDML Alphabetical Challenge D

We are on to our fourth challenge already in the Created by ATDML Alphabetical challenge and the letter D.

Plenty of options to inspire your next page.... and even I will be joining this one as we go along as I haven't had time just yet to illustrate it.

February ATDML Virtual Crop Day

Triangle madness from me this month where I created two pages and a card from Kaisercraft Golden Grove papers - nice and fresh and sunny to lift a chilly wintery day!

Plenty of texture on this page with lots of fringing, and whilst it took a while to create this page I am really pleased with the effect. As long as this page took the second page was much, much quicker, a simple combination of triangles, a mounted photo and title used this very heavily patterned paper range to create a simple more graphic look.

And there was enough left over for a quick card too.

ATDML Alphabetical Challenge C

Another alphabet challenge over on Created by ATDML today and we are on to letter C. Hop over to the blog to see your options and join in the challenge.

ATDML January Gallery

One of my first layouts in 2019 as one of the ATDML design team, a position I have now held for over 9 years I am proud to say. This one was a relatively simple design with just three rectangles of pattern paper behind my matted 5x5 photo. Then I added several clocks of a variety of sizes from the Simple Stories paper, layering some with foam pads and  then added the fabulous Bramblefox "20Ninteen" perspective for my title. The red hearts are also from Bramblefox and the other small red elements from my stash. 

Once I had added all these elements I realised the layout needed something else so I drew around the rectangle of paper in black pen, added the black drawn border, trimmed the white card background a little and mounted on black. Still then not quite what I had in mind I added the gold flecks of ink and the gold stars and enamel dots to a couple of the clocks to liven up the page a little. Finally I was happy and given it was a layout about NYE it needed some sparkle.

ATDML Alphabetical Challenge B

Time for the second Alphabetical Challenge over on the ATDML Blog today with the letter B which I illustrated with my January DT kit featuring (rather helpfully) Bo Bunny Winter Wishes papers so there was my first B ticked off.

I also focused on the colour Blue and there are Banners under the photo which is Black (&White).  How will you rise to the challenge to scrap using the letter B prompts?

ATDML new Alphabetical Challenge for 2019

A new series of scrapbooking challenges is starting over at Created by ATDML blog today where twice a month a letter from the alphabet will be used to prompt a layout. Go take a look and see what they have in store for the letter A which I illustrated in the layout below using predominantly Prima papers and elements from their Flirty Fleur Collection  I used ACETATE to apply watered down distress ink for the painty background , AQUA blue as my main colour  and then a Thickers ALPHABET for my title. 

This layout also fit the bill for one of the For The Love of Pretty Paper (FTLOPP) Winter Olympic challenges they are running over on Facebook. This challenge was  to include a technique that takes time and the inky background plus fussy cutting on this one certainly counted.  I do love a scrapbooking challenge and making one page which rises to more than one challenge makes me a happy girl! I have a few more pages to do to complete the latest FTLOPP series but managed four more today on my last day off before returning to work tomorrow. So that's me signing off for the night. God Bless x

ATDML final Virtual crop day for 2018

A clean and simple page for one of two layouts I designed with Bo Bunny Carousel Christmas papers which were part of the ATDML kit for this month's class. As well as my two layouts I created a teeny tiny mini book for the forthcoming 12 days of Christmas as mentioned in my last blog post. It is made from 1.75" punched circles which feature tiny hand-cut baubles and leaves space for small photos. I really enjoy creating these little extra projects with my kits and it was a lovely project to start at my crop and finish up in the new year when I have my photos.

My class is up first at 10 with another by Katherine at noon and Tricia at 2pm. Go check them out along with plenty of festive inspiration on Created by ATDML blog.

Our last crop of the year

Saturday saw our last crop of the year and it was a pleasure to once again spend time with my wonderful ScrapMates. As always there was fun and laughter and clearly some shocking occurances!! This photo makes me smile at the friendships which have developed over the years.

I was busy designing for ATDML and the last virtual crop kits for 2018 too and after making two layouts I set about using some bauble designs on one of the Bo Bunny papers to make a teeny tiny mini album to hold photos for the 12 days of Christmas 2018. I can't share this until the weekend so I'll leave you with one of the crop layouts I designed which is also today's Scraplift Santa over on ATDML

A little festive thing I made

I got a little Pinterest happy and got all festive and cut up lots of small pieces of paper and this was the outcome when combined with some bells taken off a cheap 79p Christmas decoration.

I am a little bit in love with it, but more importantly loved the creation process itself, so even if it falls apart after one year up in the house (lets hope not!) then it will still have been worth my time. AND it's yet ANOTHER Graphic 45 project from me (this year I think I have been on a role creating with what I previously found a very challenging style to work with). I do think they lend themselves to plenty of fussy cutting which can be very therapeutic on a chilly winter evening.

