Ingeborg's Blog

Long time no scrapping ...

2011-12-02T19:56:00.003+01:00

Wow ... it has been so long since I last scrapped and even longer since I updated this blog! But ... I have been scrapping a bit here and there in the last few months. I have just not shown much on my blog. Here is a page which was published in a magazine a few weeks ago. I was asked to scrap two pages using only purple which was a huge challenge for me. This is the article in the magazine and below you'll find the layouts and some detailed pictures:

x Ingeborg.

A see-through wall hanger ...

2011-07-27T09:17:00.003+02:00

I made this wall hanger quite some time ago for a workshop I was going to teach at the scheduled Pink Ribbon Event in October 2011. Since the event has been cancelled, I thought I'd show you the pictures now:

I made it using a few transparencies and lovely papers from Cosmo Cricket. Thanks for looking!

One of my layouts has been published in a book :-) ...

2011-07-11T09:36:00.007+02:00

It has been more than a year since I mailed my layout to the US, but last week I finally received my original layout back with a copy of the book 'The big book of scrapbook pages'. You can buy your own copy HERE. My layout can be found on page 169:

This is the original layout:
Here are the instructions on how I made this layout (double click on the picture to see it larger):
Siebe and Emma think it is pretty cool they are featured in this book :-) ....

Happy birthday Rick & Tom !

2011-06-16T08:48:00.003+02:00

Today is the 16th of June, 2011; the day my two 'baby boys' a.k.a. Rick Dijkstra and Tom Dijkstra will turn 12 years old. Wow, where has the time gone? Boys, I love you two more than you know. Love, mum.

Two of my layouts and my sketch have been published ...

2011-06-12T07:01:00.001+02:00

This week I received a copy of a Scrapbook Magazine from the UK with two of my layouts and my sketch in it. It was my first ever paid scrapbooking job and I can tell you it is wonderful to see your own work in print and to get paid for it too. This is the page of the magazine:

This is the sketch I made. The editor of the magazine has simplified the sketch a bit as you can see on the page above.

This is a layout I made based on the original sketch:

This is a layout I made after I turned the sketch:

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ingeborg.

Scrappassion Challenge + Tutorial

2011-06-01T00:01:00.000+02:00

As you might have noticed we haven't received many entries for Scrappassion last month. It seems that the interest to participate in the Scrappassion blogs isn't there anymore. Combine the lack of interest with some personal things Ria - the founder of the blogs - is dealing with and we can only come to one conclusion: Scrappassion will end on June 30, 2011.

Like Ria, I would like to thank the Design Team, the Guest Designers and the wonderful ladies that have participated in the last six months for your commitment to the blog (click HERE to go to the International Blog and CLICK HERE to go to the Dutch blog). We do have a final challenge for this month:

Take the advertisement shown below as inspiration for your layout.

You can choose to be inspired by certain colours, the design with the 8 rectangles, shapes like the swirls and butterflies, pictures of angels, coke bottles, whatever really. You can also choose to get inspiration of one of the eight pictures, the words (like Love, Play etc.) This challenge really has no limits!

Once you have made your layout, please send an email to Ria before the 30th of June.

This is the layout that I made. I based it on the colours of the first and third picture. I also used these pictures to look at the design and used lots of swirls.

This month I wanted to create a so called 'hybrid layout', which is a layout with combined traditional (paper) and digital scrapbooking elements. The digital elements are 'freebies' I downloaded in 2008 (yes, three years ago)! They are designed by 'The Ettes' and you can find their blog HERE.

Since I just cannot use Photoshop well, I decided to go back to my all time favourite : Microsoft Publisher. I first added a picture of Emma and placed that in the middle of my document. I added a title across the photo. I used shadow to make the letters stand out more. I added some swirls. I 'picked'some colours from the swirls and changed my font colours to make it match. Then I printed the whole sheet, which looked like this:

I carefully cut around the swirls and letters to make it look like this:

I printed another sheet with swirls, which I wanted to use to further embellish my layout:

Here is a picture of what the printed and cut swirls look like:

Using dark green cardstock as a background, I added two shades of orange and some white to create a colourful page:
I adhered the photo and swirls:

Using three different punches, I punched butterflies and flowers:

I added my punched shapes to my layout, added some more pearls and done!

New month = new challenge at Scrappassion

2011-05-01T06:55:00.001+02:00

It is May 1st and therefore we have a new challenge for you! This month we have chosen a challenge where you need to get your sowing gear out of the cupboard. The challenge for Scrappassion Internationa l in May is to ...

create a layout using at least one handmade
embellishment based on the tutorial below.

Obviously you can substitute the felt for other fabric too, but felt is just so easy to work with! Please click on the picture to see it larger ...

Here are the instructions on how to make these flowers:

Cut a circle out of felt. Mark the middle and three spots.
Stitch from the middle to the three marked dots and gather the felt. Make a knot each time you gather the felt to secure it.
Cut a pentagon. I didn't measure it exactly; I just randomly cut a shape with five sides. Mark the middle and five dots ( a dot in the middle of each side).
Stitch from the middle of your shape to each dot again.
Stitch on each side and gather.
Put the two shapes together.
Finish of with a button. Done!

This is the layout I made for this month:
Happy scrapping girls! Click HERE to participate in this challenge if you're from the Netherlands or Belgium. Click HERE if you are from any other country ;-) ...

New challenge at Scrappassion!

2011-04-01T06:39:00.000+02:00

It is April 1! This means there is a new challenge at Scrappassion. We have had only 6 international participants last month, so we hope to see more this month.

Click HERE if you are from the Netherlands or Belgium and please click HERE if you are from another country.

What is the challenge for April?

Make a mini album with AT LEAST 5 pages !!
Send your submission to Ria before April 30th, 2011.
Please make sure you make a collage of the pictures of your album [this is the only way for your submission to be posted, it is too much work for Ria to make all the collages herself]
make sure you have put in your name and family name in the name of your picture file when you sent your collage.

This is the mini album I made:

A magazine article about my layouts and me ...

2011-03-12T13:19:00.000+01:00

Click on the pictures to see them large enough to read ;-) ...

This morning I received a copy of a scrapbooking magazine from the UK which has an article about a few of my layouts and some information about me in it. Kind of cool to see your own work in print, hey?

New month = new challenge at Scrappassion!

2011-03-01T06:46:00.000+01:00

This month's challenge at Scrappassion is to make a layout in monochromatic colours with at least four pictures on it! Since my favourite colour is pink, I decided to go for all shorts of shades of pink!

Click HERE to see the layout that the ladies of the Scrappassion Challenge Blog International have made to inspire you!

If you are from the Netherlands or Belgium, please click HERE to see the layouts of our Dutch-speaking Design Team of the Scrappassion Challenge Blog! We'd love to see many gorgeous entries this month! Happy scrapping!

And since we're talking pink, let me remind you of the Pink Ribbon Event we are organizing on October 2, 2011! Click HERE (sorry Dutch-speaking ladies only) to read all about it; we'd love you to join us! What could be better than scrapping whilst raising money for a great cause?

Ingeborg x.

One sketch = a layout and a card

2011-02-19T06:39:00.000+01:00

I created the sketch above after I made the layout below:

I figured I could use the sketch to create a card too and this is the card I made using the same sketch (and the same collection of papers):

Have a good weekend!

Ingeborg x

B-Dash from Imaginisce ... so colourful!

2011-02-05T09:47:00.001+01:00

It has been way too long since I showed you some of the things I have created for Scrap'n'Craft with T! I have made the 'jar in a gift' (Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix) and the two birthday cards below with the 'Birthday Bash Collection' from Imaginisce: I love the colourful papers and the many different patterns. I made two birthday cards with these papers, which can be used for boys, girls, men and women. So handy to have a few ready for when you need it!

Step-by-step instructions for the card with all the squares can be found HERE. Instructions for the card below can be found HERE. Last but not least ... instructions for the 'Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix in a jar' (including the recipe) can be found HERE ! Have a wonderful weekend!

The big news you have been waiting for ....

2011-02-01T02:31:00.000+01:00

Ria, who started the Scrappassion Challenge Blog a few years ago has always dreamed about organizing a big scrapbooking event. Last September the Design Team and Ria decided to organize a Pink Ribbon Event combined with scrapbooking. Since we are all women and most of us know at least one woman who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, we decided to do whatever we can to create more awareness and money for this special cause.

So ... all the Dutch and Belgian girls ... please get your diaries out and mark SUNDAY 2nd of OCTOBER, 2011. This is the day that we are organizing a big PINK RIBBON Event ! There will be workshops, a gorgeous accomodation, great lunch, a goodie bag, a Make & Take, shopping opportunities at two different scrapbooking shops and a raffle with massive prizes! All profits will go to Pink Ribbon.

Ria created a special blog about this event. Please click HERE to read more. Unfortunately this blog is in Dutch only, since we only expect Dutch-speaking ladies there. But ... if you are from another country and you would like to participate too, please feel free to email ME for more information! You would be most welcome!

And please, if you know of anyone who might be interested in going, please send her THIS LINK to get more information. We'd love to have many, many ladies there!

New month; new challenge at Scrappassion !

2011-02-01T00:21:00.000+01:00

The first month of 2011 is officially gone! Wow, am I the only one who just put the Christmas tree away ;-) ? Anyway ... a new month means a new challenge at Scrappassion.

Click HERE if you are from The Netherlands or Belgium to read all about the challenge in Dutch and to see the work of the Dutch Design Team. Please click HERE to go to the International Blog if you'd like to read it all in English. Since I have more international visitors the information on my blog will always be in English!

Last month the International Scrappassion Blog started and we were overwhelmed by the many gorgeous entries we received. This month's challenge will be:

ALTER A JAR [not a bottle, but a JAR!]

You can decide for yourself how you will decorate the jar. Maybe our International DT will inspire you with their work:

Elina:

Gwendolyn:

Hanneke:

Ingeborg:

Melissa:

Michelle:

Tina:

Ria:

So, what do you think about our 2nd challenge?? Inspirational or what???

