CREATING {NON}SENSE

De Kermis!

2012-01-31T22:58:00.000-08:00

Deze week is de dare die bij de Dutch Dares loopt door mij bedacht! Mijn kids zijn helemaal stapel op de kermis en ik dacht laat ik dat dan eens als onderwerp kiezen. Dus de dare deze week is "kermis"!

At the Dutch Dares challenge blog we take turns in coming up with a dare and 2 weeks later with a sketch. This month it's my turn and this is what I came up with for a dare: create a layout/card/project connected with the "fair".

Hier is wat ik ervan gemaakt heb / Here's my take:

Tim en Manon zijn gek op alle apparaten die snel, hoog en hard gaan, precies het tegenovergestelde van wat ik leuk vind dus .... ik sta echt doodsangsten uit als ze hierin zitten! maar heb toch maar foto's gemaakt.

Timothy and Manon really love all the rides at the fair, especially the fast & scary ones, the ones I hate most!!

Het papier en de embellishments zijn allemaal van Ruby Rock-It (leuk he?).
All materials used are from Ruby Rock-It, don't you love them?

Als je wilt zien wat de anderen gemaakt hebben kijk dan even op het Dutch Dares blog. Zo heeft bijvoorbeeld onze gastdesigner een heuse carrousel gebouwd! Zo gaaf!

If you want to see what the other designers made then hop over to the Dutch Dares blog. Our guest designer created this fabulous carrousel on top of the little cheese box with inside a mini album. Gorgeous!

Verder kan je natuurlijk weer een leuke RAK winnen als je ook meedoet. Omdat het deze maand "mijn" maand is heb ik ook de RAK verzorgd:

As it's "my" month I'm also the one taking care of this month's RAK:

De nieuwste Creatief met Foto's en een (kaarten)kit een 6x6 paper pad van Making Memories, vilten embellies (Creative Café en Fancy Pants), lint, sheers en enveloppen (Maya Road) en wat doilies.

The latest issue of "Creative with Photos", a 6x6 MM paper pad, felt embellies, Maya Road sheers, Maya Road envelopes, ribbon and some doilies.

Nou wat vind je ervan? doe je ook mee? Dat zou ik echt harstikke leuk vinden!

If you like what you see, why don't you play too? It's open for everyone, internationals are welcome! Just post a link to your project in the comments section of the blogpost at the Dutch Dares blog.

Bedankt voor je bezoek en tot snel weer!
Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon!

Hugs,
Groetjes,
Monique

Project Life: Week 1 + 2

2012-01-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

It looks the whole scrapping world is doing it ... Project Life! So I couldn't stay behind and started too :) . I was very lucky to get my hands on the new Becky Higgins "Clementine" edition. My hubby had to be in the US for his work and brought it back for me (he is the best!!).

Without further ado...week 1:

A busy week, with the installing of new windows (the boys having to stay over with their sis :) ), complete with roll-down shutters, the kids ice skating, going to the cinema to see "Dolfje Weerwolfje", cleaning the house of all Christmas stuff, meeting my friend Mieke and preparing Mats' birthday treat for school.

I love all the little journaling cards included in this kit. I've been able to use my new typewriter a lot! but apart from typing the journaling I love to include written journaling as well (even though my handwriting is terrible).

and here's week 2:

Another busy week, but then again, are there also week which aren't busy? LOL. On Monday Mats celebrated his birthday at school, Tuesday was my day off, Thursday I had lunch with Manon in town, Friday Mats had his friend over and Patrick left for the US, Saturday is soccer day and Manon bruised her ankle and Sunday was therefore a quiet day, yay!

Love creating this album, even though is taking me more time than expected. I thought I would this in an afternoon or so, but these two weeks cost me about a day a week. Oh well, maybe I'll go faster once I get the hang of it.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and if you're doing a PL as well, please share! I would love to see!
Hugs,
Monique

A Card and a Give-Away

2012-01-24T01:23:00.000-08:00

For Epiphany Crafts I created this "masculine" Valentine's Day card:

For this card I used the Button Studio Tool Hearts 20 and the Shape Studio Tool Hearts 25. I still LOVE these tools a LOT! The papers all come from the February kit from Jenni Bowlin.

If you want to see my card posted on Epiphany Crafts' blog have a look HERE.

And then for the give-away ... have you visited "The ScrapCake"'s blog recently? They have 2 wonderful new lines and are giving them away!

The give-away lasts until the end of the month so there's still time time to enter!!

This is it for now, I'm going to enjoy my day off and scrap a bit!

Hugs,
Monique

{ YOU } and a day off!!

2012-01-21T02:34:00.000-08:00

Goedemorgen allemaal!! Good morning everyone!

Vanmorgen stond ik al vroeg op (6.45 uur) om met z'n 3-en om 8 uur op het voetbalveld te staan, want Tim moest uit spelen en dan moet je vroeg verzamelen ... maar toen we daar aankwamen hoorden we dat het afgelast was vanwege de slechte conditie van het veld (zulk slecht weer was het toch niet?). Eerst baalde ik wel, maar nu eigenlijk niet meer! Want opeens had ik een hele lange dag voor me, vol mogelijkheden! Wat ga ik nu doen? Scrappen? Lezen? met Jip naar het strand? Shoppen? Uiteindelijk koos Mats voor me want hij wilde een kasteel bouwen met stenen en "cement" en dat kan hij nog niet alleen.... dus zijn we "enthousiast" aan het kasteel begonnen....

Wohoo, today is Saturday and that means a day off!! As Timothy's soccer match was cancelled the day is now filled with endless possibilities ... what will I do? Scrapping? Shopping? Go to the beach with the dog? in the end Mats chose for me ... he wanted to build a castle and needed my help:

En terwijl hij verder bouwt op "mijn" fundering laat ik jullie de layout zien die ik voor Epiphany Crafts gemaakt heb:

And while Mats continues with his building I can show you the layout I created for Epiphany Crafts:

Voor deze layout heb ik de Epiphany Crafts Button Studio Tool Heart 20 en de Shape Studio Tool Heart 25 gebruikt. Verder kregen we van "Scrapbook Adhesives" 3D foam squares die ik ook gebruikt heb.

For this page I used my Epiphany Crafts Button Studio Tool Heart 20 en de Shape Studio Tool Heart 25 and the adhesive 3D squares we got from "Scrapbook Adhesives":

Verder heb ik weer de "Sweet Cakes" line van Doodlebug gebruikt, maar heel anders dan bij de vorige layout. Omdat deze layout voor Epiphany Crafts gemaakt is kon ik allerlei verschillende fabrikanten door elkaar gebruiken, dus papier en bordersticker van Doodlebug maar embellishments van Kaisercraft (houten swirl en stempel), Jenni Bowlin (vlinders), Prima (bloemen en mask) & K&Company (words to go).
Trouwens als je nu een comment achterlaat op het EC blog maak je kans om één van hun gave tools te winnen!

Furthermore I used Doodelbug's "Sweet Cakes" pp and border sticker, a wood swirl from Kaisercraft, butterflies from Jenni Bowlin, flowers and mask from Prima and "words to go" from K&Company. Btw, if you leave a comment at EC's blog you might win one of their fab tools!!

Zo en nu heb ik nog genoeg tijd om heerlijk aan een volgende layout te beginnen ... misschien met de leuke schets van Danni Reid van October Afternoon? of die leuke schets die ik zag bij Little Yellow Bicycle? Mmm, mogelijkheden zat. Fijne zaterdag allemaal en scrap ze!

And now I'm off to scrap some more but what will I do? maybe Danni Reid's sketch from October Afternoon? or that fun sketch I saw at LYB's blog? mmm, need some coffee first while I think about it, LOL! Have fun everyone and enjoy your weekend!!

Groetjes,
Monique

Almost Spring and a Birthday Party!

2012-01-20T00:41:00.000-08:00

Ja, ja, 2 dagen zon en ik heb gelijk de lente in mijn hoofd! Ik had het voorjaarsboeket gemaakt die je in de vorige blogpost ziet, maar was nog lang niet klaar met de lente! Dus toen ik aan Astrids schets ging beginnen voor de Dutch Dares heb ik gauw foto's en papier gezocht voor een lente layout. Dit is het geworden:

Here in The Netherlands we've been having a few sunny (but cold) days and instantly it felt like Spring (well, it did to me!). So after finishing my Sping bouquet from the last blogpost I felt like scrapping a Sping layout! And here it is, a layout for the new Dutch Dares sketch:

Fotos van Tim (april/mei 2011) toen onze boom in de tuin in bloei stond met papier van Little Yellow Bicycle (Elizabeth Park). Helemaal blij word ik hiervan. Helaas is het weer inmiddels omgeslagen en regent en stormt het en lijkt de lente opeens verder weg dan ooit.

The photos are made last year May when our tree was in full bloom (isn't it beautiful?) and the papers are from Little Yellow Bicycle (Elizabeth Park).

Als je wilt zien hoe de schets eruit ziet of wat de anderen hebben gemaakt kijk dan even op het blog van de Dutch Dares! en waarom doe je niet een keertje mee met onze schetsen en dares? je kan hartstikke leuke prijzen winnen!!

If you want to see what the other designers did with the sketch, have a look at the Dutch Dares blog and maybe play along too??? You could be the winner of this month's fabulous RAK!!

Afgelopen woensdag hebben we Mats' (en zijn beste vriend) verjaardagsfeestje gevierd. We zijn naar de Uithof geweest waar ze zich konden uitleven op springkussen en konden racen op deze kleine motoren:

Last Wednesday my son (and his bff) celebrated his 7th birthday here in "De Uithof" and look what they did:

Ze vonden het supergaaf en Mats praat nog steeds nergens anders over!
They were all super excited and Mats is still talking about it (non stop!).

En dan nog een Doodlebug nieuwtje....wist je dat je Doodlebug nu ook kunt vinden op PINTEREST??? Zo makkelijk! Alle projecten in 1x bij elkaar, klaar om te "repinnen", LOL! HIER is de link!!

And last but not least, did you know Doodlebug is now on PINTEREST too?? You can find them HERE! So cool, all the projects together ready to be "repinned", LOL!!

Dit was het voor vandaag! Fijne vrijdag en tot morgen ofzo!
This is it, have a fab Friday and see you soon!

Hugs,
Monique

Valentine Bouquet!

