Aussie Scrap Source

been there done that

one of the most common threads through all of those who are using the Been There Done That range is that these papers are enabling them to scrap old photos that have been at the bottom of the pile forever, awaiting the perfect papers.

another delighted discovery was that these papers not only co-ordinate with the other papers in its state range, but they also go beautifully with papers in other states as well.  very australian!

 

Chris has mixed and matched 3 different ranges of the BTDT papers for this layout. She thought the beach houses from the Vic range would make a great accent for this beach photo of herself and Annaliese. She also combined the Bluebells from the ACT range with some QLD rub-ons and title.

 

Because the picture is so stunning, Chris wanted to very simply embellish this page with the title, some handcut swirls and a couple of rub-ons.

 

Mel has combined a variety of patterned paper from several states to create this layout of a snapshot taken at Mt Field National Park. For a fast and effective title she has simply cut out the appropriate names from the Tas Titles patterned paper and adhered them on her layout. A little chocolate brown blanket stitch has finished everything off nicely.

 

   

 

When Jaimie's family took an extended vacation to the East coast earlier in the year, she ended up with hundreds of photos to scrap but not the right paper. When the BTDT ranges came out Jaimie couldnt wait to get her hands on them to create this mini album of their trip. Jaimie said "All the work is taken out with these papers - they have everything you need to create treasured keepsakes of your travels. The best thing is that you can easily mix and match because they all tie in together - Perfect"

 

Belinda has created this beautiful country wall hanging using the more natural colour palette from several states, handcutting the vine leaves from the SA state, and mixing and matching the rubons to suit.

been there done that: south australia

 

Pinks and plums and sage green, the colours of vineyards and rich soil and the state floral emblem, the Sturt Desert Pea.  South Australia is a little feminine, a little earthy and can even be a little Christmas.

Stunning talent on today's post we have to thank Janine King, Dianna Sullivan, Kathie Link, Carole Janson, and Lee Woodside.

 

Cheryl mixed and matched the stripes and patterns of the South Australia range to create this cool layout about her boys rugby obsession.  The very linear look is softened by the wildflowers and flourishes of the paper, and the curve of the cherryArte chipboard title leads the eye into the photos.   And the 'footy fever' rubon from the Vic range was just too perfect not to use.

 

The Adelaide Zoo was the theme of this layout, and Steph used the gorgeous range of Adelaide Inspired Patterned Papers to showcase her photograph. Steph mainly hand cut the leaves and background of the piece and cut a scalloped edge from the 2nd side of one of the papers to add interest to the photograph.

 

Lee Woodside:  This layout features paper from "SA stripe" and "Around Adelaide". Once again the edges of the layout, title and photos were drybrushed with white acrylic paint.  Photos: Kate Mason

 

Lee Woodside:  I loved the back of the "Around Adelaide" paper so much but after cutting it down to use the other side didn't quite have enough to make my layout. So I improvised and cut a strip from the other side that I had left over and featured more polka dots. Whilst this strip featured words across them you can't really see it in the layout as I have brushed white paint along the edges of the layout. A great way to use those off cuts.   Photos: Kate Mason

 

Lee Woodside:  I love to cut up patterned papers especially those that contain great design features. This layout features elements from the "Fine Wine" paper as well as the title from "SA Titles". The papers are backed onto Kraft cardstock a great foundation for these papers. I mixed together red and black paint to give a similar colour that features in these papers. I dry brushed around the edges of the layout, the title and throughout the layout as well. 

 

Lee Woodside:  This layout features papers from "Retail Therapy" and "Sturt Desert Pea". The words and pictures were just what I needed to feature a fun weekend away. I cut down the titles a bit and only featured some of the words. The edges of the layout have been sanded as well as the edges of the title piece. 

 

 

  

 

Carole Janson:  I used the SA Products for this layout (papers and rubons), and just had fun cutting out different parts of the papers and added and layering them to the layout, I also scalloped strips of pattern paper.

I also used dimensional magic for highlights the wine in the glass, and kindy-glitzed the flourishes to bring out the flourishes in the background patterned paper.

 

Dianna Sullivan:  I enjoyed creating this layout using the South Australia range, even though the colours were not what I usually use.  I loved that I could use the words that were on one of the pages as strips on my layout and they fitted completely in line with my recent holiday to Tahiti.  The Tourist title was fun to make.  I used one of the larger South Australia titles and covered the circular part with a journaling stamp and which went nicely with the overall theme I wanted to create.

 

Dianna Sullivan:  Enjoyed doing this layout as the SA papers went beautifully with my photos and cardstock.  I used some of the SA title papers and cut and placed behind the main patterned paper on my page.  Used Heidi Swapp chipboard Alphas for the title and traced a cherryArte chipboard flower with the patterned paper and finished by using the flourish from the South Australia Been There Done That rubons as a stem for my flower.

 

 

Diana Sullivan:  The title "nightlife" seemed to go so well with the story behind this photo.  On a recent holiday to Tahiti my daughter Arwen got locked in the toilet on our very first night there and it took us more than two hours to get her out.  She was so upset and it was NZtime about midnight, this photo was her sleeping after all that drama. I used the paper with the grape vine on because it reminded me of the gorgeous duvet covers that they had in Tahiti with the leaf designs on and I used some BasicGrey patterned paper to cut the leaf fronds around the layout.

 

 

Kathie Link:  Since having Jamie I don't have the time to go jogging and I really miss it. Creating this layout is about as close as I'll get for the moment, although it didn't burn half as many calories!

