Blossom Babes Debden Weekend 2011 - Part I

Last weekend I spent a few very happy days in the company of some of my crafty friends. We scrapbooked, made cards, ate, drank, chatted and laughed. Boy did we laugh.

We spent the weekend at Debden House in Loughton, Essex. This was (I think) the fourth or fifth time I had been at Debden with my friends and this years visit was slightly earlier in the year than previous visits.

Signs of spring were already visible with a blanket of small blue flowers beneath this tree.



Not sure what the flowers were but they were really pretty.

There were also daffodils in bloom and tiny narcissus

Primroses were dotted through out the garden.

And on some of the trees blossom was already on show.

I'll be back soon with more photos of the layouts I created whilst at Debden.

Book Review - Spellbound by Jane Green

Fantastic Fiction Review: Alice knows she should be happy. After all she has a handsome husband, a beautiful house and membership to all the most exclusive clubs in London. So what if the rumours about her husband's skirt-chasing are becoming harder to ignore? When Joe's indiscretions force a transfer to New York, Alice hopes it might be a fresh start. And when they find a beautiful old house in Connecticut Alice is overjoyed. For a while she and Joe seem as happy as newlyweds. But then the late nights and unexplained absences start again. What should Alice do? Stay and fight for him? Or leave with her head held high?

I've had this book for sometime and decided now was the time to read it. Jane Green is a writer I am familiar with and whose books I usually enjoy so I was expecting to enjoy this one. The book, Jane Green's sixth book, didn't fail to meet my expectations. It was a real page turner and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen to Alice and whether her suspicions about Joe's infidelity would be confirmed. Predictably it all turns out good for Alice in the end, but when alls said and done ...... we all like a happy ending.

D is for Dimension

This month on Scrapology we have scrap lifted a stunning layout by the very talented scrapbooker Gabrielle Pollacco. I have followed Gabrielle's blog for sometime and am in awe of her layouts and especially her handmade flowers and other embelishments.

Here is my layout.



The young woman in the photo is my paternal grandmother - Fanny Hills (Née Ansell). This was the first time I had scrapped a heritage layout but I felt the style of Gabrielle's original layout lent itself to a heritage layout.

The papers were really, really, REALLY old K&Co papers. The lace was stained with coffee (LOL) and the flowers were handmade using this tutorial by Gabrielle herself. I used a variety of re purposed buttons for the centres of the flowers and I was really pleased how they turned out and I am already planning to make more.

This was Gabrielle's original layout and sketch.





Please visit Scrapology and see the beautiful layouts created by the other members of the design team and to be in with a chance of winning a prize.

Book Review - Postcards from the Heart by Ella Griffin

Fantastic Fiction Review: Life is looking up for Saffy. She has a great job, a gorgeous flat in the most desirable part of Dublin and - after six years - it looks like her boyfriend, Greg, is going to propose. Greg (just voted the 9th most eligible man in Ireland) is on a high, too - he's about to swap his part as a heart-throb in an Irish soap for a break in Hollywood. His best mate Conor wakes up every morning with Jess, the most beautiful woman on the planet but, even after seven years and two kids, she won't get married. He spends his days teaching teenagers and his nights writing the book he hopes will change everything, including Jess's mind. But their happy endings are playing hard to get. It seems everyone's keeping secrets - one night stands, heartbreak, grief and loss are all in the mix. It's going to take some tough questions and even tougher answers before anyone's being honest - even with themselves. POSTCARDS FROM THE HEART is a book about four friends in their thirties. It's about love, lust, life, death, balloon rides and missing hamsters. But most of all it's about figuring out how to stop saying 'I don't' and how to start saying 'I do'

This debut novel was recommended on the Chick Lit Plus and whilst I have a tendency to read books by authors who have a proven track record of writing good stories I was interested to read Ella's first book.

It did take me a while to get into the book but this may have been due to my lack of reading time in recent weeks rather than the story line because once I did got into the story I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters - Saffy who was certainly too good for the ultra-vain Greg, and hard working Conor and Jess who were so right for each other were believable characters. The humour written into the story was witty and had me laughing. Ella Griffin is a great story teller and I look forward with anticipation her next novel.

Book Review - It's a Kind of Magic by Carole Matthews

Fantastic Fiction Review: When Emma's boyfriend Leo turns up at her special birthday dinner unforgivably late and horribly drunk, embarrassing her in front of her family, she decides enough is enough. Why can't someone just wave a magic wand over him and bring him back refurbished as a proper boyfriend and save her the trouble? But when Leo meets Isabel and starts changing before her very eyes, Emma realises she should be careful what she wishes for...

