Princess - an oldie!

I've been trawling through my archives trying to find some of the layouts that I haven't shared and I came across this one.  I'm currently sat in a play centre watching Miss Bella charging around with her friends celebrating the end of her year in Reception.  Its gone so fast and so has the time since she tried on this princess dress for the first time.  She's not a particularly girly girl but these photos enabled me to embrace some pink and glittery goodness anyway!

The layout is several years old now and uses papers from My Mind's Eye when they first started this particular style of Lost and Found collections.

I must have got them in a sale because I bought the brads and other bits too and I don't usually pay full price for things like that!  I also remember having very sparkly fingers after making and handling this layout and then transferring it onto my face causing people to wonder if I was crying!  How does glitter manage to make it look like you have tears in your eyes!?  And how on earth does time go so fast when you are watching little people grow up?!  Answers on a post card please.  (Gosh, when was the last time you heard that too!?)

Bye for now
xx

Rise Up and Fly - Shimelle Challenge

This is the last of the layouts that I managed to get done from Shimelle's weekend of inspiration.  This challenge was to scrapbook with a pink colour scheme which is something I don't do all that often despite having a little girl.  A page featuring miss Bella wouldn't be hard but I had something different in mind.

I bought these gorgeous My Mind's Eye papers in the S J Crafts sale and I was desperate to use them.  The collection is called Spread Your Wings and Fly and it made me think of my niece and how much she has blossomed since she found her niche as a Personal Trainer.  I changed the title to fit better with the images of the hot air balloons rather than relating it to wings.

I wanted to use the paper with the balloons in the top corner so it left a nice trip at the bottom for the small photo.  I have scrapped this photo before but with a different story.  I couldn't find anything that felt right to add to the stack for some texture other than some gems and bakers twine so I cut another balloon from another sheet of paper and added some pop dots to lift it at bit.

Sophie left college not knowing what she really wanted to do and it took a while for her to realise that her passion for the gym could be something she could share with other people.  Since then she's gained experience and qualifications and has become the assistant manager of the gym.  She has an expanding client base and has started developing specialist training programmes as she continues to grow and develop and it is a pleasure to see her spreading her wings and really taking off.

Bye for now
xx

S J Crafts June Challenge - "It doesn't have to be pretty"

This quote actually came from my trainer / niece when we were discussing the gym where we work out.  Its not one of those places with fancy TVs on the wall and lines of cardio equipment and artistic interpretations of the human body in the changing rooms.  It is functional, hard wearing and appropriate for the job in hand and how it looks doesn't really make a difference to how it works.  

"It doesn't have to be pretty" is a sentiment that could be applied to a lot of things actually now I think about it and that is certainly true of the challenge's over at S J Crafts each month.  Of course we like the things we make to be pretty but being happy making something is as much a part of the process as the end result - I think I need to keep that in mind with my fitness too!

It was a combination of this wording and the colour scheme for this month's challenge that gave me the idea for this layout.  I love the way Jennifer has put together the image on the blog for the colour inspiration and I hope it inspires you to join in!

I don't use much pink at the moment and I had the older Echo Park Off The Record collection out already so it was the most fitting thing I could find!  The hot pinky / red matches my vest and the orange matches the equipment and I went to town on the flowers and pretty embellishments to contrast with the cheeky title.

I usually edge my papers with Vintage Photo but I wanted to pull out the black in the photos so I chose Black Soot Distress Ink.  The ribbon, brads and doily came from my stash and the 2 pieces of chipboard are by My Mind's Eye..

You can see some enamels dots in use here - some of them are home made and some of them are My Mind's Eye.  There are some gorgeous metallic ones in the shop at the moment but I am particularly taken with the woodgrain ones too.  SOME things DO need to be pretty after all... ;-)

Bye for now
xx

Festive Planner - Instructions and giveaway

Back last weekend was the wonderful Frosty Festivities event at the lovely Jennifer's blog.  She had challenges and inspirations galore and there was a blog hop too where I shared my Festive Planner.  I promised to come back this weekend with instructions and a giveaway so here we are.

The giveaway is this Papermania Noel paper pack containing 20 12x12 sheets of 10 designs including 8 glittered.  The packaging also has 30 toppers on the back for an added extra.

I also promised to share the files for the inside pages of the planner and the silhouette files for the titles... and I certainly will but with a twist. (twist makes it seem planned and exciting rather than the arrgghh moment that I am in right now.

