The Adventures of Us

Stickygram

If you follow my blog, you will know that I have been doing a monthly project using my iPhone Instagram photos. Since finally getting an iPhone at the end of last year, I have been addicted to the endless array of apps available. I love photography and taking photos, so the Instagram app is of course one of my favourites and I use it on a daily basis.

So when I came a across Stickygram and discovered I was able to have my Instagram photos transformed into magnets, I was instantly sold. At only $14.95 and free international shipping, I just couldn't resist!

So I placed my first order and they arrived in the mail today. They are now proudly being displayed on my fridge at home....

I think I will be ordering many more of these as I take more photos, such a cute way of showing off the everyday bits and pieces of your life.

Dayna xxx

Some Exciting News!!!

Earlier this year, I discovered an awesome little shop on Etsy that I just fell in love with. Shelley Haganman is the creator of {A Flair For Buttons} and makes the most adorable buttons for all occasions and for all types of uses. You can see my layout in this POST, where I used a little camera button as a finishing touch. I have been hooked since I made my first purchase and now I have a pile of Shelley's brilliant little creations that I can wait to use.

But this is the exciting bit...

A little while ago, Shelley announced on her blog that she was looking for a new Design Team and urged people to apply. So I put my name forward and was over the moon yesterday when I got the email saying I had been picked to join the team. I am so excited to be a part of this and can't wait to show you all some of the things I will create, showcasing {A Flair For Buttons}!!!

Here is the entire Design Team....

Please check out their individual blogs to the right of this page.

They are full of inspiration...

See you soon with lots of new creations!

Dayna xxx

A little bit late...

Ok, so I'm a little bit late with this layout. I started it last month and my intention was to enter it for the monthly sketch challenge at Creative Scrappers. Time got away with me and I never got it completed until after the end of month deadline. Even though I can't enter it, I can still share it here.

If you are ever looking for a bit of inspiration to get you started on a new layout, then head over to Creative Scrappers, pick one of their sketches for the current month and have a go yourself.

For this layout I put my own spin on sketch #202. The main products I used were Crate Paper's Toy Box collection, but I also used products from two of my favourite Etsy shops. The two tags you see are from Greatest View and the little camera button, is from A Flair for Buttons. Please check them both out, as their stuff is just wonderful and also slightly addictive.

Here is the sketch...

and here is my layout...

I'll be back soon.

Dayna xxx

Instagram Project | April 2012

Well, April is done and dusted and we're now half way through May. That means there is another installment of my 2012 Instagram Project that I need to share. If you didn't see my original post about this project you can read all about it HERE.

April was another busy month for us. The start of another Auskick season, another trip down to Preston Beach, the April school holidays and more importantly the start of the demolition of our back yard to make way for the pool installation in June.

So here it is, another month captured by my iphone, with the help of the Instagram app.

If you would like to have a go at this project or something similar, head over to Designer Digitals and purchase Cathy Zielske's Template No.89.

See you soon, with a good old traditional scrapbooking layout that I have almost finished.

Dayna xxx

Instagram Project | March 2012

I've caught up!!! January, February and now March are complete, which means I'm up to date and the plan is to keep it that way. At the end of each month I will pick my 8 favourite Instagram photos and create a layout using the Cathy Zielske photoshop template No. 89.

My only problem now is, how to display them. I was going to put them into an album (even though 8.5" x 11" albums are hard to come by), but it seemed a shame to file them away. I bought and A4 sized frame today, with the intention of making a display on one of my walls, but the layout didn't fit in the A4 frame.  I would love some suggestions on what I could do with these layouts....

I'll hopefully be back soon with some of my usual style in the form of a traditional layout.

Dayna xxx

Instagram Project | February 2012

If you saw my previous post, you will know that I am embarking on a month by month album project using my Instagram photos from my iPhone. If you didn't see my previous post you can read all about it HERE.

So because I only came up with this idea now in March, I had January and February to catch up on. I showed you January's in the previous post and now here is February's...

