scrappassion

FOLLOW the white RABBIT - EASTER BLOG HOP

 

Happy Easter and welcome to the Easter blog hop! Today is the day when we tumble down the rabbit's hole and hop after the White Rabbit. The rabbit hops from blog to blog, from country to country all around the cyber scrapbooking world!

Although the countries and styles vary and designers participating had a free choice what to create for the hop, the pieces of art have all something in common. If you're familiar with Alice in Wonderland, you might remember that the White Rabbit, which Alice followed and found the Wonderland, had a pocket watch. So in this hop the common theme is the time piece. You can find an interpretation or a way to incorporate a clock in every creation! Inspiring, right? 

So please hop along and remember to leave a comment at every stage! That way you ensure as many tickets for the raffle as possible. You'll have just a week to participate (to April 8th at noon GMT) for the giveaway put together from donations from 7 Dots Studio, BadgesFolie, Garn&Mehr, Stromsvigt and Wycinanka.

So enjoy the hop and find the inspiring Wonderland of scrapbooking!

 

Here are the hop stops:

Elena Sevrina

Ashli Oliver
Riikka Kovasin
Em Stafrace
Eila Sandberg
Jessica Lohof
Georgia Heald
Cuchy
Marsha Valk

Nathalie Kalbach
Els Brigé
Adrienne Ford
Helena Virpi (THAT'S ME!)

Evgenia Petzer
Minna Enqvist
Drycha
Christin Grønnslet

and here are the wonderful prizes you could win hopping along and leaving a comment on each blog.

 

Here is my page for the hop!

The layout is a gift to this lovely couple Iira and Alysson who tied the knot in October 10, 2011. Iira loves purple which is quite obvious looking at her wedding dress and she asked me to incorporate her favorite color onto the layout.

I created the background with gesso and doilies, added some light and darker purple paint through a chicken wire stencil, added more paint and ink, washi tape and film strip,stamped Tim Holtz' clock (required in the hop) and other random stamps. For the final touch I added some coordinating brads and stitched all around. 

Here are some closeups

 

 

 

Thank you a bunch for your visit and leaving a comment. Good luck with the hopping!

 

 

I BELIEVE IN KISSING...

KISSING A LOT! I do, and that's the title of my layout for ScrapFriends     Sketch challenge #11

 

Here's the sketch

 

And here's my take on the challenge

Loved the sketch and loved working on it. Used gesso and stitching and layers of paper and washi tape and paint splashes and had loads of fun.

 

close ups

 

 

 

DREAMER

The case file #61 is ready for investigation at CSI!

EVIDENCE

I used rub-ons, buttons, pleating (book paper, very hard to detect) and string

JOURNALING

Used the inspiration word "dream" in my journaling which is a quote by Harriet Tubman

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strenght, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

Here's my layout

     

LOVED the color palette even though it's a little bit more muted than I usually prefer. And absolutely loved working on this page. I used a photo of Valentina which I took last Sunday.

As usual I used different mixed media to achieve texture and dimension such as gesso, book pages, modeling paste with stencils, mists, flipping onto the background some ink and watered down acrylic paints, crazy stitching and stamping. I added rub-ons,  buttons, chipboard, staples and twine to achieve even more dimension.      

                                                                                            

                                                                                            close ups                                                                                                                                                                                                 

twine and stitching

modeling paste with stencils, flicking of paint and ink

buttons, staples, paint drops, stitching

modeling paste - less than on the upper RH corner

more twine and pleated book paper

TFL!!

LOVE STORY

Valentine's Day is getting near... and also our wedding anniversary which is the 13th of February. Last year Franco and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary and had a big party.

I decided to partecipate with my layout Love Story to ILS = I lowe scrap 's Colors of the Month - February challenge.

Here's the color palette

And this is my interpretation

Loved working on this and used a lot of mixed media as usual to create layers and texture: gesso, mists, Distress inks and stencils,stamping, overlays, rub ons, diecuts, book paper, washi tapes and stitching.

Here are some close ups

 

I used one of Em Stafrace's page drafts from the Christmas release, the #17.5

 

TFL!

STILL THE ONE

Case file #57 is open for investigation at CSI.

 

 EVIDENCE

I used hearts, vines and die cuts

 

TESTIMONY

I wrote a verse of Shania Twain's song on the back of my layout. It has the inspiration word "love" in it.

