The coolest swing

Allt om Scrap is posting a Sunday issue every week and I highly recommend you to go there and have a look. It’s loads of inspiration! This Sunday we had a travel theme and the DT girls have created some sunning examples! This is my contribution:

I have used Pan Pastel, Gesso, Dylusions Ink Spray, and some more gesso… The picture is taken at our favorite place – where my mother in law has a cottage and my husband used to spend his summer vacations when he was a child. Out in the woods we have found this super cool swing hidden behind some trees.

Here’s a close up:

Thanks for looking!! Have a wonderful week!

A lovely summer day

This layout is made for a challenge at SWE Scrapbook. The challenge is to scraplift a layout made of Marja Seidemo. You can have a look at it here.

It’s a wonderful messy layout full of dots and it inspired me to create this:

Now when summer is gone and we have had our first night of frost I felt like doing a really summery layout filled with sunshine! The background is colored with Pan Pastel, Glimmer Mist and Dylusions Ink Spray. I also doodled  some flowers using a template.

Here's a close up:

Thanks for looking! Wish you all a happy weekend!!! :)

Busy

Here’s my October DT layout for The Craft Garden. This month challenge is to create something using at least four of these ingredients: buttons, banner, flowers, pink, ribbon, a tag and sparkle. I have used some pictures of DD playing with her dolls. She recently got her third doll and it keeps her really busy to take care of all of them at the same time. These pictures shows when she has taken them to the “playground”.

I wanted to make a big and messy banner so I made a textured one using modeling paste, forming it by hand. I also did some doodling on the page to make it more playful. The pink on the background is made using Pan Pastel. On the arrows I wrote the names of my daughter’s dolls and an explanation to what you see in the pictures. (The plaid is a slide and the cushion is the stair.) I love to use scrapbooking to remember details in life that we would otherwise forget!

Here’s some close ups:

Thanks for pooping by! Have a nice day!!

One of your most common expressions

There’s a new challenge up at Kraft It Up! Have you noticed I have used a lot of mist on my layouts lately? That’s thanks to the October challenge at Kraft It Up! where you are supposed to use mist on your kraft paper. I used a lot of mist earlier but I haven’t done that for almost a year. But now I was forced to! So I bought myself some Dylusions Ink as they are brighter than the one I had before… and… well, you have already guessed… it was so fun I cannot stop!

I have used three different techniques. First I sprayed ink and water to make them blend. Then I added some ink with some help of a piece of plastic, at last I sprayed on a template. I also splashed on some acrylic paint. Here’s the result:

And here are some close ups:

Don’t forget to take a look at the other DT examples. There’s loads of inspiration over at Kraft It Up!

Thanks for popping by! I wish you a wonderful weekend!!!

A new friend

There’s a new challenge up at ARTastic! And as usual it’s SO inspirational!! This time the inspiration piece is made by a mixed media artist called Liza Posar and the criteria is handmade flowers. I loved this challenge! Both the inspiration piece and the criteria. Of course I went for doodled and painted flowers! :)

I used a lot of mist, Pan Pastel and acrylic paint on the background. The grass is made with acrylic paint on a template. Some of the flowers are cut out from patterned papers but the three biggest are doodled. They are colored with Neo Color II and acrylic paint. Some of the flowers that I cut out got the same treatment. The leaves are doodled and cut out. The frame around the picture is doodled, cut out and colored with Dylusions Ink.

Here are some close ups:

This was so fun to make that I really recommend you to try it out! Or to create some other kinds of handmade flowers and play along!! You will find a lot of inspiration here by looking at the other DT examples. :)

Thanks for popping by! Take care!

Crayfish party

I can finally share this awesome news with you – I have been asked to join the design team for Allt om Scrap!!! I feel SO honored!!! Allt om Scrap is a Swedish Web Magazine with a very high standard on both the articles and the designers! (The last magazine had more than 11.000 readers!) The latest number, which was published today is filled with inspiration! It’s written in Swedish but you can get just as inspired just by looking at the pictures! And it’s for free!!! Take a look it here!

I actually managed to squeeze in a layout. It’s a layout on the autumn theme.

I chose to scrap some photos from a ‘kräftskiva’ (a party where we eat crayfish, which is a tradition here in Sweden in august). On these parties it’s a tradition to wear a special kind of (silly) party hats, and of course the girls wanted to make their own.

I wanted the layout to be red, black and white. I have colored the background with PanPastel and spayed with some different Dylusions inks on templates. I filled some of the diamond shapes with a black pen and marked its contours with a white pen. I also used some modeling paste on a template to make some structured flowers. I marked their contours with a black pen. I finally splashed on some acrylic paint. The crayfish embellishments are bought in the grocery store and are the same as the girls used on their party hats. :)

Here’s some close ups:

Thanks for popping by!!! And a special thanks to you girls who wanted me on the team! Now, don’t forget to pop over to Allt om Scrap to read the free magazine!!!

