Straddie

What do you get with a junk shop find, cupcake papers and some altered paddle pop sticks? This: 

I got the cupcake border idea from Erika and Renee. Thanks, girls!

My favorite is the funky felt oval bitty from the junk shop:

 Cheap scrapping, yeah! Another thrifty idea is the frame, it's made from "driftwood" paddle pop sticks to go with the beach theme:

Come along to class next week and learn how! And there is a pull-out tag for some journaling:

Actually, it wasn't a great vacation, cause we got stuck on the island in a cyclone and it rained and stormed for days. BUT there were a few nice days with good weather and I have the photo to prove it!

Wild Fun

I had the perfect Halloween photo from last year to go with the new Echo Park Apothecary range. 

The beauty of a grungy page is that you really can’t make a mistake; just keep adding layers until you are happy. Let me take you through my process, which admittedly is a little all over the place. What can I say...it’s school holidays!

By the way, everything is available at My2Angels and the links to all products can be found here.

I used the Under Your Spell paper for the background and there wasn’t much to add, since it’s quite perfect the way it is.

First I tore a hole for the photo. The hole needs to be about 1” smaller all around than what you want in the end, so don’t make it too big! Scroll it open to reveal the nice colour on the back of the paper. I then messed around a little with Distress Crackle Paint in white. I like how it has a paint brush in the lid: minimum clean up!

Once it was dry I rubbed a little orange ink into it highlight the cracks and wiped the excess off with a baby wipe.

Then I stamped all around the hole. Yes, it means I don’t see the cracks all that much anymore but that’s what I’m talking about: layers!

For the black paint drips on the bottom I made a quick home-made comb from a scrap of cardstock packaging. I used a slot punch but you can use scissors too. It doesn’t even have to be even.

I applied a generous amount of black Distress Crackle Paint and dragged the comb through the paint downwards. The messier the better. Easy!

While all this was drying I tore some strips from Wicket Potions and inked around all the edges with a distress stain. A bit of chipboard barbed wire got a coat of glitter embossing and I added the silver pendant. Very gothic! To make it stand out I inked a bit under the pendant and popped on a skeleton charm.

My journaling says, “Truth be told I’m not a big fan of the ghoulishness, but it is a bit of wild fun.” The title chipboard was embossed and inked. In the end I used a bit of Stickles glitter here and there and it was done. Don’t I have a gorgeous family! Let’s see what costumes they come up with this year...

Halloween Witch

Here is my monthly blog post for WOW:

I’m not normally a double layout scrapper but once in a while you need more than one photo to tell the story. In my case, it was my youngest, Leah, trying so very hard to look the part of an evil witch at the Halloween parade last year and failing in the cutest possible way. She’s got Daddy’s acting genes. So whether or not you are a fan of Halloween here is an easy-peasy double with 7 photos that you can try.

You don’t always need the exact embellishments to go with your theme; sometimes it’s more fun to turn one thing into something else. I had an extra alien from my "Bookmonster" page. He is so cute, but what I really wanted was a ghost. So off with his antennae, paint him white, give him a coat of ghostly sheen with Perfect Pearls and zombie eyes.

Perfect!

In the true sense of “waste not, want not” I used the cut-off antennae under the paper rosette. To make a rosette, punch a 2x12” strip of paper with a scallop punch along one long side and pleat like a fan, nice and tight (let the scallops guide you). Glue the ends together so you get a ring and glue it flat onto a cardstock circle. Hold it till it dries and add a brad in the middle. To give it a bit of shine, I embossed the outside with some glittery silver embossing powder and gave the balls of the antennae a coat of German Glitter Glass.

I used a flame set to get Leah flying on her broom stick. 

First I painted them white and gave them a coat of orange embossing powder, but I wiped off a little here and there before heating it. I then sprinkled a tiny bit of black Opals on (you can also use embossing powder) and heated it again.

The other 2 wings from the set were embossed in 2 coats of black for a nice glossy look.

I hope you like my cute Halloween witch. Mwah-ha-ha. 

Big blow of my own trumpet

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Actually I've been working on my first commission for Scrapbook Ideas and it's taken up all my spare time AND I can't share. It'll be in the December issue!
A little while ago I sent off my entries to the Scrapbooking Memories Masters and today I got an e-mail from them. No, I'm not in, BUT they want me on their Creative Team for 2012! I'll be in the team with Jasmine and I am so excited to be picked. Like her, I've had to read the e-mail a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming! I'm so excited I just had to share.