~ Leap Year & On Display! ~

It's the 29th of February today! A leap year! Time for those who were born on this day to celebrate their birthday big time! For me, lots of sales in the digi-land! Trying hard not to spend.... (as if I don't have enough!)

Anyway, been busy scrapping to complete challenges (why I leave it to the last minute I do not know!)

This is for Technique & Scraplift challenge at Design House Digital. The technique was Selective Colouring. I changed the words on the journaling card from cyan to blue.

This was for a Journaling challenge at DHD where the theme was to scrap about the first meeting of a loved one.

Have done quite a few art journals but will reveal when it's time. Off to create more DT-demand LOs. Wish I had more time in a day.... 24 hrs isn't enough for me. TTFN!

~ Card 365: Day 365 ~

I have the honour of finishing up this year's 365 Cards as it's the last day. Today's challenge is to include a farewell sentiment on the card. Here's my card:

Patterned paper from Anna Aspnes, child's image from Beth Rimmer's Junque Journal.

TTFN!

~ Art Journal Caravan 2012: Itinerary #7 ~

I'm working backward on my AJC2012. Today, I look at Itinerary #7 and decided on the word 'dulcet'. I went for a musical theme. Here's my art journal:

I had the image of my boys professionally drawn by SJ Dowsett a few years back and I used it for this art journal.

It's nice to involve them in my art journals! I don't particularly like using photos on art journals as I feel it then becomes a scrapbook page instead! To me, art journals is an expression of one's creative thoughts no matter how absurd it will be. It pushes one to think outside the box and to indulge in one's imagination. Yes, you can employ art journaling techniques on scrapbook pages but certainly not modern day photos on art journaling pages! I checked out the definition on art journal...

An art diary, art journal or visual journal is a daily journal kept by artists, often containing both words and sketches, and occasionally including Mixed media elements such as collages. ...

Hence, I was particularly disappointed with Jessica Sprague's Digital Art Journaling when she used family photos on her art journals (well, just one of her sample pages). It just ceased to become an art journal for me, instead, more a scrapbook page. There should be a clear distinction between scrapbook page and art journal. Saying that, one can argue about the use of vintage photo images. To me, vintage signifies the old, behind the times and most likely if a vintage person is used, that person probably isn't around anymore. There is a certain charm using vintage images. 

Then again, art is so subjective! If a person wants to employ modern day photos on his/her art journals so be it! For me, I'll leave modern photos on scrapbook pages and go for the extraordinary on art journals! TTFN!

~ Art Journal Caravan 2012: Itinerary #8 ~

Earlier this month, I bought Tangie Baxter's Art Journal Caravan 2012 workshop. It's a year long and it focuses on art journaling. I've heard about it and seen people doing it and decided to give it a go. Every Friday, she comes out with prompts for art journaling. Sometimes there are also tutorials too. So far I've picked up a few tips about Photoshop and have learnt some new digi skills. I'm quite impressed with it so far and looking forward to future prompts.

Available at Scrapbookgraphics.

Anyway, today I decided to try it out. I picked out a few prompts and combined them and came up with this:

Itinerary #8: It's a mixture of the word 'aplomb', travel and the quote.

I certainly had a lot of fun putting it together! Can't wait to play more! TTFN!

~ Happy Anniversary ~

to hubs & me! Today marks the 12th year that we have been married! Not that we can celebrate alone as the boys have a series of musical workshops/concert today.

Today also marks the start of a series of violin concerts that I'll be attending. My eldest played at the Adrian Boult Hall this evening with his Junior Strings Orchestra. He performs again next Saturday. Then a couple of weeks later, both of them are performing in London at the Festival Hall. Finally, the wee one has his turn at Adrian Boult at the end of March. Talk about spending nearly £100 on tickets alone!!! However, I'm so proud of them and it gives me more photo/scrapping opportunity! TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Anna Aspnes came up with a new kit today and as soon as I had it, I couldn't wait to play. I got the bundle as I knew I would be using most of them:

The entire bundle is available at Oscraps. Alternatively, they can be bought separately too. 

I've still 5 more pages to complete for my Dec Daily album so decided to concentrate on it. 

Day 30

I'm hoping to complete them before March descends upon us! TTFN!

~ Mr Whiskers: Lordlings & Halflings ~

Mr Whiskers have come out with a new kit entitled Lordlings & Halflings. Don't need to tell you where he got that inspiration from...

 Here's what I've done:

The above art journals are done in 5x7" sizes as eventually I do want to print them out professionally. It's fun to play with the kit as they are so different from the scrapping ones. Kinda make me experiment and explore new areas in the digi arena. TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

I had a chance to play with some new stuff from Anna Aspnes:

As they are new releases, Anna sometimes bundle them and put them on offer for a week. 

 Here's what I've done:

LO was created based on a scraplift challenge. I basically lifted the one photo usage. Added other supplies from Anna too.

TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Saw this kit on Oscraps and had to play with it....

 It's a collaboration between One Little Bird & Stalin Studio entitled 'Worn'. 

My wee one opening his birthday presents. He has been asking for this 'Big Hand' since seeing it advertised on TV but we couldn't find it in time for Xmas. I managed to track it down in January and got it for his birthday!

Luv the colours in the kit!

Update on the cake we bought from Asda! I wasn't satisfied and complained to them on their website. Anyway, got a call from them a few days later and a lady apologised for the dreadful cake. Asked me a few questions and offered me a £15 voucher! That was nice of them. But seriously, that cake was bloody dry & awful!!! TTFN!

~ 365 Cards: Day 358 ~

Today's challenge is based on a colour scheme:

Here's my card: 

Made use of my paper scraps (can't remember which paper this came from!)

TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Played with Anna Aspnes' supplies especially the ArtPlay Palette Love=Life collection which she did with Vinnie Pearce. An amazing kit! Here's my LO:

Made use of her Artsy Template No45 which I rotated to suit my photos.

Photos were from a recent birthday celebration. Brought the boys to Star City and gave them some activities to enjoy.

It was back to work today. Half term sure as hell flew quickly! Now to slog another 5 weeks before the Easter break! TTFN!

~ Val C. Designs: Fly High ~

I had a chance to play with this kit by Val C. Designs, Fly High and it's such a lovely kit!

It's available at Zig Zag Scrap

Here's what I've done:

Photos of my boys recently captured at the wee one's birthday activities. 

TTFN!

~ Le Weekend & On Display ~

Gosh, I spent half term sorting out my stash to sell on Sat. Seriously, never realised it took that long to go through what I possessed! I did sell a bit but not enough so I now have to go through the eBay route! Will also check with my son's Cubs leaders if they need any craft donations too! 

Anyway, hubs & the boys were down in Poole so I spent Sat afternoon & evening watching Roots (the entire series which I've not seen before) and digi scrapping! Utter bliss! Here's what I've done:

Created using Queen, a freebie kit from Dido Designs and a template from Oscraps Copycat challenge.

Created another LO but as it was a DT requirement, will reveal later. It was good to get back to scrapping and not sort out anymore stash! TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Val C. Designs has a new kit out today. It's a collaboration with Pink Reptile Designs entitled Painting Rainbows and is available at Zig Zag Scrap!

Gosh, when I saw the kit, my jaw dropped! Such amazing stuff in there and I knew instantly I wanted to do something special with it!

I had to use this photo (I actually used this photo first before the one in the previous post!) I just wanted to make the page very colourful as these girls really lighted up my life and they deserved it!

 Created an art journal as well. 

This kit is just fabulous! Really suited me! Had so much fun playing with it!

On the mundane stuff, been clearing my scrapping stash! I'm being extremely ruthless and literally getting rid of a lot of stuff! Stamp making kit, Artbin tote, tons of papers, stamp sets, magazines etc! I'm just so shocked at what I have. Pretty obscene really! I'm also getting rid of scrapping books too (can't seem to find a few books that I know I do have! Might just be in Singapore.) TTFN!

~ On Display & Craft Fair! ~

We have a new designer at Oscraps... Dido Designs! Her kits are amazing and I played with her Pink Spring kit: 

Pink Spring kit

My LO: 

2 great friends of mine... miss them dearly!

Craft Fair

I've been busy clearing my scrapping stash! I've booked a table at a craft fair this Saturday and I'm gonna get rid of all the excess stash that I'm no longer using. Just papers alone have taken 2 days to sort and I'm still finding tons of papers around! I reckon I have at least over 500+ sheets!!! Eeks! I'm sure I can easily wallpaper the entire house with my scrapbook papers! I've sorted out all the old kits... separated them so now I've got more space. Cut down all my scrap papers (6x6, 8x8, 12x6 etc) and hope to get rid of them too. As for embellishments, they are piled mountain high. 

I look forward to selling them off. After one year of not touching them, I doubt very much I will get back to them! I've enjoy digi too much now to return to traditional scrapbooking. I will still use my stash if occasion calls for it otherwise it's digi all the way!

If anyone is interested, here's the address: 

Victory Hall

76 Chester Road

Castle Bromwich

B36 9BU

11am - 2pm

18th Feb 2012

Cya there! TTFN!

~ The Art of Poster Design ~

This is a new class that I'm taking at Jessica Sprague. I was hoping to learn more about digital art and was gamed to try anything. The first lesson started yesterday and it's all about playing with the alphabet. Here's my attempt:

I highlighted the initials of my family.

I might just print it out and display it on in a frame! Looking forward to the next few lessons. The class is instructor-led and will last for 3 weeks. Let's hope I can keep up! TTFN!

~ Happy Birthday! ~

to my wee one! He turns 9 today!