Please send your submission before February 28th to RIA,
make sure you have one proper picture,
save your work with your first and family name,
and write in the subject of your email INTERNATIONAL,
please do not forget your blog adress.

We hope you all will play along again and we are looking forward to your gorgeous entries!! Good luck!! The winner will become a Guest Design Team member for April!

Dutch-speaking friends ... stay tuned ....

2011-01-14T07:19:00.001+01:00

Romy Schneider look-alike?

2011-01-07T07:14:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago I went to a so called 'glamour photo shoot'. The photographer said that I reminded him of the famous actress Romy Schneider. I'd heard that as a teenage girl, but I hadn't heard it again in the last twenty years. So why don't you judge for yourself? Do I remind you of Romy Schneider too? The two pictures in the middle are of Romy Schneider and the other three are 'me' ....

Awesome RAK on the Scrappassion International Blog!

2011-01-05T19:29:00.000+01:00

Since it is the first month that the Scrappassion International Challenge Blog is 'in the air' there is an awesome RAK to be won! Michelle -one of the Design Team Members - kindly offered to give this kit away!

Please note: this RAK is not for the Dutch-speaking followers of the Scrappassion International Blog, but only for the girls outside the Netherlands and Belgium. We are sorry about that, but we will have other incentives on the Dutch blog soon, not to mention the fact that we are giving away a monthly voucher of 15 Euros on the Dutch blog too!

So how can you win the Crate Paper kit pictured above? Well ... there's not just one, not two, but three chances for each person to win this!

First chance: All you have to do is become a follower on the blog and we will add your name to the drawing !!

Second chance: If you want your name added for a second time and a chance at the becoming a member of our Guest Design Team, join in on this month's challenge and have it mailed to Ria by January the 31st, 2011.

Third chance: if you promote the Scrappassion International Challenge Blog on your own blog (please leave a comment with a working link to your blog) your name will be added for the third time! How cool is that?

Please note: this RAK will end on January 31, 2011. The winner will be announced on February 1st or 2nd. Also, please note that you will have to become a follower of the Scrappassion International Challenge Blog and leave a comment HERE !

Happy New Year ... and a new challenge!

2011-01-01T09:29:00.000+01:00

A New Year's Prayer

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God's love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

May 2011 be a wonderful year for you!

But ... a new year also means a new month, which automatically means a new challenge at Scrappassion. Today the Scrappassion Blog is going international, so all of you can participate in the challenges we have for you, no matter where you live ! If you live in the Netherlands or Belgium, please go to the Scrappassion Blog by clicking HERE. If you live in another country you can now participate in the challenges too, which can be found on the International Scrappassion Blog by clicking HERE.

The first challenge for 2011 is:

Create a layout in VINTAGE style and choose a personal word for yourself which will be your key word or focus for 2011. Please check those blogs mentioned above to see what the Design Team members have create to inspire you!

This is the layout I created. I chose the word 'TRUST' to be 'my word' for 2011.

I put one of my favourite quotes on the photo: 'I trust God will not give me anything I cannot handle I just wish He didn't trust me so much' from Mothere Teresa.

I also wrote three Scriptures on my layout:

I will wait for the LORD, I will put my trust in him. Isaiah 8: 17
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Psalm 9: 12
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15: 13

Ingeborg.

More fun in the snow!

2010-12-20T10:01:00.000+01:00

I just took these pictures in our backyard ...

2010-12-17T14:56:00.000+01:00

Actually the picture above is taken at the front of our house a few days ago ... our boys were clearing the snow off the drive way and decided to 'cheer me up' by creating this cute smiley face out of snow!

But ... the pictures below were taken in our back yard a few minutes ago; I love how snow makes everything look so beautiful!

Year in Review 2010 ... the last few months:

2010-12-15T09:56:00.000+01:00

In the last few months I have been keeping up with my weekly layouts for my Year in Review 2010 project, but I haven't been showing the layouts on my blog ... so here they are .. the last 13 weeks of my project (which will be finished in a few weeks):

Blessed with so many handmade cards ...

2010-12-13T20:02:00.000+01:00

In the last few weeks I have received many cards; for my birthday and 'just because'. I love receiving cards and would love to share some of them here with you:

This card, which is gorgeous inside and out (just like the maker) is made by Nicky:

This card is made by Melissa, my dear Australian friend, who surprised me with a visit a few weeks ago:

This true piece of art of a card is made by Marga:

This card is made by Gwendolyn (I like how she used my tutorial on inchies and made a card for me with them):

This beautiful card is made by Frida:

This card is made by Dora:

This one is from Celine:

Last but not least, this one is from Angele:

I feel so blessed with many wonderful friends and these cards!

New challenge at Scrappassion!

2010-11-30T19:27:00.000+01:00

Can you believe it is December already? Where has 2010 gone? Today is the 1st of December and it is my 40th birthday! It seems time goes faster the older I get ... or am I really showing my age now? LOL ...

Anyway ... a new month also means a new challenge at Scrappassion. From January 2011 the Scrappassion blog will go international and I cannot wait to see gorgeous work coming in from all over the world! But .. .for this month the challenge for all the Dutch and Belgian girls out there is this:

Make something for your home; your project can be anything but a layout or card.

How easy is that! This is the clock I made for our daughter Emma. She loves bright and bold colours just like me!

This is what the other girls have made...

Nicky:

Jolanda:

Ria:

Petronella:

Ilonka:

Gwendolyn:

Hanneke:

Maja:

Mariska:

Where are the layouts for the Scrappassion Challenge for this month?

2010-11-23T08:23:00.000+01:00

It is the 23rd of November and we have only received FOUR entries this month at the Scrappassion Challenge Blog. We'd love to see some more gorgeous layouts coming in! All you have to do is scrap a photo of yourself and describe ten things about you! Come on ... you got until the end of the month!

'Butterfly'; a card inspired by my trip to Paris ...

2010-11-15T18:24:00.000+01:00

I just spend a few days in Paris with an Australian friend of mine, who surprised me with a visit for my 40th birthday! Those surprises are the best! I hadn't seen her since we moved to Europe in June 2009, so there was a lot of catching up to do!

Paris is just wonderful and I surely loved wondering the streets whilst chatting to my friend. Most papers from Graphic 45 have a French feel and therefore I just had to make a card featuring one of those vintage images! Click HERE to see step-by-step instructions and photos!

Photo Shoot with Ria !

2010-11-05T11:27:00.000+01:00

On Monday I went to a glamour photo shoot with a beautiful friend of mine, Ria. She is just beautiful inside and out! We had a wonderful day together. I went home with a dozen wonderful photos, which I wanted to scrap straight away! Last weekend I made a sketch and I decided to create a layout using my own sketch:

If you would like to read the step-by-step instructions to create this layout, please click HERE!

New month new challenge at Scrappassion!

2010-11-01T06:30:00.001+01:00

It is the first day of a new month and therefore I would like to announce the new challenge at Scrappassion! This time it was my turn to come up with the challenge and this is what you have to do:

Create a layout about yourself. You have to use a picture of yourself and '10 things about you'.

Instead of thinking of 10 things myself, I actually asked my Facebook friends to describe me in one word. I got quite a few responses and I promised I would use all of them on my layout. Using Wordle I created the mix of words as shown on the layout below. So ... this is me according to my Facebook friends:

The challenge is open for all Dutch and Belgian girls. From January 1, 2011 the challenges will be open to everyone, because Scrappassion is starting an international challenge blog too! If you are interested in the international blog, make sure you become a follower. You will find the international blog HERE. We are still looking for Design Team members, so make sure you check the blog for all the details.

Australian Ladies: DT call at Scrap 'N' Craft with T

2010-10-26T19:25:00.000+02:00

There is a new vacancy on the Design Team of Creative Girls @ Scrap N Craft With T. You will need to be able to create one project (layout, card or OTP) each week from the products supplied from Tanyah's shop. You will also need to post this project onto the Creative Girls blog with photos and instructions. If you haven't done this before, don't worry; Tanya will walk you through it until you are comfortable!!

Tanyah offers her Design Team a very generous 30% off purchases in her shop, and each month supplies at least $25 worth of products to use for your projects. The position on the Design Team will run up to March 2011.

If you're interested, please email Tanyah with 1 x OTP, 2 x layouts and 2 x cards and she will send you more information about what is required. You will need to email her by this Sunday, October 31, 2010. And ... due to the extremely high shipping costs, Tanyah is looking for Australian girls only ...

Wanna be part of an International Design Team?

2010-10-20T09:16:00.000+02:00

Since the beginning of this year I have been a Design Team member for both Scrap 'N Craft with T and the Scrappassion Challenge Blog. The Dutch version of the Scrappassion Challenge Blog has been running for over 2 years in The Netherlands, but from January 2011 the blog will go international! Ria, the owner of the blog thought it was time to see some gorgeous entries from international girls. Before we can start of on January 1st 2011,

we are looking for some more talented girls to be part of our Design Team!

We are looking for 4 INTERNATIONAL (a.k.a. outside of the Netherlands and Belgium) designers who love to be on our Design Team. You can be from anywhere around the world; it doesn't matter where you are from. As a Design Team member you will work together with the four Dutch girls who are on the Dutch Scrappassion Challenge Blog. (Feel free to have a look at this Dutch version, which is obviously in Dutch)...

You will find all the details about the DT call and the International Challenge Blog in English HERE !!!! We have received one submission so far and clearly we'd love to have many more! And did you know that Tanyah is our Australian sponsor for this blog too? So come on ... give it a go!

Now back to the layout. The girls in the pictures are all a member of the Scrappassion Blog and a few of them are part of the International Design Team too. We recently had a weekend together full of laughter, fun, food and scrapping; just wonderful!

To create this layout I have used the papers and embellishments from the Ruby Rockit 'Upstairs/ Downstairs' Collection. I first cut two circles (about 15 cm) from two different patterned papers: the dotted paper is called 'Romance' and the black paper is called 'Master'. Using an edge distresser I distressed the sides of the circles and I inked them too.