Midsummer dance

These pictures were taken this summer when we were celebrating midsummer at DD’s kindergarten. The background is partly made by Prima (Firefly Delight) but I added some more paint and other stuff to it. ;) I first used some gesso, and then I continued with mist, modeling paste and acrylic paint. I also did some layering and some doodling.

The dots on the left are made by modeling paste and some punchinella. I messed it up a bit before it dried, sprayed some mist and splashed some acrylic paint on the top.

To make the sun I sprayed on the paper from a short distance and did some doodling. The “frame” on the big picture is just a drawn line.

And I have to show you the picture I used too – DD and DH are so adorable dancing together!

Thanks for looking! Have a nice week!

A creative gun

One period DD liked to play with guns. She didn’t have one so she used a stick or built one with Lego. One day she was with me in our scrapbooking/pottering room and she suddenly started to create a gun using different papers. Quite creative, I think. :)

I thought the Dash Dalton paper from October Afternoon was perfect for these pictures. I cut out two strips and doodled a frame around them. On the background paper I added some Dylusions Ink Spray using a couple of different techniques. I added some texture using modeling paste on a template and filled its contours with a black pen. The film strip is also done with a template using black gesso. I used a white gel-roll pen for its contours.

I love the jeans leaves! They are easy to make – I just doodled on a patterned paper and cut them out. I will definitely do it again!

A comment on the language for my Swedish readers: (Hon brukar kalla gevären för "skjutare" - därav texten till höger. Pistoler kallas för övrigt "pangare"...)

No challenge this time – just loads of fun! Hope you enjoyed looking! Have a nice weekend!!!

Taking a swim at grandma’s place

I have one more DT layout to share this month - The Craft Garden. The challenge is to be inspired by
W A T E R. This is my take:

On the background I worked with gesso on a template and Pan Pastel. I highlighted some circles with mist dripping down the page, a blue pen and Neo Color II. I also splashed on a lot of acrylic paint in different blue colors.

I found a metal anchor in my stash that fitted perfectly. Cute, ha?

Thanks for looking! I hope you are having a great weekend!!

Doodling at ARTastic

Anyone who likes to doodle? ARTastic continues to present AWESOME challenges and this month it’s all about geometric patterns which could mean some doodling!!! I was so inspired when I saw the inspiration painting, and it was actually the reason I tried zen doodling. This was my first layout using that technique but as it’s a CT layout I haven’t been able to show it until now. Here it is:

Inspiration picture: The prophetic calamity by Shannon Crees (a graffiti artist). The criteria are "black background and solid use of geometric patterns". Jane also writes that "this could be the perfect time to try some doodling".

I was inspired by the sea theme and the colors in the painting. I wanted my doodling to look both as sea plants and waves. The doodling is done with a white gel pen and for the colored parts I used NeoColor II.

Some close-ups:

(There is a fun/cute story I want to tell you too. Do you see the pom poms? I got them as a present from DD on Mother’s Day. It is part of her “scrapbooking stuff” and I thought it was just something she picked without a thought. So I put it back in her stash when she didn’t see it. But she noticed that at once and gave them back to me. And since then she has been asking me every day if I’m not going to use them on a layout... (Mother's Day is in May in Sweden...) So I had to do that! =0 And now I did. :))

So now I want to see you all DOODLE over at ARTastic!!! Thanks for popping by!

Pony riding

This layout was made for a sketch challenge at Veckans Nya Skiss. I was very inspired by the sketch as it was different from what I’m usually doing – and that is always fun!

My original idea was to use a lot of traditional scrapbooking flowers (as for example Prima’s) but I thought it looked too cute so I doodled some flowers instead. They are colored with ProMarkers.

On the background I used Glimmer Mist flowing down the page. To reinforce the green at the top of the page I used both Pan Pastel and acrylic paint. I also splashed some acrylic paint. This is the result:

And here’s a close up:

 Thanks for looking! Have a nice weekend!!

Our favorite place to go

It’s a new month which means new challenges! Kraft It Up! has a color challenge this month – with a color scheme that’s quite different from what I normally use. That’s true for one more of my DT/CT- layouts this month as The Craft Garden wants you to create in blue. (I will show that one here soon.) So it has been a lot of fun for me!

