Cardmaking challenge #1

Ok Cardmakers, time to strut your stuff.

Let's get our Christmas groove on, and see what festive fun you can come up with!
For this challenge, you'll need to create a set of at least 3 cards with the theme of Christmas!
(and the added bonus is, you'll get a headstart on making your christmas cards for the year!) 
Show us what you're made of!
email your entries to scrapbookshenanigans@gmail.com or post them to our facebook wall :)
You have until the 1st of October to get your entries in!

Challenge #2 - Double or nothing!

For the next challenge, we're again keeping it simple...

What we're after is a double page layout - featuring at least 5 photos!
Use whatever you like, make it gorgeous, and send it in!
You have until the 30th September to complete this challenge - and as per last time, email your completed layout to scrapbookshenanigans@gmail.com, or upload them to our facebook wall.
All entries will be displayed on the blog, so please select photos without nudity etc that you won't mind being put on our blog :)
Can't wait to see what you all come up with!!!

We have a winner!

After much debate, we'd like to announce the winner of the very first Challenge! 
While all the layouts and cards were of an exceptional quality, the gong goes to Ondine for her layout  "Happily Ever After". 

Ondine's layout kept to a simple, classic feel, and while being limited to only one colour, shows a great variety of depth and texture.  The journaling was the kicker for me - simple, meaningful words (in this case, their wedding vows), which gives the layout a sense of place and a timeless appeal. 
Love your work Ondine, you've won a prize pack, which we'll put together and get out to you in the next few days! 
A special honourable mention goes out to Jac, for her layout Smokey - I really loved the texture in your layout, and the little birds are just too cute.  Also, to Traci, for her "My Boys" layout - Traci really took the "white with one" to another level, and used lots of distress techniques to completely alter her white cardstock base into a vintage delight. I would love to see this layout in the flesh, as I suspect that the photo doesn't show up half the details.  The handwritten journaling on Lisa's "Feeling Blue" layout  really brings home to me what scrapbooking is all about, for me - recording a moment for posterity, and presenting it in a decorative way.  Kudos to Lisa for using handwriting on her layout, that's always a big plus in my book. 

I was completely floored by the variety of cards - I think we might run a separate card making challenge from here on in, so the cardmakers can really strut their stuff too :)  I really like seeing how the cardmakers amongst us are able to turn what essentially is a tiny canvas into such a beautiful work of art.  We'll announce a card challenge on Sunday night, and the new scrapping challenge tomorrow night. 


I should add, that while Michele and I picked out our favourites, we were at a stalemate as to which one to choose, so I left the final say to my beloved husband - so thanks to Pete for helping out :)
 

Thanks to everyone who participated, and please, join us tomorrow night for round two!

White with one challenge entries!

 The quality of the entries for this competition was really amazing!  Who knew we had such a talented bunch of scrappers?!
I think it'll be tough to choose a winner - each entry was so different, with standout features on all of them. 
Without further ado, let's check out the gallery of entries! leave a comment and let us know your favourite!

White with One Challenge!

Tonight our very first challenge winds up - so if you've got an entry, make sure you email it through, or post it to our facebook wall! 
My offering for the challenge was a whole lot of fun. 
I procrastinated, and put off starting until this morning, when I decided that I'd better get it done!!!

I didn't have much in the way of purples in my stash, but I did have a scrap of Echo Park paper from the Playground collection.  I also had a border sticker that fit nicely with the colour scheme, so kept that out too.  I found it easier to just pull out everything I had that's purple, and then just pick and choose from there. 
The paper I had was too small to have much impact on its own, so I punched out 16 x 2" circles, and arranged them in a grid pattern.
The next thing I did was decide where to position my large title letters, and then stamped the "You are never too old to..." bit.  I just LOVE the clear alphabet stamps that Kaisercraft has, they're so easy to use, and so versatile. Because I'm terribly impatient, and didn't feel like waiting for paint to dry, I inked the chipboard letters with purple ink, and then covered them with a layer of purple perfect pearls (by Ranger).  They add a shimmery iridescence that is just gorgeous, but not overwhelming or overly "blingy".   I covered all that with a thick layer of glossy accents, to really make the title POP.  I love Glossy Accents, because it always makes alphas look heaps more expensive :)  (ok... i'm the last of the tightwad scrappers - I like the big bucks look, without spending a motza myself!)
I matted the photos onto some white cardstock, and inked the edges so that it'd stand out a bit more.  I mounted these up on foam tape for dimension. 
I wrapped Twinery Twine (another favourite of mine!) around the border sticker, and tied a neat little bow in the centre.  All the buttons got a little piece of twine tied through their holes too, just to finish them a little more. 
To finish the layout , a scattering of buttons and flowers, as well as the most important bit of all - a little bit of journaling.  Mine reads "Lisa & I at the park.  Photo taken by Grace (age 4) 12/11/11".
I can't wait to sit down and check out all of your layouts!!! 
Happy Scrappin'
Rita

A precious baby girl...

