WOYWW 278

Good morning crafty-desk perusing folks!  I am doing my best to join in with What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday and actually get around to a few more than I usually do.  You can link up too - find the information at Stamping Ground.

You might think that you've seen this pic before...

Yes you have, its the same as it was 3-4 weeks ago and we are still in the same boat except that we have lost our forever house and so we are looking again as well as trying to sell ours - its a horrid frustrating process but there we go.

I have been crafting in between tidying my desk though.  This was a layout I did for a recent challenge that involved using white or black as the main colours, using stamping or doodling and using ribbon or washi.

Its hard to believe my two eldest nieces ever looked like this!  The cutie on the left is now whipping my behind in the gym - who would have thought it at the time!  There's only 18 months between them so they really are #bff.

I used some embossing paste for the first time to give something interesting to the white background and I really liked the way it turned out.  Although its my often used messy stack style, the colour scheme is more unusual for me but I'm pleased with the end result.

I'm looking forward to a day of cropping on Saturday too - goodness knows I need it!

Bye for now
xx

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

Choosing themes and colours with S J Crafts

When I first started scrapping a few years ago, the general trend, and I thought "the rules" were that you tried to match the colours in your photos with your supplies.  Of course that poses a problem when you don't have an exact match, and a near match can sometimes make things look forced or can accentuate the colour difference.  

lately I've been focusing more on the feel of the page or the story behind it. Using embellishments to bring out the focus of the story can give you much more scope for using different colours.  Changing photos to black and white can prevent any dramatic clashes and can often really pull the theme together.  Of course it can also help you to use up colour schemes you have in your stash already too.  

I used the Crate Paper Boys Rule collection from S J Crafts because the retro feel of the range was perfect for the photos of the gym.  You might have seen other photos on my blog of the gym in colour - the iron work in the weight machines is actually orange and a really close match to the orange in the collection, however, I didn't want to have to over-think where I put the orange embellishments.  Sometimes using colours very close to those in your photos can cause the image to get lost and this page was very much about the journey I am on so I wanted to make sure the embellishments were not too distracting or clashing.

The background piece is actually a great match for the back and white in the photos so the splash of orange in the photo mat lifts the pictures and stops them getting lost.  I wanted to use the cassette tape paper because music is such a big part of my training sessions but it has a lot of colours in.  If I had used colour photos, I would probably have had to cut the tapes out individually because of the likelihood of clashes and overlaps in shade.  Obviously the strip of tape measure washi tape highlights the theme a little more.

I wanted to create this page to remind me of how important it is to remember that I have just started on my fitness journey.  Yes, I do have a long way to go and it will be a long process so I have to bear in mind that this is just the beginning of a new me and it won't happen over night.  I have to be proud that I have started.

The embellishments in this collection are aimed at young boys but they fit perfectly here too, like the little word pieces from the ephemera pack and this fab veneer Boom!, which seems to be a word I hear often at Spartans gym!

Of course there is nothing to stop you using the colours in your photos as the lead if you are careful about your choices and they enhance rather than detract from the images.  I find the best way is to pick out one or two colours from the photos and then add in other colours.  Keeping a slight distance between the supplies and the part of the photo with the matching colour in it can also help.

In this layout I wanted to focus on the fun and playful vibe rather than overloading the page with seaside supplies.  I've picked out the orange from the hat and shorts but it is not a perfect match so I have kept them apart.  I also picked out the yellow from the te-shirt which is a better match but it does change shade in the photos depending on the light - this obviously makes it impossible to try and get an exact match in your supplies!

Choosing sunny colours lends itself well to the happy theme of the page and this helps to pull everything together.  Adding in the star print paper with the blue and green in it reflects the colours in the sea and the sky closely enough that it works, without being so close that it is trying to match and failing.

I've used embellishments from the ephemera pack and journalled onto one of the blocks from the cut apart sheets.  I love piling on layers from coordinating supplies and they don't have to be really specific to work. Here they just echo the theme of play and some of the colours I've used - they don't have to be boy specific layouts to use things from boy themed collections.

