Merry Christmas Peeps!!

                      So this we will be my last post before Christmas so I just wanted to say.......

I hope everyone one has a wonderful day with their families!!

Scrap wise...even though everyone is gearing up for Christmas, I have been working on Valentine's Day!! I am doing a great value little creative kit for the store. It is just $15.95, to pre-order yours, click here.

The kit contains enough product to create two layouts or one layout + 3 cards. I have done a sample layout which you can create with my video tutorial or design your own...

Now the video was my first attempt at this and I can tell you it is really dodgy. The camera is out of focus, too many shots of the back of my head and my SD card was too small so there are a few seconds missing in parts lol. Oh well I tried!! But you can still see how the layout was created. If you want to have a sticky beak, it is up on the Paper Stories blog.

Merry Christmas again folks!!!

G xox

Challenges, Kits & Lifting...

Hey scrap friends!! Hope everyone has had an awesome weekend. I've been getting my scrap on in between some Christmas shopping & housework and have a few bits & pieces to share..

So this layout is my first lift layout. I watched a tutorial video for Prima on the weekend by an amazing Polish scrapper, Czekoczyna. Her style is just out of this world and I think she is going to be on every 'to die for' design team very soon!! So my layout was based loosley around some of her techniques, quite different layout really but the same sort of design, layering and the same Prima stamp...I have added some washi & paper tape, plus some gesso. She uses quite a bit of mist, I have never been a big fan of mist and prefer paint but have added 2 little squirts =) This is her video. And as this is a lift, it's a 'just because' layout....

This is the first tut I have actually watched!! Occasionally I will see a technique on someone's work that I love, I will try and nut out how they did it myself so I can put my own spin on it. I think it is really important to be able to try and develop your own style without trying to imitate someone else's too much. Especially when doing design teams, publishing and entering challenges.  I have seen an increasing amount of not just 'influenced by' but direct copies of other people's work right down to the exact same products, composition and even style of photo and it makes me feel really uncomfortable/angry to think that someone has put so much time and effort into creating something just for someone else to recreate it and pass it off as 'their own' without even the slightest shout out to the original designer. Not right is it? 

So anyway, this layout was created with the 'Love Song' kit from Paper Stories along with some Prima flowers from my stash..

And speaking of kits, we had another new kit release over the weekend at Paper Stories and here are a few of my layouts from the kit..

This layout is for Stuck Sketches, I put the sketch upside down and did a little shuffling to get the balance right...

And this one is for the sketch challenge at Let's Get Sketchy....

And this is the kit I used, 'Going My Way'...

Thanks for stopping by =)

G xox

Frosted Designs, Sketchabilites & A Winner!!

Afternoon girls =) Hope everyone is well and are having fun gearing up for Christmas. I only started my shopping today ( I know, I'm bad!!).

So I have a share.... this is a layout I created for the #80 sketch at Sketchabilities and also the challenge at Frosted Designs to use 6 strips of washi tape. I have 3 strips in each corner of my page! It is of my gorgeous step daughter and her new beau...

And while I am here I have the winner to announce for my November giveaway...

Congratulations....GWEN WRUCK!!

If you would like to send me an email at hericarusempire@bigpond.com and I will get your parcel out to you =)

G xox

December Paper Stories Sketch Challenge

Morning girls =) 

We have a new sketch challenge for December up at the Paper Stories blog, with a brilliant new sketch from the very talented Nadia Cannizzo!!

And this is my take on the sketch which I rotated, using the gorgeous New Pink Paislee Portfolio Range..

Products Used-

Pink Paislee - Portfolio - Stupendous

Pink Paislee - Portfolio - Outstanding

Pink Paislee - Portfolio - Unbelievable

Pink Paislee - Portfolio - Amazing

Pink Paislee - Portfolio - Ephemera

Pink Paislee - Portfolio - Stamp Set

Pink Paislee - Artisan Chipboard - Arrows

Pink Paislee - Artisan Chipboard - Stars

The Crafter's Workshop Template - 6 x 6 Pattern Strips

Artiste Acrylic Paint - Noir (Black)

Claudine Hellmuth Gesso

Glitz Design Washi Tape

MME Brad

And up for grabs this month is the awesome Crate Paper Story Teller range. (currently on sale in store too if you want to pick up a bargain!!!)

Hope to see lots of amazing entries again this month!!

Take care

G xox

NEW PaperHaus Issue & Once Upon A Sketch!!!

Hey girls =) Hope everyone is well!!! 

Well December is here.....way too soon!!! I said last year that this season I would be making handmade ornaments for my tree, a December Daily album, a handmade wreath and decorations for my Christmas table + a heap of other projects. I think I probably should have started this back in July as it is looking like my handmade xmas dream just isn't going to happen at all. But..I have managed two layouts and one card ( go me lol). One of which is my first DT project for the current issue of PaperHaus Magazine just released...

Just a little sneak..

You can see the full layout plus a huge amount of amazing talent here...

And as well that, you have to check out this event on the PaperHaus blog & Paper 

Haus Facebook page...

And speaking of Christmas layouts, this is my other one, for the current sketch challenge at Once Upon A Sketch. This month our journalling prompt is: 'It's December' - We know that not everyone celebrates Christmas in December, but if you do we would love to hear all about it. If not, then tell us anything that you like about December..celebratory on not! 

And this is the sketch, I started with this but my layout kind of went in a direction all it's own lol.

Both these projects have been created with this My Mind's Eye All Is Bright Paper & Accessories kit from Paper Stories. Loved loved loved working with this range!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

G xox