2015:Semester 1 Summary.

Hi everyone Darcy here. As you read this, Leandra and the Paris team have just finished a long day at Version Scrap, while Emma and myself are at Ally Pally. *waves to those of you who came to see us today* It has been such a fun week, you all threw yourselves into 3up week, as always. The colour combinations were such a treat, seeing how each person interpreted them. Pretty much a rainbow week.  We love to see your creations, everyone raises their game and encourages each other, and the work produced is just awesome. 

So onto the end of the semester and Wow! what an amazing semester it has been, it has flown by in a beautiful blur of exotic new colours, gorgeous new stamps and jaw dropping projects! We are 1/3 of the way through the year and so it is time for a round up of just a few of those projects. 

This journal page created by Alison Bomber was a huge hit, many of you had never tried rusting powder with stamps. We hope this post encourages you to try it, see all the details HERE. 

This was a new technique to many of you, fabric paper. such a fun way to create a strong collage substrate. Anneke De Clerck took us through the process and created this beautiful book cover. See the details HERE.

Helen Chilton's creations always make me smile, this was no exception. A city on a hill, all in miniature. Create your own little kingdom by reading her instructions HERE. 

Jo Myhill is the queen of neutral tones, rust and texture. Her projects are bound to nature in colour and emotion, each one cries out to be touched. Here Jo showed us a great rusting technique with this salvaged porthole. See the details HERE. 

This mini book by Liesbeth Fidder is the stuff of fantasy realms, I am sure this book must be owned by a woodland elf! The tiny details are exquisite, go and see them all HERE. 

One of our signature designers, Lin Brown talked us through this stamped clay technique. We feel like we are there in Tobago, as Lin brings her stamps to life using Mica powders. Se how she did it HERE. 

One of our newer contributors is Lou Collins: how lovely and elegant is this decorated clock. Lou showed us how she created a really useful faux patina effect, come and see it HERE. 

We designers do love to mash up our designs with those of our fellow designers. Here Jo Firth Young uses her own gorgeous flowers to great effect alongside Clare Lloyds girl stamp. Don't be afraid to mix your collections, we love to see what combinations you come up with. See how this piece came together HERE. 

Pam Thorburn has some great ideas in this post where she turns everyday bits of texture into what appears to be a fully embossed metal plate, so very clever. Come and see how she did it HERE. 

Sue Carrington is a regular here on the blog and always comes up with stunning projects no matter what substrate or stamp collection she uses. Just look at the bold use of colour in this wall hanging. See how she achieved that gorgeous blending HERE. 

Trish Latimer is another new contributor to the blog, though you will have seen her around blogland and in magazines. We love her quirky style in these assemblages, so much fun. See how Trish used Treasure gold all over this project HERE. 

This canvas was part of our paint theme, Lynne Moncrieff really stepped outside of her comfort zone using our newest colour releases: you would never have guessed, as she did such a terrific job, and this piece really pops with such vibrancy. Come and see it HERE. 

This is of course the freaky altered/deconstructed doll. I am not sure there are adequate words to describe her, but she was definitely fun to make. Using stamps by Darcy Wilkinson, you can see all the steps HERE. 

One of our Signature Designers is Clare Loyd, here she creates this really eye catching tag. Deceptively minimal, there are in fact lots of layers and elements. See them all HERE. 

One of our regular contributor is Linda Cain. She has such an amazing way with colour, her blends are always rich and full of life. This busy little street scene was created with Emma Godfreys great new releases. Come and see how the text stamps were shrunken down to size HERE. 

So that is it for Semester One.. how time flies, seriously where does the time go. Thankyou to everyone who has participated, whether you are a designer, a guest or you have joined in the challenges. This blog is for you, inspired by you and we couldn't do it without you. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes too for keeping the machine running smoothly. 

..and so onto Semester Two: Topic #7. Whatever can it be? Come back tomorrow at 7pm to find out. 

Darcy.