2012-01-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

Vandaag is het mijn beurt om op het blog van Doodlebug een tutorial te verzorgen. Omdat ik altijd zo gek ben op vrolijke lente boeketten èn natuurlijk omdat Valentijnsdag eraan komt, besloot ik om daar iets mee te doen. Dit is het geworden:

Today it's my turn to show you a Doodlebug tutorial. And because I love bouquets full of spring flowers and cheerful colors AND because Valentine's Day is approaching and I thought of this:

De hartjes zijn gemaakt met het papier uit de "Sweet Cakes" lijn van Doodlebug. Er zit een 6x6 blokje bij dat er perfect voor is!!

Als je wilt zien hoe de hartjes gemaakt zijn, kijk dan HIER voor de uitleg. Ik zou het super op prijs stellen als je een reactie achterlaat (hier of op Doodlebug's blog).

I've used the 6x6 Sweet Cakes paper pad which is just perfect for these little hearts. If you want to see how I made them then hop over to Doodlebug's blog to see the tutorial.

Alvast hartstikke bedankt allemaal!
Thanks in advance everyone!

Hugs,
Monique

LOVE in New York!

2012-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

Hah! my weekend started today!! and you know what that means? Yes, scrapping! (and lots cleaning, shopping etc. but that doesn't count). I'm busy with my Doodlebug project for next Tuesday and it's turning out really fun, furthermore I'm working on my December Daily (yes, I want to finish it!), a LYB layout (also very fun to do) and I'm waiting for my "Clementine" Project Life stuff. Patrick is about to leave for California and he's going to bring my Amazon order home! Yay!

Did you know it's almost a year ago he went to California and got his heart attack? Now he's going again (again for his work) and I have to admit I'm a little bit uneasy about it ... but that's nonsense right? It's not going to happen again, and for sure not in the same place .... and yet...

So, when I got the new Valentine line from Doodlebug "Sweet Cakes" I used it to create this layout about "us". It's about where it all began for Patrick and me. When we started dating (19 years ago) one of our first trips was to New York. We had such a great time that we vowed we'd go back no matter what. Last October this finally happened! and it was just as fabulous as the first time!

And a few details:

Materials: patterned paper: Sweet Cakes and Petite Prints, Sugar Coated Cardstock, Sweet Cakes "Cute Cuts", Doodle Twine (Valentines), Doodle-Pops (Sweetheart). Aren't the colors terrific?

It's on Doodlebug's blog right now. In case you have a look, could you please leave me a comment??? Thanks in advance!

Have a look at the new line:

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Monique

New Dare at the Dutch Dares blog!

2012-01-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

This time the dare is about our wishes for the new year. As I was in the midst of creating my December Daily I decided that this was the perfect end to my album. So, although my December album isn't entirely finished, here's December 31:

For more examples of this dare, visit the Dutch Dares' blog and if you want to win this month's RAK or want to be our next guest designer create something around this topic and link it to the right blogpost on the Dutch Dares blog.

Thanks for stopping by!
Monique

Top 12 2011

2012-01-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

Het leek me leuk om een keer mijn favoriete projecten op een rijtje te zetten en wat is een beter moment dan aan het eind van het jaar (al is het inmiddels alweer ruim begin van het jaar, LOL). Maar doe ik nou een top 10, of een top 11 (het was tenslotte 2011) of een top 12 (ter ere 2012) ... een top 12 dus!! Hier zijn ze in no particular order.

Just for the fun of it ... my top 12 of 2011 (in no particular order):

en dit waren ze! Bedankt allemaal voor jullie bezoekjes aan mijn blog het afgelopen jaar en vooral voor jullie lieve commentaar, ik heb het bijzonder op prijs gesteld. Voor 2012 wens ik iedereen heel veel geluk en een goede gezondheid, maar vooral ook een creatief jaar!

Thanks everyone for your visits and your kind comments, they meant a lot to me! I hope you all have a happy and creative 2012 and of course that we stay in touch!

Hugs,

Monique

Happy 2012!!

2011-12-31T05:55:00.000-08:00

Winner Nook Advent Calendar!

2011-12-31T05:51:00.000-08:00

In this post I promised to draw a winner of the Nook Advent Calendar after Christmas .... Mats helped me and drew number 11! Which means that

STEPH LEE (Arty Carty) has won the give-away!!!!

Congrats Steph! Please email me your address and I'll put it in the mail to you!

Hugs,

Monique

Last Inkido layout :(

2011-12-31T05:35:00.000-08:00

Today, after 1,5 years, my design team term with Inkido/PCS comes to an end. I'm both happy and grateful to have been on their team and very sad that it's ending. To end in "style" I created one last layout:

For this page I used Inkido's "Forever Christmas", flowers, leaves and some self adhesive pearls.

Have a look at their blog for more beautiful projects.
I will miss the Lise-Lotte, Petra and the rest of the team AND their products tremendously (especially as the products are still not for sale in The Netherlands), but Lise-Lotte promised me to send me a sample of the new Spring products when they arrive (how sweet is that!)!

Have a fabulous "Oudjaarsavond" everyone and see you again in 2012!!
Hugs,
Monique

Out with the GREY!!!

2011-12-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

My Doodlebug assignment this week was "out with the old and in with the new" and as a sat at the hairdressers the week before Christmas it hit me! my layout was going to be about my (non excisting) hair color!! Ever since I can remember my hair color is a kind of "pepper and salt" color (so NO color really) and lately it's even turning grey at the temples!! hate that!

So happy with my new iPhone which allows me to take pics everywhere and no one thinks I'm weird, imagine taking this pic with my Canon 400d EOS, LOL.

If you want to see what the other designers did with this assignment, have a look at Doodlebug's blog!

My favorite is Elizabeth's and yours??

Thanks for stopping by and have a great time!
Hugs,
Monique

December Daily - day 1 to 10!

2011-12-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a super fun Christmas! We sure did!! Lots of family visits, catching up and playing "wordfeud"!

Didn't have time to scrap, but as I haven't shared most of my December Daily pages yet I thought I would show you those:

For the cover, have a look HERE.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

Day 6:

Day 7:

Day 8:

Day 9:

Day 10:

And how's your December Daily coming along? I would love to see it! If you share a link in the comments section I'll be sure to stop by!

Okay, this is it for now, enjoy your Christmas holidays everyone and see you back soon!
Hugs,
Monique

2 Doodlebug Blogposts!

2011-12-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

Today I have 2 (!!) Doodlebug projects posted on manufacturers' blogs: HERE on Doodlebug's own blog and HERE on Epiphany Crafts' blog!! How fun is that?

I would really appreciate your comment on one (or both) of the blog posts!

Have a very merry Christmas everyone!
Big hug,
Monique

Merry Christmas everyone ...

2011-12-21T04:27:00.000-08:00

from the Dutch Dares!! We decided to end 2011 with a card sketch so we could all say "Merry Christmas" to you!

And because I'm addicted to Doodlebug's "Santa's Workshop" I used this line to create my card for you (using my sewing machine of course .... ):

Isn't he cute??

Materials used: Doodlebug's patterned paper, boutique brads, cardstock stickers, rubons - all Santa's Workshop.

Petra designed the sketch (again! she's very good at it!):

And if you feel like saying "Merry Christmas" to me/us too, then please feel free to use the sketch and don't forget to link your card to the DD blogpost!! and no, you don't have to be Dutch to participate, anyone can join in!!

Thanks for stopping by again!
Monique

The Sampler sketch time!

2011-12-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the month again ... sketch time at The Sampler's! Holly created this superb sketch for us:

and here's what I did with it:

As I don't have the complete December kit yet I used the November kit. I love the warm Autumn colors of this kit! and those flowers .... I so plan to make these myself (now that I used them all from the kit).

The page is about Manon who was supposed to be doing her homework, but when her BlackBerry is within reach not much homework is being done!! These days she just can't seem to stop tweeting ... girls! sigh!

A photo of the kit:

and here's the link in case you want to read more of the details.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to have a look at The Sampler's blog, to see what the others did with the sketch.

Hugs,
Monique

December Daily!

2011-12-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

Although I adore mini albums I'm more of a layout girl. Lots of times I just can't seem to finish my mini albums ... BUT this time it will be different! I started my December Daily and am having such fun with it!! I decided that this album will be a simple one. Having said that, I realize that that is easier said than done. I'm just not a "simple" kind of scrapper.... but let's just see how it goes!

Here's the cover and 2 other pages. I have made more, but haven't photographed them yet.

The new Epiphany Crafts epoxy star shapes Tricia sent me are just perfect!!

And don't you just love PCS/Inkido's Father Christmas?

As for the products, I tried to use as much of my "old" stash as possible. If you want to see what I used have a look at Epiphany Crafts' blog, HERE!

That's it for now, the other pages of my album will follow soon!
Hugs,
Monique

Another Chistmas layout

2011-12-10T05:43:00.000-08:00

This time about Christmas spent with my inlaws. December is always a month full of celebrations for them: their anniversary on the 23th, then Christmas of course and then my mil's birthday on the 28th. It's become a tradition to celebrate these 3 festivities combined on the 26th. The whole family is there (there's 17 of us) and we prepare a huge dinner (or order one in - Indonesian of course) ... and that day's what this page is about:

Materials: Epiphany Crafts Star 25 Shape Studios and Bubble Caps

Paper, Diecuts, Stickers: Crate Paper (Peppermint Collection), Journaling pen: ZIG, Versa Magic Inkpad (Gingerbread), Acrylic Paint: Amsterdam, Twine from local book store, Momenta 3D Foam Squares, Momenta "My Stik" adhesive

Thanks for stopping by and hope you'll have a wonderful Christmas too!!

Hugs,
Monique

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

For Doodlebug I created this page about my (step)dad with his 12 grandchildren. The layout is based on this sketch:

and here's my page:

Love Doodlebug's Doodle Pops:

I used Santa's Workshop collection and have loads left, so watch out for more pages with this gorgeous collection! The stars are made with Doodlebug's sugar coated cardstock. <3

If you want to see what Aphra and Wendy Sue did with this sketch, have a look at Doodlebug's blog, HERE!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment with my last blog post to win my give-away!

Hugs,
Monique

Day 8, the Nook's Advent Calendar

2011-12-08T00:46:00.000-08:00

My Scrapbook Nook is hosting an Advent Calendar this month. 24 of its members are posting a give-away on their blog each day, leading up to Christmas Day and I'm one of them!

So today is my day to host the Advent Calendar and for this special occasion I created a little Christmas shopping list-booklet:

and if you wonder what's on the inside .... a plain, lined notebook from the supermarket - very easy (and cheap :) ):

Materials I used are all from Papercraft Scandinavia/Inkido and the epoxy stars are from Epiphany Crafts.

