CSI - Special Investigator - Case File #87

Hello.
Thank you for coming by my blog.

Today is the last case file for the month for CSI and the last time for me as a Special Investigator. I would just like to say a big 'thank you' to Debbi Tehrani for inviting as a SI for this past month. The CSI site is a wonderful environment, full of encouragement and a great positive vibe. If you haven't already, make sure you pop by there to join one of their challenges and feel the looove!

So this week the file is...

My take on the file:

I really loved the colours on this one and it was such a fun layout to do.
How I solved the case:
SCHEME: I used all the colours
EVIDENCE: fish, arrows, wave shapes, stitching, mist.
TESTIMONY: Make your journaling wander across the page (my journaling wandered around the page, not across the page, but I did add sub-headings across the page).

All the die-cuts and words started life as white cardstock. I used various simple techniques to colour them which I shall be sharing in the near future for anyone interested.

Thank you for looking! Hope to see your layout in CSI!

CSI- Special Investigator - Case File #86

Hello all,

It's a gorgeous case file this week at CSI, although I will admit to struggling with it a bit.
Here is the file:

And my layout:

And some close-ups:

As you can see, the circle with the houses and dog opens up to reveal the journaling:

SCHEME: I used all the colours.
EVIDENCE: scallops, art mediums, stripes (paper), dog accents, architectural accents, vellum.
TESTIMONY: Create a window for journaling (more like a door than a window, I guess), hand write journaling, IW word: go.

Journaling reads: Go and see the world
                           Be open to new experiences and opportunities
                           Visit cities afar, and embrace adventure.


Thank you for coming by.
Hope you are able to join this week in the fun!
Go HERE for more details.

CSI - Special Investigator - Case File #85

Another week and another Case File over at CSI!
Love the inspiration file for this one.

And how I solved the case:

The photo is of my grandparents in Holland when they were engaged, in 1938.
I used a number of die-cuts from Kaiser, which allowed the layout to come together fairly quickly - well certainly not as long as it usually takes me. I think I'll use these die-cuts more often!

SCHEME: I used all the colours, but took the aqua to be a little darker.


EVIDENCE:

• tags
• numbers
• frame

TESTIMONY:

• Write your journaling on a tag
• Hand-write your journaling in cursive - I haven't written in cursive for a long time, so it's my version of cursive.:-)
• Inspiration word: SAVE

Journaling reads:
'Jeroen and Antonia are playing up for the camera, pretending to be busking to save money for their wedding.'

The layouts for inspiration are just AMAZING. Please make sure you have a look HERE.

Scrap Friends - Colour Challenge #16 DT

There's a fabulous new Colour Challenge at ScrapFriends that has just been posted.
Here it is:

I love the pop of orange against the blues and greys. I decided to use a photo of my two eldest children who happened to be dressed in these colours for casual day at school. I wasn't sure how to design my layout so went searching for sketch at Scrap Friends and was inspired by this one, which I think was from May last year:

And my layout:

The side panel was cut by my Silhouette, then placed on grey cardstock as a backing. A lot of the layers were digital elements that I printed. The cogs I made - there will be a step-by-step tutorial appearing on Scrap Friends soon on what I did.
Please head over to Scrap Friends, if you haven't already, to see all the gorgeous inspiration from the Guest Designers as well as the Design Team.

Look forward to seeing what you create!
Thank you for coming by.

CSI - Special Investigator - Case File #84

Another fabulous file released at CSI for this week - #84, along with a sketch by the talented Em Stafrace of Page Drafts.

Here is the case:

And this is how I solved the case:

This is a photo of my father in 1966 (before he met my mother). The original photo was pretty small and of poor quality, but the only one of him at that time. Although we no longer have contact, I find his story interesting (written below), and felt I needed to document it.

As you can see I followed the sketch pretty literally. I really enjoyed the details in the sketch such as the square outlines, arrows, and placement of the papers and elements.

The navy stripes are cardstock, embossed with a 'brick' design. The green arrows are 'core'dinations' cardstock, embossed with 'herringbone'. They are very fragile after embossing and I had to be really careful when I sanded back the raised edge. The flowers, which are atop some punched shapes, are Basic Grey which I have had in my stash for ages.


How I solved the case:

• I used all the colours in the sketch.

