Moon Faces − ATCs for Scrap Africa Sketch 74

It's a new month and a new sketch challenge at Scrap Africa! I made a dreamy set of ATCs with a focus on these lovely vintage bottlecap images, or round inchies as they are also called. I think they are also moon faces, so that's how I named the set.



This is our sketch at Scrap Africa - you're most welcome to pop in and see what the other DT members did, and even better if you join yourself!



This month, we also have some very exciting news for all friends of Scrap Africa challenge. As of this month, the challenges will run for an entire month, so you will have lots of time to play along and prepare your entries. Double the time and double the fun!



I was also inspired by the space themed On the Milky Way challenge at ART-Bazarchik.



The background is made with stamping, mists and layered strips of leftover papers.



The Photo Faces collage sheet was bought from an Etsy shop called TinTeddy and it has altogether 48 different faces. I think I'll be using these a lot! I'm lucky to have a round inchie punch just the size, and I gave them a polished finishing with Glossy Accents glue.


1 (available for trade) and 2 (I'll keep this one that's gone scarfaced with the bubbles!)
Edit: These are all traded now, but I have other ideas for using these faces, so there will be more ATCs soon!


3 and 4 (both available) Edit: traded.

Thanks for taking a look and happy weekend everyone!

Easter − Layout for Scrap Africa Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone, and happy April! The sketch at the new Scrap Africa Challenge inspired me to scrap a photo of our Easter decorations.



Here's the lovely sketch by Scrap Africa owner Denise van Deventer.



I am also joining the challenge at Scrapcraft.ru themed Wood and Decorative Tape.

I used wood in the embellishments − firstly, the heart that was silver coloured in the beginning but I sanded it to let the woodgrain show a bit more and inked the sides to suit my colour palette.



The bird I glued on the photo is also of wood veneer.



I'm not sure if it counts for the wood theme, but the challenge also inspired me to use birch bark! You can see it as a strip on the right side of the photo and in the die cut flower on the left side of the photo.













Here below is the photo I used in the layout so you can see it from a bit closer!

In Finland, willow twigs with decorations are a typical Easter thing to do. Feathers and flowers made of colourful tissue papers are the traditional ways to decorate the twigs, but I was using washi tape and eggs covered with foam clay. Those were super easy and fun to do with kids, by the way. Even pretty young ones, like our 2-year-old, was fine doing it with just a little help!



Thank you for looking in and Happy Springtime to each and everyone who's reading this!

Vintage Style Layout for Scrap Africa Mood Board No. 69

Hi there! It's time to wish you warmly welcome to the Scrap Africa Challenge again. This time we have an atmospheric vintagey mood board that could inspire an old times page, a travel page, or anything you feel up to creating!



You have until February 29th to join!



I used this sketch from Memuaris for my layout.



I am also joining the following challenges:

The Craft Stamper Take a Technique Challenge: Text me! The prompt was to use text or script background stamps or text paper in the projects. I stamped with an old fashioned script stamp through a cross shaped stencil. I also used the same stencil to cut shapes from two papers, one with the same script stamp and another where I had previously put gold paint through a weekday stencil.



For the C'est Magnifique Mixed Media Technique Challenge, I was to add texture to the background in three different ways. I used gesso, mists, and the cross stencil in the two ways I mentioned already. I don't know if this counts as background, but I also painted crackle texture onto one of the papers that I used for matting my photo.



At the Retro Kraft Shop Challenge, it was Anything Goes this month, as long as it is with a visible hint of the old-fashioned.



You're welcome to combine the Scrap Africa Challenges with as many other challenges as you like! Just make sure that you do not combine similar challenges together, i.e. mood board with another mood board or sketch with another sketch.



The top and bottom layers of the tag are re-used kraft tags from bought clothes, and even the twine was already there. I stamped the script on the top one and embossed it to bring in a pop of white, and added the middle layer from an old Basic Grey paper with a stained glass mosaic pattern. Onto the bottom one I glued a scrap piece of a previously made ATC background, also with some text stamping!







