Playing around....my second post as a Deer and Fawn Designer

Hi everyone
Firstly I want to say thankyou for being so welcoming!  It's certainly a lovely little community at Deer and Fawn Designs.

I am so excited to be a designer. I can't wait to get into it and play with my DT goodies.
I am trying so hard to wait patiently. Everytime someone knocks on the door, I almost jump out of my skin, I tell you its a race to the door - I tackle the kids to get there first, hoping its my box.  I know it will be here soon enough, but I've had  to distract myself from my impatience, so I've been playing!  Yay!
I thought I'd play with the goodies I received with my $30 voucher from Deer and Fawn Designs for the March Challenge.  Here's what I created:

I loved all the bits and pieces I got.  I especially love the colour of that Dylusions Spray - Polished Jade.  Gorgeous! 
I started with some Kraft Paper, and painted gesso in a couple of areas, and around the edges. I then spritzed some large blobs of Dylusions (I sprayed it closely to the page to get a solid blob).  I then tore some pieces of washi and added in pieces over the gesso.  I also added some plasterers mesh tape at this point. To soften these strips I rub a little gesso with my fingers on top. This helps to blend the page together.
I then used a stencil and some texture paste in a couple of areas, to add some texture. 
Finally I stamped very imperfectly and quickly around the edges and on top with the Finnabair Messy Stamp (LOVE LOVE LOVE).
After this I add a few small strips of paper.  For this I often use Project Life Cards - I find them the perfect size, and I seem to have a huge amount of stress cutting into a full sheet of 12x12 paper! Those little 3x4 cards and 4x6 cards are magic! I'm not afraid to chop into them at all, and it really has changed my approach to scrapping. 
I then began adding some embellishment clusters to the side of my photo. I love those Feather Die Cuts.  I decided to make my own feather too with washi tape.  All I did was fold it in half and cut little slits into it.  I then cut it into a sort of feather shape.
Can you see the gorgeous silver heart doily in there? Debbie had packaged my order so nicely, she had wrapped it in brown paper using washi and then this heart doily was around the packaging.  I really couldn't waste it, or the washi tape (yep I've used that too - Can you tell I don't like to waste anything?)
I then added on my title - these Kaiser words look great! I know I'll be using them lots.  Finally I added some wood veneer hearts.

 

I really loved creating this page about my gorgeous daughter.
I hope it inspires you to have a play.
I think the delivery man may get a bit of a shock at my excitement when my box of goodies does arrive!
I'll be back to share again soon.

Tammy
xx

If you'd like to win yourself a $30 voucher of awesome goodies from Deer and Fawn Designs, it's not too late to go in the April Challenge

Deer and Fawn Products used:

Dina Wakley White Gesso
Prima Finnabair Stamp
Die Cut Feathers
Wood Veneer Hearts
Washi Tape
Kaiser Word Stickers
Kaiser Arrow Stamp
Project Life Cards
Silver Doily
Dylusions Spray

Just playing....

I got to have a quick play the other day, and this is what I came up with.....

 

Not happy with the photo quality here, this close up is a bit better.

I loved using the darker background, I hadn't tried that before....will definitely be doing that again. And look I scrapped me!! Something I need to do more of. Something we probably all need to do more of.  We tend to take all the photos rather than get in them...so sometimes we need to flip that camera around and yup....take a selfie!  At least we can add filters these days!

Anyways just a quick one today......too much else to do.

White with One April Challenge

So I'm on a bit of a roll creating challenges.
White with 1 is a fabulous challenge site. They have a fantastic design team with lots of scrappy inspiration. I love looking at their blog and seeing the challenges for that month.  A wall of layouts using the same colours looks amazing....'same same but different'! 
This month they have the current challenge of:

 

SAND!.
Although I love colour, I also love neutrals, so thought I'd have a play. Plus a photo jumped into my mind straight away......the newest addition to our family.....Maisy. She is pretty spesh.
Here's my take on this months challenge:

And here's a close up

 

If you'd like to play along, there's still time, so go HERE

Stuck? Sketches Challenge

I discovered a cool sketch challenge site called Stuck?! Sketches and thought I'd have a go at their April Sketch......

 

I rotated the sketch  clockwise.....and here's what I came up with.

