Scrap FX Blog Hop - FAIL!

Hi all,
Firstly, I must apologise for my lack of absence in the Scrap FX Blog Hop!
Unfortunately I became ill on Wednesday afternoon and spent a couple of days in hospital so missed the start of the Hop :(
The girls have all gone ahead as planned though and by now I hope you've been hopping around their blogs to check out the amazing techniques and projects they have created.

If not...here is a list of the girls blogs...simply click on the name to take you to their blog.
1. Michelle Logan 
2. Bellaidea
3. Kristine  
4. Michelle H
5. Misty
6. Rachelle
7. Scarlett
8. Scrap FX blog

Please be sure to read through the instructions carefully as there is a fabulous Scrap FX prize for those that play along.

Now I want to share what I made for the Scrap FX Blog Hop.
Lately I've been doing a lot of furniture restoration and upcycling of old, vintage findings.
A while back I found this old clock...I've wanted one of these FOREVER!
So I thought what better technique can I do for the hop than sharing an upcycled project using Scrap FX chipboard!

I got this old clock very cheap I thought I'd have a play and turn it into something pretty to sit on our fireplace mantelpiece.
Here's what I started with:

It cost me all of $5-.
To be honest it had me stumped for a while as I wanted to keep the original wood and shape.
So...I simply started by painting it white and once that was dry I gave it quite a heavy sanding to reveal that lovely old wood underneath.

I also wanted to retain the metal circle housing the numbers so I took the original hands off and measured the circle. I then adhered vintage music sheet paper to the centre and layered it with a vintage doily, some die cuts, some gorgeous FWAB pearl flourishes and some pretty flowers. Instead of replacing the original hands I painted and inked the awesome Scrap FX Steampunk Corner Hands that I added white brads too...to continue the metal look.

Once I was happy with the focal point; the face of the clock, I concentrated on either side. I created a cluster of embellishments similar to the face on the left side of the clock, again using die cuts, pearls, flowers and chipboard. In this cluster I've used the elegant Woman Cameo and a bird from the Birdies pack.


I wanted my clock to have a 'family' theme as this is what I already had on my mantelpiece so I came up with a bit of a play on words. I used the beautiful Family stencil layered with another bird from the Birdie pack and the word Time.

 

I just adore the way this old, vintage clock has turned out. It's exactly what I had in mind. Even more, I love the fact that I could showcase some of my favourite Scrap FX chipboard pieces on it.

Sometimes you really need to think outside the box when decorating and upcycling for the home. Who knew you could turn such a plain, boring, vintage clock into a gorgeous Shabby Chic time piece?

Next time you're considering restoring or upcycling a project...why not consider using your scrapbooking supplies on something you never thought you could. I'm sure you'll love it just as much as I love my clock.

Although my blog post is not 'officially' counted in the Scrap FX Blog Hop this time around, I'd love for you to leave a comment just to let me know you stopped by.

I'll have my own little Scrap FX prize for one lucky commenter.

You have till Tuesday midnight, EST.

Thanks for hopping by,

Sharryn 

xx

Instant Love

Hi all,
I have a layout to share today that is very special to me.
These photos were taken by my son just after my grandson was born.
My first cuddle, my first kiss.
Words cannot express how proud I was and how I instantly fell in love with this tiny little baby boy.

I wanted a fresh but boyish colour scheme to scrap these flowers to represent him being a brand new newborn. The lime green, turquoise and splashes of brown were perfect for teaming with white for the soft, fresh look I was after.

I used Gesso and white ink on all my Scrap FX chipboard pieces and distressed the patterned papers and white cardstock background for added texture. I also used a scallop punch on the leftover white cardstock to tuck under the distressed cardstock border. I love this look.

Check out this awesome Scrap FX light bulb that I've layered over my title...isn't it just gorgeous?

Want to see more? Simply head over to the Scrap FX blog. Be sure to check out the 2013 Design Team call while you're there!

Chat soon,
Sharryn

New month...new challenge

Hey guys,
There's a new challenge for February over at FWAB!
Make sure you enter to be eligible to win this gorgeous FWAB prize pack :

This month's challenge is to scrap a Back to School layout BUT you have homework to include on your page! You must at least include a date or year on your layout!

Head over to the FWAB blog to check out the DT's fabulous inspirational projects!
Your layout needs to be uploaded into the FWAB gallery by February 28th to be in the running for the fabbo prize!

Here's my latest layout I've created using the gorgeous FWAB Elise flourish:

Sharryn xx

New month means a new challenge...

Hi all,
December is here! It's finally crept up on us...the silly season is almost upon us.
Of course with the beginning of a new month it's the beginning of a new challenge!
I'm hosting the FWAB December challenge this month and knowing you'd all be busy I kept it sweet and simple.

