Aussie Scrap Source

meet the design team: jane clark

 

What three words best describe your personality?

I’ve been told I’m compassionate, spiritual and easy going.

 

What’s your worst habit?

Being a perfectionist, but I’m trying to be better at this he he.

 

What are you currently reading?

‘Change your words, Change your life’ it’s a great motivational book!

 

Did you make any new years’ resolutions?

No

 

What’s your favourite quote?

‘Do to others what you would have others do to you’ and ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’.

 

What would be your theme song?

Don’t worry be happy, always makes me realise life is too short to stress!

 

Are you on pinterest?  What’s your favourite recent pin?

 

 

 

This one is my absolute favourite to give me a giggle, as I’m terrified of birds and this pic reminds me of me LOL!! 

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

Paris, I would love to see Eiffel tower!

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

Scary, sometimes I feel like they are going to jump out at me!

 

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?

I love stretching the boundaries of products and experimenting, when it works that’s what I enjoy the most!

 

What sort of stamps do you most like to create with?

I love silhouettes and sentiments with different fonts in them.

My favourite stamp would be Hero Arts Silhouettes HAS-K5353  ‘In The Garden’ and my favourite card is one that I stamped the image on vellum and coloured the back of the vellum with Glimmer Mists. Silhouettes don’t have to be black.

 

 

 

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

No, I love vintage with shades of brown, creams, dusty pinks and don’t own any clothes in those shades.

 

When did your style click for you?

About a year into my cardmaking, I feel in love with doilies, old fashion images of ladies and all things vintage and my style grew from there on, but I love all styles.

 

What is your best piece of advice for starting out cardmakers?

There is no such thing as a mistake, create your way and enjoy the whole process from creating to giving!

 

What’s your current favourite cardmaking trend?  

At the moment I just love die-cuts and washi tapes, can’t choose between the two. I love how die-cuts can be cut from card or beautiful papers, used as masks etc!  Washi tapes are easy and equally stunning!

 

Facebook or Twitter? Facebook

Harry Potter or Twilight? Harry Potter

Chips or Twisties? Chips

Bath or Shower? Bath

Cheese or Chocolate? Chocolate

Coffee or Tea? Coffee

Jeans or Skirts? Skirts

Christmas or New Years Eve? Christmas

Ikea or Op Shop? Op Shop

Ninjas or Pirates? Pirates especially if they look like Johnny Depp!

Pool or Ocean? Ocean

Sunset or Sunrise? Sunset, never up early enough to catch many Sunrises

Phone or Text? Text

Desert or Snow? Snow

meet the design team! kim arnold

Each week we’re putting a member of the design team under our interview spotlight.  This week we fire our intrepid questions off at the lovely and talented Kim Arnold.

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Genuine, active and humorous (or some would say sarcastic!).

 

What’s your worst habit?

Procrastinating.

 

What are you currently reading?

I have a Kindle and read a large range of independent authors that self publish through Amazon. I love the ability to be able to access all these new authors so easily. At the moment I am reading Shiva by Carolyn McCray.

 

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

To reach my goal weight this year!

 

What’s your favourite quote?

If you can dream it, you can do it.

 

What would be your theme song?

Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

 

Are you on pinterest?

Yes, love it for recipes in particular!

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

A luxury 5 star resort on a tropical island

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

Haven’t thought about them a lot before having to answer this question, but I am not keen!

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?

Starting with a blank canvas and having it all come together with an end result that I am really happy with. I also love looking back on older layouts and feeling the memories rush back.

 

What sort of photos most make you want to scrap?

Photos with stories attached to them. I also love family and relationship photos.

 

 

 

Kim is a huge fan of the various Simple Stories ranges that MemoryWorks produces.  She finds the clean colours and crisp designs work so well with her style, and there are always a huge range of coordinating embellishments available to work with.  Kim has used the [email protected] range for both of her layouts, adding in some of her current favourite techniques of mist splashes, sequins and chevrons.  Kim has always been a fan of embellishments with words and phrases on them, and the [email protected] range is perfect and she has incorporated many of these types of embellishments into both layouts.

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Share a favourite photo and how you would scrap it.

I love this “selfie” of Benson and I when we had reached a waterfall we were walking into. It is not a perfect photo by any stretch, but when I took it Benson said we needed to take one of these type of photos on every bush walk we do – and I particularly love that. I will scrap it using fun and happy colours – it never worries me about having too much colour! Probably splashes of mist, lots of different patterned papers, and twine – I might even be able to sneak a flower or two on there since I am in the photo.

 

 

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

Yes, I like to scrapbook with colour and I like to wear colour.

 

When did your style click for you?

When I stopped trying to scrap like someone else. I tried a range of styles and techniques and then found what I liked and since then have pretty well stuck to that. From time to time I will lash out and try some new techniques, usually for a DT assignment that pushes me outside my comfort zone. Most of the time I will only do them once or twice, but occasionally something new will stick – like mist splatters ... love them.

 

What is your best piece of advice for starting out scrapbookers?

Try scraplifting a range of styles to find the one that works for you and that you enjoy the most.

 

What’s your current favourite scrapbooking trend?

chevrons, twine, sequins and mists.

 

Can you share a few of your favourite layouts from the last 12 months or so?

 

I love this layout because I love the photos that Gary and I took in a photo booth while out on a date night.  I also love the colours and all of the fussy cut flowers.  This was also one of my first attempts with the swiped painting technique, which I still use from time to time.  I have also used twine, which has been a favourite product of mine for a number of years now.

 

I love this layout for the design - mist splashes and sequins are a favourite of mine.  I also love this photo of me and my best friend Daniela.  I treasure that I have so many photos of us together over the years of our friendship and that I have the layouts to highlight them.

 

Finally, I love this layout for a number of reasons - firstly the happy memories this photo holds, secondly the bright happy colours of this October Afternoon range and finally, the design, which is one of my go-to basic page layouts.

 

Facebook or Twitter? - Facebook

Harry Potter or Twilight? - Harry Potter

Chips or Twisties? - Chips – Cheese and Onion

Bath or Shower? – Shower (unless my legs are seriously sore after a workout and then it is a hot bath with Epsom salts)

Cheese or Chocolate? – Can’t I have both (but not together)?

Coffee or Tea? - Coffee – strong hot skim latte please

Jeans or Skirts? – It use to be jeans, but in the last year or two I would say skirts.

Christmas or New Years Eve? – New Years Eve

Ikea or Op Shop? - Ikea

Ninjas or Pirates? - Ninjas

Pool or Ocean? - Ocean

Sunset or Sunrise? - Sunset

Phone or Text? - Text

Desert or Snow? - Neither – prefer the beach!

meet the design team: louise nelson

The lovely, quirky and super-talented Louise Nelson is under our spotlight today. 

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

I wasn’t sure about how to answer this so I asked some close friends and this is what I came away with; Passionate, Creative, Singular.

 

What’s your worst habit?

Its a toss-up between Procrastination, and a strong tendency to ‘carry-a-grudge’.

 

What are you currently reading?

I no longer read books as such, but I have taken up other hobbies that fill that void; knitting, crochet, and stamp carving.

 

Did you make any new years’ resolutions?

No just staying committed to resolutions I have made day to day.

 

What’s your favourite quote?

I have a few; Be nice! The World is a small place!