"You are still the one I run to

the one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

you're still the one I love

the only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss goodnight"

 

Yep, he's still The One after 31 years :)

Absolutely loved the color scheme! As always I used different media to create layers: gesso, stamping, misting, rub-ons, washi tape, stitching and stickers. I also used my new butterfly punch :) Love those tiny butterflies.

 closeups

TFL!

 

LOVE ME A YUMMY RECIPE

CSI case file #48 is open for investigation!

I scrapped a photo of artichokes which I  absolutely LOVE!

I participate with this layout also to Sketchbook365 December challenge where the challenge is to use the following sketch

 

 

 

EVIDENCE

something transparent (I punched out different sizes of circles out of acetate and stitched them onto the background I also smeared some paint on the borders of the circles), plain brads

 TESTIMONY

                          Document something kitchen related... food, and write your journaling as a recipe.   I wrote a recipe as my journaling (slight difference)                                    

 

A fresh Roman artichoke is a wonderful thing. The first ones to hit the stands - the cimaroli - are big and fat. They are the ones that grow from the main stalk of the artichoke plant, in early spring, pointing straight up. Not only are they incredibly fragrant and large, they are also amazingly tender, and have practically no choke or tough inner leaves. They are also quite expensive.

I love carciofi alla romana (artichokes Roman style) : cleaned, trimmed, seasoned liberally with mint and parsley, and then steamed.

I wrote the recipe on the back of my layout.

1. Fill a big bowl with cold water and squeeze a half lemon in.  Keep the other half handy. Artichokes oxidize quickly, so you have to rub all cut surfaces with a lemon to prevent this.

2. Break off the tough, outer leaves of the artichoke, until you get down to the leaves which are tender. They are usually yellow on the bottom third, and pale violet at the top. When you break off the leaves, do your best to leave on as much of the root of the leaf as possible.

3. Once you have taken off the tough outer leaves, use a small knife and gently trim away the bright green parts from the stem. Turn the artichoke on its side, and cut off the top third (the pointy end of the artichoke). Make sure your knife is really sharp. Immediately rub the cut part with lemon, and put in acidulated water. 

4. Take a bunch of parsley and a bunch of mint and 4-5 cloves of garlic. Chop finely and add 1/2 tsp of salt and about a 1/4 tsp of freshly ground pepper. (not exact measures)

5. Lift an artichoke out of the water and  hold it with one hand, and carefully loosen the leaves, being careful not to break any off. Take a bit of the herb mixture and force it in between the leaves, and into the center of the artichoke. Keep doing this, until the artichoke is well seasoned. You want to use about 2 teaspoons of mixture per artichoke. Repeat for all the artichokes. 

6. Choose a pot where the artichokes will fit very snugly, and place them, one against the other, with the tops (where the pointy end was) down. (on the photo I had cut the artichokes in halves and cooked them side by side) If the stalks of the artichokes are big and thick, you can use those (trimmed of the tough outer part) to keep the artichokes from tipping over. In any case don't throw the stalks away but use them. They are yummy too. Otherwise, you can use pieces of potato. Pour in enough water to come up about an inch, but be careful not to pour the water directly onto the artichokes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle abundantly with olive oil. Place the lid on the pot and bring to a low simmer. Cook until done, probably about 30-40 minutes. Keep checking, to make sure water hasn’t boiled away.

7. Let cool. Best served at room temperature. Buon appetito!

 

some closeups

 

 

VUOROIN VIERAISSA - BLOG TAKEOVER

Check out Emmo's blog where I'm a guest today.

When Emmo from Finland contacted me and asked me to contribute to  Vuoroin Vieraissa  (Blog Takeover) on her blog I jumped at the chance. I'm Finnish and I was really proud to appear as a guest on a Finnish scrapbooking blog. That was also the first time when I wrote about scrapbooking in Finnish. 

Vuoroin Vieraissa is a series on different scrapbooking styles . Contributing guests illustrate their style and there's a challenge connected to each visitor's post and her style of scrapbooking.

 

  

Kun Minna pyysi minut vieraakseen tänne, jouduin oikein miettimään, mikä on minun skräppäystyylini. Sille tuskin löytyy mitään yhtä nimeä, vaan sitä voi parhaiten kuvata sillä, mitä käytän useimmissa leiskoissani eli mixed media -tuotteita, tyhjää tilaa ja ompelukonetta. Rakennan myös 90 prosenttia sivuistani yhden valokuvan ympärille.