Last weekend seems an awfully long time ago because this has been a long week.  My 78 year old Dad had an accident on the farm where he works while using a bench saw.  Thankfully he hasn't severed anything but he came close.  He has to have plastic surgery on his hand this week to reattach the tendons in his right hand so he is having to learn to live one handed.  He has Parkinsons and diabetes and he is 50% deaf and a stubborn old goat so things have been a little.. ahem... stressful.  It meant that I didn't have the time I wanted to work out how to attach files within a blog post.  So, if you would like the word files for the inside pages or the Silhouette files for the titles, please leave a comment where I can get back to you and I will e-mail them to you.  Alternatively you can Google anything like "Festive Planner pages" and scroll through the images to find a range of things that might suit.

And breathe...

I started my planner by deciding on the size.  I wanted something that would fit in my large handbag but that would be easy to print things for.  In the end I went for inside pages that were half A4 so that I could get 2 from a standard A4 sheet.  Then I added an inch to 2 sides to get the dimensions for the cover.

I cut 3 pieces of sturdy A4 card in half to make the dividers (that's the green pieces) and then the slightly bigger versions in very strong card for the covers (the cream card).  The I chose coordinating papers for the front and back knowing I would have to use 2 pieces of A4.

I layered Mod Podge all over one side of the cream card and layed it on the paper.  I cut around leaving a half inch margin and cutting off the corners to give a neat finish.  The I used my ATG to run adhesive down the sides for the flaps.

I cut coordinating paper just inside the dimensions of the cover and inked the edges before adhering them with an ATG.  Any good strong double sided will do. Leaving the little border like this looks pretty but also means that the edges of the red paper are safeguarded a bit by not being right on the edge of the book.

For the inside of the front cover I attached a cut off rectangle on the bottom and edges to make a pocket for receipts.  I also added a little border at the top.  On the back cover I used a strip of sturdy card covered with green paper and attached with eyelets to make a hanging area for a small notebook.

The eyelets show through on the back (you can just about see them on the pattered paper because it has red berries on) so you could attach it to the red paper before you adhered it if you wanted to keep the back plain.  Then I went over the fronts with Mod Podge for strength.  Mod Podge does have a habit of showing up any areas that haven't been totally stuck down so its a good idea to use a brayer at each stage of the glueing.

I didn't like my eyelets showing so I did a bit of flat embellishment on the back cover.

My next job was to cover the divider cards.  This was strong card that I picked up from The Paper Mill when they had shops (sniff) and it was green on one side and white on the other.  I decided to only cover the blank side and leave the green side as the reverse because less layers means less corners to lift up and get caught in things.

I then cut a large parenthesis type label for the front of the divider in a more solid colour to take the title and decorated them with offcuts and washi tape and I kept to the same border punch throughout.  I still adore these papers from My Minds' Eye "I Believe" collection from 2011 - just the right amount of sparkle but not too much tweeness.  There is also a small amount of shine in the Mod Podge that I use but I mostly use it for reinforcement and strength so I went over each of the dividers too because they will be utilised every year.

I decided what I needed in my planner ahead of time and then I cut out the right amount of tabs for the sides of the dividers.  You just stick these together on the top leaving the bottom edge open to stick both flaps onto the document or embellishment or whatever.  Using my Silhouette Cameo I typed in the names for the dividers and then merged the letters together to create a continuous font.  I cut it once for the brown labels on the fronts and then cut it again but just half the size to go onto the dividers.

The last job was making the inserts and I wasn't too fussed about the papers for this because I knew most of it would be covered up.  Because these will be replaced each year I didn't want to use my favourite papers.  These are simply A4 pieces folded in half and adhered together to make a slightly stronger page.

I adhered the printed planners onto the inserts once I had decided what I needed on them.  I embellished the front and Mod Podged everything to within an inch of its life so that it would stand up to being handled and carried in my busy bag.

I then hole punched everything using the first page as a guide and decided on where I wanted things to go.  I went for the diary pages first because that tends to be the bit I refer to most!  Everyone will be different in their needs and the beauty of using book rings is that you can change it and add to it to suit you and how things change for you over the years.  You can see that I also added a little pocket at the front for stamps which is just a rectangle attached on 3 sides with a half circle punched out of the middle along the top edge.

 Here you can see my little notebook in place opposite one of the pages for planning food.  This page is for specific recipes and then the other side has 3 columns for "Fresh", "Frozen" and "Other".  It seems to be working so far... for now...