And now about my give-away .... leave a comment before Christmas and you might win this:

I'll choose a winner the day after Christmas.
And if you like my work, why not become a follower? I would really love that! (NOT mandatory for the give-away!)

But wait there's more! If you want a chance to win a three month subscription to My Scrapbook Nook kits (Jan-Mar), all you have to do is leave a comment with this blogpost on Leah's blog!

And just in case ... here's a complete list of the days and who is hosting the give-away that day:

1 Hilde http://www.scoobieslilleblog.blogspot.com/
2 Antenucci http://antenucci.blogspot.com/
3 Danielle http://picsandcheesecake.blogspot.com/
4 Lisa J http://cutcreateandcare.blogspot.com/
5 Pam http://happytobecreating.blogspot.com/
6 Meg Aaron http://thoughtsoftraveling.blogspot.com/
7 Mag http://magandscrap.blogspot.com/
8 Monique http://moniquesscrapbook.blogspot.com/
9 Sherri http://faithandscraphappiness.blogspot.com/
10 Kate Vickers http://www.scrapsation.com/
11 Lilith Eeckels http://lilithandscrap.blogspot.com/
12 ~jan http://jantatomir.blogspot.com/
13 Carol http://carolmonson.blogspot.com/
14 Arty Carty http://blog.artycarty.com/
15 Tanya http://little-scrapper.blogspot.com/
16 Annelie Maddoc http://swewi.wordpress.com/
17 Nenne http://www.creativenenne.blogspot.com/
18 Nicole http://justnicks.blogspot.com/
19 Andrea Amu http://imlivinonscraps.blogspot.com/
20 Marinette http://www.scraptherapie.com/
21 Pysselpetra http://mittkreativakaos.blogspot.com/
22 Samantha http://samawright.blogspot.com/
23 Anna Sigga http://annasigga.typepad.com/scrappalicious/
24 Jennie http://pappersverk.blogspot.com/
25 Leah http://www.leahkillian.com/

Thanks for stoppng by and have fun with the rest of the Nook's advent calendar!

Hugs,
Monique

A page about ..... myself!

2011-12-07T07:36:00.000-08:00

The new dare at the Dutch Dares blog is all about "me"! Petra came up with this dare, she "dared" us to create a layout in which we answer 15 questions about ourselves.... a fun challenge, but not an easy one. I didn't even have a photo of "only" me! But as I've got my iPhone with the photobooth app I took a few pics of myself and created this page:

I wrote the answers on a tag:

If you want to see the questions, have a look at the Dutch Dares blog!

To create this page I used the October kit "Mrs Weasley" from The Sampler.

For more details about the kit, have a look HERE! and if you want to see what the other designers did with this kit have a look at The Sampler's facebook page.

This is it for today. Don't forget to stop by tomorrow because it will be my turn to give something away for my Scrapbook Nook's advent calendar!

Hugs,
Monique

My Scrapbook Nook Advent Calendar!!

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Every day from December 1th to 25th, one Nook friend will host a giveaway on her blog as part of the Nook Advent Calender.

There will be a post every day on the Nook blog where you will find a link to the host of the day. If you click on today's post you will be directed to....H ere is the complete list of hosts, if you should need it:

Make sure you hop on over to Leah Killian's blog and get entered for the grand prize sometime between now and Christmas Morning. You could win a free subscription to the always inspiring Nook kits!"

I really love this month, even though it's so terribly busy! Just posted off my Xmas parcel to Vicki in New Zealand, hope that this year it will get there in time Vic! and in between all the different projects I have to do for all the design teams I'm happily working on my December Daily, which I can't show you yet, but here's a sneak peak:

Good luck everyone!!
Hugs,
Monique

I ♥ PCS/Inkido!!

2011-11-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Lisse-Lotte sent me a whole box of new PCS & Inkido Christmas papers, stamps, flowers and ribbons. I absolutely love the new Christmas lines and have great difficulty to make the first cut in the new papers ... Last week I did it anyway and made this layout:

A page about my dear hubby with his mum. I'm probably not allowed to tell you, but he's a real mummy's boy (which is very sweet I think). The title is Indonesian and means "my mother".
Here're some close-ups of all the fabulous PCS/Inkido products.

Materials used for this line: pp Christmas Wishes and Light a Candle and a little bit of Autumn Friendship (leaves), ribbon, charms, rhinestones, flowers and a stamp (don't you just LOVE the stamp?)

The Christmas trees are made with a Martha Stewart punch and the lantern with the Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Lamp Post die.

If you want to see more creations visit PCS' facebook page HERE!

Thanks for stopping by and for leaving me a comment!
Hugs,
Monique

Epiphany Crafts & Momenta make a great pair!

2011-11-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

This week Epiphany Crafts teamed up with Momenta and some of the designers got a whole package full of Momenta products ... and of those designers was ... ME!!

I got a whole bunch of stickers and this diecut pad:

This is the layout I created for Epiphany Crafts' blog:

Patrick and Manon in the M&M store in New York (right across the street from our hotel) ... Manon suggests that I buy her this shirt ... bit big okay, but no, she's got more shirts than I have!!

I used lots of round 14 shapes and a few round 25.
Except for paper Momenta sent me also a lot of adhesives! and my favorite adhesives at that!! Especially the "My Stik", I never want another adhesive!

Materials used:

Epiphany Crafts Supplies:
Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Tool Round 14
Epiphany Crafts Round 14 Bubble Caps
Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Tool Round 25
Epiphany Crafts Round 25 Bubble Caps

Other Supplies:
Momenta Diecut Pad Collection
Momenta Sticker Kits
Bazzill Basics cardstock
Tattered Angels glimmer mist
Momenta 3D Foam Squares
Momenta "My Stik" adhesive
Martha Stewart journaling pen
Martha Stewart Score Board

If you want to have a look at what the other designers did with their Momenta products or of course with the Epiphany Crafts tools, have a look at the EC blog HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Monique

Doodlebug Classic layout

2011-11-25T03:41:00.000-08:00

For this week I was asked to create a layout with the Doodlebug Classic collection. At first when I saw this collection I thought of weddings photos (the b/w you see), but then I thought no, I'll use a constrasting color instead and this is what I did:

I just love all the embellies that are available in every possible color!!! If you want to see what the other designers made have a look HERE!

Supply List: Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Classic Collection; Cardstock Borders: Doodlebug Classic Fancy Frills; Cardstock Sticker: Doodlebug Doodle-pop "Lily"; Twine: Doodlebug Doodle Twine (Primary Assortment); Brads: Doodlebug Boutique Brads (Limeade Assortment) & Mini Brads; Alpha Stickers: Simply Sweet (Limeade) & Candy Shoppe (Beetle Black & Lily White).

Then I got the new scrapbooking magazine from the UK and .... my "Dance" layout is in it!! Wohoo!

This has been such a busy month with Manon's and my birthdays. Manon turned 15 last week and I turned ... NOOOOO, I'm not gonna tell you!! LOL! Here's a pic of my 3 kids and my sister's 3 kids as well, taken on Manon's bday. They get on so well together!

The weekend before our bdays I spent a long weekend in a cabin in the "woods" with 3 of my scrappy friends .. we had so much fun! We scrapped, shopped, watched a lot of episodes of Grey's Anatomy, knitted shawls and had loads of fun!!

And last but not least we watched Sinterklaas arriving in Delft!

That's it for now! Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon!
Hugs,
Monique

The Sampler November Sketch!

2011-11-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

As yall know I love a good sketch and as far as I'm concerned Holly did a very good job!

This is the sketch she made for us:

and here's my take on it, using the November kit (if you look closely you'll see all 3 of my kids and my hubby in this pic):

Both the kit and the sketch have endless possibilities! Have a look HERE for more details on the kit and HERE if you want to see more layouts made with the november kit.

And if you feel like trying this sketch too then please post your take on the sketch in The Sampler's Flickr group in order to be entered to win a COMPLETE KIT FROM THE SAMPLER! **ONLY submissions entered through the Flickr group will be eligible to win**

Entries will be accepted through December 20th, 2011! Good Luck!

The red epoxy heart is made with papers from the kit, the Shape Studio Tool Heart 25 and the heart 25 epoxys.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon.
Hugs,
Monique

Sketch time at the Dutch Dares!!

2011-11-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

Petra is a queen at creating sketches, I don't know how she does it but they always work!! Yesterday it was sketch time at the Dutch Dares and this is the sketch Petra created:

And here's my take on it, created with the fabulous November kit from The Sampler!!
(click on the link to see the contents of the kit and the details in case you want to order it too!)

and a few details:

Photos were taken during our cruise in May '11.

If you like the sketch and would love to give it a try don't forget to link it to yesterday's blogpost at the Dutch Dares blog and who knows .... maybe you'll be our next guest designer OR the winner of the RAK!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Monique

Fall in Brugge!!

2011-11-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

For our Doodlebug assignment this week Jing-Jing, Kandis and I got this PageMaps sketch to work with:

And this is my take on it:

In the beginning of October one of my bff's and I stayed in Brugge (Belgium) for 3 days. We had such a fabulous time! Brugge is such a fun, quaint & colorful city with so many little shops that 3 days weren't enough to see them all! This page is about a few of those shops! Doodlebug's colorful papers were just perfect for my equally colorful photos!!

Materials I used: Supply List: Cardstock: Doodlebug La-di-dot Cardstock; Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Monster Mania, Petite Prints & Colorwheel; Border: Doodlebug Paper Frills (ladybug); Alpha Stickers: Doodlebug Candy Shoppe & Shin-Dig; Cardstock Stickers: Doodlepops (Butterfly & Maple) and Colorwheel stickersJournaling Cards: Doodlebug Colorwheel & Ladybug Garden; Twine: Doodle Twine (ladybug); Buttons: Doodlebug Boutique Buttons (ladybug assortment)

If you want to see what Jing-Jing and Kandis did with this sketch hop over to Doodlebug's blog!!

The Sampler November Kit & a Give-Away

2011-11-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Sampler's November Kit (Seasonal Sweets) and all its yumminess is on display over at ScrapbookingSuppliesRus! AND there is a HUGE giveaway over on The Sampler's Blog!

and here's a sneak of one of the layouts I created with it!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Monique

Let it Snow!!

2011-11-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

.. well no, not yet please! but creating a layout about the snow was super fun!!

Last week I received a box full of Christmas goodies from PCS/Inkido and I just had to create a layout about Christmas and the snow!!!!