 

 

 

And a bit of a close up

 

 

I hadn't worked with a sketch for quite a while so it was fun having a go.  If you want to play along you have until the 29th April to upload your page, so still plenty of time.  For details on the challenge, go HERE 

First blog post at Deer and Fawn Designs

Well I shared my first blog post for Deer and Fawn Designs yesterday.
Thought I'd share it on my blog too.....

Hi everyone!
Well what an honour this is - to be selected as a Deer and Fawn Designer. WOW!! 
I am still doing a little happy dance here, and can't wait to play with all things Deery and Fawny and share my work with you.
So I thought I'd start by having a go at April's challenge - Mixed Media

I started with just a white sheet of cardstock, I added stencilling, paint, texture paste and stamps.  I had a whole lot of fun, even spraying the cardstock with lots of water!  Let me tell you at one stage I thought I'd ruined it - I added a big blob of teal paint and well it just kinda sat there - it didn't want to drip when I added water and I NEARLY gave up and threw it out, but I decided to keep going. I kept adding washi tape, more stamping and paint over the blobs, plus I added some plasterers tape to give more texture.  I then added black paint to then end of an old roll of  loo paper - I love the effect of these circles! . I made sure I stamped some slightly off the page too, to give the layout flow. I will definitely be doing this again. (In fact I'm now looking at random things around the house and thinking of all the cool stamp prints they would make).  And then guess what?  All of a sudden I loved it. It came together.

Here's my creation

 

Please excuse my dodgy photo in this layout - it was taken at night with an iphone 4, but I really wanted to tell the story.....I decided to scrap the imperfectness of my life.

Here's some close ups....

 

 

So my advice would be DON'T GIVE UP. And don't overthink it - have some fun - experiment - PLAY.  I love that about mixed media - you never quite know how its going to turn out.  And mistakes, well they can be covered up!  So go for it! 
I can't wait to see what you come up with.

If you missed it here's the details of the challenge:

Use Sprays, stencils, at least one paint colour and a household item as a stamp!
It can be on a layout, canvas, pocket page card or any other medium that you would like to use...

ALL entries must be uploaded to the blog by the 30 April... and this month YOU all vote for you fave entry.... there will be a link in the side bar for you to cast your vote... Voting will open on the 16th April.....
Once voting has closed the winner with the most votes will win a $30 voucher to spend on the website....

So upload your entry in the side bar....

HAVE FUN getting messy :)

If you'd like to go to the Blog Post go HERE

Doing a Happy Dance!

So I'm pretty excited.......I found out this week that I was chosen to be on the design team for Deer and Fawn Designs.  Woohoo!! Super thrilled!!

I have been a fan of their On-Line Store for a while now - they stock lots of yummy goodies for scrapbooking, cardmaking, project life and mixed media. I love the products Debbie stocks, she has lots of well known brands plus awesome stuff I hadn't seen anywhere else. Also her service is amazing, so I'm totally honoured to be a Deer Designer, and cant wait to play and inspire you!

You can read all about the announcement on the Deer and Fawn blog HERE

They also have a Facebook group HERE

I hope you follow me on this exciting new adventure

Winners are grinners!

Recently I posted about how I won the Deer and Fawn Designs March Challenge. Let me tell you it was pretty fun doing some guilt free shopping at their On-Line Store with my $30 voucher!
It was also a happy day when my goodies arrived! 
This is what I got, and I love that Debbie gift wrapped it up in brown paper with washi and a gorgeous silver doily.....I wanted to rip open my pressie but I restrained and carefully opened it to ensure I can re-use the doily and washi!! Lol

Thanks for stopping by.

Scrap the Boys Challenge

The challenge site Scrap the Boys is one I've admired for a long time. I love doing boy pages, I love the grunginess, the colours. I actually find it harder to work with flowers and girly stuff.  Not sure if the fact that my girl is not a girly girl has contributed to this, when scrapping pages about her I tend to not be too feminine as it just doesn't capture the real her.
So I thought I'd finally have a go at one of their challenges. 

This months mood board is

Well I love the colours in this one, the teal and black and white, and I love the woodgrain.  I was also inspired by the glass bottles and the sequiny glow.
Here's what I came up with

And here's a close up.....