• Evidence:
• stripes
• textured paper
• twine
• circle

• Testimony:
• Used striped paper as journaling lines (the journaling is in the little bag behind the photos - for some reason I didn't take a photo with it open-oops!).
• Inspiration Words: escape

Journaling reads:
You grew up in an orphanage until aged 17 when you were apprenticed as a shoe maker. At the age of 19 you were drafted for compulsory National Service. Being against all forms of war you escaped your country. When in Vienna, you were captured and sent to prison. You escaped prison then went to Vienna again. This time however, you changed your name (and papers) given by the orphanage, and fled to Australia. It was 1964. This photo was taken two years later in one of the places you worked. You had many and various jobs, mainly unskilled labour work. Eventually you made your way down to Adelaide, where in 1968, New Year's Eve, you met my mother-to-be.


Thank you for coming by.
Hope you are able to join in this week.

CSI - Special Investigator - Case File #83

I am so, so blessed! I was asked by Debbi Tehrani, founder of CSI, if I would like to be a Special Investigator for the month of August. Would I??? I squealed with delight.
I'm not a great journaler. I appreciate it, and admire it of others, but I'm rather private, so don't tend to tell my stories in words so much. However, I love CSI for the simple reason that it pushes me to get out of my comfort zone, and although I may feel vulnerable telling my stories, I do see the benefits of recording them.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the case for this week:

As I have little in the way of navy and red paper and embellishments, I decided to opt for a digital layout:

Supplies used: Anna Aspnes template, paper and elements, Amma Aspnes, Katie Pertiet.

I used all the colours of the scheme.

Evidence:

• stripes (the red paper behind the white circle frames and as a small tab/arrow top right)
• travel accents (anchor pin)
• stamps (passport stamp brush, postage stamps within the circle frames)
• circles

Testimony:

• Document a journey
• Inspiration words: place, journey and joy.

Journalling reads:

m.s.Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
On August 14, 1952, you left Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on this boat for the hope of a better life. Parents and four children had a passage in the 'HUT' class costing 6, 375 gulden.  Your precious belongings, including heirloom pieces were mostly sold to be able to make the voyage.
You journeyed across the seas and arrived in Melbourne, Australia on September 17, 1952.  You were meant to be arriving to a place of hope and a better future, however it was wrought with hardships and challenges.  The climate, the culture, and the language all served to test you.  Sixty years later, as life has unfolded, and society has evolved, joy is found in the ordinary.  Those that suffered the most have now passed on, and the living are now able to reap the rewards.  Because of your courage and strength, lives have changed and new life has been born in a place of great freedom and possibilities.
Times have changed, but this journey that was made, will always be remembered.

Hope to see your layout at CSI!

Thank you for coming by.

Scrap Friends - Sketch Challenge #16 DT

Welcome to my first layout as a design team member for Scrap Friends. As always, the sketch (#16) is just awesome and has so many possibilities for interpretation.

The sketch:

My interpretation, as you can see, is quite literal:

Supplies used: Crate Paper - Prudence Collection; Kaiser stamps (Artsy and Crackle); Distress Ink Pads (Antique Linen, Sage, Old Paper, Pumice Stone); Glimmer mist (olive); mask (12 x 12 TCW Houndstooth); Distress Stain (peeled paint); Twinkling H2O (lemongrass); gelatos; embossing folder (Tim Holtz); Stampendous (aged bronze embossing enamel), Kaiser alphas, Silhouette.

I love having paper collections instead of individual papers, because all the papers work well together and I don't have to think too much or spend too much time hunting around for the right paper. Also, there is usually more than one sheet of paper. For this layout, I have used 2 sheets for the background - one as the base, the other cut up and added, the reverse side also being used.

The guest designers and other design team members have all done an amazing job. I hope you will also join the challenge!

Lastly, I would just like to add that my experience with producing layouts for design teams is limited and I find it nerve-wrecking! Maybe that never goes away. However, behind the scenes at Scrap Friends, every team member has made me feel very welcome which has reduced my nerves as the new addition to the team, and for that I am very thankful. So thank you girls!

Thanks for coming by!

Exciting news!

Hello all!

I am uber excited to say that I have been invited to join the amazing Design Team at Scrap Friends!
Whoo-hoo!
Completely ecstatic to join. I have entered layouts in both their sketch and colour challenges on a number of occasions and feel so very blessed to now be a part of the team.

Click HERE to see my introduction.

Come back soon for the fabulous sketch challenge!

Thank you.
Zeneva.