Paper. Scissors. Chocolate. Louise Williams

too funny not to share...

Source: youtube.com via Louise on Pinterest

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

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 :)

Oops... you blink and two weeks have flown by...

Crikey, mid February already! really? wow... it's been a crazy few weeks - we've sold our house and bought another one and are moving house again (and for the last time!) in two weeks' time. We weren't expecting to buy so quickly but the house we're moving to was up for auction so it was a case of either buy it now or not at all! as it was the property was passed in at auction so we did some hard negotiating and got. a. bargain. We'll be moving about 5 minutes away from where we are now, to a 3 bedroom house I lovingly describe as decorated in a 'circus' theme. Every wall is another colour of LOUD but nothing a coat of paint can't fix, plus it's private and peaceful with nice views over Double Bay and Shakespear Park. It ticks all the boxes for what I was wanting too - spacious living areas, views, aluminium joinery, newish house, 3 bedrooms, private, good sized section and affordable! No idea how we managed it all but someone upstairs must've been helping us.

Soooo now I have a house to pack up, work has gotten super busy, my scrapping commitments are back in and I have a house to clean top to bottom and a garden to sort out in preparation for real estate coming through with potential tenants this week.

I had a major mojo slump over the Christmas period too. I just couldn't find the motivation to get into my scrap room and do anything. I had ideas. I had new product. I just. couldn't. scrap. No matter what I tried I just couldn't get back into it, in fact until yesterday I hadn't actually achieved anything scrappywise since last December. Bit of a shock for me but it's coming back slowly. I think I work better under pressure, so now i have so much on all I want to do is throw some paint at some paper and create. Typical! lol

I have got a few things to share though, first up this layout that popped up over on the Aussie Scrap Source blog over the last couple of days:

This would be what I call the beginning of my mojo slump. I loved the papers but it just didn't work, I'll be redoing this one for sure.

This is a quickie I did for Shimmerz over the weekend. I like it but it's missing something, I think I'll be going back and adding some more details and oompf... stay tuned for a before and after!! lol

Oh quick rave about the new Shimmerz Shimmeringz and Coloringz though - they are GORGEOUS. Seriously beautiful and just having them there is beckoning me back to my scrap room again :)

Plus I did a video on how I made it...

 

I did create something I really do love yesterday though, I'll share that one soon! As you can tell I've been really dis-satisfied with my scrapping - that's probably why the lack of motivation to do it! I'm one of those people that has to do something perfectly or I don't want to do it at all (just like Joshie, yeah I know who he gets it from!). I remember being in tears as a kid when I broke my arm and had to write with my left hand. I copied my homework out half a dozen times trying to make it neat and HATED handing it in when it looked like a spider had crawled over the page. I still remember my teacher telling me I could've tried harder too, I was gutted and it's stayed with me even now. She had no idea.

After playing yesterday though, it really is creeping back. I'm enjoying playing again and just making whatever I do work instead of giving up on it and walking away. I'm looking forward to being settled in the new house and having a proper office to work from. One of our first jobs will be to build a large double garage that we'll convert to offices so both DH and I can have the space to do our jobs properly. I even plan on having scrap nights/classes from home there in the future, so if you're local... ;)

Anyway, enough from me, tonnes to do and a kiddo to get ready for school quick smart!

L x

They're here, they're here AND ON SALE...

seriously? wow... today is the official release date for those AMAZING new Shimmerz Coloringz and Shimmeringz and THEY'RE ON SALE UNTIL FEB 14TH!!

Now have a look at this:

makes you wanna say ooh and aah... now picture yourself using these in your scrapping - in fact for all your artistic endeavours!! when teamed with the rich, dense colours of the Coloringz range they really are jaw-dropping...

Not convinced?

Watch the video (I know you're gonna be soooo inspired) and head over to shimmerzpaints.com to order. The freight is very reasonable and if you can please remember to put my name in the comments box, I might win a li'l something toooo...

 

Seriously excited about this range!! soo many possibilities to completely customise the look... *sigh*... just gorgeous...

L x

A quick video with some Shimmerz

It's Christmas Eve! woohoo... the kids are revving up with excitement, the house is smelling like gingerbread and we're watching The Polar Express but I've still managed to whip up a quick video on how to make a really cute ornament for your tree (or done in miniature would look awesome on presents!!).

Wherever you are have a wonderful and Merry Christmas, stay safe and see you soon!

 

Materials:

Shimmerz Vibez - Rolling in the hay
Paper scraps
miscellaneous beads and findings

L x

Shimmerz goodness

As promised here is my first Shimmerz video (be gentle!!)... and I have to say I'm a complete addict to these gorgeous paints. If you can't find a stockist in NZ then you can buy direct from the website here: http://www.shimmerzpaints.com/ - go take a look, there is some seriously drool-worthy goodies in there. The colours are to die for and I've pretty much decided I NEED them all...

PLUS I got to work with some lovely templates from The Crafters Workshop. If you don't have any of these I have two words for you - get some!! You can do so much with them, including the technique I'm about to show you.