 

 

 

 

 

Janine King:  With school holidays approaching rapidly, I have got some fun activities for you to complete with your children. Other than your regular scrapping supplies, you may need to stop off at a craft shop to get a few extra goodies- goggle eyes, mini pom poms, glitter pipe cleaners and bells. A quick stop at the supermarket for candy canes and lollipops may also be needed. 

(Note:  If you would like to complete any of these projects, Janine has kindly provided templates.  Leave a comment and we can email them to you.)

The peg reindeer is very cute and easy to put together. Simply pull three wooden pegs apart, re-glue and decorate as shown. Great gifts for the kids to make for the grandparents!

The candy cane mouse is a hit with my kids- again easy to make and great for little gifts for friends. Simply cut out (using the template) and assemble as shown. The candy cane becomes the mouse’s tail.

A little more work is involved with the bead footed reindeer. Cut out using the paper template and assemble. I have used ribbon from my stash as the reindeer’s legs however you could use raffia, string or wool. The beads could be replaced with bells if you wish. The holly I have used to decorate the reindeer with is simply torn from scrap paper.

The lollipop reindeer is a favourite with my girls. Use the template and cut out the paper. Use a punch or circle cutter to add the circle, add the lollipop and decorate. These would be great for an end-of-year school party.

This paper bauble is made with left over paper. I used decorative scissors to add interest. I have cut five 12” strips and formed a bauble shape. If you look closely inside I have added bells while adding the hanging thread.

Adults- your turn. J - Although kids could make these, I don’t recommend then drinking the wine- LOL!!! I made the wine glass name card using my circle cutter.  I have cut one circle and then the other off centre. There is a slit at the back to allow the circle to be placed around the stem of the wine glass. I have decorated and added the required person’s name. This would be great to use as a table placement card as well as a wine glass identifier.

I have covered this pre bought wooden Christmas tree with the gorgeous ‘Been There, Done That’ papers and decorated. Really the kids could complete this project too, however they may need a little help covering the wooden pieces.

 

Chr­is created these stylish cards by combining the SA range of papers and rub-ons with Crate Paper sentiment rub-ons and a deluxe designs chipboard plaque.

been there done that: australian capital territory

 

 

 

A soft mauve, deep blue, rich brown and musky pink are pepped up by a striking, almost lime green in this eye catching colour story celebrating the highlights of the nations capital. 

With this post we struck more gold in the way of Aussie scrapbooking talent and we thank talented guest designers Tracey Kidd, Steph Fraser, Joelene Pienaar and Yvette Adams for their fabulous creative work.

Although Cheryl has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the double entendre in the 'hot air' words on the Canberra papers, working on this range on election day of all days, Suz couldn't resist playing with the pun.

This was just one of those layouts that records a fleeting moment and feeling and because of the versatility of the papers, it came together almost as fleetingly. 

 

Although she keeps changing her mind, (Victoria's a close runner up) Suz claims that the ACT colour story has probably ended up her favourite.  Here she has used the backs of the papers - the gorgeous rich brown and green along with a handcut bluebell work fabulously with the BasicGrey Gypsy ribbon and a smidge of Hambly.

 

 

Again the bluebell shows off it's versatility in this layout created by Cheryl.  Although she was initially worried about using flowers on boy layouts, her boys are born and bred in Canberra and this bluebell is even on their birth certificates, so it's nice to have a record of it in their albums as well. 

Cheryl has aligned her journalling with the steps created by the bottom of her photographs for added visual interest.

   

Yvette Adams:  Canberra has been my home for 13 years now.  In the last few years, since our daughter came along, our little family has enjoyed exploring Canberra and playing tourists.  All year I've been thinking about creating a layout about our town, and these papers got me all inspired to do just that!

 

Jolene Pienaar:  In keeping with the travel theme of the papers, I went with some photos of the Byron Bay Lighthouse, I added a bit of inking and distressing to add a bit of interest to these gorgeous papers.

 

Jolene Pienaar:  The floral paper of the ACT range jump out at me from the start, the gorgeous rich colours are just perfect for summer.  It didn't take long for me to get cutting and playing. The paper matched up with some gorgeous Queen & Co beads perfectly.

 

Steph Fraser:  I haven't been to ACT before so I chose to use the other sides of the paper.  This is a picture of my seven year old daughter.  I used Heidi Swapp chipboard alphabet - Newsprint in Jet, Heidi Swapp Florals in white but I chalked them slightly so they weren't so white.  Basic grey Rub ons - Wholy Cow and a floral stamp that you may or may not notice in the background stamped with a versamark inkpad that gives a watermark effect.  I love using this technique as it can change a plain piece of paper and add a new dimension to it.

 

   

Tracey Kidd:  Choosing a photo for this challenge was easy as these papers really do go well with outdoor theme pages and the rubons are super easy to use.  Lately I find myself rubbing the rub-ons onto cardstock then cutting them out so they add more dimension to my pages. I just love the whole aussie feel about this layout.

 

Again, Chris took the opportunity to create a few cards with the scraps from her layouts. Using the rub-ons and simple designs Chris has put together a collection of cards ready to use when she needs them.

been there done that - northern territory

 

The deep sands, russets and blues of the Northern Territory are captured and echoed brilliantly in these designs.  Prepare to be amazed at their versatility in the projects below.  We thank our guest designers Rebecca Cameron, Mel Nunn, Lisa Warner and Jill Geraghty-Groves for bringing these papers to life and providing some amazing inspiration below.

