Excerpts from the Diary of a Designer Volume # 5

I've been blogging for Imaginarium again... heres the latest post...

Wednesday the 19th of April 2017

Dear Diary...

What a week!! I honestly have NOT fully recovered from Easter yet...

It was a typical Easter this year, full of kids, fun, stories and chocolate. 

As I do every year I swear I'm not going to touch chocolate, and as it does every year, the temptation gets too much for me and I end up eating all the chocolate I can find!! 

[rolls eyes in exasperation]

Opps...

I dont know why Easter has to look and smell so good ... and a bunch of kids running around  me all day munching on chocolate statues of rabbits is just a tad too 'in your face' for me to cope with ... in any case ...the great chocolate binge of 2017 is behind me now and I'm doing my best to keep busy in its wake... 

now lets  never speak of that particular incident again!

Scrapping as always is my favourite solace during these trying times and today I spent a blissful day creating this simple layout using Basecoat 4 papers from Kaisercraft and Imaginarium Designs chipboards...

Oh how I adore these simple little frames that add so much to a layout with such little effort.

I've simply run over the chipboards with a white pen and added them to the page :)

   

 Variegated colours for titles is my favourite way to treat larger styled chipboard words :) 

Another day .... Another layout ... I love the simplicity of creating ❤

Thursday the 20th of April 2017

Dear Diary...

I was up early today with lots of extra energy ... I love days like this when inspiration strikes and you can get straight into a project :) The children are all on holidays so the house belongs to them again and I just try to keep out of their way.... so it's off to my workshop to scrap, today I had an idea for tearing a circle into paper I just couldn't wait to try...

Using Kaisercraft Sage and Grace papers, some beautiful lace and Imaginarium Designs chipboards I  got stuck into this page...

Another simple title and flourishes where I've just added the colour with ink and then gone back over one edge of the letters with a white pen to create shine lines.

Friday the 21st of April 2017

Dear Diary...

Oooohhhhhhh ..... I'm so excited today ... I was up before the sun and couldnt wait to get to work using these new papers from Kaisercraft .... Bombay Sunrise!

These papers were made for me ... I LOOVVEEEE all the bright colours and vibrancy of it all... on a side note, I did actually spend a couple of months in India back in my uni days and this really is what the colours of an Indian sunrise ( and Sunset for that matter) looks like over the great cities of the plains ... simply breathtaking! 

I used these 'Loolabelles Frame and Bars' (12 inch) from Imaginarium ... I inked them first, chopped them up then constructed them on the page .... man did I feel tricksy after that move!! 

http://www.imaginariumdesigns.com.au/products/designers?p=4

I didn't treat the chip board with anything other than simple colored ink as there was already a whole lot going on in this layout ... but I was thrilled with the end result :) 

 Then I jumped straight into this second layout doing pretty much the same thing with ink and the gorgeous papers. I used an unconventional title this time ... I know 'Bundle of Joy' is meant for a baby ... but hey it worked here so I thought go for it! 

Using unusual chipboard titles is one of my favourite things to do :)

Saturday the 22nd of April 2017

Dear Diary...

Today I'm MAD EXCITED ... 

I'm heading up to Brisbane today to do a Jane Tregenza Patchwork Panels Class with Alison Bevis ... and then tomorrow I'm teaching and hanging with some of my Imaginarium Designs DT buddies ... how much fun can one person have?

...but before the fun comes the work 😔

I'm teaching how to make a quick and easy box card and there are 50 people in the class so I had better get working ... I want to have most of the cutting and crappy boring work done for the ladies so they can just concentrate on getting on with the card :) so I'll be cutting over 750 bits of paper up today and packing them.

Imaginarium Designs has turned out to be 

THE BEST DESIGN TEAM I'VE EVER WORKED ON

When I told them about the kind of chipboards I wanted to have to use on this card they designed me my very own unique board ....

I'm feeling a tad chuffed about this board... it's like having another baby ( but without the messy bits obviously) ... my very own board created by me for my box card design! 

I still cant believe how accommodating Imaginarium Designs are.... apparently this is something they can do for large enough orders ... I'll be back for sure :) 

I actually had tones of these made up and am selling them on my WEBSITE for $5.99 ...

I expect to sell many with the free postage.... I may even be rich one day!!? just sayin 😄

Sunday the 23rd of April 2017

Dear Diary...

WHAT A HUGE FUN DAY!!!

Today I taught at the Imaginarium Designs ACE class ( Alison's Craft Events) along with Jane Tregenza, Sue Smyth and hosted by Alison Bevis.... sooooooo much fun :) 

This is the quick and easy box card I taught...

