Blog Revamp....

Hey readers, sorry about the mess here ... I thought it about time to have a bit of a blog revamp. Will be presenting a new look soon ~ Steph ~ xo

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End of Month Round-Up - August !!!!

Another bumper month, and not much blogging Im afraid ... Im so sorry I am SO terrible lately at being attentive to my little blog. For those of you who still pop over here, thank-you for your loyalty and little bits of love you leave me, I appreciate and read each and every comment.

So firstly .... drumroll, an exciting FREE magazine has just been launched, and the editor Frank Garcia, contacted me and asked if I would be the magazines first featured artist!!!! How could a girl say no !!! Frank has this amazing vision for the industry, not to mention he is MEGA talented himself, and I have developed a really sweet friendship with him, through working with him on this issue. Go over and check out Frank's gorgeous projects ...... you won't be dissapointed.

So the magazine is called .....

and this is what the first issue looked like ....

Open publication - Free publishing - More crafting

So you want this magazine sent electronically to you each month .... FREE of charge ???? How could you not hey ??? ..... just follow the following instructions and its all yours .....

1. Go to the magazine site:http://issuu.com/thepaperhaus/docs/paperhaus_magazine_fall_2012
2. Click on DOWNLOAD
3. Transfer the file to iTunes.
4. Sync with your iPad!
5. Enjoy!

This month's project was "Back to School", and I thought a layout of my next
and last little schoolgirl was appropriate. Time seems to race by, and they grow up quicker than you can blink an eye !!!! I decided to record my youngest daughter’s journey into school, using the gorgeous Spring Jubilee line, with all its vibrant colors and sweet motifs.

I had the idea of using an image of student’s books and a teacher’s apple right from the beginning – I just needed to find the right image to use. Searching the web, I came accross this clip art image, and decided to fill in the colors using the Spring Jubilee Patterned Papers. It really is so easy to do.

Once you have decided on your image, open up your editing software and desaturate your image in photoshop, taking the opacity to about 10%. Then print out two copies of the image. The first copy you number all the parts of the image and cut them all out separately. For example, the apple is 1, leaf 2, core is 3 etc. The second copy you are going to use as a guide as to where to adhere all your different numbered parts.

Once all the different parts are cut out, decide on what pattern paper colors you want to use on each section of the image, and glue that piece to the BACK of the patterned paper. Remember to write the number again on the back once you have adhered it to the Patterned Paper, it so you know where to stick in down.

Just continue with this process to the entire image of Copy 2 is covered. It’s that easy !!!!

We celebrated Melissa's 50th Birthday just recently, and if you don't know not too long ago, Melissa used to dread getting older. But since fighting through her stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis in 2007, she has been reminded what a gift life is. And now, every additional year represents more opportunities to live life to the fullesst !! So happy happy Birthday Melissa ... you are such a beautiful person and Im sure you have another 50 birthdays to celebrate yet !!

My August layout for the MF blog, this project features the C'est la Vie collection which makes a feminine backdrop for my photo of Madi.

Still have a couple of CHA layouts that haven't been shared yet, but I can now show you my Romance Novel layout I created for CHA. Lots of gorgeous flowers, and texture on this one ....

and a Romance Novel Tag specially made for the Prima Blog.

So that's it ... another bumper edition of projects for August.

Stay safe and happy always.

Steph xo

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CHA ...... Summer 2012

I can't believe that it's over again .... CHA, Summer 2012. And once again the amazing manufacturers that I design for have revealed some stunning products to be showcased at this years event. Over at Melissa Frances, the summer show is a chance where Melissa introduces the Holiday collection, & this year's line is called "Countdown to Christmas". This year Melissa Frances is bringing us a holiday line full of color, which combines current trends and retro imagery.

Available with coordinating chipboard accents, die cuts and tags, this collection is absolutely gorgeous !!!!!

Head over to the MF Blog as they are having a wonderful giveaway of the new collection?

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Pink Paislee has release an amazing collection which I'm totally smitten with called the Artisan Collection.

You can see the gorgeous patterns of the 12x12 papers and how they color up with different applications.

And how about this new release from Heidi Swapp.... absolutely perfect for the Artisan Collection. Those colors are to die for .... I can't wait to play with them.

Last but by no means last is Prima Marketing. Prima. What can i say ?? Every release is stunning, cutting edge and mind blowing. The amount of product that this manufacturer releases is staggering. I just love the bright colors in this line ... and the gorgeous patterns.

Here is a layout displayed at CHA, using the Zephyr Range.

Prima also have release this beautiful line called Tea-Thyme. Can you see why I have fallen head over heals with it. It is drop dead gorgeous and the embellishments are to die for !!!!!

That's all for today ...