 

 

 

Chris's sister is always bugging her to scrapbook her travel photos for her, and now with the BTDT papers Chris has no excuse not to as they are just perfect for this range! Chris has created a small photo collage of the fishing photos and using the NT Title paper has easily defined on the layout exactly where the photos were taken on the fishing trip.

 

 

Again here Chris has used the NT range again to put together this layout for her sisters travel album. We love the way that Chris has worked the pictures straight onto the 'Camping Out' papers and has used it as the base of her layout.  Using the NT rub-ons Chris has added a few little finishing touches to the page.

 

 

Cheryl couldn't resist matching these photos with the Northern Territory papers with her sons t-shirt echoing the blues and browns in the striped paper so perfectly.  She has handcut the strip of the NT's floral emblem, the Desert Rose and overlapped it over her photos.  She has grunged up and painted Heidi Swapp chipboard letters for her title.

 

   

 

Jill Geraghty-Groves:  It is so obvious with these "BDTD" papers that the colours of this NT range have really been caught.  I couldn't help myself but to do an "uluru" layout.  Very simple, but I think its captured the "feel" of the rock.

 

 

 

 

Jill Geraghty-Groves:  I found the NT papers just went so beautifully together!  Although they were not traditional "bright" colours, they were strong and contrasted well together.

I really though they suited this picture of one of my twin boys when he was caught getting up to mischief!  I wanted the layouts to look a little "weathered" so I really got stuck into the distressing and sanding and covered some Li'l Davis chipboard circles, a Basic Grey bookplate and Heidi Swapp alphas to continue the theme.

 

 

 

Lisa Warner: As I've never been to the Northern Territory I had no need of place names so i cut them up to make my own words.  I painted red in the middle (using a credit card to swipe the paint) leaving the blue of the paper as a border.   The brown strips at the edges are sticking plaster.

 

 

 

Lisa Warner:  I cut the text into random strips and modpodged to the brown paper. Once dry I painted over with green then wiped some of the paint off with a wet rag. The dot pattern on some of the text paper made a good photo corner. Its nice to get this photo scrapbooked, I've had it a long time as you can see by the date!

 

 

Lisa Warner: I cut up the brown scroll rub-on in order to elongate it and put it in 2 places. I added a tiny red flower rub-on to the centre of the blue flower rub-on. These were taken at the last farm we lived on, in South Australia.

 

 

 

Mel Nunn:  I found the Northern Territory line of papers and rub ons easy to work with even though I hadn't been to the NT. The papers are double sided and easy to use. May favourite part of my layout? The coordinating rub on flowers that match the paper perfectly, adding another dimension to my layering.

 

 

Rebecca Cameron: 

When I received my pack of ‘Been There, Done That’ I have to be honest and say I thought “What am I going to do with these?” I am not a traditional scrapbooker. I don’t use a lot of products on my pages. So, to be sent patterned paper and phrase rub ons was going to be a challenge. Once I got started though the pages just flowed and I didn’t have to add anything to the pages other than paint and pen work. This range can stand alone, no other scrapbooking products are required.

The first layout I completed was ‘Fish Face.’ The ‘Top End Fishing’ paper was perfect for this photo of my father and daughter. I painted concentric circles over the top of the paper and then began layering elements. I cut out the flowers from the ‘desert rose’ paper and used them as a photo corner. To make them stand out more I added some dots and lines. The title was created using letters cut out of the ‘Northern territory titles’ and ‘Around Darwin’ papers. As for the journaling, I used the NT rub-ons. These rub-ons are fabulous. No tearing here.

 

 

Rebecca Cameron:  Next came ‘Aussie Kid.’ Once again I limited myself to use only the products in the range. I did this reasonably well. I did end up using a postcard of Uluru. It was just too perfect. The journaling block is my favourite part of the page. I added 3 rub-ons to the ‘Around Darwin’ paper drew concentric rectangles and added the journaling. Quick, easy and really effective. Oops forgot to say, the background card is a hand painted design of my own.

 

 

 

Rebecca Cameron:  ‘Sunburnt Country’ has to be my favourite. I painted some chipboard white, allowed it to dry and then added rub-ons. I doodled around the edges and then cut the shapes out. I used the patterned paper to create the border around the photo, added the chipboard embellishments and then painted in the journaling. Again, the background paper is my own painted design.

 

 

 

 

Rebecca Cameron:  In ‘Aussies in Laos’ made buttons using chipboard and rub-ons. Letters were either hand-cut or cut from a variety of Northern Territory papers. The borders and heart were also hand drawn and cut.

 

 

 

Rebecca Cameron:  Finally, I wanted to use my scraps of paper. I decided to make a card. I thought the papers were perfect for a ‘thinking of you’ card. When I think of Australia I think of family.

 

 

 

And a few more cards - Chris Millar sees us out of the Northern Territory again using offcuts to make these two very lovely ones.

been there done that.. victoria

You might remember a few weeks back we had a call to a challenge - to help us launch our new range of patterned papers and rubons.

This is our very own Been There Done That range, and its launch celebrates everything Australian.  Each line of six papers covers a different state of Australia, with it's own colour story and themed titles, place names and topics.  Designed by Australians, for Australians, that are even printed in Australia.

This is a range of contemporary themed quality papers that are neither tacky, cutesy or too busy.  And they are double sided so that you can turn them over and have the versatility of quietly simple but beautiful background papers that are happy to do just that - sit in the background and let your photos take centre stage.

