Scrapbooking

Let’s get creative

Disclaimer: The following post is brought to you by Nuffnang and Spotlight

If you know me well, you know I’m a bit of a Spotlight junkie and I love the wide variety of crafty goodies they have. When I was given the opportunity to have a play with some crafty products from Spotlight I jumped at the chance.

I received a package containing some of the American Crafts DIY Shop goodies – the pennant banner in black & kraft, the kraft scallop banner, kraft treat bag, and some kraft cards.

As soon as I saw the black pennant banners I had an idea for what I wanted to do – a banner for the girls bedroom. We’re about to redo the girls bedroom in an Asian theme so the black pennants fit perfectly with the black, red and gold.

The kraft pennant banner is going to become a decoration for Christmas. No photos as yet but I will be sharing them once they are done.

The kraft scallop banner I wasn’t sure about but after surfing Pinterest for awhile I formulated a few ideas. I mini banner for our bedroom. I’m also thinking it could be used to make a super cute mini album as the shape makes it pretty versatile for things other than banners.

The treat bags I’m not sure what I’ll do with as yet. And the cards, here’s a few I whipped up.

The banners are so versatile and I look forward to creating more with them. Blank cards are always handy to have on hand and kraft is such a great neutral base and something different from the usual white/cream. If you are interested to see what else I create with the DIY Shop range (& to see the complete Asian themed and Christmas banners), jump on over to Nightwolf Scraps.

So if you are after some DIY cards or pennants for your next do, head into Spotlight and check out the American Crafts DIY Shop range.

I’ve started up a place to keep all my scrapbooking stuff in one spot – Nightwolf Scraps. So I’ll be posting all my scrapbooky stuff over there from now on.
Today’s post is all about a new FREE workshop so go check it out 🙂

Scrap Teal You Drop 2015

For the last couple of years I’ve taken part in the Ovarian Cancer Australia fundraising event – Afternoon Teal. Mum & I have named our event Scrap Teal You Drop and attendees take part in a full day of scrapbooking and card making.

This year we gave our small group two challenges. The first challenge which took up the morning portion of the day was to create two cards in an hour. We gave the ladies a bag which contained two cards (one rectangle and the other was either a teapot or teacup), 2 pieces of ribbon, some twine, 2 blank boxes to add a sentiment to if they wished, some embellishments, 3 pieces of pattern paper and a doily. They could only use what was in their bag plus our range of stamps, inks and paper punches.

I was amazed at the variety of cards that were created. The judging process was not a job I wanted on the day. I recruited my dad and uncles to be our judges for the day and the whole process was anonymous with only myself knowing which creation belonged to which attendant. So I wasn’t allowed to talk to the judges all day 😉

Our winners were the following cards and I’ve placed the rest of the cards up on my Facebook page

The afternoon challenge was a bit harder. The Teal Throw Down challenge the ladies to create a 6×12 page using only the colours we gave them – teal, pink, yellow, purple and a neutral (white or kraft) plus 3 embellishments, a piece of pattern paper ,a piece or ribbon OR twine (not both) and no more than 5 rhinestones or sequins. Honestly I would struggle with this one but the ladies created some amazing pages. A couple worked in pairs while others worked alone. The judges picked this page as our winner:

the other pages can be seen on my Facebook page as well.

Everyone had a great time and we managed to raise $800. Donations are still open so if you would like to donate to this cause, pop on over to my Afternoon Teal page.

A huge thank you to the wonderful businesses who donated prizes for our day. Please go check them out and give them some love!

Bev’s Cross Craft, Kellie Stamps, Simple Scrapper, Max & I, Sweets Caroline and ThermoFun.

A MASSIVE thank you must go to my mum (& dad), who let us use their house, organised a delicious lunch and helped with all the prep and running the day.

Lastly thanks to all who came along. Hope you had a great day. Look forward to seeing you all next year!

December Daily 2014–planning

December Daily 2014 @ Nigtwolf's Den

December daily…well actually Journal Your Christmas (JYC) but its daily & in December so there you go 😉

I’ve been doing JYC since 2010 in 8×8 format and have completed the 2010 & 2011. 2012 & 2013 haven’t happened. Well they have, sort of. I’ve done all the journaling, created some page plans and then that was it. I totally had a valid excuse last year. I was just over 2 months pregnant and had horrid morning sickness.

