Paper. Scissors. Chocolate. Louise Williams

A bit of steampunk and a video or 3...

I've been Shimmerzing with the new Enamelz and it's lurve...

For this layout I took a tonne of Twiddleybitz goodness and embossed my lil heart out with the new Enamelz and finished off with some touches of Prima and adhesive pearls and swirls from Flourish with a Bling. I've done a recent guest DT spot for FWAB and love their products - head over and take a look at their blog.

And even a video of how I created it...

On another note I've been rather excited to have my first items being shown on the Prima stand at CHA! I spotted them in a couple of video's of the new stuff and sooooo wish I could've seen the stand in real life, it looked amazing!

In this first one I have a christmas layout of Joshie on an easel rrrriiiggghhhht at the end JUST as the batteries ran out... I'll show the full layout on here as soon as I get the ok.

In this one you can see my clear acrylic album which obviously quite took her fancy as she went back to it again for a good look through it! yay!!

My little bit of excitement for the day. :)

Did I share these? I created them for Aussie Scrap Source recently and they were made for my mum (they made her cry when she got them)... we all got to do some awesome 7 Gypsies trays and memory jars and I love how different everyone's were... don't you love the picture of my mum (number 12) in the top left? I'm really happy with how this turned out - I used Pink Paislee papers and some gorgeous Twiddleybitz chippie embossed with, you guessed it, Shimmerz Enamelz. :D

And this is the matching memory jar. I handmade the cotton spools using rolled up paper and some punched out circles all glued together then wrapped with muslin and secured with some pins from Jillibean Soup. Easy and effective!

Saw an interesting thing on tv tonight about Fodmap's... it could definitely be the cause of many of the issues I have with my Crohn's disease especially when I eat right! It makes me so frustrated that I can't diet and exercise to lose weight like everyone else as when I start eating fruit and vegetables too regularly it sets it all off and I'm back to square one. It's looking like going gluten free and cutting out high fodmap foods could definitely help so I'll do a bit more research on it and give it a go. I miss having some energy and just feeling well. I'm not sick, I'm not suffering but I have had ongoing issues with my disease which has otherwise been in remission up until a few months ago, and with two young children and lots to do I refuse to spend my life sitting on the couch. Stay tuned...

ArtLab is in 2 weeks and I can't wait! I have boxes of goodies for everyone and it's all come together like a plan no less!! it's going to be so much fun, can't wait to share the photos afterwards.

There are places available for the retreat at the end of October too, make sure you register as it's going to be sooo much fun! I'm teaching a Prima class (with Twiddleybitz and Shimmerz) and Liz's card buffet is looking awesome. Roll on October.. but not too fast because of course in September I'll be in Brissy teaching at the Papercrafts Festival! Make sure you book in for all 3 workshops too (myself, Jane Clark and Janine Koczwara are teaching)... you don't want to miss out on these ones either.

Righto, that's enough for today :)

L :) x

2 weeks to go...

yep, officially school holiday time here in New Zealand. I wish I could say I was one of those mother's that relished every. little. second. that I spend with my squealing, fighting, loud (but gorgeous) children. But I'm sorry, I'm not up for that particular prize in this years Mother of the Year awards ceremony. I love my kids and I love to spend time with them, but as someone who works from home I find having them with me 24/7 and trying to achieve anything is not only frustrating and stressful, it's also a no brainer that it's just not gonna happen. I have so much to do right now too. This month is CRAZY busy, more so than any other month and having them home means I'm just seeing my workpile increase and me slipping a little more behind with it hour by hour.

However - (whinge over) - I love both my kids more than anything else in this world and if they force me to take a break (from what really isn't that important in the scheme of things) to watch them chase each other on their bikes or build "the most amazing train track ever", then I'm grateful they want me to watch. I know there'll come a time when they really won't care if I see them or not, or want me there at all. So I'm trying to chill out a little and take the time to just be with them, have them around, let them climb up on my knee and take over my computer mouse as I'm trying to type an important email. Coz I love them, and just need to remind myself sometimes about what's really important. It's easy to get caught up in deadlines and worrying, but I want them to remember that they had a mother that took the time just to sit with them and watch the Gummy Bear video for the MILLIONTH time.

On that note of taking the time I took Joshie to his first school disco the other night. He was so excited and nervous to be going, he got himself all dressed in what he decided to wear (and yes I know he's well overdue for a haircut, he'll get one over the holidays!) and we headed out. When we got there it was quietish (we were there bang on time when it started),so we purchased the obligatory glow finger thingy and he wandered around looking for his friends.

He knew that at disco's you were there to dance so of course when the first song started he took off onto the dance floor to bust some moves.

All the other kids were just running around though, and when he realised he became very self conscious and didn't want to dance again. Despite the fact that as the evening wore on most of the other kids were all dancing and having fun, Josh tended to just wander around looking for people he knew and being sad about the fact "it wasn't what he expected".

