Crazy excited to be a part of this amazing line up of talent!!! Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be on the same DT as these gals. I hope you are all ready for some amazing inspiration coming your way!
Well, the business of Christmas and New Year is now behind us and today is my first day back at work after having a full 3 weeks off. I am now starting to think about ‘Back to School’ supplies and organising my little Miss into year 5 and it was in this organising that I realised I had not yet scrapped her first day of Grade 4… so I got working on that straight away and here is what I came up with.
I have had that chipboard pencil in my stash for a bit and I knew it was one of those things that had to go onto a school layout, so this one was the perfect fit.
I have also been on a mission of late to use my washi tape supply more, so I went about creating a colourful border layering tapes in sections in co-ordinating colours and then adding some stitching to make sure it stays put in the long term. Lots of Washi Tapes at the store if you are looking for some new ones to add to your stash. The background is a cut file I created using a diamond shape I bought from the Silhouette store Design ID #16577, I simply resized a few of them and positioned them on my page.
I have added a journal Spot in here, lots available in the past kit bits section of the D-lish website as well as some D-lish flair and a paper Flower.
Some sewn on journalling and enamel dots to finish the layout.
Here today to share a layout I created with the Jot December Mood Board. I was looking for something to inspire and loved the colours in this one.
Here is the Mood Board created by Suse Fish
and here is my take:
I wanted to use some really bold colours for this one to go with the black and white photo and background paper. Lots of layers, lots of embellishments and it was done.
When I first started scrapbooking, I bought my first copy of Scrapbooking Memories. I ooooed and ahhhhed over the layouts thinking one day maybe I would be “good enough” to be published. Then, with the release of the Masters issue, I thought WOW, imagine if I could be a Master. At the time it was a dream that I considered possible but huge, like man landing on the moon, it was a big dream and one I quietly and patiently set about trying to achieve. 17 years on and I still cannot believe it is now a reality, I’ve done it and I am a Scrapbooking Master for 2017!!
So what was different this year to the other years I had tried, well actually lots!
My first attempt was in 2008 and I was just too new to scrapping, I hadn’t figured out what was me and what was the latest trend and I was just finding my feet and trying new things, I didn’t think I would win, but really wanted the experience.
In 2015 I left my entry to the last minute – creating all tasks in only a few days, staying up until midnight to get them done. My initial thought was, I don’t want to over think my pages, so if I smash them out, I won’t be able to do that. I started with layouts I had already created and scrap lifted them with adjustments to fit the challenge. I would definitely NOT recommend this! Masters entries need to be considered and measured, not rushed. Having said that, the pages I cerated I loved and were very true to me AND, after all, they were “good enough” (and I totally mean that tongue in cheek) to land me the Creative Team position, but still, I would NOT recommend this strategy!
This year, I took my time, I really thought about having a strategy for each of the tasks and a point of difference – something that really showed how I put myself and my love of scrapbooking into the page.
Overall I think the biggest difference was actually within me, it had nothing to do with the products I used, the colours I chose, what I thought they would like. I simply created 4 pages that were the essence of me and my style. I was not going to send in anything that I was 100% proud of and loved. If something needed re-doing I had time for that, I was able to make them perfect in my mind. They oozed “Gwen” and the way I like to have things on my page. I guess what I’m saying is that I feel very comfortable in my style and what I like. I’m not trying to be like “Suse Fish” or “Paige Evans” or “Maggie” – I’m just doing the best version of “me” I can.
So when people ask me, how did you do it? How do you know what they are looking for? I simply say “Find your true YOU and be that – the best YOU that you can be, that’s what I did”.
This hobby is so much more than cutting up paper, and becoming a Master is more than winning the Scrapbooking Olympics (as Miss 9 calls it). It is part of who I am and I am so happy to continue to fall in love with this hobby of mine and the amazing peeps who are apart of it. I hope becoming a Master means that I get to meet more amazing scrappers and I am so looking forward to a wonderfully creative year ahead.
Thank you all so much for your love and support! Gwen xo
I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season getting lots of craft time and taking lots of photos!!
I have a fun Christmas layout for you and I just love how it came together.
It started with a simple star shape die cut from my background paper and then paper layers added stating with a paper baggie. It was a little wide for my photo stack so I simply trimmed some off with my paper trimmer and sewed around the edge. I also added a Printed Tag for something fun.
For some subtle sparkle, I added a white Sequin Bow and can you see the beautiful sparkle from the gold Punchinella?
The fabric flower is actually the bottom layer of the Mini Heirloom Flower. I pulled off the bottom layer when I used the flower in another layout and thought I wonder if I will ever use it!! Well, yes, I did, I simply added a button to the centre and it was perfect! You can also see in this close up the pop of the colour in the Resin Flowers.
Lastly I’ll leave you with a close up of all my paper layers, I love the mix of the soft Paper Doilies and then the sparkle of the Punchinella, then wood veneer for texture.
