Just when I thought I had everything I needed... along comes a new collection of accessories for the i-rock and my goodness there isn't a single thing that I can honestly say I won't use. I'm in bling heaven! Imaginisce have just added a complete new range of products including new sizes, new colours, new shapes and a whole set of new templates.

I have been having a wonderful time getting to play with all the new pieces and I've already gained a few new favourites including the glitter glamrocks which I've used on the hearts for my dear mum's mother's day card. They really are hard to photograph but I can assure you that they are super sparkly and come in six assorterd colours and two different sizes.

I think the new heart shapes would almost have to top my favourite's list and they come in two different shades of pink. I've attached mine to some boring old stick-pins that I had lying around and never wanted to use... until now!

My little cowgirl and her hat... this pinke Wrankler hat has been her favourite for the past couple of years and I somehow convinced her to let me 'bling it'! However, there were conditions... she got to choose the colours, shapes and the stencil which I guess was only fair.

Okay, I seriously think I have two favourites as the new red glamrocks are just superb... I was really hoping Imaginisce would add red to their collection. Speaking of favourites this embossing folder is definitely high on my list too as I love being able to add bling to the corner points to give it a really unique look.

The flowers I've made using the polka dot backside of the new Berrylicious collection.

GIVEAWAY

I'm totally surrounded in bling at the moment so there is definitely a give-away needed as I cannot possibly use everything and more importanlty I would love to give someone the opporutnity to have as much fun as I've had creating these fun projects with my i-rock and accessories.
So who would like to own their very own
i-rock and accessories

Don't forget to become a follower of my blog if you aren't already and then leave a comment so you can be entered in the draw. I will leave the competition open until the end of May and will draw a winner on the 1st of June.

From farm to you...

... but when it does I try to atleast make sure it's a nice photo! I'm talking about scrapping a picture of myself and I'm guessing that I'm not alone in not wanting or liking photos of myself and to be perfectly honest, I'm usually the one behind the lense of the camera. However, a wedding photo taken by a profesional photographer has to be a good photo, right?

How time flies as it's been over a decade since our special day and this is only the third time I've done anything with the photos. Pebbles have a new black and white wedding collection aptly named 'Mr & Mrs' which I couldn't go past without dragging out my box of pics.

My Pebbles DT assignment this week was to highlight the use of dimensional stickers. I love these little pieces of 'artwork' as all the hard work has already been done. They are ready to simply position anywhere on your project and look wonderful whether used by themselves or in a cluster as I've chosen to do with mine on this layout.

Rather than using just the black and white dimensionl stickers from the Mr & Mrs collection I chose to combine the black and white with the gorgeous pink stickers from the Ever After range and create an effect similar to hanging numerous pictures in differing frames on a wall... I guess you could call it a collage.

Well that's it for now, no more photos of me for a atleast another 12 months... one photo per year is plenty! I will be back again in a couple of days with the reveal of my submission projects for the My Little Shoebox design team and all the pics will be of my kids... promise!

From farm to you...

I have always loved the concept of paper piecing and find nothing more relaxing that taking tiny bits of paper and creating little scenes, usually full of trees, flowers and critters. I know it's fiddly work but there is something about it that draws me in, every time!
So when Imaginisce announced their monthly challenge theme to be paper piecing I had visions of my usual garden scene full of butterflies, tufts of grass, flowers, fussy cut creatures to name a few. However, what conspired was something vastly different from my normal approach... am I happy 'yes', is it me 'not usually', will I do it again 'most defnitely'!

Well it's definitely pink! I used the super sweet pink polka dot paper from the Imaginisce Enchanted collection and broke out some of my new baker's twine in a matching scrummy shade of... you guessed it, pink!

The white paper pieced frame and flourishes were created using my Cricut Expression and each layer mounted with foam pop-dots to give it the added dimension. Cricut Cartridges used were 'Straight from the Nest' and 'Sentimentals'.

My little retro flower punch from EK Success is fast becoming a permanent fixture on my desk as I've used it in just about every project I've done lately. And just look at those tiny new glitter hot-rocks from the Imaginisce i-rock collection. They are so itty bitty and have a really sweet glittery texture to them and made the perfect centrepiece for my punched flowers.