I told him that now he'd been to one, he'd know what to expect next time but how proud I was of him that he'd gotten up to dance (it was a big thing for him as he's quite shy about people watching him do something like that). He's keen to go to another one and just have fun with his friends without the expectation of having to dance so I'm glad the experience didn't put him off.

The usual question of what to do with the kids in the holidays has already arisen (and it was only day 1)... lol... Both my boys love to create and draw though so I set them up with a little table, some chippie, pens, a couple of canvases and a snack and let them go for it... (note the giant WHOLE cheezel in Lukey's mouth)... that kid can eat...

And a good time was had by all...

So that gave me time to get on with some of my own projects. First up is this wee ATC I made for an upcoming show for Twiddleybitz (have you checked out the ning site yet? full of competitions, galleries and fun stuff!). I used a chippie cog and a frame which I embossed with Shimmerz Enamelz for a really cool mirrored look. It didn't photograph as well as i'd have liked but you get the gist...

Next up is a Twiddleybitz treasure chest that I put together and created a memory box out of... it's a bit like a scrapbook page in a box! The outside...

And a close up - I used distressing embossing powder along the bottom edge to make it look like it had just been dug up out of the sand.

And on the inside I decorated it with more Twiddleybitz goodness - the pirate coins which Joshie helped me emboss with some more of the gorgeous new Shimmerz Enamelz embossing powder (you totally need some of these)...

And a close up...

I used some dry oasis (that you put silk flowers in) that I shaped and spray painted gold as the base for the pile of coins. I hot glued all the coins into place and added some junk jewellery and sparkly trim to finish it off.

Ok, back to creating! Got something exciting coming up soon classwise (as well as my upcoming one in Brisbane - have you booked yet?)... loads on, mojo's amped and my wandering parents have found their way back from the sun again so yay, busy exciting week ahead!

L :) x

they're officially here...

and you're totally going to neeeeeeed some...

Check out the video here!

AND THERE IS MORE!!! 11 lucky fans will have a chance to win a jar of
Enamelz! Here's what you have to do...
Starting July 12th, leave a comment on our VLOG, ON the Release video post (coming July 12th), and then post our new Enamelz logo somewhere on your Facebook or personal blog. If one of our Ed Team or Design Team girls catches a glimpse of you sharing this - you COULD win, because each of our girls get to spot one winner!! They will contact you for your information... and you will have won this fun product!

A trip over the ditch...

I'm heading over to Brisbane to teach a gorgeous mini album at the Paper Crafts Festival show in September. A big box of Shimmerz goodness arrived this morning and you are going. to. LOVE the amazing altered page album from Twiddleybitz that I'm using as the base. Look at that window on the front!! and the scroll cut pages... oh be still my heart. Anyway if you're heading to Brissy for the show (and you really should!) then make sure you book in for all three AMAZING workshops on offer from myself, the incredibly talented Janine Koczwara and cardmaker extraordinnaire Jane Clark.

Each tutor will teach their workshop 4 times over the three days only and spots for each class are limited. You can pre-book by emailing [email protected] as well as getting full information on workshop times. The cost for each workshop will be $55 this includes all materials! Make sure you get in early!!! As a BONUS, if you book into any of the workshops you get THREE days entry for the price of ONE!!!  You can see the schedule here!

Anyway back to my class...

Class Description:  Do you often scrap about your family, children and pets but neglect to tell your own story? Join Louise in creating a beautifully detailled “Growing Up Me” Twiddleybitz album. Decorated with beautiful Prima papers and flowers, Twiddleybitz chipboard and Shimmerz paints, this album is full of little tips and techniques you can easily transfer to your layout scrapbooking. Louise also adds her own custom embellishments to the mix to give you a unique keepsake to treasure for years to come.

Places are filling up so make sure you book!!

L :)

Hot new release from Shimmerz!

Have you heard about our new release coming up?

Shimmerz Enamelz are shimmering embossing powders that are luxuriously thick, incredibly shimmery, and when heated create a smooth lacquered effect. Add awe-inspiring texture to your projects by using over top of our other Shimmerz products, or in a myriad of other beautiful ways!

They come in 5 brilliant metallic colors: Sparkliscious, Fake Bake, Molten Metal, Gold Digger, and Silver Fox.

You can:
*  Stamp impressions in it.
*  Layer colors
*  Create mosaic tile effects
*  Use over any Shimmerz products

AND THERE IS MORE!!! 11 lucky fans will have a chance to win a jar of Enamelz! Here's what you have to do...
Starting July 12th, leave a comment on our VLOG, ON the Release video post (coming July 12th), and then post our new Enamlez logo somewhere on your Facebook or personal blog. If one of our Design or Ed Team girls catches a glimpse of you sharing this - you COULD win, because each of our girls get to spot one winner!! They will contact you for your information... and you will have won this fun product!

