Kraft It Up: February 2014

Please make welcome our wonderful and talented Design Team for the February - July period!!

Our belated February challenge is below, I apologise for the delay and thank Lindy for helping me out x

AMY PRIOR (Australia)

Hi there! I am so very excited to be invited to be a party of the fabulous Kraft it Up Team! My name is Amy Prior and I am a wife and a mum in my late twenties living in Kincumber, Australia. 

I have lived on the Central Coast here in NSW Australia basically my whole life and could not imagine living anywhere else. I have always been a creative soul and I find it hard to live without my paintbrush in hand or covered in some kind of medium. 

My 2 daughters Mia & Chloe are usually the focus of my creations because I just love to scrapbook and preserve precious moments for them. My dear mother has a box full of lost memories I call them. 

My entire collection of childhood photos, is stored inside a shoe box randomly mixed up and if I ever ask my mum when a photo was taken or what occassion has been captured, she is always blank. No record and her memory failing, I was always destined to scrapbook and I started journalling at a very young age, including photos, magazine cuttings etc.

By the time my first daughter came along, I was introduced to this fabulous world of "Scrapbooking". I was in heaven at that very first Creative Memories party but the instant I walked into a regular Scrapbooking Store, I saw a world of possibilities and a world of pretty things that I simply had to reach out and grab. Now I, of course, have the same problem that most scrappers have, and that is that I have way too many supplies to know what's good for me! But then every CHA that comes around, my wish lists grow as my bank account shrinks.

As a young girl, my dream was always to be a teacher. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I left school very young and went down the wrong paths for a very long time. Although my dream to be a teacher can still be a reality, I love to focus on sharing my passion for creativity with others. I cannot begin to describe the joy it brings me when I have helped someone create a work of art, after they have doubted themselves and especially after they say they do not have creative bones in their bodies etc.

I hope to share my love for this beautiful Mixed Media world that I live in, with all of you. If I ever post something that has not been explained properly, PLEASE comment and ask me questions. I am always happy to answer and add more steps to make your creative journey easier.

Check out Amy's Blog here: http://www.amyprior.com/

ALISON CALLCOTT (Australia)

Hi! My name is Alison but my friends call me Alz. I live in Melbourne with my truly amazing husband Geoff, and our gorgeous, laidback Kelpie/Heeler cross Bear. I also live with MS.

I’ve been scrapbooking for eight years. My style is mostly mixed media although depending on my subject matter, my scrapping can also be quite clean, simple and elegant, fun and funky, or whimsical. In my studio, pretty much anything goes!

When not scrapping, you can usually find me at the beach, doing obedience and agility training with Bear, socialising with my girlfriends, and pretending (on occasion) to be a domestic goddess.

I’m both thrilled and honoured to join the girls on the 123 Design Team and look forward to the journey ahead. Cheers!

Check out Alison's Blog here: http://alzcreativemadness.blogspot.com.au/

FIONA JOHNSTONE (Australia)

Hi!

My name is Fiona Johnstone and I live in Sydney with my two children Zane and Lily, who are my constant source of scrapping inspiration. 

I went along with some friends to a beginners scrapbook class back in 2005 whilst pregnant with Zane and loved it, but didn’t get right into it until after Lily was born in 2007. 
My style is constantly changing as I love to try new techniques, but I try to keep my photo’s as the main focus and always use them as the starting point for creating my layouts.  I have been fortunate to be published in Scrapbook Creations & Scrapbooking Memories magazines.

I am currently on the Design Team for All About Scrapbooks and the Creative Team for Inspired Blueprints. I am thrilled to be a part of the Kraft It Up team. 

Check out Fiona's Blog here: http://fionajohnstone.blogspot.com.au/

MILAGROS RIVERA (Puerto Rico)

I am a mom of 2 sweethearts a teenage boy and spunky crafter little girl and we live in sunny Puerto Rico in the middle of the Caribbean with a menagerie of pets since my husband is a vet! I have always crafted, needle arts were in my hands since I was 9. I started doing my sons albums but almost 18 years ago it was a different world. When my daughter was born 9 years later I got instantly hooked on it and I love to apply other passions into it like calligraphy, painting and stitching. Best of all my daughter loves it too so I get to share this moments with her. you can find me and y other hobby : photography at my blog www.paperboutiquescrapbookingstudio.blogspot.com I'd love for you to visit!

RETURNING TO THE KIU TEAM ARE...

PAULA PERRY...

"I'm super excited to be a returning member of the KIU DT...I absolutely love this challenge blog & the amazing team!

I'm a huge fan of Kraft & use it a lot in my scrapping. My inspiration for my layouts mainly comes from my kids & my desire to record their lives. Life has been a little crazy over the past year with my eldest completing her HSC & youngest finishing Primary school, I'm hoping to catch up on more scrapping this year.

A fond farewell to the girls leaving us, your support has been brilliant & a huge welcome to the new ladies...enjoy!"

You can view Paula's blog here: http://paula-mycreativeramblings.blogspot.com.au/

LINDY GILLESPIE...

