Kraft Plus Challenges - January 2021

There are so many elements of this month's Kraft Plus Challenge mood board that you can pick and choose from to inspire your challenge entry.

I love creating depth and texture with Kraft.  I did some sewing machine stitching on the page and stamped some large daisies and popping them up on the Kraft background.  The daisy stamp was from a Cocoa Daisy stamp I've had for years but never used. I found some Vicki Boutin elements that were just perfect for this page, and downloaded an appropriate font for my title which I then cut out on my Silhouette Cameo.  The "be brave" flair also tied in nicely with the theme.  

I hope you can join in this month, we would love to see how you interpret this month's Kraft challenge.

Happy Krafting

Rachel xx

Kraft Plus Challenges - Naturally Neon

 

Ponytails and Paper Fails

Ponytails and Paper Fails

This was one of those pages where, once I'd found the photo, the rest of it flowed very easily.  To do the weaving I placed some straight cut lines in a blank cut file and cut it out on my Silhouette Cameo, then did a second cut with longer lines to do the actual weaving with.  To give the "picnic basket" effect some more depth, I shaded along the cut edges with a Faber Castell gelato.

I was really happy to find some yellow paper with a pattern that mimicked the pattern on Miss K's T-shirt.  For the dark leaves, I cut out some leaves on the Silhouette Cameo on white paper, then used a Gelli Plate to paint them dark green.

The title was also cut on the Silhouette Cameo.  Can you tell how much I love this machine? :) 

Not anywhere near as much as I love this little one, she is the cool breeze in my life and such a character.

Check out Kraft Plus blog for more inspiration.

Happy Krafting

Rach xx

Beautiful - Paige Taylor Evans Sketch & Stitch

 

Last month I started this page by borrowing my mum's new silhouette cameo to sketch and cut a design by Paige Taylor Evans.  I've long admired Paige's work on Facebook. It didn't quite go to plan (you'll see the imperfections in the stitching), but in the spirit of all things arty I went with it. I used heavy watercolour paper and took inspiration from the photo for my colours.

I really enjoyed the stitching process which was mostly done at night in front of the tv.

I hope you like it.

Rachel xx

The Cat's Meow

 

I recently had the absolute pleasure to attend a private scrap retreat in my home town. In a complete twist of normal behaviour I was actually organised and got some sh*t done!

Ever since gifting myself a Gelli Plate for my birthday back in May, I have been itching to try this technique.  Basically I used my own photo, turned it to black and white, printed it on a laser printer and then used it to create my background. 

For this technique I recommend watching this video from Teresa Morgan.  And here are my own tips:

- Use a high contrast photo, change it to black and white, with very little grey areas.

- Print it using a laser printer but onto ordinary copy paper (not special laser printer paper). 

- If you don't have a laser printer contact your nearly copy place.

- This technique will not work with an inkjet printer.

- I used a fairly thin layer of paint for the first step, and I didn't press too hard.

- For the second layer of paint (where you lift the print) you can use more than one colour of paint.

- Have fun!

The acrylic shapes from Corbett Creations really finished this one off!

Rach xx

Scrap The Girls September 2020

I just love this month's Scrap The Girls challenge, but as much as I love the abstract watercolour thing I think I need more practice! Haha, but it was fun to put some paint down and make some marks.  My favourite marks are the watercolour squares which I used a stencil for. It was also good to use up some of my Cocoa Vanilla Studio embellishments.

The beauty of making your own background is that you can paint it to suit your photo perfectly.

Thanks again to Scrap the Girls for the inspo.

Rach xx

Scrap The Girls August 2020

 

I just couldn't resist this month's challenge from Scrap The Girls - it gave me leave to be unashamedly girly and romantic.  I didn't have any leaves, and instead of cutting them out, I used some thread instead.  It was nice to use up some supplies that I wouldn't ordinarily use (ie the flowers).

Kraft Plus Challenges - Orange, Teal & Copper

I must admit, I was completely stumped when it came time to do this page for Kraft +.  These rich deep colours just aren't my style.  Limitations do breed creativity however, and I made do with a few scraps of orange and teal paper.  I cut out some cogs in Kraft paper with my Silhouette cameo, and chose this awesome photo of my gorgeous nephew.  I had some fun trying to mix a 'copper' colour with acrylic paint to add some copper on the page, popped up the cogs with some foam, and finished off the page with a few pieces of ephemera.  

I rarely do boy-inspired pages but I was really happy with how this one turned out. Once again Kraft + has pushed me out of my comfort zone!

If you'd like to join in the fun please join us on our Facebook community, we'd love to see your take on this month's challenge.

Happy Krafting,

Rachel xx

More Than Words - July Challenge

 

Eighteen months ago we moved our kids away from the only home they have known, their friends and family.  It was a hard decision to make, but we wanted to take the opportunities that we had to broaden our horizons.  We still miss home terribly, but lucky for us we are not that far away that we often visit.