Here’s my take on the Kraft It Up! challenge:

My parents in law have a cottage that we can use when we want to and we all love to go there. There are so many beautiful places in the surroundings and of course I have a lot of pictures that I want to save for the future. So what should I do? A multi photo layout? No, I created an envelope and put four more pictures in there! In this way they will be a bit like a secret…

The envelope is made from scratch and I have used Distress ink, stamp embellishments and some stamps to make it look old and used.

The mushrooms and grass are stamped on Kraft paper and colored with a white gel pen.

The background is decorated with ink on a template, acrylic paint added with different techniques, and some butterfly stamps. The frame is doodled on a patterned paper and cut out.

I hope you want to join in on the challenge! To create on kraft paper is always fun as it makes the colors more visible! If you want some more inspiration you can go here. The CT girls are also linked up in the side bar to the right.

Thanks for looking!!! Have a nice weekend!

Exactly like daddy

This layout is made with my August kit from my kit switch with Zima. At the first glimpse of the kit I thought it was quite dark and “shabby chic like”. But then I saw the red border and I saw that the kit was brilliant. The combination of the drab colors and the vibrant red is awesome, I think. The dark pink frame is made using the back side of one of the papers.

On the background I used gesso on a template, Pan Pastels and some acrylic paint. The small red dots/flowers are made of the leftovers from the borders and some doodling.

When writing this post I am on a conference in a Swedish castle. Both the castle, the view over the sea and the weather are marvelous and I just had to show a picture of “my new home”.

Finally a reminder to those of you who haven’t joined the challenge I’m hosting at ARTastic this month. There’s still some time left to get your fingers dirty with different mediums and have some fun!!! Take a look at it here.

Thanks for looking! I really enjoy reading all your lovely comments! Thanks!!

So fun together

This layout is made for Punky Sraps Challenge 50. The picture used as an inspiration piece is totally gorgeous! Or what do you think? This is my take on the challenge:

On the background I did some doodling with a little help from a template. I also splashed on some black acrylic paint. Here are some close ups:

Thanks for looking!

Not a real princess

When I showed this layout to my husband he almost sounded a bit offended and said that she IS a real princess. I had the feeling that he didn’t like the layout… On the layout I tell the story that DD is not a girl who likes to dress like a princess or to hear fairytales about princesses. I’m not that kind of a girl either, but when I found this dress that some ladies made for a Red Cross store I persuade her to buy it. She only wore it once and then she didn't want to. That’s the story behind the title on the page. To match the story I went for kind of a punky look on the layout!

The layout is made for a challenge at Scraplagret where you are supposed to use a lot of stamps and to use something you have cut out.

I used 3 kinds of stamps (5 stamps altogether). This close up shows one stamp colored with ProMarkers that I got from Zima in a kit swatch (gorgeous isn't it?), and two Tim Holtz stamps. The fairy stamp and the flowers are all cut out as required.

The last picture shows two fairy stamps from Prima and one of the Tim Holtz stamps.

I have tried a new technique on the background, blending different colors. What do you think of it?

I wish you a wonderful week full of creative moments! Don't forget to join in at the mixed media challenge that I'm hosting at ARTastic this month! You have until August 31 to finish it up!

In eye contact with a Watussi

I have some wonderful news to share today! I’m on The Craft Gardens design team!!! I guess that some of you don’t know of The Craft Garden as I haven’t seen you playing along. But let me tell you why I applied. This is a challenge site where you can interpret the challenge using any form of craft that you want! It can be layouts, cards or something you alter – but it can also be something you knit, croquet, jewelry or whatever you want to create! So inspiring! So now I just hope that I will have time to do something more than layouts for the challenges!

I will also share a layout that I did for The Craft Gardens August challenge today. I just happened to finish it yesterday – the same day that I got the message that I was on the team! I recently found out about zen doodling and I wanted to try to do some kind of a colorful version of it. Zen doodling is its own kind of craft but I thought it would be fun to use the technique on a layout. Here’s the result:

The challenge picture shows some Indian elephants decorated with paint. (The challenge picture is totally AWESOME and you can have a look at it here.) I didn’t have any picture of elephants to use but I wanted to use this cool picture of DD in eye contact with an African Watussi. As a result of that I wanted to include both Indian and African patterns in the zen doodling. I also wanted you to be able to see both a Watussi with its horns and tail, an elephant’s trunk and plants… Can you? I show you some close ups:

If you’re interested in knowing how I did it I just draw the contours by hand with a pencil. When using a pencil you are free to try some different ideas before you start drawing with a pen. After filling the contours with a pen it’s time to start filling the “boxes” with different patterns. This is the relaxing part – and the reason it’s called zen doodling, I guess. Finally I colored it all with Neocolor II.

Thanks for looking!!! I hope you want to pop over and have a look at The Craft Garden if you’re not familiar with it! Have a nice weekend!