So that's how I made my book!  I hope you liked it and that it has given you some ideas for your own notebook. Any questions please feel free to ask. It doesn't use anything fancy because the Mod Podge can be replaced with PVA or just left out.  You can use recycled card from packaging and replace the book rings with a ribbon.  Really all you need is some pretty festive paper and a glue stick.  How about I provide the paper?

Just leave me a comment that will cheer me up after my stressful week, maybe something that you like about my blog, and I will pick a worldwide winner at 10pm next Saturday British time.

Time to make some more Christmas cards I think!

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 224

My desk has been a hive of activity this week and it feels good!  I went to a crop on Saturday and worked on my Devon 2012 album notching up another few back to back pages.  On Monday I was all geared up to receive some Christmassy stash for 6 on 6th but it hasn't arrived (as of Tuesday night) so I seized the Christmas spirit anyway and started creating a Festive Planner.  I've made covers and dividers and I am just computing the inside pages so that I can make a start on organising this busy occasion.  With November set aside for NaNoWriMo and my OCD side telling me I have to be ready before December, this means I need to have all my Christmas presents bought and wrapped before the end of October!

I'm using the last few precious pages of My Mind's Eye "I Believe" from my Christmas Journal a couple of years ago.  My intention is that my planner can be refilled each year so I wanted to use really special papers on it that I will always love.  You can see some of the things I have been using to make it in the RUB at the top right.

I've set it aside for the moment while I work on a card for one of Louis's classmates.  I'm really enjoying playing with my Promarkers again and thanks to you lovely lot (and in particular Kate) I managed to purchase a few more (including the limited Edition Autumn and Winter collection) and they are on their way as we speak.  I hope the cheeky birthday chappy likes his cheeky monkey card.

Well that's all from me on this wet and windy "What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday".  Don't forget to share your workspace too - because sharing is caring.

Bye for now

xx

Surf's Up!

Coming home from holidays is always very mixed for me.  I love Wales so much and it refreshes me like nothing else but it is lovely to be back in our own beds and in particular for me, back to my creative space.  I can write when I'm in Wales but I can't seem to create any art other than playing with my Promarkers when the children are colouring!

We had a lovely time and managed some horse riding, dolphin surveys, seal spotting, lots of walks and time on the beach and lots and lots of eating.  I even went fully into the sea which is unheard of!  Louis got a new body board for his birthday and both of the children loved splashing about in the waves in their wet suits.  Maybe next year I will be slim enough for a wet suit myself?!

Bella was able to wear Louis's suit from last year.  She's changed so much since her first little wetsuit at a year old.

I loved her in this pink wet suit so much!  I went a bit mad with the photos that year... maybe...

The gorgeous papers are from a 6x6 My Mind's Eye pad called Lime Twist I think.  I'd been dying to use this mermaid button for ages and this seemed like the perfect time.

And speaking of which, I think this is the perfect time for a cup of tea and a catch up with all my blogging friends.  I have well over 200 posts to read so I maybe some time but I will be there.  See you soon.

Bye for now
xx

The biggest roar!

I've been looking through my computer photo files recently and realising that I've still got a pile of layouts to share...  This one was completed over a year ago at a retreat!

The bright and funky papers are My Minds Eye Alphabet Soup with a sprinkling of brads, buttons and twine.

We used to have passes to the local zoo but often the tigers would be fast asleep or hiding away so we were really pleased to see one of them out and about.  I snapped a few pictures as he did an almighty yawn and then shortly afterwards Louis attempted his own version of a tiger roar.  He has since lost all three of the top teeth you can see there to the tooth fairy - my boy is growing up.

It is only 2 days until the end of term and then Louis will be off to Junior school and Miss Bella starts in Reception.  Big changes ahead.  Which makes me even keener to capture some of the memories we have already made.

Bye for now
xx

Attitude - NSD Challenge

What a fantastic weekend it was, full of inspiration for us scrapbookers?  The National Scrapbooking Day celebrations saw challenges and tutorials and discounts in abundance and it was hard to choose where to start!

I had half begun this page already but it fit one of the challenges on Shimelle's blog so perfectly that I was really inspired to finish it.  This one was by SJ Dowsett and involved using unexpected supplies on your page.  The frilly bit at the bottom was actually pulled off of a rather lovely gift bag that Bella was given when she was a baby.  I kept the bag because it was so pretty and quite sturdy and then later we used it as her ballet bag.  The ruffle wound around the bag making it look like a tutu so it was perfect for the job.  Over time though the ruffle had started to come away as it was only held on with DST.  That gave me the idea to keep it for a layout and when I took this photo it seemed ideal.

