Blog Hop with a Difference!!

Have you seen this going around?
It’s called a Blog Hop with a Difference, and the reason it’s different is because there’s no end to it!  Let me explain.....

Last week I was  tagged in the Blog Hop with a Difference by Eleni Gratsia.
Eleni has been crafting for years, from needlepoint to paper, always trying out new techniques, dabbling in all aspects of the craft, she truly is, as we call her, our guru!

I have known Eleni since February of 2008, where we met at one of the first scrapbooking classes held here in Athens Greece. I can say that we hit it off immediately, and over these 6 years, besides our common interests in crafting, we have become close friends too.

Today (well, I am actually a day late, but you will find out why further on)....
 I share with you my contribution to the Blog Hop, including the three people I’ve chosen to carry on the banner next week. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

I’ve been invited to answer the following questions …

1. What am I working on right now? 
I am currently on leave and on vacation, but my laptop is with me. I am working on finishing some digital printable journal kits for my etsy shop. Unfortunately, my internet connection is not one of the best here where I am right now, and one of the reasons I couldn’t post this on time yesterday.... (um.... okay... going to the beach was also a priority that hindered my blogging... xi xi xi).
Here is a sneak peek of what I am working on and what is coming to my etsy store soon....

2. How long does it take to create a project?  
Xi xi xi.... this is a question I really can’t answer...... it can take me a few days to years! LOL.... I am my worst critic, and often work on a project a little at a time (whenever time permits me) until I feel it is ready. Even after it is “done”, I might see something I would like to change and go back to it... I am working hard on changing this aspect of my creative process.... can I hear a “woot woot” from my close friends that know me personally.... ????
A phrase I get to hear far too to often from them is.. “άντε... τελείωνε!!!!” ... which translates to... “come on, finish it!”

3. What are my favourite things I love to create with at the moment? 
Xmmmm.... I like to try new things, always searching the net for what is new, new techniques that are out there...
I have supplies, but when creating a layout, I often end up making all of my own embellishments to go on the project too. I love a layout with layers and depth, textures and visual interest. When I say make my own embellishments, I mean, take white cardstock, cut out various shapes on my pazzles, then colour them to match the project I am working on. This is one of my favourite layouts, where I believe I started with one piece of paper that I used for my background.
So, I guess to answer the question correctly, I would say, ... my favourite things to create with... white cardstock, something to cut it with (pazzles, punches, bigshot) and then various colouring mediums.

4. How does my writing / creating process work? 
My creative process always starts with the photo and how I want to portray it. I then decide on what colours I would like to use... go through my stash of paper, pick out embellishments that I feel I might use on the project. I often “sketch” out the layout on my computer, so I can see the placement of my elements, the size I would like for my photograph, and for my embellishments. Since I mentioned above that I make most of my embellishments, I need to know what size to cut them out etc. I then start playing with putting the layout together. For me, it isn’t only about preserving the memory, it is also the process of creating, and of making something that I would like to look at.

5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired? 
Surfing the net for what others are creating I think is a major inspiration. My nieces and nephew are also I huge part of me wanting to create. But since they live on the other side of the world, I only have the photos that my sister takes and posts to scrap with.

6. What is my signature style?
I don’t have a signature style...  my layouts go from shabby chic, to mixed media... and I think one you could also categorize as clean & simple. My digital designs are mainly vintage inspired, (I looooooove vintage), but since I like to try out new things as I said before, you don’t look at one of my layouts and think... “that is Nektaria’s”. I wish I did have a style, I envy the scrappers that do, when you look at a piece of art and can immediately recognize the artist. But my interests are just too many. I guess I am a “jack of all trades, but also a master of none”.. LOL.

Okay, I think that is definitely enough about me, time for me to direct you to other scrappers/crafters that I admire!

The first is.... my sister!!! Her blog is shanouki although she is much more active on her facebook page which you can find here. I admire her, because I cannot, for the life of me understand, how, with three small kids aged 5, 4 and 2, with no help at all, she manages to be a full time mother, wife AND still finds time to craft!! She makes gorgeous Button & Bling art and items which she sells in her store over on madeit.

My number two choice, will have to be Katerina. She is actually the first scrapbooker that I met. She came and introduced herself from way over on the other side of the huge conference table we were sitting at, at the first scrapbooking lesson we both attended. She is always, full of life, positive energy, full  of inspiration that breams over onto whoever is next to her at the time. She is also the inspiration for the first kit you see above, Katerina's Nuptules is a set of papers I designed for her wedding in May, and am now turning them into a printable journal  kit! One of the most generous people I know, I feel truly blessed to be able to call her a friend!