The 'glow' picture in the mood board inspired the sequins, the  title 'Shine' and the journaling content.  I used lots of woodgrain and I emulated the glass bottles by using glass pebbles.
I had a lot of fun creating this page.
If you'd like to have a go at this challenge, you can find the details HERE.

Thanks for stopping by....

EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THIS......

I'm so thrilled to let you all know that the fabulous Emzascrapper aka Emma Zappone and I have teamed up to create a brand new little project for us called Kit the Habit. Yippee!!

So what is it all about? 

Well you see Emma and I worked together in my previous business Go Scrap Yourself - a scrapbooking store in Clare, South Australia, which sold all things scrappy and held scrapbooking classes for adults and children.  I have such wonderful memories of my time in this role ( 7 years) and had such a wonderful connection with so many of my customers.  That's one of the things I love about this craft, it connects you to others on an emotional level.  You see, you share lives, stories, emotions, as well as techniques and ideas. 
There's nothing more powerful than the natural support that occurs when groups of women get together.  It's what I miss most about the my shop.  In fact my days often consisted of everything but scrapbooking.....the shop was so many things to so many people....
One of my dear customers said to me "its where we came when we were happy, where we came when we were sad....it was a big part of all of us".
Yep couldn't sum it up better myself. 
I still feel so privileged to have had this in my life for so long.

Anyway I think I've digressed!  Emma started as a customer but her enthusiasm, passion and talent was so strong, that it wasn't long before she was running classes! 
We instantly clicked and we have remained great friends ever since. 

So 12 months ago, I sold my business, and well I am truly sad to say that it has since closed down....leaving a massive void in the community of Clare.

So.....we've decided to come back! Of course it will be in a different form, as we both work in other jobs and also have our families as our number one priorities. 
Our aim is to inspire the community in both Clare and beyond by bringing you lots of scrapbooking ideas, projects etc. 
We will also run some scrapping days, where we will teach, and we are hoping to create some pretty cool kits full of awesome scrappy goodies which we will release every so often. 
 
Why?
Well a number of reasons.  I miss everyone. I love hanging out with Emma. Also I want people to continue to enjoy this craft, and sometimes we just need a bit of support to do just that.  I totally get that life takes over, the craziness of life sometimes leaves not a lot of room left to gather up your inspiration and actually scrap. So we hope by sharing our work, it will keep scrapping alive in you.  You see, I believe it will always be a part of my life in one way or another.....I love recording memories, telling stories, but I also LOVE the ME time, the creative outlet it gives me to PLAY!  I want to encourage others to do the same, and I want to SEE and FEEL that magic that happens when women gather together.

So I hope you join us!
We are still in the planning stages.....you can find us on Facebook as Kit the Habit, and hopefully we will have a blog to share soon.

Just a heads up.....we will be holding our first scrappy day called Scrap Awesome with an R....(ha ha - for those of you who have attended the previous Create-a-thons you may know this joke).... a day of scrapping with classes taught by Emma Zappone, myself and special guest, the fabulous Natalie May  aka Happydaks on Saturday 30th May. 
Stay tuned for further details.

Exciting times......

Sassy Scrappers Challenge

The April Challenge over at Sassy Scrappers is a gorgeous Easter inspired pastel mood board.

 

I was inspired by the colours, the little hearts, the bunting and the splashes of gold.  Even though this is not my usual style I really enjoyed the challenge.  That's what I love about challenges....they push your creativity.  I tend to become very repetitive.  Well I like to think of it more as over-inspired! If I do something new and LOVE it I tend to do it over and over, trying it in different colour combos, different textures etc. So doing a new challenge re-focuses me, and often pushes me in a different direction.

This is my entry

For all the details of this challenge and to play along go HERE

Happy Scrapping!




 

Off the Rails Challenge

Over at Off the Rails Scrapbooking they have a new challenge for April.  There are 2 mood boards to choose from.
As soon as I saw this one I was itching to scrap!  You see I LOVE the colour green, and when you mix it with white and black well......POP.  I knew exactly which photo of my daughter to scrap too!

So this is what I created.....I'm just loving creating this drippy kind of technique at the moment....so fun and your page comes together quite quickly, and I love that every result is slightly different.  Watching the colours run together and form their drip is quite mesmerising.

 

If you wish to join in the fun you can find all the details Here. Have a great day, happy scrapping!