Here's what I made: a page about Manon and her niece Julia playing in the snow after having had brunch at their grandfather's/my stepdad =) (December 2010).

I used the new Inkido Christmas lines: "Forever Christmas" (Christmas News) and "Forever Santa" (Merry Music, Seasons Greetings, Christmas Starts and Christmas Greetings)!! Love these lines!!

Some close-ups:

Don't you just love that Christmas is approaching??? I love these last two months of the year; in November celebrating Sint Maarten, Manon's and my birthdays, the arrival of Sinterklaas and then in December December 5th, Christmas and Mats' birthday and hopefully snow and ice(skating)!!!

For more PCS/Inkido projects please visit our FB page or the Inkido blog!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Monique

My Sailor?

2011-11-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

Last week I received 3 kits at once from The Sampler: the September, October and November kit!! And because all three are equally fabulous I decided to start with the September kit....

Here's my "Sailor?" layout, a page about Mats (then age 4) dressed like a .... Sailor?? Beggar?? Whatever he is, he looks cute (but that's his mum talking!)

Love especially the MME stamps and the butterflies in the kit!!

If you've forgotten what the kit looks like, here it is:

For more details visit the Scrapbooking Supplies R Us/Sampler site!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Monique

3 Epiphany Crafts layouts!!!

2011-11-06T01:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Are you enjoying your weekend as much as I am?? I just love the sunny, warm Fall weather we're having!! Planning to make some Fall pics this afternoon!!

As for scrapping .. I scrapped a lot last month but haven't been able to show you. BUT as this week 3 (!) of my layouts were shown on the Epiphany Crafts' blog I'm finally allowed to show them here too!!

First of all a Fall layout using the "round 14" shapes from Epiphany Crafts and my fabulous Doodlebug products, the Monster Mania line (don't you just love the owl???) with of course lots of stitching:

A page about our stroll in Central Park in NY two weeks ago .... wish we were still there, sigh!

Secondly a Bella Blvd (Midterm) layout also using the round 14 shapes from Epiphany Crafts:

showing Timothy with his new school books at the start of his new school term.

And last but not least a Crate Paper layout about my kids also using the round 14 shapes but also the hearts 14 shapes from Epiphany Crafts.

Love all the chipboard shapes from Crate!

This is it!! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!
Hugs,
Monique

Time for the next {Dutch} Dare & featured in Bella Blvd's newsletter!!

2011-11-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was Dutch Dares time and the dare was "toys". I created a layout around the huge Disney "toys" we encountered on every New York street corner.

I used one of the scrapbook kits from the Nook filled with Crate Paper (Random), one of my very favorite lines from Crate (although lately I love all Crate's lines!!).

If you want to be the next Dutch Dares guest designer or if you want to win the fab RAK then feel free to join us and link your take on this dare to the blog post on the Dutch Dares blog!! And - of course - don't forget to have a look at the projects of the other designers!!!

And then on to my next news .... one of my older Dutch Dares layouts showed in the October issue of Bella Blvd's newsletter!! Have a look HERE!! Fun right??

Thanks for stopping by my blog and hope to see you back soon!
Big hug,
Monique

The Sampler DT CALL!!!!

2011-11-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

2012

Design Team Call Search!

To Apply:
Your application is yours to create. What we’re looking for are images of your work, galleries, blog links, etc… whatever you think best represents you! Feel free to tell us a bit about yourself.

Design Team Obligations:

-Projects:
*create and provide quality scans/photographs of 4-5 projects* a month using 80% or more of the product from that month’s kit. (*Mini-albums count as 2 projects.)
* participate in monthly sketch challenges which are scheduled prior to your receiving the kits. These challenges do count towards your count for your monthly project tally.

-Galleries:
*designers are responsible to upload photos of projects to your personal galleries and to The Sampler’s Flickr Group.

-Blogs:
*post 3+ blog posts monthly on The Sampler’s blog (dates will be assigned) providing tips or tutorials with detailed photos for our readers.
*post a minimum of 4 blog posts monthly on a personal blog related to The Sampler.

-Social Media:
*we do have Flickr and Facebook Group we expect members to join and participate in.
*Forum, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest promotion of The Sampler Kit Club is highly encouraged.

-Term:
*The term for this team is 12 months beginning with the January2012 kit and ending with the December2012 kit.
With that being said, all projects made with the kits are yours to keep; and when used in the newsletter or on the website, you will be given full credit for your designs. As our designer, you can also submit your own work for publication, as long as you give The Sampler Kit Club proper credit.

Compensation:
1. free monthly kit with no shipping charge
2. 15% off any products in our online store including sale items.
3. Acknowledgement of your participation on our fabulous design team!

Other Stuff:
Applications are due December 5^th, 20111. International applicants are welcome to apply. Please email your submission or any questions to holly@scrapbookingsuppliesrus.com!

Winner give-away & I knitted a shawl!!

2011-11-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! For today I don't have a scrapbook page for you, but something else I created ... a shawl! I started knitting last Friday and in two days my shawl was finished!!

Look:

And guess who wears my shawl now?!!

Furthermore I promised you the winner of the Scrapbook Trends August issue! and the winner is ..... MONIQUE (BLOEM) !!!!!

who said:

"Erg leuk Monique, dat hart! dit idee ga ik onthouden, het is vast erg leuk om te maken.
Volger ben ik al, ik ding graag mee naar een exemplaar van de Scrapbook Trends, echt gaaf dat jij daar in staat!

16 oktober, 2011 "

Congrats Monique!! I'll send you an email for your address and send it to you asap!!

Thanks everyone and see you soon!!
Hugs,
Monique

{Christmas cards} for Papercraftscandinavia!!

2011-10-29T06:06:00.000-07:00

Do you create your own Christmas cards or do you buy them? I usually buy them or order photo cards, but this year I decided to create a few Christmas cards for my family, relatives and some close friends. The papers & embellishments from PCS/Inkido are perfect for these cards!!

For today I created these 3:

Products used: Inkido's "Forever Christmas", images from "Light a Candle" and "Vintage Santa", ribbons, charms, pearls and flowers. If you want to see all products from PCS/Inkido have a look HERE and if you want to see what the other designers create with their products why not visit their facebook page??

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and see you soon!
Hugs,
Monique

Batman in New York {Doodlebug layout}

2011-10-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today the blogpost at Doodlebug is all about non-Halloween projects using the fabulous line "Monster Mania". I created this layout with photos of my kids wearing Batman masks (last week in New York the toy store next to the hotel had some kind of promo and were handing out these masks, the kids loved them!) .... the little bat and the bat-brads in the Monster Mania line were perfect for these photos!! and don't you just love the twine??

Products I used:

Patterned Paper: Monster Mania & Petite Prints

Borders: Paper Frills (swimming pool) & Fancy Frills (Monster Mania)

Boutique Brads (Trick or Treat Assortment)

Doodle-pops: Batty

Doodle Twine: Halloween

Letter stickers: Candy Shoppe (lily white), Shin-Dig (beetle black) & Simply Sweet (tangerine)

When I saw the blogpost Lori posted today I had to laugh, because in my email to her I said: "I had so much fun creating this. I woke up with a head-ache this morning (jetlag?), but creating with all my Doodlebug products totally cured it! I'm one happy girl!!!" and she went and posted this literally on the blog! LOL! but it is sooooo true; these products really really make me very happy while creating!!! =)

Don't forget to stop by the Doodlebug blog to see the other designer's creations!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs,

Monique

New York - photo overload!!

2011-10-26T05:52:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we returned from our one week trip to New York!!! We had such a great time and I still have trouble believing we were actually there!!! What an amazing, exciting and super vibrant city that is! When walking the streets you can feel the buzz!!! We had amanzing weather, sunny and warm, the perfect weather to walk, walk and walk!!! Which is what we did!! Here are a few impressions:

view from the hotel room:

The first pic leaving the hotel (so impressive!!):

Across the street was the M&M store:

Walking in the Central Park:

And everywhere in the streets you met figures like Elmo, Mickey, Mini Mouse, Grover, Sponge Bob:

We took the ferry to Staten Island and passed the Statue of Liberty:

View of Manhattan from the Staten Island ferry:

Ground Zero:

Southport (downtown):

Patrick with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background:

We saw tens of cap stores from the inside:

Just walking the streets:

Times Square right in front of our hotel (the kids are sitting on the stairs right in the middle):

The same stairs (with Manon) but now with our hotel in the background (Double Tree Guest Suites, Hilton):

Mats and Manon during their ride in the ferris wheel in the toy shop (Toys R Us):

Mats having fun in the hotel room:

Times Square by night:

Tim chose a cap (a San Francisco one!!) and had his name embroidered on it:

And builidings with stairs everywhere:

Us in front of the ice skating rink in front of the Rockefeller Center:

Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink:

A visit to the Disney Store ... Tim couldn't resist Perry:

The Empire State Building:

And a photo from the top of the Empire State Building (1 hour later!!):

Huge buildings everywhere, so impressive:

Saturday morning in Times Square; even more busy than the other days!!

Okay, I'd better leave it at this otherwise the photos won't even load when you open the post!! But I think you've got a little impression of New York and what we did ... there was so much more we did and still to do, I think I could spend a year there and still not be bored!! Hope we'll be able to return soon!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs,

Monique

The Sampler Sketch Time!

2011-10-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

It's time for the new sketch challenge at The Sampler!!

Here's the sketch Holly created:

And here's my take on it:

A page about my youngest looking for sweets ... I had just left the house to walk the dog, but forgot something and went back in ... and there he was!! Caught in the act!!

I used the The Sampler August scrapbooking kit for this page. HERE you can find more details about the kit.

And don't forget about my give-away, HERE!

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Monique

Another {HEART} and a GIVE-AWAY!!!

2011-10-15T05:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my day off and this is how I spent it:

punching out butterflies to create this heart. I made it for my PCS/Inkido dt assignment and used assorted Inkido Xmas papers, rhinestones, flowers, a charm and a ribbon. The photo is of Mats' hand (then 4 years old) offering me a daisy he just found.

Here's a close-up:

and here are some step-by-step instructions:

1. Choose a heart to alter (this one is from the local garden centre Intratuin).

2. Choose 4 different scraps of paper and start punching. I used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch.

3. Use a hot glue gun to adhere the butterflies to the heart shape.

4. Cut out a heart shape for the sentre and ink the edges. Choose a photo and adhere to this centre heart. Punch a hole in the top centre. Choose assorted flowers, rhinestones and a charm.

