And finally ...

I'm sneaking in some final July challenge items for Feeling Sketchy and I can't quite get my head around the fact that in less than 24 hours we will be in August and it seems no time at all since I took down the Christmas Tree and put away all those decorations .... something can be said for leaving it up all year!!

My card based on Card Sketch 96.

My layout based on Page Sketch 95.

Goodbye July 2014 !

Three or More in July ...

Joining in with the very first challenge on Three or More where the challenge every month is to use 3 or more photographs on your layout and to then follow on with their monthly extra criteria in this case to use frames.

I've also borrowed from the colour palette on the "sort of" moodboard and incorporated quite a lot of yellow and black on my page.  This is the story of my daughter and her boyfriend attending Imogen Heap concerts in Sydney in 2010 and 2011.  She's a major fan!!

Lasting Memories #201 and a little LPS ...

If you're looking for the Lasting Memories button blog hop and/or my little giveaway - please click  HERE.  There is still time to hop,  leave a comment or two and be in the running for our giveaways.









The final challenge on Lasting Memories this month (#201) is a personal favourite of mine - ANYTHING GOES (although it does need to be a layout).  I love these especially if they fall at the end of a time poor month, no pressure and freedom to do what I like without having to put a great deal of planning into it. Just time to get those memories down onto paper.

All our July challenges close on Friday, August 1 at 9pm (US time).

Here is my sample Anything Goes page ...  another for my vacation album.

 Lasting Memories is happy for entrants to combine our challenges with another challenge blog  which is exactly what I have done myself.  An Anything Goes theme suits doing this very well.

My page has also been combined with the moodboard challenge over on  Life Paper Scrapbook.  I've picked up the yellow pink and grey from the colour palette.

Christmas in July ...

Usually someone in the scrapping challenge world will do a Christmas in July theme and I was not disappointed when Sugar and Spice Craft Challenge came to the rescue with a theirs.

I've taken the colours from this picture - the pink, blue and  green on a kraft background to showcase some photographs I have had on file for some years but never gotten around to scrap.  This was the Christmas we had kittens in the house and what a nightmare it was too.  This little guy took a real interest in the Christmas tree, climbing it's branches, knocking off the decorations and generally causing havoc.  It was a season to remember.

ScrapStuffz for July ...

A sweet little inspiration picture at ScrapStuffz "Inspired by" this month.

I love birds - our home backs a National Park we get so much bird life in the trees behind our house an coming to visit our yard and venture into our street.  An entire family of kookaburras, sulphur crested white cockatoos, pink and grey gullah's, magpies, ducks, blue wrens, willy wagtails, plovers ... just to name a few.  We are so lucky.

Here we have a visiting white cockatoo.  These guys are regular visitors to urban areas.  They are a large white parrot with a distinctive sulphur-yellow crest and a yellow wash on the underside of the wings. They do make for noisy neighbours with a distinctive loud screech, ending with a slight upward inflection. They are also popular caged birds and can live up to eighty years of age in captivity.

Easy as 123 ...

It is all about colours on 123 Get Scrappy this month.

This month is a little different. You still must use 3 in a row but try to only use the colors in that row on your creation! So, if you chose Purple, Orange and Green....try to only use those three colors. 

I've gone with the diagonal of turquoise/aqua, yellow and green with this page for my travel album.

Lasting Memories Blog Hop - 200th challenge ...

Hello and thanks for stopping by! 

We're hopping with celebration and excitement this week :) Yep, we're having a blog hop in celebration of our 200th post on Lasting Memories! Our challenge? BUTTONS! We are looking for buttons, buttons everywhere on those layouts this week! Along the way, you'll see that some of us are offering a little candy on our blogs but you have to visit us to see who! We've also gotten a little creative with our buttons so we hope you'll be inspired!

 You should have arrived here from Claire's blog and if this is your first stop, please be sure to hop back to Lasting Memories to start the hop so you don't miss a thing! Each of us has a letter for you to collect that will spell out two scrapbook themed words, so don't forget to jot down my letter which you'll see below. Once you've completed the hop, leave your answer in the comment section back at Lasting Memories. Comments will be moderated so there's no peeking! Then you have to enter your LO and guess what?! Our grand prize winner will receive a $25 gift certificate from A2Z Scrapbooking Store!! Awesome right?? Oh!! And one MORE thing! I'm also offering up some candy here as well .... some button candy.  Please leave a comment below telling me how you like to use buttons to be in the running.  Prize will be drawn using random.org at the completion of the hop.