I added shells, twine and a cork heart from my stash to echo the natural beach feel without being over the top.  The veneer "4 fun" token from the collection was perfect here for the four friends playing on the beach. The journalling talks about the fun they had skimming stones and how great it was for me and our friends' mum to catch up while they played... until one of them found a hypodermic needle among the stones.  That's one theme I won't be accentuating in my embellishments!!

I've done a bit more shopping today on the S J Crafts Bargain Basement sale and the things that jumped out at me were always the feel of the colours or the styles and not the specific name or theme of the collection. I'm looking forward to using some Basic Grey Hipster on some more of my gym training pages because it has the right touch of orange and again with that slight retro feel.  I hope you find some bargains there too and expand your choices beyond the pure colours in your photos.  Let me know if you do!

Bye for now

xx

Divided Loyalties - part 2

Following on from my previous Divided Loyalties post with S J Crafts, I have two more layouts to share with you today that use a collection intended for use in divided page protectors.  These collections are so versatile if you think of them as smaller pieces of paper rather than set sections that have to be used in certain pockets. The colours in the Simple Stories Homespun collection lend themselves to a wide range of subjects but there's a definite focus on home and family.  

Family

This first layout featuring my two crazy children makes use of one of the beautiful full pages which has a bit of embellishment printed on it already.  It means that you don't have to do much more than add something between the two areas and you have a really quick layout.  I simply added some 6x4 cards in a messy stack so that unlike the previous post, I didn't have to do any creative patchwork to cover gaps and joins.  

I used one of the journalling cards as it was because the sentiment fitted well for my photo but it is very easy to cover them up if you like the writing area but the wording doesn't fit.  I added some brads and stickers from the collection and made my title with the chipboard and finished off with a few enamel dots.  Very quick and another memory captured.

 Love

This bright layout features my two great-nephews (which makes me feel exceptionally old...) having a bit of a smooch, or trying to!  Here again I've used a full sheet from the collection because the hearts fitted the theme but the bright colours stop it from being too feminine.  I've used one of the larger strips (4x12) to layer the photo and to act as the title piece by adding an ampersand and their initials from the sticker sheet.

The journalling appears on a 3x4 card and then I have matted the photo onto a 6x4 and then onto one of the larger pieces from the collection.  This black piece had an ideal border (which you could stitch) but I didn't need the sentiment underneath so it worked really well for this mat.

The cute flower is from the brad pack and I also added a couple of flowers from the chipboard set too. I backed one of the larger brads onto a pinked circle punched from a spare card that I knew I wouldn't use as it was.  I love adding things like this to a paperclip to make my own embellishments.

I finished off by adding some branding strips and off cuts from the journalling card to the top corner to balance the design and then added a heart sticker with pop dots alongside other stickers and chipboard pieces.

The end result is a fun layout about two cheeky boys who love being together.  And we still haven't used a divided page protector!

I still have 2 off the page projects using this collection to show you so check back soon for more ideas on using those collections intended for divided page protectors.

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 257

If it wasn't for the plethora of sharp objects around me this morning then I think I would fall asleep on my desk!  Its been a busy week but today is a day for washing (boo!) and working on One Little Word (Yay!).  The gorgeous rainbow chevron paper is part of the Simple Stories Daily Grind collection that I'm using for this project which has been sadly neglected recently but I'm exciting about doing this month's painty prompts - stand well back, paint will be splashed about!  

On my desk this week there are also some new things - last year's Spring Summer Promarker pens (reduced to £10 for all 12 in Hobbycraft!!) and some things that came free with a magazine (the scrabble tiles, chalk speech bubbles, card pack).  Also these rather yummy bright pink bottle caps which I hope to make something out of very soon.

 One of the many reasons I am so behind with housework and am needing an art day is this....

A very long line of toy cars...  Over 2 kilometers actually we think.  The end result was smashing the World Record for the longest continuous line of toy cars which finished at 24,189 cars!  A team of staff and volunteers (including myself and Management and both children) laid them out all around the Beaulieu Motor Museum, twisting and turning around and about and doubling back, all around the inside and the outside and up and down the paths.

