April 2023 - CKC Challenge #1 - Celebrate all the things!

 Over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge you can find out all about our latest challenge set my MF Misty!

She was inspired by the birthday theme of the original kit and asked us 

to make a celebratory layout.

I haven't been feeling creative recently and have struggled to find the time or the motivation to really get scrapping so I gave myself a talking to and headed off to my weekly crop with my summer "Easygoing" kit in hand.

I decided just to go with the flow and see where the creative process took me without considering what layout I was really making. Just happy, sunny papers and techniques/design that make me happy.

I love the tag sheets that Simple Stories seem to have in every collection these days and started the whole process by cutting those up into individual tags and deciding that there were 5 really lovely ones I would like to use on my layout. Next up was a full sheet of floral clusters that I spent a happy half hour fussy-cutting up - I didn't keep any of the background, just cut out all the flowers!

So, I knew that I wanted to use tags and some flowers and now I headed into my tried and trusted design techniques!

The obligatory distressed, overlapping paper strips top and bottom of the page with a banner of tags along the middle where I intended to fit photos and journalling if possible.

I had the basic set up of my page within a few mins and then I tied those tags together which took me forever with the bows at the end! After that, it was just a matter of tucking in some fussy-cut flowers into the bottom paper strips. At this point, I was happy with my progress and decided it would be a celebration of friendship layout. 

We (my scrappy friends and I) have celebrated National Scrapabilly Day (the LSS run by our fearless leader Sylvia!) the last two summers and so, the summer photos and the theme of friendship and celebrations all came together. I knew all of this but the layout sat there waiting for a finish up for more than two weeks!

Today was that day and of course, the final touches of the photos, the journalling and some enamel dots took a very short time - why do I ALWAYS procrastinate so much?!? 

Overall, I'm very happy with how this all came together and turned out! 

Friends are always worth celebrating!

You can find out more about what the rest of the team created for this challenge over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog and of course, in the CKC FB community here and over on IG here.

We'd love it if you created your very own celebratory layout and shared it with us - see you over there 😉

Misty's 2000 subscriber celebration hop!

 Wow! 

It's a very long time since I was part of a hop that was not linked to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge directly. And this one is a tiny bit linked as the ever so delightful Misty is a talented Design Team member. 

But we are not here to promote CKC but rather to CELEBRATE the fact that Misty has reached the heady number of over 2,000 subscribers over on her rather gorgeous YouTube channel. In fact, since she reached out to organise her celebratory hop, she has now reached the 3k mark so GO MISTY!

You are going to want to HEAD OVER to Misty's YouTube channel to check out her hop video !!HERE!! because there are GIVEAWAYS that you are going to want to enter!!!!

The theme of the challenge today was to create a layout using one or more of the following: 

• General celebration prompt
• Use a Crafty Soup free cut file  / https://craftysoup.com/free-cut-files/
• Use a Crafty Soup free sketch / https://craftysoup.com/sketch-freebies/

I decided to go with celebration combined with a wonderful two-photo sketch from her free sketches (here).

And because I am all into the little extraordinary snippets of life, I decided to celebrate the weekend!

(Of course, I used a CKC kit from last October - "Ivory" which you can find out about here)

I adjusted the sketch a little to fit my own style and needs -- something I love to do and which makes a general sketch very much a Lisa-layout! The Christmas decorations were replaced by frames which went along with the Crate Paper patterned papers but other than that, I stayed relatively close to the overall design of the sketch and love the result! 

Head on over to Misty's blog, YouTube channel and freebie resources and get going today!

Here is the full hop and I promise you that you won't want to miss a single stop so make sure you visit everyone on the list and say hi! There is going to be a VAST amount of inspiration today so sop it all up and then get going with your own layout!

• YouTubers
• Nikki @NikkisScrapbookingAdventures:
• https://www.youtube.com/@nikkisscrapbookingadventures
• Alice Boll @ScrapHappy:
• https://www.youtube.com/@ScrapHappy
• Alison Day @LadnerVillageCraftCo5709:
• https://www.youtube.com/@ladnervillagecraftco5709
• Scrappy Kathy @ScrappyKathy:
• https://www.youtube.com/@scrappykathy
• Sara Scraps @SaraScraps:
• https://www.youtube.com/@SaraScraps
• Laurie @CookScrapCraft:
• https://youtu.be/5nEZMMQlPnY
• Create with Alison @CreateWithAlison:
• https://www.youtube.com/@createwithalison
• Tara @thepapersnob:
• https://youtu.be/oO1oc45SQpo
• Anna @PieceCraftLove:
• https://www.youtube.com/@PieceCraftLove
• Janet Fritz @GalaxyGirlCreations:
• https://youtu.be/4cBCM4dhr3o
• Other Socials
• Lisa (CKC):
• https://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/
• Cindy (CKC):
• https://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com/
• Tina (CKC):
• https://www.instagram.com/tinamcmmvr/
• https://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com/
• Leslie (CKC):
• https://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/lcsmithsaved/

There's a whole lot of celebrating going on....

