WOYWW 267

My desk actually looks fairly tidy this week after last week's clear up.  There are a couple of things on the go but you might first notice that there is no cup of tea.  I'm detoxing ready for my holiday and I'm desperate for proper food and a cuppa but I have to be strict until the holiday.  Its no good spending all this time in the gym and then not following up with healthy eating.  The detox will help me lose a bit of weight and hopefully feel a bit more refreshed and healthier.  And less time cooking and eating means more crafting time!

I had a little shopping outing with Sarah and purchased some embossing pastes and a couple more masks and had a little play.  I used white on the white cardstock on the box (which you obviously cant see at this point but hopefully it will add a little something to the layout), and then I mixed some paste up with some mist and used the chevron mask on another sheet.  I have no idea where I'm going to go with it yet but I enjoyed playing.

The cork baking tray was a previous make that needed repairing after being dropped from its hook.  The stuff in the black box is for some forthcoming projects so watch this space!

Well that's all for this What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - you can join in too, its easy, just head over to Julia's Stamping Ground.

Bye for now!
xx

Gym Buddies

I was back at the gym today for the first time in 10 days and let me tell it felt like a lot longer away!  I've had to rest for a week because of some problems with my knees (which I've had since 18) and then this weekend I got my first proper migraine and I was flat out for a few days (hence missing WOYWW).  The issues with my knees haven't gone away so we are having to tweak what I'm doing but I hope to get some answers soon.  Luckily I have my trainer on hand to advise me :-)

Other than when my nieces were babies, I've not had the pleasure of their company very much and one of them now lives a few hours away so it is really precious to be able to spend time with my eldest niece.  This layout is about our new relationship as friends as well as auntie / niece, and about the laughs and trials and tribulations we have together.  

Hhhmmm, still not quite got the camera sorted but I am on to it ;-)  Most of the supplies were from Echo Park's mini theme Brothers which just fitted colour and style wise.  The cork heart from... erm... somewhere, acts as a mat for the Amy Tan Thickers and the badges are from October Afternoon's Sasparilla.

I finished off with a few cheap and cheerful sticky stars and some very old star brads to complement the stars in the papers and then added a couple of bits of washi tape and called it done.

I do have another gym layout using the same colours but its a bit of a story and I need to put my big girl pants on before I feel ready to share it.  Maybe next week...

Bye for now

xx

S J Crafts July Challenge

This month's challenge from S J Crafts involved selecting three things from a list of possibles - a colour, a symbol and a title.  One of the possible titles was "Summer Days" so I included that in my title about a really mad summer day last year when we saw Big Foot and met Jaws from the Bond films.

I'm still having trouble with getting blurry bits on my photos and I'm hoping that now I'm home from Wales that it was a temporary thing but we shall see!

I used an arrow which was one of the options but a star or sun shape was another option and I think the cogs and gears in the layout fit that shape rather well too.  I couldn't resist using All About A Boy collection from Echo Park because the gears and the colours were such a great match.  I chose red as the colour from the list of options so I used red Bazzil as the background.

I'd forgotten how much I loved this collection with all the vivid colours and some of the wording fitting my theme perfectly too.  Obviously I have more than this one photo of the event so I'll probably use it again soon!

There's some big news about S J Crafts on the blog today so you can read it and see more about the challenge here.

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 265

When I take  my weekly photo for WOYWW I realise how much or how little I've been in my studio.  A few days on a bit of a scrapping frenzy last week and my room is a tip - I blame Shimelle and her weekend of inspiration.  In the end I started rolling over stuff that I had piled on the floor (lots more out of shot on the floor too) and I needed some space to start some fresh thinking.

Its a bit of a shocker even for me but I make no apologies.  I traveled around a few desks last week and so many people were sorry for their mess.  Don't be sorry people!  We are creative and busy and happy in our art and of course we make a mess and things get moved around but it is OUR space and OUR art!

Now it looks more like this.  The pile on the floor is "to be sorted", the pile at the back is scraps that need filing and the pile of cardstock on the left is erm... a pile of cardstock that needs putting away.  When I have a lot of stuff to put away (again there is more out of shot) I tend to make piles like this so I only have to go to the place where I keep the cardstock once and the scraps pile once, etc.  I end up with a big tray of embellishments to sort out too and I am dreading this.  I seriously need to pare back my stash and that is going to be on the list once I have tidied up a great deal.

This week I have also been sorting Lego into colours ready for some drawers to be labelled.  Sounds very OCD doesn't it?  I'm a big Lego fan and we have lots of different sets and these days they have lots of very unusual shaped pieces and so finding them is easier if things are in colours.  And I like doing mindless tasks like breaking apart and sorting small bricks :-)

So that's me for the week, how about you?  Sharing is caring so don't forget to link your creative space to this wonderful blog hop at Julia's Stamping Ground.

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

Meet Opal - Shimelle Challenge

I've been meaning to scrap this photo for years, literally.  It was from our Round The World trip, no prizes for guessing where!  It was actually at Steve Irwin's Zoo in Brisbane and we were really sad to have missed him by a couple of days (well that's what they said but he might not have actually been there for months!)

It was one of those magical experiences that you never forget,so soft and fluffy!  We had to hold Opal under her bottom because koalas have no rib cage so holding them under the arms like a baby to pick them up would crush their internal organs.  To pick them up from the floor you have to hold their hands and dangle them!

I was able to use some new supplies (Glitz Finnley from the S J Crafts sale) and some very old ones.  I've had those lime green Doodlebug letters since I started scrapping and the little koala button from even before that!  I threw in some new Project Life cards and some felt leaves and back gems - it feels great to use some really old stuff!

My travel album has kraft card stock on every page so as well as the background I used a couple of Tim Holtz die cuts from my ancient stash too.  

The page was inspired by this challenge from Shimelle using half page photos.  It's certainly larger than I normally scrap but not quite half a page.  

I've still got a few more to share but they will have to wait until later after I've travelled back from sunny Wales.  Yes it is sunny - it was supposed to rain hard all day here but it has been beautiful!

Bye for now
xx

Hang Tough - Shimelle Challenge

I managed to complete a few of the challenges from Shimelle's cyber crop last weekend.  Unfortunately I had to bring them to Wales to photograph as I ran out of time before we had to leave.  The weather decided to take a turn for the worse and I have struggled to get clear pictures but I will keep trying!  This first one seemed to be the better of the bunch and was inspired by this challenge.

I used Echo Park's All About A Boy collection which is in the sale at S J Crafts currently.  I'd forgotten how much I loved the bright colours.

I used the TOUGH banner from the sticker sheet for the title and added some more stickers and chipboard pieces for interest and texture.  I wanted to get across the fun and adventure that the girls were having when they climbed the wall at the play centre where Bella was having her 5th birthday party.

A couple of brads from a Halloween collection by October Afternoon and some very old gems and it was job done.  It took me ages because I couldn't decide on the papers but once I had done that it came together quite quickly.

I had a great time scrapping old and new photos and using old and new stash.  There was a wonderful sense of freedom as I wasn't doing a project or a DT assignment or making a rushed card for someone etc.  I'd forgotten how much I love scrapping and as such there are a few more projects to share over the next few days.

Did you join in with the challenges too?

Bye for now
xx