JMS Blog Hop

At JMS the DT love our mums and to show our appreciation for everything mothers do we are celebrating mothers in our blog hop this week.
The hop officially kicks off at 9 am (NFLD time zone), and ends at Midnight (NFLD time zone).
There are 18 stops along the way, some have blog candy up for grabs (but you'll have to find them for yourselves we don't want to ruin the fun!). In your travels don't forget to collect the words to complete the quote and take it back to Just My Sketches & the Blend to enter the major prize drawing worth $30!
If you have only just found the blog hop, go back to JMS to start.

If you have been hopping along you will have come from Annmaree and your next stop will be Stephanie.


The words you need to collect from me are:

"But I"

Now I am one of the ones who chose to share a little bit of blog candy! But I'm going to make you work for it!! Well, I can't be too nice, you would have thought I was sick!
What do you need to do to be in the draw?I need you to find "Always In Bloom" in the SU! (Australian) Catalogue, if you don't have a copy you can find it online here. Then for a bonus entry, link to my bloghop post on your own blog, don't forget to come back here, and tell me what page number of the Australian catalogue you found it on, and where I can find your blogpost (if you have one).  So after all that, you want to know what you win? How about my undying love and gratitude? Does that work for you? No? Fine! If you win you can have "Always in Bloom", how does that sound? I'll even get it shipped straight to your door! (If you already have it you can choose something else up to the same value).
Now I do have to be mean and say Australian Residents only, since I'm not allowed to ship overseas.


Anyway, don't forget to go to Stephanie's blog to continue on your hoppy way, and come back on Monday to see the layout I did celebrating motherhood!


 Have a great week!
 

It's official!!!

I've been waiting for Deanne to make the official announcement so that I can share with you that I'm on a Design Team!!! I am a layout DT member for the new "Just My Sketches and The Blend".
I was previously on Deanne's Sketches DT when it was "Just My Sketches" so when she put out the DT call for this new challenge concept of combining a sketch with a song inspiration I knew I had to apply (I mean, how cool is that concept?!?), and I'm so excited to be accepted!
I have to say a HUGE thank you to Deanne for not only accepting me again but also thanks for all the hard work you put into creating your sketches and coordinating the DT month after month!

ETA: Go check out the talented girls that I am honoured to be working alongside:

• Monique Fox
• Ann Lenth
• Stephanie Puccini
• Michele Light
• Julie Thornton
• Melanie Jarocki
• Ana White
• Spardha Angra
• Janice Coble
• Annmaree K
• Melisa Waldorf
• Sheri Fink
• Lesley Freiner
• Kristina
• Margie Overman
• Lynn
• Lisa Johnston
  

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Just My Sketches are back!!! With a twist!

Deanne is bringing back the "Just My Sketches" sketch blog and she's bringing it in with a twist. She'll give a list of songs with each sketch to inspire you. She's also doing a DT call so why not try out?
I saw the first sketch and list of songs and I just had to play along! I chose "Hands" by Jewel because I've always loved the "My hands are small I know, but they're not yours they are my own" line and I thought it would be perfect to use for a layout about Jack discovering his hands. I wanted the journalling to fill most of the star but that was the best publisher or word can do. I've since found a tutorial on using photoshop to journal in shapes so I'm going to have a go and re-do the star and try again. I know I should have fixed it before posting but I realised how long it had been and I just loved this sketch and layout so much that I had to put it on straight away!

Here's the sketch if you want to play along (over on the original post there is also a card sketch if you'd prefer):

Stamps: Jumbo Outline Alphabet
Ink: Chocolate Chip Inkpad & Marker
Cardstock: Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, Pacific Point
Accessories: Star Designer Brads, Jumbo Brads, Paper Crimper
Punches: Large & Small Star, 1" Circle

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Just My Sketches - *Star*

I'm very sad to say that this will be my last layout for the Just My Sketches DT, while the blog will be staying open (too much work to ever delete it), she won't be doing monthly reveals anymore :( So I want to say a HUGE thank you to Deanne for giving me my first DT position and taking a chance on me! Deanne does do a Sketch Saturday over at Sisterhood of Scrap which I am hoping to continue using on a regular basis.
Anyway, onto the layout, The other morning Charlotte's sunnies were in reach while she was eating breakfast and she decided they were the perfect accessories for her Pooh Bear pyjama's lol. The journalling reads:

"A TRUE *Star* can't even eat breakfast without the papparazzi taking photos"

I decided to have a go at making my own lace style border strip using the small & large star punches, I always love those strips but I like things to match (I'm kind of a loser that way) and I want the exact SU! colours to go with my DSP and other cardstock used in the layout (I think that's what actually drew me to SU! in the first place...), so that's why I decided to try making my own. I have a few ideas about what I would do next time to perfect the technique but basically I used the small star punch to punch small stars in a strip of cardstock, then I punched a large star out of some scrap Cardstock and lined the star up over the smaller stars and traced the star out, I then used my paper snips and craft knife to cut around the stars leaving the joins intact. Flip it over and glue it on. Clear as mud? Next time I do it I'll use a larger starting strip so that I don't have weird squared off star points and maybe trace some small stars so the small ones aren't just the hollows...
To get the stars on the layout in a random fashion I dropped them 1 at a time onto the layout (and re-doing any that landed in really bad spots) then I just glued them down pretty much where they landed.
I should also mention that I flipped the sketch, and here it is if you want to play along
(You can check out the other DT's gorgeous layouts here):
Ink: Bashful Blue & Pumpkin Pie SW markers
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Washington Apple DSP
Accessories: Large & Small Star Punches, Paper Snips, Craft Knife, Thickers

