Introducing Chris Sexton ...

the winner of our guest designer in July with her wonderful interpretation of the August inspiration ...

 

I brushed a piece of white cardstock with water, leaving the outer edges dry. I then dropped yellow and blue watercolour paint around the page and blew the paint with a straw towards the outer edges of the page, allowing some of the colour to mix. I then spattered the page with a small amount of red. Lastly I sprinkled salt in some areas, then dried the whole sheet with a heat gun. It helps to minimise warping if you tape the page to a solid base before you start.

Hello, I'm Chris Sexton. I'm married (40 years in Dec)  and live in far north east NSW. I'm a retired school teacher and was introduced to scrapping just before I retired about 5 years ago. I fell in love with the craft and have been creating ever since. I have made many albums for family and friends plus loads for myself about me, my family, my travels, my house and my garden. One of my biggest problems is storage, both for my albums and my stash. It's starting to take over my life (not to mention my bank account).

I don't have a set scrapbooking style except to say my layouts are usually clean and uncomplicated. The one thing I love is pattern paper. There are so many gorgeous papers around and I tend to buy impulsively. If I love it I have to have it  and worry about how I'm going to use it later. I enjoy visiting blogs and leafing through magazines to get inspiration for my layouts. There are so many clever, creative scrappers out there. I have especially enjoyed entering the challenges on the ARTastic website, which I started doing at the end of last year. They have both inspired me and stretched me and I'm now prepared to take more risks and be a little more adventurous.

When I'm not scrapping, I love to read, take photos, paint with watercolours, work in my garden, look after my dear old mum, spend time with my precious family and travel with my husband. Retirement has opened up another world for me and I love that I can now indulge my passions.

I had breast cancer ten years ago when I was 50 and that was a big wake-up call . I now endeavour to make the most of every day and make more time for the people who are most important to me; my family and friends. I am grateful for the little things and feel that every day of the last ten years has been a special blessing. Life is GREAT!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to be a guest designer at ARTastic for August.  You can see more of my work  HERE.

 

I've included two more of my layouts ...

 

"Just too cute" - a layout depicting two of my gorgeous nephews

 

  

"Timeless Beauty" - a layout of my paternal grandmother as a young teen

 

 

Welcome Chris.  We are delighted to have you join us on ARTastic this month.

 

Remember you have until 11.55pm on August 31st to submit your entries.  We'd love to see what you do.

 

July winners and some more August inspiration ...

Time for some July winners and more monthly inspiration from our talented team.

We'd also like to thank our two main sponsors this month,  James from Alacraft and Peta from Scrapbooking From Scratch for their generous support.

ARTastic followers can enjoy 20% off at Alacraft with discount code ARTS20.

 

Alacraft has free product giveaways every month. Please visit the site and enter your email address on the homepage or on the page indicated in the link and you will be automatically entered into the draw for $25 of free products for that month. People are welcome to enter as many months as they like, they just need to enter their email address each time.

 

 Alacraft is a family business originating from an established bricks-and-mortar store and stocks a range of quality materials including lace, ribbon, yarn, scrapbooking supplies, stickers, iron-on motifs, quilting fabric, craft flowers and much more.

  Check out Alacraft today!

 
 

Scrapbooking from Scratch is an online scrapbooking site specialising in Designer Scrapbooking Kits but we carry many other scrapping products from NEW releases to those essential items we all need. My talented design team work with 1 -2 kits per month each to give you inspiration & ideas.

Please note my kits are never released on a set day of the month - just whenever I receive new stock so join my newsletter or connect with me on Facebook to get the latest release notifications and updates on blind challenges and monthly comps. 

 ............................

 

and now onto our July winners

 

 thank you to all who entered, all your work was delightful and I wish we could award all of you a prize however for July ...

Congratulations go to ...

 Samantha Klaebe who has won a $25 gift voucher from Alacraft.

 

Renee Johnson who has won a lovely prize from Scrapbooking From Scratch.

 Deb K who has won the Director's prize.

Random draw prize goes to Kathleen White.

We would like to offer Lizzy Hill a guest designer spot for September.

Our Creative Team winner for July is the lovely Lesley who will receive a little RAK from me.

Congratulations everyone. If all these winners could please email me at jjjustjane@bigpond.com with your postal details I will see your prize gets out to you.

 

AND NOW -  Some more wonderful August inspiration from our remaining creative team members ...

JULIE

LESLEY

SHAZZA

TONE-LILL

 

JANE

 

We'd love to see what you can create using some paint or water - in fact you don't even need to use paint!  Tone-Lill has used ink and water on her page and my own layout is done digitally and as you can see you can still create wonderful effects. 