Before reading this book I had only read one other book by Carole Matthews and that was some time ago so wasn't entirely familiar with her books. The inclusion of magic and fairy in the story made for a very witty, fun, light hearted read. The characters were likable and believable. Reading the book was, I felt, like reading a screen play and could easily imagine this book being made into a film.

Stamperama - Retail Therapy

Yesterday, despite suffering from a heavy cold, Lara and I popped along to the Stamperama Rubber Stamp Show at the Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre. Although advertised as a Rubber Stamp Show there is always loads of other paper crafting goodies for sale and yesterday was no exception.

Having tightened my belt and bought hardly any scrapbooking goodies for ages, I had a little splurge yesterday and came home with some nice bits and pieces.



I particularly liked these packets of Organza Roses from Mei Flowers at only £1 a pack. What a bargain.



These charms, also from Mei Flowers, were also a great buy and I plan to use these on cards. The enamel handbag charms are gorgeous.



On The Hobby House stand I picked up these lovely teeny crochet flowers and more charms. The die cut flowers are from Craftwork Cards .



Having new stash makes me want to get crafting!

P is for Punching your 'art out!

This month at Scrapology we scraplifted a layout by English scrapper Laura Buckingham. The layout featured lots of punched paper strips.

Here's Laura's layout and the sketch.





And, here is my layout. I used papers and stickers from the Echo Park 'Summertime' collection, some punched butterflies and BasicGrey letter stickers.



You can see all the design team layouts at Scrapology and if you have a go at scraplifting Laura's layout you could be in with a chance of winning a prize. Also, if you visit this post and leave a comment and follow the blog before 12th February you could also win some amazing blog candy.

Book Review - The Rose Revived by Katie Fforde

Fantastic Fiction Review: When May teams up with Sally and Harriet it is the best day's work she's ever done. Each of them needs money, badly. Which is why they are reduced to working for Quality Cleaners under the watchful eye of 'Slimeball' Slater. When they discover it is them being taken to the cleaners, they set up as an independent team. And that is when things really begin to take off. With more lucrative jobs coming in, they soon find that they are able to take the first steps towards freedom and independence. For May that means paying the mooring fees for her adored houseboat. Harriet can take art classes and reveal her gift for painting, and Sally can save up for a place of her own. But while they are making a success of their working lives, they risk overlooking the romantic possibilities they have created...

This is a nice easy read and easy to get into from page one. I warmed to the characters and the humour Katie Fforde includes in her books is an added bonus. Lots of feel good factor and happy endings although rather predictable.

Chick Lit Reading Challenge for 2011

Because I don't have enough to do (LOL) I've decided to sign up for the Chick Lit Reading Challenge for 2011. I enjoy reading 'light' books. Books that I can pick up and put down. Books that I can read without needing a dictionary to check the vocabulary! Books with a feel good factor. So when I saw the Chick Lit Reading Challenge that requires participants to read 12 chick lit books including 2 books from debut authors throughout 2011 (plus any other genre that appeals) I thought "Why not".

You can keep track of what I'm reading from my list on the sidebar on the right and any recommendations as to what i should read next would be appreciated. having said that I have acquired quite a few books from Read it Swap it that I already have quite a few books to read.

D is for Double Page Layout

This week a new challenge was launched on Scrapology. We chose a super two page layout by Jana Eubank whose scrapbook pages I have admired for some time.

This was Jana's original sketch and layout.

I used some Teresa Collins and Adornit Christmassy papers for my festive layout which seemed fitting in the week after Christmas. The only embelishments I added were some poinsettia flowers (I think from Papermania), some brads and some BasicGrey letter stickers.

Do pop along to Scrapology to see all the other gorgeous layouts the design team have created and if you send in a layout of your own based on the original sketch you could win a super prize.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

New Year Resolutions

Yesterday I found a note on my ipod of the resolutions I had made at the start of 2010. How did I do?


1. Clear the clutter and make some money in the process - We sold so, so, so much stuff on Ebay during 2010. You name it - we sold it. It was a bit of a joke in our house that if something didn't move it got sold! Seriously though, we have got rid of lots of unwanted 'stuff' and made quite a bit of money in the process but where the money went or where the space created by selling the stuff is I don't know


2. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle more - Yep, I have been doing this. Our recycling bin if used far more than the general waste bin and I have been taking glass bottles, etc to the bottle banks and clothes (that can't be sold on Ebay or passed onto friends) have gone to charity shops. I have swapped 16 books on Read It Swap It this year and made good use of the library rather than buying books.