Anyway, we had an unbelievable response to our challenge and each day over the course of this next week we share with you the fruits of the labours of both our own design team and our impromptu design team - 32 of our readers who each received the full range of Been There Done That products to work with. 

Although each of them was assigned a particular state to work with, many of them didn't stop with just one.  We have been blown away by the number and quality of the projects we have received.  We would like to thank them all now - an egalitarian mix of published artists and unknown artists - and that's what we wanted - to showcase the multitude of ways you can use Been There Done That at every skill level.

We begin today with the temperate greens and blues of Victoria.  Grab a cuppa and enjoy.

 

Ever have one of those moments when you see a pp and know immediately exactly how you'd like to use it? Well, this 'Common Health' pp by Been There Done That is one of 'those' papers and Donna knew just what to do!

The design focus for this layout are these gorgeous green, white and blue flowers made richer by this lush brown background. A few rubons complete the look and gently tell the world, that this is an Aussie Layout and one completely adorable Aussie KID!

 

 

Green and blue is a timeless combination, and mixed with these aquas and browns these patterned papers are an irresistible earthy combination ideal for skies and countryside of any of the more temperate states.  Suz has created this double 8.5x11" layout very simply, letting the papers and photos pretty much speak for themselves.  

The word papers are extra versatile when you can find uses for them elsewhere as Suz has here, mounting on chipboard and sanding the edges, and the Scenic Route Paper Redmond chipboard in Mint is a perfect match for the greens in the papers.

 

Responsible for the concept and design of these papers, we're pretty impressed that Cheryl was determined to find some time to actually use them on some of her own layouts!   She has handcut the flower design and layered it as a simple but effective embellishment to complement this photo of herself and her two lively boys.  The Heidi Swapp clear acrylic 'Remember' is the perfect accompaniment in the vertical space above.

 

 

 

 

 

Carolyn Ondjaate:  The kids' first ever snow trip was accompanied by a memory-cardless-camera much to my horror.  In true scrapbooker style, I dragged them on another 3hour drive back to the snow for a second attempt at the perfect photo ten days later!!

This layout was a pleasure to create.  How did they know the colours in the ski papers were going to match my childrens' snow gear!?  The rubons have been placed on one inch chip tiles and mounted over handcut papers for a dimensional and feature effect.  The journalling is in a Basic Grey frame.

 

 

Dianna Sullivan says she just adored the colours in the Victorian range, and although it wasn't her 'assigned' state, she couldn't resist creating this gorgeous layout of her daughter.  We're glad she did - it looks amazing.

 

Jane Fitchett:  The paper with the place names was the starting point for this one.   Our honeymoon was spent travelling down the G.O.R., and I've never scrapped any photos.  I had heaps of lighthouse photos, and this one just went perfectly with the with the soft dusk tones of the papers  - only another 20 or so layouts to do to record the rest of our honeymoon!

 

 

Jane Fitchett:  This layout uses very recent photos, which i knew i wanted to scrap as soon as i took them, but wasnt sure how i was going to do it. Then when i received the BTDT gear and saw the Fair Dinkum rubons, i knew i  had my subject.

Our kids have the same time frame of ancestors living in Australia  on both sides of the family- interestingly on both sides were publishers. On my side there were newspapermen from Koroit, and on the Fitchetts, they were the original owners of New Idea magazine!!

 

Jane Fitchett:  When i saw this paper i thought of these old photos of me, my sister and one of my brothers.  Mucking around at the snow.  Ive used the snowflake rubons from the vic pack, and the strip at the top (the stripey bit) is the reverse side on this paper. I like how when you cut off the bottom that has all the supplier details on it, you can turn it over and have a narrow but useable strip.

 

 

Carole Janson:  Here I cut the flowers out and curled them and 3D'ed them onto the layout with foam tape.  I adhered beads onto the layout using dimensional magic and embellished with Heidi Swapp gems.  I love the colours of this paper - just gorgeous.

 

 

Carole Janson:  I loved using the Victorian papers and rubons here - they are simply gorgeous.     I cut out and 3D'ed the Huts from the patterned paper with foam tape and then used dimensional magic on the paper to give them more height.  The alphas are Pressed Petals Chip Chatter Large Alpa which i embellished with a Heidi Swapp Hibiscus Silhouette.

 

Cindy Couacaud:  The snow paper from the Victorian range was perfect for this photo of my kids at the snow a few months back.  I matted the photo and then mounted it onto corrugated cardboard to give it some dimension.  I loved the alpha rubons - they're just such a handy size for snippets of journalling - even directly onto the photo - and they're easy to apply.  I used the themed snow rubon on a metal ringed tag which echoes the paper design.

  

Tamara Milborn:  I've had these photos of Melbourne city for a couple of years, waiting to be scrapped, and this was the perfect opportunity!  The blues and browns are a perfect match for the pictures of the urban landscape.  I used some lyrics from my favourite ode to my favourite city - 'Melbourne' by The Whitlams - for journalling in the gorgeous rubon letters.

 

 

Tamara Milborn:  The blues and browns, and subtle patterns on the reverse sides of these papers worked perfectly for this photo of my husband and our little boy.  A handcut swirl of contrasting green lifts the layout and complements the green Heidi Swapp photo corner.  Coordinating papers make it so easy to create a layout while keeping the focus on a favourite photo!

 

        

Jody White:   I was so pleased I got to use the Vic range.  When I saw the colours of the papers, I knew that I had the perfect photo for the layout.   I found the product really easy to work with, and I was able to express exactly how I felt about living on the Mornington Peninsula.