.... over at Whimsical Musings.

Why not come over and join us as we celebrate our 100th challenge prompt all week long.

You'll find 6 daily prompts, Guest Designers and there might even be a giveaway to be won :-)

See you there

And more kit makes...

.... to share with you.

I've always said that my target for kits are 6 layouts with enough scraps left over for a few cards. The August Scrapabilly kit has produced 7 layouts so far and I have loads of scraps left. I'm really happy with the results and needed to tear myself away from the scraps to move onto other papers and commitments.

If you saw yesterday's post, you'll remember that I did admit to adding some extras in to the kit items which I don't normally do, but The Pier is just such a wonderful collection of products, there was just too much temptation.

You can see all the Pier items in the Scrapabilly shop here and specifically, these are the items I added:

Find it in the shop here

Find it in the shop here

Find it in the shop here

Find it in the shop here

Now, here are the remaining four layouts to share with you from this gorgeous kit. And there are a lot of gorgeous kiddies featured here which seemed only fitting. I can't WAIT till I see these three next week 
:-)

**Lisa doing a happy dance over here**

LO#4 I "stole" this photo of my über-gorgeous niece from my sister's Instagram feed - he he! I haven't got any recent photos and there is a limit to how many times I can use pictures from two or three years ago when I just want to say how wonderful she is (and her brother and sister of course!) I'm sure my sister will forgive me and I intend to catch up on taking some new ones when they visit later this week - yipeee

The pinwheels are adorable and perfect for lazy people like me who just want to stick and go

I just adore all the soft summer colours of the collection

I used a paintbrush to "paint" the page with my favourite mist (at the moment) - my SC gold (here). I love the brushed effect and it gives a wonderful shimmer 

LO#5 The fairground map paper seemed too good to cut up so I used it as a background which is unusual for me. These carousel photos of me with my two adorable nieces seemed the perfect mix

LO#6 Obviously I was on a roll with the nieces and nephew photos and I've been wanting to scrap this story of the curly tongues for some time. They taunt me with their curling abilities and find it hilarious that I can't ;-) I used a whole load of product on here and also added in some of the Crate Paper 12x12 washi tape paper. I like the fact that you have a whole lot of choice as sometimes the washi tape rolls seem to go on forever (ie too long!)

LO#7 I wanted to try to change up the products and make a very different colour for my layout by carefully choosing the items from the kit. I love this softer green/blue look to this and was pleased to get this look.

Thanks for stopping by and let me take this opportunity to give you a heads up for something you will NOT want to miss.

Please make sure you stop by my challenge blog Whimsical Musings on Monday (19th August) for a whole week of fun to celebrate our 100th prompt. There will be lots of inspiration, some familiar faces joining me as GDs and there might even be a prize (or two) up for grabs.

Hope to see you there!

Come and celebrate

Are you going to celebrate a special occasion for the latest Counterfeit Kit Challenge? A birthday perhaps? Or an anniversary? Or maybe Easter, Christmas or New Year?

Now I love making pages like that but this time around I just decided to celebrate something small in my life.

My Beach-house kit is still making me very very happy! I love the (admittedly only) three layouts I've made from it so far and I'm looking forward to having a bit more time to really get going with it - whenever that is!

So, have you decided what you're celebrating this time around? Don't forget to share over at the Counterfeit blog.

Counterfeiting and catching up

This post was originally scheduled to post automatically but Blogger seems to be having a teenage hissy fit and nothing is posting. Anyway, anyone else having this problem? 




You might think I've been a bit quiet on the scrapbooking front recently and that my Counterfeit kits have been sorely neglected. Not so! There's been a whole lot of scrapping going on behind the scenes that I hope to be able to share with you soon.

In the meantime, I'd like to show you two layouts I created for Whimsical Musings but haven't shared here yet.

The first layout features last month's Counterfeit kit, Soothe and is the 6th layout I got from the kit. (Now up to #7) This was for the WM prompt about scrapping a relationship not yet recorded and is about my wonderful Philippine friend Alice. She was my best friend while I lived in Manila and we were both delighted to have the chance to meet up here in Germany when she took a detour over here during a European tour. It was so wonderful to see her and her husband again after 14 years and we took up right where we left off! There's quite a lot of symbolism here as I incorporated the colours of the Philippine flag (gold, white, blue and red) and there are also a few knots to represent our friendship. I created the main part of the layout and journaled before realising there was more I wanted to say, so I just created another 6x12 sheet for more words. Perfect.

And this is just a fun layout for the WM prompt I gave to be inspired by a few of my favourite Easter table photos, the photo on this layout being one of them.