Instead of using more papers, I decided to take two 'pages' from the 'Upstairs/Downstairs Journaling Pad'. These journaling pages match the papers perfectly and can be used as papers too. I also placed another strip of the Master paper at the top. I distressed and inked all the edges of these papers too.

I wanted to challenge myself to use more than one or two pictures, so I used four smaller photos of our Design Team (with the lovely blog owner, Ria, featured on the picture at the left corner at the bottom of the layout).

I wanted to stamp some swirls on the layout, but I always afraid to stuff that up. Therefore I tend to choose to stamp the swirls on a transparency with Stazon Ink and cut them out. That way I can place the stamped images where I want them! I love flowers, so I added a few here and there and I put black rhinestones in the middle of each flower.

Using Micro Mono Alphabet Stickers from Basic Grey I made my title.

Using a few more flowers, swirls, vintage lace and embellishments from the Upstairs/ Downstairs pack I finished my layout:

Please consider being part of our new International Design Team for the Scrappassion Challenge Blog International! I'd love for you to have a go! You have until December 1, 2010 to send our submissions to Ria. A huge thank you in advance to Tanyah and Scrap'N'Craft for being our sponsor!

A card full of roses!

2010-10-12T18:53:00.000+02:00

I am such a girly girl and I love hearts and pink! So ... I decided to make a card with a big heart and lots of little handmade pink roses! I first stamped the sentiment at the bottom two corners:

With my Sizzix machine I cut a big heart out of patterned paper (KaiserCraft Flutterby Collection) as a base for my 'heart of roses':

I used scraps of patterned paper (from the KaiserCraft Flutterby Collection) to create the little roses (see collage below, please click on the picture to see larger images). First I drew a spiral shape and cut it out. The shape doesn't have to be perfect; once you start rolling nobody will notice ;-) !

Starting at the end I carefully rolled the spiral until it won't go any further. I added a bit of Tacky Glue, held it for 30 seconds and done!

STRONG ... a layout about Siebe ...

2010-10-10T07:47:00.001+02:00

I took this picture of my husband recently. When I saw these KaiserCraft papers I knew the colours would look perfect together! On the back of one of the papers was a wavy pattern, which I decided to cut out. I also added a strip of striped paper.

I placed my photo a bit under the light blue curve and I also stamped some flourishes in the corners (sorry I didn't take a picture of this). I wanted to add a personal touch to the layout and decided to grab one of my favourite products: the Bazzil In Stitch Template Formal Flourishes.

I wanted to keep the wavy pattern going, so I chose this template:

I first pierced the holes and then I handstitched the flourish in blue.

The layout looked like this at this stage:

I used another sheet of the collection to further embellish the layout. I cut a journaling tag from the sheet. I cut some of the orange and blue 'splashes' out of the paper too.

Using foam dots I stuck the splashes on the layout. I also inked the edges to make them stand out a bit more.

I wrote the following Scripture on the tag:"That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10

Done!

Do you want to be a Design Team member?

2010-10-07T07:18:00.000+02:00

Do you want to be a Design Team member for a brand new challenge blog? Scrappassion Challenge blog is going international!

The Dutch version of the Scrappassion Challenge Blog has been running for over 2 years in The Netherlands. However, Ria thought it was time to see some gorgeous entries from international girls.

Before we can start of on January 1st 2011,

we are looking for FOUR more talented girls to be part of our Design Team.

We are looking for 4 INTERNATIONAL (a.k.a. outside of the Netherlands and Belgium) designers who love to be on our Design Team. You can be from anywhere around the world; it doesn't matter where you are from. As a Design Team member you will work together with the four Dutch girls who are on the Dutch Scrappassion Challenge Blog (please have a look at the Dutch blog to get an idea).

If you would like to be on our team, please send us the following things:

*A proper email for submission with your bio, how long you have been scrapping, your style, why you want to be on a Design Team;

* Also a proper picture of yourself looking in the camera;

* Your online gallery link and / or blog;

* A list of messageboards/ sites that you are active on where you could possibly promote our challenge blog;

* If applicable: previous and/ or current Design Team or Guest Design Team positions;

* Three projects, which are all made especially for this DT call. Please submit one layout, one project and one free entry. Do this in the style you are most comfortable working with.

* Send us at least one clear picture of each submission and feel free to send us some details pictures too.

* Please tell us why we should pick you (don't be shy)!

* You should have a blog, on which you have to promote our Scrappassion Challenge Blog International. Your blog will need to have the blinkies of our sponsors too.

* Designers will serve at least a 6 month term [starting January 1st, 2011].

* As a DT member you are asked to create one project or layout each month (depending on the challenge).

* As a DT member you are asked to regularly leave comments on entries for each challenge.

Are you the one we are looking for?

Send your submission to scrappassionchallengeblog@gmail.com before December 1st, 2010. We cannot wait to see all your gorgeous submissions coming in!

A thoughtful card by Gwendolyn, a layout by Kerry and a card made by me!

2010-10-04T18:42:00.000+02:00

Gwendolyn, a fellow CT member of Scrappassion, sent me this gorgeous card a few days ago. So thoughtful and pretty; it made my day!

Kerry, a good friend from Australia was inspired by this colourful layout I made a few weeks ago ... She decided to make a similar layout herself:

I love it when people get inspired by my work! And finally ... I made this little card during our Scrappassion weekend ... I love that quote 'Some people feel the rain, others just get wet' ... I added some 'rain drops' as well (see close up picture) ...

Thanks for stopping by! Happy scrappin'!

'Totally White' - a new challenge at Scrappassion!

2010-10-01T06:35:00.000+02:00

This month's challenge at Scrappassion is to create a 'Totally White' project or layout. Everything (papers, embellishments, title, ribbon etc.) has to be white except your photo(s). This is the layout I made for this challenge:

You can send your entries to Ria until the 31st of October. The winner will be determined by a Random Number Generator to give everyone an equal chance to win! We're hoping to get many entries this month!

'Livin' Out Loud' ; a layout about my friend Nienke and myself

2010-09-28T07:50:00.000+02:00

My good friend Nienke, whom I have known for more than 20 years, is celebrating 19 years of marriage this week. So ... I decided to grab the boxes of photos that I still have to scrap ... these are photos of the two of us taken on her wedding day in September 1991. I loved scrapping those photos, because we surely had fun that day!

I started with a sheet of white cardstock. I normally tend to put my picture(s) in the middle of my layout, but this time I wanted to do it differently and put them more to the sides of the paper. I also wanted to use a few pictures, since I tend to make a lot of layout with only one picture.

I started with two strips of patterned paper. I wanted to have a 'base' for the pictures I was going to use.

I added some ribbon and some paper ribbon next to the patterned paper.

I added my photos with little square foam dots, because I wanted to be able to add more embellishments under the photos. Therefore I only stuck them on lightly.

I went through my stash and looked for paper flowers, silk flowers, felt flowers, buttons, pearls, rhinestones and transparencies to use on the layout. I glued some of them on my layout.

I wanted more colour and added more embellishments:

And ... I wanted to use something 'unusual' ... so I went to my gift wrapping basket and got some curling ribbon and used that for a final touch:

'You Color My World'

2010-09-21T16:01:00.000+02:00

In the last few months I have made a few layouts for less than $ 1.00 and today I made another one. I love buying new scrapbooking products, but I do like to challenge myself to use my stash a bit more often too! I used a sheet of black cardstock as a base for this layout.

The picture is of my husband on his 40th birthday, which I took when we were on our holiday in Spain a few weeks ago. I still love him as much now at 40 as I did in my early twenties and I still think he is as handsome too (but I am a little biased I suppose ... ).

Oh well ... back to the layout. I have seen a very similar design years ago and decided it was time for me to try it. I normally give credit to the person whom I was inspired by, but I have no idea who it was. If it was you, please email me, so I can add your name to this post!

I cut the picture to a square of 10 cm x 10 cm. I placed it exactly in the middle of the black cardstock. I wanted to create a clean design and starting with a picture right in the middle seemed to be a good start!

I looked through my boxes and folders of scraps with paper both plain and patterned. I chose a few different papers for each colour. I found that smaller patterns on the paper worked better than larger patterns, because I was only going to use small pieces of it. I used my two square punches to punch the two sizes of squares in each colour. I used a Sizzix die to cut the rectangles.

I printed my title to stay with my 'budget' of $ 1.00 and made sure that I cut the title strip at 10 cm to fit exactly under the photo. I put the coloured squares and rectangle around the photo. The layout first looked like this:

I went through all my little boxes, bags, cans, baskets and bottles to see if I could find matching embellishments. It actually was fun to go through some of that stuff, because I have found lots of things that I completely forgot I had! I added buttons, chipboard, flowers, pearls and rhinestones. This is the final result:

Blog Candy ... made by Nicky!

2010-09-21T08:37:00.000+02:00

My dear online friend, Nicky (whom I will meet in real life in three more days, yeah!) has made a gorgeous blog candy to give away. All you need to do is become a follower of her blog and post a message about her blog candy on your own blog! You will find her message about it HERE. Oh ... and you need to leave a comment to be in the running to win the candy! You will see more pictures of the blog candy on her blog too!

Year in Review; week 36 & week 37

2010-09-17T11:02:00.000+02:00

My project 'Year In Review 2010' is looking good! We're up to week 36 and week 37 and I am so glad I have chosen very simple designs for my weekly layouts. I am also using one stack of papers, which makes keeping up easier.

The theme for week 36 was 'sports', which I do not participate in (I'd rather play with paper and glue). Since my children are involved in sports, I decided to make a layout about the attitude of parents towards their kids in regards to sports. I printed a few pictures of posters, who promote fair play and a positive attitude around sports, which suited my theme perfectly!

The theme for week 37 was 'favourite food', which is - as most of you might know - CHEESE! I love cheese in all shapes and sorts and I eat cheese every day. I am sure that if I didn't eat cheese for a month, I'd lose 5 kilograms or so. Anyway ... this is the layout I made about it:

White Space ... a layout about a daddy and his baby girl ...