Anyhooo, without further ado, here is the layout I created:

And the ingredients:

• Shimmerz Vibez Rolling in the Hay
• Shimmerz Vibez Bed of Roses
• The Crafters Workshop Birds template
• The Crafters Workshop Mums template
• Basic Grey Basics paper
• Basic Grey Curio 6 x 6 paper pad
• Basic Grey white chocolate chip alpha
• Pink Paislee Aritsan Elements circles
• Kaisercraft rhinestones
• Tim Holtz Bookplate
• Martha Stewart frond punch
• Texture paste
• muslin
• Black pen
• Thread and sewing machine

And finally the video:

 

I hope you enjoy it!

L x

Playing with SEI

A little while ago I got sent some SEI Zoo Pals to play with. I have to admit this range was totally not me, not my normal style anyway and I spent ages wondering what I was going to do with it. I've never been a fan of plaids and cutesy animals, but once I found some photos of Joshie when he was little at his first trip to the zoo it all just came together. Very easily too. Maybe I've been converted. I've decided it was actually a pretty cool paper pack - patterns and plains, and a lot of the designs are embossed with a glossy finish so they're really easy to just cut out and use as embellishments.

I decided to go with circles to add a fun, random kind of look and created a rosette (also round - see the theme?) and added paint and some stamps to tie it together cohesively.

The rosette was super easy to make too:

1. Just grab a strip of 12" long paper - however wide you make that strip is the radius of the rosette.
2. Fold it back and forth in a zig zag pattern - however wide you make these zig zags will be the depth of the rosette.
3. Grab some double sided tape and stick the ends of the strip together so you have a circular loop, then on a flat surface kind of gather the centre and hold it flat (it all should fall together very easily).
4. I punched two 1" circles out of a co-ordinating cardstock and used - and this is the best thing after numerous tried and tested adhesives - a hot glue gun. Yep that little genius from 80's craft is a lifesaver and is just about the ONLY glue to hold it all into place forever. I just put a blob onto one of the circles and glued the rosette down into place. Then I glued another one on the top, it adds strength and will stop it popping up, plus it adds interest and can hide a messy centre.

Easy huh?

The alphabets I used were from Sassafrass Lass. I just put them down onto the same co-ordinating paper and cut them out, leaving a small border. It makes the letters easier to place as well as tying them into the layout again.

thanks for looking

L x

Something special coming up...

Keep Saturday the 6th of August free for this amazing, one day only event. This is not a crop. It's not a retreat. It's not been seen in New Zealand before and spaces will be very limited.

If you're a scrapbooker, stamper or altered arts fan looking to learn some advanced techniques, or a retail operator looking for class ideas that you can teach your customers, then this is for you.

Join us for a day of intensive mini-workshops to learn some amazing techniques with products you probably haven't tried before as well as using the ones you have in ways you've never thought of. Come away full of inspiration, motivation and a generous goodie bag of products to play with and take home with you afterwards.

We'll be building a swatch book of techniques and ideas you can take home and refer to utilising a number of mediums including:

• paints & inks
• embossing powders
• crackle finishes
• Gesso and texture pastes
• distressing & aging
• image transfer
• creating dramatic paper effects
• masking and whole lot more.

A delicious morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided as well as chocolate to keep you creating  ;)

Cost: $250 inclusive of materials PLUS a goodie bag and swatch book to take home with you
Date: 6th August, 2011
Venue: to be confirmed but in Auckland

Deposit of $50 on registration, full payment required before 16th June 2011. You will need to bring the usual basic tool kit and an embossing gun is handy if you have one.

This is not a day crop where you bring your photos and chat to friends. It's a full-on day of experimentation, fun, information and work! Places are very limited so register your interest via email on [email protected] today!

A video and a sneak...

Have you seen the competition on over at the Aussie Scrap Source blog? you could win one of the amazing new Page Maps books by Becky Fleck! I'm not a double page type of scrapper so it was much easier for me to create this layout with a bit of a start from a sketch...

And I even made a video of its creation...

   

I've had word that I have some AMAZING Shimmerz goodies winging their way to me now so stay tuned for a whole lot of fun stuff! Can't wait - lots of mess, shimmer and videos coming soon.

It was my wonderful mum's birthday last week and with my back being such a problem, I ended up leaving it until the last minute to make one of her presents. I'd had it in mind for ages to decorate up a 7 Gypsies printers tray for her, and in the end I LOVE how it came out. I can share a sneak but that's all at the mo...

Also another layout just went up over on the Aussie Scrap Source blog - this one is chocka full of the Girls Paperie papers and products and is quite different from what I normally buy but they're actually really easy and versatile to work with!

Head over to the Paper. Scissors. Chocolate. Indulgence blog to keep up with everything that's happening - we're already almost a third full! There are 375 days to go but I'd suggest you register and pay your deposit to confirm your place as soon as you can, the rest doesn't have to be paid until next year (as long as it's fully paid by September 1st) so you can relax over Christmas knowing you have a seat waiting for you at what's shaping up to be quite an event! We have some amazing sponsors already on board - thank you Scrapbook Outlet and Artfull Crafts and we also can confirm Scottie Crafts as our in-retreat store!

Also if you're a retailler or advanced crafter (or looking to become one), you won't want to miss the Paper. Scissors. Chocolate. Art Lab coming up in early August next year. Detaills are coming soon for this other awesome event!!

Later

L x