I actually paper scrapped this weekend.

I managed one challenge for a yahoo cybercrop group - to scrap our Easter.

And a paper layout for one of the challenges at the Little Scrapbook Shop cybercrop (which runs all weekend) - this is uber simple, but greatly frustrating, and an excellent reminder of why I love digital. Digitally this layout would have taken about ten minutes - going the paper route it took nearly an hour, 3 pieces of bazzill cardstock, and much angst.

At least it’s another page scrapped! I also managed the step-by-step challenge and created this little box-album for Kate (and now Grace wants one too, of course) - I really love these kind of projects, I love the satisfaction of having something finished, and yes, love the no-rules of this kind of scrapping (the hot-glue-gun is my best friend LOL).

The paper mache box is 10cm x 10cm (just to scale it LOL) patterned paper is making memories, prima flowers, odd brads from my stash, monogram K is a lil davis one (I think), bazzill cardstock (one of the chatterbox pink ones), heidi swapp bling studs, MM simply stated rubon alpha heidi. I used a photoblast action (goldenrod) on the photos, and Tracy Rivera’s progressive style templates for the grungy borders, with the font SP Wonderful Wendy for the text on the photos. So it turned into a lovely hybrid project, satisfying my need to play on the computer, and the finished item is lumpy-bumpy and quite “real” (said with a huge wink).

I am so stoked to have been able to use Tracy’s effects templates - I really wanted to buy these last week (when she had a sale on all her stuff), but I hadn’t been able to work out how to use these things - I have a set by TracyAnn reproaching me on my hard-drive already! Even though I’ve been digi-scrapping for over three years, masks are still a mystery to me. Tracy posted a request at DST for some people to work with her templates, and I put up my hand on the provision that she would help me to use them, and she did, and I just love them! There are almost endless possibilities in the set, by combining different layers and adjusting things you could achieve dozens of different edges and effects. More playing with these in the days ahead, for sure.

In the process of googling for the words I wanted to say in this little project, I found this beautiful presentation, more words which I think will find their way onto some scrapbook pages - I wish I could be so eloquent.

 And finally, a little plug for a new sketch resources that has just come online (and see if you can tell who helped to set up the blog). The Little Book of Sketches is going to be a great resource for scrappers and card-makers, and I hear there is a little competition going on at the moment, so pop over and take a look.

I’m off to try to get some sleep, it’s back to school for us tomorrow.