Playing With Scary Colours...

I've never hidden the fact that purple is not my favourite colour. I struggle with it (usually). However, I have learnt, the more often I play or practice with something, the easier it becomes for me to incorporate it into my work. So every once in a while, I make myself play with the colour purple. My aim is to work towards creating a fully monochromatic layout at some point (shock, horror!!!).

This time to make it easier, I added aqua and lime green (two of my favourite colours). And I kept the purple to a minimum - I didn't make it my main focus colour (still working towards that, lol!). 

Titled: Little Miss Cheeky.

I created the background using Crafter's Workshop templates and Pan Pastels. 

I am totally in love with these new Prima poppy flowers - they are BEAUTIFUL!!!! And the colours are gorgeous. (Yes, I think I will need to buy more and hoard them, lol!). 

Products used: Lily Bee papers; Prima flowers and vines; Prima resin shapes; Thickers alphabet; Martha Stewart doilies; Liquid Pearls; Pan Paste;s; Crafter's Workshop templates; Glimmermist; metallic mesh; Zva Creative rhinestone flourish; washi tape; Broken China distess ink; Glimmer Glam; and a black pen. 

My PaperHaus Introduction...

It's my turn for an introduction over on the PaperHaus blog. If you would like to know a little bit more about me, just pop on over to PaperHaus and check it out! Did you know I am the only Aussie on the team? Somebody pinch me!!!I'm sure I am still dreaming...

Scrap Goodies For Sale!

Since Scrapbook Kits is now only a "KIT" store, I have a lot of left over excess scrap goodies from the former Scrap With V store (and from my own personal stash). If you would like to purchase any of these products at a discounted price, you can find them at Aussie Scrappers Garage Sale on Facebook.

All you need to do is click on the link above and message Tamara Goulden, and ask her (nicely please!) to make you a member. And then you can shop to your heart's content!!! Lots and lots of scrap goodies at very, very cheap prices. So, will I see you over there? :-) Happy shopping!

Meet The PaperHaus Team...

I'm just a little bit excited. No, really!!! I've been doing the "happy dance" since yesterday, lol! The inaugral 2012-2013 team for PaperHaus has been announced and guess who is on the list? Me!!!! I actually made the team. It's going to be a very exciting 12 months, and I cannot wait! 

introducing the paperhaus design team!

Katarina Damm-Blomberg

Sara Zenger

Trina McClune

Lisa Duke

Lynn Adams

Jelissa Mei 

Shamu Nidyanandan

Vivian Keh

Marilyn Rivera

Julianne McKenna-DeLumen 
(yep, that's definitely me!)

Emilia van den Heuvel

Candice Elliott

Linda Brun

Here's to a fabulous 12 months of new adventures!!!

And don't forget to pop over to the PaperHaus blog tomorrow - it's time to introduce each of the team members and start sharing the inspiration and creativity. 

See you tomorrow! 

Lily Bee September Sketch Challenge

It's strange how some sketches "speak" to me more than others. I've been playing with sketches ever since I started scrapbooking, but it's always been the same - some sketches just grab my attention and make me want to scrap, while others don't get a second glance from me. Is anyone else like this? Or do you happily scrap using any sketch?

This is one of those sketches that completely grabbed my attention (Lily Bee's September 10th Sketch Challenge). I'm not sure if it's because of the white space, or maybe the banners. Probably both, more like it, lol! But I had to drop everything to play. You can find this sketch over on the Lily Bee Design blog. 

And here's my take on the sketch. I've used the Lily Bee "Happily Lost" paper range, and some chipboard goodies from Imaginarium Designs. I actually had an ID chipboard frame that had broken in several places (thanks to my cat...sigh...but that's a whole other story!). So I pulled the frame apart, inked it with brown ink, then coated it with Cowboy Glimmer Glaze from Tattered Angels. 

A little close-up of all the layers and details. Do you like how I tucked a piece of the broken ID frame under the banners and layers? That's the beauty of layers - you can tuck so many little things in. 

Colour. Lots and lots of colour!!! Just how I like it. :-)

Imaginarium Designs products used: Chipboard Frame and Mini Alphabet (Upper Case). 

Other Products Used: Lily Bee Designs papers and alphabet stickers; Prima flowers and resin images; Hambly transparency; Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze; Crafter's Workshop stencil template; Washi tapes; Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots; Zva Creative rhinestones; and kraft tags.

Hope you are having a fantastic weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

Christmas Is WHEN????

Did you know there are around 100 days or so, until it is Christmas again? Scary, isn't it!!! So I thought I had better get myself a little organised before it arrives on our doorstep. I wanted to record the gifts that my daughter's received last Christmas. I don't usually do this, but last year was different. It was our last Christmas is Brisbane, and it was the first year that they both received Blythe Dolls. And because they may want to add to their Blythe Doll collection in the future, I want to record when they receive them.

I decided the best way to record all the details was on a tag that could be popped into an envelope. And I thought, while I am using tags, why not make the whole layout based on tags? So I did, lol! I don't know what is is about tags, but I do love them. 

I had some new Gold Glitter Embossing Powder that I wanted to play with, and this was the perfect opportunity. Imaginarium Designs make gorgeous little Christmas trees, and they look divine all glittered, gold, and sparkly. I cut the ends off a Bracket on Ovals Frame and embossed that with Gold Glitter powder too. 