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Just My Sketches - Nick & Carmen

It's the start of a new month so that means another DT layout for Just My Sketches. I think Deanne did a great job with the sketch this time.
Do you see something on this page that I haven't used before??? I finally caved in and bought myself some thickers! I'm loving this font but I've remembered the downside to alphabet stickers, this layout used both of the "N"'s from the pack...
The thickers were actually white, but I've lightly inked them up using a sponge dauber and Close to Cocoa ink to take away from the starkness of the white next to the Vanilla in the Sweet always DSP.
Be sure to check out what the other DT girls have come up with and if you want to play along here is Deanne's sketch:
Stamps: Best Yet, Totally Tabs, Warm Words
Ink:Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette
Cardstock: Sweet Always DSP, Close to Cocoa, Confetti Cream, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Clips Assortment, Vintage Brads, Sponge Dauber, Round Tab, Flower Trio, Scallop Edge, Scallop Circle, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches
Other: Root Beer White Thickers

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Just My Sketches - Playing House

Ok, before everyone goes all feminist on me please know that this layout is meant to be a bit tongue in cheek:Today's the day for another Just My Sketches reveal and this is my take on Deanne's sketch for the month of May. I've included the sketch below and you'll be able to see that I used a bit *read alot* of creative license on this sketch layout, but that's what sketches are all about, something to use as a jumping point to get those creative juices flowing!

The layout is about Charlotte's obsession with "cleaning" whenever she gets her hands on a cloth, one day she was wearing her church clothes and got her hands on a tea towel to start scrubbing the kitchen table and just the way she was dressed in the little halter neck dress with the cute little shiny dress shoes it reminded me of the cliche'd 50's housewife and the phrase "A good wife cleans in heels and pearls" popped into my head like something from that 'The Good Wifes Guide' that does the email circuit every now and then.

I made the photos Sepia to give them a vintage look and used some of that yummy Raspberry Tart DSP to finish off the page.
The little square "doiley" was made using the Eyelet Border punch. There is a really good tutorial here that shows you how make them.

Anyway, as always don't forget to check out the rest of the DT's designs over at Deanne's blog and if you want to play along here's a copy of her sketch (To celebrate world scrapbooking day there's a little something extra in it for anyone who links to their creation over at Just My Sketches):

Stamps: Short Order Alphabet, Calender Alphabet
Ink: Rose Red
Cardstock: Raspberry Tart DSP, Cameo Coral, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Filigree Designer Brads, Sticky Cuts Letters, Supernova Fine Glitter, Eyelet Border Punch

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Just My Sketches - Love You

Here is my April reveal for Just My Sketches. The heart shaped photo's were actually meant to be circles but I think Deanne will forgive me as they are something other than your regular 6x4's...
This layout is a little bit of an inside joke, the photos are of Stefan & Charlotte when we were in Albury recently. Stefan is Sarah & Mark's son, Sarah is probably the closest thing I have to a sister, she has known me since I was alot younger than these 2 are and it doesn't seem to matter how far away I go (because I'm the one who moves, she has stuck around, now she literally lives around the corner from where I grew up lol) we always keep in touch and we can always just pick up right where we left off and hang out as if it hasn't been over a year since the last time we saw each other, so we were really really excited to find out that we would be having our first child at around the same time (there are about 3 1/2 months between Charlotte & Stefan) and then we were even more excited when I had a girl & Sarah had a boy (neither of us found out ahead of time what we were having) and we decided the day Stefan was born that he would have to marry Charlotte so we could be related! Because of all this I thought it was only fitting that the journalling should read "Charlotte & Stefan - True love forever..."
The funniest part of the whole thing is that these photo's were probably the loviest they acted towards each other the whole weekend, when you have 2 only children under 18 months they don't tend to share very well and we had a few little barnies lol
I have used the Stained Glass technique for the flower in the top corner & I have cut out another heart from the love you in DSP and popped it up on a dimensional.
If you want to have a go of the sketch here it is:
PS I have just realised that by the time this post goes live the Ginger Blossom DSP & possibly the stamp sets will be retired, so I am really sorry about that, I try to publish only current products on my blog so that if something inspires you the products are still available.
Stamps: Big on Spring
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark, Earth Elements SW Markers
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Ginger Blossom DSP
Accessories: White EDP, Black EDP, Sewing Machine

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould for Deanne Burton

Just My Sketches - Gotta have the Bling

I'm really excited to reveal my first ever layout as a Design Team member for Just My Sketches!!! I had heaps of fun with this sketch, it called for a little more white space than I'm normally used to so it pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I think I managed to do it Justice!
The photo is one of Charlotte when she put a ring from her ring stacker thingie around her arm and walked around the house with her arm out like she was wearing a bangle.
You should pop over & check out what the other DT Girls have done, they have all done sucha fantastic job! Here's Deanne's sketch if you want to have a go:
Stamps: Big Deal Alphabet
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Groovy Guava, Cameo Coral, Ginger Blossom DSP
Accessories: Gold EDP, Gold Brads, 5 Petal & Spring Bouquet Punch, White Gel Pen

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould for Deanne Burton

My first DT position!!

I am really really excited to announce my first Design Team position!! I have been accepted as one of Deanne's Layout DT members for Just My Sketches. I really love using Deanne's sketches (I'm sure you've seen a few layouts with them on here before) so I feel really honoured to have been offered this position.
I am on layout team #1 which means that you will see my layouts on the 1st of each month (North American time so here it will be the 2nd).


Images © Deanne Burton, Designs © Zarna Gould