S J Crafts - February Challenge

I'm so happy!  Sarah has decided to start a monthly challenge on the S J Crafts blog and the first one is a sketch and I hope you'll join in too.  I love using sketches - they are a great way to push yourself into trying a different style than you normally favour.  We'll be picking a few of our favourites to 

This month's sketch came from Jennifer (who is also now on the sketch DT for Scrap365 mag!) and we have quite different styles so it was great to try and create something from one of her layouts.  I used some left over pieces from Echo Park's This and That Graceful collection which was one of the first things I ever bought from S J Crafts.  I'm down to the final bits and bobs so this was a great sketch to use them up on.  I've made SO many layouts with these collection packs and loved every one of them - they really work out great value for money.

I was very brave and used Jennifer's style as inspiration to add some droplets of Mr Huey's mist and scatter my embellishments around a bit.

I love these photos that I snapped at a baby shower nearly 18 months ago.  I sneaked some shots of my nieces and their cousins eating cake which kept making them squeal "Oh no!  Aunty LJ!"  The incoming baby was blue flavoured and the blue icing matches so well with the aqua in the collection.  I love it when that happens ;-)

Why not pop over to the blog and see what the other designers have made using the same sketch.  Maybe you'll be inspired to have a go yourself?

Bye for now

xx

S J Crafts Sketch Challenge #1

Are you ready for National Scrapbooking day tomorrow?  

How about a fun sketch challenge to get you started?  S J Crafts are hosting the first of hopefully many sketch challenges and as a special prize for NSD you will be in with a chance of winning £10 to spend in the shop.  The challenge is open until the end of May so pop on over to the blog for more details and to see the sketch and what the rest of the design team have done.

Here's my take on it.  Its a layout for our Aller Farm album from Devon using papers from the Echo Park Birthday Wishes collection.

I just need to add the journalling to the blue box about amazing pizza night at Aller Farm in Devon.  I've added some washi tape, ribbon, wood veneer flowers and pearls.

This page using the sketch will be left hand page and the following project will be the one facing it.  This collection is ideal for the partitioned page protectors that I have used throughout my Aller album.

These pages are ideal for using up smaller pieces and I've tried to ensure some continuity across the page by using the same supplies on both sides.

I'm loving the trend for wood veneers which work really well as a point of continuity throughout an album because they work with any colour scheme or style.  This one was actually broken but it was ideal for using at the top of the page.  I would never have been able to get a clean break like that myself!

Be sure to come by again tomorrow for more NSD celebrations!  What fun things will you be doing?  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, whatever you have planned.

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 203

Good morning to you Wednesday!  Today sees me at home again with another spotty child.  This time it is Louis and he has been properly poorly with the pox over the last few days.  He is feeling much better now but obviously has to stay home for a few days so we are enjoying some time together, just the two of us.  

Here at my table I was finishing off a couple of pages for our Devon album.  I am currently waiting for that heart in the middle of the target to dry as I went over it in Glossy Accents to give it some dimension.  This will form part of the right hand page.  The full page under the lid to the left is going to be the left hand page but it involves a new sketch challenge at S J Crafts so I can't share it just yet.  

I am really enjoying these divided page protectors but it means I have had to plan my album much more than I normally do.  I've put all my photos in the pockets in order for the majority of the album.  I just need to see how much more space I can fit in before I do the same with the seaside section.  The gorgeous papers are the new Echo Park Birthday Wishes collection even though my pages have nothing to do with birthdays.

Here's a couple of little sneaks of the page for the sketch.  I do love using sketches to get me started.  Such fun!

This post is brought to you by the power of What's On Your Workspace Wednesday hosted by Julia.  Please do stop by and have a gander around the plethora of desks, or why not share your own too?

Bye for now
xx

Inseperable

I've had a bit of a tricky mojo recently.  Its been there, just not working as I would like it.  I'm completing projects but they are leaving me feeling a little disappointed.  This week also, I've had a nasty stomach bug and I'm still not over it, and I'm part way through a blog post about our horrific camping adventures this weekend.  In an effort to turn things a bit positive, I looked through my spreadsheet of layouts (oh yes, you did read that right) which I have to keep now to help me track deadlines, publishing deadlines and when I have blogged projects etc.  I found this layout that I hadn't shared yet and it reminded me that sometimes I can make things that I really love.  I used a sketch that I found on Pinterest and it came together really well with the Salt Air papers from Cosmo Cricket.  The colours were perfect with the photos of Louis and his Grandma (my MIL) who are inseperable when we get to see her, often to the exclusions of everyone else.

I don't often use printed journalling but in this case there wasn't much to say (the photos are from our Wales album) and so it worked well to have it in short phrases on the strips.  I also used a Cricut for the first time ever for my title.  I was at an Artful Angels crop and they have one there with various cartridges for you to use which is really handy if you don't have one of your own.

I liked being able to match the colour to my layout exactly so I would definitely use it again even though it is quite fiddly.

So there you are.  A sunny layout for a day that is not sure if it is sunny or raining stair rods!  Now, I must go and load the washing machine again.  Oh yes, it was THAT sort of camping trip.  More on that very soon.

Bye for now
xx

Life is pretty amazing

She's here again with another page!  Its one from our retreat as I didn't get anything actually finished at the crop on Saturday (despite.. ahem... plenty of planning!)

The page was inspired by a sketch from Shimelle using 2 photos top left.  Its not something I would have done without the sketch but I will definitely use it again.  The papers (This and That Graceful) make me want to lick the screen and I was really pleased to finally put that wonderful Jenni Bowlin butterfly to perfect use.

The chipboard title was perfect to sum up how we felt on the day these photos were taken over 6 years ago.  I was VERY VERY pregnant with Louis and we went on a Babymoon (pre-baby final holiday as a couple) to Bradford-Upon-Avon.  We were excited and nervous and had absolutely no idea just how much our lives were going to be turned upside down.  

And yes, if you can manage to read the journalling, it does say that I had a fight in a car park.  I blame the hormones.... I went into Mummy Tiger mode.... Management was NOT impressed.

This was the first time I used washi tape on a layout!

Despite a cracking headache on Saturday, it was lovely to see Sarah again from S J Crafts and actually stroke, touch and sniff her shop.  We hatched a plan for a series of projects involving the new Everyday Eclectic collection which I'm very excited about.

Talking of hatching and life being amazing, we finally got to release our painted lady butterflies.  I admit, I was quite emotional.  They had lived with us since they were caterpillars and had become part of our family.. sniff.  This was an amazing experience and in Louis' own words "the best birthday present EVER!"

How beautiful is Bob?  Bob was the largest of the caterpillars and the first of the four to hatch.  He was quite happy to sit on Louis' finger while they had a chat about going off into the big wide world.  Bob was less impressed when Bella started shrieking loudly when she tried to cuddle him and he fluttered his wings.

Good luck Bob and friends!

Bye for now
xx