Now time to reveal my complete layout!

I've used my buttons as a replacement for a border strip or row of embellishments - in fact you can use a button anywhere you would normally place a flower, bling or anything else.  Got to love those versatile buttons!

Only those who play the game and enter the actual challenge have a chance at winning the Grand Prize. 
***BOTH traditional AND digital layouts allowed!!  Remember, LAYOUTS only please!***
Your next stop is Kimberly's blog!! And don't forget to jot down my letter which is (E)

Have fun and happy hopping!

HOP LINE UP (left click to see link)

Lasting Memories Claire Jane Kimberly Karen W Karen B Denise Michele Elizabeth Darcy Lasting Memories Hope you can play along !!!

Something Sassy ...

I'm enjoying the trend of using moodboards for challenge blogs.  Sassy Scrappers have a very nice one this month which has inspired me to create a page for my family heritage album.

I was obviously drawn to the black and gold featured heavily in the board.  I have used a strip of transparency behind my photo and stamped onto my background paper to enhance the gold.  A few strategically placed brads help to lift the page.

These photos are of my father and his sister on the family farm in the mid 1930's when children.

Lasting Memories - #199 ...

This week on Lasting Memories ...


LM 199 -  Sketch

and my take on it .....

Doing an everyday page documenting life as it is today ...

CASology 102 ...

Playing along with CASology - Week 102

Some very cute cards up on their blog - many with the balloon and boat theme going on but I wanted to be a little different so have done a card showing dandelions floating in the wind.

Hope you can play along too.

Lasting Memories - first challenge of July ...

This week on Lasting Memories ...

LM 198 - "My Country Tis of Thee" Do a layout of something you like to visit in your country!

I love the red heart of Australia - the rugged, mysterious and vast arid center of our Nation.  This is the view from the very top of Uluru - only the lucky and the brave ever get to see this, the walk to the top is arduous and every year a number of tourists die whilst struggling to the top.
Hope you can play along with us.

One last June challenge ...

And I'm squeezing in one final June challenge over on 123 Get Scrappy.  I try to play along most months and thought I'd run out of time for this one.

  I've used the pearls, brads and stripes diagonal on the bingo card to create this page.

A special month on ARTastic ...

We have a very exciting challenge for you this month. ARTastic is joining forces with CSI – Color.. Stories.. Inspiration.. to bring you a joint ARTastic challenge and CSI collaboration Case File which will be open on both sites for the entire month of July. 

We will be working with this amazing Australian Government promotional travel poster, circa 1930.

The ARTastic criteria is to use striped patterned paper somewhere on your page.

So two challenge blogs and now double the chances of winning for July. Please upload your layout both at ARTastic and in the CSI Gallery to be eligible for monthly donated prizes on both sites BUT please remember you must include the criteria of striped patterned paper for ARTastic and then the additional case file criteria for CSI on your page. 

Of course if you don't wish to play along with CSI you are most welcome just to upload your ARTastic criteria page here with us.

Here is my page ...

I just loved the colours in this poster - so vibrant and carefree.  I've used scallops and polka dots, added in a little bird and used photographs from a summer vacation from a few years ago.

I so hope you can take some time to enter this month - we would love to see your pages.

It is July on Pixels and Paper ...

I think everyone will love the challenge we have for you on Pixels and Paper this month - who doesn't like a ferris wheel?

We are also putting out a DT call for several new members to join our design team.  Please find all the relevant details on the blog.  Applications close 20th July.

This month we are working with this terrific image - does this take you back to the fun fairs of your youth?  Do you remember riding on the carousel or taking your children on the merry-go- round?  Does this remind you of those fun times on the dodgem cars or of eating fairy floss (cotton candy) until you we so sick you couldn't eat another bite!  Perhaps you think of going to the circus or visiting the rides at shopping centres or at vacation spots.  Maybe you just like the colours - I see lots of red, yellow, blue and white, there's stars and flags and puffy white clouds.

and here is my page ....

JANE

This image made me immediately think of all the fun fairs and circus troops we have visit the area where I live.  They set up on an oval near the waterfront and as I go past this area at least four times each week day they become a familiar and comforting sight for the time they are visiting us.  The Great Moscow Circus was very special as rather than the traditional "big top" they had a series of turreted tents, I guess to replicate the domes of St Peter's Basilica in The Red Square in Moscow.  None the less it was an impressive sight.

Hope you can play along this month - we'd love to see what you make of our photograph.