Crafty Birthday Wishes

Last week was my birthday so I thought today I would show you the lovely birthday cards I received from some of my very talented scrapping/crafting buddies.

First is this beautiful pink flowery card from my lovely friend Maria. We met on UK Scrappers and have been cyber-friends for a few years now.



Next, is this Mermaid card from Lynn. I also met Lynn via UKScrapper where we were 'Blossom Babes' team mates and then design team members from Crafty Pastimes, Mojo Holder and now Scrapology.



And finally is this really bright and cheerful card from Anita. Another friend from UKScrappers who is also now a design team member on Scrapology.



I am so lucky to have received such wonderful cards and also so lucky to have such wonderful friends.

Finished

This morning I managed to finish two more of the layouts I started at the crop last weekend. I only needed to add the journalling, which in my case is usually just 'Who, When, Where', but finding time to even do that has proved difficult this week. Anyway, this morning I finished the layouts and photographed them.

This first layout is of Lara and her friends at their school sports day in 2009. Not sure if the other parents would want their daughters faces on the internet so I've hidden them and also the name of their school. I used papers, sticker and a journalling card from the October Afternoon 'Report Card' Collection (really liking October Afternoon at the moment), a Bazzill 'Just The Edge' cardstock strip, Prima Flower, Epoxy Brad from Imaginisce, Ribbon and the letter stickers are BasicGrey stickers that I've coloured red with a Promarker.



The second layout was a scraplift of a layout by Suzanna Lee. The photos I used are of Lara on Christmas Day 2006 and like Suzanna I used My Little Shoebox Papers. I bought so many of these My Little Shoebox papers several months ago but have really struggled to use them so when I saw Suzanna's layout I just had to scraplift. The Title letters are BasicGrey and the journalling at the bottom ProvoCraft.

You are so Beautiful to Me

Today I went to my monthly crop at Stamp Addicts . It was the fist opportunity I'd had to scrap since the last crop.

I managed to put together 4 layouts including this one which used a sheet of Prima Wink 'Little Miss Paper'. The paper was so pretty that I didn't think it needed too much embelishment so I just added some flowers and leaves, some swirls using Liquid Pearls and a title.



I used an assortment of flowers from Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts and also made some fabric flowers using a tutorial from Gabrielle Pollacco's blog. They were so easy to make using just a few scraps of cotton fabric and some pretty pearl brads. The leaves were punched from left over packaging - it was just the right colour so, waste not want not.

Scrapology - October Challenge

scToday the October challenge was launched on Scrapology. Here is my layout.



The layout we lifted was by Lynn Biermann, her blog is called Pretty Paper Swirls. This was Lynn's layout



And this was the sketch to go with the layout.



I decided to be a bit different and rather than use 8 circular embelishments, I used 8 circular photos of Lara showing her 8 summer holidays. For my layout I used papers from Fancy Pants, alphabet stickers from BasicGrey, tiny alphabet stickers from Adornit, Swirls cut on my Craft Robo, self adhesive pearls and flowers punched with my Nellie Snellen punch (love that punch!)

Please do pop along to Scrapology and have a look at all the teams layouts and maybe have a go at the layout yourself with the chance of winning a prize.

Scrapology

In a previous post I hinted about a new challenge blog that I am now part of called

"SCRAPOLOGY"

A couple of my friends Lynn and Linda decided to start a new challenge blog and so last month Scrapology was born and I was invited to be a member of the design team. The idea of the blog is that each month the design team will choose a scrapbook layout by an inspirational scrapbooker and the team will then create their own layouts inspired by that original page. The design team's layouts will be posted on the Scrapology blog together with a sketch and readers of the blog can create their own layouts which if they want can be posted on the blog. There will be prizes and from time to time blog candy up for grabs.

I was on holiday and not able to join in with the first challenge 'A is for Apertures' in August but you can see it here.

Just this week the second challenge layout 'S is for Stitching' went live.

I used a photo of our kitten 'Tux' and a variety of papers from several manufacturers. The challenge was all about stitching and I did both hand and machine stitching on my layout.

The original layout was this amazing layout from Alison.



And here is the sketch.



Please do pop along to Scrapology and check out all the other design team layouts as well as readers layouts and if you have a go yourself you may be the luck winner of this prize kindly donated by Cardinal Colours.

Awards

Over the last few months my friend Anita kindly gave me a couple of blog awards but I have been really lapse about posting these. Hopefully I can now put this right.

So in July Anita gave me a 'Versatile Blogger' Award.

The rules were:

* Thank the person who gave it to you...... Thank you Anita.
* Tell seven things about yourself...... see below

* Pass the award of to five other bloggers who you think are fantastic...... well most of my blogging buddies have already been awarded this award so I will suggest that anyone who visits my blog and reads this post can collect the award for them self because to be honest if they read my blog I think that is pretty fantastic.

seven things about me:

1. I have lived all my life in the same village.

2. My first car was a red Peugeot 104 called Wolfie.

3. Despite driving since I was 18 (some 25+ years) I have never ever, ever driven on a motorway.

4. I really like the smell of coffee but hate the taste of it.

5. I'm a Clutter Bug - I hoard everything.

6. I have no real desire to travel worldwide. I love England and all it has to offer.

7. Summer is my favourite season closely followed by Autumn.

Last month Anita gave me a second award, 'The Cherry on Top' Award.