 

 Remember we happily accept all forms of paper crafting for your entry and encourage both digital and international submissions.  All we ask is that you create an original entry for our challenge although you are most welcome to combine with a sketch challenge if you wish.  You have until midnight last day of the month to submit your entry.

 

 

 

Next week we will be introducing you to the June winner of a guest designer spot, Chris Sexton.

 

Don't forget - Each month we will be selecting someone from amongst our entries to be a guest designer for one of our upcoming challenges - it could be you!!

 

 

Introducing Dale Tiernan ...

our first guest designer for August with her interpretation of the inspiration piece this month.

.

Hi, I'm Dale, married with two sons and live in Western Australia. I started keeping scrapbooks when I was very young. After going to a Creative Memories class I started scrapping in earnest in February 2003. Since then I have completed over 50 albums, many cards and quite a few off the page projects. I have found my passion in life. I just love to create and share my creations with others. Not only that but I feel like I am my family's historian. I'm keeping my boys' childhood memories alive by capturing them on film and by putting them into scrapbooks with the stories behind them.

I'm currently a Designer for From Screen 2 Scrap Challenge blog, Soul Scrappers and Mystical Scrapbooks. I have had my work published in Scrapbook News and Review online magazine and am regularly published at Scrapbooking.com online magazine.  I'd be happy for you to take a look at my blog, which is www.daleys-dailies.blogspot.com.  I have done a post for this layout which includes a list of products I have used.

 

Thanks Jane for having me as a Guest Designer. I love the creative nature of this challenge site.

 

Here are two more of Dale's layouts ...

 

 

 

Welcome Dale.  It is lovely to have you with us on ARTastic this month.

 

Remember you have until midnight August 31st to submit your entries.  This month is a really fun challenge and a great excuse to get creative.  We'd love to see your work - you can even combine your entry with a sketch or colour challenge if you like.

It's August on ARTastic ...

and we have another wonderful inspirational challenge for you.

Introducing  ...

Alan Louis  with Splash (watercolour on paper)

I paint mainly with watercolours on paper. Painting is my way of expressing how I appreciate life and the beauty that I see in even the most ordinary and mundane things. Whether I am painting a street scene, river scene, people, landscapes, flowers, even a single leaf, I derive joy and satisfaction from being able to freely express my own interpretations of what I perceive, guided only by my emotions and innermost feelings.

Criteria – Raid the kids craft cupboard or pull out those old watercolour pencils you have had forever - let’s try a little paint and water on our page!  If you don't have specific watercolour paints then by all means use the normal variety but please water these down so the look is more wishy washy.

 

 

Just look at the delightful variations we have from the first of our creative team ...

 

AMANDA

ELAINE

HELENE

 

MAJA

DEBI 

 

Please upload the DIRECT link to your actual entry with the link tool on the LEFT by 11.55pm on August 31st, 2013. We'd love to see your paper, digital, card or off the page submissions but please remember we appreciate original entries (you may combine with a sketch or colour challenge).

 

Looking forward to seeing what you all create this month. 

 

Our first Guest Designer for August, Dale Tiernan will be joining us next week.  Please call back to see her take on the challenge for this month. 

 

 

 

 

Introducing Jackie Edwards, a guest designer winner ...

with her delightful interpretation of our July challenge.

 

 

Hi!  My name is Jackie Edwards and I live in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in the UK.

 

I am a widow but have a wonderful daughter and three beautiful grandchildren who are mostly the subjects of my layouts.  

 

I have been scrapping for about eight years now. I discovered scrapbooking when I was on holiday in America when my first Grandchild was about a year old and my style has changed many times over the years.  I am very lucky to have my own craft room and because I am now retired, I can scrap all day and not have to clear everything away! 

I have always been involved with craft in some form – sewing, cross-stitch, cards, altered art (I love Tim Holtz!) but seem to return to scrapbooking every time.  My best buy a few years ago was my Craft Robo and this has helped me out with titles and images on many occasions.   

I very much enjoy entering challenges because they give me the starting point for a layout, whether it’s a sketch or other criteria……..although the end result doesn’t always reflect the original design or intention!  

I don’t know what I would do now if I didn’t scrap!!!

 

 

Jackie doesn't have a blog but has an online gallery here where you can see her work.

 

Here are some of Jackie's pages ...

 

 

 

Welcome Jackie.  We are so pleased you can join us on ARTastic this month.

 

Remember you have until midnight July 31st to submit your entries.  This month isn't difficult criteria and we'd love to see your work - you can even combine your entry with a sketch challenge if you like.

 

Some winners, some inspiration and a very special welcome ...

It's time to announce some June winners. 

There was some amazing work from our entrants last month and I want to thank all of you so much for taking the time out to be part of ARTastic.