 

And last but not least we finish with a few great card ideas from our resident card queen Chris Millar. Chris put these together simply with some leftover scraps from the Victorian range.   Chris has amazingly made some cards with papers from each state which we'll share with you each day.

Come back tomorrow to check out the contrasts and vibrancy of the Top End with us.

weekend inspiration: crate paper

we have an abundance of riches to share with you today all featuring some of our favourite patterned paper ranges from Crate Paper.  To begin, Mel Goodsell has outdone herself with these four fabulous layouts.

 

 

 

Mel has blanket stitched around a sheet of Coral patterned paper (Crush collection) and combined Orange County Crateboard alphas plus Hambly Screen Print rubons to create a layout about her son's favourite memories from their Easter camping trip this year.

 

 

 

The Zoom range of patterned papers doesn't always have to be about planes, trains and automobiles! Mel has demonstrated that here with a fun layout using up some of those hard to scrap photos. The circles have been hand cut from the Wheels patterned paper and the title is a mix of Zoom crushboard and rubons.

 

Of course if you do just happen to have some plane, train or automobile photos around, the Zoom range is just perfect! Mel has used the train track rubons to add a border to the top and bottom of her layout and the main title (Zoom crushboard) has been stitched into place to reinforce the train track theme.

 

 

The yummy autumn tones found in the Crush collection of patterned papers sit perfectly with many of the Heidi Swapp orange, green and brown coloured decorative tapes available. Mel has used a single strip of tape across the bottom half of her layout and completed the page using chocolate chipboard alphas found in the Orange County Crushboard pack.

 

 

Why not use this range to make some gorgeous handmade gifts for a new born baby as Chris has done. Plain gift bags can be found at craft shops and door hangers can easily be made by covering some chipboard that has been measure and cut to size. Chris loves how 'inkable' the crate paper range is also.

 

 

  

Keeping with the baby theme Chris has blocked her photos and journalling on this layout and kept the lines very simple yet effective. Chris added a very interesting stamped border around her photos using the Sassafras Lass border stamp. Chris stamped the images onto the Baby Bee paper, cut the images out and then secured them around the edge of her photos.

 

 

 

 

We discovered these gorgeous layouts both created by Donna Meuli and both using the Baby Bee range. We love the way Donna has incorporated hand stitching and machine stitching to her layouts, it really compliments the Baby Bee range. It's wonderful to have your creations on the blog this week, thank you Donna.

 

 

A big thank you to Ann Lederhose for sharing her scrumptious layout using the Twirl collection of patterned papers. We loved her beautiful use of hand cut and punched flowers and the little added bit of bling scattered throughout the page. Such a pretty and well balanced layout!

 

 

  

We love this little beauty created by Jamie Gavin using both the Birdie and Cowgirl collection. Jamie created the stars by using the reverse sides of the papers. Thanks for sharing Jamie!

 

 

Last but not least this week, the Crush collection of papers are certainly perfect for those upcoming Christmas layouts as Cathy Bodini has demonstrated on this elegant page of her daughter. Cathy has also used the patterned papers to cover the brackets from one of the Crateboard chipboard packs (alphabets, numbers & punctuation) and we also adored the cool page title!

strano designs: we have a winner!

A new comment from “Kelly” was received on the post “weekend inspiration: strano designs” of the weblog “Aussie Scrap Source”.

Comment:
Love it all. And I love all the colours of the ribbons!! So yummy! The tin is sooooo cute. I love it!!

• Commenter name: Kelly

 

Congratulations Kelly Rodgers!!

meet the design team: donna loves sei

 

I've made no secret of my preference - hmmm, no that's not a strong enough word - let's say PASSION for SEI products. There are numerous reasons, but honestly it is inadvertent 'attraction'  - it just seems to  exist. We all have those right? You know, where you always seem to just head back to a particular product in your stash  and no matter how much you distance yourself from it, it just somehow appears in your hand and of course, on your layout.

If I had to list a reason or two through...well, that's easy. There are a bunch.

I've mentioned before that I'm not a subtle, go-easy-and-gentle kind of scrapper. When inspiration hits I can be extremely rough on my products in what I'm sure resembles some kind of a creative frenzy. SEI patterned papers cope very well. They are strong and sturdy. Love to be torn and sanded and generally rouged-up. And they seem to stick well and flat no matter how nasty I am to them. The designs often beg to become elements on my page such as strips of hearts (Cupid's Candy) and gorgeous flowers (Paisley & Petals).

Every range of SEI products contains a plethora of coordinating embellishments; tags, chipboard, rubons, iron-ons, puff elements, alphabets, ribbons, buttons etc. etc. There are so many embellishments to choose from. I've always been a big fan of the puff elements/alphabet stickers. Not exactly sure why? Some would say they are a little kitsch...perhaps that's why I love them so much. They're different and when roughed up or splashed with paint or simply used 'straight' they seem to add personality to a page. I don't think I see them on too many pages around the traps - so if you haven't tried them, my challenge to you would simply be that. Try them. Even once. If you do make sure to comment here so I can take a look! (Is this allowed? He he.)

 

I haven't always seen a unique style in my layouts. My 'style' tends to evolve as products change, but one thing's for sure...I do love bright, happy colours. My all-time favourite range of product in terms of colour would have to be Ally's Wonderland. The colours in this range 'speak to me' and totally inspire.

 

 

The day I got these papers in the mail I sat for hours and scrapped. Think I got through about 3 layouts without taking a breathe! 'Molly's Happy Dance' is a result of that scrapping session and is probably my favourite of my most recent layouts.

