Better Late Than Never! Part 1 (Chinese Whispers)

Today I am going to share the first of the Chinese Whisper Groups from our Retreat - hence the title Better Late Than Never as I had intended to add these in the weeks after the retreat rather than months after!

So for those of you unfamiliar with the Chinese Whispers Challenge it goes like this:

The group starts off with a sketch. This group started with this sketch used with the kind permission of Miyuki Kawakami.

The first person in the group works from this sketch to make their layout and then photographs it and posts the picture of just their layout to the next person who uses that as the basis for their layout.

As the chain progresses elements will inevitably be moved around, swapped for other items and the layout design is tweaked.

When the retreat comes around everyone puts their layouts for the challenge up on the wall in order and we all get to see how the design has evolved as the challenge has progressed.

So without further ado here are the layouts from this group.

Layout 1 by Mel Hand

Layout 2 by Antonia Sturt Hammond



















Layout 3 by Flick Rogers

Layout 4 by Louise Squires



















Layout 5 by Tracy Annunziato



















Layout 6 by Mel Eagles



















Layout 7 by Debbie Jewell



















Layout 8 by Helen Howden


















 
Layout 9 by Erin Muir




















I think you will agree that it is fascinating to see which elements have been taken by each designer to use in their own layout and which have been set aside. The final layout is very different from the starting sketch and that is the fun of the Chinese Whispers challenge!

I have two more groups to post, it's taken me a couple of months to post these but hopefully the wait for group 2 will be a little shorter!!

Feeling Fringey!

At the retreat I taught a class with the lovely Vicki Boutin "All The Good Things" papers, I had an plan for what I wanted to do for the first layout and then I planned to use strips of the paper in the second layout to create a stripey background.

When I came to assemble the second layout I just couldn't make it work how I wanted and I got a little frustrated - it just seemed really plain and uninspiring. I decided to get out my fringing scissors and have a play - the fringed edges added a lot more texture and created interest and suddenly my page came together quite quickly.

Usually at the retreat I spend most of the day time setting up classrooms, teaching, answering questions about shop items and liaising with the hotel staff about meals, refreshments etc... but in the evening I usually get chance to spend a little time playing with paper myself. To try and make the most of that time I made a few sketches, packed a few bags of product I wanted to use together on a project and matched it up with photos. This time I knew I wanted to make use of those fringing scissors to indulge myself in a little scraplift.

I love this layout by Paige Evans and wanted to make my own version. I precut the LOVE YOU out of a sheet of kraft cardstock using my Silhouette and decided I would use the Pink Paislee range Pick Me Up (designed by Paige Evans) for my version. On hers she cut the letters, added the fringed strips then adhered those to a background, I wanted an easier option so instead I used the negative from the cut words as a top layer on a sheet of white cardstock. This allowed me to add simple strips of fringed paper onto the white and then add the kraft so that the fringing showed through only in the cut areas.

To finish I outlined the letters, added the words Sweet and Heart either side of the photo and a few co-ordinating embellishments.

 Don't forget to share your latest creations with us over on the ATDML # Create Facebook page - we love to see what you have been making.

Goodbye and please come again!

So I was up first with a class on Friday and I am closing the retreat with my Graphic 45 class today.  What a fabulous weekend it has been with fine food, fabulous friends and absolutely sumptuous classes.  ATDML really know how to throw a retreat, just looking at all the happy faces and listening the the comments from the lovely attendees is a testament to the Fab Five who put in all the hard work to make it happen.

So for the last class of the weekend I taught a two page layout.  I have, for some time, wanted to make a layout that was opulant and festooned with sparkle and flowers but, other than cutting all the flowers out on the Silhouette - a mammoth task for a class of 30+, I couldn't see how I could mange it.

Then the fabulous Denise gave me her Big Shot and a whole new world of crafting was opened up to me - die cutting. 

 Having retreat selfie fun with The Fabulous Denise

So I was able to buy the necessary dies, add some punches and the class was manageable, with everyone cutting out their own elements. 

The resulting page was one featuring lots of flowers, lace, gold and sparkle and a photo of my very lovely 3 year old Gracia.  I am going to put it into a box frame and bring it out each Christmas as a piece of home decor .

