Sunday Challenge

Happy Sunday everyone! October is another month that seems to be running away with me. I can't believe we're half way through it already and we're on our third challenge today. Try this one on for size:

My house is slowly but surely being taken over by scrapbooking supplies. I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way. It's not physically possile to use them all at the rate I buy them, so I'm always looking for new ways to use things up. This week, I want to see you all WEARING your stash! OK, I don't expect you to make paper ball gowns (although you can if you wish!), but a little something like a piece of jewelery, hair accessory or brooch shouldn't cause you too much trouble :)

There is some great inspiration for this out there (especially on etsy) but to get you started, here's what the design team did:

Guest Designer Justina:
I dug out ribbons and lace from my stash, along with an old fake pearl necklace, tied them together, and attached them to a Prima flower that I had for ages (but never got down to using since it was rather large). Ice stickles was added to the petal edges for some extra shine! This now hangs on my diaper bag, I think it helps to make the clunky (and usually overstuffed bag) look prettier... :)

Amanda:

I used some memory glass from Ranger as the basis for my necklace. I've had it in my drawer for what seems like FOREVER. I'd never even opened the box until now. I wanted to keep it fairly simple and wearable, so just used a simple clear sticker between the glass. I then added a turquoise pendant that came off of an old belt, along with a bead, a crystal and some velvet ribbon to hold it all together. It didn't take long to use up some old bits and pieces and turn them into something fun :)

Anna:

I made this brooch from some lace and ribbon from my stash and added a sequin and bead to the centre of each flower.

Lisa:


Since having my hair cut recently and having a fringe(bangs)added, I've been enjoying wearing hair clips again.
So, I've taken a Basic Grey cozy posie, added some wire around one of the little petals and twisted around very tightly to a plain hair grip. And there you have it. A Basic Grey hair slide : )


Tessa:

Although I like to think that I make good use of my scrap drawer, it always seems to be overflowing. So, I took a scrap piece of Crate Paper paper and cut it into triangular strips. I rolled the strips and secured the ends with glue. Several coats of decoupage varnish later, I had pretty beads to make a bracelet with. I wouldn't consider the bracelet waterproof, but it has worn well and gets a lot of compliments.

Valerie:

For this fun project I decided to make a headband for my daughter. She's pretty girly so I knew flowers were a must. I started by wrapping a thin plastic headband with brown satin ribbon, approximately 3/4" wide. The crocheted flowers, made by a friend, were embellished with ruffled ribbon that was woven through the holes. I then added the 'blingy' centers. Here it is on my model:

and here's a close up:

materials: ruffled ribbon: Making Memories; bling: Prima; flowers: handmade; headband: Goody; satin ribbon: craft supply

Wednesday 13th October 2010

Today we have our first seasonal Wednesday extra project for you from Fabi.

Now, some would say, it's never too early to start thinking about those christmas projects (it is only 73 days away you know *winks*!)  With that in mind, Fabi has recycled and completely tranformed one of those plastic hangers often found in clothes packaging, in order to create this cute and fun but special place to store those treasured christmas wishes letters to santa. 

Fabi's tutorial for this project can be found here.

Fabi also included this rather sweet photo of her son holding up his christmas hanger - think it's a foregone conclusion that this project was a definite hit with him eh?!

Sunday Challenge

This one could bring all those embarassing secrets out in the open ;)

Guilty pleasures... everyone's got at least one, surely? What is yours? Feature it on a scrapbook page and tell the world!
So come on! Let's see those guilty pleasures. Here are the design team secrets...


Amanda:





There are some things you really shouldn't put out there, in the public domain. This may well be one of those times!

My journaling reads:
After dark, lights out, it's Metallica time! My guilty pleasure is taking time out, loading up Guitar Hero, and rocking out! Sometimes I play when, really, I should be doing housework. And as heavy as the music is, it soothes my soul. A place I truly escape to. And, of course, my pleasure has nothing to do with my unhealthy attraction to James Hetfield. I'm a rock chick at heart.