 

What would be your theme song?

Absolutely no idea! seriously!,........what do you think would be my theme song? I would love hear what you think? :) :) :)

 

Are you on pinterest?  What’s your favourite recent pin?

Yes, Hmmm hard to choose but probably this one, oh and this one.  There’s also this one oh aaaaaaaand this one too!

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

To the ‘other world’ and spend 1 day with my Dad.

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

I used to adore the ones in my Aunt’s garden when I was really young, along with every other ‘Australiana’ statue she had in her garden; it was like a mystical garden, and it gave us hours of fun to run around and play in. The only time it wasn’t so fun was in the height of summer when the ‘snakes’ were out sunning themselves, it used to scare the ‘you know what’ out of us!!! :)

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?
all of it :) though I probably spend way more ‘fun’ time day dreaming about creativity than  I actually spend doing it :)

 

What sort of photos most make you want to scrap?
Those that ‘speak to me’

 

Can you share with us a couple of layouts featuring your current favourite products?

 

 

 

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This is a layout that I created to celebrate the feelings I have for my young friend Jessica.

 

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Share a favourite photo and how you would scrap it.

 

I would keep the style and embellishment simple, my background white and maybe create some visual texture with texture paste and a mask on my background, add highlights of colour with mist, keep the title and journaling simple and to the point.

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

There are areas of similarity; simplicity, a touch of uniqueness, simple colour schemes.

 

When did your style click for you?

I am still exploring :), but I will always tend to be a minimalist in approach

What is your best piece of advice for starting out scrapbookers?

Hmmmm not really sure to be honest! Perhaps, Explore; look at art and craft books/magazines, surf the web and look at lots of blogs, and forums and art styles etc.,  to see what ‘speaks to your creative heart’.  Experiment; after seeing what excites you, have a play and try it out for yourself, that includes product, styles and techniques. Take classes; online and at your local stores and fairs, watch online video’s, you will learn a lot and meet lots of other like minded creatives.

What’s your current favourite scrapbooking trend?

Mixed Media,.............oh and Feathers!!!! :)

 

Can you share with us a few of your favourite recent layouts?

 

 

This is a layout Louise created for a colour challenge site. It is of one of her fabulous friends Anne-Marie and her darling son.

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And finally…

Facebook or Twitter? 

 Facebook .....but I love Instagram the mostest!

 

Harry Potter or Twilight? 

Harry Potter! I must confess I have no inclination to see Twilight yet, but then it did take me a few years after Sex in the City finished to actually watch one of those shows and fall in love with the series.

 

Chips or Twisties? 

Awwww that's mean! Please don’t make me choose, I love them both! ….......oh okay if you insist.....Chips!

 

Bath or Shower? 

Shower

 

Cheese or Chocolate? 

Cheese! A box of Chocolates and or an Easter egg can sit in my fridge and go out of date by a couple of years, I rarely eat chocolate any more. I blame menopause!

 

Coffee or Tea? 

Tea; prefer pot, white china, that has only ever be rinsed not washed! Oh and preferably Liptons :)

 

Jeans or Skirts? 

Jeans, but I reallllllly much prefer dresses.

Christmas or New Years Eve?  Christmas most definitely! The joy and looks on the kids faces is priceless and the memories of them are burned into my memory.

 

Ikea or Op Shop? 

Op Shop

 

Ninjas or Pirates? 

Ninjas

 

Pool or Ocean? 

Ocean, but seriously I don’t ‘DO’ either! I had two near-drownings [vivid memories] when I was younger and have never learned to swim properly. But if you are talking from a scenic perspective then the ocean.

 

Sunset or Sunrise? 

Sunset!! I am usually just going to bed sometime around sunrise.

 

Phone or Text? 

Text

 

Desert or Snow? 

Desert, but both are stunningly beautiful in their own way.

meet the design team! louise williams

This week the spotlight shines on the mixed-media-scrapbooking talents of Louise Williams.

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Honest, opinionated, loyal

What’s your worst habit?

Ummm... Probably saying what’s in my head

What are you currently reading?

I’m re-reading Cross-stitch by Diana Gabaldon. Third time through and still loving the series.

 

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

Yep! I plan on giving building up my business to a point where I can work as a full time artist

What’s your favourite quote?

She believed she could, so she did

What would be your theme song?

You ain’t seen nothing yet... ;)

Are you on pinterest?  What’s your favourite recent pin?

LOVE Pinterest, total addict... Favourite pin of late would be of colour ideas for my new studio

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

England. I was born there but emigrated to NZ when I was 2 so would love to see where I was born and where we lived. 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

They affect me deeply. I hate them. We bought a house where the previous owners loved them and we were still finding them in the garden 2 years after we thought we’d cleared them all.

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?

I like gluing it all down! I tend to lay everything out and get it all on there before I touch any adhesive.

What sort of photos most make you want to scrap?

Anything I find inspiration in but usually they’re of my two boys

 

This layout is typical of my work - lots of dimension, clusters of embellishments and some dimensional paint dots for interest. The addition of the punched leaves adds a softness to the flowers and is a consistent feature in my designs.

 

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I often use a circular feature in my work as it ties all the elements together for a cohesive look. Here I’ve added a digital element - printed and cut out - to add a feature to one of the clusters, while placement next to the heading draws the eye across and down to the other one.

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Share a favourite photo and how you would scrap it.

This photo of my boys is definitely one of my all time favourites. I’ve scrapped it before and have done a mixed media portrait of it too, but I still want to do a framed layout of it. Because it’s quite a light picture the next version will have a textural white background – layers of different white tonings with texture paste and laces.

I’ll no doubt do some clusters of flowers and leaves and would add a hint of green and blue to tie in with the t-shirt colouring. I’d keep it all very light and washed out though and would do a layer of gesso over most of it – a light version of Anna Dabrowska’s style.

 

 

 

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

Yep I’d say it’s similar. I like a mix of modern and vintage, not retro though and despite the fact my house is currently what I like to call ‘circus themed’, I prefer more sedate neutral colours than brights.

When did your style click for you?

When I stopped worrying about acid-free and how thick my pages were, I just went for it adding what I liked and kind of found my groove.

What is your best piece of advice for starting out scrapbookers?

Start with a sketch if you don’t know where to start, they’re great for giving you a base to work from and you know if you like the sketch you’ll like the page that results.

What’s your current favourite scrapbooking trend?

I love the vintage thing so all the lovely little detailled birds are just so me. Loving all the resin elements too, they add so much dimension and detail.

Can you share a few favourite layouts from the last 12 months or so?

 

Proving you can do pink on a boy's layout, this one remains one of Louise's favourites for the year. The simple structured design, distressed inking and classic circular clusters are typical of her style.

 

Quite different from what Louise normally does is this layout. Still present though are the small circular touches and a handcut heading, created from the paper she's used. It's a favourite because of it's simplicity and the gorgeous photo of her young son.

 

And finally…

Facebook or Twitter?   Facebook

Harry Potter or Twilight?  Twilight all the way... I love me a glittery vampire

Chips or Twisties?  Ummm chips – Balsamic Vinegar and Seasalt ones

Bath or Shower?  Shower, who has time to sit and soak?

Cheese or Chocolate?  Definitely chocolate

Coffee or Tea?  Coffee... Tea tastes like dishwater to me

Jeans or Skirts?  Jeans. My legs haven’t seen the light of day since 1985.