5. Adhere rhinestones to the edge of the heart. Put a ribbon through the punched hole and adhere flowers and charm around the hole.

6. And done!! Here's the end result!

And now it's hanging in my dining room:

Hope you like it!!!!

Now about the give-away .... because I had my mini album published in the August issue of SCRAPBOOK TRENDS the publisher sent me 2 complimentary copies!! So if you want to have a copy of this issue:

just become a follower and leave a comment. That's it!! I'll draw a winner on Monday October 31!!

Btw, this is my published album:

and one of the pages (my dad and me, 1964):

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment to win the August ST!!!

Hugs,
Monique

You Brighten Up my Day!

2011-10-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't shown you my last Doodlebug layout yet. I made this one with my last scraps of paper, as the boxes they sent me hadn't arrived yet.

For this page I used the "Ladybug Garden" line. If you want to have a look at Doodlebug's blog, HERE is a link!

Thanks for stopping by today and see you soon!
Hugs,
Monique

A long time ago ...

2011-10-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

Even though it's October I can't stop playing with the July kit from The Sampler. Combined with my fav tools from Epiphany Crafts I created this layout:

A page about my grandmother way back in 1966 with my sis and me sitting on her lap.

The epoxy shapes are made with my Epiphany Crafts Studio Tool Round 14.

If you want to see what the other design team members create with the kits from The Sampler, have a look at their blog!

This is it, thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again soon!
Hugs,
Monique

Upside Down

2011-10-08T01:51:00.000-07:00

For a fun challenge at the Nook I created this page, using the September kit (filled with "Random" from Crate Paper) also from my Scrapbook Nook.

and a few close-ups:

The photo is of my son just acting funny on the beach!

Thanks for stopping by again and hope to see you back soon.
Hugs,
Monique

Newspaper Xmas card

2011-10-07T04:46:00.000-07:00

This week the Dutch Dares' challenge is: "newspaper" or "daily paper". Inspired by a technique I found on Pinterest I created this Christmas card:

A very simple, inexpensive and quick card, but I rather like the look of it! What you do is you fold the newspaper in half, cut half a Christmas tree on the folded side (through several layers of paper), place the pile of half trees on the folded side of the paper again, cut around the tree once more (bit bigger than the original tree), fold the pile of trees open, machine stitch through the middle and adhere to a piece of cardstock! Stitch around the cardstock and stamp a sentiment! That's it, a 5 minute card!

The stamp I used is from myStampBOX.

If you want to see what the other Dutch Dares dt members created, hop over to the DD blog! and if you feel inspired by all the ideas, why not play along and who knows .... you might be the winner of Petra's RAKor maybe our next guest designer.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!
Monique

Early Christmas Cards

2011-10-06T02:46:00.000-07:00

Everyone always tells me that if I want to send handmade Christmas cards I should start creating early! .... so I did! Here are two of them, created for Paper Craft Scandinavia/Inkido:

Materials used: Inkido's Winter Red Snowball, Christmas Dots, a card from A4 Vintage Santa, chipboard star, pearls and a flower.

And the other one:

For this card I used: Inkido's: Winter Christmas Heart Red, Christmas Swirls, Christmas Dots and pearls, ribbon, flowers and chipboard frame.

Thanks for looking!!

Hugs,

Monique

New layout made with The Sampler's kit!

2011-09-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was my turn to post on the The Sampler's blog again and here's what I made:

Made this page with the August kit .... such a fab kit!!
Here're some details:

If you're interested in this kit, have a look HERE to see the complete contents and other details!

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Monique

Published & Fun Give-Away at Doodlebug

2011-09-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last week I received my Autumn copy of "Scrap-Art-Zine" and guess what? Two of my layouts were published in it!! This is the magazine:

And here are my layouts; one in the index of the magazine (bottom left):

And here's one (top, right):

And here's the other (top, right):

Fun huh?!

And about the give-away ... did you visit the Doodlebug blog today??? Have a look, they are giving away lots of huge and fun prizes!!! HERE's the link!!

Here's an example of only one of the prizes:

What's keeping you, hop over to Doodlebug's blog!!

Good luck!
Hugs,
Monique

Grateful for You

2011-09-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm totally in a Autumn mood today! The sun is shining (finally), the temperature is perfect, the air smells so nice and everyone seems a bit happier than normal! A perfect day to create a layout using the gorgeous Autumn line from Imaginisce! Today is the last day of their September challenge and this is what I made:

A page about my day out with 2 of my friends: "Fun with You" !!

Love this line with those fabulous papers and all the extra embellishments (especially all those cute critters!!

And this is their sketch:

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!
Hugs,
Monique

Home Decor (for a change)

2011-09-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

While browsing through our garden centre (Intratuin) a while back, I found this wonderful wooden heart and instantly knew that I wanted to buy it for altering purposes!!

And look how beautiful it turned out!!!

Wanna see how it looked when I bought it?? and maybe also how I turned it into what it looks like now??? Okay, here we go:

That's it!! Very simple!! I attached a photo of my grandparents to twine, but if I want another photo I simply unclip this one and change it for another one :).

The papers and all the other products (flowers, leaves, adhesive pearls & ribbon) are from Paper Craft Scandinavia (Inkido).

Thanks for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Monique

Dutch Dares Sketch #43

2011-09-21T05:02:00.000-07:00

Twice a month the Wednesday means a new Dutch Dares blog post!

For today Petra designed a super fun sketch to work with:

And this is what I did with it:

I used the Crate Paper "Toy Box Collection" and pasted a bit of Gesso over the background sheet to make it a bit less bright. The photos are of my youngest playing knight in his new suit of armour ... no one is safe!!!!

A few close-ups:

And if you like the sketch, why not join us this month?? You can win a fabulous RAK or you could be our next guest designer!! Have a look at the DD blog to see what the other dt members made and how to participate!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs,
Monique

The Sampler September Sketch!

2011-09-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

The Sampler is having another sketch challenge where you can win the entire August or September Kit!!!

Simply create a layout based on this sketch, and link it to our new Flickr Group, HERE!!

And here's what I made:

For my page I used a photo from December last year: it's "Sinterklaas" time and the photo shows Mats and his friends exhaused after the Sinterklaas party .... but they had a great time!

For the sketch I used the August kit from The Sampler, which is sooo much fun to play with!! Have you seen the kit yet??? Let me show you once more:

Complete kit contents:

Cardstock:

· Boysenberry Delight (Bazzill)

· Fresh (Bazzill)

· Kraft (Bazzill)

· Pumice Stone Distressed Collection (Core’dinations)

Patterned Paper:

· Campfire Collection “Star Gazing” (October Afternoon)

· Toy Box Collection “Build” (Crate Paper)

· Ladies & Gents “Time of My Life” (Webster’s Pages)

· House of Three Parisian Anthology “Parisian Elements” (Pink Paislee)

· Toy Box Collection “Playhouse” (Crate Paper)

· Country Estate “Restful Retreat” ( Webster’s Pages)

Specialty paper:

· Danelle Johnson Art Warehouse Paint It! (Creative Imaginations)

· POW! Glitter Paper in Charcoal (American Crafts)

· Seersucker Stripe on Fern (The Paper Company)

Embellishments:

· Hocus Pocus Cardstock Alpha Stickers (Pink Paislee)

· Banners/Pennant Rub-Ons in Antique Lime (Hambly Screen Prints)

· Luxe-urious Ribbon Cream with Aqua Dot (Luxe)

· 3” Parakeet Tulle (Bazzill Basics)

· Charcoal Seam Binding (Notions Source)

· 3/8” Double Dot in Concord (Bo Bunny)

· Chipboard Banner Album (Little Yellow Bicycle)

· Kraft Pocket Tag (Melissa Frances)

· Headlines from the Splendid Collection (Authentique)

· French Dictionary Pages

· Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Eggplant (Ranger)

· Diction Cardstock Stickers (Authentique)

· Misc Trinkets (Webster’s Pages)

If you want to know more about the kits, have a look HERE!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon!!
Hugs,
Monique

Another Friends Layout!

2011-09-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share the page I made for Paper Craft Scandinavia (Inkido) with you today.
Again a page about a few of my friends:

Every year the four of us spend a weekend away in the country somewhere, scrapping/shopping/talking/eating/watching dvd's etc. and this photo was taken during our weekend in October 2010.
Some close-ups:

Used my tools from Epiphany Crafts to create the epoxy owl buttons (button studio tool round 20) and epoxy owl shapes (studio tool round 14).

LOL, did you notice why I went to the opticien last week to have my eyes checked????

For this page I used Inkido's: Mathea, Autumn Wardrobe, Rosehage and Autumn Friendship
Dark brown cardstock
Ribbons
Flowers
Pearls

Tomorrow I'll share my altered heart with you, which I also made for PCS!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!!
Hugs,
Monique

Happy - Happier - Happiest!!!!

2011-09-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started scrapbooking, some 8 years ago, I've love and used Doodlebug's colorful & whimsical products. NEVER in my life did I suspect that one day I would be on their Design Team!!

But ..... look at this - super exciting - announcement:

Announcing the new 2011-2012 Doodlebug Design Team

Our team loved going through the piles and piles of great submissions from around the world. We fell in love with so many designers and so many darling projects featuring Doodlebug projects. We reviewed and then re-reviewed the applications to make sure we knew every applicant and didn't miss a thing! We then spent days combing through every blog and online galleries to find the designers that best fit Doodlebug's style. But we finally did it and we're super excited to announce these great ladies to you!

Aphra Bolyer (LA)

Elizabeth Carney (WA)

Jessy Christopher (Malaysia)

Jing-Jing Nickel (MN)

Kandis Smith (ID)

Kathy Martin (NC)

Lori Allred (Coordinator)

Melinda Spinks (Australia)

Monique Liedtke (Netherlands)

Nancy Damiano (NJ)

Stephanie Buice (AL)

Rosangela Philippsen (Brazil)

Sherry Cartwright (TX)

Tiffany Hood (UT)

Wendy Sue Anderson (UT)

Can't wait to get started with this amazing manufacturer and all these wonderful girls!!!!

(Can someone pinch me?!!!)

Thanks for stopping by and see you soon!!

Big hug,

Monique

Harry Potter ...