My layout even includes a Metallica badge that my OH bought me for Christmas as a joke ;) I still have 7 of those left. Maybe I should pull out my denim jacket from the 80s and start decorating??

Anna:

My guilty pleasure is a British boyband called Mcfly!! They are loved my teenage girls but I sercertly love them too!! Their songs are great to sing along to!

Fabi:

Hey girls...is rainning for a few days now...and cold, it doesnt even looks like spring. i hope tomorrow there's a bit of sun or id start feel like a frog in a pond lol.
Im sorry that the picture isnt the best, but is been hard to photograph here latelly :/
I have used one of my US pictures (of course lol). This was in a very nice day at the beach, on my last weekend there.

So i thought about it and decided that my major (yes, i have more than one lol) guilty pleasure is finding some time only for me :)

Lisa:

My guilty pleasure. Come Dine With Me.
A UK TV series which I can't get enough of. I'm not overly bothered by TV, but do confess to sky plussing this series and I even daydream about being a contestant and put imaginary menus together in my head. Oh what a confession!!! How sad am I??!!

Nic:

My guilty pleasure is having a PJ day – you know, one of those days where you stay inside clad in those comfy PJ’s, keep the world at bay, and completely chill out. I don’t manage to fit them into my schedule as often as I would like, but when I do squeeze one in, I always feel a little tinge of guilt for doing so as thoughts of the 101 others things I should be doing often creep into my consciousness!

I attempted to create a circular border frame to mimic the fabric flower on my slippers – this folds down when placed in a page protector.

Rebekah:
As a thirty something woman I probably shouldn't be watching 'High School Musical' for pleasure, but I do. It got me through hours of cleaning and sorting for a week in summer when I went room by room getting back to basics, and I often have it on in the evenings when I'm crafting. It's so cheesy, but I love it :)


Tessa:

Valerie:

I have always had a thing for magazines. I don't know why. Even as a small child I remember sitting in my mom's hair salon reading Ladies Home Journal. Maybe the glossy representations of perfect lives, beautiful food, homes and 'things'...I'm sure a psychiatrist would have a theory. Anyway, my love grew as I got older - first to teen heartthrob magazines (anything covered with Andy Gibb) then fashion magazines as I became a teenager, on to home decoration and design when I started design school at college. Now it's any and all topics. I'm an equal opportunity reader. Just wish I had more time to read them!

materials: Patterned paper, stamps: Studio Calico; letter stickers, border sticker: Basic Grey; embossing powder: American Crafts

September winner!

It's that time again.....



The winner or the September Scrap Rat prize package is Karen B!! Congrats, Karen :) Email me your address to amanda@scrapbook-101.com to claim your prize!!

Wednesday extra - 6th October 2010

Raise those hands in the air if you are a crafter who has a hoard of paper strips left over from various projects?  Sound familiar?  Well, if your hand is currently somewhere above your head then todays tutorial brought to you by our very own Anna White Sharman, may be just the thing to help you to use up a few of those stored paper strips :-)

Anna has created a tutorial which can be viewed, printed or downloaded here to demonstrate the art of paper weaving and has also designed the two gorgeous pages below to showcase this technique.  Anna's LO's are a great example of how you can use this very effective but easy technique to achieve a completely different look and feel on your pages.

Sunday challenge - 3rd October 2010

Today, our challenge topic is all about 'home'.  You often hear the phrase 'There's no place like home' - well, what does 'home' mean to you??.......................

We'd like to challenge you to create a page featuring your home. Maybe your favourite spot, the flowers in your garden, or even the leaking pipes under the bath. Just make it an authentic snapshot of your life right now!

For all of our October challenges we will be joined by Guest Designer Justina.  For today's challenge Justina has created such an awsome and very beautiful project:

When I read the DT assignment for this week, the first thing that came to mind was using this quote: "Houses are made of bricks and stones, homes are built on love alone". I decided to put family photos into this photo tray that I had sitting around for awhile, and also used set of measuring spoons that I had received as a wedding token.