Cool huh and after using some I'm totally hooked on the AMAZING colour and SHIMMER this stuff gives... gorgeous :)

L x

Breaking News!!



**BREAKING NEWS!!!**
Shimmerz now has a youtube channel, SHIMMERZ PAINTS TV!

All of our crazy talented educators will be continuing to inspire you with their creative brilliance by now uploading videos to SHIMMERZ PAINTS TV!  You can visit and watch video after video showcasing all of the incredible Shimmerz Paints and Products.

To really kick our channel off, we decided to give away an equally awesome prize... take a peek!

 

Do you want to get your hands on this delicious giveaway? Then here's what you need to do...
1. Visit our ShimmerzTV channel on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/user/shimmerzpaintsTV
2. Watch one of our videos
3. Like us on facebook... 
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Shimmerz-Blingz-and-Spritz/93365529240
4. Leave us a comment on facebook telling us what video you watched, and what you liked about it!

We will be randomly drawing a winner in about two weeks, so head on over now to ShimmerzTV - trust us, you won't be able to watch just ONE video... there are so many awesome techniques and trips, that we know you will want to visit over and over again!!!

Mother's Day

Well... 3am this morning wee Lucas woke me up, deciding for the first time in quite a while that he wanted a bottle and I couldn't get back to sleep. The curse of a busy mind is that once I'm awake it starts processing my to do list and that's it, I'm up.

So what am I to do at that time of the morning except make a Mother's Day card for my lovely mum and video it for Shimmerz? :D

So this is the card:

And the video of how I made the mushrooms. They're based on the gorgeous chippie mushrooms from Twiddleybitz and used paperclay and Shimmerz to create them. Also note the bling pearls on the card - they're from Flourishes with a Bling from Australia, stay tuned for some projects featuring their lovely products soon (as well as some Darkroom Door guest DT spot projects too).

This project uses Shimmerz Vibez Rolling in the Hay, Coloringz My Bleeding Heart and Tropical Tanline and Shimmeringz Goldie Lox - if you can't buy them locally ask your LSS to get them in or shop online at http://www.shimmerzpaints.com

 

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

L :)

I blame the Home Show...

The Easter Bunny paid us a visit yesterday, hiding eggs all over the house and leaving photo clues for the boys to follow to find them. Joshie LOVES doing the egg hunt, and as usual then rehid all the clues and made us do a repeat performance. :)

It's been a good Easter weekend, I've enjoyed just staying home, vegetating and catching up on some work and scrapping after all the illness in the house this past month. Today we're off to see Rio at the movies, it's our one Easter splurge this year as we decided to forego the Easter Show. At $10 for a bouncy castle ride ($2 everywhere else!) we couldn't justify the money to wander around half empty pavilions trying to waste a couple of hours so we didn't feel totally ripped off.

The Easter Show used to be my favourite thing as a kid at Easter. Every year we'd go and spend hours in the pavilions looking at all the stalls before heading off to watch the horse jumping, log chopping or the like while eating hot chips and sauce. As the evening came in and the lights came on we'd venture up to the rides and I'd get to throw myself around and every which way on the rides - I loved the Rock 'n Roll - always made me suitably ill and scared... We'd tackle the Ghost Train and the Crazy House, we'd look at the animals and go watch some of the amazing free shows in the Logan Campbell Centre. We'd be there for a good 6 hours or more. In the end we'd happily head home with some cheap plastic prize from the laughing clowns (I once won a brake pedal cover), and a bag of candy floss and I'd fall asleep that night in the memory of the haze of bright lights and carnival music. The best year ever was when my mum and aunt took a stand at the show so we were given some money and free reign on the place while we were there... bliss...

I wish it was like that now. But you pay your $45 entry fee (family pass) and there's really nothing much there now. The Home Show came along and stole all the pavilion stands and now there's only a few stalls of Chinese imported plastic wonders and some mini rides inside. The same rides are repeated outside along with some that are too big for my kids to go on, and all really expensive. There's still the usual wood chopping and some of the shows are still really good, but without the free circus it's hard trying to kill time between events. I've read they've taken people's complaints on-board and will do something about the prices etc next year, I hope so as Lukey would be a better age for the rides then and both boys might get something out of it. I'd hate to see the show go altogether but there is definite room for improvement.

Anyway I have a new video for you for Shimmerz, this one also features some of the gorgeous lasercuts from a new Australian company - Flourish with a Bling. Check them out, they have some great stuff!

And the video:

 

Also a sneak peek of a couple of other things I've been working on...

full reveal shortly...

L x

Shimmerz and a Sassafras challenge!

First up a layout... this one was created for Aussie Scrap Source using Curio from Basic Grey and some gorgeous Prima.

