Graphic 45 2014 Design Team Audition!

Phew!  Getting this posted just in the nick of time!  We are expecting tropical cyclone Lusi to hit shortly, which will bring with it gale force winds, torrential rainfall and power outages -  so we are told!  No power = no internet = no blogging!


So here it is folks, my inaugural Graphic 45 Design Team Audition.  I must admit to feeling quite nervous about his one - the competition is pretty fierce for one of these coveted spots - and the submissions that I have seen so far have set a very high standard.  So, best of luck to each and every one of you applying!


I really wanted to create a couple of projects using the latest and greatest papers - By the Sea and Botanical Tea.  Which meant waiting patiently (i.e. wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth!) for the papers to arrive in NZ.  Which in turn meant a late start!  But all is well, and I am happy with the resulting items!


I am not one for creating projects that have no practical application - that's just me!  When I make something, it needs to have a purpose, otherwise it just becomes a dust collector.  This again was the emphasis when deciding what projects to create.


I'd like to warm up for this audition with a couple of cards.  Those of you who have done my classes know how much I love pop-up and interactive cards.  I hope you enjoy these two:


Botanical Tea - Thinking of You Pop Up Card


I think it would be pretty difficult to mess up with these papers - they are quite sublime in their vintage beauty!  With oodles of elements to fussy cut, Botanical Tea is perfect for an interactive project.


Card Front

Inside - Pop Up in Action

12 Days of Christmas Card


I created this card with the emphasis on an unusual opening, rather than an interactive piece.  To give the card front its convex share, I used 2 layers of card stock, then the patterned paper.  This gave the covers some 'weight' to use when shaping them.  More fussy cut elements of course, with the essential application of very fine glitter dust for that touch of sparkle and magic!

Card Front

OK, lets continue on with a couple of OTP items. 


By The Sea Board Game


Move over Monopoly!  I would like to introduce you to a new board game called 'By the Sea.'  I have had this board in my stash for nearly 9 years now.  I knew that one day I wanted to create my own board game, it was just a matter of waiting for the right inspiration and paper line to come my way!  Voila!  By the Sea.

Essentially, this is a timed game.  Set the timer for 10 - 20 -30 minutes or more and off you go.  Starting on the Bon Voyage tile, throw the dice and move said number of spaces.  Each tile will have instructions to either collect shells from the 'bank' or lose shells, with 3 tiles offering you the chance to pick up an Opportunity Card.  The Opportunity Cards will significantly boost or deplete your shell collection!  The winner is the person with the most shells at the end of the timed period!

My children have tested the game -and it does actually work!  What's more, they said it was fun!!!!  Not as fun as it was to make this project - I loved doing this!


Typography Inspirational Wall Art

Personally, I reckon all children need to be inspired on a daily basis - if only even in a small way.  The minute I saw the Typography line from Graphic 45 I knew I wanted to create an inspirational piece of art for my son to hang in his bedroom.  The quotes and the colour ways are perfect for a young man.

After cutting out the quotes and other miscellaneous pieces, I mounted them on chipboard pieces.  These are in turn mounted onto a piece of foam board (to counteract the weight of the tiles).  Sometimes, less is more, so I elected to embellish this piece on this basis.  Plus, I really wanted the emphasis to rest on the messages more so than the decorations.

And now for some good old-fashioned 12 x 12 layouts incorporating a little mixed media!

Well folks, that should give you a good example of what I'm all about, creatively!  I hope you enjoyed the journey - and fingers crossed that I can post next month with a G45 DT Badge to boot!

Special thanks to G45 for taking time to visit my blog and consider my work.

Til next time...
Maggie

Let Your Heart Be Light

Hi ladies! 

I can not tell you how much I love the Mad Tea Party range from Marion Smith Designs.  The papers are whimsical and pretty, romantic and fun!  I am working on a rather time consuming project using Mad Tea Party at the moment, but took a short hiatus to create a sweet layout for my daughter!  These papers typify her personality - sweet, pretty, fun, quirky, adaptable..........

 

The papers I used are Wonderland and Roses R Red.  There are oodles of roses and clocks to fussy cut from side B of Roses R Red, and these make a great coordinating embellishment.

 

 

 

A selection of blooms from Manor house Creations adds some dimension and helps to create flow.  Pieces of lace and sprinklings of pearls add a touch of romance.  I also applied a light random coat of modelling paste to the corrugated cardboard for extra interest.

 

 

 Lightly touch resin embellishments with white paint to shabby them up.

 

 

I used a thin strip of Wonderland paper to thread through the punched pattern - just like ribbon!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Can I ask you to please keep the people of the Philippines in your thoughts and prayers. 

 

Maggie





'Believe in Yourself' - from Manor House Creations

If you haven't checked out the gorgeous new range of papers by Manor House Creations yet, then click here to take a look!  The range is titled 'Believe' and concentrates on elegant, vintage style neutral tones.  Which makes them doubly versatile, since the papers can be coloured to suit your project!  This is one of my favourites...

 

Then there are the flexible words and oh so delightful lace embelllishments...

 

 

 

 

I have created a class kit for MHC this month, using papers from this range coupled with MHC beautiful blooms, flexible word and lace embellishment.  



This single layout class kit is designed to run as a 2 hour class.  Full colour instructions are included with each kit making it even more user friendly.  To order, simply click here.  You will need to have an account set up prior to ordering.

For more MHC inspiration, visit their blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Webster's Christmas Workshop - Sydney 19 October

All done and dusted!  And it was a great weekend, made particularly special by the ladies that I was lucky enough to hang out with!  Thank you Evelyn from Discover Create Learn and Rose from Scrap With Friends.

The Hubertus Country Club is a lovely location out the west side of Sydney - with heaps of room and great facilities to host a crafting day.

We kicked off the Webster's Workshop with a Christmas themed layout, using Brandin O'Neills 'A Christmas Story' papers.  So beautiful, love the creams and blues and golds.

Then we made a start on the Mini Album - using 'Postcards from Paris II' papers.  These are just delightful, and lend themselves to so many themes.  The cover of the mini album was very mixed media, taking a few ladies far from their comfort zone I'm told!!!  Jill from ScrapFX supplied the specially designed chipboard album, and Nerrida at Manorhouse Creations donated oodles of gorgeous flowers for the girls to add to their albums.  A huge thanks to both of you!

To wind down a very full day, we completed the Christmas Card class, where again 'A Christmas Story' was used to create 4 unique cards.  A few non-card makers in the group - did incredibly well and even finished first!!!  Well done Deb!

 

I'll leave you with a pretty pic of these absolutely beautiful cupcakes, made by Lynn and her daughter!  They not only looked amazing, but they tasted divine as well. 

Next up at Discover Create Learn is the talented Limor Webber on 24 November!  Not to be missed!