The journalling is all about what she was like at 3 years old and how this photo really sums her up because she is a wonderful blend of girly girl and rough tough tom boy too.

The papers and brads are all My Mind's Eye - Good Day Sunshine, which seems so perfect for today although sadly I think this is the last of the warm dry weather for a while.  Never mind, rainy weather = scrapping weather right? :-)

How many challenges can you fit in this week?  I'm hoping for a few more yet!

Bye for now
xx

Inspired by Winter

I'm really pleased to be joining Sarah at S J Crafts for another term on her design team.  She has been running a series on being Inspired by Winter and this included getting to know the Design Team a bit more.  Pop over to the blog and see how we all answered the questions.

Here's what I made using some goodies from My Minds Eye and Studio Calico.  

I was inspired by the wintery colours of icey turquoise and grey with a splash of sunny yellow.  That's certainly the kind of wintery days we've had here - its been fffrrreeezing! 

I used a doily as a mask and then another one actually on the layout because they always make me think of the delicate patterns of snow flakes.  I also love the intricate designs and the sparkles that come with the frosts and so I added some bling in the form of gems and some snowflake patterned vellum.

The photograph is of me and my Mum at my graduation which happened in the summer but represented years of studying during the Winter months.  I'm right back there now, highlighter and cup of tea in hand.  Its much harder with children and I have been forced to make a few changes, albeit temporarily I hope.  I have decided to take a bit of a blog break both in writing and reading / commenting although I hope to get around many of you and see how you are etc.  I need to get my head straight as I have really struggled recently and it has not been good for those around me.  I need to get some writing done and focus on the bigger things until I can catch my breath a bit but I really hope to be back soon.

In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful festive holiday period, however you celebrate!  Blessings of the Season to you all!

Bye for now
xx

Carta Bella Traditions - Layouts

I'm looking at these pumpkins  in the photos and thinking that Autumn feels like a long while ago now!  Some people in the UK have had a smattering of snow today I believe.  I am tucked up in my craft room doing my writing coursework and generally feeling a lot more positive about things after my relaxing weekend but more on that another time.  I have a couple of layouts to share using the Carta Bella Traditions collection featured in the previous post.  (This collection is currently reduced in the huge winter sale on at S J Crafts!)

I love the Autumn colours in this collection and the pops of blue.  I distressed all the edges and added punched leaves to fit with the story of a trip to Wisley Gardens with a friend.

I'm using pop dots for stickers more and more as it makes them easier to move around and gives a wonderful dimension.

This double layout is the first of millions many from our holiday on Aller Farm with Featherdown Farms.  This particular one is about Powderham Castle so I chose the more traditional colours and prints.  It was the Jubilee week too and so this collection gives a bit of a nod to red, white and blue without being in your face with Union Jacks and the like.

Some of the flowers are fussy cut from the papers and others are punched or die cut and some are slightly shaped to add dimension.

Ordinarily I would post several pictures of close ups and the double pages on an individual basis but I had to fiddle and faff around to even get these pictures to post.  I have taken off many many pictures from my blog and it still won't let me post a new one unless I shrink it down a lot but then of course I lose quality.  Hey ho, I will find a way around it eventually even if it means paying for the privilege! 

I have one more DT post to go live shortly which involves a beautiful collection from My Mind's Eye that I'm looking forward to sharing.  Don't forget to tell me what goodies you bought in the sale but do hurry as Sarah is selling fast!

Bye for now

xx

Frosty Festivities Blog Hop

I absolutely love Christmas!  I love all the preparations and the excitement building and all the rushing around, shopping, baking and wrapping.  I love the sights, the sounds, the smells and yes the tastes too, so when Jennifer asked if I would like to join in with her Frosty Festivities blog hop of course I said yes!  Like Jennifer's previous blog hop, there is a wonderful prize to enter for (details at the end) and there are lots of challenges and giveaways and fun frosty posts throughout the whole weekend.

So how are your Christmas preparations coming along?  Are you one of those who plans all year or are you a leave it all to the last minute kinda person? I'm a planner... I've almost completed all of my Christmas shopping, I've got the wrapping paper and tags, I've got LOTS of beads that need to be made into presents, the house smells amazing with the first of many Christmas cakes in the oven and Management is being sent up into the loft this weekend to retrieve the Advent envelopes which we fill with festive activities as part of our Christmas countdown.  