2011-09-15T00:37:00.000-07:00

This morning, when I visited Kelli Crowe's blog I saw this:

"Dear Harry Potter Kids (Now Adults),
Thanks for beng nice, decent people. Really, you spent what most of us call as the "awkward years" or the time when you make a lot of mistakes as being professional actors. Sure you were paid very well. I'm good with that. But in your free time, you weren't jerks. You didn't get arrested. You didn't flip out and wreck your over priced sports cars. No sex tapes.
If you had gone bonkers, we probably would have understood. Too much fame and money and pressure all at once. But you didn't. You held it together. You acted like you truely liked beng around each other. Not that you signed up for this, but it kept the magic alive for us in between the movies.
And way to go to your families and the people around you. They kept you grounded. Well done. As a fan and a parent, I'm proud of the work you did on and off the screen.
Thanks for, like, forever,
Kelli Crowe"

And being a HUGE Harry Potter fan this really touched me, as it's so true! I never thought about this before, I just took it for granted that in their private lifes they were nice people too..... I mean, of course they are! And now Kelli got me thinking and I appreciate these people even more!
So, thanks from me too ... for being there the last 14 years! I'll miss you!
And thanks Kelli for your fun blogpost!

Hugs,
Monique

Get Picky!

2011-09-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

This month Best Creation sponsors the sketch challenge blog "Get Picky". A few of us from the BC team participated in the sketch.

This is the sketch:

And here's my take on it:

I used the "Travel Forever" line, which was perfect for these cruise photos :).
And some close-ups:

If you want to see what the rest of the BC team and the Get Picky team made, have a look at their blog! Their sketches are so much fun and the design team rocks!! I also love their guest designer this month: Christiane Muller! I love her work!!

This is it, thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Monique

Some Doodlebug Projects

2011-09-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

Last August Doodlebug Design Inc had a design team call and I decided to apply too .... well, a girl can dream right???? But as I haven't heard back from them I guess I wasn't chosen :(.

As I had so much fun creating the projects I'm gonna show them to you anyway!

They requested 1 layout, 2 cards and 1 other project. Here's the layout I made:

A page about Timothy's birthday party ... no, I did NOT stage this! and it isn't his actual "party", they were waiting for one more guest to show up so we could leave for "Duinrel".

The two cards:

And an owl:

I can't wait to see who did make the team! Hope a few of my scrappy friends made it!!

Thanks for stopping by and see you soon!
Hugs,
Monique

Nikki Sivils September Challenge

2011-09-08T06:57:00.000-07:00

You probably know I love all Nikki Sivils' products, so when I saw the new challenge on her blog I decided to play. The challenge for this month is from Katrina Hunt and is "Scrap an Object".
That wasn't too difficult as I had just made some photos of Mats "litlle" family:

Quite a collection, right?? The panda's are his favorite cuddlies, that's why he has 4! And this whole family has to sit on his bed (and preferably IN his bed when Mats goes to sleep) but alas he's allergic to dust (bugs). So, even though I wash them all regurlarly he can sleep with only 2 or 3.

For this layout I used several of Nikki's lines: "It's Raining, It's Pouring" (it really is!), "Tree Love", "Summer" and "We are Family". I love that these lines all go together so well!

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Monique

{ Jeans Challenge }

2011-09-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means a new dare at the Dutch Dares blog!! This month we've chosen for "Jeans" as the subject.

I've used the July kit from The Sampler, which is really fabulous!

Here's my take on the dare:

Again a kind of "free style" layout, with a bit of gesso and ink on the background paper and a "handful" of twine behind the photo. The banner is made of little pieces of Mats' jeans ... which was too small for him anyway :) which I then adhered to the page with my stapler.

Have a look at the Dutch Dares blog if you want to see what the other girls did with this challenge! And if you decide to join us, don't forget to link your layout to the jeans blogpost on the DD blog! Maybe you'll be our next guest designer or win the fab RAK from Margot!!

If you're interested in the kit from The Sampler, look HERE!

Thanks for visiting my blog again!!

Hugs,
Monique

BEE crazy!

2011-09-06T02:21:00.000-07:00

Today it's my turn to post my layout on The Sampler's blog!! Btw, did you know they moved their blog to Typepad??? It's so much better now .... though not totally ready yet (as the dt members aren't on it yet :( ). HERE's te link to the new blog!

And here's my layout ... the photo I used is terrible and totally crazy, so I went a bit wild with my layout as well ....

and some close-ups:

Don't know in what kind of mood I was in last Sunday, as the other layout I made that same day turned out just as "messy" as this one .... (Í'll show you tomorrow).

For the background I used Core'dination cardstock, sanded it, used a (little) bit gesso on it and added some green ink spatters. The rest of the page is a combination of Crate Paper, October Afternoon and Pink Paislee, everything from the The Sampler's July kit. HERE's a link to the store (Scrapbooking Supplies R US)

Hope you like it!!
Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Monique

Sassafras ...

2011-09-04T03:19:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! I made the August top 10 at Sassafras with this layout:

Have a fab Sunday!!

Hugs,
Monique

Inkido is now "Papercraft Scandinavia"!!!!

2011-09-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

Maybe you already noticed, but as of now Inkido & Ladybug and Friends are now officially called "Papercraft Scandinavia"!!! Go check out there website and their FB page!

Here's a new page I created for them "One HAPPY Family":

and two close-ups:

For this page I used the "Autumn Wardrobe" line (Dotty Rainboots & Wrap my Scarf) and "Tuva" (Rose Dust & Purple Orchid). Furthermore some flowers, leaves, pearls & ribbon.

Wish I could show you some more of my crafty projects, but everything I created this last week I can't show you yet! Sorry!!

This morning I finally surrendered and asked for an invitation to join Pinterest ... I'm totally overwhelmed by all the awesomeness I'm finding there!! Don't know where to start!! I get distracted every minute because I see something even more fun! If you want me to follow you, just leave me a comment. The chance is I'm already following you as I'm following 147 fellow crafters right now and 1 is following me!! - well, I don't have anything to see yet! LOL! but feel free to follow me too, I promise I'll start filling my boards asap!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!
Hugs,
Monique

The Sampler September Kit!!

2011-09-02T00:29:00.000-07:00

This morning Holly emailed me the images of the The Sampler September kit "Come Fly with Me" and because it's so gorgeous I want to share it with you too!

and a few details:

If you're interested in purchasing this kit, HERE's the link to the store!!

Here's a list of the contents:

Cardstock:

· Candle (Bazzill Basics)

· Walnut Cream (Bazzill Basics)

· Vintage Photo (Core’dinations)

Patterned Paper:

· Garden Café “Café Iris” (American Crafts)

· Amy Tangerine “The Good Life” (American Crafts)

· Breeze Collection “Fun Day” Today Paper (My Mind’s Eye)

· Fresh Goods Collection “Simple Joys” (Pebbles)

Specialty paper:

· Sunshine Collection “Forever” Dotted Paper (My Mind’s Eye)

Embellishments:

· “Fun Day” Pearls Breeze Collection (My Mind’s Eye)

· “Dream” Stamps Breeze Collection (My Mind’s Eye)

· Distress Stain in “Wild Honey” (Ranger)

· Maple Thickers in “Pineapple” (American Crafts)

· Custom Butterfly Embellishments

· “Lovely” Title Sunshine Collection (My Mind’s Eye)

· Farmhouse Collection Phrase Stickers (Crate Paper)

· Amy Tangerine “Hi Friend” Stickers (American Crafts)

· Lettuce, Sunshine, & Fuchsia Ribbons

· Brown Bakers Twine

I'm still busy with my July and August kits (as they arrived a bit late .... ) but hope to get started on this one soon!!

Hugs,
Monique

Best Creation Sewn Together Blog Hop!!!!

2011-08-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! Welcome to Best Creation's Stitched Creations Blog Hop!!!!

If you arrived here from the amazingly talented Julie Walton, you're in the right place!!

Today we have a fun blog hop with projects using thread!

Here's my layout "Back 2 School", using Best Creation's "Back 2 School"-line.

And a few details: Mats' first very first word was "sun", so when he came home with his schoolwork I cut out this sun he colored and his very first attempt at writing.

And a close-up of my stitching:

Now visit each blog listed below to find the secret FALL words! Once you have found the FALL words, email them to mel@bestcreation.us for a chance to win this new 12x12 Hello Fall collection kit!

Good luck everyone! and just in case, here's the hop order again:

Jodi
Rebecca
Karen
Nicole
Keely
Julie
Monique (you're here!!)
Debbie

If you get lost, just be sure to go to Best Creation's blog page!"

But WAIT it's not over yet!!! I have one of the secret words for you: "PIE"!!

Winners will be announced Tuesday, September 6th!

Thanks everyone for joining us and we hope you have fun!!

Now hop on to Debbie's blog!!

Hugs,
Monique

Farm Life

2011-08-27T05:18:00.000-07:00

Going through my stash of papers I found these farm papers from Doodlebug and I suddenly remembered the photos I had bought them for .... way back in 2008 we visited a farm from one of Timothy's soccer mates and the kids were allowed to drive a little bit on the tractor.

Look:

Mats, only 4 years old, is sooooo excited!!
Some close-ups:

These papers came with a diecut sheet, which I used for 75%! LOL!

So how are you spending your free weekend??? Scrapping like me?? What else would you do in weather like ours; can you hear the thunder?!

Despite the awful weather I hope you're enjoying your Saturday and thanks for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Monique

1st walk in the park & a card

2011-08-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a layout I made for Inkido. I used the very last scraps of their spring/summer papers and I don't know why, but I find it much easier to scrap with a pile of scraps then with a pile of untouched, pristine papers ... I'm always afraid of making that very first cut in my paper, especially when I like the paper very much!! So, here it is:

The photos were taken some 12 years ago, but I never got round to scrap them. Of course the other embellishments I used such as the flowers, leaves, ribbon, butterfly, pearls and stamp are also from Inkido. The alpha stickers are from Basic Grey.

Then I have a card for you, made for the VC crop at MyScrapbookNook this weekend. I planned to do a lot more, but I don't know what got into me, but I've been (spring) cleaning like a madlady!! I got rid of all the little childrens' stuff I still had: books, puzzles, games, clothes, comic books, etc. I just couldn't stop! I went from the top of the house to the bottom and back and I've never seen the house so tidy!!! Don't know how long the tidiness will last as my hubby and kids are returning from their vacation this night but for now: Yeah!!!

Here's the card:

For this challenge you had to incorporate a woman's image. Used Graphic45 from one of the previous Nook kits.

