Adding some sparkle - NSD challenge

It was lovely to be a guest for Shimelle on Saturday and especially lovely to share that experience with a fellow designer for S J Crafts, one Jennifer Grace.  I knew exactly which assignment she would choose when I saw the list - to add some sparkle!  I was right!  Her wonderful layout with it's added sparkle, inspired me to finish off this layout with a smattering of gems.

It was half finished in my pile and I just didn't know where to go with it to finish it off.  It began as one of my stash diving layouts and I really should not have left them to one side because I lost the flow.  Thanks to the challenge this is another one ready for the album and not sat tottering on my pile of half finished ones!

 I don't tend to use much in the way of sparkle on my layouts but this was an ideal time to use it with its pink and girly loveliness. Bella helped me stick the gems on and so they are not entirely my choice of placement or colour!

Jennifer has had a busy few days between our NSD assignments and her upcoming blog hop.  It starts tomorrow, 10th May, and there are prizes and challenges and tutorials and inspiration and all the things you would expect from one of Jennifer's blog events.  

I'm taking part in the blog hop tomorrow myself and I have more challenges to submit so be sure to come back again soon.

Bye for now

xx

WOYWW 205 - NSD challenge

This is what happens when you try and do too many things at one time...  What a mess?!  That little gap to the right of the pink mat is only there because I just literally picked up the camera from that spot.

Last Wednesday I mentioned that I was working on an assignment for my writing course.  I'm still doing that because something exciting came up on Thursday morning to throw my plans out a bit.  You may have seen this post where I had the amazing opportunity to be a guest artist on Shimelle's blog for her National Scrapbooking Day celebrations.  We were talking about techniques for scrapping at pace and I have certainly been harnessing those techniques to get some of the challenges completed!

My course books and computer are piled in among half finished layouts and paper crafting products and this is not a good mix because things are getting lost and creased.  I'm still working on making the single from last week into a double but I DID find the off cuts from the original and there is plenty enough to make another page - huzzah!   I've got several more challenge layouts in the pipeline but there are classes to go to, family to feed, washing to do, this penultimate assignment to get completed and another blog hop with Jennifer to prepare for in amongst it all too.

One of the layouts I have completed this week actually fits 2 challenges.  This one at Shimelle's blog is to highlight your favourite papers and this one at S J Crafts which was to use just one manufacturer.  I don't think it will surprise anyone that I chose Echo Park!

I adore these papers from About A Boy and they were on my desk when I grabbed the photo and just went with it.  I flicked through my pile of Pinterest print outs and literally chose the first one that I came to that had the right number and orientation of photos, otherwise I could spend all day deliberating over this one or that one...  You can find the original from Debbie Hodges via my pin.

Those big rocks in the Northern Territory in Australia are so darn crazy right?  Just like that crazy rainbow chevron paper that I want to use on every single layout right now.

I'll be catching up with everyone's blogs in the next couple of days so make sure you put the kettle on :-)  And if you want to join in the desk sharing fun for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday then head on over to Julia's blog to find out more.

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

Pick your precious - Trainers

This post is brought to you by Story Telling Sunday with Sian from High in the Sky.

Its been a frantic but wonderful bank holiday weekend here.  I've just realised that it is Monday and not Sunday so I am a day late with this post, THAT'S how lovely this weekend has been.  The sun was shining which always makes me happy and we had our first BBQ of the year.  We put our sun shade up for the season and even purchased some new garden furniture that we have been discussing for about 4 years now. There was a little bit of time for crafting, a day out at a country fair, a brief visit to Beaulieu to see Management at work, and I still managed to find time to put my trainers on.  These are my "precious" for this Sunday (Monday!)

Now many of you might think, well I know she is mad, but trainers?  Really?  Has she totally lost the plot?  Well yes, I am crackers and I make no apologies for that and I shall be honest and say that the last 2 weeks have been some of the lowest ever in my life but thanks to my trainers, I am pulling myself out of it again.

I am mid assignment for my writing course and my story is all about things that happen at the gym.  It was while working on that that I realised just how much my trainers have come to mean to me.  I bought them in September 2011 when I first considered needing some proper running shoes but they still look fantastic because I train on a treadmill.  Ordinarily I hate spending more than about £15-20 on shoes but these were £95!!!  I went to a specialist running shop for gait analysis and I was videoed running in different trainers to find the best support possible.  Knowing how much they cost means I don't wear them to walk to school or to go to the shops etc.  When I put these on, I mean business.  I know that when I wear these, I am doing something really good for myself.  As a bare minimum, we should all be doing 3x30mins per week for general health but yet it still feels a bit frivolous to spend that time on myself but it's becoming much more of a habit for me now.  Aside from the weight loss (I've lost a stone so far this year), the benefits to my mental health are better than any pill or therapy I have ever tried.  When I put my trainers on it's like taking a happy pill because I know that the endorphins are just there waiting for me to let them out.