The other preparations that I normally make (but won't be this year because of my writing course) is for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas project.  I've done it a couple of times in the past and preparation definitely helps.  I'm still working on last year's album in bits and pieces but I thought I would share some ideas from some of the finished pages from 2011 and a few of the things I did to help me along the way.  

I've used a variety of sizes and shapes in my Christmas albums in the past but this 8.5x11 was my favourite to work with.  I used standard A4 plastic pockets and cardstock which helped to reduce the costs considerably.  I also cut some patterned papers to A4 and varied between a cardstock or a paper background.

In the run up to December I pre-made all my date / number tags in a sort of production line affair.  I used a selection of different papers from a My Mind's Eye Collection and layered up a star shaped nesting die, then an E K Success label punch, a flower nesting die which was embossed with swiss dots, a Martha Stewart pinked circle punch and then smaller punches in a Christmas tree, snow flake and heart shape.  I ended up not putting the number on many of them because I found I wanted to move them around to fit my own story better.  Each tag was slightly different with the different papers used and then a button or a gem added to finish them off.

The date tags help the album to flow and give a sense of cohesion, as does using only a select few products for the whole project.  I kept to the same collection for the papers and chose one border punch to use throughout.  I pre-made some pockets and tags and I embellished them using that border punch, even using the punch waste for minimal effort and  to really stretch my stash.

I also prepared a few pages that I knew would be coming up such as using vellum on this page to make a pocket for a couple of important cards.  Its nice to see vellum becoming "on trend" again (although I have always loved it and used it!)

Here is another tag that I made prior to December by layering a snowflake punch over the negative.  The cardstock in this layout is actually the reverse side of some photographic paper from the pound shop!  It makes a great base and saves those all important pennies again.

As well as the papers and the preprepared tags and embellishments, I picked out a handful of alphabets in coordinating colours in several different sizes so that I didn't have to go through my entire stash every time.  I have this particular alphabet in the red and the green and it is very pretty but there are no "W"s!

Working with A4 can mean that it is tricky to use more than one 6x4 photo so I made a flap for this layout.  I always keep  the tear off bits from the calendars to use on my layouts and I love the effect it gives for important dates.

The 2 slightly hidden photos are not great but they are still part of the story so they need to be in the album.  This is an ideal placement for including a concertina book for 3 or more photos.

So are you doing any kind of December project this year?  How about some yummy new stash to help you on your way?  If you comment on all the blogs in the hop, finishing at Jennifer to let her know that you've been all the way around, then you'll be in with a chance to win a spectacular seasonal prize of Basic Grey Aspen Frost and Carta Bella Winter Fun items, worth over £25! All entries must be received by Monday the 19th of November at 10.59pm GMT. Your next stop along the hop is Lizzie.

Here's a list of all the blogs in the hop, in the correct order in case you get lost.  

Abi

Daphne

Jacky

Jemma

Jenny

Jo B

Jo S

Julie

Kirsty

Lisa-Jane <====== That's me!

Lizzie

Louise

Mel

Rinda

Sarah

Sian

Jennifer

I hope you have fun with all your preparations and taking part in the blog hop.  I can smell burning so I think I'd better go and check my cake!

Bye for now

xx

S J Crafts Challenge - Birthdays

The monthly challenge over at S J Crafts this month is all about birthdays (thanks to it having been Sarah's birthday last week).  There is an added challenge to use circles or ovals too.

I'd been chatting to Sarah about divided page protectors and as I had some in my stash, I decided to use one for this project.  They are great as they give you plenty of room to tell the story, add your photos and still have space for twiddly bits.

I used both sides to share pictures of Louis on his 6th birthday this year when he got a guitar for the Wii and Lego Rock Band.  The journalling records how loud the house was that day with Bella on the new microphone too.

Having the multiple small spaces means that you treat each pocket as an individual layout and it is not so overwhelming as a blank 12x12 sheet.  You can also try out lots of different embellishment styles on the same page.

I used My Mind's Eye papers, Thickers, buttons, twine and stickers etc, from my stash.

I used Glossy Accents to pick out the detailing on the picture in the journalling block and this matched the really old epoxy stickers that I used to high light some of the circles on the designs.

I used Black Soot Distress Crackle paint on some chipboard pieces too.  It gives a great texture and it's a great way to cover up a design you don't like when you want to use the shape.

This month one random winner will win a £5 voucher to spend in the S J Crafts Shop so don't forget to upload your entry here.   Closing date for entries is: 14 November at 1pm.

Bye for now

xx