This was part of Bella's area - a line which had to be changed several times as the logistics of counting versus opening doors etc proved very tricky indeed...

 This was the area that I stewarded while the official count took place.  The line at the bottom of the picture went right across the walkway and the rules are that the line cannot be broken until the count has been completed.  Which took nearly two and a half hours.  While people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters were trying to get around!  But they did it!  All the cars will now be sold off to raise money for Naomi House Children's Hospice so I hope they get lots of lots of funds as a result.

My knees, feet, and hands are blistered from crawling and I have sunburned nose.  I'm just pleased it wasn't raining!  Oh and that car there... its a Gordon Bennett!  I couldn't help saying Gordon Bennett, what a lot of cars!  Well... it was a long day...

If you are a crafter of any sort and you'd like to share your work space or whatever you are working on this week with other kindred spirits then please do link up with Julia who is the host of this wonderful world wide snoop entitled What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Bye for now

"Inspired by Sophie" - S J Crafts May Challenge

I'm really enjoying designing for Sarah's challenges at S J Crafts every month.  I love the way the challenges are changing each month because there is so much inspiration this way.  I also really love seeing how everyone else interprets the challenge too and I'm always amazed at how different our designs are.  

This month we've gone for a bingo card grid and the idea is that you can draw a line through any three elements to use - vertical, horizontal or diagonal but not going around corners.  You could take a chance and make a stab with a pin to start you off or choose something that tickles your fancy.

For my design this month, I went with the row across the middle.  Can you spot the three elements?

The layout is about my niece, who you may already know is also my Personal Trainer.  I can't really put into words what she has done for me recently but as I mentioned in a previous post, she has literally given me my life back.  As well as boosting my epically failing confidence and energy levels and dragging me out of the depression that had engulfed me.  Of course we have a long way to go but we know we are heading in the right direction.  She is definitely helping me live with my One Little Word (Heart).

I used papers from the Crate Paper Boyz Rule collection to bring out the orange of that scary looking gym equipment.  It goes really well with the slightly retro style (both the gym and the papers!)  Plus we have so many comedy moments together as we are both clumsy and a bit incident prone so the comic book bunting and stickers were a great match too.

 You can see all three elements from the bingo card here - the star printed vellum as part of the messy stack, the blue circular paperclip on the tag and the "Inspired" stamping.

And here again for another example - I'd accidentally torn the vellum so I made a feature of it, I stamped a notebook border near the tape and then added the orange star brad (given to me by a friend on the retreat the other week.)

So now its over to you!  Choose a line, any line, and see where it takes you.  Link up to the challenge on the S J Crafts blog sometime in the next month and you could be one of the featured projects!  We'd love to see what you are inspired to make.

Bye for now
xx

Divided loyalties

Good grief the Spring is marching on isn't it?! One minute we were drowning in rain filled fields and overflowing rivers and the next minute the garden centres are sunny and crowded and we are awash with hayfever and the smell of cut grass.  It is nearly time for the children to go back to school after the Easter break and we've been away to Wales and I've been on a craft retreat too.  Of course now the house looks like a bombsite and there is a pile of laundry bigger than my mother so the house looks a far cry from the tidy pictures on the estate agent's website!  

The good news is that we have found a house but the bad news is that they can't find anything yet. So in the meantime I will cherish the space in my current craft room and try not to buy anything else to go in it!  It is very hard though when you come across wonderful collections like Homespun by Simple Stories.  I was immediately drawn to the variety of primary colours and sweet designs however, like many companies and collections these days, Homespun is designed with pocket pages in mind.  Now, I love using pocket pages for big events like holidays and Christmas but I don't want to use them for the every day stuff really.  Does that mean that we have to miss out on such collections or can we be a bit creative and use them for our standard pages too?  Let's see shall we?  

The Simple Stories divided pages come in a variety of styles so the collections are not just 3x4 and 4x6 journalling style cards.  I wanted to see exactly what I had to work with so I trimmed all the cut apart sheets in to their various pieces.  I went through and selected the ones I wanted to use as they were and kept these in a separate pile.  Any others were fair game for being used in other ways and this meant that I could fussy cut them, use them for layering, punch shapes from them, etc.  