I have a couple of set routines during the week and then I fit in other things around those.  On Wednesdays I do Combat training which is a mixed martial arts inspired cardio work out.  It feels like I am literally kicking and punching my demons away.  I'm working on my technique to get more out of the class but oh boy do I get sweaty or do I get sweaty?!  On Sunday afternoons I go to the gym to use the treadmill.  I do a combination of running and walking and I am working up to doing more and more of my time as running but it is hard on my shins.  I've got dodgy knees which is why I run on the treadmill rather than outside on hard pavements.  We live in an area with lots of slopes and I'm fine on the uphill but my knees just can't take the down.  I hope to rectify this as I get fitter and my legs get stronger but for now I am content with brisk walking in the local area.

Any time I am walking or running I use an app on my phone called Zombies, Run!  It's basically a story that plays clips in between your chosen running songs, all about the zombie apocalypse.  You are a runner helping to rescue people, retrieve medical supplies and technological equipment, find information about a vaccine etc to help build a base and rebuild a healthy population.  It uses GPS / pedometer to track your progress and rewards you with materials and unlocking extra missions.  If you are really crazy then you can enable the zombies to chase you and you have to speed up by 10% for one minute or risk being caught and you can hear them coughing and groaning and getting closer by the second.  Seriously, I've never been into zombies or anything but I can't wait to get my trainers on and find out what the next part of the story is - it has totally transformed my training.  They have just released Season 2 and have included missions written by a fan who had written some fan fiction about the characters in the story.  If ever there was a reason to praise fan fiction, this is it!  Can you imagine getting that call from the game you love asking for you to write some stuff for them?!

I'm really enjoying getting fit and even loving the ache in my muscles the next day (or two or three!) because I know it is because I am doing something really good for myself.  I have to continue to make time for this because the hard work reaps so many benefits.  I am looking forward to putting my trainers on again very soon.  And of course, at the end of the day, I am worth it :-)

Bye for now
xx

A Guest Post for NSD with Shimelle!

May the fourth be with you!

Happy Star Wars Day and happy National Scrapbooking Day - what better way to celebrate than to be a guest artist for Shimelle?  I still can't quite believe it and I keep going back to the e-mail because it makes me smile every time I read it.  I was so happy to be asked to participate especially as the message came through a fair while after I had assumed everyone would have had their challenges.  It gave me a much needed boost!

The focus was very much on crafting with limited time and my own challenge was to create a double page spread.  Here's a little sneak peak of my layout which you can see in full on Shimelle's blog.

I really enjoy doing double pages and I even made the S J Crafts sketch in the previous post into a double by using a divided page protector as the facing page.

Here are a few more of my favourite doubles.

  

I hope you can join in with one or more of the challenges around the various blogs this weekend as many of them are open for a while.  It has all certainly got my creative juices flowing I can tell you!  If you create something this weekend then put a link in the comments box and I will come and take a look.

Happy crafting, 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 204

Is there a sight more wondrous in my world (other than my family with big smiley faces obviously!)?  A studio in mid craft mode and a full cup of tea.  It makes me smile.  I've been working on my Devon album a lot recently but today I just needed to choose some random photos and random papers.  I chose a few sets of photos that might go with the Echo Park About a Boy collection which I have been dying to use and so this led my not so random paper and photo choice!

I quite fancied using the little pile with the balls  but something nagged at the back of my mind that I might have used similar pics before.  I delved into my newly organised albums and voila, there was a layout there.  I really liked the un-scrapped photos so I wondered if I could try and match up the papers to make the original layout into a double pager.  I am in the process of trying to find off cuts from my scraps and I've found the red spotty one but there can't be much of the large spots left so even if I find it I will have to be creative with it!  The album is carefully concealing my course books which is what I should be doing instead but I needed to step away from my story for a bit.  Its all about the comedy moments I seem to have at the gym and once it has been marked and returned  I will be able to share it here so that more people can have a laugh at my expense!  

This post is brought to you by What's On Your Workspace Wednesday, the weekly public display of crafters workdesks that anyone and everyone can join in with.  Check out Julia's blog for more details.

Bye for now

xx