This year I’m changing things up a little. Changing from an 8×8 album to a Sn@p 6×8 red burlap album.

Sn@p Red Burlap 6x8 album

The plan is a little project life style, a little traditional pages. Using mainly the Simple Stories Christmas ranges and I’ve been busy creating cards to go in my album.

Here’s a sneak at some of the goodies I’ve created so far using lots of stamps from Kellie Stamps. I am rather in love with her stamps and am slowly gaining a collection ;), my Copics and some Simple Stories stuff from last year.

Be Merry 4x6 card Doily tree 4x6 card Elf 3x4 card Reindeer 3x4 card

Christmas Scrapping

Disclaimer – contains affiliate links. It helps pay the bills 😉

Well it’s that time of year again when some scrappers start getting in a tizzy over the latest Christmas releases. All the gorgeous papers, the ribbons, the washi, the cute embellishments, the new Project Life cards. It can end up being totally overwhelming.

Then there’s the choice of how to scrap the holiday period – Ali’s December Daily, Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas, creating a mini album, adding spreads to your Project Life album, creating pages for your traditional album….so many Christmas scrapping choices!

I’m here to share with you a tool that I’m finding super helpful so far (and the holiday madness hasn’t really started here yet). And the best part is – it’s FREE!!

I’ve been a fan of Simple Scrapper for AGES and I totally love Jennifer’s free events she runs.

Holiday Scrapbooking Can Be Magical!

Scrapbooking can start to feel like a drag when you do it all alone. You’re invited to become part of a community of like-minded memory keepers who will build you up and keep you on track all season long.

Free Seasonal Event from Simple Scrapper

The Holiday Focus community circle at Simple Scrapper can be your home on the web during this busy time of year, a place to ask every question and celebrate every victory. Your FREE, online experience includes:

Exclusive planning workbook to focus your individual efforts
Private, 24-7 community of peers on Facebook
Weekly check-ins to keep you focused and on track
Optional opportunity to be assigned a buddy within the group

It’s not just about scrapbooking Christmas…

My #1 goal is to support whatever YOU most want to work on during November and December. Whether you’re creating a daily album or finishing up other projects, this community is for you!

So click here, sign up and join other Holiday scrappers and be totally motivated!!

We will remember them {free printable journal cards}

Today is Remembrance Day here in Australia. At 11am people around the country will pause for a minutes silence to remember those who fight for their country, who lost their lives in battle or as a result of battle. The brave men and women who served and continue to serve.

This year I decided to add a card to both my girls’ Project Life albums. I decided to make a set of free printable journal cards for project life in different sizes in case anyone else wanted to use it. Image came from someone on Facebook and I’m searching for the original. Anywho, here are the cards. They are free for personal use. There are 2 4×6 and 2 3×4.

Remembrance Day Cards 2014

DOWNLOAD

My PL wish list (May 2014)

This list could get really, really long but I’ll keep it to what I really want this month. Things I would actually use in current projects not just buy & leave sitting around 😉
(Images are linked)

The Daily Stamps (digital) at Peppermint Creative. All 5 versions (so far). This is the May set
Peppermint Creative LIP: Hello Let’s Go 3×4″ Journal & Filler Cards (digital) for my BYS album
Personal Yearbook Mini Kit for Miss K’s yearbook I plan on starting this year cause she started pre-kindy this week!
Cats Theme Pack for a mini album I want to finish on our cats. Started way back when I started scrapping in 2005!
School Theme Pack for Miss K’s yearbook.
List cards from Becky. Not sure what project I might use them in but I do want them LOL

What’s on your wish list right now?

Scrap Teal You Drop 2014

Ovarian Cancer Australia invites groups and individuals around Australia host an Afternoon Teal® – a summer tea party for a great cause! Raising awareness of the symptoms, risks and impact of ovarian cancer, as well as raise vital funds to support their work in awareness, support, advocacy and research .

For the last two years mum & I have organised an Afternoon Teal® event called Scrap Teal You Drop. This year we organised a full day event and spent a couple of months planning and organising, sourcing donations for our raffles and supplies for our scrapbooking challenges.

We received some AMAZING donations from private individuals meaning those who have no scrapping ‘stash’ to raid had an wonderful selection of papers & embellishments to use. Mum bought some gorgeous teal products from Sawyer’s Place to help create our Teal challenge pack but I’ll get to that in a moment.

