Contests and Accidents

Gahh so what is it with contests and accidents that just seem to plague me!! For the second year running, just when a major contest or class comes out, i manage to go and injure myself right before the start of it.

I think i should be stamped on the forehead with "not to be let out of the house unsupervised in January" maybe that would keep me safe.

So after causing myself some major embarrassment, by falling over in front of half of the town face first into a sand bank, i also caused myself some rather annoying injuries such as a sprained wrist and ankle, bruised hips, bruised ribs, and the most painful a bruised kidney which so far has relegated me back to bed rest! Now i'm sure most of you all can sympathise as complete bed rest really isn't very conducive to scrapping nor to scrapping at a level which is required for contest entries.

With only a few days to go until the UDC competition I'm sure hoping I will have a little healing time in the next few days!!!!

So for the rest of you guys thinking of joining in on the contest over at Swirlydoos, you have to be registered by the 10th of January, and hey take care of those pre contest accidents, you never know when they're going to jump up and bite you!

Thanks for joining me

Tammy

Swirlydoos Ultimate Designer Contest 2013

Well to say the girls over at Swirlydoos have kicked off the year with a bang would be a little untrue, in fact they've blasted right into 2013 with a fantastic new contest called the Ultimate Designer Contest!!!!

Now even though it sounds like it has a pretty scary name, this contest is going to be anything but that. A progressive contest where each week one of the designers will teach an awesome new technique, and then the contestants will get a week to play around with the technique and then submit their creation for judging. For those lucky enough to go through to the next round the process will begin again until there is only one creator remaining. This lucky lucky soul will win the prize below worth over $400 and the chance to be offered a place on the uber über talented swirlydoos design team. (Now wouldn't that just be amazing)

$400 Ultimate Design Contest Prize Pack

Now for those of us who are more likely to go out in the first round, yup I include myself in this category, there will still be spot prizes, you can still play along each cycle to hone your technique skills and most importantly you can use this fantastic comp to get that mojo back creating.

****NOTE**** If you do NOT move forward into the next round of challenges, you can still play along with us and be eligible for RAKS for the duration of the contest! Simply complete the projects and assignments, and upload them into your SB.C or 2 Peas gallery with the title of your project reading as follows: ***Swirlydoos Kit Club, Ultimate Designer Challenge. Week __***

So ladies and gents simply head over to Swirlydoos click on the ultimate designer competition picture and follow the instructions to join in on a fantastic new comp from krissy at swirlydoos and try your hand at winning all that scrummy scrapbook loot.

I hope you'll all join in with us on what is sure to be a fantastic challenge! See you on the forums

Tammy

Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy Start to the New Year

Hi guys,

Well first off, here is wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, and positive start to the New Year. I know it's kind of a few days late but that kind of a bit like how Christmas and the new year rolled in around here... With a hospital emergency on Christmas Eve for my step mother and exhaustion New Year's Eve, we kind of just stretched things out a day or two to try catchup and now we seem to be there... Finally...

So what's in store for 2013..........

Well so far the health has been stable, for about the fist time in 6 or so years I've had a couple of good weeks all tacked on together, something I have only dreamed about for years. So here is hoping that it continues to roll along this way, and I'm out of hospital for at least three to four months at a time.

Dad and his new wife Chrissy have bought a new house (just around the corner) and are in the process of moving in. Luckily they still have the base house here so they are taking their time and just moving little things at a time and organising as they go. The house is much bigger than chrissy's old house and most importantly it's completely finished, no renovations or work needed and for dad at least it's the perfect house at just about the right time.

So with the next few weeks it looks like we'll be busy moving, cleaning, and sorting before anything else.

So guys hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and all the very best for the coming year

Take care now
Tammy

October Swirlydoos Kit and the first of the Wedding Layouts

Hi Guys, 

Well it seems that i have actually had a good a whole good week of days blocked together for a change and during that time I have managed to play with the October Swirlydoos Kit - Belle Chanson and the Amazing wedding photographs from my fathers recent marriage and taken by the enormously talented and long time family friend Rhiannon Taylor. 

 

Using the reverse of the beautiful Teresa Collins Vintage Finds Music Paper (which came in the October Kit) as a background this page came together reasonably quickly. The beautiful black and white photograph of my father and his bride, is surrounded by the new number *5 Prima door embellishments which i have turned upside down, as it seemed to look and match much better with this layout as the yellow tended to muddy the rest of the colours on the layout. Four teal Petaloo flowers have then been topped with the Kaisercraft roses creating the corner cluster.   

 

Above is a close up of the flower cluster made from a combination of Petaloo flowers, a gorgeous prima diamond dusted rose from the simply irresistible kit a year or so back, and three teal Kaisercraft mini roses. hiding underneath the the cluster is a white Prima SIIC set.  

The corner flags are further embellished with Kaisercraft pearls and miniroses, and again are completed with the addition of one of those gorgeous Prima diamond dusted roses that i have had hanging out in my stash for just the perfect layout.  The Prima Resist Canvas triangle banner pieces have been alternatively coloured with a combination of Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers, and then lightly topped off with Viva Decor Inka Gold Metallics in Metallic Green. A product which was later used on the Fab Scraps header.

 

Martha Stewart punches have also provided a bit of extra design around the edges of the paper and also has been used to highlight the bottom part of the photograph. 

 

Now the most challenging part of the layout and a part which i'm not entirely happy with the way it turned out was the Fab Scraps heading piece - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. The chipboard piece was covered in in a light coating of Viva Decor's Metallic Silver Ferro which when dry was rubbed and coated in different places with Inka Gold Metallics in Green, Blue and a Metallic Purple. Unfortunately i was unable to get a really nice shine from the Inka Gold colours on the chipboard like that of on the canvas which i had previously trialled it on. The chipboard has a rather gritty feel and look to it, which to my liking is perhaps just that little bit too much for the beauty and more elegant feel of this page.

