This is Life - a special project for Once Upon A Sketch with 13arts

Hello everyone!

How was your first week of December so far? I'm just absolutely stoked because it's nearly the end of 2014 and new adventures beckon in 2015.

But first, let me share a special project with you, created for the final sketch at Once Upon a Sketch, using beautiful mixed media products from 13arts. As you may all know, our beloved leader Nadia is closing the challenge blog next year and it is indeed a sad time for everyone. OUAS holds a special place in my heart as one of the first few challenges I took part in, won something and even got on the DT. Working alongside so many talented people have taught me much and I've made many friends along the way. So here's a special project as my way of saying goodbye.

This is the sketch:

And journaling theme:

Journalling Theme: "It's December..." 

You are free to interpret our theme ANY WAY you like. It is for your inspiration and this theme word DOES NOT need to be part of your title or journalling. But please make sure your layout is based on the sketch below and includes journalling (hidden journalling is fine). Acceptable journalling is MORE than just a sentence, or generic writing such as date/place etc. It needs to be present and at least 3 lines long. Remember, hidden journalling (under a photo/tag or behind your page) is perfectly fine but please DO let us know in your post where your journalling is! 

And my take on the sketch and theme:

Here at the equator, all we get in December is rain. Lots and lots of rain. And wonderful monsoon winds that brings a respite to the hot humid weather we get for the rest of the year. With rain comes puddles. And with puddles... well there's no way you can stop a kid (or a young-at-heart adult) jumping into one of those and making a splash.

December is also a time when I cuddle up (because it's cold and windy) and start to take stock of the year that has passed, to reflect on how I have lived my life the past 12 months. If any time is a good time to come up with "emo" philosophical metaphysical life quotes, December is the time to do it LOL

My journaling (on the back page) reads:

"December. A time of rain, a time of reflections. Jumping into puddles, making a splash. In this year that has past, I hope I have made some splashes, had some fun and made ripples that would result in small but meaningful changes to other people's lives."

Here are some close-ups:

The layout was created with tons of 13arts products, which I absolutely love. Featured are the new metallic paints by Olga Heldwin, the new mist colors as well and the new paper collection Cozy Evening by my boss Aida. Tucked in between the layers are also the Splattered Circles chipboards from Blue Fern Studios. It was such a joy making this and provided the art therapy that I sorely needed.

And lastly, a start-to-finish video of how I made this layout:

That's all I have for today. Thank you for dropping by. If you have the time, please go by the Once Upon A Sketch blog to leave your farewells and wishes for Nadia and the rest of the team.

love,

Once Upon A Time for Blue Fern Studios

Hi friends!

Yes, I'm in again and you will be seeing more of me this week. It's a little like playing catch-up after being away for awhile.

Today I'm up on the Blue Fern Studios blog with a video tutorial for you. And I'm so excited about this one because it features the amazing new paper collection Sanctuary by our new designer Manuela Zimmerman. If you're a fan of shabby romantic papers like me, you must hoard this collection NOW.

So I found this beautiful winter scenery photo while searching for inspiration on Pinterest (it's December after all) and it is just perfect for the dark pensive tones of the Sanctuary papers. This collection may seem nature-themed, but I found it to be perfect for my winter layout as well. That's how versatile it is!

Here's the project:

And some close-ups:

Love those chipboards! I've used Holiday Vine (snipped into 3 pieces and tucked everywhere), Shabby Flakes and Winter Trees. 

Making my own snow here - it's so much fun :D

This layout differs from my usual style in that, I didn't have too much going on in the background - just simple masking, embossing and light touches of color here and there. The photo conveys such a feeling of magic and enchantment - like a moment suspended in time in a fairy tale (hence the title) - and I wanted to preserve that feel by building all the attention around it in the paper layers and keeping the background tame. It feels like any time now, Lucy is going to walk out of the woods and meet Mr Tumnus for the first time by the snow-covered lamp-post (nerd alert: I'm talking about The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe).

And here's the video of how I created this layout:

Don't forget, every month Blue Fern Studios has a sketch challenge going on. Here is this month's sketch by Michelle Singh:

So gorgeous isn't it? I'm so inspired I'll be using it for some of my other DT projects as well. 

That's all I have for you now. Meanwhile, happy crafting!

love,

A Wintry Layout for Off The Rails Scrapbooking

Hello folks!

I've been away for nearly 2 weeks now, hope I'm being missed! It was quite a roller coaster ride with my youngest going into hospital while hubby was away, and some awful drama at home which has not seen the worst of it. On top of that, my precious MacBook died on me - which means no photo-editing, no video-editing and well basically, I was severely handicapped. My lovely DT coordinators were kind enough to let me take the time off, and that coincided with the youngest going into hospital. But now that the MacBook is fixed, everything is back to normal!

Off The Rails Scrapbooking has TWO fantastic moodboards for this month's challenge. Being the non-Christmas project person that I am, I chose the wintry colours instead of the Christmassy ones.

(edited to add)

After this post was published, I saw the moodboard over at Scrap Around the World and what do you know, it actually matches theirs as well! So I'm entering this project for the challenge over there too. Even the red was a match LOL. And this below is their moodboard:

And here is my take:

Going for a minimalist watercolor look here with gorgeous Ayeeda paints and mists. 

Silver glitter paint from 13arts! Love how I can actually paint glitter on stuff now. And the "red" splatters are actually Metallic Pink paint from 13arts, mixed with liquid medium for a dimensional finish.

Gold glitter to accent my snowflakes and UTEE masking in the background. Tucked under my snowflake is Mini Ring Things chipboard from Blue Fern Studios, which I sprinkled gold glitter on as well. Paper layers are created with the fun Color Basics collection, also from 13arts.

That's all I have for today. Remember to hop over to the OTRS blog and find out how you can link up your project and win a fabulous prize.  Also, I'll be back tomorrow with my video post for Blue Fern Studios featuring the gorgeous new paper collection Sanctuary.  

Stay tuned!