3. Scrapbook more e.g. one page per week - Hmmmm. I failed on this one. I'm not scrapbooking as much now as I used to but when I do get time to scrap I enjoy it and that's the main thing. Being on the DT for Scrapology is making sure that I do find time, at least once a month, to scrap.


4. Pass my CiLCA (Certificate in Local Council Administration) - I managed after two years of hard work to finally pass my CiLCA in March. A relief to get it out of the way.


5. Remember to take reusable shopping bags to the supermarket - Hmmmm. This is another where I have failed more than succeeded. Even putting a supply of reusable bags in the boot of the car hasn't helped because I still forget to actually take them into the shop! Having said that, I do my grocery shopping online a lot and have it delivered and by handing the plastic bags back to the driver when he next calls I feel I'm doing my bit

6. Bake every week - Unfortunately another failure. I do bake - but not every week. It a shame I failed on this one because everyone loves homemade cake. I will try harder next year.



So, 3 out of 6 resolutions kept. LOL

Favourite layouts of 2010

As 2010 is almost at an end I thought I would look back at the layouts I have created this year and do a 'top 10 layouts'. Coming up with 10 favourite layouts wasn't actually that difficult because as my scrapbooking has slowed down quite a bit recently there weren't that many layouts to choose from. Anyway, in no particular order, here are my favourites:

1. Introducing Tuxedo



2. Naturally Pretty



3. When You Photograph In Black And White (a rare photo of Christopher)



4. Smile



5. The Great Escape

6. You Are So Beautiful To Me.

7. Snow Day

8. Just Add Water

9. 10 Things I Love About You

10. Victorian Day

Handmade Cards

I'm hoping that me crafty friends will by now have received the Christmas cards I made for them so hopefully I'm safe to show and tell you about them.

They all used the same Magnolia 'Tilda as an Angel' stamped images coloured with Promarkers.

Some were pink ...............



Those silver snowflakes were I think from Matalan.



I used the Bazzill Tulle on several of the cards to make lovely floaty bows. I also used flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts on some of the cards.

Some were blue ...........



I can't remember what make those glittery snowflakes were but they really sparkle in real life.



And, some were brown ..........





The gold stars on this car were also from Matalan and I think the ribbon came off of a Christmas gift box last year.

Show and Tell - Christmas Cards

I though today I would show you the wonderful handmade cards I have received this Christmas from some of my crafty friends.

First is this gorgeous flowery, tulle-y (I know that's not a word but it seems right LOL) card from Maria. Maria used some Bazzill tulle on my birthday card a few months ago and as I loved it I went out and bought some too and used it on some of my Christmas cards too he he.



This next card is from Lynn. I'm not a stamp expert but I think the stamp is one of Lynn's Kraftin' Kimmies. Lynn is such a great card maker.



Next was this paper folded card from Anita. That Christmas tree is so clever.



Sue sent me this cute layered bear card - so sweet.



This final card arrived yesterday from Deirdre. I love the stamped elves - so simple in design but so effective.



Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to show you some of the cards I made and sent this year ....... hopefully the recipients have received them by now.

Happy Birthday Lara

On Thursday my little girl turned 8. Happy Birthday Lara.



As a little extra present I secretly made her a cute little Sock Puppy using this tutorial.

This made me smile

I saw this clip on Jana Eubank's blog and it made me smile so I thought I'd share it with you.

M is for Multiple photos and Mix 'n' Match at Scrapology

This week a new challenge was launched on Scrapology. This was the layout I came up with.

Rather coincidentally, when the challenge was launched much of the country (apart from where I live!) was in the grip of snow although when I created the layout there was none. I used photos of Lara taken almost a year ago when we had snowy weather.

The layout the design team lifted was by Wendy McKee. I have admired Wendy's paper crafts for a long time and was looking forward to creating a layout based on hers. But Oh! how little did I know how long it would take. I don't know how long Wendy spends on a layout but this one took almost a whole day! It looks so simple to emulate, but Oh! I was so wrong.

This was the sketch that went with the layout.

For my layout I used papers from the Echo Park Paper Company's Wintertime collection, Snowflake embelishments from K and Co, Pom Pom trim from Bazzill and self adhesive gems.

Do pop along to Scrapology to have a look at the rest of design teams layouts - there are some real stunners and another great prize up for grabs.

I'll be back soon with some cards to show you. I've been making Christmas cards for a few special crafty friends but can't show you them until they have been posted.