We'd also like to thank our two main sponsors this month,  James from Alacraft and Peta from Scrapbooking From Scratch for their generous support.

ARTastic followers can enjoy 20% off at Alacraft with discount code ARTS20.

 

Alacraft has free product giveaways every month. Please visit the site and enter your email address on the homepage or on the page indicated in the link and you will be automatically entered into the draw for $25 of free products for that month. People are welcome to enter as many months as they like, they just need to enter their email address each time.

 

 Alacraft is a family business originating from an established bricks-and-mortar store and stocks a range of quality materials including lace, ribbon, yarn, scrapbooking supplies, stickers, iron-on motifs, quilting fabric, craft flowers and much more.

  Check out Alacraft today!

 
 

Scrapbooking from Scratch is an online scrapbooking site specialising in Designer Scrapbooking Kits but we carry many other scrapping products from NEW releases to those essential items we all need. My talented design team work with 1 -2 kits per month each to give you inspiration & ideas.

Please note my kits are never released on a set day of the month - just whenever I receive new stock so join my newsletter or connect with me on Facebook to get the latest release notifications and updates on blind challenges and monthly comps. 

 ............................

 

and now onto our June winners -

Congratulations go to ...
 

Margaret who has won a $25 gift voucher from Alacraft.

 

Julene who has won a lovely prize from Scrapbooking From Scratch.

 Di who has won the Director's prize.

Random draw prize goes to Jackie Edwards.

We would like to offer Chris Sexton a guest designer spot for August.

Our Creative Team winner for June with her very clever layout is Amanda who will receive a little RAK from me.

Congratulations everyone. If all these winners could please email me at jjjustjane@bigpond.com with your postal details I will see your prize gets out to you.

 

AND NOW -  Some more delightful July inspiration from our remaining creative team members ...

Julie

Shazza

 

 

Lesley

 

 

Jane

 

 

and welcoming the new addition to our team, Tone-Lill Angelskar.  Tone-Lill was our guest designer in May and you can read all about her and see some more of her delightful work if you follow the link.  She is also featured on our sister blog Pixels and Paper Challenge Blog this month.

Tone-Lill

We'd love to see your black and white (with a touch of colour) entries.   Remember we happily accept all forms of paper crafting for your entry and encourage both digital and international submissions.  All we ask is that you create an original entry for our challenge although you are most welcome to combine with a sketch challenge if you wish.  You have until midnight last day of the month to submit your entry.

 

Next week we will be introducing you to the June winner of a guest designer spot, Jackie Edwards.

 

Don't forget - Each month we will be selecting someone from amongst our entries to be a guest designer for one of our upcoming challenges - it could be you!!

 

 

Introducing Billie-Jean Beveridge ...

our first Guest Designer for July with her take on the inspiration for this month.

 

Hi,  my name is Billie-Jean Beveridge but much prefer Billie. I am a SAHM to two beautiful girls and live in rural Queensland. I am currently studying my Nursing Degree and hope to one day be a Midwife. I first discovered scrapbooking 9 years ago after the birth of my eldest daughter and have not looked back. I love getting messy and you will nearly always find paint or glimmer mist or ink on my pages along with a little distressing or two. I nearly always scrap on white and occasionally push myself to use something else. I could not scrap without my distressing tool, my inks, my paints/Glimmer mists and lastly my 3D tape, everything else is a bonus.

Please visit me on my blog at http://billiebeveridge.blogspot.com.au


Here are some more beautiful layouts from Billie....

 

 

Lovely to have you join us on ARTastic this month Billie. 

 

Remember - you have until the end of the month to get your own interpretations of this month's inspiration to us!  We cant wait to see what you can come up with for your pages for July.  Don't forget someone from amongst the entries will be given the opportunity to guest with us and it could well be you!

 

 

It's all black and white for July ...

Firstly I'd like to bid a fond farewell to a member of our creative team, Sarah Rogers, who has been with ARTastic from almost the beginning and has now decided to move on. All the best Sarah, we will miss you.

We do have a new member to our team but you will need to come back on the 15th of the month to be introduced to her and her delightful work.


And now onto July.


Introducing Rock n Roll Party (charcoal and pastel) by Lorraine Lewitzka.

Criteria - Black and White and predominantly one other colour

A little about  Lorraine Lewitzka
 
Lorraine and her husband Terry have been teaching oil painting and watercolours in Victor Harbour, South Australia, for many years.  Both multi-award winners, Terry specializes in oil and watercolour landscape. He also teaches creative drawing techniques for life drawing and other subjects.  Lorraine teaches watercolour, mixed media portraits and figurative subjects.