When Minna asked me to be her guest here, I had to think really hard what my scrapping style is. I came to a conclusion that there is not one definition for it, but I guess my signature style is best described with what I use creating my layouts which is mixed media, white space and my sewing machine. And probably 90 % of my pages are single photo layouts.

 

Mixed media -tuotteita on valtavasti. Minä käytän niistä useimmiten gessoa, akryylimaaleja, suihkeita ja mistejä, musteita, modeling ja structure -pastoja, gel mediumia, découpage-liimaa, alkoholimusteita, vesivärjeä, tusseja ja värikyniä. Välineinä käytän sekä ostettuja että “kotitekoisia” sabluunoita ja maskeja, suteja ja pensseleitä ja usein vanhoja luottokortteja, kuplamuovia, kakkupapereita, kirjan sivuja ja kaikkea mahdollista, jolla saa erilaista pintaa ja tekstuuria.

There are tons of mixed media products on the market. I use most often gesso, acrylic paints, sprays and mists, inks, modeling and structure pastes, gel medium, Mod Podge, alcohol inks, water colors, pigment and artist pens and wax pastels (Neo Color). I also use homemade templates and masks as well as those bought at a store. Brushes, palette knives and old credit cards are good for spreading gesso and paints, and I use bubble wrap, doilies, book pages and whatever I can find to create depth and texture on my pages.

 

Tyhjä tila (white space) ei välttämättä ole kirjaimellisesti tyhjä. Se on tila, joka keventää sivua, ja ohjaa katsojan huomion olennaiseen sisältöön eli useimmiten kuvaan. Muistan, kuinka skräppäysharrastukseni alkuvaiheissa minun oli vaikea jättää tyhjää tilaa. Yritin kaikin tavoin täyttää sen, minkä tuloksena sivuistani tuli usein raskaita ja vaikeasti hahmotettavia.

White space is not literally white and not necessarily empty space. It's a space which gives breathing space and directs the eye to what is important on the page which on a scrapbooking page is usually the photo. I remember when I started scrapbooking that I had a hard time leaving white space on my pages which therefore resulted in heavy and cluttered layouts.

 

Ompelukonetta käytän jokaisessa leiskassani. Mitä vinommat ja hullummat ompeleet sitä iloisempi olen! Käytän ompelua myös elementtien kiinnittämiseen. Suihkeet, gesso ja maalit tekevät usein paperista hyvin painavan ja ompelen yleensä leiskani kiinni toiseen paperiin. Käytän tähän sellaista kuviopaperia, joka ei miellytä minua tai josta olen kasvanut ulos. Itse asiassa käytän erittäin vähän kuviopaperia sellaisenaan, vaan peitän sen gessolla, maalilla ja suihkeilla. Joskus ompelen myös käsin.

I use my sewing machine on every layout. The more crooked and crazy the stitching the happier I am! I also use the sewing machine to stitch the elements to the page. The paper gets really heavy with the use of mists, gesso and paints and to avoid the warping I stitch my layout onto another patterned paper. Usually it's a paper I don't like anymore. Actually I use vary rarely any patterned paper as such but cover it with gesso, paints and mists. Sometimes I also hand stitch on my layouts.

Tyylini on kokenut monia muutoksia. Aloitin hyvin yksinkertaisella ja puhtaalla tyylillä, jossa kaikki värit sopivat aina hyvin toisiinsa. Sen jälkeen siirryin erittäin monimutkaiseen ja sanoisinko ylirikkaaseen tyyliin, jota hallitsivat kuviopaperikerrokset, revityt reunat, distressaus ja leimaaminen, mutta en pitkään aikaan ollut tyytyväinen sivuihini. Olin vakuuttunut, että oli olemassa jokin tietty “oikea tapa” skräpätä ja turhauduin, koska en hallinnut sitä. Minua vaivasi myös kauhea tarve säilyttää muistoja ja sisällyttää joka ikiseen sivuun tärkeä teksti, mitä moni kansainvälisessäkin skräp-maailmassa korostaa. Itselleen kasvattaa helposti paineita siitä, mitä muut tekevät ja pitävät tärkeänä. Toki tekstillä on paikkansa skräppäämisessä, mutta se ei ole minulle itsetarkoitus. Teen usein leiskoja, joissa ei ole tekstiä ollenkaan, sitä on hyvin vähän tai se ei ole näkyvillä.