Have a really blessed and fun week, and will post soon.

Steph xo

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Pink Paislee Sneak Peak Week .....

Don't you just love this time of year ?? So much gorgeous product coming out and all this week Pink Paislee are sharing all their new releases over at their blog ....

So drumroll ..... today I want to share with you ......

City sidewalk, busy sidewalks – dressed in holiday style. In the air there’s A feeling of Christmas.

Our upcoming City Sidewalks Collection is so reminiscent of holidays “past” that it feels as warm and cozy as Christmas Morning. Brought to you by Collage Press Studios this collection is one of the best holiday themed collections you will see this year!

Check out these gorgeous products ......

Unfortunately being so far away, I didn't get a chance to play with these products yet, so I haven't got any projects to share .... However some of the US DT girls have created some gorgeous stuff - so to get a glimpse of just how beautiful this line is .... and for a chance to win these beautiful products head over to the Pink Paislee Blog.

I will have more to share soon.

Steph xo

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Sleeping Beauty ...... and some amazing inspiration

Hi Lovely Ladies, so excited to share with you my first layout created for Prima Marketing's CHA Booth. Ingvild Bolme has designed some exquisite resins for you, that are both beautiful to look at and so easy to use on your crafting projects.

I was lucky enough to receive some of these resins to play with, and as a result created this layout using Ingvild's little birds (FlyAway) and her gorgeous baroque corner which adorns my photo. I have also used one of her Junkyard Findings, two beautiful white clocks, with matching ornate hands (how divine are these ??) in the centre of my central embellishment.

This layout is titled "Sleeping Beauty", I remember taking this photo of Madi, after picking her up from Kindegarten, after a full on day of playing and learning. She was absolutely smashed !!!! These little bodies and minds can only take so much, and she looked so peaceful, lost in a world all of her own.

The central embellishment is actually built up quite high, I think it had 9 layers in the end, all raised by foam tape.

You can also see some of the new SIIC (Say it in Crystal) release, which are worth waiting for, (they are so beautiful).

I have so many other layouts to share, and as soon as Prima post them on their blog, I will share the creation process and materials used here on my blog.

Also I have been thinking lately about how inspiring some of the work is out there !!! Every now and then I will be sharing projects that have inspired me, and showcasing artists from all over the world and their creativity.

I mean how beautiful is this layout.... by Yuko Tanaka Oh. My. Its so delicate and I LOVE the triangles in the top left corner, the attention to detail and overall design of this layout. Yuko it's just beautiful.

This project took my breath away .... the color scheme in this project is to die for. I love everything about this layout, the whimsy and freedom the design allows for. The central washing line is divine and again I think about how little a page needs to be jaw droppingly gorgeous. Thanks Ana Paul Leal you inspired me !!!!

Tina Walker blew me away with this design concept, and I will definitely be using it .... wowzers. She has used the "negative" pieces of a cricut layout and adhered them to her base. How effective is this. Such amazing creativity !!!!

Most of you know I love color. Any color. Especially rainbow. Check out this layout by Lisa Barrie. WOW. How awesome is her play of colors and the stunning butterflies gathered around the central photograph. This is amazing. I love how she has incorporated the black component to balance the vibrance of the colors she has chosen. And look at the detail in the bottom right hand corner of the layout ... yummy. Just love all the inspiration here.

Anyhow more to share soon, hope you have enjoyed your visit over here ...

Have a great week.

Steph xo

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Just wanted to share ....

that I have been asked back to Prima Marketing for another year....

thankyou so much Prima ..... it really is such an honor

Oh my... so excited and thrilled to say the least..

I´m also honored to be working with some of the industry's most talented scrapers ... from all over the world! A huge congrats to the team:

Lea Lawson

Stacey Young

Steph Devlin

Lene Bjornerud

Maiko Kosugi

Brit Swiggun

Solange Marques

Marie-Nicolas Alliot

Anna-Maria Wolniak

Juliana Montoya

Leslie Ashe

Felicity Wilson

Finnabair

Hege A Lundquist

Gerry van Gent

Janna Werner

Magda Bolinska

Heidi Kelley

Larissa Albernaz

Sharon Laakonnen

You can see the full announcement here.

Thank you, Prima!

Finishing this announcement with my HAPPY DANCE!!!

So onto some shares ...

The BAP for Prima for this month...

Hmmm took a very LIBERAL approach to this sketch but if you look closely (and rotate the sketch 90 degrees to the right) Im hoping you can see where I drew my inspiration from ...

Over at the Pink Paislee Blog, I had to design the “You’re Invited” series. High Tea seems to be making a welcome comeback for all us ladies out there, so I decided to create an invitation for a High Tea party, using a mixture of the London Market and Spring Jubilee lines.