If you would like to enter this month's paper piecing challenge you have until April 25th to get your entries in so head over to the Imaginisce blog HERE to find out all the details. And to be inspired by more creations from the design team. Also, you have the opportunity to win an i-rock package just by leaving a comment on the Imaginisce blog today, so you don't want to miss that one! Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

From farm to you...

My little girl and her 'bestie' John. They have been inseparable since their first day of school together and they are still like two peas in a pod. This photo was taken while we were all on holidays together and these two were having a wonderful day talking non-stop, laughing and smiling. It was the smiles that made me think this photo would be perfect for the new Spring collection from Pebbles... 'Happy Go Lucky'!

Pebbles have really expanded their collection of embellishments for each line and these crepe paper flowers are just the cutest things ever. So-much-so that I had to use the entire pack on the one layout. Well you can't have too much of a good thing!

Another new edition to the Pebbles line-up are these super cute little felt dimensional embellishments and this little bird was just the sweetest little thing!

 I dragged out my retro flower punch again and made these little Kraft flowers and popped a black Candy Dot in the centre of each one to give it that touch of dimension. The tree was cut from the Cricut cartridge 'Give A Hoot' as I love trees on layouts and thought it would tie in with the spring theme.

The patterns and colours in the new Happy Go Lucky collection are just gorgeous and looked really striking when I mounted them on the black card stock for something just a little different.

I have designed a sketch to go along with this layout so if you would like to have a go making your own bff layout then pop over to the Pebbles blog HERE to grab a copy of the sketch and to gain inspiration from the beautiful projects from the rest of the Pebbles DT. That's it for today!

From farm to you...

This week marks the release of another new Imaginisce collection and it's a little different from the usual bright and funky designs. Little Cutie is slightly more subdued with it's dreamy pastel colour schemes and array of gentle elements from teddy-bears and boats for the boys and dolls and flowers for the girls. Yes, you read that right... two designs in one collection! Little Cutie boasts papers for both boys and girls with complementing colours and patterns so you could mix and match them both together.

I couldn't have have asked for a more versatile collection as I have both a daugher and a son so set about making a layout for each of them.

My daugher is 11 so at first I thought this range would be a little too cutesy and young for her... however, I realised the flowers and dolls were quite adaptable by combining them with a hint of denim and using an older style theme.

I decided to use a dress form element to give that little bit of maturity to the layout and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Not having any chip-board dress-forms stashed away I decided to try and re-create the look using craft paper and the Wall Decor and More Cricut Cartridge. Once I'd cut the shape with the Cricut I chalked the edges and mounted it with pop-dots onto a piece of patterned paper from Little Cutie.

The denim flower is one of the newest designs in the Imaginisce Fabric Roly Rosie range and it was so easy to roll and glue together with the i-bond.

I've really started to enjoy the multiple mounting of photos as I think it gives a new spin on using just one photo without it looking lost and lonely on the page. And I finally broke open my new embossing folder from EZcut which I just love, even if it reminds me of Lego.

My darling little man is only hours old in this photo and so peaceful. However, it's probably got more to do with the fact that he was tuckered out from his entry into the world, a little like his mother at the time... exhausted! All but a distant memory now as he has just turned five.

I just love how the soft pallete of colours works with the Kraft cardstock and I had fun with my new embossing folder again... can't get too much of a good thing, especially when it comes to embossed clouds.

I punched some holes into the chipboard die-cut letters to make them look like buttons then hand-stitched them onto the layout. A little bit more handstitching along the bottom and top of the kraft card just to complete the look.

Wow, that was a long post, I hope I didn't drag it out too long but I had lots of piccies to share.

Now, if you would love to have your very own collection of Little Cutie then pop over to the Imaginisce blog as they are giving away a bundle of goodies every day this week to celebrate the release of this super cute range.

From farm to you...

Inspiration is found in funny places, we can find it in magazines, bloghopping, browsing websites, sometimes it might even be a particular fabric that catches our eye or a shopfront decoration... wherever it comes from, we take it home and create our own unique piece of work that we can be proud of.

I'm always scribbling ideas on the back of a serviette if I'm out, or in my daughters homework book if I'm in the car and she's running and errand for me, but my biggest place of inspiration and doodling is none other than my shower as I wait for the glass to fog up and then I set to task drawing up weird and wonderful designs for my next layout.