Lorraine Lewitzka was born in South Australia in 1952, into a family of artists and worked as a fashion and illustrative artist in the late '60's, beginning watercolour painting with Marjorie Hann in 1985. In 1988, Lorraine was accepted as a Fellow of the Royal South Australian Society of Arts and began exhibiting in private and mixed exhibitions.

A significant highlight and turning point of Lorraine's career was the inaugural study award at the Victor Harbor Rotary Art Show. As a result, she was tutored by four distinguished watercolourists in the U.S.A. being Robert Wade, Betty Lou Schlemm, Christopher Schink and Alex Powers, after which she attended a summer school at the Slade School of Art, London, discovering the new medium of oils in life painting. Adding to her traditional drawing and watercolour skills, was valuable time spent with Leonid Vasin, Professor of Fine Art from China. Over the years, Lorraine has always endeavoured to produce works of substance, giving the viewer opportunity to grow with and into the painting. At present she concentrates on figurative landscapes, portraiture and interiors in watercolour and mixed media with her intimate oil interiors finding much popularity also. With good, underlying draughtmanship Lorraine enjoys capturing the moments and snapshots of everyday life, playing with the light or solitary moods in which the subject lives.

Lorraine has continued to participate in many exhibitions and consistently wins prizes in both watercolour and oil competitions. Her articles have been published in Australian Artist Magazine. She has demonstrated at the prestigious Camberwell Art Show and worked as guest tutor on several occasions for the Australian Guild of Realist Artists (also a member), and invited as judge for their final 2006 exhibition. Having tutored regularly in South Australia , Lorraine has also been called to teach in Queensland, N.S.W., Vic, Tasmania and W.A.. She has entered the Doug Moran and Portia Geach Portrait Prizes and was a finalist in the Alice Bale Travelling Award of 2008 and The Cricket Art Prize, 2012.
 
You can learn more about their work by visiting their blog.


 Now some gorgeous inspiration from the first of our talented creative team.  Please come back on the 15th when we will announce the winners for June and reveal the layouts from the remainder of our team.

Amanda 

who after many years of boy layouts is rejoicing in dabbling with pink

 

Debi

 one proud Grandma using lemon

 

Helene

 celebrating the outdoors in hot pink

 

Maja

 mixing it with teal

 

Elaine

 loving that ruby feeling

 

Please upload the DIRECT link to your actual entry with the link tool on the LEFT by 11.55pm on July 31st, 2013. We'd love to see your paper, digital, card or off the page submissions but please remember we appreciate original entries (you may combine with a sketch).

 

Looking forward to seeing what you all create this month. 

 

Our first Guest Designer for July, Billie-Jean Beveridge will be joining us next week.  Please call back to see her lovely take on the challenge for this month. 

 

Introducing Renee Johnson ...

the winner of our guest designer spot from last month, with her very creative interpretation of the June inspiration piece.

 

 I found some stray feathers from my pillow, a plastic fork, a twig from outside, some toilet paper,  sports tape, a gymnastics badge, an old broken bracelet, a set of keys for God knows what, some iron on rhinestone letters and a couple of flowers that fell off a hairclip and I put them all together!!

Hi my name is Renee, and I recently moved from Sydney to sunny Cairns in Qld. I am a single parent with three children, girls aged 8 and 9 and a son aged 6 who feature in most of my work, along with our previous travels.

I first came across scrapbooking around two years ago, after wandering into a scrapbooking shop while looking for a gift for the family member who has everything. I saw the way that the layouts captured the emotions, stories and colours of the photos and just had to give it a go. While my layouts are still hit and miss and I tend to scrapbook in bursts of energy and inspiration I'm really loving the creative outlet and capturing the vibe of (some of) my photos. I'm still experimenting with styles although I'm finding myself gravitating towards layers and bold colours often and I generally create my own colour schemes rather than using collections. I prefer to make double page layouts but generally find them quite difficult!

I discovered the world of online inspiration and challenges about 2 months ago and have been extremely busy creating new layouts daily, hoping to get my photo piles scrapped, improve my scrapbooking and win some of the amazing products floating around (Why are the products I want the most always available only overseas....)

I have to say that I have really enjoyed the ARTastic challenges as I love being able to take a small piece of inspiration from artworks to put into my layouts without being too constraining on the requirements and my layouts for ARTtastic have been some of my most creative so far. I'd really like to thank the team at ARTastic for having me as a guest designer, as a relative newbie on this scene it's such an honour that someone is interested in who I am, and that my work could inspire others in some small way. 

 

Please visit me at my blog www.reneewasaweener.blogspot.com.au

 

 

Here are some more samples of Renee's work ...

 

 

Welcome.  It is so lovely to have you with us on ARTastic this month Renee.

Remember you have until midnight June 30th to submit your entries.  We'd love to see your work.  You could be a guest designer on ARTastic too.