Then, this post wouldn’t be complete without my mention of Zeffy, who you can find over on her blog here. She is truly creative individual, who is always on the go with some project or other. A caring individual, who will tell you straight up what she thinks, she will push you if you need pushing, console you if you need a shoulder to cry on. She has stood by me through some rough times, and I thank her from the depths of my heart. An inspiration, a friend, a mother figure... thank you Zeffy!!!

Bubble fun!!! SST round 4!!!

Hello there!!!

Back again this week, with my LO for round 4 of the Supreme Scrap Tournament!
My entry was in literally at the last minute, and I have to admit, I am not at all happy with the photos since I took them at night, but ran out of time. Life caught up with me this week.

Enough with the boring details, and on with the challenge.
It was, once again, quite challenging, as we were not allowed any ink or stamps or paints or anything of that nature. Back to basics in a way with "hide & seek" elements.

These were the rules for the challenge:

Layout: 
dubble page layout 
Size layout:
2 pages of 30,4 x 30,4 cm (12 x 12 inch) 
Photos:
- eight or more 
- no duplicate photo's 
Theme:
free
Colour:
free
You must make:-  Make hidden elements on your pages. Minimum of three
-  The hidden part of the elements should not be visible at first sight! It needs opening before we can see the hidden inside. 
-  Size of the elements is free
-  Place of the elements on the pages is free
-  Type of the elements is free. The three hidden elements may be of the same type. But you can use 2, 3 or more different elements. Your choice.
-  Think of flaps that can open, elements that can turn, secret elements that you have to pull out of their hiding place. 
-  It is ok if a pulling mechanism is visible. Such as a piece of paper, a fiber or ribbon, a brad used for turning a wheel.
Not to be used: 
- All kinds of ink (including spray ink and misting ink) 
- No paint of any sort  
- No stamps 
- No gesso
- No chalk 
Materials, embellishments:Free


Soooo... here is my take on the challenge, my nieces playing with bubbles!
They absolutely LOVE bubbles, where ever we go, the older one always asks for bubbles. She can play for hours outside blowing and running to make big bubbles. The little one ofcourse, just adores to chase them!!!
Special moments, and even though the photographs are not what I had hoped, I am super glad I documented this day. (Australia 17th December 2013. Miss them too much!)

I used Kaiser craft's Confetti collection for this LO....


Bubble fun!

Thank you for visiting!

Supreme Scrap Tournament round 3 - for the love of teddies

Hello everyone!

I am back with a new LO, this time for round 3 of the Supreme Scrap Tournament.

This was again a tough one, and we all had to put our thinking caps on, and roll up our sleeves for some serious doodling!

The rules were as follows:

General: 
Make a scrapbooking layout with lots and lots of doodling on it.
Pages: 
- One. 
- Format 30,4 x 30,4 cm (12x12 inch)
Theme: 
Free 
Colours:
Free
Photos: 
- Minimum 4 photos 
- No photo’s with people (foreground or background) or parts of people on them. 
Use:
- You will have to add doodling ON 2 of the photos. (exactly 2 no more no less)
- Add a handwriten/doodled title directly on the layout 
- Add a handwritten journal of minimum 20 words directly on the layout. 
- All doodling must be hand doodled!
Not to be used: 
- Flowers in any form. So no flowers on your LO. Including your papers and photos and doodling. You can't even doodle flowers on your layout. You can doodle anything else. 
- Alphabet stickers, alpha thickers, diecut, punched alpha, handcut alpha, stamped alpha, punched alpha, alphabet using a stencil or any other alphabet embellishment.
Allowed: - Cutting machines and punches are allowed except for alphabets and flowers.

So, here is my take on the challenge.... for the love of teddies...
It took  me a whole week to decide on which photos to choose, and then I had today to execute it.

It definitely came out much differently from what I had imagined, and I seem to make my life difficult by coming up with the hardest ideas to execute. This time it was to make my doodling a resist. This meant that I had to doodle with white on white... which ofcourse meant that I couldn't really see what I was doing. However, when the inks and watercolours were added...the magic happened....
I went over many areas with my fine Whispers markers to accentuate certain areas.

I began the LO by hand sketching my title, and then using some masking fluid to mask it off. I added quite a few layers of shading to the title so that it would pop!

some close ups

and now one or two of the process:

Thank you so much for stopping by!!!

