Thursday, October 27, 2011

P4F last week - Futuristic challenge

I love the last challenge for Passion 4 Fashion at Scrap Boutique. It is all about the Futuristic fashion fad. I love the design of my layout. It's really cool. I love the colour combo of silver, purple and black. It's such a striking layout. What do you think?


This was our criteria. I found this one really easy and I'm sure I've met the criteria.

FUTURISTIC

FUTURISTIC - This category did not really make it outside Star Trek epoch and may have gone completely during the dot com era. The category emphasizes the look of the electronic and the computer age. The design concept is based on galactic or extra-terrestrial inspired clothing. 
Colour - Strong metallic (gold, silver, etc.), vivid, and contrasting. 
Lines - Angular, sharp and usually asymmetrical. 
Textures - Hard, unusually bold and often overwhelmingly round or square. 
Effects - Impractical to our present times, unique accessories or trim. 
Needs of customer - Bold statement 
Favourite Accessory - Bold geometric accessories. 
Note: Notice the unique accessories, its sharp and angular lines. Shoes with flashing red lights are examples of this style. 

Cool Huh??? 8) 

EXTRA CRITERIA - Please include the following on your LO....
:arrow: Repeat a geometric shape at least 4 times on your LO (eg. square, circle, triangle etc)
:arrow: Include a quote or passage that has something to do with the Future.



The quotes say "The moon is within reach." Perfect right? Also, "It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and reality of tomorrow." I really liked the optimism of that last one.

Get Picky entry

The challenge blog Get Picky turned 1 recently and is having a blog hop. Lots of inspiration there. This is their current sketch. If you do a layout for it, plus visit and leave a comment on each blog you could win a prize and a Guest Designer spot. I like that the Get Picky blog requires that you use multiple photos as that is always my first choice.  Click here to go Get Picky.



I've left a comment on each blog and done the above sketch in the following layout. It is in my normal clean and simple style. Usually the winners at Get Picky are layouts that are very pretty and girly so I won't win but then I am not expecting to. I'd love to win a prize though. That's always appealing.

The layout is all about the remarkable Washington Monument. It's a really incredible structure and it makes it  easy to know where you are in the City from taking your bearings from it.


Monday, October 24, 2011

Flowers Swap

Check this out.  Amanda Taylor organises a swap with a theme each month. There are 5 items  you can sign up for:  ATC's, embellishments, flowers, stamped images and shipping tags.  The theme this month is flowers. I got to pick that one. I thought it might be popular. Lots of scrappers love their flowers. Click on Amanda's name for the link to the blog.
I've been doing this for a while now and it's great fun. It's such fun, happy mail to get in your post box. Also, other people create things that you wouldn't so it's often quite a wonderful surprise to see what's in the package.

11/11/11
I thought I'd add a photo of the items I created for this swap.

Win this

You could win this glitter prize pack that I am giving away at ARTastic challenge blog this month where I am Guest Designing.


There are loads of other prizes to be won too. Take a look here.

Don't forget to try From Screen to Scrap's challenge as well here. There are only a few entries this month which is a bit sad. Makes for amazing odds for you winning a prize though.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Teacher thanks card

Day 232 at 365 Cards is a colour scheme challenge. I really like these colours together.



I had to make a Teacher thank you card for my son for World Teachers' Day next week. I've kept it simple using some great number PP and highlighting the 9 with a square frame of grey PP.  Mark is in Room 9. I've also used a strip of grey with a Thanks rub-on.  Not one to leave the inside blank I've also decorated that a little too. I hope Mark's Teacher likes it.



Our Californian Adventure

I'm going to describe our recent trip a little. I'll do my best to be brief and add just a couple of the 2000 photos we have.

We flew to LA via KL, spending overnight in KL. Then we took a car to Anaheim. Staying at a Disney Hotel was a great move. We could get to the Parks first thing, come back for a rest mid afternoon and stay til closing time.



The first photo is of the It's A Small World ride. Long story but we finally got to go on this ride (which is really aimed at tiny people). Did you know that when Walt Disney opened this ride he poured water from the seven seas into it? It's a boat ride, in case you weren't aware.

Second photo is obviously the castle. Doesn't it look pretty all lit up pink at night time?

After Anaheim we travelled to San Diego. Did the usual things, Zoo, Balboa Park, Sea World and the Maritime Museum. We liked SD. I liked the shopping a lot. We bought some costumes at a costume shop. Paul's and Mark's are both creepy. Will have to pull them out at Halloween. This morning I decorated our lobby in preparation. Getting into the spirit of it this year.


I think this photo I took of the Shamu show at Sea World is pretty great. It was a terrific show. Mark bought a soft toy and has been very fond of it ever since. Damon got a polar bear beany toy but managed to leave it in San Diego in the Hotel room.

Off to Las Vegas from here. What a place! Truly. Had my 44th birthday there. Went up to the top of the Stratosphere Observation Tower in the morning, booked a jump for 8:30pm and then went in a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon in the afternoon.


Tyler James was our pilot. He sat to the left of me. I didn't get used to the Americans driving from the left hand side of the car and on the wrong side of the road. Disconcerting. Mark, Damon and I sat in the front. Paul and 3 Spaniards sat in the back. Pretty cool.

Made me feel a little clammy on the way there. By the time we got back to the Hotel I didn't feel up to the jump. We went out to dinner at Okada Restaurant in the Wynn Hotel. High end Japanese food. I had a rainbow roll. Now, it was divine I must say. I also had some tuna sashima which melted in my mouth. Yum.