My scrapbooking has gone through various phases from clean and simple but very much color coordinated to overly rich and elaborate which included layering, tearing, distressing and inking but for a long time I wasn't happy with my pages. I was convinced that there was a certain way, ”the right way” to scrapbook and I was frustrated because I wasn't achieving that. I was also haunted by the urge to preserve memories and to always include meaningful journaling which is very common amongst many international scrapbookers. It's easy to get sucked into concepts that are important to other people. Of course journaling has its place in scrapbooking, but for me it's not the purpose of scrapbooking. I often create pages with no or very little journaling or where it's not visible.

 

 

Käytän inspiraationa aina jotain haastetta, joka useimmiten perustuu värimaailmaan tai luonnokseen, vaikka en aina välttämättä osallistu ko. haasteeseen sen jälkeen, kun sivuni on valmis. Tällä hetkellä olen kahden blogin Design Teamissä. Color, Stories, Inspiration ( lyhennettynä CSI) -haasteet perustuvat värimaailman ja muiden vaatimusten täyttämiseen kun taas OUAS (Once Upon A ...Sketch) antaa aiheen ja luonnoksen, joita saa tulkita melko vapaasti. Molemmille teksti eli journaling on hyvin tärkeä osa sivua.

For inspiration I always use challenges which are based either on a color palette or a sketch even though I do not necessarily participate in the challenges after completing my page. I´m presently on two Design Teams. The Color, Stories, Inspiration  (CSI ) challenges have always a color palette and other requirements whereas the OUAS (Once Upon a...Sketch) challenges are based on a theme and a sketch which can be interpreted quite freely.

OUAS-haasteissa aloitan aina valokuvasta, joka sopii teemaan. Heinäkuun teemana oli “ystävyys” ja luonnoksena tämä.

For OUAS challenges I always start with a photo that fits the theme. July's theme was “Friendship” , here is the sketch and my interpretation.

 

CSI-haasteissa valitsen väripalettiin sopivan valokuvan. Sen jälkeen etsin sopivan paperin ja päätän valokuvan paikan, jonka jälkeen pohjustan paperin gessolla, maaleilla, suihkeilla ja leimaamalla. Käytän aika vähän koristuksia, useimmiten washi-teippiä, joskus nauhoja ja pitsiä, muista töistä jääneitä paperi- ja kartonkisuikaleita, pieniä metalliesineitä, helmiä, nappeja ja vaatteiden hintalappuja. Pyrin myös käyttämään jokaisessa leiskassani joitain varastossani olevia skräp-tuotteita, joita on vuosien varrella tullut hankittua. Pohjustuksen jälkeen lisään kuvan ja koristukset, jonka jälkeen siirryn ompelukoneen ääreen. Viimeisenä roiskautan vedellä jatkettua maalia, vesiväriä tai mustetta ja siinä se.

For the CSI challenges I always start with the photo that fits the color palette. Then I choose the background paper and decide the placement of the photo. I work on the background with different media. I don't use many embellishments, mainly washi tape, sometimes ribbon and lace, left over paper strips, small metal trinkets, pearls, buttons and clothing labels. I'm determined to use some old product from my stash on each layout. After building textures I add the photo and the other elemenst. Then it's time for my sewing machine and at last I flick some watered down paint, watercolors or ink onto the layout and voilà.

Tässä on esimerkki CSI-haasteesta nr 23. Here is the CSI challenge nr 23

Ja minun tulkintani. My interpretation. 

 

Pari vuotta sitten löysin mixed median, mikä oli suuri käännekohta skräppäämisessäni. Erilaisten tekniikoiden ja yrityksen ja erehdyksen kautta olen oppinut ilmaisemaan itseäni vapaammin. Pääsin myös eroon harhakuvasta, jonka mukaan on vain yksi oikea tapa skräpätä. Olen vihdoin löytänyt tyylini (vaikken tiedä sille nimeä!) ja olen tyytyväinen leiskoihini. Ne eivät suinkaan ole täydellisiä, mutta ne ovat minulle tyypillisiä ja kuvaavat minua.