Supreme Scrap Tournament - Challenge 2

Hi everyone,

I am back with another post, to show you my LO for the second challenge of the Supreme Scrap Tournament.
This one, I must admit, was really a tough one, more so than I thought originally.

The rules were as follows:
Make a monochromatic colour layout


1. Pages:
2 pages Layout (double page!)
2. Theme:
You can choose your own theme
3. Colour LO:
The monochromatic color scheme you use is up to you
4. How many Photos:
 Minimum of 1 photo
5. Photos:
- One photo must be partly on the left and partly on the right page
- One photo needs to be black and white
6. Not to be used:
- You are restricted from using black anywhere on the layout including, ink, paint, pen lines, journaling or any other elements. 
- There is not to be black on the page with the exception of your black and white photo(s).
- You can not use brown to antique elements unless brown is the colour you  choose for your monochromatic colour scheme.                  
7. Materials you may use:
embellishments, inkt, media stuff, everything that you want in the monochromatic colour.


xxxmmmmm.... yes, quite a tough challenge, and I found these cute photographs of my niece that I took in January, and decided to scrap them with a warm grey!!! yip, grey! Turned out to be much tougher than I had imagined. I didn't have the exact shade I was after, so I mixed my own spray ink using some pearly off-white paint, some black ink and a touch of mahogany coloured ink to give me the warm tone.

I wanted the focus on the photographs, so I went for a simpler uncluttered LO.

So here it is, #yummy strawberries!!!

Some detailed shots

... and one last shot, just in case there were any doubts about the colours in the LO, 

a photo with pure black and white paper photographed on the background for which I used one of the papers from Dear Lizzy's line, 5th and frolic. I misted over the paper to get rid of the white!!

Let me know what you think & thank you for looking!!!!

Supreme Scrap Tournament - Challenge one!!

Ηello!!!
I decided to take part in the Supreme Scrap Tournament that was organized by some very gutsy ladies over here!!!!
The first challenge they set for us was: to make a double page LO, featuring at least 3 photographs, NO MISTS what so ever, and show them where we live, withing 1000 steps that is!!

This is my take on the first challenge.

"Kipseli by night", is what I chose as the title.

I live in the most populated area of Athens Greece, and I think it is much prettier at night, so, my photographs, document a walk down to a pedestrian street lined with cafeterias and restaurants. I used Echo Park "Here and now" collection. I stenciled with gesso over two areas of my LO to add some texture, and then only some stamping and empellishments were used.

some detailed shots

Hope you like it, and thank you for stopping by !!!

Dotty for the beach

Summer... sun... the beach.... most of us in the northern hemisphere, are either already enjoying the blissfulness of summer... or anxiously awaiting for those precious days of summer vacation to arrive. We dream of the relaxed moments under the sun, recharging our batteries with fun and laughter, soaking up the sun's rays.
It is this theme exactly.... that we use to challenge you for the next two months...yes... two months...over on the Scrapgreece blog. Since these are meant to be days of enjoyment outside, there will be only one challenge for both July and August.

So...  this is the LO I created...
It is of my niece Tia... while on holiday a couple of years ago.... she loved the beach and playing in the sand. I hope I managed to capture some of that playfullness in the LO.

I was inspired by one of Celine Navarro's videos from the 213 in 2013 series, and I printed my photo large and at 50% opacity to fill my 12X12 paper. I then went to town on it, especially on the left hand side... with modelling paste... stencils, stamps, mists. I used a second photo, using the coast line as a guide to line up the two photos and give the focal point a twist....
Some rubons, embellishments and a handwritten title finish of this LO of Tia being totally... Dotty for the beach!

As always, this challenge is open for all Greeks all over the world.
Thank you for stopping by, drop by the Scrapgreece blog to see some more inspiration by the other DT members.

Enjoy your summer!!

You raise me up!!!

You raise me up... up up and away!!!

That is the title to my project, a 3D hot air ballon that I made from the Svgcuts High Skies Kit.
I fell in love with the kit as soon as I saw it, and even though it was one of my first 3D projects, I just had to make it.
I found the perfect opportunity, when I read the challenge that Katerina gave us over at the Scrapgreece blog, for the month of April. 

We were to be inspired by a song, the lyrics to a song, a melody etc and create our LO or project accordingly.
The song I chose was "You raise me up" by Westlife (although they were not the original artists).

So, I took the Svgcuts files, and enlarged them by 180%, so my hot air balloon is a whoping 11.5 inches tall!
I dressed it in pink and turquoise, glitter and bows, and hung the cute faces of my two adorable nieces underneath with a banner that reads "you raise me up".