Christmas or New Years Eve?  Christmas :D

Ikea or Op Shop?  Op Shop seeing as we don’t have an Ikea here in NZ

Ninjas or Pirates?  Pirates. You can thank Johnny Depp for that.

Pool or Ocean?  Pool definitely, don’t like wildlife where I swim...

Sunset or Sunrise?  Sunset – it means my kids are heading to bed soon.

Phone or Text? Phone if I have to choose but would prefer email over anything else

Desert or Snow?  Snow... I find it easier to warm up than cool down

meet the design team! chris millar

We thought we’d start off the new year by getting to know our design team a little better, so with each post we’ll introduce a new designer and put them through a rigorous interview question set!  Today’s victim interviewee is one of our fabulously talented card specialists – Chris Millar.

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Addictive, happy, organised.

 

What’s your worst habit?

My husband would say that my worst habit is that I become addictive about every new thing I try!

 

What are you currently reading?

Sister by Rosamund Lupton.

 

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

To continue to stay fit and healthy.

 

What’s your favourite quote? 

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." — Maya Angelou

 

What would be your theme song?

It’s an oldy and a bit corny, but one I grew up with, ‘Do what you do do well’. Particularly love the line in the chorus ‘Give your love and all of your heart And do what you do do well’

 

Are you on pinterest?  What’s your favourite recent pin? 

This one.  With having my little nephew staying with us for the past 3 months, I’ve been loving finding gorgeous picture ideas like this one on pinterest.

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

Romper Room – I want to ‘punch, punch, punch the ball, punching’s so much fun’ and ‘Oh come with us and gallop & gallop & gallop’, how fun would it be to live out a childhood dream!

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

I’ve not ever really had any thoughts about garden gnomes, so will pass on this question! lol

 

We asked all of our design team to create some new projects with their picks of favourite recent releases.  Chris, predictably(!) went for Hero Arts stamps and Sizzix and has produced these inspiring creations. 

 

When it comes to stamps I have a real weakness for Hero Arts stamps.  I love that the stamps made by Hero Arts are always of the highest quality and that they have such a variety of images and sentiments to suit every need.  Take for instance this sparkle clear Arigato set.  What a perfect set for making thank you cards for my daughter’s Japanese teacher!  I combined the Arigato stamp set with a Sizzix Textured Impression embossing folder and this delicate scallop edger punch from EK Success.

 

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Create something fun with your stamps that the kids will love, just as I have done here with these fabulous little post-it note holders.

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What part of creating do you enjoy most?

The giving of my hand made cards to people that are special!

 

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your card making style?

I would say yes, it’s co-ordinated, tidy and organised just like my cards.

 

When did your style click for you?

I did try a whole range of different styles when I was first crafting, but over time I’ve found the style I’m most comfortable creating in, but still do like to try new things.

 

What is your best piece of advice for starting out card makers?

Just buy the basics to start with and over time you will discover which tools and products you really want to buy that you’re actually going to use rather than rushing out and buying a whole heap of stuff that you’ll never create with.

 

What’s your current favourite card making trend?

Neon inks, I think they are so fun and cool!

 

 

By combining lots of different background Hero Arts Stamps on coloured cardstock with co-ordinating inks, I had fun creating this cute, bright card sure to cheer up anyone's day!

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When I get out my stamping supplies I like to make a couple of cards at once.  The Hero Arts/Sizzix Stamp & Die Cut - Garden Flowers set is perfect for making a set of birthday cards ready for that last minute party invite.  Here I used the Hero Arts Happy Birthday wooden stamp for the sentiment on these cards. And do you see a pattern forming with all my creations?  I love to use all things bright and the Aussie Scrap Source textured cardstocks are perfect for that!

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Sometimes cards don't require a sentiment.  When there is a stunning feature such as this amazing Hero Arts ruffled flower stamped image, an embossed background and some lovely bling, this card could be for any occasion.  Note the yellow/black combination is very on-trend this year!

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And finally..

Facebook or Twitter?  Facebook

Harry Potter or Twilight? Hunger Games

Chips or Twisties?  Chicken Twisties

Bath or Shower?  Shower, but candlelit bath when required

Cheese or Chocolate?  CHOCOLATE!

Coffee or Tea?  Tea, just the boring teabag type

Jeans or Skirts? Can I say dresses!

Christmas or New Years Eve? Christmas and particularly Christmas Eve

Ikea or Op Shop? Op Shop, there’s nothing like finding a bargain and supporting a good cause all at the same time!

Ninjas or Pirates? Pirates

Pool or Ocean? The sound of the ocean, but a swim in the pool

Sunset or Sunrise? Have recently seen the most amazing sunset at Mindil Beach, Darwin!

Phone or Text? Text

Desert or Snow? Desert, love the heat, that’s why I live in QLD!

 

Thanks Chris!

meet the design team! iris babao uy

 

This week we get to know the talented Iris Babao Uy a little better.

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Passionate, emotional, forgiving.

 

What’s your worst habit?

Always saying … I’ll start my diet tomorrow!

 

What are you currently reading?

An Ipad app called “Play Tales” – yup I read to my two girls every night. Wish I had time to go back to reading on my kindle but not so lucky with that right now.

 

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

I’ll go on a diet!

 

What’s your favourite quote?

It was something my dad said…. “There will always be somebody better than you – so what you have to focus on is to never stop trying to be better than yourself.”

 

What would be your theme song?

Oh gosh… my world is filled with My Little Pony, Dora, and Barney songs… I seriously can’t come up with my own theme song.

 

Are you on pinterest?  What’s your favourite recent pin?

Yup! I love pinterest! It is a wonderful source of inspiration. My latest pin would be a layout I just posted on my blog.

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

Paris! I fell in love with that city and I want to go back there again.

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

A cool fairytale

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?

The endless surprises you get when you experiment with something new.

 

What sort of photos most make you want to scrap?

The ones that tell a story.

 

Can you share a couple of layouts that incorporate your current favourite products?

 

 

I’ve showcased a couple of favourite techniques as well as products in this page... pops of colour, texture achieved through the use of mixed media, use chipboard pieces, and layering. I have added visual interest to the edges of the layout by smearing the edges with a mixture of gesso and clear granular gel. Once dry, I rub it with a few pigment powders in light pastel colours. The laser-cut chipboard pieces were textured also with gel mediums and then coloured with inks and markers.

 

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In this second layout, again I’m sharing some of my favourites - the use of wooden pieces such as the wooden clock, use of fabric, and the use of text as both a journaling tool and a design element. To add the random bits of text at the bottom part of the layout, I took a 7 Gypsies text rub-on and intentionally rubbed it off very lightly only so that only bits and pieces of the text adheres to the page. I love this kind of shabby aged look that is both striking and yet still clean.

 

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Can you share a favourite photo and how you would scrap it.

 

Photos like these come in rarely. I take the photos so I’m not usually in it. I would scrap this twice. Or even thrice. One for my album, and one for each of my girls. There would be lots of flowers, lace, sweet colours, and lots and lots of love.

 

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

Yes definitely, I love lace, flowers, beads… both on my pages and on my blouse.  Romantic, frilly, girly.

 

When did your style click for you?