I just decided to play with the wonderful colours I've put into this month's Blossom kit and make it cutesy and playful. This is layout #3 so far with at least three or four more in there I think.

More to share another day ;-)

It's the details that count

I'm guest blogging over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge again and today I'm talking about the details that make up Christmas or this time of year, depending on what and how you celebrate the season.

I also used this idea for Challenge #18 over at the Whimsical Musings blog and Pam has already posted her wonderful layout with several, until now, unrecorded details of Christmas - such a wonderful layout.

I'm hoping to get to mine later today.

For the CKC blog post I made one of my favourite layouts of recent months. All credit goes to October Afternoon as it's a pretty straight direct lift but I still adore the details and it was such fun to make.

Anyway:
Today I’d like to talk to you a little about scrapping all the small things that make up this time of year. And I’m not talking about the little scamps that many of you have running around getting hyper-excited at the thought of all those presents, though.

Yes, today I’m talking about non-kiddie scrapping! In fact, let’s try scrapping even without people.

Just a few of the things that I see right now that make me get into the jolly feeling are:

·       The arrival of the Toffee Nut Latte at Starbucks

  

·      The opening of the Christmas markets here in Germany

·      The Advent wreath and the lighting of the first candle

·      The tree (oh how I love my tree!)

·      Cookies, or rather Plätzen in German, preferably home baked if I have time

·      The food and drink that’s only available at the Christmas markets – Poffertjes and Glühwien

·      Sparkly fairy lights on the balcony

·      My sometimes un-traditional coloured decorations

  

I find that my Christmas scrapping mostly involves these details rather than the main events – the dinner, the presents and the people – because these are the things that add the sparkle to Christmas for me. I’m not going to forget the dinners we have or the members of my family but I might forget how excited I was when I tasted my first Toffee Nut Latte, or how beautiful my pink baubles were.

So this year, I decided it was time to record the first Poffertjes of the season. Never heard of them? Nor had I before my first Christmas Market. They are a Dutch speciality and are sort of tiny, mini, puffy pancakes that are served with butter and icing sugar. They are simply divine! You can read about them here. I was inspired by a layout from the October Afternoon blog featuring an over-laden banner and pretty much lifted it completely!

This layout makes me smile and is another piece in the puzzle of what makes Christmas for me. I had such fun using up all those bits and pieces on my layout - sprinkles of sequins, buttons, bling, labels and twine. It came together really quickly and makes me want to do the same over and over again!

What details are missing from your scrapbook pages? Try to identify one little thing that is part of Christmas for you and record it. No kids allowed!

If you do join in, make sure you let us know at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog and also over there at Whimsical Musings! It's never too late to join in and we love to see new faces and challenge creations!

Happy New Year's Eve!

Well, tomorrow will be the start of a new year and I have to admit to being happy to see the back of 2010. Not a good year overall. Close the door and say goodbye to all that and hope for better times in 2011.

There have been so many cool blog posts I read this week with reviews of the year that has been (current 4 list, top ten this and that lists, favourite blogs/pages/blog posts, Christmas in review etc) that I have loved reading and so wanted to do a few of my own but the time is now too tight and I just wanted a short post to finish off the year. So I will just post a few of my favourite decoration photos and call it a day! I will try harder in the new year and already have a three part entry lined up to post.

We had a very pink Christmas (yes, I have total control over the main decorations in our home and can dictate very girlie, pretty colours!!!).

I was thrilled with how my tree turned out - even if it's as dry as a bone and will no doubt be completely bald by the time I have de-decorated it!

We had a pink Advent wreath - stunning

And plenty of pretty, mostly pink touches around the living room.

I will be sad (but also so ready) to take everything down tomorrow and Sunday. Mostly I miss the twinkly lights everywhere...

And what about New Year ("Silvester" in German)?

We are off out tonight to celebrate the new year with family and I will be taking these little piggies with me.

Pigs are traditional for new year in Germany as a symbol of good luck (along with 4 leaf clover and chimney sweeps) and over the years I have received many collected many pink piggy cuddly toys! But it's very traditional to eat these little marzipan cuties to so I have bought one each for us (R will be delighted to get two as I am not a big marzipan fan) and I prettied them up with some labels that I downloaded here.

I will have a full basket of goodies with me as I have made two desserts: Crème Brûlée and Chocolate Mousse which have also been decorated with the cute tags. Christmas and New Year is not a time to count calories in the Hausmann household!!

And I have a whole pile of crackers which are always fun as my German family were not familiar with the British obsession with the crappy present, crappy joke and crappy paper hat filled packages of fun until they met me! And BTW, the crappier the present and joke, the better the cracker in my book!

So there you have it. 2010 is at an end and all that remains is for me to wish you all a very happy, fun celebration tonight and I wish you all the best for 2011!

As we say here in Germany, "Ein gutes Rutsch ins neue Jahre!" 
(literally: a good slide into the new year)