Hi my name is Lindy Gillespie & I live in sunny Gold Coast . I am married with 2 grown up children Craig and Kate and an obnoxious cat called Java -and like any animals are very much part of the family.

I have been scrapping for about 7 years & first stumbled across a bricks and mortar store which caught my eye so i had to investigate to my surprise was immediately addicted ....

I would class my scrapping style as white space with s bit of shabby chic .... Atm i'm a bit addicted to distressing and mix media and most of my work have layers and distress edges. There are many that inspire me, love searching through the home magazines and the colour catalogues.

I have been very fortunate to be published in most Australian and Overseas magazine.

Lindy's Blog:http://wwwjustanotherday.blogspot.com.au/

AMANDA HALL....

AMANDA'S BLOG http://whereiamat-amanda.blogspot.com.au/

HELENE BOGREN...

I live in south of Sweden with my husband and our four year old daughter.

I have always loved playing with colors in different ways, which has resulted in hobbies like interior design, to design and sew clothing, and gardening/garden design.

When I found out about scrapbooking that quickly became my new passion! I just love the colors, patterned papers, embellishments, masks, mixed media products and so on…

At the moment I’m using a lot of mix media and doodling on my layouts but I like to challenge myself to try new techniques. I’m kind of a more-is-more girl in scrapbooking and I love to use a lot of bright colors (which, by the way, works SO well with kraft paper).

Helene's Blog: http://helenesscrapsida.blogspot.com/

HEATHER JACOB...

Hi there, my name is HEATHER JACOB.

Firstly I am so honoured and delighted to be included for another term in the Kraft It Up team for 2014
I am happily married to my wonderful, supportive “soul mate” Baden.
I discovered scrapbooking in 2003 and to me this craft is the perfect combination of art, photography, beautiful paper, and glorious words. My work reflects my love of family and nature, who I was yesterday and who I am today .

I especially love to choose some elements, cast a spell and see what happens, to create a dream and follow it through. Subtle shadows, light and color are all ingredients for casting the spell. I am in harmony with my garden and its inhabitants, connecting with the beauty that surrounds me. For me it is all-consuming, inspiring and a natural expression of my inner self, which I love to weave into my works.

I am inspired by colour and texture … I love to include stitching, chipboard, journaling, muslin, fabrics, metal elements, inking, masking and texture paste.
Off the page projects and altered art are a fave of mine. I see my style changing and evolving into more textural themes with layering, attention to detail, monochromatic themes with a little shabby chic/grunge thrown in..

I feel very blessed to be on a number of design teams and I have work published in Scrapbooking Memories, Scrapbook Creations, Australian Scrapbook Ideas, Scrap365, Somerset Memories, Somerset Studio, Somerset Apprentice, Carnets De Scrap (French Magazine)
Warm hugz from Heather x
My blogs:
www.heatherartandlife.blogspot.com.au
www.heather-artandsoul.blogspot.com.au

SUE SMITH.....

My name is Sue Smith and I live on the beautiful South Coast of NSW and have 2 adult children and 3 fur-babies. All my life I have dabbled in art of some sort, and have been an obsessed fan of scrapbooking for about 7 years now after reluctantly attending a Creative Memories workshop.

Becoming involved with the online scrapbooking community has, and continues to be, a wonderful source of technique development, creative inspiration and many, many valued friendships.

I don't really have a scrapping style as such, but I love using lots of layers and mists and experimenting with new products and techniques. I also dabble in mixed media art and I am passionate about photography. I love working with Kraft and I am really looking forward to my time here on this team, and sharing my creations on this blog."

My blog address is: http://sueat17-thelastminute.blogspot.com.au/

OUR SPONSORS FOR FEBRUARY ARE

SCRAP EVERYTHING

Here you will find lots of yummy scrapbooking goodies!

With an ever changing product range you are sure to find whatever your heart desires and if you can't find what you are looking for just ask - we are happy to order it for you!
Scrap Everything is offering a $20.00 Voucher

NJOYFULL CRAFTS

Njoyfull Crafts are offering a $20.00 Voucher

SCRAPBOOK FANTASIES...

Scrapbook Fantasies (www.scrapbookfantasies.com.au) is a Scrapbooking, Papercrafts and Mixed Media business opened in November 2002 in Gladstone, Queensland.
The well stocked store receives new stock daily, and supports a boutique style online storehere.

The owner Alicia runs Weekly Challenges and many other competitions giving away over $250 dollars in store vouchers every month. The Gallery hosts thousands of customer creations, and is available for viewing without login.

Parcels are posted within Australia at a flat $6.50 or the actual postage rate (whichever is the lesser), or FREE for orders over $100.

International parcels are posted at the actual postage rate.

Scrapbook Fantasies are offering a $20.00 Voucher...

FEBRUARY CHALLENGE

This Month your Challenge is to create a layout on Kraft cardstock or patterned paper

about something you LOVE..

WE WILL EXTEND THE CHALLENGE TO THE 14TH MARCH

HERE ARE THE STUNNING DESIGN TEAM CREATIONS

OUR FIRST GUEST DESIGNER IS THE VERY TALENTED

MARIANNE JOHANSSON