 

D-Lish Scraps

This month I joined in for the first time in The Scrap Suite at D-Lish Scraps.
They have 4 really cool challenges this month, and I loved them all.

The first challenge

 

This one I created whilst on the best retreat in the world Escape2Create at Port Lincoln. I was super happy with the results and loved smearing paint across my page using an old credit card.

 

 

The second challenge is

 

 

This one was so much fun! I also created this at the retreat at about 1am after a couple of glasses of wine!! It came together really quickly - I was a bit hesitant that maybe in the morning with 'fresh' eyes, I wouldn't like it....but I love it, actually it's my favourite of all the layouts I've done recently.  For the This or That Challenge I chose.......Twine, Enamel Dots, Journal Strips and a Flair.

 

The third challenge is a sketch

 

I enjoyed all the white space in this one.

And the final challenge for this month is

As I love the colour green, this one suited me. I created 4 identical embellishments by stamping a flag/banner onto green patterned paper and then cutting them out.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out all my creations.

Woohoo!!

I'm a bit excited........there was a lovely challenge over on the Deer and Fawn Designs blog.  The challenge was to create a layout using their design logo as your inspiration

This is the page I created. I was inspired by the beautiful colours (especially that teal), and the lovely florals and stripes.

 

Guess what!!! I won! Yippee, so I've now got a $30 voucher to spend at their online store Deer and Fawn Designs. I've done an order or 2 from Debbie before so I know how great their goodies are and that I won't have any trouble spending it! 

I see they have a new challenge up for April - mixed media so I encourage you to apply.

 

Scrap Our Stash Challenge

So because I've been getting so inspired by the challenges I've gone in lately, I thought I'd have a hunt around for some more.  
I discovered Scrap Our Stash and a very cool Word Challenge.

 

And this is what I came up with.....

The details are:

 

S - Stamp, String

T - Tag

A - Arrows

M - Metal tag

P - Peg, Pebbles, Paper Bag, Punch

 

I really enjoyed this and will definitely be going in some more.

 

I love this photo of my son on a holiday we took to Port Elliott earlier this year. Each morning he came for a morning walk along the beach with me.  It was special time, peaceful and quiet on the beach and time to just be together.

 

K+ Challenge

There is a new April challenge over at Kraft + http://www.kraftpluschallenges.blogspot.com.au/
This one is a Recipe Challenge. 
At first I was a bit unsure of the colours, but once I had a go I really loved it.  I love how challenges push you out of your comfort zone.

 

Here is my entry.  Thanks again to all at K+ for their awesomeness!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Scrapping!

 

 

 

 

Escape to Create 2015 - Port Lincoln

What an amazing experience this was......I highly recommend it to anyone who ever has the opportunity.  And the best thing about it?
The magic that happened in that shed.
When 80 women gather together from all around Australia, all with an absolute passion for scrapbooking/papercrafting, all 'getting away' from their busy lives and commitments for 3 days.....all feeling so very grateful for the experience......well that's magic.
It's difficult for me to really explain what it was like.  But there was lots of joy, lots of connecting, lots of laughter, a few tears, and a whole lotta creativity.
Organisers, Meredith Treloar and Amanda Hall go above and beyond....they make each person feel so very special, their attention to detail in everything is amazing. Add in some pretty awesome teachers, unlimited scapping time, amazing food, cool goodie packs and class kits, and a whole bunch of like-minded souls and you have an unforgettable experience.

 

 



The sight of the shed when you walk in is breathtaking....I tell you it was highly emotional for me...

 

At night, the balloons would glow, and the shed would buzz with creativity. 

 

I will share all my class layouts pics soon and a few more pics soon, but for now I want to share with you some of the layouts I created whilst there in our free scrapping time. 

You see, it had been over 18 months since I had scrapped a layout!!!! I have been keeping up to my project life in this time, and absolutely loving it, but creating a layout on a 12x12 page had come to a very sudden halt. 

I was a little nervous that I may have forgotten how, but in that magic shed it was easy to be re-inspired and I'm excited to share that my joy for creating has come flooding back.  It's such a great feeling.  I created 14 layouts while there (5 were classes), and I have been continuing to scrap since coming home. Yay me!

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had an absolute blast at e2c and am so grateful to have rediscovered my love for scrapping!!  I look forward to sharing more soon.