You can never have too much of a good thing.

Five months since I last blogged, I cannot believe it!
I have been scrapping though and thoroughly enjoying being a part of the Tag Swap on UKS.
Making tags adds a whole new dimension to my scrapping as it allows me to mess around with paint, gesso, stencils and what not.
It challenges me and that's a good thing.
It also means I spend way too much time on Pinterest and YouTube!
But that's also a good thing because that's where I learn stuff.
Last month's theme "Hearts" made me try my hand at embossing for the first time, there are so many tutorials on YouTube my head was spinning.

I liked the end result.

This months theme is "Arrows".
Pinterest was my inspiration for a Project Life style tag, using PL cards that I've had for ages and never got around to using.

Another good thing.

Halloween tags

The theme for this month's tag swap

 hosted by Jill is.........................you've guessed?

Halloween!!

The swap has already happened

 and I have received 3 spookily gorgeous tags

 from 3 very talented scrappers.

(I hope they are as happy with one of these as I am with theirs.)

 

Woo Hoo!!

Catching up

At the end of last month I joined several other members of UK Scrappers' Green Buttons House at the Beeches Hotel, Bournville, UK for a long weekend of scrapping and chatting.
It was my first experience of scrapping with a group of like minded crafters and I really enjoyed meeting everyone IRL, learning some new techniques and seeing how other people make magic happen using just paper, glue and other bits and bobs.
Michele gave us a short tutorial on how to incorporate modelling paste, gesso and inks into our LO's and this was one of the things I was keen to try for myself once I got back home to Normandy.
The first of the UKS's October challenges was all I needed to get my hands messy.
Use a Cliff Richard song as the title.
Use 5 of something.
Add a foreign element somewhere on the LO.
Further inspiration came from Sue's Sketch Challenge featured on her Me & Mine blog.

I haven't yet ordered some modelling paste so had to leave that technique for later but I did cover the clean white cardstock quite liberally with gesso, allowed it to try before trickling Adirondack alcohol inks, Sandal & Aqua, down the page.
I quickly spritzed with water then dried everything with my hand dryer before giving it all a light shimmer with Perfect Pearls Mist in perfect copper.

Using my finger I applied a light coating of Fired Brick Distress stickles over and around the hexagon shapes and then applied a German language stamp randomly across the page before completing the LO with a photo of me and my Dad on cross country skis which was taken in the garden of our house in Ellmau, Austria in 1992.
Five colour coordinated brads and a Cliff Richard song title "I Could Easily Fall" completed the page.

Tag Swap September - News print

The theme for the September Tag swap is news print so I tore up some old, really old probably antique (shame on me!), pages from a French school text book that I discovered at a local flea market a couple of years ago.

I gesso'd the strips to some kraft card stock and applied blue & white paint randomly using a scrunched up plastic bag.
Then layered on a strip of blue kraft cs with a light coating of gesso and another strip from the book page which I'd crackle glazed using white acrylic paint and glue, a technique picked up from youtube!
A final layer of another thin strip of book page topped by 3 blue & white painted butterflies and a piece of antique french lace, et voila, fini!

Tag Swap August 2015 "TRAVEL"

The theme for the tag swap on UK Scrappers this month is "TRAVEL".

I've been itching to use some of my Tim Holtz idea-ology 

"Expedition" ephemera, papers and metal word bands.

They've been sitting in my stash for way too long 

waiting for the perfect project.

I think this was it.

bon weekend!

Archi - Scraps August Challenge

This month's Archi-Scraps challenge is to use something CLEAR on your layout. 

Click HERE for details and to see what the Design Team have come up with to inspire you!

June seems so long ago now but my LO was inspired by the wonderful tradition of afternoon tea and there's no better time for a tea party than during Wimbledon fortnight.

Strawberries and cream anyone??

The patterned background paper is entitled "C'est la vie - deja vu" 

and is from the  BoBunny Back to Backs range, 

it's been in my stash forever.

My see through elements were the blue doily (Little Yellow Bicycle - clear cut shapes) 

layered upon the white paper doily 

and the clear title alphas which I received in a kit swap recently.

The prize for Australian entrants this month is 

an 8 x 8 etched acrylic album.

Overseas winners will be invited to be 

Archi-scraps Guest Designer next month!

Archi - scraps July challenge.

I've loved dogs all my life and they have featured in many of my scrap booking pages.

The Archi - scraps July pet challenge was just up my street.

Take a look at this cute little guy! 

What a great prompt!

The perfect excuse to scrap yet another photo of our 

darling German Shepherd M'selle Fleur.

Fleur likes nothing better than to sit in the back of the car 

waiting and watching the world go by. 

That way she's always ready

when it's time to go! 

For this LO I used a kit which Michele @ Crafts For Eternity 

sent to me as a birthday gift 

on behalf my Scrap Happy teamies over at UKScrappers.

For more pet inspired projects from the Design Team

click here

and maybe join in with a LO of your own. 

Check out the optional sketch prompt provided by Mystical Scrapbooking.

There will be prizes!