I think my style clicked for me immediately. It’s because from the very start I knew what I wanted on my pages and I stuck to that. I did not and will not create to impress. I create with the things that I love, with the style that works for me, and the end result that makes me happy. I think that’s very important for any crafter. There is always that pressure to come up with pages that you think people will love. But if you focus too much on that then you take away the fun out of the craft.

 

What is your best piece of advice for starting out scrapbookers?

Just do what makes you happy. Do not go for the trend, instead do what comes naturally to you and then try to grow and expand your style from there.

 

What’s your current favourite scrapbooking trend?

The use of mixed media. The possibilities are endless.

 

Can you share a couple of favourite layouts that you have created in the last 12 months or so?

The next two layouts are favourites of mine because it tells of our favourite place and favourite time of the year - December at Disneyland! I like to combine art with memory keeping but it is always the stories behind the pictures and the moments I want to capture that is the heart and soul of my craft. This is what makes scrapbooking special not only to me but to my family as well.

 

 

 

 

Facebook or Twitter?  Facebook

Harry Potter or Twilight?  Twilight!

Chips or Twisties?  Chips all the time!

Bath or Shower?  Shower

Cheese or Chocolate?  Cheese of course… followed by chocolate … and topped off again with cheese!:) I have this sweet salty sweet salty cycle going on right nowJ

Coffee or Tea?  Coffee

Jeans or Skirts?  Neither… I love dresses

Christmas or New Years Eve?  Christmas!

Ikea or Op Shop?  Ikea

Ninjas or Pirates?  Ninjas… mysterious

Pool or Ocean?  Ocean… I love the beach, the sunset, looking at sail boats, the blue sky…

Sunset or Sunrise?  Sunset… so romantic

Phone or Text?  Phone if I’m talking to family, text if I want to be less personal.

Desert or Snow?  Snow.

meet the design team! leeann pearce

The lovely Leeann Pearce is under interrogation this week – we hope you enjoy getting to know her better.

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Straightforward, humorous and lively.

 

What’s your worst habit?

Sneaking all the chocolate in the house.

 

What are you currently reading? 

The 2012 –2013 Scrapbooking Memories Masters magazine because I am in it – even better my daughter Storm is gracing the front cover. Yeah baby! I’ll be reading this for a while hehehehe!

 

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

To live out loud!

 

What’s your favourite quote? 

Totally freck’in awesome – by Miss wally

 

What would be your theme song? 

“Welcome to the fun house” - Pink

 

Are you on pinterest? 

NO – not going there… I waste time as it is!

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

Outer space.

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

Don’t go there… strange little things that pop up everywhere!

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most? 

From start to finish!

 

What sort of photos most make you want to scrap?

Photos of my girls

 

 

I am completely in love with Amy Tangerine paper collections. I also love all the embellishments that come with each collection. A little free style like. They are quirky and unique that’s the sort of stuff I really love. I love to mix and match a few companies as well – it so totally works for me.

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Another company I adore is Basic Grey. I had great pleasure in being on their design team in 2011 – 2012. I am completely smitten with their Soleil collection. Of course it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t throw in a few other bits and pieces form a few other companies like Hambly and Heidi Swapp.

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Share a favourite photo and how you would scrap it. 

 

This pic of the girls, one afternoon playing dress ups… I absolute adore it a thousand times. I have already scrapped this but I intend on scrapping it a 100 more times the next time I am going with pie charts, paint, layers and arrows.

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

Yes a little random with pops of colour!

 

When did your style click for you?

I think that my style just keeps on evolving as I go. But I totally see what makes up miss wallys style!

 

What is your best piece of advice for starting out scrapbookers?

Don’t start it’s hard to stop…lmao!

 

What’s your current favourite scrapbooking trend?

arrows, cameras, confetti, chevron washi tape.

 

Can you share a couple of your favourite layouts from the last twelve months or so?

 

This is one of many pages I have created for Aussie Scrap Source and it happens to be a very big favourite. I absolutely adore the photo. I loved how this turned out. I used all my favourite products from a few companies too!

 

This is a more recent assignment I did for Aussie Scrap Source on mixed media techniques and I was thrilled to bits on how this turned out. The main challenge for me was finding the correct photo to work for this background. The end result is perfect and I just adore this!

 

Finally…

Facebook or Twitter? - Facebook

Harry Potter or Twilight? - Harry potter

Chips or Twisties? - Chips – salt and vinegar

Bath or Shower? - shower

Cheese or Chocolate? - Chocolate always, I told you earlier that I sneak it!

Coffee or Tea? - Coffee

Jeans or Skirts? – Jeans always

Christmas or New Years Eve? - Christmas

Ikea or Op Shop? - Ikea

Ninjas or Pirates? - Pirates

Pool or Ocean? - Ocean

Sunset or Sunrise? - Sunset

Phone or Text? - Text

Desert or Snow? - I don’t mind both.

meet the design team: suzanne tonga

 

This weeks deer in the headlights interviewee is our soft and elegant designer, Suzanne Tonga.

 

 

 

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Determined, Passionate, Caring

 

What’s your worst habit?

My friends would say – drinking too much Pepsi Max!

 

What are you currently reading?

I’m not reading anything at the moment but I am looking forward to my sister filling my kindle when I go home for holidays.

 

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

I don’t usually make resolutions but it’s always a good time to reassess where I’m at in life. I guess if I have a resolution it’s to not stress about things I can’t change but do something about things that I can. I want to focus on the good things in our life.

 

What’s your favourite quote?

I love quotes! One of my favourites is by Maya Angelou – “Precious jewel, you glow, you shine, reflecting all the good things in the world.” It reminds me of the pure innocence of children and that we should do everything we can to preserve that.

 

What would be your theme song?

Gosh, I have thought long and hard about this question and haven’t come up with an answer. Is there a song about sunshine and rainbows? That’s what I would like my theme song to be. My life certainly isn’t all sunshine and rainbows but that’s what I would like to focus on.

 

Editors Note: You’re welcome

 

 

Are you on pinterest?  What’s your favourite recent pin?

I love Pinterest! I am forever pinning gorgeous creations like this made from felt or fabric in the hope that one day, I will have time to make some of them.

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

Oh that’s a hard one, there are so many places to go! I have always wanted to go to Africa. I would love to work at one of the elephant orphanages. I would also love to go to Costa Rica and work at one of the macaw breeding and research facilities.

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

Mmm, can’t say I have a strong opinion about garden gnomes! Although I do remember my Mum and Dad having one in our garden, called Sam!

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?

I love printing my photos and then selecting the products that go with it. I do love to stitch too! A page is never complete without stitching.

 

What sort of photos most make you want to scrap?

Portrait style photos of my kids and my nieces and nephews in the outdoors. I really love good family photos.

 

Can you share with us a couple of layouts using your favourite recent releases?

 

 

I am loving instagram at the moment and I decided to print photos of my daughter Lily, splashing around in the street outside our home.  I teamed the photos with the gorgeous whimsical collection, 5th & Frolic (Dear Lizzy). I adore everything about this collection, from the colours, patterns, images, to the amazing feather embellishments.  I love the clipboard images from one of the papers so these formed the main design feature for my layout. I decided to stick with the whimsical theme and attached eyelets through each clipboard image and then strung them across the page using embroidery thread. I used the chipboard pieces and feathers to embellish.