2010-09-11T19:28:00.000+02:00

In all those years that I have been scrapping, I have always been a fan of 'white space' on layouts. Okay, I admit ... in the beginning I thought it always had to be actual WHITE space, but I soon realized

'white space' means: leaving space on your layout

and not filling every inch with embellishments, stamps or papers.

I believe 'white space' can actually add to the design and most of the time it brings focus on your picture (s) too. I made this layout using 'white space' as a part of the design. After I finished I also made a sketch, which shows clearly how there is lots of 'space' left. For some this is easy, for others ... it might freak you out! But ... if you're a scrapper that puts heaps of stuff on your layouts, I challenge you to go for plain, simple and 'white space' one time!

I wanted to have straight lines and some curves too to avoid a too boring look. I used an 11" x 11" inch sheet of white cardstock as my base. With a pencil I made half a heart shape to write my journaling on. In my head I already knew where the picture would be. I even put it on the layout while drawing the curved line to see if it would work out okay. I also created a doodled border around the white cardstock.

Using one of my favourite Tim Holtz stamps, I stamped a rectangle shape on the paper. The layout is about my daughter and my husband, so I wanted to add 'male' elements as well as 'girly' touches.

I didn't want this layout to be too predictable, so I rotated the white cardstock and stuck it on a 12" x 12" piece of patterned paper (from the Marrakech Collection by Basic Grey). This totally freaked me out, because I like things STRAIGHT!

I added a mat around my photo and stuck it on a piece of striped paper (Marrakech Collection, Cardamon) to emphasize the colours of the photo.

I used the Marrakech Alphabet Stickers for my title and I finished the layout by using a border and some stickers from the Marrakech Elements Sticker Sheet.

'Thank You Card'

2010-09-04T08:00:00.000+02:00

I made this 'Thank You Card' for a friend of mine. I love sending or giving cards to my friends and family; I think it is important to show them how much I appreciate them. And ... obviously a handmade card is even more special. I first used two pieces of bright, colourful paper to cover the front.

I stamped the sentiment 'Thank you for lifting my spirits' on a strip of white cardstock and placed it across the card.

Using a piece of 7 cm x 7 cm of the same doublesided paper I cut a square like this:

I folded each corner into the middle and attached a brad in the middle to hold the pinwheel together.

I cut some very thin strips of paper and curled them around a little paint brush. Using Helmar Glue I stuck them on at the bottom of the card:

Done!

New month; new challenge at Scrappassion!

2010-08-31T22:29:00.000+02:00

This month we have a very special challenge at Scrappassion, because September is birthday month for Scrappassion and the blog is celebrating its SECOND birthday! So ... to celebrate we have a regular challenge and an additional one! Both the sponsors: Dolls and Decorations and De Scrapheap are giving away a prize this month, so there is a double chance on this too!

And how about the regular challenge? Since it is the second birthday you have to make a project or layout with the number 2 or the word two on it. If you click here you will see the projects and the layout made by the team. This is the layout I made. In Dutch the word 'two' is spelled 'twee' and I made a layout about my twin sister and my self.

But ... I mentioned an addtional challenge as well. This is what you have to do: become and follower of the Scrappassion Blog (unless you already are a follower of course) and make a card with a birthday wish and the number 2 or the word two and send the REAL CARD to Ria. She will email you her postal address after you have emailed her a picture of your card. If you would like to win a prize you have to post the card to her in the mail! At the end of September we have a Scrappassion weekend and the Creative Team will pick a winner!

There are a few more surprises, but I am not going to say anything about those, because you will find out about those if you win one of the two challenges! Have fun!

Different ways to use and make inchies (part 3: Inchies & Inchie Stamps)

2010-08-28T16:01:00.000+02:00

Today is part 3 of my 'inchies series'. Two weeks ago I showed a few ways of using handmade inchies on cards and last week I showed different ways of making and using inchies on your scrapbooking layouts. If you missed these blog posts, please click HERE (to read part 1) and HERE (to read part 2).

Today I would like to show you some inchie stamps, which are especially designed to create inchies with. For these cards I have used 'inchie stamps' from Inkadinkado. Tan also sells this wonderful set of of clear stamps. There are 23 clear stamps and they are just gorgeous and so versatile. You find these 'inchie stamps' HERE. Here are the four cards I made:

I made the first card by stamping four of the 'special thoughts' images directly onto the white cardstock. I used Stazon ink, because I wanted to use my water colour pencils to colour the images. If I had used pigment ink, the images would have gotten very blurry.

This is what the images looked like when I coloured them in:

Since I coloured the images with watercolour pencils, I added a bit of water with a tiny brush and 'painted' the images a bit brighter:

It is hard to see, but I also added a bit of glitter here and there too:

I used a border punch to create a decorative edge on the right side:

I doodled around the scallops and the images:

For a final touch I wanted to add some liquid pearls. I LOVE that stuff! It is such an easy and economical way to add 'pearls' to your card or layout!

How quick and easy was this card! And ... I am sure any girlfriend would love to receive it!

I made the card below for my husband. We love going out to have a cup of nice coffee somewhere. I used quite girly images, but by using male colours and Grunge paper, I think he'll still like it! The stamped circles 'coffee?' are part of the same set of inchie stamps. I cut two of the circles and put them on black cardstock. I used foam dots to 'pop them up'.

The following two cards are made with papers and die cuts from KaiserCraft's 'Child's Play' collection. I stamped the same image on different scraps of paper. I cut nine inchies and placed them in a square onto the cardstock. Since that looked a bit 'boring' I placed one inchie out of the square at the top left corner. I punched two butterflies and stuck them on. Done!

I made this card with the same inchie stamps, but didn't make any inchies with them! I just wanted to show you that these stamps can be versatile and you don't need to make inchies with them if you don't want to ... LOL ! I used quite a few die cuts from the Child's Play collection. On the two die cut tabs I stamped 'thinking of you'. I also stamped the word 'believe' a few times, and the birds too. This card can be used for many different occassions!

Now ... after all those weeks of showing inchies it is your turn! I'd love to see you create some cards and/ or layout using inchies! Or ... if inchies aren't your thing, why not try

Rinchies (1 inch round)
Twinchies (2 x 2 inches)
PSI = Plus Size Inchie (1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches) ?

I'd love to see what you made, so please make sure you upload it in the gallery of Scrap 'N' Craft with T!

Love,

Ingeborg.

Siebe's birthday celebrations at the beach ...

2010-08-27T08:14:00.001+02:00

Yesterday we celebrated Siebe's 40th birthday at the beach and we ended the day with a lovely dinner too. Here are some photos ... Today is our last day in Spain ... it is so true: 'Time flies when you're having fun!'

Tom took this photo of Siebe and me and he also took a photo of me by myself ... he has been our personal photographer for a while now:

Some refreshing fun in the water:

Instead of an actual birthday cake we had chocolate chip muffins on the beach; not a bad way to celebrate a birthday!

Happy 40th birthday to Siebe and ... a some photos from yesterday!

2010-08-26T08:30:00.001+02:00

Today is Siebe's 40th birthday! Happy birthday, honey and remember: 'You're not 40, you're 18 with 22 years experience'. Love you!

Here are some photos that we took yesterday. We went for a drive around the area and ended in a beautful little town at the beach: Villajoyosa.

Terra Mitica; what a wonderful theme park!

2010-08-23T07:55:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we went to Terra Mitica; a theme park about 15 minutes away from where we're staying. Opened in year 2000, Terra Mitica is a wonderful place for people like us who love thrills and scary rides. What is unique about this park is that it carries a mythical theme, as it is divided into sections such for eras like the Greek, Egyptian, and Roman. There is also the Islands region and the Iberian zones of the park. It feel like you're going on a journey through time.

Conveniently enough, Terra Mitica has divided its rides into categories, based on the strength or mildness of the ride. I liked that idea a lot (since I am the 'chicken' of our family - not my words, but my kids' ..LOL). I have been in all the scary rides though, but I do regret it today, since especially my neck is really sore. Yesterday I felt quite 'funny' as well, so I think my thrill rides times are over ... Here are some pictures of the park:

A walk around town ...

2010-08-22T08:12:00.000+02:00

We have been in Spain for a week now and it has rained about 15 minutes in all those days. But when it rains, it pours! Within minutes the sky was black and the rain came down fast! Minutes later the clouds opened up and the sun came out again!

Yesterday we went for a walk around town and love the little streets of Altea. Here are some pictures. Some have been taken by our own photographer: Tom.

Water Fun at Aqualandia in Benidorm!

2010-08-21T09:22:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we went to Aqualandia; a fun place with lots of rides and slides. I kept my camera in a locker for most of the day, so I only have a few pictures to share:

Different ways to make and use inchies (part 2: Inchies & Scrapbooking)

2010-08-20T08:13:00.000+02:00

I would like to show you a few different ways to make and use inchies on a layout. Last week I showed some ways to make a use inchies for cards. If you have missed that message, please click HERE to read it. Next week I will show you how to use especially designed inchie stamps on cards. I made two layouts using inchies; a 12" x 12" layout and a layout for a mini album I am making. This is the 'traditional' 12" x 12" layout:

This is the layout for my mini album. The size of each page is approx. 5" by 7":

Let's start with the first one. To create this layout (and a bonus card, see below) I used the gorgeous Green at Heart Collection from Basic Grey. I used the following products:

Patterned Paper, Green at Heart 'Veggies'
Patterned Paper, Green at Heart 'Grasshopper'
Patterned Paper, Green at Heart 'Recycle'
Patterned Paper, Green at Heart 'Seedling'
Patterned Paper, Green at Heart 'Vert'
Sticker Elements, Green at Heart
Journaling Cards, 'Pieces' Green at Heart
Alphabet Stickers 'Micro Mono Stickers'
Chipboard Coloured Stickers

I took some step-by-step photos. If you'd like to see a larger version of the collage below, please click HERE.