Two years ago I discovered mixed media and through various techniques and through much trial and error I have learned to express myself more freely and finally let go of the misconception that there's a ”right way” to scrapbook. I have found my style (even though there's no name for it!) and I'm pleased with my pages. They are not perfect but they are ”me”.

Haluan toki säilyttää muistoja ja pidän ajatuksesta, että lapseni arvostavat jonain päivänä leiskojani ja niiden sisältöä, mutta skräppään itselleni ja itseni takia: se on terapeuttista, minusta on kiva leikkiä väreillä, muodoilla ja materiaaleilla ja joskus skräppään kuvan ihan ilman syytä tai ihan “siksi vaan”. Liiat rajoitukset ja määräykset tappavat ilon ja spontaanisuuden.

I do like to preserve memories and I like to think that my kids will appreciate my pages and their content one day, but I really scrapbook for myself: it's therapeutic, I love to play with colors and textures and sometimes I scrap a photo just because. Too many rules kill the joy and spontaneity.

please join in on the challenge (at the end of the blog post) which runs through Dec 15.

 

 

OUAS NOVEMBER CHALLENGE - TEAM B REVEAL

Today is the Team B reveal time at Once Upon A ...Sketch.  Check it out here.

 

Theme: Anything Goes..

Yep! You read right.. No theme this month. You are free to create a layout based on whatever theme you like.  You can journal as little or as much as you like, but your layout must include SOME journalling AND the sketch below. 

 

Please make sure that we see some sort of journalling on your layouts and please tell us where your journalling is . Hidden journalling is perfectly fine.

 

Here is my interpretation

I scrapped a photo of Andrea when he was at the hospital for a minor operation in 2006. His attitude was the best. Right before the operation he had his earphones on and he was jamming away. Note the lil teddybear beside him. Andrea asked the bear to be anesthetized with him and the doctors played the part ;)

CSI and Once Upon a Sketch united

For the month of September CSI and OUAS have teamed up.

The weekly challenges are combined. They have to include the CSI evidence and testimony AND the OUAS Sketch (by Nadia Cannizzo) for each week.

These are this week's color scheme and the sketch

EVIDENCE - CHOOSE AT LEAST TWO ELEMENTS:

• mesh (inspired by the net)
• Use letters as embellishments
• leaves
• misting
• fibers (inspired by her hair)
• tone on tone
• elements that float across the page
• include curved, organic shapes in your design (inspired by the rocks)

TESTIMONY - CHOOSE AT LEAST ONE ELEMENT:

• Write your journaling in the form of a letter (inspired by the letters).
• Write an acrostic using the letters of a person's name or the subject of your layout.
• Use some of the letters in the inspiration image to generate words that describe your topic.
• Scatter your journaling across your page.
• Write your journaling in speech bubbles.
• Inspiration Words: catch, [on] top, float -- use these as inspiration for your journaling, not just as a title

 

 Here is my take on the challenge

I absolutely fell in love with the colors. The photo is of Valentina. I loved to work on the background and incorporating the photo into the background.

My evidence include misting, tone on tone and leaves (stamped around the flowers). I also used mesh but decided to take it off later on since I didn't like the effect.

I  scattered  my journaling across the page.

"We are gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light."

"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart."

"There comes a moment when you realize that virtually anything is possible."

 

Here are some closeups

Layers of mixed media techniques: decoupaging book papers and strips of patterned papers, gesso, stenciled dots with Adirondack's Dabber (copper), misting, applying acrylic paint with a brush (black and gold), adding tiny silver pearls to wet gesso, stitching

 

Some of the flowers are fussycut, smeared with gesso and misted, some are fabric flowers which I painted and misted. I added different flower centers and also coppery pearls here and there.

 

Traces of gesso, stamping and flicking watered down black paint

 

gesso, stamping, tiny silver pearls, doily. Here is where I had put the mesh, you can see the pattern it left onto the gesso, but later decided to take off.

TCR #125

 

Loooooved this week's color palette #125 at TCR.

 

Rich, warm colors which made me think of family/love.

 

So I decided to scrap a photo from Andrea's christening back in 1998.

The background is full of mixed media techniques: decoupaging ripped patterned papers which almost get covered entirely by the following layers of gesso, acrylic paint, misting, stamping and stitching. 

 

Here are some close ups

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for looking and leaving your kind comments.