Family

One of the first pieces that really grabbed my attention was this 6x12 woodgrain section.  The wording and design on the bottom make a great title and so another option would have been to use just that portion.  I love the whole piece though and I think it makes a natural home for the striking photograph.  I did a little photo shoot of my niece and her little boy so most of the layouts from that day probably won't have much in the way of journalling other than perhaps the first few.  

I really liked the eclectic bunting near the title so I used the matching design from the sticker sheet on pop dots for texture and interest.

My next use of one of the pieces was to make a photo mat.  I cut down the photo slightly to make it fit onto the standard 4x6 card but I wanted a second mat too.  Here's where you need to get a bit creative! I really liked the pattern on the card but I knew I wouldn't use the sentiment so I could cut an L shape to expand the parameters a bit.

I'm no good at sewing so this is the nearest I get to patchwork!  I added a punched shape, a sticker from the sheet and a heart from the chipboard sheet on one corner

To cover the other corner I used the same punched shape, some banners cut from the branding strips and one of the beautiful brads from the same range.

Elliot

There are going to be quite a few layouts from this little photo shoot so I like to mix things up a bit by using some A4 pages too - they fit just as well as any other page protector in my American Crafts D Ring albums.  For this layout I decided to use the 3x4 cards to make a grid of the photo, a journalling block and then 2 for decoration.

 I used a piece of red A4 card and cut out the middle to use as a mat for the whole grid to lift it from the beautiful floral paper.  The designs on some of the cards are so pretty that you really don't need to add much to them.  Here I've just extended the design a bit with a chipboard heart and a button tied with baker's twine.

I drew the design together by using another button diagonally opposite and used the stickers from the alpha sheet for the little title and mini tag.  Branding strips and thin off-cuts ground the design and then I finished off with some fun bobble trim.

So far then we've used a 6x12 piece as it is, used branding strips and off cuts and punched shapes from a "spare" card for embellishments, made a grid from 3x4 cards, used one as a journalling card, used one piece for a title, used another "spare" card as a photo mat.

But if you are still undecided about using divided collections on standard page then I still have 2 more posts to show you lots of other ideas too!

Bye for now

xx

Always the shadow



Sometimes a photo perfectly captures a moment or someone's personality.  Now and then a photo can capture a feeling too and sometimes it can help you to put things into words.

 

This photo was taken at Christmas on a rare sunny day.  Everyone seems to have had lovely weather again today except for parts of Wales which has been cloudy and misty - typical!  I still managed to get out for a gentle stroll on the beach here in Newport though (the one in the photo is the next bay round in Moylgrove) except that this time I was on my own.  I'm waiting to have the aerial fixed after the storms earlier in the year and having some much needed head space. 

After many attempts to find the right medication for my depression, we've come to the end of the road with it really.  I'm in the process of writing a blog post about what it feels like (boy won't that be a jolly read!) but right now I can't even scrap - that's how bad it is.  I'm going to try something a little outside of the box when I get back in a sort of last ditch attempt to make some progress.  I don't want to be the shadow blighting the lives of my family and friends.  I want to be there with them, enjoying the sun.

Supplies List
Patterned papers from Crate Paper "The Pier"
Letter stickers from Simple Stories "Homespun"
Enamel dots inside the flowers from My Mind's Eye
Wood veneers from Studio Calico "Hearts & Arrows"
Cardstock from Bazzil Basics in Kraft
Other items from my stash

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 249

What have we here then?  Not much in the way of crafting I can tell you.  We are considering putting our house on the market and the potential move may involve me losing my precious studio.  What will I do?!  I want to scratch myself at the mere thought of not having my own place to craft.  I guess I need to start getting rid of stuff...

Here is this week's offering if you've come for a browse around the desks with WOYWW courtesy of Julia at the Stamping Ground.  

Evidence of some sorting out is pretty much all that's available this week.  We got rid of a load of videos but I had an inkling in the back of my addled mind that someone somewhere had a brilliant use for the empty cases.  I think it might have been something to do with cling stamps.  A brief peruse of Pinterest and Youtube yielded nothing so maybe I imagined it.