I cut my photo into 12 inchies. I made sure the 'cuts' wouldn't go through the eyes, because that would look a bit weird. So I started in the middle of the photo and the face and made 'the first cut' through the nose.
I tore about a dozen small strips of a few of the patterned papers: Grasshopper, Recycle and Vert.
If you have a toddler at home, she/ he can help you with the next step! But ... if you don't have a toddler, you have to randomly stick the torn paper strips on the 'Seedling' paper yourself. Make sure you use lots of glue, because all the parts have to stick together well!
Cut the paper in inchies.
I used the Veggies paper to stick my photo and paper inchies on. I used the handmade inchies as a frame around my photo.
I used parts of the same papers on each side and added my photo in the middle of the layout.

I created my title/ quote using the Micro Mono Stickers and Alphabet Stamps from Hero Arts. I embellished the page with the coloured chipboard stickers from the same collection. This is the finished result:

I had a few inchies left, so I decided to create a quick and easy card with them. I used a strip from the Elements Sticker Sheet and the little butterfly and owl are from the coloured chipboard shapes from Green at Heart as well.

For the layout of my mini album I have only used white cardstock and Google ... LOL ... I am making a 'Year in Review' mini album with a group of Dutch girls and each week one of the girls chooses a theme. This week's theme is 'Summer Hits'. I live in Europe, so we are in the midst of Summer right now ... I wanted to create a layout using inchies a diferent way. If you search for 'inchies collage sheet' or something like that, you will find lots and lots of printable sheets with ready-made inchies. You will find lots of different styles on Etsy. You can buy those sheets for a dollar or two, download them and print them as many times as you like.

But ... I'd like to make my own 'inchie sheet', because I'd like to personalize my pictures/ inchies. For this week's 'Summer Hits' theme, I thought long and hard about some Summer Hits that I remembered as a child, teenager, young adult and now. I wanted to have a picture of the LP or CD of each song. That's when Google comes in handy! And ... LPs and CDs are square, so perfect for inchies!

I also wanted some 'Summer Hits' CD covers to use as embellishments. My own printed sheet of inchies looked like this:

Cut into inchies the CD covers and LP covers looked like this:

And this is the finished result of the layout:

And ... taking the risk of truly showing my age ...LOL ... these are the songs I wanted to feature on my layout:

1970 - 1980
Summer Nights (1978, John Travolta & Olivia Newton John)
Three Times A Lady (1978, The Commodores)
We Are Family (1979, Sister Sledge)

1980 - 1990
Every Breath You Take (1983, The Police)
Summer of ‘69 (1984, Bryan Adams)
What’s Love Got to Do With It? (1984, Tina Turner)
The Lady In Red (1986, Chris de Burgh)
The Only Way Is Up (1988, Yazz & The Plastic Population)

1990 - 2000
Ice, Ice Baby (1990, Vanilla Ice)
Knockin’ on Heaven’s door (1992, Guns ‘N’ Roses)
All I Wanna Do (1994, Sheryl Crow)
Love Is All Around (1994, WetWetWet)

2000 - 2010
American Pie (2000, Madonna)
Absolutely Everybody ( 2000, Vanessa Amorosi)
Beautiful Day (2000, U2)
You’re Beautiful (2005, James Blunt)
Waka Waka (2010, Shakira)

Fun at the pool (part 2) and BBQ dinner ... yum!

2010-08-19T10:03:00.000+02:00

Emma bought new sun glasses, which she had to show off of course!

Siebe loved to try the BBQ and he had a lot of fun playing with fire. Boys will be boys, hey?

The kids still don't mind me taking pictures all day, so sometimes I just snap shots of the kids when they aren't really aware of it. Sometimes they automatically look in the camera too, like Tom does here:

You gotta love timers on the camera. We tried to get a picture of all five of us having dinner together. I think it came out beautifully. The timer might be the best photographer of our family ...

Hamburgers ... yum ...

Emma took this picture of me:

Of course Siebe had to try Emma's new sunglasses ... so I had to take a picture of him wearing them (if you look closely, so can see my reflection in the glasses):

This is what our BBQ looks like ...

Going to the beach ...

2010-08-18T08:26:00.000+02:00

I tried to get a nice picture of all four together, but the kids just couldn't stand still for a second ... So ... let try to spot the difference:

Yep... on the top picture you see Tom clearly and on the bottom picture you see Rick! Below you see the Rock of Calpe ... which is 'famous' in the region:

Some photos taken at the beach. It was a bit windy and cloudy, but that actually was a nice change from the hot sun. Aren't we spoiled?

Emma having some fun with her towel and the wind. One moment she is a super hero, who can fly and the next moment she is an award- winning actress! Gotta love her style! My favourite picture of today ... our three boys:

In Los Angeles in California we have been at Muscle Beach a few years ago. It is a place on the beach where you can do fitness. Well ... you can do the same here in Spain. Of course the kids had to try some of the equipment!

Boys doing their thing:

And me ... enjoying the view, the sun, being with the family:

Fun at the pool (part 1) ...

2010-08-17T09:39:00.000+02:00

Our first impression and photos of Altea in Spain:

2010-08-16T08:46:00.000+02:00

Our family holiday started last Friday. We left in the afternoon and arrived at our destination Altea on Saturday afternoon. Altea, Spain is located in the province of Alicante. The regions stretch of beach is part of the legendary Costa Blanca on the Mediterranean Sea. The most striking thing about this village located just 15 kilometers of the massively popular tourist party haven of Benidorm, is the peaceful vibe that permeates throughout the region. Most of the buildings have maintained the quaint old world style of the past, in stark contrast to the sky scraping hotels so popular along the Costa Blanca.

We have our own vacaction home (with pool!) a few kilometers from the beach. I think we have no trouble spending a few weeks of our holiday here!

Different ways to make and use inchies (Part 1: Inchies & Cards)

2010-08-13T09:48:00.000+02:00

I am creating a few posts on inchies for Scrap 'N' Craft with T and this week I will post part 1 (Inchies & Cards) in this message. Part 2 (Inchies & Scrapbooking) will be posted next week and part 3 (Inchies & Inchie Stamps) the week after that. It actually was Nicky Amber and her Week 7 Embellish It challenge, who reminded me of those little pieces of art (measuring 1 inch x inch).

Inchies have been around for ages especially with ATC- and stamping artists. But ... I am neither an ATC- or stamping artist! What I do know though is a few tricks and tips to create and use these little squares on cards and layouts. Obviously a lot of you know this stuff too, because if you check the Embellish It Week 7 gallery, you will find all sorts of beautiful projects featuring at least a few inchies.

But ... there might be some of you, who never made an inchie. Or ... you might have only made them one way or used them the same way over and over again. If any of this sounds like you, please read on ... I have made five different cards with at least one inchie on them. I will give
the step-by-step instructions for the three black/white/ pink cards first. After that I will show you how I made the other two cards. WARNING: long message ahead LOL ! So here we go ...

I have made five inchies and used them on three different cards. I will show and tell you step-by-step how I made the inchies (if you'd like to see larger photos, please click HERE).

I used five chipboard inchies as my base. I cut five slightly larger squares out of pink tissue paper.
I put a little Tacky Glue around each side.
I put the tissue paper squares at the other side and folded the sides onto the glue.
I made sure I folded the corners first and then the sides. Yes, this is a bit sticky, but it is worth it, I promise!
After the glue is dry, I added a bit of shimmering paint. I used the Radiant Rain (Pink Azalea) Paint Dauber.
I let the paint dry completely.
Whilst the paint was drying, I punched some little flowers. Remember, you are making inchies, so if you use punches, make sure they are small!
I stamped some swirls and flowers on the dried pink inchies. I also inked the edges.
I stamped the same images on the punched flowers.
I wanted to outline the punched flowers. Since they are quite small, I used a scrap piece of paper and some non-permanent glue (Pritt) to stick them on temporarily.
After I outlined the little flowers, I carefully peeled them of the scrap sheet of paper.
I stuck the flowers on the inchies and added a little hot pink rhinestone in the middle.

These are three cards that I made with the five inchies:

As promised here are the instructions for the other inchies. If the picture below is too small for you, please click HERE to see the larger version.

I wanted to create my own background. I put some Glimmer Screens (like masks/ stencils) on a piece of white cardstock.
I sprayed Glimmer Mist on the screens and let it dry.
I added a few stamps for more colour and variety.
I cut the piece of cardstock in inchies.
I put 12 inchies in a nice pattern at the front of a white card.
I added some ribbon and a punched circle. Done!

Since I still had quite a few inchies left, I decided to make another card. I used the same Glimmer Screens and Glimmer Mist for a background. I stamped and embossed the words on the card using a heat gun. I used a golden embossing powder. Tan currently has a special price for the heat gun: $ 35.00 instead of $ 55.00, which is over 35% off! Anyway, I also stamped some small script images on the flowers, added some pearls, and of course my three inchies and done!

Liefde is ... (Love is ...)

2010-08-05T20:56:00.000+02:00

I like to display my layouts on my walls and I am very lucky that my husband and children are very encouraging doing so too. So ... I bought a couple of photo frames that will fit my 12" x 12" layouts and a few that will fit my 11" x 8.5" layouts too. Once in a while I change the layouts to have something new to look at. The only 'bad' thing about putting layouts into the frames is that I have to keep the layouts really 'flat' without using foam tape or dots, flowers, chipboard etc.

Now ... that is a challenge for me! But ... luckily manufacturers like Basic Grey have created beautiful coordinating stickers that still give me the opportunity to embellish my pages whilst keeping the layout flat. On the picture below you see our family room (12 year old girl laying on the couch, whilst playing on the PS3 included). Around our TV we put the frames I was talking about. It is hard to see, but I put the layout I made today in the middle frame on the right (just take my word on it, okay ... LOL).