 

 

Whether I'm working from a broad stash of SEI or just a few bits and pieces there are SEI products to be seen on virtually every layout I create. SEI is my comfort zone - my safety blanket. I know that no matter what I'm working on there is an SEI product to suit in terms of colour and/or texture. Just can't get enough, I'm afraid! 

 

 

 

 

weekend inspiration: strano designs

 

Stunning Strano Ribbon is the subject of this week's inspiration post.  It comes in widths varying from 3/8" to a gorgeous 2" wide, in the colours of the rainbow and everything in between.   

A parcel of this kind of colour is enough to brighten anyone's day, and if you'd like a surprise RAK just leave us a comment and one random person will be drawn to receive one.   In the meantime, have a scroll through the creative output of some of our design team and guests.

 

Everyone has a story to tell about how & why they began scrapbooking. For Donna, Strano was a major player in that story. When challenged to create a layout using Strano ribbons Donna went searching for the very layout that sparked her interest...but, unfortunately could neither find it nor remember who created it. The inspiration is still there though. The beautifully coloured and quality ribbons by Strano Designs have inspired many of Donna's layouts and this layout is no exception.

Here the bold colours of the photo are perfectly highlighted by the bold colours of these hot pink and lime green ribbons. To create a point-of-difference and to add a little drama, Donna has also added a cherryArte chipboard floral wrapped haphazardly in this black & white striped Strano ribbon.

 

Although it seems not long ago her son was happy to sing along to the tellytubbies, Suz Doyle recognises now it's all about Silverchair.  This layout is all about Alex's love of the song 'Straight Lines' and what better way to illustrate it then a collection of not very straight lines of Strano.

 

This layout Suz Doyle created for the Aussie Scrap Source 'Everyday Moments' promotion in For Keeps.  Random strips of Strano seperate images of family, scrapbooking and her life.  BasicGrey chipboard alphas have been covered in Strano - once Strano RibbonStiff has been applied to the ribbon you can cut them just like paper and they won't fray.

 

 

We  thank Julie Ann Shahin for allowing us to share this wonderful layout which shows so well the versatility of Strano Ribbon when it's sealed with Strano RibbonStiff.  Julie Ann has cut the ribbon itself into this stunning stylised floral design, and you can see how crisp the edges of the ribbon remain.  The lovely texture of the ribbon remains yet you now have the versatility of paper.

Suz loves Strano RibbonStiff and has created many projects with it - the tag book in this months class kit post a prime example.  Here she has used it to cover a $2 money box tin for her daughter.  Just paint the RibbonStiff onto the tin, wind ribbon around, and paint another coat of RibbonStiff over the top of the ribbon - perfectly sealed and a gorgeous little project completed in minutes. 

These Sassafras Lass rubons are then applied to the dried ribbon and go on like butter.  Suz has also Quickcutz-ed some of the RibbonStiff ribbon into daisies, and used the Goosbumpz embossing die to give the flower some texture.

 

Let's face it - ribbons have been used in various crafts as trims since, well...who knows when! These gorgeous little boxes by Tiffany Tillman highlight this fact perfectly. The Strano ribbons are beautifully coordinated and completely lush!  This 'Smitten' ribbon box could have any number of uses, but could also serve a very good purpose as a sweet little piece of eye-candy.

 

 

This Christmas themed box (also by Tiffany Tillman) is a fantastic idea. Imagine finding one of these under the tree or in your stocking?!

**EDITED TO ADD:  We have had so many queries and emails about Strano RibbonStiff.  If your local scrapbooking shop doesn't already stock it just ask them to add a few bottles to their next order with Aussie Scrap Source!

   

class kits: november

here are the offerings from our design team in the form of class kits for november.  a smattering of early christmas and a host of other great ideas and layouts.  all of our kits come in a complete self-contained pack, with everything you need to do on your own at home, or in a class environment.  if you like the look of any of these, or earlier ones, just ask your local scrapbooking store to order it in for you.  the kits themselves can even make great christmas gifts for your scrappy friends.

 

 

This elegant layout and card incorporates beautiful Christmas colours without being overly 'Christmassy'. This is definitely a class kit suitable for all levels of ability and will add to your stash with the more than ample full sheets of new Basic Grey 'Mellow' alphabet stickers and Crate Paper bands, tags and frames. Remember, this class kit will suit any range of themes and does not need to be limited simply to Christmas photos. If you're looking for a class kit that is both versatile, yet beautifully elegant...this is IT!

 

 

Gorgeous colours, paper curling and handmade embellishments we touch on all of these things in this stunning layout and card set. WeRMemory Keepers products are the focus of this class, with a little BasicGrey thrown in for good measure. This class will be perfect for beginner-intermediate but creates a layout and card that any scrapper would be proud of.

 

The gorgeous soft Spring Picnic Collection from Jenni Bowlin sets the tone for this very girly double page Layout. Using freestyle cutting techniques and pen work—this kit can be a double page spread or separated to create two equally stunning layouts of that sassy little girl or girls in your life. The large sheet of Paperloft monograms will accommodate any title of your choice.

 

 

Make this cute little ribbon tag book in no time at all. As a brag book it can be a great quick Christmas present for a loved one or perfect to hang off your own bag or key ring. Learn of the wonders of Strano RibbonStiff, fuzzy rub-ons and beading techniques in this fresh and fun class.