These photographs were on the door of my fridge, so they are the first faces I see in the morning, and not matter how badly I slept, of how tired I might still feel, just seeing their smiles, raises me up!

Hope you enjoy my project, and hope you come over to Scrapgreece to play with us this month.
The challenge is open to all greeks around the globe!

Thank you for stopping by!

Spring!

Yes... Spring is finally here!!! or is it ???
Well, we woke up to a gloriously sunny day today in Athens, although the air was a little chilly, we definetly needed our shades!!!

So, in the spirit of sunshine and a promise of warmer weather, I would like to share a layout with you today, that I did as DT for Scrapgreece, for the month of march.
Katerina challenged us to make a LO that let us know... spring is coming....!

Mine isn't full of flowers of the kind you might expect...

I wanted to scrap this photo of my nephew and nieces, as soon as I saw it, and wanted the layout plain, so that the photograph popped off the page at you!.

I decided to try something very different, and go for a white on white layout, like a page in a colouring book, where the cute faces in the photograph, brought colour to the scene.

"mommy's favourite branch on the family tree" ...

Pop on over to the scrapgreece blog, and have a look at the other wonderfully springy inspiration the DT has for you, and remember, the challenge is open for all Greeks, anywhere on this planet!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Ethereal

Hello there!
Today I wanted to share some art-journalling with you.
The Craft Barn has a super Alpha-Dictionary challenge going on, where they give us a letter every two weeks, and you pick a word  and alter that page in the dictionary.

I didn't make the deadline for this week's challenge, but wanted to show you what I created anyway!
Lot's of inking, lot's of layers, and drawing!

Thank you for looking!

Hello ..... new adventures!

Shewwwwww..
am I a bad blogger or what???
ok... don't answer that!

It seems to be difficult for me to open up blogger and actually just write... but I really need to do it more often... so I can share some of my projects with you...

This is one such occasion...
a quick card that I made for my friend... who has decided to look for greener pastures by giving London a try. The economic situation in Greece has forced many to look for work elsewhere... and this is quite a sad situation, so a card was in order to reflect the exact opposite!
 I wanted a card that would be hopeful and cheery.
This is the card accompanied a small gift to say, farewell... goodluck and .."Hello New Adventures"!

I am entering it in the Get Creative January 5th Card Challenge... to make a New Years Card...
ok.. xmmm... mine is about new beginnings... so it might not be applicable for this challenge, but I will enter it anyway and leave it up to the DT judges to decide!

On this card I used Basic Grey Sulty paper and embellishments... and cut out the Hello New adventures...
All the sparkly embossing on the "new adventures" ofcouse is totally lost in my B-U-tiful photography but I promise it is there!!... ha ha ha...
but you get the idea!

Thanx for looking!!!

Christmas Cheer Lives Here!

It is the beginning of a new month, everyone who already hasn't, is decorating their tree!
Unfortunately, I am struggling to get into the Christmas spirit. Memories of childhood years where Christmas was spent with the WHOLE family at my uncle's farm, all the cousins playing together, one of our uncles getting dressed as "farther Christmas" (as we call Santa in South Africa), make this time of year a little sad for me... wishing for days gone by.

Needless to say, I needed some cheering up...
SO, I decided I needed to get my paints, paste, brushes and stencils out, and just play!!
And play I did... you DO NOT want to see my desk after this little excercise! xi xi xi.
The result was this little canvas, that I call... Christmas Cheer Lives Here.
It will be hung on my door, to remind me that Christmas is meant to be a happy time of sharing, and that you can share even across great distances (thank goodness for technology!)

So back to business...
This is the sketch that Katerina of Scrapgreece designed for the December challenge.

You may enter with a layout, a card, an art journal page, a canvas, whatever inspires you as long as you follow the sketch.
I turned it clockwise on it's side, cut up some papers from Echo Park, took out my paints and inks... paste and stencils thin canvas fabric.... yellow glitter paper.... texture stamps and stazon ink....
and came up with this canvas....

I used the paste and stencils on the fabric to add texture to my tree....

you can see in the detail shots..

Come on over to the Scrapgreece blog, and play with us. As always, this challenge is open to ALL GREEKS whereever you may be on this planet!