I made a little house using chipboard and patterned paper (the roof was made by laying square scalloped shapes that were trimmed to make the shingles), and added all sorts of homey details (like curtains, the lamp and chair) and quotes to the tray. I didn't want to waste the two compartments behind the "house", so I made pockets to hold the extra sets of room/house keys that we have, as well as matching tags for the keys. The roof of the house is glued to the tray and I cut up of those free magnets that you get with purchases and used that to ensure the "door" snaps shut when we close it. :)

To see more of Justina's fabulous work, check back here each Sunday throughout October and you can also visit her blog here.

And here is the Design Team's take on this week's challenge:

Amanda:



I focused my layout on the little corner of my living room that makes me the happiest. I have an antique cabinet which displays some of my vintage things and items that I've created myself. I love this little corner of me :)
 
Anna:

I have listed down the side of the photo some things my house contains to make it home. Like sitting by the fire on a cold winter's night, my dog waiting with a warm welcome and my own bed!!
 
Fabi:



Here a close up from the embossed detail...



I have tons of pictures to scrap from my months in US and this suited well the theme....my inspiration was to talk about my 2nd home, or the home Ive had while in the US. Ive made a free style page and used a cloud shaped paper as mask in a white cardstock, with blue glimmer, to create a personalized background paper for this challenge. We now want to see your layouts!

Lisa:



I love my little treasures in my home, collected from various visits, each one with a different meaning and a special memory.

Nic:

I decided to approach this challenge from a slightly different angle - having been inspired by Andrea's lovely art hanging a couple of weeks back, thought I would use something from my home along with my scrapping supplies to create a framed picture to hang in my hallway.

I used to enjoy doing cross stitch and a number of years ago made a stitched house picture accompanied by the quote 'Home is where one starts from'.  I decided to use my cross stitch piece instead of a photograph on a LO in a 6 x 12" format.
Here is the resulting LO:

I created my own background paper for the bottom half of the LO by typing a sentence of prose I had read in a book and which totally summed up everything I'd ever want to say about 'home':

"A home is not a static place.  It is the canvas on which we paint our personalities.  We change and grow and our home evolves.  A home is also the storehouse of our family histories, a living archive that holds the treasures of our personal lives.  Every picture, every book, every object tells a story, it speaks of where we've been and who we are and what we mean to each other"

I then framed the LO and it now hangs in my hallway :-)

Val:

As an interior designer I get to talk to people about how they feel about their homes and how they can improve their experiences there. One thing we usually agree on is that the details are what make home special. You can tell so much about a family from their details. So, armed with my camera, I set out yesterday to capture some of our details. Everything from a display of my children's artwork to our American flag flying outside. What a fun challenge - I live here and I even learned a few things about us!

Here is a detail of the journaling area:

materials: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Sassafras Lass, American Crafts, Studio Calico; letter stickers: Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon; stamps: Studio Calico (pennant); Midnight Rooster (journal medallion); Staples (date stamp); key: Joanne's; film border strip: K & Co.; string: Martha Stewart

We hope you enjoy! and we''d love to see your all about home pages - you can upload them into the link tool in the sidebar on the right.  All pages for this months challenges will need to be uploaded before 6th November 2010.

PageMaps!

Hands up if you love Becky Fleck and PageMaps? All our hands are raised here on the DT!

This month we were invited by Becky to create samples for the PageMaps newsletter and website. You can see the sketches we used here.

And these are the pages we created using the maps!

Fabi

Anna

Nic

Rebekah

Lisa

Amanda

Andrea

Val

Sara

Thanks so much, Becky, for giving us the opportunity to be part of PageMaps!

If you play along with PageMaps this month, we'd love to see what you create! Link up here in the comments so we can have a little peek :)