Autumn outdoors

It's my favourite time of year again and although it's getting chilly (and I hate the cold) there are some of my favourite activities..... and excuses to eat some of my favourite foods.

The Simple stories 'Forever fall' range is full of lovely autumnal tones and cosy prints, perfect for Halloween, bonfire night or winter sunsets. There are also lighter shades for the cool, frosty mornings, outdoor activities and walks.

I started by used ink and bubble wrap to create a smudgy print on the kraft card.  I then cut some black and maroon gingham papers from '3x4 elements' and 'changing leaves' into some obtuse triangles. I wanted to create alternate slices to cut across the page so some are cut 'top left to bottom right' and others are 'top right to bottom left' 

I ran a section of the triangle side of 'Get cosy' down the centre of the page to give the effect of rising sparks.  I mixed up the triangles and arranged these on the left and right of the page.  I then cut coloured sections from the striped side of 'Get cosy' so the darker muted shades were at the top and the warmer colours at the top. 

Using Nuvo crystal drops I dotted some swirls up the page to act like smoke.  To finish I added some pen detail and some beautiful glittery 'Bewitched' thickers.

For the second layout, I used some of the 'changing leaves' and 'Autumn love' range and mixed it with sections of the 'Little man' paper from Simple stories 'Lil' Dude' range.   I cut a selection of 1", 2" & 3" triangles - I also kept the scrap from one of the largest triangles.    I arranged these across the page leaving a diagonal line running down the centre of the page.  I wanted to give a bumpy rocky appearance and leave space for the title. 

I added the scrap triangle section to the bottom right-hand corner of the page and then added the title.

I matted the photo onto the kraft colour side of the 'Autumn love' paper and then onto the gingham side of the 'changing leaves' paper.  I then cut around the squares roughly using diagonals and lines to give a random edge.  To finish I added super shiny chrome thickers, doodle lines and journalling.

November sketch challenge

Hello everyone. A very tired and jet-lagged Dolly here with a new sketch challenge for you.

This one uses lots of squares and is perfect for using up those scraps we all religiously keep and rarely use.

This is my page made from the sketch - two of my loves ... Nigel and Starbucks!

I hope you have fun witht he sketch and if you do make a page inspired by it then please do post your creation in the gallery on our facebook page here.

October Colour Challenge

Hello everyone - Dolly here for one of my favourite times of the year. I love Autumn. I love the special light you get, the beautiful colours, the cooler days, the dusky evenings.

I have chosen a palette that would suit Autumn pictures but would work just as well for those summer photos you have still got to get scrapped.

I hope you find time to play along and, if you do, please share your pages in the album in our facebook group here 

October virtual crop by Tricia

Although I do love summer (for that one day we get in Scotland), Autumn is my favourite time of year.  unfortunately we can't always bank on the weather.

The Bo Bunny 'Beautifully Brisk' range has a lovely mix of beautiful autumnal shades and prints perfect for the rainy days when they come.  We've teamed them up with some matching brads and Studio calico alphas to finish it off.

I wanted to create 2 pages that make the most of layering tonal shades and same prints to give the feeling of hanging leaves and lashing rain.

You can find the instructions here

Don't forget to share your version of the pages you create in our Facebook group ATDML # Create.

Katherine October Virtual Crop with Marion Smith's Nirvana

Hello everyone, here is my class using the beautiful Marion Smith Nirvana papers alongside.  I've created 2 pages using lots of the elements from the papers and some beautiful rub ons for the title, distressing the edges and inking to give a shabby chic feel to the pages.  The papers are perfect for the men in your life and the colours are neutral with a splash of beautiful aqua.  

Please hop over to the website to download the instructions and share any pages you create in our Facebook group ATDML # Create.

Then don't forget to come back at 2pm to see Tricia's class with an autumnal feel.

Katherine

October Virtual Crop Class by Karen

Summer Smiles 

I was thrilled to be working with the gorgeous Bo Bunny Felicity papers again as they lend themselves so well to many different themes and have that all important fussy cutting element to them.

The class included three pages for you to make, of which this is just one.  And, if you are like me and a little afraid of mixed media - or if you love mixed media and like to include it - then this is a page I hope you are going to enjoy.

I hope you enjoy the class and I look forward to seeing what you make with the kit.

 Instructions can be found here.

Come back at noon to see what Katherine has been up to for her class and don't forget to stop by on the ATDML # Create Facebook page and share your creations.

Truly Grateful

Hi everyone, Dolly Here

I have had lots of different reasons to be truly grateful over the past couple of weeks with everything from good health news, stunning Autumn Days and new beautiful papers to work with. The papers are - appropriately enough - Truly Grateful by Pink Paislee available in store right now. They are such gorgeous colours and I have loved having a play with them.

I can share three of the pages I have made.

The little houses were too sweet not to cut out and use as embellishments and I loved the word paper which makes titles a piece of cake.

 Border strips make pages simple too

and I added some punched hearts from paper scraps along with a little stamping

For this page, I used some of the square block papers, cut in half for triangles, as a base for the photo.
I

 I added faux stitching and some stamping

and more of the little houses along with a few gems

and finally more of the papers and word strips and a tag cut from the papers.

I hope that you all have plenty of things to be grateful for in your lives and that they Truly Grateful papers bring you joy too.