I had more than enough papers left over to make a second layout featuring our 'mad as a hatter' family in our prefered Christmas headgear.

So, waving goodbye from the retreat and looking forward to the spring when we can do it all again. 

Welcome to the 2015 Autumn Retreat

Hello, Hello Lovely People. 

This is the first, of I suspect many, blog posts from the ATDML Autumn Retreat 2015.

I taught first today and my class was three layouts using Simple Stories - We Are Family.    If you follow the link to the shop site you will see that this range has many more gorgeous items than I have used on my pages.  I feel a little spend coming on!

The aim of this class was to get the most out of 'Project Life' style cut-a-part papers and to demonstrate, with the second page, how a 'Project Life' style page can be achieved without actually using divided page protectors.

The first two are designed to go side by side in a album and I have used the same format as I use in my 'Month in Five' album - 1 large photo on the left and 4 smaller ones on the right.  Look at that gorgeous wood-grain cardstock!

The third page uses up most of the remains of the kit (Jill & Mel are so generous with their kit content - such good value for money, three layouts from one class) for a page that celebrates almost 30 years of marriage.

I can't wait to see what the other dt have made for their classes as, contrary to popular belief, we don't see any classes other than our own until they are revealed on the day!

Hope your day is as fantastic as I know mine will be - fabulous company, cutting and sticking and a plentiful supply of cupcakes - what more could you ask for?

Just another manic Monday

Many of you will start the week on half term, with the kids home from school or certainly less traffic on the roads! Here at ATDML we are all systems go preparing for the retreat this coming weekend.
Kits are being packed, instructions are being written and its just another manic Monday.

A few of the team having been posting some sneak peaks of their class projects over on Facebook, giving a tease of what is to come and here are a few of those.

This is a snap shot of the second layout of three that forms part of my Simple Stories Pumpkin Spice class. Just search for Pumpkin Spice in the store to find these papers.

Another of my classes is Echo Park The Story of Our Family and this is my share of what is to come from one of two layouts I will be teaching with these lovely papers and stickers.

I am almost too excited by these cork bows that Karen will be using in her Dear Lizzy Documentary class by American Crafts - how cute are they?

Katherine has also been tempting us with her Kaisercraft Time Machine sneak peak - this will be my first class of the weekend!

And be still my beating heart at the goldness on our Debs Summer Vibes page - papers by Simple Stories.

Mel is keeping us all in suspense on her classes so no sneak peaks from her as yet but I for one cannot wait for the weekend and this Monday can be as manic as it likes - we are just one day closer to a weekend full of inspiration. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled over the weekend as I am sure there will be many photos and plenty of inspiration being shared. 

Have a great week.

Color Caos

Well, yesterday's class was a success and I was up first again today.  Another three page class but this time using Bella BLVD's Color Chaos.  These papers are the polar opposites to the ones I used yesterday, they are very bright and bold.  

I loved these as soon as I saw them too - what a fickle scrapper I am - and the first layout came together very quickly.  This has the option of using the flower paper with cut out flowers as embellishments or using the star paper with cut out stars for a more masculine layout.

The second features different ways to use embossing folders - embossing silver foil, embossing plastic, embossing and sanding Core D'Ination cardstock, using the folders to print on water colour paper.

 By using the reverse of the papers a very different look can be achieved.

My final layout shows how this paper can look just as good against a black background and involves lots of layering. As soon as I saw the cut-a-part with the words 'You Will Forever Be My Always' I knew I had to use it on a page or on a card.

Retreat News - Class 1

Today is the day!  The first day of the long awaited ATDML Retreat and I was first up to teach at 1:30 with my class using the absolutely gorgeous Enchanted range from Simple Stories.  Unashamedly girlie - perfect to scrap photos of my unashamedly girlie girl!  

This was a three page class 

Page 1 - Hello Princess

The second page - Happily Ever After - not quite so feminine but still making the most of the gorgeous pastel tones of the papers. 

 Apologies for the camera flash across Josh's head!

 And the third one - Make A Wish - back to the girlie/princess vibe of the range.