In the middle there is very very old evidence of a former crafting life.  I used to like drawing as a teen.  Nothing out of my own head, all copied and all cartoon style, but I obviously liked them enough to cut them out and keep them.  I also found some early poetry that I had penned - phew lots of teen angst there!

I almost didn't join in this week as I didn't manage to get around anyone last week and I sincerely apologise for that.  My littlest great nephew was a poorly boy and in hospital for a few days and it threw things out a bit and then my puter decided to have a funny five minutes which seemed to effect it from then on.  It is mostly sorted now apart from the screen looks a bit different in Chrome but I can live with that... *twitch*

So, regular WOYWW-ers - any idea who or where I might have seen someone doing something clever with storage using video cases?  Do let me know if you can think of anyone!

Bye for now
xx

It will be fine...

Its been a little while since I shared any of the layouts from Shimelle's Return to the Collection class and I still have a couple more to go.  Here I used a Papermania kraft sheet for the background and more of the Echo Park For The Record collection.  I also misted a little in the corners and did some painting and stamping to add detail and layering. 

 

I promised that I would explain the background to this unexpected holiday and this layout really does that so this will be the first page in the Kos section of the album.   I can't remember where this photo was taken so I used it as a reason to scrap the backstory a little. 

On the journaling block, in case you can't read it, I've written what we were thinking at the time.  We hadn't expected to be on holiday at all because I should have been about 6-7 months pregnant at the time.  We had lost our first baby at 5 months a few weeks before this and I had been in and out of hospital and we'd been through tests and the funeral and were still waiting on the results of the tests while we were away that would determine if we could go ahead with trying for another baby. 

We decided to take a last minute booking and have some much needed R&R time together but we couldn't really forget for more than a few minutes.  I drank water at a fertility fountain, we tried to get healing vibes from the Esclipion, anything and everything to try and get us back on the road to being parents as quickly as we could.  We ate lots, chilled out watching England win the Ashes and relaxed as much as we could but I ended up getting tonsillitis and laryngitis! 

We had a lovely time though and when we got back we received the news that we were clear to try for another baby and thankfully we got pregnant again straight away.  I wish I could have told myself that the results would be good and we would have our family before long.  I wish I could have told myself that it would all be fine.

 

Bye for now

xx

WOYWW 246

Happy Wednesday!  Its very strange here this Wednesday because of course I usually have the house to myself.  However, it's half term here and we also have Management at home after having a muscle spasm in his back on Monday!  At the time he couldn't even get to the loo but now he can walk slowly up and down the stairs so he should be back to work by Thursday, albeit very gingerly.

The children were desperate to scrap today and who am I to stop them.  I moved us all into the kitchen for a bit more room but as you can see I have ended up perched just on the corner.  Check out Louis's tongue poking into his cheek in concentration!  As I clicked the shutter he asked "I expect I had my tongue out didn't I?"  Management was heard to mutter "well you are your mother's son...."!!

About 2 minutes after this photo was taken there was a big argument over one piece of paper that they both wanted to use and then they both started fussing about not having just the right photograph and I knew it was time to put it all away for another day.  I dunno, these creative types and their fickle moods... ahem...

 You are used to seeing an overhead shot from me so I thought I'd better to keep to the norm even if it's not my normal space.  I'm creating a DT challenge with the gorgeous papers from Crate Paper The Pier from S J Crafts.

Last week I promised Miss Bella that I would show her work on the blog and here she is proudly sharing it.

So what are you up to?  Show us your desk, do, because sharing is caring.  Link up over at Julia's Stamping Ground.

Bye for now
xx

Water Boy

Here's one from the archives for you!  You can tell that I even photographed a while back because there was sun light on that there slate paving.  These days it is a much darker shade of grey and constantly wet!

This layout was completed at Scrap-a-Mia with the lovely Kirsty Wiseman and involves flaps!  You are welcome :-)

I had a range of photos with me with no specific plan but actually the papers that Kirsty had chosen worked really well with a random set of pictures that I ended up putting together about Louis's love of water.His first swimming lesson on the left and dancing with his shadow on the beach on the right.  He was 4 months old and 3 years old respectively.