Next, would you like the chance to be on the Sassafras Guest Design Team?

If so, read on (BUT BE QUICK - CLOSING SOON!)

This week Aussie Scrap Source bring you a very special, bumper edition of our weekend inspiration – and it comes with a really exciting invitation.  The team at Sassafras have agreed to be a part of our first Guest Design Team Challenge! 

What does this mean? 

This means, that over the next few weeks, if you send us your most amazing, most fabulous creations using your favourite Sassafras papers and embellishments, we will feature them all in a post on our blog, and the team from Sassafras will choose a winning artist.  The winner will receive a prize pack from Sassafras of a whole range of their newest products, which you will then use in projects to feature on the Sassafras blog as a Guest Design Team Member!

Check out the fine print for details below and, if you need Sassafras product for this challenge, check out your local scrapbooking store.  They will have received news about this promotion in our latest newsletter and will be stocking up on Sassafras products (the new lines from CHA have just arrived in the warehouse!) for you to use in your projects.

The fine print: 

1. You will need to include the following items from any of the Sassafras ranges:
   • at least one patterned paper and fat bottomed border strip
   • alphabet stickers
   • at least one embellishment (felties, foldies, whimsies, blossoms etc)
2. 100% of products in your project must be brands that Aussie Scrap Source represent.  See here for a list of all of our suppliers.
3. Projects must be emailed to [email protected] by Friday 25 March. Images need to be clear, bright and resized for the web (around 600-800 pix at 72 dpi).  Feel free to include close ups of any details you wish to highlight.
4. You are welcome to submit more than one project if you wish.
5. Projects can be layouts, cards or altered items.
6. The winner will be judged by the team at Sassafras,  the prize pack and appearance date on the Sassafras blog will be at their discretion.

 And last but not least - have you tried Shimmerz yet? Here's a quick rundown on them:

 

Firstly look at the COLOURS... seriously jaw dropping stuff. And they're so shimmery and beautiful, I seriously wish I could get you all here for a look through my albums just so you could see the amazing shimmer in real life. Anyway they come in a whole range of types too:

Shimmerz - premixed and highly irridescent, water-based paints. Non-toxic, quick-drying and will stick to nearly any surface.

Coloringz - highly pigmented spray paints that are flat when dry. They can be used by themselves or overlaid with any of the amazing Shimmeringz colours.

Shimmeringz - non-pigmented, highly irridescent spritz's that can be used on their own or layered over Coloringz, Shimmerz, Spritz or Vibez to add shimmer to your craft projects.

Vibez - awesomely irridescent spray on paints that get their name from their vibrant, deep colours that are intense from the first spritz! Easy to use and easy to clean up (no staining!).

  Pearlz - creamy, luxurious, water-based paints that are more opaque than Shimmerz or Blingz.

Spritz - waterbased formula for easy clean up and quick dry times and in a huge range of colours, these spray paints will add an amazing touch of shimmer to any project.

Blingz - just like the Shimmerz but with a more intense sparkle and a thicker consistency.

I'm not someone that will promote something I don't believe in, I totally love these products and the company gives the most amazing service. If you haven't seen them in your LSS then ask them to get some in or you can order directly from the website here: http://www.shimmerzpaints.com. You won't be disappointed and your work will take on a whole new dimension.

Keep an eye out soon for a new Shimmerz video too!

L x

Scrappin' Patch canvas class :)

Yesterday was a very long but fantastic day. I was up at 3.45am to get ready and get to the airport for my flight to Christchurch to teach at Scrappin' Patch (that's the minus about living 90 mins from the airport)... I had great flights there and back and the scenery on the way back was stunning. Nothing but green hills, mountains, lakes and the sun glistening off pristine water - it makes you appreciate where we live all over again.

Thank you to all the lovely ladies I met at the class, and I especially applaud all of you who totally stepped out of your comfort zones to try the paint, sprays and canvas! I'd love to see some photos of your finished albums too :)

So here are some piccies of the day and the album we created - we used the canvas birdhouse and purse albums I designed for Prima. I'd certainly love to come back down and teach there again, what a fabulous group - thank you for taking such good care of me! Big thanks to Adrienne for inviting me to teach, Stacey from Shimmerz for sponsoring my class with some gorgeous paints and mum for mass producing some of the flowers in the kit for me!. mwah x

A work in progress

Busy at work...

Getting messy...

Me and the lovely Tanya Leigh (I'd been up since 3.45am remember, be nice)... lol. Note to self, get haircut so I don't have to wear it in a ponytail...

The aftermath...

And my sample album... The theme is basically that my two boys are both from the same nest, but are so different as well. I've left 4 pages in the album for journalling (which I'll add) and the kit was full of handmade and unique little goodies.

I hope everyone enjoyed the class as much as I did. I've been invited back so hope to meet you all again there next time!

L x