A friend of mine has just had a sweet baby girl, so I wanted to make something special for little Pipa. 
It wasn't too hard to decide on the collection to use - Little Yellow Bicycle's "Tiny Princess" collection is insanely gorgeous, and I've been busting to use it on a project. 
The best bit about Little Yellow Bicycle is that they put out a HUGE range of embellishments to go with each paper collection, so you're really spoiled for choice.  And each pack has a good selection of embellishments in itself, so they work out to be really cost effective. 
I had bought the set of Kaisercraft fairytale castle drawers a while ago, and not gotten around to putting them together, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity.  I also wanted to do a sign with little Pipa's name on it, so after a quick search through my stash came up with this "welcome home" plaque from Kaisercraft. 

To begin with, as with all off the page projects, I sanded the edges down lightly, and then painted  all the necessary pieces with a few coats of lavender paint. 
Once that was dry, I decided what papers I wanted to use and where - With a little careful planning, BTP's can be quite economical on papers.  I chose to use the Pink Princess Dreams/Pink Geometric for the base of the sign, accenting the curved area with Sweetest Stripe/Tiny Green Stripes.  
For the drawers, I chose to use the same two papers again, as well as Numbers/Tiny Purple Stripes.
I like to use Helmar Professional glue, as it dries quickly, and dries clear.  I'm an impatient scrapper, so I like things that stick quick :)

When I'm adhering paper to off the page pieces, I squirt glue all over it in a squiggle, then, using my finger, spread it to the edges, and all over the piece in a thin layer.  I then press the paper down over the top, and smooth it out with my hands.  Once it's dry, I trim away the excess using a stanley knife (or craft knife if you prefer).  Once everything is covered, it's a matter of gluing it all together!  

For the drawers, I reinforced the corners with a piece of scrap, then covered the whole thing in patterned paper.
To finish the set of drawers, I added some of the chipboard stickers, and a metal "Princess" embellishment I discovered while pawing through my craft drawer :)  

I also finished all the edges with a little bit of kindyglitz (in Crystallina).... (ok... maybe a lot of kindyglitz... )


Then... onto the name plaque.  
I'd already painted the edges before, so this was nice and quick to put together.  I trimmed the pink geometric paper to size, making sure I was able to match up the pattern across the join.  (because I'm a bit strange like that!)

I then creased the tiny stripe paper over the curved part of the sign, and freehanded a smaller curve inside that.  I trimmed that out, and adjusted it where it was necessary to get the "right" distance all the way around.  
I glued on the letters that I had painted purple, and then arranged some of the chipboard stickers around her name.  (I chose the little purple dragon, because she's got a big brother who will probably kinda like that his sister will have a dragon in her pretty little room :) )

I used some of the scraps to hand cut a stack of butterflies, which I then layered and tied together with some purple and white twinery twine, knotting at the head, and using the tails as the antennae.  These butterflies are a great way to use up some scraps, and have a thrifty, handmade embellishment that matches your layout perfectly.  

Once I was happy with all that, I applied a thick layer of glossy accents to the letters, and allowed it to dry.  
What do you think? Perfect for a princess? 
Happy Scrappin'
Rita

Beach Bum Layout

Apologies in advance for the ordinary photo quality, I really need to set up a decent place to take photos of layouts.  Though at 12:10am, I'm feeling a little bit lazy, so bear with me :). I love this photo of my youngest girl, Stephie, playing on the beach in Mission Beach.  She was having a great time, but kept looking at me as if to say "Come on Mum, this camera thing is wearing a bit thin!"

This page was made with the scraps from last night's layout! 
Every single piece, except for the bazzill cardstock base! 
I chopped up the left over border strips, from the Echo Park "Border" paper (all from the Splash collection), a couple of journal cards from the Journal card sheet, and then doodled a little border! I added a little glossy accents here and there, and a wee bit of kindyglitz to girly the layout up a bit, but again, kept it nice and simple.
Quick, easy, summery fun!
Even better, tonight's layout, and last night's layout cost a grand total of ...
 $4.59!!!
Who said scrapbooking is an expensive hobby?  Every scrap has another purpose, so rock your scrap bucket, and see what you can come up with.  Waste not want not! :)

Wet & Wild layout

I had a bit of a play tonight with some of the papers from Echo Park's "Splash" collection. There's just something about the bright and fun colours that make me feel happy all over! 

The "Sunshine" paper caught my eye, and I thought it'd be perfect for these fun photos that I took of my Gracie the other day. 
This is a very simple layout - when I'm using a busy base paper, I like to keep my layout fresh, clean and very uncluttered. I used "Sunshine" as the base, the fun in the sun strip across the bottom was from "Borders".  I used the reverse of this to mat my photos onto, and for the title block and journal cards, I used two cards from the "Journaling" sheet.  I inked the edge of each piece with a fine edging of dark blue ink, just to add a slight feeling of depth.  The title block is lifted up from the page on foam squares.  I think I'll add some glossy accents to the title to make it stand out a little more, as well as the cute little crab :).   
And I still have enough scraps left over to piece together another layout... which you'll see tomorrow! :)

New Venue for Social Scraps & Classes!