And then nearly 4 in the final flap playing with the fountains at the local lido.  Isn't that turquoise just perfect! The papers have areas that are embossed with gold and other areas that are flocked.  We did enjoy a few moments of just stroking these papers as I seem to recall.  I was really new to scrapbooking then but I immediately felt a friendship to Kirsty because of this one fact alone!

 I'd read a few of her blog posts since I knew that I would be taking her class so I knew a little bit about her style and her daughter with gorgeous curly hair who seemed different to other children.  I had horrific PMT at the time of the class and she opened by explaining that this layout would leave space for lots of journalling if we wanted it.  She didn't normally journal much but in the case of her example layout she'd had plenty to say about a particularly special friendship that her daughter had.

I learned that Ellie had various special needs with no clear diagnosis and that "normal" friendships were something very rare for her.  Kirsty was visibly choked at recalling these special photos and I had to leave the class to go and have a good blub in the toilets.  Every day is out of the ordinary for parents like Kirsty and yet I had 2 healthy "normal" (I hate that word) children and yet I struggled with the most mundane of things.  At the time I didn't know just how much scrapbooking would help me deal with these feelings or that 4 years later I would be STILL be dealing with them.

I think I'll come back to this topic, it needs to be opened up.  That was going to be what this blog was all about but I found that I just didn't want to harp on about it.  That's not reaching out to people in the same boat though and that's not helping anyone.  I don't want my blog to become a sad place but I do want to hold my hand out to other people who might be helped by crafting.

I'm happy to say that in just a few weeks I will be saying hello to Kirsty again in real life for a girly weekend with other crafters.  THAT sort of thing really helps :-))

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 245

Its Wednesday, so its WOYWW, so let's get straight down to business - no time to shilly shally.  I have officially finished all of the layouts I can possibly get from the collection I've been working on through Shimelle's class.  The one you can see on the desk is the penultimate layout.  I just about have enough scraps left to eek out a Valentine card for Management - ssshh don't tell him, just between us 'kay?

I was enjoying a little play (hence the full cuppa) Tuesday afternoon when I took this during a brief moment of sunshine - hurrah!  I really feel for anyone experiencing floods etc right now - it is truly awful.  There can't be much more water left in the sky to fall can there?!

Last week I mentioned that I was heroically trying to log all my layouts / blogged projects / photos etc and part of that is filing this pile of layouts!  You can see the spotty tablecloth that I used to have on my desk which some of you might remember.  You can also see why I choose to use Taffy pink albums by American Crafts :-)

Its been a creative hive of activity here at Crazy Towers.  Miss Bella wanted a friend to come over to make a Facebook page!  Kinda cute that she got it mixed up but she did actually mean a scrapbook page obviously. I knew I would have to tackle the children's art room in order for this to take place - gulp!

Being by the back door means all manner of outside items get left here.  It leads through to the utility so it bugs me that it is so messy.

There was nothing else for it.  It had to be done.  I put some funky music on, grabbed another cuppa and set to it.  I'm pretty pleased with the results but I just need to keep on top of it!

The insect home you can see on the windowsill there is patiently awaiting our baby stick insects to be big enough not to be able to squeeze through the holes!  We have 6 so far of just under an inch long.

The trolley on the left is what I sort the washing into, nothing to do with crafts at all.  The basket on top is full of Slimming World magazines that I need to sort through and pull out the recipes.  The shelves there are also the place where I keep my vases etc.

Our little guest took to scrapbooking like a duck to water and was overheard to say "I love your house.. I really love doing this!"  Also Louis finished a lovely page which I promised I would show on the blog very soon and said he had forgotten how much he enjoyed scrapbooking!  This all made my heart literally sing!  I find it hard to have little friends to tea but it is part of my One Little Word progress and I have to say that it was lovely to see the three of them sat there singing along to the radio and cutting and sticking while I pottered about at the stove.

Anyway, enough about the crafting going on here, what's going on where you are?  Pop over to Julia's Stamping Ground to link up with other desks around the world.

Bye for now
xx