Now back to the sketch and layout. I created a sketch for Scrap 'N' Craft with room for a large photo. Especially since I knew I wanted to hang it on our wall I wanted to be able to see the picture from any of the couches in our room. A 6" x 4" picture just wouldn't do the job. Therefore I created a sketch with a large square 8" x 8" picture. This is the sketch I made:

A larger version of this sketch can be downloaded HERE. I'd love for you to have a go at this sketch! If you have created a layout using this sketch, please email a picture to me, so I can add it to the slideshow on my sketches blog!

The journaling of this layout reads:

'Love is … Getting rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. - Ephesians 4: 31 – 32 (NIV)'

If you really want to know what the journaling reads in Dutch, this is what it says:

'Liefde is ... alle wrok, woede en haat uit je leven wegdoen. Niet vloeken, geen ruzie maken en elkaaar niet beledigen; vermijd alles wat slecht is. Wees in plaats daarvan vriendelijk en liefdevol voor elkaar. Vergeef elkaar, zoals God uw zonden heeft vergeven om wat Christus voor u deed. -Efeziërs 4: 31 - 32 (Het Boek)'

What I wished I'd said ....

2010-08-04T12:07:00.000+02:00

This is a hybrid layout about the same comments I got over and over again about my twins. I know most people meant well, but seriously, can anyone tell me why it seems completely accepted to ask quite personal questions and poke in the tummy when it comes to pregnant women in general and women pregnant with twins to be more specific?

So .. .this layout is about the four comments I heard the most and the answers I wished I'd said ... The picture is taken a few weeks after our boys were born in 1999, which seems only like yesterday, but that is another story.

I printed the title, the comments and answers and the swirls on a sheet of cardstock. I added the black/ white dots, lace, flowers, bling and photo and done! This layout was done in 15 minutes and I also wanted to show you that a layout can still look good without spending lots of time and/ or money. The comments are printed in Dutch, I will try to translate the layout as good as I can:

'What I wish I said when I got yet another twin comment'

Comment: 'I am glad it is you having twins, not me!'
Answer: 'My kids are glad about that too!'
Comment: 'What? You got two babies?"
Answer: 'No, I think you're cross eyed or you must have double vision.'
Comment:' Wow, your tummy is HUGE, are you having twins?'
Answer: 'No, I am just built in a funny shape'.
Comment: 'Your twins are a product of IVF?'
Answer: 'No, just sex'.

Green thumbs?

2010-08-03T21:18:00.000+02:00

This week's theme for the 'Year in Review' is 'Green Thumbs' (in Dutch this is translated with 'Green Fingers'). In my case I had to do a layout about 'lack of green thumbs', because I always say 'I care for people, but not for plants and flowers'.

I simply cannot keep plants alive and even the easiest plants die in my house. So ... I converted to a lot of silk and plastic plants, because I do like the look of plants in my house ... LOL ... This week's layout is a collage with all the 'fake stuff' you will find in all different places in my home.

New challenge at Scrappassion; scrap the back of a canvas!

2010-08-01T09:01:00.000+02:00

The Scrappassion challenge for August is something different; you have to scrap the back of a canvas in a 'Summer' theme. So ... take a canvas, turn it around, find a lovely Summer picture or two and scrap it! This is what I made for the challenge:

This month four team members have been added to the Creative Team and therefore I couldn't resist showing ALL the other canvasses that have been made by the Creative Team and a Guest Creative Team Member. If these wonderful pieces of art below don't get inspire you, than I wonder what does?

The competition is meant for ladies in Belgium and the Netherlands, since the first prize is a 15,00 Euro gift voucher for Dolls & Decorations ( a scrapbook store in the Netherlands). But ... the second and third prize winners will be Guest Creative Team Members for the next month and that could be anyone, anywhere in the world. So ... I'd really love to see you have a go at this! Here are the project the other Creative Team members made:

Romy:

Liesbeth:

Nicky:

Ilonka:

Gwendolyn:

Maja:

Mariska:

Hanneke:

Petronella:

Ria:

A huge 'thank you' to Gayle Smith!

2010-07-31T19:35:00.001+02:00

Yes, that's right ... I'd like to thank my wonderful Sister in Christ and friend, Gayle Smith, for giving a new look to my three blogs! She did an amazing job making it look all 'clean and cute'. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I only met Gayle, who is from Western Australia, in real life once at at wonderful Scrap of Faith scrapbooking retreat in sunny Queensland in Australia in November 2008. But ... I knew through chatting on the forum that she is a wonderful and extremely talented lady. And ... she can sing like an angel and has written some beautiful worship songs; Gayle is truly a wonderful inspiration to me!

Gayle has a two challenge blogs that you might want to look at too. First there is a blog where kids can participate in a weekly photography challenge. My children have participated too and it is so wonderful to see what children come up with. Click HERE to go to the 'Captured by Kids' blog.

But ... not to worry; if you want to participate in a weekly photography challenge yourself, Gayle has a blog for that too: 'Captured that World' . Click HERE to check it out!

And ... her scrapping, both on paper and digital, is always beautiful to look at too. You can find Gayle's scrapping HERE. Gayle, thank you for who you are and thank you for making my blog look GOOD! x

Three more weeks of my 'Year in Review 2010' project ...

2010-07-30T23:05:00.000+02:00

The last three themes for the 'Year in Review 2010' project were:

lost or 'being lost'
being an original
something unexpected

So ... for the first theme I chose the opposite of 'lost or being lost', about being 'saved' and made a clean and simple page about a well-known and beautiful Scripture: John 3:16 ... in the Amplified Bible it says this:

"For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life."

For the second theme I knew straight away I just had to make a layout about our son Rick, who immediately will start to pull funny faces when he sees me with the camera:

The third layout is about our unexpected holidays to a vacation home in Spain in a few weeks. Until a few days ago we hadn't booked a holiday, but last weekend we looked online and found this beautiful home (with pool) close to the beach. So that was a nice unexpected surprise!

We are leaving for our holiday in about two weeks time already! Yippee!

Creating on a budget: two cards for less than $ 1.00

2010-07-30T04:05:00.000+02:00

I have made these two cards using white cardstock and some stamps for Scrap 'N Craft With T. The heart stamp from Prima has been used on both cards. These cards cost me less than $ 1.00 to make, which is a bargain. Obviously I bought the stamps and ink for more than that, but they have in my stash 'for ever' so they don't count ... LOL ...

The cards might be classified as 'Valentine's Day' cards, but I tend to tell my hubby 'I love you' many times a year/ month/ week and not only on the 14th of February. Therefore I decided to make some more cards to give to him in the next few weeks.

Here are the instructions on how to make these two cards. Below is the second card I made. I made it in 10 minutes; too easy. I always loved pop-up books and cards as a girl and that hasn't changed! Therefore I decided to make an easy pop-up heart card with lots of 'white space' to write stuff to my hubby!

Remember: for step-by-step instructions, please click HERE.

Cuties ... a layout about Emma and her cousin Sophie ...

2010-07-28T21:44:00.000+02:00

I made this layout about our daughter Emma and her cousin Sophie. They just looked too cute laying in the grass playing with the little flowers!

Blog Candy from Gwendolyn ... one of the new CT members at Scrappassion ...

2010-07-21T09:43:00.000+02:00

Gwendolyn is one of the 4 new CT members of Scrappassion. She is very happy to be chosen and is celebrating this with a blog candy. This is her message (click HERE to read her blog and join in the fun):

Hi everybody! Because I'm so happy that I made it in the Scrappassion Challenge Blog Creative Team I thought I would share my happiness with you! I bought some stuff for a candy.

I hope you like it and join this candy! What do you have to do, well first of all, put your name in Mister Linky and become a follower if you're not a follower yet. Please put this candy on your blog. And I always like a comment! Good luck with this candy and the winner will be announced on 16th of August (my brother and father's birthday).

One sketch; two layouts ...

2010-07-14T16:01:00.000+02:00

If I am stuck for inspiration I sometimes use a sketch to get me started. Today I want to show you a sketch I made (it is only the second or third time I ever made a sketch, so please forgive me my 'beginner style')). I also would like to show you the two layouts that I made using the same sketch. You can safely download a larger picture of the sketch HERE (of course it is free, but feel free to email me a picture of your layout if you have used my sketch ... )

The photos of both layouts are made on the same day; the day our boys had a 'fancy dress' day at school. I don't mind using the same sketch more than once, especially if the layouts end up in different albums! Our son Tom dressed up as a soldier and our son Rick dressed up as a rock star. I have taken photos of the different stages of the layouts.

First I cut the patterned papers and put them on the layouts.

I used a new set of Tim Holtz stamps in the corners of both layouts. The sketch shows flourishes, but obviously you can be creative and use different shapes too!

I added a border using a template and I added the photos and a title.

I added journaling and some more embellishments and this is the end result of both layouts:

And two close up pictures of the journaling:

Three weeks of '2010 in Review' ...

2010-07-08T10:53:00.000+02:00

A few weeks ago it had been exactly a year since we left Australia to live in the Netherlands. All five of us found it really hard to say goodbye and therefore I wanted to dedicate a page to that moment, the farewell at the airport and the long travel we did that week.

We also went on a family vacaction around that time and spent about two weeks in Thailand. It was fantastic!
Last weekend we bought a pool and we have used it daily, since Summer has truly started here in the Netherlands!

A new month, a new challenge ...

2010-07-02T06:42:00.000+02:00

Scrappassion has a new challenge for the month July. You have to create a layout using either black and white colours with a black and white photo (s) OR brown and beige colours with a sepia photo (s). Why don't you have a go at the challenge yourself?

I chose the 'sepia option' and made this layout about Siebe and myself. If you'd like to see what the other girls made, please click HERE.

Vintage Style Birthday Calendar

2010-07-01T17:23:00.000+02:00

I made this calendar for Scrap 'N' Craft. I wanted to challenge myself once again to try something in the vintage style. For step-by-step instructions and a list of materials, please click HERE.

My challenge for Scrap'N' Craft ...