Your invitations don’t have to be covered with embellishments, remembering that you are probably going to have to replicate quite a few for everybody you intend on inviting. That in mind, I have made my invitation fairly simple. For the ,I just found an old ordinary envelope and gently opened it up so I could use it as a template. I then traced around the outline onto patterned paper, then added half an inch to the top outline of the flap to allow for some decorative punching. It’s amazing how pretty these envelopes can look with the right paper and a dash of ink.

For the invitation, I have used the London Market Die Cuts and inked around them, raising them with foam dots. I have also grabbed an English Breakfast Teabag, and using Pan Pastels changed the color to Magenta. I then added some white Pan Pastel to soften the appearance of the bag. Once I was happy with the teabag’s color, I gave it a quick spray of hairspray just to “stick” the chalk to the surface. To finish the tea bag off, I have added some Spring Jubilee Rub-Ons, Hand Punching and ribbon to give it a sweet, feminine look.

Over at Melissa Frances - they are having a Shabby Trunk Sale... head over here for some fantastic bargains on some BEAUTIFUL product.

Just wanted to share another creation for Melissa Frances .. this time using the Attic Treasures Line.... so beautiful and soft ....

Also keep your eyes open for this ...

So many gorgeous projects and tutorials ...

Anyhow onto creating CHA stuff.... I am just waiting for my Prima Box to arrive and I will then dissapear for 2 weeks creating a storm. Poor hubby .... he has to take total control of the house and family while his wife deals with her obsession .... i really love the boy !!!

Anyhow be back soon with some more shares....

Have a fantastic week, laughing and creating ....

Steph xo

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Manor House Creations

I was given the chance to design for Manor House Creations, a wholesaler and manufacturer of gorgeous blooms and also Australian Distributor of my sweet friend Karola's paper lines. So as you can imagine, it was hard for me to say no, and as expected I was delighted with the beautiful product that was sent to me.

The paper line that I used was "My Private Happiness"... a beautiful mix of yellows, blues, limes and pinks, so bright and happy. I created two layouts for Manor House Creations that will also be on display at the Scrapbook & Papercraft Expo coming up in June.

Short and sweet today.

Have a beautiful week.
Steph xo

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Mad May Happenings ....

Hey girls - again its been a while. As per usual lots to share, so forgive me for the size of this post. May has been a busier than usual month, with Mother's Day and Dad's & my brother Pete's Birthday (they were born on the same day), and adding to the chaos, a major scrapbooking teaching event and Emma's first Calisthenics competition. As you can imagine, I'm waiting for June to arrive to bring with it a sense of normality.

There was LOTS of excitement in our house with Emma performing on stage for the first time. I have never seen her so excited about something !!! I was the complete opposite, nervous with anxiety the night before, and having to put up with a churney tummy on the day, just wondering if she could pull off the stress of performing live in front of an audience. Well pull it off she did, belting out a totally beautiful performance (having a very proud mum-moment so please indulge me), and the club received 1st place for all three items they competed in.

So chuffed.

As I sat in the Royalty Theatre, I pondered how life turns full circle. I believe this is such a gift for a mother, to see her daughter follow in her footsteps. Totally totally wonderful.

We also had our annual "All Day Scrap" held on National Scrapbooking Day. Close to 90 women attended for a day of creative fun and yummy food. This year, Jane Tregenza, Natalie May and myself taught projects to the ladies - and again it was a wonderful event of creativity and fun.

Here is Miss Jane teaching her class ... (thanks Nat for the photos)...

The food is seriously delectable as you can see .....

and a photo of the lovely Miss Nat and myself. The girl is so talented and her teaching style is simply gorgeous.....

So now some shares... first of all Prima's May BAP taken from this gorgeous sketch....

and my interpretation using the Almanac Range of papers.

The Prima Product Picks color scheme was a little challenging to say the least, but as per usual the creative process was enjoyable working with colors I don't usually shine too.

We were also given the chance this month to scraplift a fellow Prima DT member. I was given the wonderful Hege Lindquist. This girl is simply amazing. A new door of artistic appreciation was opened as I looked closely at all her creative nuances. Thanks so much for the inspiration Hege !!

Another share .... a layout from my March April "White with One" Class.

This month alsoo gave me the opportunity to create a couple of projects for Heidi Swapp using her new Memory Files and her fantastic Color Magic Range. The memory folders are such a fantastic idea from Heidi, and I decided to base mine on the girls sense of style. (Which believe me can be a bit dubious at times) !!!! Anyhow here is the front ....

Lastly, a layout using Color Magic. I have used Glimmermists, Inks and Pan Pastels on the beautiful patterned resist paper. All of the flowers are die cut or punched, I was in heaven creating this layout. So much fun.