After Vegas we went to San Francisco. Did a hop on hop off two for the last two days. Saw the Golden Gate Bridge. The day before that it rained all day. We went to Alcatraz. A great touristy thing to do. Lots of beggars there. Also some protesters. There was some protesters in Vegas too. American economy not too good for a lot of people right now.

Headed off on the torturous trip home from SF, to LAX to KL. Spent a wonderful two days in KL at the JW Marriott. Love that Hotel. Best breakfasts I've ever had. Endless selections. Recommend it highly. Same time zone as Perth so a good transition.

Happy to be home safe and sound.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Grunge for P4F at SB

Week 7 at Scrap Boutique's Passion 4 Fashion challenge is to do a grunge layout. Yikes I said to myself. So not my thing. Well, I've attempted it and see for yourself whether I've managed to achieve it or not.



SNAPSHOT
I saw a technique using paint in SBM where you use a card and swipe paint on to cardstock so I've given that a go with Jo Sonya's carbon black and burgundy paints. I've added some tulle which has curled up quite nicely. I also had to use more than one stamp in this challenge. I've managed to use four. One is a brick wall one, another two are the picture perfect wording and camera on the black tag and the final one for the journal spot.

I think all the colours compliment the photo nicely. Not what I would have normally done but that's why I like challenges.

Monday, October 17, 2011

TERROR - From Screen 2 Scrap submission


Two posts in one morning. Go me.
I created this layout for October's From Screen 2 Scrap challenge where I am a Designer. The movie poster inspiration is from Psycho. Very scary poster, very scary movie. Gives me shivers thinking about it.



Extra criteria for points is :

For an extra 6 bonus points :)

1) Spooky house = 1 pt
2) A Silhouette figure = 2 pts
3) A one word title split in half = 3 pts
Also must be created and submitted only for From Screen 2 Scrap

I chose to use the colours in the poster, plus purple because of my Tink t-shirt. I like the combo.

The page is about a ride we went on at Disney last year called the Hollywood Tower of Terror. It's a 13 storey elevator ride which takes you up and plunges you down so you're weightless. Quite a scary ride. Also near the top you can see out over the park. There are also Twilight Zone elements. We all loved it. In fact, we went on it again in Anaheim a couple of weeks ago. So brave and crazy.

Products I've used are:

MME Boo To You! Bewitching Webs and Fright Night (a fun range)
Versafine ONyx Black ink
DCWV Metallic grey CS
Dyed purple paper
Kaisercraft Dear Santa Clear Stamps
MME Haunted Deco Brads
MME Boo To You Border stickers
Borderline Tattoo rub-ons
The Papermill cardmaking stickers
Mrs G's Happy Halloween stickers
The Papermill dimensional stickers
Little Yellow Bicycle Pack Your Bags Tear out ticket book

Plenty of prizes to be won by joining in. Why not have a go! Let Shazza know I sent you.


ADDENDUM: Find out more about the Hollywood Tower of Terror here.

Guest Designer at ARTastic challenge blog - TUTORIAL for Brother layout

Hi everybody. I'm back from my 3 week vacation to California. I'll do a post about it so you can read about what we did.

Meanwhile, I'm pleased to say I was invited to be Guest Designer at a favourite challenge blog of mine, ARTastic, which is run by Shazza Bishop.

I created the layout for it on 27 August in preparation for going away and am only just now able to put up a post about it. If I had more blogger nous I could have done one ahead and scheduled it but as I've not done that before and was busy I didn't try it with something important like this.

The inspiration painting used for the month of October 2011 is

Dr Jekyll's Hideway by the artist Maryanne Jacobsen



Extra criteria is:
1. A house =  1pt 
2. Trees = 2pts
3. A spooky feel! = 3pts







Above is my layout. I was into using Basic Grey that week. I've created a layout featuring my brother Dean and I on his birthday.

I started with a background of Basic Grey Max and Whiskers/Gannett/max-2455. I liked the varied colours and needed paper with green to make a sort of scene.

I then took a tree mask and glimmer misted 4 trees on to the paper. One blue, one wheat and two white. In the second pic above you can see the white trees. I thought they created a spooky feel and it satisfied the second criteria of trees.

I've cut a strip off Basic Grey laser cut doilies paper and added it along the bottom to create some greenery.

Then I've used a Dusty Attic Main Street chipboard house, just cut one off the strip. I've painted it and tucked it into the doilie paper.

I had an offcut of Making Memories Artisan Toile Greenhouse Paperie paper but it was too bright against what I had already so I've used a black ink pad to darken it up. It then matched really nicely with the clothes we are wearing in the photo. I adhered that to the page.

I mounted my photo on to some Basic Grey Origins/authentic pp. I placed a strip of Darice Oh So Trendy sage ribbon across the page and adhered my photo down.

I took some scrap BG paper, rubbed on a Creative Memories word sticker, cut it to fit behind Making Memories Vintage Findings mini kit nature piece  for my title. It had brads so I used them to attach it to the page.

I've used more scrap of Kaisercraft Hunt and Gather PP to punch a strip and placed it underneath the photo. Then I've just added some sticker strips from BG Olivia and BG Oxford Element stickers and journalled and I was done.

Thanks to Shazza for having me as Guest Designer this month. I have assembled a glitter prize pack to give away and will be choosing the winner. Please have a go and mention that I sent you if you're new to the blog.  Just go to http://artasticchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/october-inspiration-will-come-from.html to have a look. You'll see the other prizes on offer and what the Designers have created. Make a blog post and link it up. You stand a good chance of winning something. Best of luck.