Simply scrap a layout in non-traditional Christmas colours and of course add some gorgeous FWAB bling to your page and upload it to our gallery before Midnight December 31st for your chance to win this awesome prize!

I chose to use red, white and blue for my DT sample:

What colours will you use?
Head on over to the FWAB blog to check out the other girls DT inspirational samples and get scrapping today!

Sharryn
xx

Shabby Chic...with some gorgeous bling!

Want to learn this awesome technique...Shabby Chic chipboard...with a bling?

Simply head on over to the Flourish With A Bling blog to read my tutorial.
Here's my finished layout:

While you're there...check out the projects the other DT girls have been up to....some serious eye candy happening over there at the moment!
Sharryn xx

Flourish with a sketch :)

Hi all,
Just wanted to tell you about the awesome November challenge over at Flourish With A Bling this month. It's a really cool sketch hosted by the very talented Suzette Edmond.

You'll find the sketch and some awesome DT inspiration here on the FWAB blog. As usual there's a gorgeous FWAB prize pack up for grabs:

So all you have to do is scrap a page or card using the sketch and upload it to the FWAB gallery by Midnight 30th of November.

This is my interpretation of the sketch with a photo of my unruly lot:

I used banners instead of strips, changed the oval shape to a circle and added the fabulous black Jessie metallic flourish.

So get scrapping this months challenge. Gotta be in it to win it ;P
Sharryn xx

Been There Won That

Good morning all!
Melbourne Cup day here today the race that stops the Nation.
Do you usually do something for Melbourne Cup?
It's the only day of the year I have a flutter on the horses.

Speaking of winning...last months theme from Scrap FX was Sport along with Xmas chipboard.
As you know it's sport, sport and more sport in this house so it was a perfect theme for me.

Jye's cricket team had made the Grand Final almost every year but unfortunately that trophy was always elusive. Until last year...the last year of the boys Junior cricket! They finally won that Grand Final trophy and what a sweet win it was.
Quite a few of these boys had played Representative cricket together since Under 10's and to see them win a Grand Final was just awesome!

This is the page I scrapped about the win. I really miss these boys.

 

How cute are the stumps, bat and ball? Love it!

This soccer season, Jack changed clubs and from the very start fit into the new team perfectly. With a great coach and a fabulous bunch of boys who played 110% each and every week, they too made it to the Grand Final. They got to play the game at Wests Stadium (home of the Wests Tigers...boooooooo LOL). It was an awesome experience for the boys to play there and in a truly nail biting game, they won their Grand Final also.

Again, Scrap FX had the perfect chipboard embellishments and title to use on my layout:

Love that title...BEEN THERE WON THAT :)

I can't believe it's only something like 6-7 weeks until Xmas! Where did this year go?
When I realised we were getting so close I thought I'd better make a start on my cards so with this beautiful Scrap FX Wreath and Holly Leaves as a focal point I created this card.

Doesn't those gorgeous FWAB pearls and flourishes just set this card of wonderfully? I'll definitely be using a lot of those on my cards this year :)

Well that's it for me today...
I hope if you do have a flutter on the gee gee's you come away with a pocket full of cash...perfect for new scrapping supplies. Xmas is just around that corner ;P

Until next time...stay safe
Sharryn xx

Shower and a Share

Well hello there friends,
It's been such a while since I've posted any layouts or news apart from the monthly Blog Hops I've been playing along with (they are so fun and if you'd like to play along with us leave me a comment).

As usual I've been totally, ridiculously busy. I had an amazing September/October with photo shoot bookings...just as much as I could handle. Christenings EVERY weekend...it was crazy! Family shoots, school holiday sessions, sunrise maternity shoot (and that particular bub is on her way right now as we speak...can't wait to meet her).

Speaking of babies...we had Sharina's baby shower early October and it was just awesome! Her sister organised it and I did the decorations. We'd decided on a nautical theme and it turned out brilliant! Michael made me a Candy Buffet display stand which really looked good on the day. Sharina's mother had her whole backyard landscaped right before the day and it looked AH.MAZ.ING. So beautiful with candles burning and the cosiest little corner to sit in. Bubs was ridiculously spoilt with gifts and we got to see him through a mobile 4D Ultrasound. Pretty sure he was waving hello at us :)

Unfortunately due to being so busy lately I haven't had much time to scrap but I've managed to whip up a few pages.
We got ourselves some chickens recently (OMG I love them so much!!) Last months Scrap FX release was all about animals so of course I scrapped a page about our new Feathered Friends.

Check out this awesome chipboard feather...so much you can do with it.

I also did this layout with the animal range. This is a photo of Rhiannon and her very spoilt dog, Teddy. (LOVE this photo!)