This is it, I'm off to bed!! Good night and hope to see you back soon!
Hugs,
Monique

Adorable OWL and "Best of the Web"

2011-08-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

Al heel lang verzamel ik stofjes; overal waar ik kom en waar ik stofjes zie moet ik er gewoon een paar meenemen. Maaaaaarrrrr ... ik deed er verder niks mee! Tot nu! Gisteren ben ik eindelijk gaan zitten met al die stofjes op schoot, heb er een paar uitgekozen en heb deze uil gemaakt! Is-ie niet schattig???

For quite a while now I'm a collector of cute fabrics. Everywhere I see them I just have to buy them; I have a box full!! BUT.... I didn't do anything with them! Until now that is. Yesterday evening I sat down, took the box and just got started!! And here's the result: an adorable owl!!

Beetje overdreven hè 4 foto's? maar ik vind m zo leuk! Ik ga er gauw nog een maken!!
Overigens zijn de ogen gemaakt met de tools van Epiphany Crafts: Button Studio Tool Round 20.

Okay, maybe 4 photos are a bit much, but I'm really proud of him (or her?). Btw, have you seen that the eyes are made with my fav tool the Epiphany Crafts Button Studio Tool Round 20?

En verder kreeg ik van de week een leuk emailtje van Kim. Wie is Kim??? Zij verzorgt de blogposts op "Best of the Web" en vroeg of ze mijn blog er mochten noemen. Nou, natuurlijk!!! HIER is de link naar hun site. Leuk hè

Another fun thing happened last week, I got this email from Kim:

"Dear Monique,

I found your blog and think your scrapbooks are so cute! I contribute to a blog called “Be @ Home” (http://pocketchange.become.com/category/home-and-garden) and we’d love to recommend you to our readers via our column “Best of the Web.”

This weekly column aims to connect our users to neat and interesting blogs that expand the reader experience. Your blog is perfect for this. And as Be @ Home averages about 3.3k unique visitors per day to the homepage, it’s a great way to get more publicity for your blog.

See examples of Best of the Web here: ..........

It would be great if you were interested in the feature, and could spread the word about Be @ Home too. Please let me know if you’d like to be part of Best of the Web, and have a great weekend!

Best,

Kim F.

www.become.com

kim@become-inc.com "

How about that???? Of course I said yes and yesterday my blog featured on their website. HERE's the link if you want to see it yourself!!

That's it! Off to buy some Pokemon cards for my 6 year old (I have to spoil him a bit now that his dad, sis and bro are off "holidaying" in Greece!!! lol!)

Hugs and have a wonderful weekend!
Monique

Buddies :-)

2011-08-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

It's time for the new sketch at the Dutch Dares challenge blog!! This time it's made by me!

Here it is:

(simply made in Word)

And here's my take on my own sketch :-)

Last week I found this fabulous line "Mr Boy" by Bella Blvd .... isn't it just perfect?!!

So .... if you feel like trying my sketch too, don't forget to link it to the original blogpost on the Dutch Dares blog and you might win the monthly RAK or be our next guest designer!! While you're there check out the other design team members' layouts! They're gorgeous!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Monique

Brag Book & Published!

2011-08-16T02:41:00.000-07:00

I have so much fun creating my Fancy Pants "Brag Book" that I thought I would show you the front (haven't finished the rest yet, so can't show you!)

I used Webster's Pages "Yacht Club" which is just perfect for the cruise the album is about!!

And then last Saturday this scrapbooking magazine from the UK arrived and guess who's on page 68? Me!! Look:

Still not used to seeing my own layouts in a magazine!

Off to scrap some more!
Thanks for stopping by and see you next time!!

Hugs,
Monique

Silly, Sweet & Eight!

2011-08-12T02:48:00.000-07:00

Right now Sassafras is having a challenge to create a page using at least 3 different alphabets on your page. As I have tons of Sassafras papers, embellies and letters (because I LOVE Sassafras!) I decided to participate!!

Here's what I made last night:

And lots of close-ups:

I mixed several different lines, used 4 different alphabets, lots of stickers, chipboard, banners and flowers. I also used some non-Sassafras products like MME journaling stickers, baker's twine and of course my Epiphany Crafts shapes (11 in total! can you spot them all?).

And now we're off!! It's our 15th wedding anniversary today and we've something fun planned!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you soon!
Hugs,
Monique

Imaginisce August Blog Challenge!

2011-08-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

Imaginisce has a fun sketch challenge for the month of August. And because I still had "Splash Dance" in my stash from last year (and wanted to use it very much) I decided to play along.

There were several fun photos from our vacation in France last July that fitted this line perfectly. So .... I decided to create 2 (!) pages with this sketch: one for Timothy's album and one for Mats' album.

Here they are:

Here's Mats' page in detail:

And Timothy's page in detail:

And this is the sketch:

Materials used: pp: Imaginisce "Splash Dance", cardstock: Bazzill & Core'dinations, Sticker Puffs: Imaginisce, Sticker Stackers: Imaginisce, letters: Thickers AC and mini's from MLS, journaling sprouts from Jillibean Soup. Furthermore I used the Slice card "Summer" to cut out several words (summer, swim & beach) and images (umbrella, palm trees & the sand castle).
Thanks for stopping by & hope to see you back soon!

Monique

INKIDO's - Tourist in my own country

2011-08-07T01:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was my turn again to show my layout on the Inkido blog.

For this page I used some of Inkido's older lines: Autumn Wardrobe (Tailored Stripes), Apples (Astrakan and Cox Orange) and Gammaldags Jul (Julhjartan), furthermore I used Inkido's flowers, leaves, charms, stamps and pearls:

The photos were made a few months ago when I had a day out with friends and we visited Volendam. Here we're dressed in the local attire :-).

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Have a great weekend,

Monique

Nieuwe Dutch Dares dare "Varen"

2011-08-03T04:58:00.000-07:00

Het is de eerste woensdag van de maand dus de nieuwe dare bij de Dutch Dares staat er weer op! Deze maand is de dare "Varen".

The first Wednesday of the month, so that means a new dare at the "Dutch Dares" challenge blog! This time the challenge is to create a project about "sailing". Here's my take ... after our cruise in May no shortage of sailings pics here!!

En hier is mijn "vertaling":

Een layout over onze cruise afgelopen mei.... bij mij geen tekort aan foto's met het onderwerp "varen", LOL!!

Gebruikt/Used: Paper: BoBunny "Sun Kissed", chipboard: Cosmo Cricket, letters: BoBunny & American Crafts and of course lots of epoxy shapes from Epiphany Crafts (round 25 and hearts 14).

Als je ook leuke foto's hebt over "Varen" doe met ons mee en wie weet win jij de RAK of word je onze volgende gastdesigner!! HIER is de link naar het blog, waar je ook de overige creaties van het team kan vinden!!

If you want to join us this month you can find the Dutch Dares blog post HERE and who knows .... maybe you'll be the one to win the RAK or become our next guestdesigner!!

Bedankt voor het langskomen en geniet nog even van de vakantie!
Hugs,
Monique

Tilda card

2011-07-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

I love days like today ... time to scrap a little, to read other scrappers' blogs, to knit (yes I knit!!), to read and to create a card ! Bliss!

I wanted to make this card before I went on vacation, but I just didn't manage it. The card is for Wilma who's in hospital because she has had an operation (you can read more about her on her blog).

I love to create cards for a change, especially ones like these where you can color an image, although I don't have many Magnolia stamps or Copics yet, but I guess that's about to change, LOL! (If anyone has some Tilda prints for me I would love that!!).

Hope you had a great Sunday, like I did!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monique

Wohoo!!!

2011-07-30T05:49:00.000-07:00

Did you see the DT call Best Creation Inc had last month??? I applied and this morning I discovered my name on the Guest Design Team-list!!! I couldn't believe it!! I'm so happy!! Especially when I saw the list of names who else made the team ... so many talented ladies :-) !! If you want to see it with your own eyes, have a look HERE!!

The team:

Here's a recent Easter layout I made with their "Bunny Love" line:

I LOVE their glitter papers, they are so unique! and those designs ... gorgeous!
Still can't believe it! Can someone pinch me please?!! :-)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! and thanks for stopping by!!

BIG hug,
Monique

Published!!

2011-07-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the August issue of Scrapbook Trends??? My mini-album is on pages 42 - 45!! It's my first pub in ST and am really happy with it!

I can't show my pics of my mini yet, but I took a few pics of the magazine:

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!!

Hugs,
Monique

2 Inkido layouts

2011-07-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I posted two layouts on the Inkido blog and as I'm allowed to post them on my own blog by now.... here they are!

In volle bloei/In full bloom:

Every year when we go to France we hope to see the sunflowers in full bloom, but lots of times we're too late ... .but not this year! Aren't they beautiful???

Used papers from the "Forever Summer" line and "Ladybug, Piece of Cake", some cardstock, corrugated cardboard, flowers, charms, ribbon, pearls and pins.

And the next layout: "Fun":

Mats and Manon having a drink on a little French terrace in Saint-Ambroix. Bliss!!!

For this page I used the "Forever" line, the "Forever Summer" line and the "Rosehage" line. I also used cardstock, flowers, charms, ribbon, pearls and corrugated cardboard.

If you want to see some other projects made with these gorgeous materials have a look at the INKIDO blog!! For the link click HERE!
Hope you like them!
Thanks for stopping by my blog today!!
Monique

Will you have a look?

2011-07-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

at my blog post on the INKIDO blog today??? If you want to hop over, click HERE!!

Have a fab Saturday!
Hugs,
Monique

Dutch Dares & Cheery Lynn Designs

2011-07-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

Gisteren was het weer tijd voor de nieuwe schets van de Dutch Dares. Dit keer is de schets door Marsha Valk gemaakt en omdat ik mee wil doen aan de Cheery Lynn Designs Team Call gebruik ik deze layout daar ook voor :-).

Yesterday it was that time again ... sketch time at the Dutch Dares!! A sketch made by Marsha Valk. Because I want to participate in the Cheery Lynn Designs Team Call I used my new die cutting machine and new Tim Holtz dies for this page!

en hier is mijn layout/here's the layout I made:

Weer eens eentje over Tim, dit keer aan het "stoer" doen met zijn vriend Max. Ze hebben sigaretten van het feestwinkeltje gehaald en doen net "alsof". Laten we hopen dat het daarbij blijft!!!! Hier zijn een paar detailfoto's .... nou ja, een paar ...