I’m excited to let you all know that we’ve secured a venue to be able to continue our popular Social Scraps and classes.  From the 1st October, they will be held at the North Queensland Small business Development Centre on Vickers Road North (Turn off Hervey Range road at Reece Plumbing, the centre is behind a set of big gates, about 300m from the turnoff).
The area is bright, airy and will be a very comfortable scrapping space, with lots of room to spread your projects out.
To book your place for Social Scraps and Classes when they come available, simply add the Class or Social Scrap session to your cart, and proceed through the checkout as usual.
On another note… how are the challenge projects coming along?  They are due in by the 12th September, so still a few days left to run!
Happy Scrappin’,
Rita

Challenge!

We’re hoping to run a regular challenge on here, to help fire your scrappin’ mojo, as well as to challenge you to try something that you normally wouldn’t do!
So for our very first challenge, we’ll start off nice and easy…
White with one! 

For this challenge, you must use a WHITE cardstock base.  The “one” part of it means that you can only use ONE basic colour on the layout.  You can use different shades of the same colour, but it must be obviously the same colour.  (so shades of pink are fine, but not pink and green).
Entries can either be posted to our facebook wall, or you can email them to www.scrapbookshenanigans@gmail.com
All entries will be displayed on the blog, so please avoid rudie nudie pics, or using pictures of people who may not appreciate being published online. You have until the 12th September to submit your entry, and for this challenge, we are classifying black as a colour in its own right. 
I can’t wait to see what you all come up with… and I can’t wait to challenge myself!
Happy Scrappin’,
Rita

Hi and Welcome!

Glad you found us here at our little blog!  Just as a quick run down on what’s happening, please read through the following info.  There’s quite a few elements to the whole Online Community for Scrapbook Shenanigans, and there’s a few reasons why we’ve chosen to have an online store, a blog (right here!), and forum. We’d like you to feel at home and welcome, so if you’ve got any feedback, please contact us at scrapbookshenanigans@gmail.com
- We know that by closing the bricks and mortar store, some of you will be feeling a bit lost, and that you think you’ll miss out on the sociable side of scrapbooking.  Rest assured, we’re working to get some regular social scraps happening, where you’re able to bring along your projects to work on, and also, if you’ve got an order, we can bring that to you on the social scrap day for no delivery cost.  Gotta love that. Keep your eyes peeled for dates etc, on either our Facebook page, here, or in the forums.
- Shopping online can be a bit of a daunting idea at first, but once you’ve worked your way around the store, you’ll love the convenience of being able to shop while the kids are asleep, or if you’re having a bad hair day and don’t want to leave the house, and, best of all, you can sit down and browse the store in your pajamas with a glass of your favourite drop! You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the prices on our site as well!
- Payment online is through either PayPal, or Bank Deposit.  PayPal is a secure way of paying with your credit card – you don’t need a PayPal account to use it, however it’s much quicker if you have one.  If you’d like to pick up your order, you can certainly do that, and if you like, you can pay cash on pick up.  Just let us know when you’re placing your order.  In the transition period, while the Kern Brothers Drive storefront is open, you can collect your order in store.
- We’re happy to post Australia wide, and all orders will be packaged to make sure that your goods are well protected.  Postage costs are detailed in the online store.  If you live locally, we’re able to deliver for a small fee.
- The reason that we’ve got a blog and forum as well as the store, is that we don’t want to lose the feeling of community that scrapbooking generates.  The blog will be a page where you can check out new projects that the design team have been working on, challenges, competitions and tutorials.  If you’ve got any queries on how to use products etc, please contact us (send an email to scrapbookshenanigans@gmail.com), and we’ll get a tutorial up as soon as possible for you. I like to see what things do before I buy them, and I’m sure you do too.
- As another service to our customers, we’re offering a custom paper matching service, at no charge.  If you’re stuck for a layout idea, send through an email with a copy of the picture to scrapbookshenanigans@gmail.com, and a few details, and we’ll be able to put together a kit, complete with a sketch of an idea for your page.  You’ll be able to nominate the cost of the kit (so less than $10, less than $15 or less than $450… you get the idea!), and we’ll make it happen.
- Once we get up and running fully, we’ll be offering a selection of page and card kits – almost a class in a kit if you like.  The kit tutorial will be posted on here, and the kits will be available for purchase within the store.  Watch this space for when we add our first kit!
Finally, if there’s anything that you’d like to see on here, as far as projects, tutorials, or whatever, please don’t hesitate to contact us!  We’d love to hear from you!