He chose this Aero Mint cake from Asda and it was awful! So dry and tasteless! Never again! In future, it will be a cake from the Chinese bakery!

The day started with pancakes for breakfast. Then, we headed to Star City where he did half an hour of rock climbing, played a game in Laser Quest and had a round of mini golf. Lunch was at Pizza Hut. After that, he headed to the arcade to flutter away some (quite a lot) of pennies! The main thing was that he had fun! I had wanted them to learn skiing at the Snowdome but it was fully booked hence, the alternative activities!

He did get what he wanted for his present, specifically a Big hand!

It was on his Xmas list but we couldn't find it then. A quick search on the internet found one in Argos so I quickly reserved it (that was in January). It was also the last one too! God knows what he finds in it as all it does is move according to his finger movement. That's it! Still it looks cute on him! TTFN!

~ Woot! Woot! ~

Just found out one of my LOs was picked for Gallery Standouts! This one...

LO using Val C.Designs: Template Serie#1 & Typically You kit.

I do like this LO as it captured the boys in action perfectly! Pleased and honoured that it has been showcased! TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Been battling with cough and cold this whole week. Seriously wiped me out at night. Anyway, in between zombie mode, managed to crank out 2 LOs.

This LO was based on a set of recipe. You had to include specific items on the page. I got all of them down! All supplies by Anna Aspnes.

This LO was based on a scraplift challenge although mine is no where near the original!

All supplies by Anna Aspnes.

Oh and did I say it's the start of half term? Yay! TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Val C. Designs came up with a new set of templates, Template Serie#1, available at Zig Zag Scrap.

I luv templates! They are fun to use and make scrapping so much easier!

Well, snow came and so my boys were out to play. Lucky they did as there wasn't much snow on the ground, still, it didn't deter them. LO created using Typically You kit by Val C. Designs & Erica Zwart.

My best friend finally gave birth to this adorable baby, A. Shame she's so far away... no chance to hold him. LO created using The First One by Val C. Designs & Ange.

TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Mr Whiskers recently came out with a new kit, Thrilling Comics, available at Deviant Scrap. Took me a while but I eventually came up with this: 

The Kit.

My art journal: 

I also added the Japanese lady from Beth Rimmer's East is West.

My next creation is a Christmas card! Yup, I still do Xmas cards throughout the year. I'm currently on the DT of Christmas Cards All Year 'Round and I do enjoy making Xmas cards!

This month's challenge is to have hearts on the Xmas card. Here's my card: 

Created using supplies from Anna Aspnes & Maya de Groot from Oscraps.

TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Every month, Oscraps do a Collaboration kit, i.e. the designers there come up with a mega supplies of digital images. This month's kit is called Hello Sunshine. Can't say we are experiencing a lot of it in the UK at the moment!

Here's my LO:

Somehow the colours kinda suit bonfire night instead of spring!!!

The kit is packed full of digital goodies! I'll definitely be playing a lot more with it! TTFN!

~ 365 Cards: Day 344 ~

This week, we are sponsored by ...

Today's challenge is to colour in a digi image with markers. Well, used my Copics of course!

Background paper from Anna Aspnes. I know who to give this card to!!!

TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Last week of school term before the kids break up for half term. Looking forward to it! Not going anywhere but I've got the wee one's birthday coming up. Thankfully, all presents have been bought apart from a cake!

Been trying to catch up on the Super Bowl challenges at Design House Digital. Managed to complete 8 out of the 9 challenges. Challenges end today!

 The challenge was to include the word 'team' on the LO.

 The challenge was to use a sport idioms on the LO. Mine's 'workout'.

The challenge was to include a souvenir on the LO. Well, I scanned the programme booklet and used it on the LO as well as the songs that my boys' group was performing. 

Finally, the challenge here was to use certain colours (red/navy blue/white and a bit of black) and to interview someone. I combined both challenges for this LO (well, I was running out of time!) 

I had fun creating the LOs as I made use of photos that weren't scrapped yet (& there's quite a lot too!) Will be seeking out more challenges in other forums... TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Maya de Groot had a new kit, APP-dicted out at Oscraps and it was just the kit I need! 

How cute is that!!!

Anyway, did an art journaling using the kit!

Have to say, thanks to the appropriate apps, it has helped me connect with people all over the world. Not just my family but my friends and allowed me to see and speak with them too. Suddenly, the distance isn't that long anymore! What more, these apps have considerably cut the expense of overseas communication! In fact, as long as you have wifi, no more expensive phone bills! TTFN!

~ On Display! ~

Another couple of LOs for the Superbowl challenges at Design House Digital:

The challenge was to add the word 'speed' in the LO.

The challenge was to include the word 'vs' in the LO.

Kinda enjoying the challenges. It does stretch my imagination and I'm making use of photos that have not been scrapped! TTFN!