Saturday night we set up our space, organised tables and packs for our attendees – a teal ribbon and information about Ovarian Cancer plus a symptom diary.

Sunday morning, the day of our event. Our all dayers and the morning crowd arrived and were welcomed and given a run down of our morning schedule. We had a couple of quick quizzes to warm up the brains and just for a little bit of fun. Then the ladies were shown a demo of some gorgeous handmade cards and an idea for using calico and stamping to make some lovely, individual gift ribbon.

We then had our first challenge of the day – a blind scrap. The ladies were given a list of products and after about 10 minutes sat down so I could read them their steps. Some followed along pretty close, others added their own spin and a few did their own thing.

Lunchtime and a wonderful spread provided by mum and a few others. A group photo was taken once the afternoon group arrived and before our morning group had left

Mum shared with us that the day marked 3 years since she had her surgery and was given 18 months to 3 years. In Australia, the overall five year survival rate for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer is approximately 43% so fingers crossed we make it past the 5 years and beyond. This set me off – thanks pregnancy hormones so I had to have a quick teary break before struggling to read the first part of my afternoon speech discussing Ovarian Cancer and the symptoms. So after that slightly teary start to the afternoon our group got stuck into our Teal Challenge. It’s amazing to see how everyone created such a wide variety of pages were created using the same supplies (some seasoned scrappers who joined us added their own supplies) and the majority used the same photo.

Our pack consisted of a white cardstock base, some Sawyer’s Place sticky paper (I love this stuff), flair and washi tape plus some other pattern paper, teal ribbons and a teal ribbon sticker.

We finished of the day with afternoon tea. Lots of yummy goodies including a fruitcake made by mum, a delish mars bar slice and my Teal Ribbon cake, teal ribbon biscuits and teal cupcakes.

I must give a few thanks. To the lovely Ruth from Polly Scrap Kits who, apart from letting me share about Ovarian Cancer on the Polly Scrap site, added some teal products to the February kits (& had a teal add-on kit) AND donated 50c from each kit sold to our fundraising tally. To the local George Town businesses who donated prizes for our minor raffle. To Hawthorn Football Club and Phil Kuruvita who donated prizes for our major raffle which is being drawn at the end of April.

After speaking to Mum today so far our fundraising tally is sitting at $1738! Thank you to all who have donated so far. If you’d like to donate, you still can by going to my GoFundraise page

Learn Something New–Week 1

I signed up for Learn Something New over at Shimelle.com last year and just followed along with the prompts & I think I may have even blogged a few. This year I’m blogging daily & posting at the end of each week. No mini album for me cause I know I’ll never finish it. Blogging it is much more doable.

So here we go for 2012

My name is Caroline and today is the first of September 2012. The last big adventure of my life would
probably be falling pregnant and giving birth to my daughter Miss K. I was so unprepared for the whole rollercoaster ride of pregnancy and parenting.

Three people who have been great teachers in my life
* My mum who taught me to be a great mother by supporting me, showing me unconditional love and being there when I need her most.
* My gran who taught me you are never to old to have fun.
* My bestie Lisa who taught me to believe in myself no matter what.

I would really like to move forward in a more organised fashion. I need to get some routines in place to make this happen. AND they have to simple otherwise I won’t follow them for long.

Come into my home and you’ll see I live with someone who can be a bit messy. You’ll also notice we LOVE books.

I’m much more a planner than spontaneous. I have learnt I need lists. I seem to get more done when I have lists. I like to have everything planned before I start a project or hold an event.

I wrote a card to someone special, for no real reason, just to say thank you.

An ‘ordinary’ day for me is up at 8, just pottering around home & playing with Miss K, checking Twitter & Facebook (probably a bit too much), taking lots of photos, surfing the net & watching TV of an evening then to bed about 10.30

So that’s week 1 of Learn Something New. Onto week 2…..

Project Life Monthly ‘Meet-Up’

Earlier in the month I tweeted (& blogged) to see who would be interested in a monthly Project Life Meet-Up. I’ve had a few responses but I thought I’d put it out there again on my blog.

If you’ve never heard of Project Life I’ve included this little video by Project Life designer Becky Higgins and Beck has done a quick beginner’s guide.

Anyways, I thought it might be cool to get together once a month online and chat about how we’re going, share our favourite pages we’ve done in the last month, share links to our favourite Project Lifers, share links to our favourite resources/products to use in our albums, what ever you want.