On the last day of school at their old school, the girls' classmates wrote farewell messages on their shirts.  It's a bit of a tradition so I knew ahead of time not to put them in their best shirts!

For something different I mounted each photo on a card and got the girls to each write down their memories from that day for some hidden journaling.  I don't often get them to do their own journaling on my pages, but I think I will do some more of it as a way to preserve some of their own memories.

I didn't have many red embellishments so I made my own butterfly by watercoloring on some card.

The background was done with watercolor, white acrylic paint and a circle stencil, and a black pen.  I then used a red Faber Castell Gelato to grunge up the edges.

Thanks to More Than Words for the inspo to scrap these photos.

Rachel xx

Kraft Plus Challenges - Shakespeare

Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou Romeo?? These are the words that immediately come to mind when I think "Shakespeare".  That, and Leonardo DiCaprio ... mmm but I'm getting sidetracked! Welcome to July and another Kraft + Challenge.  This month, yep you guessed it, Shakespeare!

Gain inspiration from this challenge any way you wish - either from a quote or line from Shakespeare, or from the graphics in our mood board. After looking through Google and Pinterest for inspirational quotes, I came across this one which really resonated with me.  Since I read 'Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy' many moons ago, I make a conscious effort to live an authentic life and be true to myself.  I also try to instill this belief in my children, letting them pursue what they are passionate about.  

However, I did have some trouble getting started on this page, so I grabbed some supplies and went from there.  The first thing I did was Mod-Podge a napkin onto my page (using only the top ply with the design on it).  The napkin was white but it came up semi-transparent once I wet it with the Mod Podge and it dried. [I learnt this technique some years ago from this talented lady].

Then I stamped out my title using Studio Calico Bookish Alpha stamps.  I decided on this photo (credit: Smarty Pants Photography) of my gorgeous niece, and paired it with some old Crate Paper Maggie Holmes ribbon tags.  I wanted more of them so I made two more from paper, modelling them on the ones I had.

Before gluing everything down I used a white gelato and then some watercolour to colour the leaves.  I just love the texture the napkin gave to the background.

I hope you join in the Challenge this month and have as much fun as I did.  Be sure to share you creation with us in the Kraft + Community.

Happy Krafting xx

Scrap The Girls June Challenge

I had a lovely free weekend yesterday and got some time to make this one (in between a family barbecue under the sunshine).  I used the sketch from this month's Scrap The Girls challenge and flipped it so it would suit these photos from when we first visited Pier 39 in San Francisco.  It was pretty cold but that didn't stop me and girls indulging in some ice cream.  

I decided to take inspiration from the pink triangles and popped a few off the page and out of the 'frame' as it were. My favourite part is the stitching, I don't often do zig zag stitching but I love how it looks.

Kraft Plus Challenges - Navy & Yellow

Everyone is frothing over the June mood board for Kraft Plus Challenges (can you tell I've been watching too much House Rules :) ? ).  I started my page by laying down some watercolour in 'bob' shapes, then stitching over it.  My title was cut from my Silhouette Cameo, and the journalling was done on a brown paper bag as my Kraft wouldn't fit through my typewriter.   It turned out to be a bit of a hodge-podge but I'm happy to have scrapped!  Please join in with us over on Facebook!

Happy Krafting xx

Kraft Plus Challenge - DIY Stamps

Ponytails & Paper Fails - Kraft Plus Challenge

OMG I had so much fun creating this page, I wish I took a photo of my daughter painting the bottom of my feet, neither of us could stop laughing!  I've pushed the boundaries of this month's inspiration from Kraft + of "DIY Stamps" and took it quite literally!  I've also made an effort to use up some old supplies, including this Heidi Swapp Foam Title.  Seriously, the options are limitless with this challenge so get experimenting and join in the fun at Kraft + :)

Happy Krafting xx

Rachel

Page 4 from Wilna Furstenberg's Berries & Butterflies Mini Class

Ponytails & Paper Fails

Kraft Plus Challenge - Inspired by the Seasons

Ponytails & Paper Fails - Kraft Plus Challenge January 2020

This month Kraft Plus is inspired by the seasons.  The Design Team have come up with some awesome inspiration.  Click here to check them out!

I used a cut file from Silhouette Studio (of a sun) to put my layout together cutting large and small designs with kraft and patterned paper.  I just love how the options are virtually limitless with cut files.  I have also used a Charms Creations embellishment with a cute little fun paperclip.  Photo Credit: Smarty Pants Photography.

Happy Krafting xx

Page 3 from Wilna Furstenberg's Berries & Butterflies Mini Class

Ponytails & Paper Fails

 Page 3 from Wilna Furstenberg's Berries & Butterflies Mini Class