Combining Challenges...

I promised myself that I would find time to do the Sketch and Colour Inspiration Challenges this month over at Scrapbook Kits. But again, I find the end of the month fast approaching, and me running out of time. So rather than choosing to do just one (or worse still neither!!!), I decided to combine both challenges. And oh man, I am so glad I did. Now some people have problems with combining challenges, and get their knickers in a knot about it (it's cheating, it's wrong, blah! blah! blah!). I don't have that problem, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. :-)

To be honest, I made a HUGE mistake on this layout, so it does not look anything like it should. How so, you ask? Well, you see where those flowers and hanging leaves are? Originally, I used dark green Liquid Pearls to make the stems - but something happened (a cat who shall remain nameless tried to jump on my table and caused me to smudge it - big time!!!). Which left me with a dilemma. How to you cover up a great, big, dark green smudge? Why, gesso, inks, and mists, of course!!! I'm not entirely happy with the end result, but it's definitely better than what is was with the green smudge all over it. Sigh...I guess some things are just meant to be, lol!

A close-up of the flowers and leaves, and some of my details.

Just a close-up of my journalling (thanks to the misting, I had to use the journalling to help tie the page together).

Products Used: MY Mind's Eye papers; MME chipboard pieces; MME brads; Manor House flowers and leaves; Prima pearls and rhinestones; Tattered Angels mists; and Liquid Pearls.

Sugar And Spice...

Those words, "sugar and spice", definitely describe my two girls perfectly. They are so different, but both lovable and adorable. Today I am sharing my first March project for Imaginarium Designs (I've done 3, so there are two more coming). You can find more details about my March project over on the Imaginarium Designs blog - and there are some from the other ladies on the team, too. So pop on over and check them out - lots of gorgeous layouts for those special girls in our lives.

ID Products: 8 Butterflies on board - Code IDS0003; and 12 Buttons on board - Code IDS0031.

Techniques Used: The butterflies were inked with two different shades of blue from the Ingvilde Bolme/Prima inks. Once dry, I coated them with Tattered Angels Glam (in Chandelier). I adhered them to my page with Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots to raise them off the page. The buttons were inked with a hot pink from the Ingvilde Bolme/Prima inks, Once dry, I coated them (very thickly) with Dimensional Magic. This gave a beautiful, shiny finish once it was dry. I finished them off by tying bakers twine through the centre, before I adhered them to my page. The phrase "You Are My Everything", was first inked with a cream/beige from the Ingvilde Bolme/Prima inks. For a pearlescent finish, I then coated the phrase with a cream/pearl colour from the Twinkling H2O range. Finally, after deciding it still did not stand out enough from the page, I added a light coat of Crystalline Kindy Glitz.

Other products used: Glitz Designs papers; Glitz designs rub-ons; Sassafras flowers; Zva Creative rhinestone flourish; Hambly Washi tape; Zva Creative rhinestones; The Twinery bakers twine; and Liquid Pearls.

Here's a close-up of my butterflies, buttons and title. I love how the Glitz rub-ons worked perfectly with the title to help create a little cluster of elements in this corner. And those sparkly butterflies - love!!!!! They are just so cute and go with everything. Somehow, I think those butterflies and buttons are going to have a permanent spot in my stash, lol!

Let's Go With Cute...

One of the interesting things about playing Layout Tag over at Noel Mignon's, is that sometimes you have to work outside your comfort zone. What do I mean? Well, everyone has a different style of scrapbooking. Sometimes, the layout you receive is totally different to your own style, so adapting it can be quite a challenge.

I usually like to leave a little (or a lot) of white space on my layouts, but many of the American girls have a different style where they utilise the whole page. Because this is a new style for me, I decided to keep this layout simple and cute. Why make things harder for myself? This may not be my greatest layout ever, but it's passable, and I'm happy with it. Besides, cute is always a good thing, isn't it? LOL!!!

Want A Fun Challenge?

We have a gorgeous colour inspiration challenge for you over at Scrapbook Kits. I am definitely going to have to find some time to create a layout for this!!!

March Inspiration Challenge (picture found on Pinterest).

So, do you want to play?

Then just click here for details to enter, and join in the fun.

And for those of you who prefer a sketch, we have this sketch designed by yours truly. What do you think? Does it look like fun? I think it does, and I will DEFINITELY be creating a layout based on this sketch - I will share it when I am finished.

So, if you would like to join in for the March Sketch, just click here.

And remember, we LOVE playing with new people too. Everyone is welcome. All the details can be found on the Scrapbook Kits blog.

Crafty Sketches - March 2012 Sketch

I've been designing sketches again. It was my turn to design a sketch for Crafty Sketches. All I can say is, this one is REALLY a challenge, lol!

Crafty Sketches March Sketch - designed by Jules (That's me!!!).

I love banners, so I decided to make the most of them, with not one row of banners, but three!!! I warned you it was a challenge! :-)

And this is my interpretation of my sketch - "Like Day & Night".

The rest of the Crafty Sketches Design Team (and Guest Designer) did an amazing job with this sketch. Just click here to see their work, and receive a whole lot of inspiration. If you would like to have some fun and play with us, all the details can be found on the Crafty Sketches blog.

Products Used: Echo Park "This & That Graceful" papers and stickers; Imaginarium Designs chipboard; Magnolia chandelier piece; Prima flowers; Kasiercraft rhinestones; The Twinery twine; and Ranger Embossing Glitter.