SST 2014 Grand Finale

Here's just a shortie for you with my layout for the Grand Finale of the Supreme Scrap Tournament. I've been just a bit too busy to produce something I can be proud of. I don't feel good at all about this one. Plus it's really poorly photographed and processed. I just can't get my head around this double layout thing!. But, it is what it is, and I finished. On time.

 Here's a version, with all of my "trash stash" numbered and accounted for.

1: 1 plastic bag from Lisbeth Dahl, Copenhagen
2: 1 small chunk of wood wool
3: 1 piece of a broken yardstick
4: 1 black paper clip
5: 1 swan feather
6: 1 piece of ball chain 

7: 1 piece of silver-colored string (from a prize tag)
8: 1 page from a broken dictionary
9: 1 sheet of tissue paper
10: 1 lid from a glass jar
11: 1 chrocheted doily 

12: 1 white ribbon
13: 1 tyre from a toy car
14: 2 tags
15: 1 wine bottle cap
16: 1 cork 17: 1 piece of denim fabric
18: 1 odd end of T-shirt yarn 

A: Kraft cardstock

B, C, D, E: four sheets from MME Chalk Studio.

So, that's it. Now I'll go packing to head off to Austria in a couple of days. See ya!

I've been scraplifting

I made a couple of layouts the other night, and since Design in Papers had a blog hop with a scraplifting challenge, I decided to enter. So, first up is a layout based on one I found at Petra's blog:

 I loved the whimsical style of Petra's layout, and I was inspired by all the layering.

The next layout I chose to scraplift was Alex':

What I loved most about her layout was the composition of elements, and how she had worked diagonally, so that's what inspired me to make this layout.

SST round #5 - the final!

I moved on to the final round of the Supreme Scrap Tournament! Out of 212 participants, only 10 are left. However, there is still one final challenge, and believe me when I say that this one might be the hardest one yet. Only... noone is quite sure yet what's to come. The first part of the challenge was to make a selection of papers and "trash" - things that you would normally throw away, and upload a photo of it. Lucky for me, I am a hoarder... I roamed the cupboards and drawers, and this is my "trash stash" for the challenge.

Now, all I can do is wait for Monday to see what the second part of the challenge is, because for now I haven't got a clue what to do with all of this.

Finding peace

Sometimes it feels like you are about to seriously freak out, because of all the things going on in your life. Like now, for instance, when I'm trying to make everything work out between work and home, and spring is just around the corner with tons of activities popping up just because of that. Also, in two week I'm off for a few days in Austria, to visit a school there and try to make connections for future projects. There is tons of fun coming up, but also tons of worries.

In moments like that, I turn to nature for finding peace. I disappear into the woods, or out to sea, and just clear my mind from everything.

Like this. The sun, the wind and the sea. The open views. There's nothing quite like it to take your mind off of everything. I need my sea "fix" at least once a week, and then I'm fine with everything else. I wonder if a mountain "fix" can do the same thing when I'm in Austria?

The layout is based on a sketch from Hobbyworld. I've been toying around with it for a bit, but I think most of the sketch elements are still visible :-)

Happy scrapping, everyone!

SST round 4 #Layout

Yes, I'm still in :-)
But there are so many contestants having left the Supreme Scrap Tournament, and all of those still in are extremely talented, so I am pretty sure this will be the last round for me.

My layout was done many days ago, but I've been just a bit too busy at work this week to get home in time to photograph it in decent daylight. Today, I finally made it, after a day full of lesson-planning and teaching. I suddenly found myself trying to juggle a names-in-a-hat-app on my iPhone, a bluetooth remote for the computer (for changing pictures in a digital presentation) and a sheet of paper with main points for that presentation, in an effort to teach a class of tired 14-year-olds something about strategies for writing... That's when you realise it's time to go home, enjoy your weekend and try not to be a teacher for at least two days. AND photograph your layout while there's still daylight.

So, the challenge this round was to make a double layout with at least eight photos and three hidden elements. I added four hidden elements, two of which contained hidden photos. The first one is a small box which opens up...

 ...to reveal a piece of paper with some journaling on it. The lid is on a hinge, to allow it to be opened and closed, while still attached to the layout.

 

The next one is also based on a hinge, with a photo which opens up to reveal another photo beneath.

This one is pulled out, with some journaling written on it.

  

Last, but not least, a spinner that, if you pull the little paper flap,reveals yet another photo.

I guess I don't have to tell you that I had tons of fun makin this one... I love challenges like that!

Have a great Friday night, everyone. Myself, I 'm going to pour myself a glass of red wine and celebrate the fact that it's Friday. ;-)

SST round #3 Layout

Well, I went straight out of the card competition last round of the Supreme Scrap Tournament, but I'm still in the layout contest. Here is this week's layout.

The challenge was "Doodle it", and so I did. I took out a kraft cardstock and a navy Zig Writer and got down to business. I've been meaning to get into hand lettering for a while now, and finally here was my chance to actually try since the title had to be handwritten directly onto the layout.

The quote "I refuse to sink" means a lot to me, because in my opinion, one can only do so much as oneself allows. If I allow myself to "pause" the world around me for a while, and escape into some sort of happy place, then I can achieve so much more the rest of the time. I have many such happy places, and I recently discovered another one, a rugged, swampy, moss-covered island with access only through a narrow bridge and a kettle gate. Once you pass through that gate, you are in another world, one I hardly knew existed here, so close, only a few months ago. This island has it all - breathtaking scenery, wild, spiky cliffs, and also smooth polished ones, similar to those on the Blue Maiden island where I went for the first time last Summer. It has mysterious hollow oak trees, bunkers and other remnants from when Sweden was a highly fortified country hunkered down under the Soviet Union during the days of the Cold War. Over all of this, the wind blows hard, and the sea roars loudly, and the smell of salty water lies heavily. I LOVE it! Just wait until tomorrow - I'll put my wellies on an off we go, to the happy place. Well, I kinda promised the kids a picknick on those cliffs if the weather torns out OK, so that's where we'll be.

SST Round #2 Monochromatic card

In the nick of time, I managed to get my crad ready for round #2 of the Supreme Scrap Tournament. I chose the color brown, which is a favourite of mine to work with.

The card is a pop-up card, with a cityscape inside. I have used Bazzill Kraft cardstock, brown cardboard, brown paper string, and Distress Ink in the color Tea Dye. All brown, and all hand-cut.

I am not going to get more chatty about this card, since I am using my son's laptop, and that thing and I don't really agree on everything...So, I will be keeping this post short.

Have a nice day!