Advent with Kaisercraft and ATDML Scraplift Santa

 

December first and we are all reaching for our advent calendars and that cheeky chocolate that is only acceptable to have for breakfast in December!! I spent a fortune on a fancy beauty advent calendar for my daughter this year (which was her birthday present as requested) so decided to make a small one for myself rather than buy one.  The irony isn't lost on me that I spent more on a set of white blank matchboxes than I could have on a traditional advent calendar but where would the crafting fun have been in that? Plus I saw a design like this on Pinterest last year, if not the year before, and really wanted to recreate it.  ATDML then made that easier for me when they included this delicious foiled Kaisercraft advent paper in my December kit.

So this project features on the ATDML blog today as we kick-started the month of Scraplift Santa challenges.

There are a few more images over there plus a bit of an explanation on how 2 coasters and 24 matchboxes became this advent cube covered in Kaisercraft Wonderland papers

December Scraplift Santa with ATDML

Starting on Saturday, and kicking off with yours truly, the A Trip Down Memory Lane team have a bi-weekly Scraplift Santa challenge going for the month of December.

One of the DT stand in for Santa and bring you a gift of a seasonal project for you to scraplift from the comfort of your own home. No kits, no instructions, just simple images and a whole heap of festive fun every Wednesday and Saturday throughout December.

It's going to be so much fun!!

Winter wonderland for Atdml

Sharing two class layouts using Kaisercraft Winter wonderland papers which I taught at the recent A Trip Down Memory Lane retreat.

Backfilling the snowflake Diecut using the hearts and triangles from one of the other pattern papers from this collection meant very little else was needed on the first page.

Room full of happy delegates following this class which is always a relief when you've designed something you love... You just hope others will, or at least enough to make it their own and love it!

ATDML Retreat Calendar Class with Simple Stories

Off the page creation for one of my retreat classes this last weekend, and I do love creating a calendar at this time of year. Not my idea, the use of these Ikea frames has been around a while but a fun and popular class nevertheless - made I think by the vibrant colours from Simple Stories Bloom papers.

Here are my pages, one for each month and using the black and white photos the colours just pop against the black card.

I'll share my other classes later this week.

Another floral G45 page - yes indeed!!

Sorting out my scrapbooking stuff and putting some kits together for my retreat next week and I end up playing again with left over Graphic 45 papers from the July gallery pages. 

Seeing as I had already fussy cut out all the roses it seemed a shame to throw them away and again with lots of white (ok grey!!) space and some bold black leaves cut on my silhouette this was another more graphic page with a very non-graphic paper range.

Back to my sorting I go, I have papers to pack (and not play with just yet!!)

October Virtual Crop

Seems like we've just taken a hop, skip and a jump since last month and already it's virtual crop time again with ATDML. I was up first from the three classes today with these bold pages.

Class instructions for my three pages can be found HERE.

Again whilst this Crate Paper Cool Kid collection supplied in the class kit looks very specific it can be varied up to suit a wider range of photos.

Plenty of space for lots of journaling on this last page - perfect if you've a bit of a story to tell and I must admit these dinosaur papers were just what I needed!

Grid format again with RUBIKS cube challenge

No secret I love a grid format layout and so it was easy to rise to the RUBIKS CUBE challenge last weekend with ATDML where I created a very graphic page which is probably one of my favourite layouts I have made this year.

Again using left overs with a FUN bramblefox perspective, stamping, infusion stains, enamel dots, acetate with an ever trusty hand drawn border.

I love this page so much I think I am going to use it as the basis of a layout for the forthcoming ATDML retreat in Autumn.

Jenga class for ATDML Cybercrop

Used the kissing technique with distress inks watered down on acetate to ink up my background a little before adding blocks of distressed papers from Kaisercraft in my JENGA class for the ATDML cybercrop. Just a few cork butterflies to tie in with the skin tones in the photo and this page was done.

A cleaner look for my second page in this class showing how one collection can create such different looks.

Even more challenge layouts

Still joining in with our ATDML cybercrop challenges and reverting to my favoured grid of four format in this summery page (using left over ephemera pieces) - this one for the SCRABBLE challenge.

And who doesn't love a sketch challenge - this one picked as it looked a little like a Hop Scotch board and was used for our HOP SCOTCH challenge.

Again using left overs from other projects (same papers I used for the DRAUGHTS challenge) I created this page of recent photos of the Bristol Wallace & Gromit trails.

Plenty more challenges to come - at least three if I remember correctly! Hope you join in!

More challenge pages from ATDML Cybercrop

Sharing a few more of my challenge pages from the weekend.

This was my DRAUGHTS challenge, a simple one to scrap a black and white photo and I used left over papers from a retreat class earlier this year, continuing my self imposed challenge to join in this weekend but use only left overs to make my stash stretch even further.

And here is my UNO challenge page - a challenge to use ONE cardstock, ONE pattern paper and ONE photo on your page. You may add anything else, but no more card, only use ONE pattern paper (can be double sided though) and just the ONE photo. I hope you find time either this weekend or before schools restart to join in some of our challenges.