This little chipboard doggy is so cute:)

 

This page I did for Flourish With A Bling. Again a photo of Rhiannon:

 

I used the stunning Chloe pearl flourish in pink on this page...one of my favourite FWAB products.

 Well that's it for me for today. Back to editing photos.

Take Care and chat soon,

Sharryn xx

FWAB monthly challenge - WINTER

Hey all,
How are coping with this winter chill?
Brrrrr...it's freezing here!

What better way to spend these cold wintery days than inside scrapping?
This month over at FWAB the very talented Sonia Thomason has set the monthly challenge which is to create a project using WINTER based photo(s) that put a smile on your face.

This photo certainly puts a smile on my face and was taken on a chilly Winters day. It's a photo of Josh and Sharina when she was around 20 weeks pregnant.

I've use the stunning Chloe pearl flourish in olive green and the beautiful Jack vine in green that I've cut to size for this page and simply embellished with rolled flowers and tiny paper butterflies.

So head over to the FWAB blog to check out Sonia's gorgeous layout and also some more inspiration layouts from the talented FWAB DT girls. Enter the challenge, which is to be uploaded into the FWAB gallery by midnight 31st August for your chance to win a fabulous wintery pack of FWAB goodies!

Happy scrapping and good luck,
Sharryn
xx

Some challenge layouts

Wow another blog post and it's been what...2 days? LOL
I wanted to upload these two pages though that I've done for a couple of challenge blogs.
I haven't been able to get around to scrapping for challenge blogs in the last few months due to being so busy and these two just seemed to come together quickly.

First of all this is the layout I've done for July's Scrap the Girls challenge which is to use:

BLACK, WHITE AND ONE OTHER COLOUR

I've been having an absolute ball with the new Scrap FX plastic stencil templates and also using  chipboard and silhouettes for templates together along with mists, tissue papers, Washi tape and Gesso. I just LOVE the result it's giving.
Here's a detail shot of the effects you can create using this awesome technique:

So soft and subtle and unique each and every time.

Here's my layout. It's a photo I took of Renee in a shoot we did on the night of her Year 12 Formal. Just beautiful.

This next page I did for this month's White With 1 July challenge which was to use:

WHITE, POLKA DOTS AND TAPE

I used a similar technique as the layout above for this one however this time I framed my photo with lots of different Washi tapes. I used the gorgeous large Iris Flower stencil for the background template and clustered my photo and embellishments in the centre of this.

This one also includes lots of little embellishments and details such as cute resins and flowers:

And of course some Scrap FX chipboard and FWAB pearl flourishes to finish off the layout perfectly.

And this is my finished entry. The photo I took of my gorgeous girl Rhiannon in my studio one day when we were playing around with a new lens. 

 Until next time,

Stay safe

Sharryn xx

Flourish For the Boys

Hey hey friends,
Hope you're enjoying the weekend do far. Late Saturday afternoon here at the moment and the chill is once again settling in.
I so wish I could get the knack of lighting this fire...it just won't work for me. Sometimes, but very rarely, I can get it going beautifully but more often than not I'm left to wait till Michael gets home. Oh well...at least it's good scrapping weather :)

I've managed to get a few layouts done this week. This one I did for FWAB using the cool Outdoor Range embellishments. Have you checked these out yet? So cute :)

For this page about two of my sons acting all crazy at the beach I simply couldn't go past these gorgeous Nicky's Beach Huts.How cute do they look tucked in amongst all that torn patterned paper?

 Along with the sun, that I added a fabric covered button too, and cloud from the Up In The Sky pack, I had the perfect embellishments for a beach themed layout:

With a bit of tearing, distressing and inking I now have a great page to remind me of the day out with these two crazy boys:

This layout I created whilst on Retreat recently using the stunning FWAB Jasmine Puffy Flourish in orange. I love these flourishes for their versatility. I simply cut off bits from the flourish and added them where I wanted too and kept the remainder to use on another project. How's that for value?

Don't forget to enter this month's FWAB Colour Challenge for your chance to win your own amazing FWAB products! 

Have a 'FWABBO' Sunday....
Sharryn
xx

Catch up and a share

Hi all,
One more sleep and I'm off on a Retreat with some dear scrapping friends. This one isn't too far away from home but far enough for a break. It's a fun, budget Retreat with great accommodation and lots of laughs and I just can't wait.

Lots of things happening and happened on the home front. As you know we moved but prior to that we had a few things I haven't shared yet.

Mr Jedd decided to get his car Learners license (he already has his motorbike license) so back to the RTA we went for his test. With all these boys and their license tests this year I feel like I spend more time at the RTA than I do at home!
The test was aced and he got his L's first go! Now to get his 120 hours of driving up.