2010-06-28T19:43:00.000+02:00

Scrap 'N' Craft is currently running the so called 'Embellish It Competition'. Every Design Team Member has been asked to create one challenge. My challenge is called 'Stitch It' you see my layout above, which is the example I made. You can read all about the challenge HERE. Make sure you check the gallery too, because there are wonderful prjoects being made!

'Creative Team' of Scrappassion Challenge Blog

2010-06-24T21:01:00.000+02:00

I made this layout for a challenge at 'De Scrapheap'. I used a picture of the Creative Team of Scrappassion. We met for the first time a few weeks ago and I wanted to scrap the picture of that day. It was wonderful to meet the ladies in real life and I had a great time scrapping and chatting with them!

Working Together; a granddad and three of his grandchildren ...

2010-06-23T23:30:00.000+02:00

I made this layout for a challenge at De Scrapheap. I challenged myself to only use papers and possibly embellishments that are five years old (or more). Well ... I did manage to use some of my very old and dusty papers and I even used a Sizzix die (the puzzle shape), which I bought at least five years ago too. The alphabet title and ticket are not that old, but hey ... at least I tried to use up some of my stash, now didn't I?

Some more pages of my 'Year in Review' project ...

2010-06-22T01:01:00.000+02:00

The themes for the last two weeks were: 'Chocolate' and 'World Cup Soccer'. Well ... since I truly don't care for chocolate much, I made a layout about a movie I saw almost ten years ago, called 'Chocolat'. I love that movie! And ... World Cup Soccer, well ... that was easy; everyone here in the Netherlands seems to think we are already the World Champions, there is orange everywhere!
This is what my 'Year in Review' spinner looks like right now. Obviously there are still about six more months to come, but it is already a nice collection of things that we did in 2010!

More blog candy to be won!

2010-06-20T06:55:00.000+02:00

The Scrapbook Company is giving away some blog candy and you can win this pack too! There are 12 doublesided papers and die cuts papers from the new line 'So Sophie' from My Minds Eye, journaling cards, rhinestones, felt swirls, flowers and a little tote!

How can you win this pack?

You have to become a follower of the Scrapbook Company Blog. You have to be a 'visible follower'.
Leave a message at the orginial post of the blog candy. You can find that message HERE.
Post a message about this candy on your blog and make sure the links work.

On the 15th of July the winner will be announced. Good luck!

'Sweet individual' ...

2010-06-20T00:01:00.001+02:00

I made this layout for Scrap 'N' Craft with T. I wanted to use the chipboard title 'Sweet Individual' and that suits our son Rick very well. He's our most quiet child, but when he speaks he will either make you laugh or touch your heart; truly a sweet heart! For step by step instructions, click HERE.

Our boys turned 11 today!

2010-06-16T09:17:00.000+02:00

We have been so blessed to call these handsome, smart, kind and adorable two boys (a.k.a.Tom Dijkstra and Rick Dijkstra) our 'own' for 11 years ... Thank you, God, for giving us the two best sons of the world! ♥

World Championship Soccer and some family photos ...

2010-06-14T23:05:00.000+02:00

Well ... the World Championsip Soccer has started! Today was the first time the Netherlands had to play. The game was on in the afternoon and all the students were asked to dress in orange. We watched the game on the Smartboard in the classroom. This is what my class looked like after the Netherlands got their second goal:

Emma and some of her friends at school today:

Some backyard soccer:

Cuddles with cute little kittens:

And, thanks to our 'own' photographer Tom, some family shots taken yesterday:

'Time Together' ... a layout about Emma and her friend ...

2010-06-14T22:30:00.000+02:00

I made this layout based on a PageMaps sketch. I love these two girls, Emma and her friend, and their precious friendship!

I'd never seen a white spider until today ...

2010-06-10T14:40:00.000+02:00

Whilst living in Australia, we have seen many, many black and hairy huntsman spiders. I am not terrified of spiders, but I cannot say I am a big fan of them either ... Especially if they look like this:

But ... today I noticed this little spider in our garden. Completely white and so tiny! I never thought I'd ever say this, but this little spider looked kind of cute:

Budget Scrapping: Creating a layout for less than $ 1.00!

2010-06-07T15:01:00.000+02:00

A while ago I created a layout for less than $ 1.00 and I had so many positive responses, that I thought I'd do it again! I wrote a step-by-step tutorial for the 'Scrap'N'Craft' blog about how I created the layout above for less than $ 1.00. Click HERE to see the instructions, pictures and list of materials. Happy BUDGET scrapping!

Year in Review ... a lot of weekly pages to share ...

2010-06-05T19:01:00.000+02:00

I have been keeping up with the 'Year in Review 2010' pages, but have totally forgotten to share them here ... the themes are: Queen's Birthday/ Royalty, Mother's Day, shopping, home, love and 'me' ...

Would you like to win one of these two wonderful prize packs?

2010-06-04T11:41:00.001+02:00

Last weekend we had our very first Creative Team meeting from the Scrappassion Challenge Blog and we came up with quite a few ideas to try over the next few months. One of these ideas has just been posted on the Scrappassion Blog.

Thanks to the two wonderful sponsors, De Scrapheap and Dolls and Decorations, the blog is giving away some great prizes! To have a chance to take home one of those, you need to do the following (please click HERE for Dutch instructions):

Become a FOLLOWER of the Scrappassion Challenge Blog
Reply to the original message (click HERE to read it) with a LINK TO YOUR OWN BLOG
Create a new post on your blog with an announcement about this BLOGHOP and invite your visitors to participate as well!
Make sure you add the following BLINKIES to your post. You MUST ADD THE THREE BLINKIES from Scrappassion, De Scrapheap and Dolls and Decorations. Feel free to add the photos of the prizes as well.
Make sure you add WORKING LINKS to the Scrappassion Blog, Dolls and Decorations and De Scrapheap.
You can only leave your comment once on the blog HERE.
If you leave a comment without a post on your blog, working links etc. your comment will be removed and you will not be able to win one of these prizes.
After the 30th of June we will choose two winners using the Random Number Generator.

Here are the blinkies you will need:

Of course you'd like to see the wonderful prizes too ... This is the prize pack from Dolls and Decorations:

This is the prize pack from De Scrapheap: a complete pack of papers and embellishments of Basic Grey Capella.

The value of each pack is around € 45,00 !!! Aren't these packs wonderful? I hope you all get on board and promote and supports the blogs and the two shops as much as you can!

Dare To Use Color ... the last dare ...

2010-06-02T15:01:00.000+02:00

Yes, it is true; the Dare To Use Color blog will not post any more challenges after this month. It has been wonderful to be a part of the team and we will continue to meet and scrap together! This month's dare is to create a layout using either black/white/ blue, black/white/green or black/white/ purple. I guess it is obivous which th ree colours I have used, hey? Click HERE to see the layouts of the other girls ... So why not grab this last chance to partipate at our challenge? There is a 15,00 Euro gift voucher from 'De Scrapheap' up for grabs ....

New challenge at Scrappassion for this month ...

2010-06-02T08:12:00.000+02:00

Ria from the Scrappassion Blog create a real challenge for this month! The challenge is to make a VINTAGE layout inspired by the layout below:

I like to look at vintage style layouts, but to create one myself?! Wow, now that is truly a challenge for me! This is the layout I made ...

I used brown inks, stamps, pages from an old Bible, swirls, flowers etc.

Click HERE to see the other layouts the Creative Team has made! The challenge was difficult for most of us, but aren't the results stunning?

Scrappassion is looking for one more CT member!

2010-05-31T19:06:00.000+02:00

We had our very first Creative Team meeting from 'Scrappassion' last Saturday. It was lovely to meet the six other girls! We decided to add one more person to the team, so make sure you check the 'Scrappassion Challenge Blog' for details. Unfortunately for all my international friends, this Creative Team call is for Dutch and possibly Belgian girls only ... This is a photo taken last Saturday:

We chatted a lot, but managed to scrap a bit here and there too. I created a 'challenge kit' with a few papers and embellishments and we all made a layout using the products from this kit. This is the layout I made:

BBQ with the family ...

2010-05-27T15:24:00.000+02:00

We had wonderful weather during our long weekend, so we celebrated Pentecost with a lovely family BBQ!

Cute little baby birds in our back yard ...

2010-05-26T20:07:00.001+02:00

Today we discovered a few little baby birds in our backyard. They could fly, but didn't mind cuddles with us ... so we have used these perfect photo opportunities! These birds are called 'koolmeesjes/ koolmezen' in Dutch.

I didn't know the English word for them, so I looked in the dictionary. I find the translation a bit 'strange', but I checked a few dictionaries and they all mentioned the two same words: 'great tit' or 'great titmouse', strange, hey? You only see them in Europe I believe, but I don't know too much about birds, so I could be wrong about this one too ... But hey, I surely think they are cute!

Another award ...

2010-05-17T19:50:00.000+02:00

Liesbeth gave me this Dutch Blogging Friendship Award ... I'd like to pass it on to : Carla, the owner of 'De Scrapheap' (my favourite Dutch scrapbooking store), Wendy en Judith!

I have done some more scrapping, but I cannot show it yet, since it is all 'Design Team stuff' ...

The first pictures of our new home ...

2010-05-12T19:46:00.000+02:00

In the last week we have moved. Here are the first few pictures of our new home. The pictures above show the living room and the pictures below show the dining room and my scraproom.

Embellish It Competition; come on and join us!

2010-05-10T08:43:00.000+02:00

Last year the 'Embellish It' Competition was a huge success! Therefore Tanyah and her team at 'Scrap 'N' Craft' decided to do it again! I participated last time and I have never been challenged to think outside the box, but I have never been more inspired too! And ... since I am part of the Tanyah's DT, I created a challenge for this competition too!

So ... it would be wonderful if some of you would have a go too! There are 2 parts this year, so please read carefully ... Please note that all prizes are in Australian dollars ...

To register by the 6th of June please ....

email your full name and gallery name to: Tanyah. We also need to know which competition you would like to be a part of (see details below).
register in the GALLERY
register in our SHOP

'EMBELLISH IT' COMPETITION...