 

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I have long been a fan of Crate Paper designs and the new Acorn Avenue lives up to my high expectations! I love the chipboard sets from Crate Paper, they are such wonderful value for money as there are so many pieces. The nature theme of Acorn Avenue was the perfect compliment for my bird photos.  I have recently re-discovered my passion for wildlife photography and these are photos of baby butcher birds that I found in the bush behind where I live. I firstly found one baby perched precariously on a little tree overhanging the water.  Then I followed the squawking and found another baby hidden in long grass.  I re-united the babies and placed them in a safer position and was able to photograph the parents coming back to feed them. It has been a couple of months now and the parents still bring the babies into our yard to drink from our water bath. 

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Share a favourite photo and how you would scrap it.

This is pretty typical of the photos that I love to scrap. I love capturing candid moments instead of just everybody smiling at the camera. Don’t get me wrong, smiling photos are beautiful too! The great thing about outdoor photos is that they can be scrapped with most ranges of paper. I would just pick something that complemented colour-wise. I usually like to scrap more than one photos too, so I would choose maybe three photos from the same series and scrap them in a smaller size.

 

 

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

I think so. I love lots of neutral with pops of colour and pretty things.

 

When did your style click for you?

Probably about a year after I started scrapbooking, I found my style and have pretty much stuck to that since then.

 

What is your best piece of advice for starting out scrapbookers?

Don’t feel like you have to have everything when you are starting out. Wait until you have discovered your true style. The other thing I often tell people is, don’t be afraid to try lots of different styles until you find the one that suits you. There is so much inspiration out there in the scrapbooking world.

 

What’s your current favourite scrapbooking trend?

I love the layered look that is around at the moment. Lots and lots of beautiful layers underneath your photos, including a few textures like vellum, patterned papers, acetate etc. Then beautiful clusters of embellishments. I also really love the instagram photos that people are including in their pages.

 

Can you share a few of your favourite layouts from the last 12 months?

 

 

It has become a tradition for us to take photos each Autumn, near some of the maple trees in our suburb.  Living in Queensland, there aren't too many Autumn trees so it really is a treat to see them.  I love the Crate Paper Brand.  The collections never fail to impress me.  I love the variety of colours and small prints, not to mention the gorgeous texture of the papers and of course, the embellishments.  Looking back, this is one of my favourite layouts. I really like the colour palette and the arrangement of embellishments and of course, I have included sequins and beads - my favourite embellishment!

 

Songbird is one of my favourite collections from Prima. The colours are soft and pretty and I adore anything nature themed.  The photos are of my daughter Lily, with a nest that her Dad found for us.  He doesn't get our fascination with birds nests but I love that he will still turn around to get one if he sees it on the ground!

 

And finally…

Facebook or Twitter? Facebook.

Harry Potter or Twilight? I actually love both sets of books but Harry Potter is definitely my favourite. 

Chips or Twisties? Chips

Bath or Shower? Shower

Cheese or Chocolate? Can I say both? I think I just love food in general, lol.

Coffee or Tea? ½ strength caramel latte please.

Jeans or Skirts? Jeans.

Christmas or New Years Eve?   Definitely Christmas Eve. I love Christmas. I love being surrounded by family with the excitement of the next day to look forward to.

Ikea or Op Shop?  Although I’d really love to say Op Shop, I am an Ikea girl.

Ninjas or Pirates?  Mmmm, I don’t think either is a good option!

Pool or Ocean?  Ocean.

Sunset or Sunrise?   Sunrise, although I don’t see too many, lol.

Phone or Text?   Text.

Desert or Snow?   Snow! I would love to see snow. How wonderful it would be to have a white Christmas!

meet the design team! leanne whitby

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Creative, Planner, Reserved

What’s your worst habit?

I feel it might be procrastination as I am known to over plan projects however my daughter tells me it’s worrying about everything too much.

What are you currently reading?

I never really seem to have time to read books at the moment but I am busy visiting my favourite blogs, discovering the world of Pinterest and looking through paper crafting ideas books.

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

Probably just to keep pursuing my paper crafting dreams without neglecting my family (but that does not include housework!).

What’s your favourite quote?

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

What would be your theme song?

Absolutely no idea! I have a favourite song that motivates me to keep going though – I’m Every Woman by Whitney Houston.

Are you on pinterest? What’s your favourite recent pin?

Yes and loving it!  Way too many to decide what is fav.  Probably anything on my Christmas board.

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

Mmmmm that’s a big decision.  Perhaps to the world beyond to see my darling Dad and Nanna.

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

I don’t really know and I don’t own any either but I adore the ones that flash their cute little butts at you from amongst the foliage.

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?

The little finishing details to make the project complete while I am creating.  I also love watching the reaction on people’s faces when I give them something I have made.  I truly believe giving is better than receiving!

What sort of papers/embellishments most make you want to card make?

Generally ones that have blues and pinks in them, lend themselves to crafting in the shabby chic style and more often than not come from My Minds Eye.

 

Can you share some projects using your current favourite products?

 

 

 

 

My absolute favourite product to have on hand when I am card making is a 6x6 paper pad.  I love the way the 12x12 paper patterns are miniaturised making them perfect for my card making.  You also get a sample of the entire collection and some added bonus papers as well from time to time.   My favourite company is My Minds Eye (MME) and The Sweetest Thing and Lost and Found 3 are my choice for this project.  MME  paper pads have double sided papers which make creating even easier particularly when making your own flowers.  All the elements  co-ordinate across the collection and also work well with other collections that they release.  MME papers also work well with other companies embellishments as you can see here with my series of tags.

 

 

For this project I chose to make an inspiration board for my craft studio displaying a series of tags that showcased the elements that I absolutely love to include on cards and OTP projects.  I have a shabby chic style which has also led me to look at ways of repurposing embellishments and more recently creating different ways to display my creations/cards.  For this project I repurposed a photo frame by removing the photo matting, glass and backing board and replacing it with chicken wire making the perfect inspiration board to hang my tags from.  I’ve also sanded and distress inked the frame.

 

The tags showcase some of my favourite die cut flowers, punched foliage and doilies. Butterflies are also another favourite.  I love to finish them off with buttons, pearls or bling in the centre.  Three of my most loved trims are twine, lace and seam binding.  You can easily say my number one addiction after making flowers would be using seam binding!  I love to spritz and scrunch it to give it that shabby look.  TH Distress Ink is also my no 1 choice when I want to distress or change the colour of the seam binding to co-ordinate with my projects. 

 

 

Buttons, bows, pegs and pins also feature on many of my creations.  I will finish off my buttons with different twine tied in knots or bows – a button will never be on a project without it being threaded.  So by now you can probably guess I need to pay attention to the finer details on my creations.   By using edge distressing and inking techniques can “shabby up”  the project – nothing needs to be “perfect” which is just why I love the shabby chic style so much.

 

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These two cards are created from the Lost and Found 3 – Oliver 6x6 paper pad.  The cards highlight how versatile the collections are for card making as they lend themselves to both male and female cards.  They do also include many of those favourite elements I shared with you on my tags – butterflies, flowers, banners, twine and buttons!

 

And finally…

Facebook or Twitter?  Facebook

Harry Potter or Twilight?  Twilight although my family watch Harry Potter all the time so I feel I may be converting!

Chips or Twisties?   They are both equally addictive but I think Twisties win hands down.