With 4 teenage sons in the house, Michael and I will do a total of 480 hours of teaching them to drive, which doesn't include the hours of teaching Josh and Rhiannon. I think it's safe to say we'd both be qualified driving instructors by the time we're finished.

As you know we spend a lot of time during the cricket season out and about with Jye. This year was his last ever Junior cricket season (Under 16's) and we were so happy that the team FINALLY won the Premiership. Some of these guys have been playing together in one team or another since Under 10's so it was amazing that they shared this win together. So proud of them all and wish them all the best in their Senior cricket careers.

We also have some very exciting news to share....Josh and his fiancee Sharina are going to be parents! Which means Michael and I are going to be GRANDPARENTS!! *squeal*
To say we are over the moon is an understatement...we are so, so excited!
We held a little High Tea for them to announce their big news to the rest of the kids and family which was heaps of fun. I got out all the vintage plates and cups and made cup cakes, sandwiches and more cakes and all the pretty lace tablecloths. It was lovely...

Sharina is due on the 28th of November which means she is now 17 weeks. I managed to snap a photo of them when they were here on the weekend...

Doesn't she look beautiful? They will be the best parents ever...this bubba doesn't know how lucky it will be.

Speaking of babies, a very good friend of mine just became a first time grandmother herself just 2 days ago. Her daughter was born exactly 1 year and 1 day before Joshua so it's really exciting that we will be first time grandmothers in the same year. Marissa had a little girl, Laylah and she is just adorable.
I wanted to make her something as a keepsake from us so settled on a set using the adorable Graphic 45 Little Darlings Collection.
First of all I made a canvas for her to hang on the wall. Lots of fussy cutting and foam tape on this to give added dimension and of course some stunning Flourish With A Bling pearl flourishes added the final touch.

I'd already bought her a pretty smelling candle to put in her parcel so I decided to pretty that up with some more Flourish With A Bling pearls.

And while I had the papers and embellishments out, I made her a card to match:

So now I have a pretty, matching set to present when I visit her next week to do bubs photo shoot.
Head on over to the Flourish With A Bling blog for more detail shots of these projects and to find out which particular embellishments were used.
Also, don't forget to enter this months Flourish With A Bling sketch challenge...which you'll find on the blog or on my side bar. There are some great prizes up for grabs! PLUS you can check out the awesome projects the rest of the DT have been creating!

That's it from me...I'm off to start packing for Retreat.
Have an awesome weekend and stay safe,
S
xx

Settling in

Hi all,
Long time no chat!
FINALLY we have the Internet connected and are just starting to settle in to the new house.
The move went well but the house is another story being only half built/renovated when we moved in! LOL

The story is...the house was built in the 1800's and the new owner completely restored the tin roof, front verandah and the front garden was a mess until he got into it.
Also, there was a room that was part of the original stables and a storage room in the house. The little stable was to be my craft room however it was just too unsafe to fix up. So...he built me a BRAND NEW room!! And a decking and put in an ensuite for our bedroom!!

He only had 3 weeks to do all this and the rain stuffed him around badly but he did a fabulous job in the 3 weeks. We did, however, have to put up with a few dramas on first moving in, like no electricity LOL (That was fixed up that afternoon though) and so we continue to unpack and work out where things will go and work around the building, painting and renos still to be finished.
 It will be so worth it though...this is one beautiful old home and I just LOVE it so much.

So this is my scrapping room being built. It's all done now but still has crap everywhere and I'm yet to hang curtains etc:

 This is the ensuite...the shower screen is now installed and we're waiting on the toilet and basin to go in.

 This was the backyard for the first week or so....and only one side of it! The other side was just as bad and so was the front yard for the first few days. Just all the mess from the tuna eating builders. OMG I have never, ever seen more tuna cans than I did around this yard when we moved in! More tuna than the John West cannery!!

 I did manage to have a bit of fun during this time though...when the builder came back with his bobcat to remove the garbage from the yard I jumped in for a turn in the bobcat and couldn't get my fat stomach out ;P

All in all it's been an eye opening 3 weeks and I can honestly say I'd be hopeless living on The Block.
Just can't wait till it's all finished and we're all unpacked.
In saying that we are all loving it.

Seeing as my scrap room was finished and I've been unpacking it little by little, I just had to have a break and a play when my awesome Flourish With A Bling DT kit turned up. It was like being a kid in a candy shop....bling as far as the eye could see.
So I took a bit of a break and scrapped my first DT layout.
Photos of a good friends little girl I took on a Teddy Bears picnic vintage themed photo shoot.

Well that's it for me tonight...I have a roast dinner cooking, the fireplace is burning and everyone is warm and cosy. Bliss.

Until next time...stay safe (and warm...brrr)
Sharryn
xx