Thank you so much for your visit, and I wish you a very nice weekend!

Hello Sunshine: Layout for Scrap Africa DT - Sketch Challenge #64

Hi everyone! I can hardly believe it's time to say Happy December already. I've been busy with the workshops I've been happy to teach here in my home town Espoo, Finland, and apologize for the long blog break!

Today is also the time for the new challenge at Scrap Africa, and it's a Sketch Challenge with hexagons, a shape I'm really drawn to but still had a bit of a hard time placing this time! I felt like making a sunny layout to cheer up the darkest time of the year.



Here's what the sketch looks like.



I was also inspired by the tic-tac-toe themed challenge at Challenge YOUrself! You can join until December 4th.



I chose Sunshine, Bling and Doily for my tic-tac-toe row.



The three things that represent sunshine in my layout are the colourful gelli printed paper, the pencil pattern like rays of sunshine that I drew with a Dutch Doobadoo stencil, and last but not least the sunshine themed photo!



I'm really quite into using sequins in my layouts right now! I just tried it for the first time a month or two ago as I'd never realized how easy they are to attach with a neatly drying glue like Glossy Accents. I had two small bags of them, golden and an assortment of blues and greens, from long ago when I did more textile arts. Now I bought my first ones specifically for scrapping, these almost clear ones that still seem to have a shade of pale pink or gold in a certain light. I'm really happy with how they worked out! Other bling I used are Stickles and Liquid Pearls glues.







Thanks for your visit and welcome to check out the Scrap Africa challenge to see what the other DT members did & more importantly, take part in it, you too!



You can join until December 14th and the random giveaway prize is this collection "You're Invited" by Bo Bunny!



I hope to see you again soon!

First Peony: Layout for Scrap Africa DT

Hi there! Here in Finland, this is the time of the year when we are welcoming the crisp cold mornings, scent of apples and first falling leaves. At Scrap Africa, however, we have a mood board that still reminds of summer. A perfect time to scrap your favourite garden or nature photos from this season, or anything this mood board inspires you to make, of course!



I planted my first peonies in 2012 at our summer cottage, and they have bloomed very scantily so far. From what I've heard, peonies are not difficult to grow per se, but they do demand some patience from the gardener. They can take many years to grow large enough roots to be able to bloom fully. So I'm not worried yet, even though just three of my five plants have bloomed at all and only with one flower each!



This is what the mood board looks like:



I'm also joining the following challenges with my layout:

Memuaris: Sketch Challenge #21



Scrapki-Wycwaniowo: Autumn Love



Crafty Life Challenges: Anything Goes and



We Love 2 Create: Challenge #21, Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes



In Finland, our school year starts early, mid-August or even a few days before. So now it's already time for a short autumn break, and we'll get to spend a long weekend at our cottage again. I love it in the fall season, too, and can't wait to see what it looks like!



Thank you for your visit and have a nice week!

Wonderful Things: Layout for Scrap Africa DT

Hi! It's sketch challenge time again at Scrap Africa, and here's the layout I created.



I love this sketch, with the photos and embellishments clustered in opposite corners.



Finding photos that are suitable to be cut into circles is a fun challenge. There has to be enough empty space on each side of your focal image, so that your focus fits in the center. Don't worry, it's absolutely not expected that you should take the sketches so literally - photos in all shapes are fine!

But I'm enjoying my experiments with photos in different shapes at the moment, whether they be circles, squares or completely something else. I don't think I ever tried cropping triangular photos, but maybe I should!



I was also inspired by the 7 Dots Studio September/October Challenge: Frames. I thought of many different ways to frame the photos, from layering papers to ribbon and microbeads. In the end, I also added heat embossed chipboard corners to frame the whole layout, kind of.





For my layout, I used two patterned papers from the 9th Wave collection from 7 Dots Studio, and alpha stickers from two sets in the All I Ever line.



Do pop in at the Scrap Africa blog and see the gorgeous pieces the DT members and Guest Designers did - and participate in the challenge yourself, of course!



Thanks for your visit and have a nice week!