Bath or Shower?  Shower

Cheese or Chocolate?  Cheese! I am not of fan of anything sweet, fruity or sugary at all.

Coffee or Tea?  Tea most of the time - unless I am out or the coffee machine at home is on for the weekend then I’ll have a latte.

Jeans or Skirts?  Jeans, but my dress and skirt collection is growing a little.

Christmas or New Years Eve?  Christmas most definitely! I love watching people open their gifts particularly if I have made it for them.

Ikea or Op Shop?  Ikea – love the prices and visiting their store always motivates me to be organised.

Ninjas or Pirates?  RRRRR I would have to say pirates me hearties! I met Captain Jack Sparrow at Disneyland and it was awesome!

Pool or Ocean?  Pool – not that I swim much these days.

Sunset or Sunrise?  Sunset! Great time to reflect on your day and life with a glass of red wine.

Phone or Text?  Text for the quick things but a phone call to catch up with friends and family is a must.

Desert or Snow?  Snow as long as I am not shovelling it off the driveway.  We lived in the US for 2 years and I think it is the No 1 thing I was not sad to say good bye to!

meet the design team! stacey young

We thought we’d start off the new year by getting to know our design team a little better, so with each post we’ll introduce a new designer and put them through a rigorous interview set of question!  Today’s victim interviewee is mother of three boys and still amazing on the flowery layouts – Stacey Young.

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Loving, Creative, Impatient.

 

What’s your worst habit?

Asking questions in a movie even though the movie has barely started and hubby couldn’t possibly know the answer. Pretty much just asking silly things.....but he still loves me!

 

What are you currently reading?

Reflected in You – Sylvia Day

 

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

To stop being so shy and start teaching my scrapbooking style.

 

What’s your favourite quote?

“Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away”.

 

What would be your theme song?

No idea what my theme song would be. “Brown Eyed Girl” perhaps, it was one of our wedding songs.

 

Are you on pinterest? What’s your favourite recent pin?

Yes here and anything with bunting on it.  Like this.

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

The Bahamas or somewhere with castles.

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

I don’t own any now but I do remember when I was a teen driving around and collecting them and rearranging them in people’s yards (well the boys did anyway I was an innocent bystander)!!

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?

It would have to be the part where everything is in it’s place and then I start to glue it all down. That feeling of knowing what you are creating is finally coming together is wonderful. I also love shopping for supplies, that is always fun. Giving a handmade gift to a friend or loved one is also an amazing feeling. I love to see the look on their faces.

 

What sort of photos most make you want to scrap?

Anything of my boys but certainly a beachy photo works a treat! I love close-up shots too and anything neutral gets me in the creative mood as you can add as many colours as you like .

 

 

I am very fortunate to have been part of the Prima design team for the past 18 months. Prima would have to be one of my favourite brands.  I have loved Prima from the very start and still have some "vintage" Prima flowers in her stash.  The flowers have always been my favourites but more recently the papers and embellishments all combine to make beautiful projects.

 

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Another design team I’ve  been proud to be apart of in 2012 is Pink Paislee.  Their papers are amazing and easy to work with along with the fun and cute co-ordinating embellishments.  I jump at the chance to work with anything Pink Paislee related!

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Share a favourite photo and how you would scrap it.

Loads of flowers, shells, bandage wrap, misting, masking, colour and netting.

 

 

 

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

Yes, my house is full of colour, teal, lime etc. I have a rumpus room that we have recently redecorated and I went with a shabbier look of grey, teals and whitewash. I definitely love pretty things in my clothing so I guess that reflects in my scrapbooking too, I love pretty, feminine things like flowers! Even though I have 3 boys it just seems to work.

 

When did your style click for you?

Probably a few years back now, but looking back over my scrapbooking projects over those years it’s definitely evolved but it still has a “Stacey” stamp on it.

 

What is your best piece of advice for starting out scrapbookers?

Friends often say to me “but mine won’t look like that”, I have to remind them that I started somewhere too, my first scrapbooking page, 9 years ago, literally consisted of 3 photos and 3 pieces of ribbon. As long as you loved the process and fun you had creating that memory, everyone’s style is different, just enjoy where your creative takes you. There is no right or wrong, the possibilities are endless!

 

What’s your current favourite scrapbooking trend?

Bunting, Banners, Flags, Chevron, Shabby........the list could go on really.

 

Can you share with us a couple of favourite layouts from the last 12 months?

 

One thing I love to do is mix product.  In this layout I have combined a number of brands such as Prima, Pink Paislee, Hambly, Crate Paper and Studio Calico.  You will also find lots of colour in my creations!

 

 

This is a favourite layout that Stacey created for Summer CHA 2012 using the Prima collection "Rondelle".  I’m not normally one to use a dark background but this one came together perfectly for me and quickly became one of my favourites to date.

 

And finally…

Facebook or Twitter? Facebook

Harry Potter or Twilight? Twilight (Oh Edward)

Chips or Twisties? Chips

Bath or Shower?  Shower........Bath, what’s that? I haven’t had time to have one of them in years!

Cheese or Chocolate? Chocolate

Coffee or Tea? Neither

Jeans or Skirts?  Jeans

Christmas or New Years Eve? Christmas

Ikea or Op Shop?  Ikea – I just wish there was one closer to where I live.

Ninjas or Pirates? Pirates

Pool or Ocean?   Pool

Sunset or Sunrise?   Sunset

Phone or Text?  Text

Desert or Snow?  Desert (although I would love to see the snow one day I think I would die from the cold)

meet the design team! danielle quarmby

We thought we’d start off the new year by getting to know our design team a little better, so with each post we’ll introduce a new designer and put them through a rigorous interview question set!  Our very first victim interviewee is our beautiful whimsy artist, Danielle Quarmby.

 

 

What three words best describe your personality?

Introverted, thoughtful, creative.

 

What’s your worst habit?

Trying to do everything at once and as soon as possible, juggling more and more balls on my own and expecting from myself that I never drop any.

 

What are you currently reading?

My sister has lent me the latest Marian Keyes novel and it’s waiting on my side table.

 

Do you have any new years’ resolutions?

Nope. Intentions, yes. Practical things, mostly, like renovations and gardening.

 

What’s your favourite quote?

I have many, but one that I love is this: “I am lost and I rejoice in the openness. I cannot decide where to go... So for now, I will dance where I am and be.” – Tziporah

 

What would be your theme song?

'Little Talks' by Of Monsters and Men. At the moment, anyway.

 

Are you on pinterest? What’s your favourite recent pin?

Yes, love it! Have been pinning decorating ideas and garden inspiration like crazy lately. One of my faves is this one.

 

If you could go anywhere (real or not) where would you go?

Rivendell

 

How do you feel about garden gnomes?

I like the way they see the world.

 

What part of creating do you enjoy most?

Sitting on the floor, drinking red wine and singing loudly to my favourite musicians, with paint and paper all around. It’s like a time out.

 

What sort of photos most make you want to scrap?

I’m not sure, paper usually makes me want to scrap more than photos do. The sort of photos that perfectly capture a particular aspect of a child’s character, or a quote you have, really get me started though.