If you want to do something similar with Cathy Zielske's template, you can purchase and download it HERE at Designer Digital's.

It's almost the end of March, so I will share another soon.

Dayna xxx

Going Hybrid with Cathy Zielske...

I've always avoided the digital side of scrapbooking. Aside from printing out journalling, I have never really been a fan of creating an entire layout digitally. There are probably two reasons for this, firstly that I'm only a very basic user of Photoshop Elements, I'm slowing getting better, but still need to learn a lot more to be any good. Secondly, I still love the idea of playing with paper, I like the physicality of all the embellishments, papers and dimensions of the finished layout.

Recently though I have been admiring layouts people have been doing with their instagram photos from their iPhone's. Some are a day by day, some are month by month, etc, etc... I've been wanting to do something like this for ages, but I know it's something I will fall behind with if the overall design if complicated and time consuming. I wanted to create a month by month account of our lives, I wanted it to follow the same design theme and I wanted it to be something that I could do quickly and easily at the end of each month, that would still look great.

This is where Cathy Zielske's amazing Photoshop templates came in. I have always admired and adored Cathy's clean and simple (and digital) scrapbook style, but never felt I had the digital or design skills to pull it off. So when I came across the pre-made templates that Cathy designs, it sparked a new urge to create my month by month Instagram album.

I chose Cathy's No.89 template to base the design of my album on. I don't normally scrap in 8.5" x 11", but this way I could print it off on my own printer at home, as I don't have a 12 x 12 printer.

Here is the template design...

I decided to do a hybrid layout instead of completely digital. I printed off the template of white cardstock and then matted it with some black cardstock, before basing it on some patterned paper from Fancy Pants Love Birds collection.

Here is my layout for January 2012...

The imaged is scanned instead of photographed, so it's not the best quality, but I'm happy with the result. Now I have to get caught up on February and March and then it's just a matter of one at the end of each month. Oh and I guess I will have to buy some page protectors and a new 8.5" x 11" album.

I'll be back soon to share more..

Dayna xx

Creative Scrappers | Sketch #199

It's no secret that I love sketches and very rarely start a new layout with out using them. One of my favourite sketch challenge blogs is Creative Scrappers. There is a limitless supply of ideas and inspiration on this blog, not only from the creator Kristine Davidson, but also from the very talented list of designers that provide layouts based on the sketches.

I've decided to have a go at Sketch #199 this month...

 

Here is my layout based on the above sketch...

 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

I'll be back soon...

Dayna xxx

Scraplifting from Pinterest

There is already an endless supply of scrapbooking inspiration online, like all the blogs I follow and a few online galleries. Well now I have discovered a new source and it's becoming a bit of an addiction...PINTEREST!!!

The ideas and talent on there amzing and limitless, so when I was looking for ideas for a new layout, Pinterest was where I went.

I decided to scraplift the layout below from a very talented scrapper, Zarah in Sweden. Her style is beautiful and I hope she doesn't mind that I borrowed her idea and put my own spin on it.

Here is Zarah's original layout...

and here is my version of the same layout...

So head on over to Pinterest to find your own inspiration. I would love to see what you come up with...

Dayna xxx

Shop & Crop | March Crop Kit

I was very lucky again, as part of the design team for Shop and Crop Scrapbooking, to be asked to design the layouts for this month's Crop Kit. This kit is jam packed with all sorts of goodies, including the new Teresa Collins Everyday Moments range. Do yourself a favour and have a look at the great kits up for offer at Shop & Crop.

Here is what I came up with....

As you can see from both layouts, I'm a bit of a fan of paint smearing at the moment. I especially love it as a background around photos, to really make them stand out.

It's so easy to do....

Just get an old credit card or something similar. Dip one edge is a blob of paint and get smearing. You can do it as thick or thin as you like and the more random the better. It also works really well on textured cardstock too and you can even sand it back a little once it is dried to give a great aged effect. Give it a go!!!

I'll be back with more soon.

Dayna xxx