Thank you for stopping by! Hoping to see your

Family Favourite

Yup... you guessed....
Just like any other family, ours is blessed with rivalry about who is yiayia's favourite... (yiayia is the Greek word for Granny)....
With 4 children, 11 grandchildren and now 8 great-grand children... you can understand what went on, when I had the brilliant idea of making our gran a scrapbook with photos of all of us.
Since we are all situated on 3 different continents now, with the majority in South Africa, myself in Greece, my sister in Australia, F in Dubai and N in Canada.... (literally an international family)....
e-mailing is a must... ofcourse now with Facebook we can chat in different ways....
but I am sure glad I kept a copy of the e-mails that were going back and forth in September of 2007. Even now, 5 years later when I read them, I cannot help but smile and laugh at the humour of it all, and remember how close we all are, even if oceans seperate us!
Cheers to the Papastefanou clan! I miss you guys!

So why am I telling you all this, you might ask. Well, because I decided to use those fond memories to make my layout for the November challenge over on the Scrapgreece blog. Katerina challenged us to make a LO using a memory of a moment that makes us smile. Perfect opportunity to scrap the story above.
Her sketch was just right to fit the photos of all the stars in this story.....
And this is my take on the sketch and the challenge.

Family Favourite

based on this super sketch

some close-ups of the details

I used my electronic cutter quite a bit for this LO (it was sitting alone on my desk quite sad from being negleted). All of  the embellishments and bits were cut out (most were found here, and the rest I designed myself.
You can download the files to my designs here. I have them available in svg, dxf, wpc and studio formats.

The background paper which started out white, was clear embossed, misted, misted again with masks, glittered up with gold (for glamour... xi xi xi) and then embossed again with white embossing powder to add more texture.
The e-mails I printed up in a 16-page format and bound it in mini booklet form, using the "smile" speech bubble as the cover.

I truly enjoyed making this LO, and invite you too, to come and play with us this month over on the Scrapgreece blog where we are honoured to have Frekled Fawn as our sponsor for November.

As always, the challenges are open for all Greeks where ever you are on this planet!

Thank you for stopping by!

Is it Autumn yet????

Θα σας ευχηθώ καλό μήνα... και ας άργησα μία μέρα!!!

Δεν ξέρω τι λένε για τον φθινόπωρο..... υποτίθεται ξεκινάει τον Οκτώβρη... ακόμα δεν τον έχουμε δει...
αλλά στο Scrapgreece, βάλαμε λίγη φαντασία και δημιουργήσαμε!!!

Η πρόκληση που μας θέτει η Κατερίνα για αυτό τον μήνα είναι να φέρουμε κάτι φθινοπωρινό στην σύνθεσή μας!!

Μας έδωσε αυτό το σκετς..... 

και να η δική μου ερμηνεία!
and then there was... cake!

Μόλις είδα το θέμα... είχα αποφασίσει πως θα χρησιμοποιήσω φωτογραφία από τον γάμο της αδελφής μου. Το θέμα και τα χρώματά της... ήταν φθινοπωρινά, και ακόμα δεν μπορώ να πιστέψω, πως κατάφερε να οργανώσει όλο τον γάμο της, ενώ βρισκόταν σε άλλη ήπειρο!

Η γαμήλια τούρτα, διακοσμημένη με φθινοπωρινά λουλούδια και φύλλα... ήταν ένα όνειρο, ΚΑΙ στη γεύση, εννοείτε.... Chocolate Mud Cake.. YUM!!!!
Και αφού ακόμα δεν έχω καταφέρει να φτιάξω σύνθεση με τις φωτογραφίες του γάμου... είπα να χρησιμοποιήσω κάποιες εδώ... μίας και ταιριάζουν γάντι στο θέμα μας!

Ελάτε μία βολτίτσα από το Scrapgreece, να δείτε τις δημιουργίες και των υπολοίπων κοριτσιών της σχεδιαστικής ομάδας... να εμπνευστείτε.... και να παίξετε μαζί μας!

Η πρόκληση είναι ανοιχτή, για όλους τους Έλληνες... όπου και να είστε!!!

Σας ευχαριστώ που ήρθατε να με επισκευτείτε!

Think ahead for teacher's gifts, support "hand-made"

Teacher's gifts from now????
Well... I guess some people prefer to plan ahead, so if you fall into that category, and reside in Australia or New Zealand (she will ship worldwide but is located in Australia), then I have a page for you to check out. Shanouki, can be found on facebook, on her blog here, or at her Madeit store here. She has some very very cute ideas for the end of the year teacher's gifts, or stocking fillers for friends and family. So, pop on over to her page, and have a look at all the hand-made goodies for sale!
I came across these and thought I would share them with you.

They are super economical, and original and so adorable!
She will also custom orders, check out her button art section! So cute!

Thanx for having a look, remember, drop in at Shanouki, and leave some love!