 

Finally to finish the page off i have added a few extra Prima Trinkets both hanging and the lovely new ceramic lady just as a final highlight. 

Well as you can see there is just so much yummy goodness to play with in the October kit from Swirlydoos. And if you look closely i have only actually used one of the gorgeous pieces of paper included this month. This means at this rate i have tonnes more paper and embellies to use on the rest of the wedding photos. It is simply amazing just how versatile, and how far these kits can stretch. 

Thanks for dropping by to take a bit of a look....

Finished Kaisercraft Advent Calendar

Well hello again, bet you didn't think I'd be back for a while.... Well not surprising really given my track record of late.

So the good news is my kaisercraft advent calendar is finally finished! Yay!! Now it did take a bit of time doing it in between this and that, but it really was just so much fun to do... And it has used up quite a few of my supplies that I was having a little trouble getting around to using.

The majority of the unit is covered in Kaisercraft Christmas edition papers from not only this year but also going back to last year and 2010. There is also a lot of new latest release kaisercraft chipboard ornaments and decorations, along with petaloo, prima, and kaiser flowers. Unfortunately the photo (taken on the iPad) just doesn't show how much glitter has been poured over this project but let's just say that even if nothing else is ready for Christmas this year at least I could be mistaken for a sparkling decoration instead.....

The centre of the unit is actually a Christmas scene of a living room all decked out and waiting for santa to arrive. It includes Melissa Frances moulded christmas tree ornaments, moulded picture frames and miniature Christmas trees, alongside new release Prima moulded ornament ceiling rose and hanging chandelier. The little presents in the centre are of course Kaisercraft again, and the table i actually asked my father to knock together out of some scraps of Sassafras timber he happened to be working on the other day. Now my main idea was to be able to use this unit for many christmas's to come so I have made the internal scene on a backing of cardstock rather than directly onto the wood. Meaning next christmas if i want to change the centre image to something else i can just slide out the cardstock and begin again.

So there it is ladies and gents. Not the greatest photos but i will try and take a few more over the next few days with the real camera! 

Now two quick things before i go, firstly i'd like to thank Kaisercraft for  putting out such a great little Christmas project, that was so easy to work with, and that coordinates 100% with their beautiful new release christmas lines. If you haven't seen their christmas collections you simply must pop on over to their website and have a look. And guys they really do look better in person when you have them in your hot little hands. 

And the second thing Krissy over at Swirlydoos has released her christmas add ons to subscribers and all i can say is woweee you really cant afford to miss out on such a gorgeous all inclusive kit. But the extra special announcement this month Krissy herself will be teaching a tutorial on just how to make this very advent calendar with all the latest techniques and products (including moulding paste and viva decor ferro) from CHA just in time for Christmas. So please pop on over to Swirlydoos and check out her tutorial class offering. Honestly you wont be disappointed. 

if you have any questions or want any close ups just drop me a comment and i will bs only too happy to try help out. 

Thanks for stopping by!! 

Kaisercraft Advent Calendar

 These Kaisercraft Advent Draws pictured below are the Kaisercraft 2012 release for the Christmas season.

Given that this one is a little smaller than past editions (the center measuring 5 inch by 5.5 inch) This year i found myself compelled to have a go at it. So far I haven't managed to get very far but u have managed to paint the outsides and pattern paper the draws.

There is still lots to do until it is finished however i am currently well on my way.

Below are some progress pictures of my attempt......

So far i have found this kit so easy to put together, it holds really well with Helmar glue.  I also found that the back can be left unglued and removed during the decorating process to aid in getting into some of the smaller areas, and then simply added later on when the project is complete. And i must admit it has so far come in handy a few times!!! 

The Draws fold up well and again hold well with helmar glue when covered with  a piece of patterned paper in the dimensions 4cm tall by 18cm in length. Just to plug Kaisercraft again, their new range of Christmas papers "Turtle Dove", "Just Believe", "Twig and Berry" and some from last years collection, make absolutely fantastic material for the base of the advent calendar. 

So now while i leave you all to have a bit of a look at the Kaisercraft Website and drool over the Christmas talent over there, im off to try and get a little more done on this Project which i hope will become a Christmas Tradition Piece in itself. 

Thanks for joining me.... 

Tammy     

Sept Swirlydoos Kit and Werribee Zoo

So I know i promised to try and keep this blog a little more up to date but once again i've been a bit slack (well ok not quite slack more sick again).

In between times I have managed to do a little bit of scrapping in the meantime. Starting with the lovely September Inspiration Kit from Krissy over at Swirlydoos, I have put together this layout "Pride of Africa" based upon the lions out at the Werribee Open Range Zoo.

 Sorry for the patchy picture the light has been terrible to photograph this week! 

The green title letters, PRIDE, are made from the Martha Stewart Clay Kit and the MS Alphabet Mould. The little lion cameo is also made from the MS clay mould round frame then filled with one f my favourite new products so far "Ice Resin" to form the domed cameo on the left.

The backing paper is the wonderful Core'dinations Hermit Clocks paper, which has been sanded in differing spots to represent the dusty plains of Africa. I also had a lot of fun playing with the new release blooms from Dusty Attic in the green colour and the new release Prima flower collection.

So thanks again to swirlydoos for an amazing kit to get all the inspiration flowing! Looking forward to the arrival of the next one!! 

Thanks for stopping by!!