I started out the day with a headache thanks to small incident with some pineapple lumps the day before... Alison warned me to stay away from them ... but I have a problem with this particular food group... so my 'After Easter Resolution' to never eat chocolate again only turned out to last 6 days ... 😐

For those who don't know what Pineapple Lumps are.. they are quite simply 

THE BEST TREAT EVER!!

Water and Panadol seemed to deal with the sugar headache quickly and we had an awesome day in the end .... Sue Smyth actually used a meat cleaver ...A MEAT CLEAVER!! in her class ... that was impressively noisey!!  

Here is a photo of everyone hard at work ...

This is Sue and I (and Wendy the photo bomber)  while class was going on behind us.

It was a wonderful day and the projects were fabulous ... Sue taught how to cleverly embellish a journal, Jane did a stunning double layout and I did the box card .... there was more Imaginarium chipboards consumed today than pineapple lumps yesterday... which is an impressive amount!! lol

I can't believe it's Monday tomorrow.... it's just as well though

... I'm looking forward to heading back to work for a rest! 😉

Excerpts from the diary of a designer 3

Wednesday 8th February 2017

Dear Diary...

Feeling like I just won the lottery -The kids have gone back to school !!

.... the house is suspiciously quiet but I'm determined to get used to it ....quickly.

With the distinct lack of noise, blasphemy, mess and monetary requests I'm feeling much more creative and on top of the 'winning the lottery' feeling following me around I'm also rocking a 

'queen returned to her throne' vibe  as I have just rediscovered the wonderful box card .... 

I LOVE THIS CARD DESIGN TECHNIQUE:)

These cards are so easy to make and can be decorated with next to anything. They also fold flat to go back into envelops ... I will likely never make any other kind of card ever again now <3 

 

A few choice pieces of Imaginarium designs chipboard painted with gesso really helped make this card pop  and the best bit is that the Chipboard sits up all on it's own and actually adds to the structural integrity of the card giving it extra adornment and support :) 

I'm completely jealous of other designers with grown up kiddies ... Alison Bevis never has to take the holidays off to pull her hair out for a few weeks .... she just keeps on creating gorgeous work month after month ... I just want to rub up against people like that so some of their inner magic can transfer onto me ... I'm pretty sure I actually tried that  at last year's Brisbane craft show ... do I have a picture of that? Must look into it for tomorrow's project!!

Thursday 9th February 2017

Dear Diary...

BINGO!!

Found this FABULOUS photo of myself, Alison Bevis and Sue Smyth ( drop names much?) at Brisbane craft show last year ... Was determined to scrap this one today ...

alas Imaginarium Designs had no titles along the lines of 

'Rub up against me for Good Luck'

I drafted a lengthy and indepth post to owner Jane Tregenza suggesting this and several other less heard of titles be made into chipboard phrases... am convinced she will see the wisdom and massive revenue raising potential in such a collection and am eagerly awaiting their release.

In the meantime I had a ball creating this page ... I used midnight black dew drop ink on the chipboads .... which I must say turned out suspiciously like gold!!???? In any case I loved it and sealed them with clear embossing enamel before popping them on this page I made using the new Kaisercraft 'Wildflower' paper collection.

*I know .... it looks like Sue Smyth is trying to get away in this photo right? 

A friend also gave me a huge black ball of yarn... potentially it was to knit a scarf with? but scarfs be blown... I AM DIVERGENT.... all I saw when she gave me this yarn was page borders!

how OFF THE CHARTS is this black yarn? 

I just cut 4 lengths and stuck it around the page ....

 I LOVE THE EFFECT! 

Where does this yarn come from? I can just hear people asking ... the truth is I dont know... my scrapbook spy at the local op shop picked it up.... 

I really am a shakespearean tragedy of scrapbook supplies. 

In order not to be accused of taunting people I have decided that I if anyone wants to send me a self addressed and stamped envelope ( to 19 Brumby Place Casino NSW 2470) then I will send them 2 meters of this fabulous yarn for free :)

To buy the fabulous chipboards people will still just have to duck on over to the 

ID shop at THIS LINK :)

These are the bits I use on this page ... there really is no better way to lift your page than with these funky and trendy chippies!

Friday 10th of February 2017

Dear Diary...

Still feeling all springy and fresh with the kids trotting off to school every morning :) I think it's fascinating the way our moods are reflected in our pages.... I learnt a long time ago never to scrap angry .... the pages I make when I scrap angry are just DISGUSTING ... this rule also applies to drinking .... but for different reasons of course.... unfortunately I can't hold my grog at all either.... one glass of wine and I'm on the table dancing...two glasses and I'm under it asleep! 