 

 

This snapshot taken in Venice is one of my favourite photos from recent months. I've scrapped it with a watercolour feel, echoing Turner's misty tones as he painted images of Venice in times past. Lace blossoms, misted canvas feathers and Basic Grey's Soleil paper made the page come together easily and intuitively, which is so relaxing from a creative perspective!

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I have a real weakness for clouds and sky inspired products, and couldn't resist this October Afternoon paper as a dreamy background. Gently misted clouds from Studio Calico are just as appealing to me, complete with raindrops! Some paint, lace, leaves and camera details are all some of my favourite products and suit the whimsical yet boyish layout of my eldest son.

 

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Share a favourite photo and how you would scrap it.

I’ve chosen one of my newest favourite photos to scrap for this feature from my recent trip to Europe with my daughter :)

 

 

Is your dress or decorating style similar to your scrapbooking style?

Kind of...

When did your style click for you?

I’m not sure it has, it comes and goes. I became genuinely interested in scrapbooking - from originally starting to share my sister’s hobby - when I realised I could add paint!

What is your best piece of advice for starting out scrapbookers?

By all means gather inspiration, but remember to let it go at some point and enjoy the process of being creative, playing, experimenting.

What’s your current favourite scrapbooking trend?

Feathers, definitely.

 

Can you share a couple of your favourite layouts from the last 12 months?

 

A recent page using Crate Paper's Acorn Avenue range, I love this cute and simple layout of my eldest son when he was younger. During a creative block, I had flicked through older layouts in my albums and scraplifted one of my own designs from years ago! I also love the sweet yet bright colour combo.

 

Created with Crate Paper and an original die-cut design, this layout is still one of my faves. I remember it coming together quite easily, and loving the torn heart to show a background design.

 

And finally…

Facebook or Twitter?  I like Twitter better but am on Facebook more often.

Harry Potter or Twilight?  Neither for me.

Chips or Twisties?  Thomas Chipman Organic Potato Chips

Bath or Shower?  Shower

Cheese or Chocolate?  Both, but not together ;)

Coffee or Tea?  Coffee

Jeans or Skirts?  Skirts

Christmas or New Years Eve?  New Years Eve, preferably in Germany watching fireworks at midnight in the snowy streets

Ikea or Op Shop?   Both!

Ninjas or Pirates?  Pirates, definitely.

Pool or Ocean?  Ocean

Sunset or Sunrise?  Sunrise, in theory, for the absolute best light but I rarely see them.

Phone or Text?  Text

Desert or Snow?   Snow

scrapbooking the highs and the lows: stacey young

We’re quite thrilled to introduce our newest design team member – the insanely talented Stacey Young.  She’s no stranger to the Aussie blog as we’ve drawn on her talent in many posts in the past.  Her talent has also already been recognised by Prima and Pink Paislee for whom she also designs.  Her work combines exquisite detail, a light airiness and meaningful photography of gorgeous children – as far as we’re concerned she’s the scrapbooking model of the triple threat!

We hope you enjoy seeing more of her here at Aussie.

 

 

Stacey's days are filled with joy and love with her 3 darling boys.  Everyday she is thankful for them.  She wanted to create something fun and happy and the Woodland Park range by October Afternoon was just the collection to do it!  She added lots of texture and layers to this super fun page.

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For her ‘lows’ layout Stacey decided to scrap about her dog who passed away in March.  She opted to enclose some hidden journaling underneath her photo. She says although Bradie is missed, her family is grateful for the 12 and a half years they had with her.  The My Minds Eye Sweetest Thing collection was just perfect for her beloved doggy.    Stacey added in lots of sweet embellishments including buttons, brads, butterflies and flowers.        

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scrapbooking the highs and the lows: kim arnold

 

2012 has been a hard year for Kim and her family.  Kim has chosen to document the tough times with a layout with no photos, but rather a cluster of envelopes and pockets in which she has recorded her hidden journaling.  Kim says that although the creation of this layout was hard and involved a lot of tears, it was also cathartic.

 

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For her layout recording the good times, Kim chose to focus on the most positive highlight from 2012 - her little sister's wedding - and the fact that she got to be there with her as Matron of Honour.

Kim felt that the bright happy papers in the October Afternoon Woodland Park range, whilst not at all wedding themed, were just perfect for this pretty and happy layout.

Kim created this layout after the "bad times" layout and says that it was a beautiful balance to be able to think about this wonderful happy time while creating this layout.  She knows that in the future, the journaling in her "bad times" layout will be just as important (or more) than knowing how happy she was to be with her sister for her wedding.  That is why it is important to scrap both the good times and the bad.

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scrapbooking the highs and the lows: leeann pearce

 

This is just hard sharing this much personal detail with the online world Leeann says. She’s not one to share the real personal stuff. But just this once she will let the barriers down. Leeann’s mum passed away last year in June. Leeann knew that this day would come, but you just don’t know when. Sadly for Leeann and her siblings this was not the first time they lost her. When Leeann was nine years old her mum was in a car accident which left her in a state that she was unable to look after her children or even realise she had children. So much of Leeann’s life was without parents and each day that came it was about surviving! Leeann and her sisters and brother are strong people who each have their own little families now. Their mother lives on inside these children.

Leeann created this page in remembrance of her mum. Just a little something which helps explains to her children where she is now. Leeann also had the girls write a little something to her as she was their grandmother after all.

 

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You don’t have to tell Leeann twice. The title says it “totally blessed” to have these three little girls in her life. They are her whole world, her daily sunshine and her everything!
The two pages that Leeann created all have hidden journaling. Leeann used small bags and adhere then under the base layers and made tags to slide in and out. She couldn’t resist playing with all the Amy Tangerine sketchbook papers and layered sticker embellishments. Leeann added all her personal little touches of clustering, layers, buttons and machine stitching.

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scrapping spaces–suz doyle

 

 

As she works from home Suz has commandeered the front end of her living room as a home office and crafting are.  The living area is an awkward long narrow space, and so she moves things around with fairly high frequency, trying to make everything that has to happen in this area flow functionally as well as look pretty.

 

 

Mission Control corner with computer is where she spends the best part of her day. With work over she can just turn her chair to her scrap desk where she has room to create often, happily, with a child doing homework or drawing on the opposite side of the desk.

 

She recently bought the gorgeous new Cropper Hopper expandable holder and embellishment holder with the black and white damask design to contain current products she wants kept within easy reach.

 

A set of drawers on her left contains all of her most used tools and products – a rainbow of Martha Stewart Glitters, punches and of course WeR Crop-a-dile and friends.

 

In a box under her desk she keeps 12x12 patterned papers and sticker sheets, divided by brand using Cropper Hopper dividers.

 

Her printer is slightly precariously balanced on a second box turned on its side under her desk, which also contains product separated for individual upcoming projects in Cropper Hopper paper files.  If this all sounds like an ad for Cropper Hopper, it kind of is, but these products and systems have been working for Suz for years now!

 

 

It’s also an ad for Ikea Expedit as she has the large bookcase and attached desk which is then extended by a second bookcase.  This is currently where her kids art materials live,  where many of her layouts are housed in albums and mini albums are stored in a basket.

 

The other side of her scrap area has been in the planning now for around two years, and bit by bit she’s been working on making it both beautiful and inspiring to her as she works.  It's still not quite finished but her latest project has been creating this little gallery full of both original canvases and framed prints by artists and friends in the scrapbooking community, each of whom have inspired her or touched her life in some way.