Here's the envelopes and tags. I have also included a picture of the Blythe Doll that they received on the back of the tag. And I've just journalled on the details on the front. 

Lots of layers, and lots of little details. Sigh...it's makes me happy! :-)

Products Used: Jillibean Soup papers, stickers, die cuts, flowers, envelopes, and twine. Imaginarium Designs chipboard - Christmas Trees, numbers, and Brackets On Oval Frame. 

Birthday Dramas Anyone?

On Sunday morning, we had a financial crisis that cost us all our money for the weekly budget (no, I'm not going to go into all the details). But I can say it was well over $1000 that I had saved and budgeted, as I had to buy birthday presents for Keana's 9th birthday (yesterday), take the girls to the Adelaide Show, put fuel in the car, put food on the table, buy food for the pets, and post quite a few parcels to my customers. As you can imagine, I went into panic mode. How was I going to buy presents or take the girls to the show with no money? I did the only thing I could do - I spent Monday online selling as much of my scrapbook products and supplies as I possibly could. By Monday evening, I had enough money to do one of two things - buy presents for Keana, or take the girls to the show. But I couldn't do both. So I got creative!!! I decided to take both girls to the show (yesterday) as part of Keana's birthday present. Hubby rang the school and told them the girls would not be in for the day, then we packed them up, and headed for the Adelaide show.

This is what Keana woke up to on Tuesday morning - balloons hanging from the frame above her door (they were all neat and untangled prior to her waking up, lol!). I had to do something special to make up for the lack of presents. :-) But seeing her face and reaction when I told her we were taking her to the show made it all worthwhile. She was one very happy and excited little girl (especially since I had explained on Sunday that all our money was gone, and she knew she wasn't going to receive anything).

Our very first outing to the Adelaide Show, and oh boy, did we have fun (even if it was on a tight budget, lol!). We noticed quite a few differences between the Adelaide and Brisbane shows - Adelaide is much better laid out and organised. And cleaner. And better planned. And cheaper!!! Parking in Brisbane is about $25-$30 for the day - in Adelaide it just cost us $12. Yep, for the WHOLE day. I might be mistaken, but I think the family tickets in Adelaide are a little cheaper too.

Here's Fuzzy (birthday girl) and Moo getting ready to go on some rides. 

Yes, I'm converted - I LOVE Farmer's Union Iced Coffee. Very yummy!!!

It's huge down here - everyone drinks it - and you can buy it nearly everywhere.

The showbag hall - just as good as Brisbane's. :-) 

This too was given the thumbs up by our girls.

I managed to escape the husband and girls (gave them some money and said go do some rides) and check out a few things on my own (might have to do this every year!!!). I love Bonsai. So enchanting and beautiful.

And flowers - oh my goodness, they were so beautiful, in so many colours and types, and it all just made me very happy. I even managed to check out the artwork, photography, and cooking. And animals of course - had to check out the baby animals, the cats, and the rabbits, lol!

And here's my baby at the end of the day. We ended the day by watching the Bagpipe band, Dog Obedience trials, performance cars, Freestyle motocross, and fireworks. So, all in all, my little girl enjoyed her birthday, even though it wasn't quite what we had originally planned. But I think it may be one she will remember for quite a long time. I hope so. :-)

Imaginarium Designs + Colour = Happy!!!

Today, it's my turn to share some of my creations over on the Imaginarium Designs blog. I'm going to keep this blog post short and simple, and if you would like more details, just pop on over to the ID Blog.

"MY GIRLS"

ID Products Used: Birdcage, butterfly, bird, "My Girl" phrase, Embellishment 4, and wire background. 

Other Products Used; Glitz Designs papers; Prima flowers.

"WISHING YOU HAPPINESS"

ID Products Used: "Wishing You Happiness" phrase, butterflies, Edwardian Relief border, and swirly flourish.
Other Products Used: Crafter's Workshop stencil; water-colour pencils; Prima flowers and vines; Maya Road transparent doilies, and Doodlebug glitter.

"NATURE LOVER"

A close up of my misting using the large ID butterflies as masks. 

ID Products Used: Spade top picket fence; flowers and birds; large and small butterflies (as masks); and small alphabets (lower and upper case).
Other Products Used: Bella Boulevard papers; washi tape; Tattered Angels Glimmermist and Chalkboard mist, and Studio Calico mask template.

Thank-you for dropping by today. I hope you are having a lovely, scrappy weekend!!!

Big hugs and kisses,

Julianne. 

September Sketches With A Twist Challenge...

September and Spring have arrived.

And with it, a new sketch and challenge over at Sketches With A Twist.

This is the sketch that I have designed for September. 

The twist is to use heat or dry embossing on your layout. 

And to make it even more exciting, SWaT and Outback Scrapping have joined together for a fun challenge, and there is a $50 voucher up for grabs. All the details are on the Sketches With A Twist blog. 

Here's my take on the sketch and twist. Titled: Nom Nom Nom (my youngest loves her food, especially cakes). I've heat embossed the title (Imaginarium Designs chipboard alphas) with embossing ink and clear embossing powder. I've used Pan pastels and a Crafter's Workshop stencil to create my background, and I've added lots of washi tape to create more layers. I've made all my Imaginarium Designs chipboard shapes and flourishes sparkly with a coat of ink, followed by Stickles glitter. 

Products Used: Everyday Eclectic Echo Park papers and stickers; Imaginarium Designs chipboard; Crfater's Workshop stencil template; and Prima flowers.