Will run for nine (9) weeks starting with the first challenge on Friday the 11^th of June at 12 midday AEST.
ALL challenge entries will need to be put up in the Scrap N Craft with T Gallery by the following Wednesday, ready for our lovely Design Team girls to judge.
Only one entry per person. Your first entry for the week is the one that will count regardless of if you have or have not met the criteria.
No step by step photos allowed please. If you would like to do this please email us and we can do a separate blog post in a future week.
Everyone will need to register to participate. This is to be done in the gallery and shop. You will also need to email me with your gallery name and real name to make it easier to work out who has won the prizes.
Each Design Team member will provide 5 points that each week's criteria for their project will be judged on. This will change every week due to different projects that the Design Team member will do.
There will be weekly prize of a $20 voucher to the week's winning entry plus a Design Team gift.
The winner will receive a $100 voucher and $50 of goodies included in their order with a total of $150 for the winner. Second place will receive a $75 voucher and third place will win a $50 voucher.
There are permanent Design Team positions up for grabs but this is optional if you accept.
This year we are offering everyone who enters our competition and completes their weekly entries (in both the main competition and challenge section) a 10% discount in the shop. If you fail to create an entry for a week, your 10% discount ends.

Challenge Section

If you don't want to be eliminated and want to just feel challenged and want to extend your skills, than this is for you!

This is just for fun.
There will be the same challenges as the above competition challenges
If not all criteria isn’t met it will not matter.
There will be no judging of your work. Entering at all is the fun part, and will keep you in the running!
At the end of the ninth week, we will have a first and second prize that will be picked by Tanyah Payne (owner).
All eliminated entrants of the main competition are allowed to enter and be part of this challenge and be in the draw to win the first prize of $40 and second prize of $25.

Mother's Day Every Day, a layout and an award ...

2010-05-07T06:39:00.000+02:00

This weekend we celebrate Mother's Day all over the world. For all the mums reading this blog ... I do wish you all a wonderful Mother's Day (even though I like to think every day is Mother's Day) ... And ... I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about the organization: 'Mother's Day Every Day'.

'Mother's Day Every Day' believes that empowering women – beginning with a healthy pregnancy and safe childbirth – is the key to greater overall global health, self-sufficiency, economic growth and peaceful sustainability. Mothers raise children and provide their families with income and food. They ensure that children are educated and receive the health care they need. In short, when mothers survive childbirth, they give birth to healthier families, communities and nations.

I made this layout for 'Scrap 'N' Craft' using the gorgeous Basic Grey range 'Green at Heart' once again! We had a little 'Mother's Day' photo shoot happening and Emma and I both wore pink (our favourite colour)!

I received the award below from my scrapping friend, Hanneke. I am always honoured to receive an award, since it means my blog brings inspiration to others and that's the whole point of blogging anyway, right?

I would like to pass this award on to: Ria, Moira and Angele! I visit yours blogs regularly and I am always inspired by your work! Thanks girls! And ... again, to all the mums out there:

New dare at 'Dare to use Color' ... red and white ...

2010-05-03T07:45:00.000+02:00

The photos above are from a very cute store in Maastricht: 'De Sprookjeskamer' ... so many red and white products ... I got my inspiration for the red and white challenge whilst I was shopping here ... I bought the ribbon for my layout below in this store too ... I just love dots!

This month's dare at 'Dare to Use Color' is to create a layout using only red and white. This is the layout I made about Emma, when she was about 18 months old. If you'd like to see the layouts the other girls of the creative team have made, please click HERE. If you'd like to participate, but you don't speak Dutch, please don't hesitate to email me!

New month ... new challenge at Scrappassion ...

2010-05-01T08:08:00.000+02:00

Today is the 1st of May, which means there is a new challenge at Scrappassion. The challenge for this month is to create a layout using:

white cardstock as a base
a border punch
one 13 cm x 18 cm (or 5 inch x 7 inch) picture
at least one star (please note: the stars cannot be a pattern on the patterned paper, but you have to use chipboard, brads, stamps, stitching etc.)

Click HERE to see all the layouts that the Creative Team made for this challenge! The blog is in Dutch, so please let me know if you'd like to participate and/ or need translation ... Happy scrapping!

'Note to self: Beautiful in God's Eyes' ...

2010-04-22T15:44:00.000+02:00

I made this layout about a book I read recently. The title of the book is: 'Beautiful in God's eyes' by Elizabeth George. The book is about a chapter of the Bible; Proverbs 31. For as long as I can remember I have been challenged by that part, since it always tend to make me feel inferior. Reading Elizabeth's book changed my perspective and I am so grateful for that! I added a picture of myself with a smile on my face, since I truly am happier after reading that book!

In the last few years I have started to make layouts about books that are special to me. I love reading and I think it is important to let our children and future generations know about who we are, what we believe, what we like etc. Too many times I create layouts about my children, my husband, friends, holidays, but I encourage you to create more layouts about yourself too!

For a list of materials and step by step instructions for this layout, please click HERE!

I am now the mum of a twelve year old daughter ...

2010-04-22T13:03:00.000+02:00

Yesterday Emma celebrated her 12th birthday with two good friends. They wanted to do a photo shoot and I obviously didn't mind; since I love taking pictures ... here are some impressions of yesterday ... they even did some baking together ... so much fun!

A layout for less than $ 1.00!

2010-04-17T06:55:00.000+02:00

We all love to buy new scrapbooking products, don't we? But ... sometimes we cannot afford to spend much or we cannot spend anything at all. I wanted to create a layout using only one sheet of patterned paper and nothing else. I was quite surprised to see how easy it was and how it still turned out to be a colourful and fun layout. This layout cost me less than $ 1.00! If you'd like to see step by step instructions, please click HERE.

I have been busy with my new job, but I have still managed to scrap!

2010-04-15T20:59:00.000+02:00

This is a layout I made for 'Scrap 'N' Craft with T'. I was lucky to receive one of the latest collections of Basic Grey, Green at Heart. Step by step instructions can be found HERE. You will see lots more layouts and cards with these beautiful papers and embellishments in the next few weeks ...

This is a layout about one of the stars in our family: Tom.

This is the layout I made for Week 15 of my 'Year in Review' album. It is about 'going places' and these pictures were taken when we were in Friesland.

I made this card a while ago, but never got around to show here. It is simple, but the message 'I believe in you' stands out, which is what I wanted ...

This is layout about Emma when she was only six days old. She'll turn 12 next week and I really felt like scrapping some pictures from when she was a baby!

I made this layout for a scrapbook competition at 'De Scrapheap'. I just heard I got the second prize, which means I can go shopping for free: I love that ...

This is a layout about my 'own prince charming' (a.k.a. Siebe, my dear husband of over 13 years) ...

New challenge at 'Dare to use Color': orange - yellow

2010-04-08T16:30:00.000+02:00

The new challenge for April at the 'Dare to use Color' blog is to create a layout using the colours orange and yellow. You can use a bit of black and white, but the main colours have to be orange and yellow. As you can see, I have chosen to go pretty bright with this layout, but I wanted it to truly 'shine'. We always love seeing new visitors participate, so why not have a go this time? The blog is in Dutch, but I can always help you with the translation!

'Year in Review 2010 Album'

2010-04-07T19:55:00.001+02:00

I have been keeping up with my 'Year In Review' album, but have forgotten to share the photos here ... so ... here are the layouts I have made in the last few weeks. The theme for week 11 was 'your handbag'. I changed it a bit, since I have done layouts about my handbag and its contents before. I changed the theme to my 'favourite bag'. It is the bag with my three Bibles in it!

The theme for week 12 was 'Spring', since Spring has arrived at this side of the earth! I used photos of a lovely lunch I had with two friends. It was the first day we sat in the sun!

The theme for week 13 was 'the number 13'. Since I don't believe in lucky numbers or unlucky numbers or anything like that, I just made a layout about the fear of the number 13 (which is called Triskaidekaphobia).

This week's theme was Easter. Even though we took some lovely pictures during our family visit on the weekend, I wanted to focus on the true meaning of Easter and what a precious celebration it is!

An award from Jolanda!

2010-04-05T07:20:00.000+02:00

Jolanda gave me this 'Beautiful Blogger Award' ... such a nice way to start the week! Thanks, Jolanda!

Easter Wreath with felt flowers and real flowers ...

2010-04-02T08:21:00.000+02:00

Today I'd like to show you an Easter Wreath that I made. Well ... I bought the basket, which is shaped like a wreath, but added my own touch to it, because I like lots of colour! As a scrapper and/ or cardmaker I am always looking of other things/ projects to use my products and/ or tools.

On the first picture below, you see what it looked like when I bought it. The cute pink flowers are from a plant and yes, they are real! I live in the Netherlands, so Spring has started and we have the cutest and most colourful flowers all around us!

Some more photos to show you some more details; de felt flowers were in my stash and the two cute birdies were bought at a cheap store. I used my branch punch and green cardstock for the little branches behind the flowers.

April challenge at the Scrappassion Challenge Blog!

2010-04-01T15:06:00.001+02:00

The challenge at the Scrappassion Challenge Blog for April is created by Petronella and Hanneke. Petronella had the idea to use a school photo of ourselves (you cannot use a photo of your child) and Hanneke had an advert to get inspiration from (see picture below). You are free to get inspired by the colours, the square blocks, things on the photos ... whatever gets your creative juices flowing!

If you'd like to participate, please email your layout to Ria before the end of April. Click HERE to see all the layouts from our CT and our Guest Creative Team.

This is the layout I made for this challenge. I used three photos of myself at Kindy and Year 1 and added lots of different colours and bits and pieces like the ad. I also cropped my three pictures into squares, which was inspired by the ad too.

Handmade flowers with a twist ...

2010-03-26T07:13:00.000+01:00

I made these cards for Scrap 'N' Craft. I made a tutorial on how to make these flowers. You can find the step-by-step instructions and pictures HERE.