The showerdoor is where the idea for my 440 punched flower layout came from and I couldn't wait to towel dry and begin the arduous task of prepping the flowers... some days later I was the proud owner of my newest creation. My scrapping friends called me crazy and yes I had to agree as I nursed a rather sore thumb from all the punching.

I know most of you have seen this layout before as I've posted it a couple of times on my blog and various scrapping galleries. And yes, there are 440 punched flowers... I counted each and everyone! LOL!
Since doing this layout I've had quite a few emails from fellow scrappers asking if I would mind them using the design for their own personal inspiration, to which I have always felt honoured and never hesitated to say yes.
When I first started scrapping this was something rather foreign to me and I never thought about people wanting to re-create something I had done. Over the time I have spoken with friends about the 'scrapjacking' of a layout in quite lengthy discussions and we all agreed that it was 'the best kind of flattery' to have someone want to copy your work. And to be honest, we've probably all done it in some way or another, whether it be to copy a particular way someone has added a heading, or the way they've placed some embellishments or simply the colour scheme... it's how we gain inspiration!

A few weeks ago I was faced with a situation that I wasn't quite prepared for... I was accused of "copying a layout and how dare I lay claim to the ownership when it clearly wasn't mine". Sadly, that was the first of a subsequent three more accusations from people in regard to this one layout, that I had 'stolen' someone's design and used it for my own personal benefit.

So, after driving a little too fast to the nearest Australian chain-store in question, I stood in front on this rather large billboad advertisement and my jaw hit the floor.

So, I stood looking at this layout and then pride swelled up inside me... there I was standing in front of a big advertisement with 'my' design on it. Okay, it wasn't my layout, but it was my design. Now, I would just like to clarify that yes, the advertisment is advertising American Crafts and I'm on the Pebbles design team who are owned by American Crafts. But, the ad was an in-house commission from the chain-store in question and American Crafts weren't aware of it!

So, why am I talking about this on my blog... well I just wanted to express to you that we are all involved in a wonderful industry of crafting. We get to make things with our hands and from our hearts, and whether we come up with original designs or not, we are all creating and being creative which is better than doing something that is less positive with our lives. To those of you who thought I had 'scrapjacked' the design, I feel priviledged that you pay such close attention to my work as you recognised it straight away, thankyou!  

And to the artist of this sweet layout... copying is the best kind of flattery!

Another Scrapbooking Memories Creative Team assignment to share... this time using the gorgeous 'Letterbox' collection generously supplied by American Crafts. What a lovely surprise to recieve such an abundance of yummy products and given the assignment of creating a layout and card using as much product as we like. Gotta love that! And here's how the article looked when published...

I'd had this layout design in my head for sometime and because the magazine publication was set for release in February I thought it would be appropriate to utilize it for the month of love. And it was a great way of showcasing so much of the patterned paper without going too over-the-top. The heart was a different story... the more the better was my line of thinking and I enjoyed every minute of it. I'd actually taken the photos in the car whilst waiting for the farmer do finish his errands... my daughter and i were being silly and she was pulling faces and posing. I tried to use the nice shots of her and not the ones with her tongue hanging out or her eyes rolled and her fingers up her nose. Kids hey!

I hadn't quite thought of making my photos the same size as the patterned paper squares but after sending my photos to print on the wrong setting I realised I could probably get away with it. In the end I really loved how it worked.

Now, I do not profess to being a card-maker as I still find them quite daunting, so I took the easy road and decided to keep going with the 'heart' theme. I also thought the best way to finish the project was to keep things consistent with the layout and utilize the paper in a similar way with a patchwork effect using more of the patterned paper. I even dragged out my little crimping machine to give the leaves a similar appearance to the gorgeous ribbon. Add a flower and some bling and there you have it. Sounds easy when I type it up but I can honestly say it took me a good portion of the entire evening. LOL!

GIVE-AWAY

Now, I've been so spoilt from American Crafts and Scrapbooking Memories magazine that I thought it would be nice to share in some of the spoiling. I have gathered up my supplies that were left from the assignment and have created a nice little bundle of products that are looking for a new home... do you have room, would you like to take over the ownership of my little pile of yummy stash? (International entries welcome)
All I ask is that you are a follower of my blog and that you let your friends know about the give-away too! I will keep it open until the end of the month and announce a winner on the first of May.

From farm to you...