Thursday, February 12, 2009

Look at my blinkie!!!!!




Have a look at my blinkie!!!! My darling daughter Toni did it as a surprise for me. I was going to ask her to do one for me, but she seemed to be a little busy so I was waiting till she had more time. I absolutely adore it!!! I couldn't have chosen a better design or colours.

This is my attempt at Black with 2's Challenge. I am not really happy with it, (I found it incredibly hard, perhaps it was the colours) and definitely not happy with the photo, so I may redo it.
Added a bit to it, happier with it now.



Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Settled in

I have settled in to my new home very nicely. Still have scrapping stuff to unpack, but thats the fun part! ..... and the weather has improved, no rain for two days. I have my camera now too, so should be able to get some good photos taken.
I can't believe what those poor people in Victoria are going through. Some of the stories are heart rending and the death toll is unbelievable. I am happy to see that the rest of the country is pitching in to help, the donations are totalling $12m so far and will probably go higher. It doesn't make up for loss of life however.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

A few more tips

Okay, I have a few more, then I'll probably be MIA for a few days while I move.

Before you throw old clothes away, check them for buttons, zips, pockets, labels and motifs which can be removed and used. Childrens clothes in particular are a great resource.

Adhere chipboard letters to a wide strip of ribbon for a title. Can be adhered either horizontally or vertically.

Doodling looks great when done well. Diecuts, title letters, borders can all be very simply edged with a suitably coloured pen.

Masking is another great technique for titles in particular. Use repositionable glue to adhere letters to your page, then use paint, ink, chalk, glimmer mist to dust, pounce or spray over the letters. Dry, then carefully remove letters and you are left with a stencil title.

Stand your albums upright when storing them. Storing flat squashes the lower pages and embellishments.

Check magazine covers for LO ideas. They can often be copied.

Beads, ribbons, flowers and small embellishments can be added to the large paperclips to make page elements.

Tear cardstock, then dampen the torn edge and roll over a paintbrush handle, pencil or knitting needle etc. Dampening it makes it easier to roll and when it dries it stays in place.

Use foam adhesive dots or squares covered in flocking powder or glitter as page embellishments.
We've all had those boo-boos with rub-ons. DST will usually remove them, just lay tape over area to be removed then lift carefully. I heard there is an eraser which removes rub-ons on the market now.

When you are using your hot glue gun, drop some drops in various sizes on a silicone mat or on sticker sheet acetate. Let them cool, remove them and store in a jar. When you need to glue something, use one of your dots and melt with your heat gun. Saves getting your glue gun out and heating it up.

Drink coasters (the kind you see in bars) are great for covering and decorating and using as page elements.

Ever stood back and thought 'no, somethings missing'? Next time that happens, try trimming your whole page slightly and matting it. This often works. Other types of bordering works as well, like inking, stitching, painting, doodling etc.

When your punches are just not doing the job, trying punching through very fine sandpaper. Punch both ways to sharpen both cutting edges, then punch through waxed paper to lubricate. Also, if your punch jams, put it in the freezer for a while. Sounds crazy, but the cold contracts the metal and it unjams!

On that note, I will leave it for now.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Still rather wet


We grow strange fungus here .....


.... and pretty ones.









Still raining lightly here this morning but looking at the weather chart we shouldn't get too much today. Forecast is for rain to ease. Hopefully the rivers will go down and roads will start to dry out as well. Looking up my driveway and across the street to the opposite neighbours.


Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Cyclone Ellie turned out to be a non-event for us

Well, she has been and gone with hardly a murmur here at Mission Beach, we haven't had rain for several days, but south of us has a lot of problems. The Bruce Highway is closed in numerous places, and likely to remain so all week.
It is starting to rain lightly as I type, trying to make a liar out of me, but the sun is still out so I don't think we will get too much.
All my scrapping stuff is packed ready to move, I can't scrap so I might as well check all the blogs.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Ann's February Challenge


I apologise for the quality of the photo, its a phone pic, but here goes. This LO is for Ann's February challenge, over at Hybrid Designs Scrapbooking. I hope I have covered the criteria properly. Now I just have to get it into the gallery.




Sunday, February 1, 2009

Terrrrrific!

We have a cyclone heading for us, so the rain hasn't let up at all, and probably won't for several days yet. On top of that I am trying to move house, its not far but difficult to do in the rain!

Anyway, a few more hints or tips ...
All you scrappers with children just starting school ... start a school album with a double page layout for each year, recording teachers, friends, outings, special achievements etc. I wish I had done this when my kids were at school.

Enhance your die cuts using inks, chalks, markers, coloured pencils, beads and glitter etc. Even clear stickers can be coloured with markers.

Keep a good supply of white flowers on hand. You can usually colour them to match your LO with stamp pads or chalks. I have even used markers.

and now a few for the cardmakers among us

All out of ribbon? A strip of cardstock will do just as well. Thread through a buckle or slide.

Print your message or sentiment on cardstock, cut into strips and adhere to card.

Keep all your paper scraps, they are great for punching small embellishments for your cards.

If you like paper piecing, kids colouring books are a great resource.

Stock up on circle punches. They are very versatile, and so much easier than handcutting.

Its a proven design principle that uneven numbers are more pleasing to the eye than even numbers so when adding flowers etc, make sure to add uneven numbers.

That's all for now