 

In the handy pedestal drawers you can see on the right in the picture above, it’s allowed to get a little messier and these are full of art supplies, inks and glimmer mists.

scrapping spaces–louise nelson

 

Louise Nelson is fortunate to be able to rent a small studio space next to her unit which is in a lovely older style house in Adelaide. Louise cant do to much in relation to putting up shelves and have storage units built so with that in mind she has hit the discount stores and used what cheaper storage alternatives she can find. Louise's actual scrap desks are a wooden top tables from the hardware store. She has stained them and sealed them as they were originally raw wood.

Louise has also positioned her main desk under the only window with all day natural light.

 

As you can see from this photo Louise has used a variety of options for storage and shelving. These shelves are actually wooden shoe racks that Louise has bought from the discount store. Louise has used the quite extensively; they are easy to assemble and reconfigure to suit the space. Louise stores her inks and some of her journal pens in the drawer sets and odds and bods supplies that she is currently using close at hand in the plastic handled containers [bought from the supermarket].

Up on the top shelf to the left you may notice the cardboard magazine holders, Louise stores her rub-ons in those.

 

 

 

This the area that louise does her video taping for step-by-steps. At the top of the picture in the right hand corner you can just see a white wire rack, louise attaches her camera to this. It is the shoe rack from her clothes dryer.

 

 

This area is what Louise affectionately calls her 'Spray Booth'. It used to be an old walk in pantry. As you can see Louise has a passion for misting, and has been fortunate to be able to purchase 2 of the Tattered Angels racks for storage of her mists.

 

Louise stores her masks just on a bulldog clip and hangs them on a hook.

 

All Louise's paints etc are stored in cheap plastic containers.

 

 

 

Louise bought this industrial matting from the hardware store to protect the carpet underneath.

scrapping spaces–louise willliams

 

Louise W's scrapping space is a temporary spot in the corner of her circus-themed lounge (not her decor choice!). Lack of storage is a big problem which will be rectified in her new studio shortly, but for now she has a few storage items that have been indispensible.

 

Cropper Hopper paper files have been Louise's storage solution of choice for the past few years. They hold a huge amount of papers and keep them flat and organised (although they need a good sort out!).

 

This $60 cubby unit was an online ebay find and holds a huge amount of products. All Louise's inks, paints, jars, powders and more fit in here and yes, she CAN find what she needs despite it's current state of 'yes this is how I scrap' reality.

 

Louise also has a few vintage glass jars and holders which she uses to store ink daubers and sponges as well as tapes and metal embellishments. They sit on her desk so they're always close at hand and were picked up for only $2 each from a local thrift store.

scrapping spaces–danielle quarmby

 

Danielle has a multi-functional desk in one corner of her bedroom which keeps the majority of her art and scrapbooking supplies, packing supplies for her online shops and random paperwork. It's rare that Danielle uses the desk to actually scrapbook, but sometimes uses her laptop or sewing machine here. For storage, she has three Cropper Hopper vertical storage files with dividers for paper storage and a vintage timber shelf for art supplies, inks and mists.

 

The shelves above her desk hold a range of supplies, with book boxes containing photos and other supplies, more art supplies in different vintage camera cases, a stack of washi tape and jars of ribbons. Cardboard pizza boxes hold Danielle's unsorted layouts, and an aluminium case contains her stamp collection. Old mini albums and other random art pieces pile up on the top shelf.

 

 

As well as some Rob Ryan papercuts taped to the wall for inspiration, Danielle keeps a shoe box for random supplies and paperwork on the desk, knowing that these items would just pile up if they didn't have a place to go! Her current projects are usually kept in a single cardboard box nested beneath the desk, but supplies are also scattered among the 8 drawers of the desk when not immediately required.

 

 

This corner of Danielle's lounge is one of the two places in her home where she actually creates scrapbook projects, using the sturdy coffee table as a make-shift desk while watching movies or listening to music!

 

The kitchen table is the other main scrapbooking space Danielle uses often, sometimes with her kids sharing the table and craft supplies or at other times interspersed with unloading the dishwasher or making a meal. With one cardboard box containing all current projects and supplies, it is quick to clean up after a scrapbooking session - everything just goes back in the box, with art supplies being returned to the desk for later.

 

This vintage chest is nestled between Danielle's entryway and lounge room in her small family home and contains boxes of children's craft supplies as well as older scrapbooking items or things that need to be sorted. Danielle regularly culls supplies and donates products to her children's school for further crafty use!

 

 

scrapping spaces–chris millar

 

Chris shares her craft space with the home office used for the family business.

 

 

 

Chris uses these small clear containers to store the cards she creates.  She made dividers to create categories for her cards.

 

 

 

Chris says this is her favourite storage in her craft room.  The Clip-It-Up base unit and upper tier are the perfect solution for storing and displaying rub-ons, stickers and ribbon cards.  It's so quick and easy to find what your looking for when it's stored in this way.

 

 

Chris keeps all her pattern papers and cardstock in the Cropper Hopper divided storage folders.  She says she has them in this trolley under her desk for quick access.

scrapping spaces–iris babao uy

 

Iris converted a corner of their bedroom into her work area. Because her work space is part of their bedroom she has to make sure that it is always a clean and safe space even for her kids. Anything sharp or toxic is kept in boxes far beyond the reach of her children. Paints and most mediums are kept in the plastic drawer shelves behind her work table to keep clutter and mess to a minimum.

The large cabinet holds her papers and tools, the vertical wooden shelves holds her dies. The metal drawers holds her embellishment, punchers, and stamps.

 

The red table runner is actually an organizer which holds her brushes, palette knives, brayers, etc. Iris' rule of thumb... if it's something she uses all the time, it has to be within reach at all times.

 

 

This foam blending tool carousel from Ranger is one of Iris' best buys. Saves her time from changing the foam pads every time she uses her distress inks... which is ALL THE TIME!

If you take a look at the small organizer at the back of her art journal page, you will see that it has small drawers which holds left over alphabets. This makes it easy for her to utilize all of her alphas by mixing random styles of letters for her titles.

 

Office desk organizers find a home in Iris' space and is used as storage for her wooden stamps and as a place for her pens, pencils, mediums, etc.

 

This vintage looking case here is actually a make-up train case. Used by make-up artists...but is a perfect storage solution for Iris - whether working at her space, teaching a class, or crafting with friends. Look at the next picture and see why.

 

This make-up train case opens up to reveal lots of shelves that is perfect for her favorite mediums like pigment powders, glitters, glazes, etc. The bottom part is also deep enough to hold gel mediums, mists, paint bottles, etc

 

Metal drawers from Ikea are perfect for holding varied embellishments and small paper pads. even masks and stencils of Iris lie happily within these shelves.

 

To save on space and to have better view of all the stamps she has accumulated over the years, Iris took out the stamps from their packaging and arranged them in transparent folders. This system saves her space and also provides a quick and easy way to take out stamps and return them in their storage space after use.

 

Another set of drawers this time for Iris' punches. As long as Iris has a specific area for certain things then sorting and choosing stuff for use in her projects are always easy. Iris also goes through her stash regularly. She decides which items she will no longer use and gives them away to her kids and her friends. This way, she is always sure that whenever she goes through her stuff she will only find items that she will actually be working with. That alone saves a lot of time.