 

 

It's time to get started on making some home made gifts to give away this Christmas. Learn an easy way to create your own calendars using these fun CherryArte papers and Junkitz Calendar kit. Once you learn how you'll want to make them for all your family and friends this Christmas.

 

 

Want to send something special to your friend, sister, Mother or daughter this Christmas? Create these delicious homemade Christmas cards and you’re sure to bring delight to their mailboxes! Once you’ve learnt to create these 6 beautiful cards you can use the same designs to create many more in time for Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

Create these 5 chirpy cards using the lovely BasicGrey Pheobe range of papers, new Hero Arts stamps, water colour pencils which all come together with Strano ribbons and bling! Guaranteed to brighten anyones day!

carolee's creations: we have a winner!

Comment:
I love the 'timeless' range, the black/white/red is so elegant.

• Commenter name: KarenB

 

Congratulations Karen  - we'll be in touch!!

meet the dt: mel loves scenic route paper

 

I've always been a big fan of Scenic Route products. In the early days it was mainly a fascination with their double sided patterned papers - so thick, luscious, bold and rich in colour. Now I seem to have an addiction for the black and red Berkeley chipboard alphas and all of the seriously delicious chipboard that is available to match each range of papers.

 

I find the papers particularly easy to use on boyish layouts and mini albums - Ashville and Metropolis are probably my most favourite ranges at the moment.­

 

 

The new Scenic Route Kraft (double sided cardstock) is something that I usually reach for when scrapbooking. It's great for a layout background or as shown here in my 'come out and play' page, I've hand cut out the circles from a sheet (Ashville Kraft Rings) and used them as an accent to tie in with the photo.

 

 

For this layout (lollies yum) I've mixed up old and new Scenic Route papers for the background, layering them in vertical strips before adding photos and hand stitching.

 

 

I'm also sharing a few of my older favourite Scenic Route projects. The 'All Boy' mini album is a mix of chipboard, patterned papers, alphas and stickers, mainly from the North Shore range.

 

 

 

weekend inspiration: carolee's creations

In the meantime, here's some weekend inspiration brought to you by our design team and Carolee's Creations.

If you like the look of these products, leave a comment on this post and we'll send out a small sample pack to one lucky reader.

After recently finishing the heritage challenge Chris found that the Carolee's Creations Timeless range of papers would be perfect for another heritage photo she discovered whilst going through her Mum's old albums. She adored the 'buds' paper and decided that she would use a craft knife to cut around the design in the bottom left hand corner of the paper and gently place her photo underneath.

The rest of the layout just fell together with the foam alpha stickers and cardstock stickers finishing off the creation nicely.

 

Chris feels that the Carolee's Creations Timeless range have a dramatic, striking design to them and decided to put together a set of sympathy cards from the products left over from doing the layout.

 

Suz used the "Glamour" range on this fabulous photo of fellow scrapper Kylie Fenner's gorgeous lookin' son!  She combined it with Hambly to produce a bright vibrant page full of colour and movement.  Photography by Raylene Wilkinson.

Carolee's are regularly expanding their range and one of the newest additions are these foam alphas - we love the dimension of them.

 

   

Lynn Whelan has created this fun and colourful layout from the Carolee's Creations picnic range. Thank you Lynn for sharing your work with us!

 

   

Georgana Hall has used these stunning black and white photos so beautifully against the Carolee's Creations 'timeless' papers. Thank you Georgana for allowing us to display your precious layout.

 

 

And check out these two gorgeous layouts from Suz Doyle.  You may have seen these in For Keeps for the Everyday competition, but we hadn't shared them here.  Carolee's papers work well within Suz's 'gelato' colour palette, and she loves the soft colour stories and subtle designs. Check out also the old favourites in the first layout - the twill letters - they work so well reinforcing a 'wintry' theme.

a challenge to our readers: WOW!

We've been bowled over by the response to our challenge - thank you!!  We need to close off comments now, but we're thrilled that so many of you are willing to share and contribute to this launch with us.

Over the weekend we will be contacting the lucky winners - although the selection process will be partially random we also need to match your colour choices with the different lines in the range and end up with a roughly equal number of contributor to each line... with 155 responses it's an unenviable task!! 

The fun bit though, will be letting you know you've won.

Stand by :)

a challenge to our readers

we love that we have so many comments and visitors to our blog, and along with our little weekly giveaways, we thought we'd issue a challenge and have a massive giveaway as our way of thanking you for stopping by, and discovering a whole new bundle of talent at the same time.

we'd like YOU to contribute to our blog and have some fun with a fabulous new product range we're showcasing soon.

leave a comment on this post and we could be sending you out some free product to play with. 

in your comment tell us your favourite colours and we'll try and match you up with the right range. 

check back on friday when we will randomly draw about 20 names and send out your parcel.

please note the only catch is that we want to post your work on our blog in the week commencing 26 November, so by leaving a comment you need to be able to commit to being able to send us images of your finished projects by Saturday 24 November.

we're talking about an exciting new patterned paper and product range here, and you could be part of its launch!  would you like to?!  tell us what colours you like best to scrap with.

we have a winner! cosmo cricket

Comment:
Great ideas to use that Cosmo! Thanks for the inspiration

• Commenter name: Kim Arnold

 

Congratulations Kim!

meet the dt: nic loves basicgrey

Take a look through any of my albums in the last 3 years and it’ll be easy to spot one of my favourite manufacturers, BasicGrey. I have pages created with products dating back to the very first ranges they released. I remember the first range I fell in love with – Sweetpea Alyssa – from there I really didn’t look back.

