Challenge Entries

OK... I'm fulfilling two completely separate challenges here because I can.


The first is a "Three-Way Challenge" between myself and two very good scrapping friends of mine. It's an idea I came up with based on a similar challenge I have seen in Scrapbooking Magazines where you are all given the same photo and told to scrap it. We went one step further and the three of us each printed three copies of one or two photos, then we traded the photos so that we each ended up with three different sets of photos. We then brought them home to scrapbook. We have until early March to get them done when we will trade back the completed pages.


The second challenge is the Scrapdango Sketch Contest on the Page Maps Blog.
I have scrapped all three pages using the same sketch, both to enter into the contest and also to prove how versatile one sketch can be, even when used by the same scrapper.


The sketch I worked from (including the prize for the contest above the sketch):

Here are the layouts:


"Mum"

This is my good friend Glenna's mother. The journalling reads "Beach Front Photo Shoot".


"Princess Grumpy"

This is my good friend Tania's niece Brooke on her third birthday. The journalling reads "Brooke really wasn't happy about having her photo taken on her 3rd birthday, despite looking like a beautiful Fairy Princess." I love the way the patterned paper looks like an extension of her fairy wings from the placement of the photo.


"Those 70's Sisters"

This was one of my photos (I didn't use the second photo because I loved this one too much on its own.) Having seen the other ladies' photos I would have preferred printing my one a little larger, but knew I had to stick with what I had as that was all the others had to utilise.
The journalling reads "Circa 1973/4. Photo by Granddad Wilson. Digitised from slide by Uncle Bill Wilson. Scrapbooked 19.20.2010"
The title was stickers and rub-ons on a hand cut transparency journal block.


Aside from the sketch I also wanted to utilise some other commonalities across all three layouts. These were:

1. Use of hand stitching - a personal favourite technique of mine
2. Use of ribbons in particular as right hand edge for photo - because both my friends love ribbons but most especially Tania
3. Use of flowers as Glenna is definitely a flower lady and I love the way she uses flowers on her layouts

Valentine's Cards

As the finances are a lot tight at the moment and because I am a crafter (Hello) I made all the family Valentine's Cards this year. 
Except for the card bases everything was from my scraps or leftover embellishments (don't tell them that though and they'll never know).

Be Mine - for DH Pete
Valentine Babe - for Grand Daughter Sonia Marie
Love - for Step Son Kurt
Hearts - for Step Daughter Alysha
All My Love - For Step Daughter Lavinia


Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. I hope you have a wonderful day and you get to spend some time with those you love and care about the most.


Paula
xoxoxox

Birthday Cards

Ok so I missed a couple of birthdays already this year but I have finally started into the card making process. One of these two is for a belated gift for my nephew Jordan and the other is for his younger brother Dallas who is a leap day baby. I'm just waiting for their presents to arrive then I will post everything away.


Jordan's card has a removable double-sided skull & cross bones that he can hang on his wall or from a hook or the like. Dallas is a little young (he's just about to turn 2) but I have a year to think of a really cool card for him ;-)

The other side of the skull & cross bones.

First Digi-Scrapping Competition

OK.. so its been a while since I visited and even longer since I posted, but I have been busy... I just can't show you everything that I have been working on YET!!!

I am in a Kiwiana charm swap with some of my scrapping girlfriends and as I know they look at my blog, I am under threat of death for posting pictures before the charms are handed over. Suffice it to say, they are SOOOOO CUUUUUUTE!!

Sorry but you will have to wait.

What I can show you though is my first entry into Round 1 of the goDigitalScrapbooking.com "Supreme Team IX Contest". We were all given the kit Sew Chic which you can buy through the GDS shop at http://www.godigitalscrapbooking.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_dnld_info&cPath=29_132&products_id=6019 to create a single 12" x 12" layout, using only the kit and our digi-scrapping software and the default tools it includes.

I have just posted my entry in their gallery and you can check out my competition at GDS Gallery.

Here is my entry anyway - "Million Dollar Baby"

I used the kit "Sew Chic" - no extras allowed.
Software:
For photos - Photoscape (Freeware)
For Digi-Scrapping - Paint.NET (Freeware)


I used three of the patterned papers in the kit layered on top of each other. The bottom was left as it came, the second was placed as an overlay, the third an overlay with a slight colour burn to enhance brownish tones.


I created a double layer of the photo, the bottom layer in sepia tones, then removed the bits other than the purple flowers to give me a colour highlighted photo. 


For the background I added a frame and then blended it into the background as well as changing the opacity of the photo so it became like a transparency.


I enlarge the frame, rotated it and added it to the main photo, then later added a facet gemstone which I had recoloured to match the flowers.


I added the various elements to which I: rotated, resized, changed tone, adjusted brightness & contrast, recoloured, adjusted hue, saturation and light, erased bits to make some elements look like they were behind others (especially the flowers and leaves behind the tape measure).


I then added the title (Font - Adler) in two colours, with the top colour slightly offset from the bottom colour.


Yes it took absolutely ages, but then I have to admit that 90% - 95% of the techniques I tried with this, I HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE... and it was only after I looked to see what other's had done (checked out the competition) that I decided some serious experimentation was in order.


First time for me:

• Using layers
• Recolouring
• Adjusting anything such as hue, tone, brightness - other than to correct colour in a photo
• First time using overlays & colour burns (still not 100% what this really is but I loved the effect so kept it)
• Erasing
• Using a kit from a digital scrapbook shop (Other than freebies and TLC's Lifetimes supplied papers etc).
• Flattening pages

Yes I have loved every minute of it.

Yes I was surprised at how long it took me, but much of that was familiarizing myself with the software and self-teaching how to use the thing. It will get easier as I get more familiar with it.

No digital scrapbooking doesn't have to be expensive - you can do it all completely with FREEBIES - including the software you use to create your pages as well as the patterned paper & elements etc that you use "on" your page.

Will I do it again YES.

Will I convert from paper to digi-scrapping, NO - I still love the feel of paper and smell of glue and the feel of stuff stuck to my fingers and inks and embellishments and brads and..... ALL OF IT!!!!

Watch this space for news - good and bad - of how round one goes. There are four rounds in total so fingers crossed it may be a busy digi-scrapping month for me.