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

Baby its cold outside...

There is definitely a distinct nip in the air first thing in the morning and as the evening draws in.  I wonder if we will get the snow that they suggested a few weeks ago, you know back when it was suddenly baking hot again?  It made me think back to March 2008 when L was not quite 2 years old.  On the Saturday we got the garden furniture out because it was lovely and warm and we sat there drinking tea in our te-shirts.  The next morning the boys woke me up early because it had snowed over night and they couldn't wait to show me.  My poor little man had a tummy ache but he still made a huge snowman with Daddy and then walked up the lane to the fields near where we lived until a couple of years ago.  Its a wonderful rural area with hills perfect for sliding down on a plastic bag (if you are caught unawares and don't have a sledge!)

I used the sketch from the wonderful Kirsty Wiseman's Wednesday Night Crop from erm.. Thursday!  Kirsty has been chaotically busy recently with her work on QVC etc and I've really missed her Wednesday night madness.  She crops live on Ustream and there is usually an appearance from Eddie the dog at some point.  The rest of us chat and scrap along or just chat!

The papers are My Mind's Eye, 12 Days of Christmas with their fab modern colours.  I sprayed the background with red Mister Huey over one of the punched snowflakes and  I love the effect it gave - I will definitely do this again.  The whole thing was sprayed with Marshmallow Glimmer Mist which gives a soft sheen to everything but is barely visible.  I was brave and didn't ink the edges of everything with Vintage Photo as I normally do.  But don't worry, I haven't lost the plot!  I used Broken China instead ;-)

I jazzed up some of those ultra cheap foam letter stickers and I'm thinking about a little trip to see if I can get some more as I'm so pleased with how they turn out.  You have to forgive me the clichéd title as it is my first child related snowy layout!

I punched 2 snowflakes for each spot because I wanted some depth so the second layer is vellum which goes through much easier.  Its a lovely punch but very troublesome...

So tell me, are you stockpiling salt?  Have you bought a snow shovel?  Or do you think the anticipated snow will be more like very cold rain instead?  We live on a STEEP incline so we are thinking of investing in snow chains just to get us out onto the main road!

Bye for now
xx