BasicGrey is a Utah based company. Much curiosity has surrounded the name and its origins. I remember reading how the name was created in one of their very first online newsletters.

The shortened version is that originally the owners were going to sell the designs – at the last minute they decided to set up their own company. During the registration process they were asked for a name – which they had not thought of. Looking at her freshly painted grey walls, Rachel quickly decided on the name ‘BasicGrey’, put that down thinking she could always change it later. The link to the newsletter has all the info on why she decided the name was actually perfect for the range.

The 4 ranges of paper released at CHA in July are among my current favourites. I created the layout “A Natural Interest” primarily with the Periphery papers, but if you look closely, I have included papers from some of the older lines too, such as Lollipop Shoppe and Sublime. Everything on the layout, from the layers of papers, to ric rac, lettering and this gorgeous hand cut bird are all BasicGrey products.

 

 

With the 4 new ranges released in July came new products for BasicGrey as well. I was one of the scrappers jumping up and down in excitement as I saw the images of packets of buttons starting to appear on the internet. Along with the addition of buttons, they changed the packaging of their ribbon. BasicGrey ribbon has been a staple of mine for a while now; it was exciting to see easier-to-store packaging.

 

 

One of my favourite things about BasicGrey is the way it coordinates with itself. Obviously each range has patterned papers, solids, die cuts, chipboard, rub-ons etc that coordinate, but I love the way I can pick and choose papers from various ranges and they still seem to go together wonderfully. Take this page for example.

 

The main papers you can see here are from the Recess range – but along with it are elements from Mellow, Periphery, LilyKate and Perhaps. Add various rub-ons and the page is complete.

While I love creating with BasicGrey myself, I am also constantly finding myself drawn to layouts created with their products as well. Odds are if I love a layout in a gallery or magazine, it will have ‘BasicGrey’ in the supplies list. Great examples of this are these layouts below, all by Kelly Goree.

 

Alexis, created with the Recess range. The gorgeous little people in this layout are rub-ons. I love the new chipboard lettering shown in this layout too. (I’m a sucker for chipboard alphas!).

 

T-Ball was created with the Mellow range. Brown is one of my favourite colours to scrap with at the moment, pair that with orange and red and I’m a happy girl. This layout caught my eye as soon as I saw it.

 

 

Stitch was created with the ‘Obscure’ range. Occasionally BasicGrey brings out papers that I am not sure on initially, and Obscure was one of those ranges. The tables have turned now though, as I find it one that I turn to regularly.

While BasicGrey release new designs and products (can’t wait for the acrylic stamps to hit the shelves!) regularly, I find some remain favourites for a long time. This 2 year old floral project was made with one of my long time favourites, Color Me Silly. The arrangement sits in the doorway of my scrap room. I suspect I won’t be moving it anytime soon!

 

weekend inspiration: cosmo cricket

This week we bring you inspiration from the Cosmo Cricket patterned papers ranges.  We love the distressed softness of these double sided papers which have as many fabulous colour palettes for the boys as they do for the girls, and many work brilliantly for both.

We're still giving away, so leave a comment and one random winner will receive some product from a Cosmo Cricket range of their choice.

 

 

Suz used the beautiful washed denims and reds of the Dutch Girl collection to showcase this stunning photo taken by Raylene Wilkinson.  The quote comes from a double 12x12 printed sheet that is part of the range called StripTease, which has strips of random designs and other fabulous quotes just waiting for you to use.  Suz has finished the layout off with Strano, Heidi Swapp credit card slide, and BasicGrey rubons.

 

 

For this layout Mel has worked with the Gretel paper-crafting kit which contains a lovely mix of patterned papers, journaling tags and a sheet of large alphas. The journaling tags are perfect to help kickstart journaling that you may not usually do - here Mel has used a random photo of her son James and listed several things that have changed about him over the years - for example he no longer takes his 'sucky rug' to bed or watches playschool in the morning.  (I can see him just loving having his mum point that out!)

 

Mel created this 'beautiful' layout quickly and simply layering the Dutch Girl patterned papers in a variety of ways.  If you look carefully you'll notice a torn edge, a scalloped edge, a couple of sewn edges and the fabulous contrast of the circle design in the corner.

 

You might also remember this little gem - an Aussie Scrap Source class kit created by Suz.  She has meshed Dutch Girl with the atmospheric Souvenir collection to create this unique little accordion album.

 

 

And another Dutch Girl classic - check out how beautifully it works with black and white photographs.  With thanks to Tracy Wyldman and her gorgeous daughter Lauren for this double layout full of movement and style.  We love that she has managed to incorporate so many photos into her pages and maintained a strong overall design.

 

 

A perennial favourite - the StoryTime collection brings these gorgeous photos of Tracy's twins to life.  She has embellished the photo itself as well as the page with BasicGrey rubons.  Thanks Trac for letting us share your classic pages.

 

 

This warm and inviting layout was created by Melanie Douthit using the Cosmo Gretel range of papers. The handcut flowers add a nice touch to the page and tie in nicely with the 'butterflies' patterned paper that has been used behind the photo.

 

 

We'd like to thank Cathy Bodini for sharing this scrummy layout. Cathy has used the Gretel range of Cosmo patterned papers combined with a journaling tag to record a message to her daughter Mollie. The paper weaving technique combined with a little hand stitching has really finished off the layout nicely.

 

 

Watch out for this soon - Cosmo Cricket's latest line - Hey Sugar.  I know there's some members of our design team who just can't wait to get their scrappy little fingers on this one!