And here are quite a lot of detail photos. The layout is about Tim acting "tough" together with his friend. The cigarettes they have are from a local "fun" store and thus fake! :-)

De knopen zijn gemaakt met het bijpassende Lilybee papier en mijn Epiphany Crafts apparaatje "Button Studio Tool Round 20". Ik vind het zo gaaf dat je met dit apparaatje knopen kan maken die echt precies bij je layout passen!!! Als je wilt zien welke apparaatjes er nog meer zijn van Epiphany Crafts, klik dan HIER! Ik weet dat Yvonne van SBN een aantal van die apparaten voor je kan bestellen, mocht je ze willen hebben!!!

The buttons are made with matching Lilybee paper and my Epiphany Crafts tool "Button Studio Tool Round 20". Don't you just love that you can create buttons that match your papers exactly? If you want to see all the tools Epiphany Crafts made? Click HERE!
Furthermore I used the Tim Holtz Bigz dies "Gadget Gears". As of last week I have a Big Shot and I love being able to use all the dies there are!!!! In this case I used crunge board for them and inked and doodled them a bit.

Except for the Tim Holtz dies and the epoxy shapes from Epiphany Crafts I used a lot papers from Lilybee "Picket Fence" and Lilybee corrugated flowers, furthermore a Maya Road doily, Webster's embroidery shape, Ranger ink, letters from My Little Shoebox, some brads and of course my sewing machine!

Als je wilt zien wat de andere designers gedaan hebben met deze schets kijk dan even op het blog van de Dutch Dares. Daar zie je ook hoe je mee kan doen om onze volgende gast designer te worden of hoe je de RAK kan winnen!!

If you want to see what the other designers made or if you want to join us with this month's sketch then hop over to the Dutch Dares blog for the layouts and more details!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Monique

Best Friends

2011-07-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

During my holiday this layout showed on the Inkido blog and as I haven't shared it with you all yet, I show it to you now:

I think these green papers with lilly-of-the-valley and strawberries are my favorites from the "Forever Summer" line <3. Furthermore I used the "Forever" line and the "Rosehage" line with of course some flowers, leaves, charms.

The layout shows my youngest with our doggie playing in the garden. Love looking at them!

Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you back soon!
Hugs,
Monique

HOME AGAIN! Photo overload ...

2011-07-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

We're home again .... back from our 2 weeks holiday to the south of France and we really hate it!! We had such a good time, can't believe it's all over! Here's a photo impression:

En de zomervakantie zit er weer op ..... wat balen!! We hebben zo'n heerlijke vakantie gehad. We zaten in het zuiden van Frankrijk en het was er weer zooooo lekker. Ik kom zelf al jaren op deze camping, vanaf dat ik zelf een jaar of 10 was, toen ik ouder werd en niet meer met mijn ouders meeging ging ik soms wel en soms niet en nu ik zelf kinderen heb gaan we weer bijna elk jaar wel een paar weekjes kijken of alles nog hetzelfde is :-) .... en dat was het!!

Een kleine impressie van de vakantie:

the camping borders on this river the "Gardon": in the summer a very friendly and calm little river, but wait till the autumn starts ....

in the pool "au camping"

the best time of the day: having a French breakfast in the early morning sun ... with a French scrapbooking magazine: {entre ARTistes}

het lekkerste moment van de dag: in het (nog niet zo warme) zonnetje aan het Franse ontbijt .... met een super gaaf Frans scraptijdschrift: {entre ARTistes} magazine

no French holiday without a water melon!!

the kids playing "ping pong"

in the village:

We love stroling around the little French country roads:

Sommières:

and another photo in the village:

Having a nice French lunch with French bread and anchovy tapenade and olives from the market.

sunflowers everywhere!

having coffee in Anduze

Enjoying the beach in Carnon

exploring the Camargue

Having dinner in Anduze

delicious milk shakes ....

Time to shop:

and those salads .... to die for!!!

and last but not least: Jippie loves her holiday too!! (do you see her? in the middle of the photo)

And now it's time to scrap!!!

Hugs,

Monique

The Sampler June Kit - 2 more layouts!

2011-06-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Today I have two more layouts I made with the June kit from The Sampler.

First this one about an ordinary day in the office (showing on their blog today):

I just love this cardstock from Core'dinations! I sanded it and now the light blue shines through!

And I just had to add some twine again .... it just seemed so flat without!

And the other page is a simple one (and to be honest, not one of my favorites .... maybe I have to add some twine, LOL!):

A page about Manon's farewell party at school 2 years ago.

If you want to see what the other design team members made have a look at the The Sampler blog!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again soon!
Hugs,
Monique

Yes, I can do it too!!!!

2011-06-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Bake a cake, I mean!!! Look:

Of course with an owl!!

Conny started creating cakes like these about a year ago and she's so good at it that we asked her to teach us too. So last Friday (or the Friday before) we all got together and with a "little" help from Conny we created our own cakes!!!

And here's the result:

Don't you just love them??? And yes, my cake is long gone!! LOL! (and it tasted delicious!!!)

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs,

Monique

Inkido's { LOVE }

2011-06-26T02:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was my turn again to do a blog post for Inkido!

Here's what I made (click on the photo to enlarge):

For this page I used their "Forever" line .... really love that line! Except for the canvas title (which is Prima's) everything is from Inkido. The clock on the right hand side of the photo is cut with a Tim Holtz Alterations "Bigz die".

Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a wonderful Sunday!
Hugs,
Monique

3 Together * Cosmo Cricket

2011-06-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

When I was reading the Cosmo Cricket blog I saw this sketch challenge and you know I love sketch challenges, but this one is special!! The prize is getting published in Scrapbook Etc!!!! So I pulled out my Cosmo Cricket stash straight away!!

This is the sketch:

but I rotated it to this:

and the 2 photos I replaced for 2 pieces of patterned paper and I placed 1 photo on top.
Here's my take on it:

I used the "Togetherness" line for this page. I love the colors and the design of this line!! For the background I used the empty sheet from the corrugated alphas from Jillibean Soup. I placed it on my CC paper and sprayed ink on it, then removed the empty letter sheet again.

The photo is of my daughter Manon with her 2 "step nieces", taken last Sunday visiting their grandfather (my step father) for Father's Day.

And of course I used my fav tools from Epiphany Crafts for the finishing touches: the heart 14 and the heart 25.

This is it!! Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon!!

Hugs,

Monique

The Sampler's June Sketch

2011-06-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

It's June 20 and that means: ..... time for the June sketch from The Sampler!!

and my take on it:

I used some old photos of Manon (she's two and half years old here) and the June monthly scrapbooking kit from The Sampler of course. Love all those buttons from Crate Paper!!!!

Here's a photo of the kit:

If you fancy giving the sketch a go then don't forget to link your layout up to Holly's blog or The Sampler's blog (will let you know which one asap) before July 20, to be in with a chance of winning the monthly prize!!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon!

Monique

Girls just wanna have fun!

2011-06-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

This week I decided to play along with blog challenge #24 at My Mind's Eye. For the challenge you had to create a layout according to the sketch below and along with the sketch you had to use the theme "Song Lyrics". I had just bought these wonderful MME papers in my LSS (Good Day Sunshine) and they fitted my "scooter" pics perfectly! I chose the song "Girls just wanna have fun" by Cindy Lauper.

This is the sketch:

And here's my layout:

and some close-ups:

The photos are from our girls day out last year September. We hired scooters for a whole day and visited all these old quaint villages in Noord Holland, like Broek in Waterland, Monnickendam and Volendam. We had such a good time!!!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your Sunday!!
Monique

Celebrate 50!!

2011-06-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

Vandaag is het weer tijd voor de nieuwe schets op het Dutch Dares blog. Dit keer was het mijn beurt om een schets te maken en het was nog leuk ook! Hier is-ie, gewoon in Word gemaakt:

June 15 and that means time for a new sketch at the Dutch Dares challenge blog! This week the sketch is made by me!

En hier is mijn layout, eentje met foto's van Patricks 50e verjaardag vorige maand. Op de foto met Abraham! Al jaren zei ik dat ik nooit zo'n idiote pop voor de deur zou zetten als het zover zou zijn en moet je nu zien.... mijn vriendin en mijn dochter hebben geholpen en een lol dat we hadden!!!!

And this is the layout I created with it. A page about Patrick turning 50. And because he turned 50 we made him an "Abraham". I always said that I wouldn't make such a fuss, but in the end I did it anyway ... together with a friend and my dd we set to work and we had so much fun!! Not only creating him, but also smuggling him into the house in the middle of the night!! :-)

Sommige lijnen zijn zo makkelijk om mee te scrappen, zoals deze "Celebrate" lijn van Teresa Collins. Ik ben weg van al haar lijnen, maar deze vind ik net iets leuker dan de andere.

I used the "Celebrate" line from Teresa Collins and my fav tools from Epiphany Crafts (Button Studio Tool Round 20 and the Shape Studio Tool Heart 14).

En verder natuurlijk mijn Epiphany Crafts tools (Button Studio Tool Round 20 en Shape Studio Tool Heart 14) gebruikt voor de accenten. Zowel de epoxy knopen naast de titel en bij de taart linksonder als de 3 epoxy hartjes zijn met die tools gemaakt.

Mocht je zin hebben om ook bovenstaande schets te gebruiken (zou ik HEEL leuk vinden!) vergeet dan vooral niet een link naar jouw uitwerking te plaatsen in de comments sectie van de Dutch Dares blogpost!! Wie weet ben jij de gastdesigner voor augustus of win je de RAK van deze maand!! De deadline voor deze schets is dinsdag 19 juli 2011.

And if you feel like scrapping and using "my" sketch then don't forget to link your layout to the Dutch Dares blog. You might be our next guest designer or win the monthly RAK!!!! Deadline is July 19.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Monique

2 grandmothers in the spotlight!

2011-06-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today it's my turn on the Inkido blog again and because I find their latest line perfect my old b/w photos I raided my mum's old photo album again.

This time I chose my 2 grandmothers as the "subject" of my pages.

First my German grandmother (my father's mother): Oma Mutti.

It's 1966 and my sister and I are sitting on my oma's lap :-)

For this page I used the "Forever" and the "Forever Summer" lines, together with ribbon, flowers, leaves, a butterfly stamp, pearls and a chipboard frame.

And the second page is about my Dutch grandmother (my mum's mother). This photo is more recent, from ca. 1981.

For this page I used the "Rosehage" line with a gorgeous image of a lady, a beautiful stamp and of course flowers, leaves, ribbon (colored with glimmermist), charms, pearl and a chipboard frame- everything from Inkido (except the glimmermist).

At the Inkido blog you can find many many more beautiful projects made with Inkido products.

Thank you for visiting my blog again!!

Hugs,

Monique