Also I have this awful habit of telling people what I really think when I drink 

( my usual mindless chatter unsensored is NOT a good thing) ... 

Take for example the page I did today ... I scrapped this super cute photo of Daisy with her first loose tooth .... I used the ID chipboard title 'Cheeky Grin' because it suited it so perfectly ..... 

had I been drinking this page definitely would have been titled 

'Damn girl .... you look like Nanny McPhee!!!!'

Hence there is no more drinking and scrapping allowed in my house :( 

The chipboards on this layout were inked in burgundy and covered with Crystalina Kindy Glitz.

Monday 13th February 2017

Dear Diary...

Have just finished reading the ID blog post for today entitled 'Marvelous Monday with Alison Bevis' 

DAMN THAT GIRL IS GOOD! I really should have rubbed up against her more!

I'm not saying I'm going to hire an assassin or anything ... but she is good 

....faaaaar toooo gooooood!! 

Despite my scrap jealousy she inspired the heck out of me today so as the doctor suggested I channelled that energy into another layout using more ID chippies .... this time a distinctly pink page also made using the Kaisercraft Wildflower paper collection.

Its one of my favourite tricks to take the chipboard frames and cut them in half to use on layouts and thats what I did again here on this page. All the chippies on this layout have simply been inked in Pink.... that beautiful flourish at the bottom of the photo is of course the hero of the layout ... I love the way one good embellishment can make or break a design :)

Pretty sure Alison Bevis knows exactly what I'm talking about!!??!!?

I bet she's the first one to send me a self addressed stamped envelope so she can get her talented hands on my groovy black yarn!!!??

Wednesday 15th February 2017

Dear Diary...

Had to prepare a project for Imaginarium Designs today looking at my favourite altered Chipboard technique... didnt take long to do as I just love stamping on embossed chippies but at the end of it I had all these chip boards that I had made and had no page to live on.

I just can't make an embellishment and NOT use it... this might be my greatest weakness ... my very own kryptonite ... designing pages around embellishment rather than photos!! 

[inset shock and horror emoji]

Scrapbooking is meant to be about showcasing your photos right?

WRONG!!

It's about finding the right photo to go with a DROP-DEAD-GORGEOUS EMBELLISHMENT!!

I had one sheet of paper left from the Kaisercraft Wildflower collection so I got to work with my predone chipboards .... 

seriously ... you almost don't need a photo on the page with chipboards this gorgeous <3 

I've run out of papers and Chipboards now so I guess that's it for this week... of course the end of scrapping does herald in 'wine time' .... so I'm off to over indulge ...

Will ask my husband to disconnect the internet first so that I don't accidently send Jane T anymore of those 'title ideas' emails .... the cold light of the next day always makes what looked supremely clever the night before, look disturbingly inappropriate in retrospect :(

Methinks there something in that for all of us! ;) 

Brisbane Craft and Paper Expo

Yesterday I returned from 2 fun filled days at the Brisy Craft Expo... what a blast! I had a ball staying with a couple of mates at the lovely Rydges hotel on Southbank and shopping like a woman possed each day at the expo.

So I'm here to share a couple of photos with you as has become my yearly tradition!

I'm kicking things off with a photo of myself and my Editor over at The Austraian Scrapbook Ideas Magazine.... Sue Smyth. In this shot we are standing in front of some of her stunning work.

Sue was a teacher this year at the show and the photo below is one I snapped while in her Couture Creations class ... holy cow I got a lot of great ideas out of that class... all morning I have been practising the techniques I learned there LOL... Thanks Sue you rock!

And Below are the lovely ladies I hooked up with for lunch on Sunday... thats me on the left, then Jamie ( creator of Crafters Workshop templates), Next is fellow designer Geli and theres Sue on the end. I think it was even more fun hanging out with these ladies than it was stalking Tim Holtz at last years expo ! LOL

And here I am with Melissa Kennedy from Kaisercraft .... you know I never miss an opportunity to take a snap with the Queen of KC herself!

And lastly we have one demented selfie I took of the hat that wore to the expo on the Monday. 

Just as we were leaving the expo on Sunday it was announced that the next day there would be a hat competition with a 'mad hatters tea party' theme.... so that night in the hotel room I got busy with some of the supplies I had purchased at the show that day and this 'princess' hat ( or dunce hat depending on which way you swing!!) is what I ended up with.... it was lots of fun to make and I was given more than my fair share of long looks that day ... but it was also worth it as I won one of the prize packs for it so YAY!

 I saw sooo many locals there too it practically felt like home.... Thanks to everyone who I ran into who said hello ... even though I was wearing that hat! it was great seeing you all there. 

xo cheers from Kel.