The rules for this were:

* Thank the person who gave it to me .... Thank you again Anita.
* Pop the given award onto my blog..... Done

* I must list 3 things about myself ..... See above (cheating I know but it was hard enough to find the seven things above let alone another 3)

* Post a picture that I love .... I have soooooo many photos I love but this one is a particular favourite of Lara taken summer 2009

* Pass the award of to five other bloggers .... I'm going to cheat on this and again and suggest that anyone who visits my blog and reads this post can collect the award for them self

Sock Monster 2

Oh dear, has it really been THAT long since I blogged? The school summer holidays are nearly over and have gone so very quickly. During that time we spent two weeks in Dorset and with other activities too I've not had a lot of time for crafting. Next week I hope to be able to show you a layout I have created for a new inspiration blog and I'll be back before then with more details.

This week Lara and I revisited Sock Monsters. Last summer we made 'Jessie' and I promised Lara that this summer we would make her a pal. So this week 'Jimmy' was born.

Unlike Jessie who was made from two socks, Jimmy was made with only one sock and cost the princely sum of just 25p to make. The sock was in a pack of two pairs for a £1 from Poundland and the buttons, felt and stuffing were scraps we already had. I think he's quite cute and Steven has already put in his order for one too.

Bird Spotting

A couple of days ago my friend Jill posted a photo on her blog of some Green Woodpeckers in her garden. I was really interested to see her photo because we too have had Green Woodpeckers in our garden this year. We have seen them previous years from time to time but this year we assume they must be nesting nearby because they have been pecking about in the garden almost daily for the last few weeks. Jill's photo was much clearer, but here is our Woody Woodpecker.

We have also had Gold Finches visiting our garden this year for what we think is the first time. We have certainly not noticed them before this year. Early spring we were given a finch feeder and some niger seed to put in it and ever since we have had these beautiful little birds in the garden. Sometimes there's just one , sometime two and on one occasion there were five all trying to get at the seed. Unfortunately the only place to hang the feeder in the back garden where it is in view from the window is on the rotary drier!

Finally some scrapbooking

After several weeks of doing nothing creative I found time to go to my monthly crop yesterday and completed three layouts.

The first was a layout of our kitten, Tuxie (Tuxedo). The layout tells the story of how last weekend he made an escape bid and disappeared for 26 hours. Until now he has been a house cat so it was a very worrying time and we were so relived when on Monday morning he came back none the worse for wear.



I used Quite Contrary papers from My Minds Eye, Cardstock from Bazzill, a scrap of ribbon, Heidi Swapp bling and letter stickers from BasicGrey. The layout was based on a layout by Candice Greenaway - I love her pet layouts.

The photo on the next layout was only taken a week or so ago and was of Lara in the garden.



I used more Quite Contrary papers from My Minds Eye, Cardstock from Bazzill, Ribbon, brads, American Crafts Flair adhesive badge, a glitter cut from Fancy Pants, letters stickers from BasicGrey and Provo Craft and a butterfly cut with my new punch from Tonic Studios.

The final layout is of a lemur who kindly posed for me last summer at Exmoor Zoo.



I used even more Quite Contrary paper (love that line) as well as some BasicGrey Black Tie papers, Cardstock from Bazzill, Prima Flowers, brads, stamped swirls and letter stickers from Provo Craft. I had to resort back to hand cutting the title because I forgot to take any chipboard letters with me to the crop.

Chalk Artist

I've now finished the last of the three layouts I started last weekend. I used photos of Lara chalking on the patio last summer on this final one.

The patterned papers are from the utterly gorgeous MME Quite Contrary line. I also used some Bazzill card stock, Martha Stewart border and and butterfly punches, BasicGrey alphabet stickers for the title and some adhesive pearls and 'tape measure' ribbon from my stash.



The row of flowers along the bottom edge of the layout are handmade spiral flowers made from more MME Quite Contrary paper. So very easy to make - lots of instructions for making these on the internet like this one.

A Birds Eye View

Earlier this evening I finished the second of the layouts I started at the crop last weekend. A very simple layout of a seagull.

The photograph was taken at the Clovelly Gig Regatta in August 2008. Anyone who has ever visited Clovelly in Devon can't fail to remember the incredibly steep walk from the top of the village down to the harbour and back again. As you walk down the cobbled street on occasions you are on a level with the rooftops of some of the houses further down the street. I snapped this seagull during our walk back up the street.



I used a mixture of patterned papers from Making Memories (die cut edge), BasicGrey (clouds) and October Afternoon (bunting and title). The string, brads and buttons were from my stash as were the alphabet stickers from Provo Craft. The title was cut on the Craft Robo. The seagull image in the top right corner was a clip art image printed on card stock and diamond glazed to add some dimension.

Scrapping with Scraps

At my monthly crop last weekend I started three layouts. I managed to find time to finish one of them today. The layout is based heavily on a layout by Helen Croft and uses some scraps of some of my favourite Scenic Route Metropolis papers. The title sticker and chipboard are also from Scenic Route and the flowers are from Prima. The little heart pin came from that well known auction site. Ribbon, brads, buttons and thread from my stash.

A few More Cards

This afternoon I managed to find the time to make a few more cards. I coloured the images a few days ago but hadn't got around to actually putting the cards together.

The first card uses a magnolia Tilda stamped image and some of those gorgeous flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts. The papers were all pieces which have been in my stash for a long, long, long time. I'm on mission to tray and use up as much 'old' stash as possible.



The next card is an Easel Cards and uses a digital 'Star Fairy' image from Pollycraft. I've not made easel cards before and quite enjoyed making something different. Again the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the papers from my stash.

I had hoped to do some crafting this week but somehow time ran away with me. Last week I made this card for my friend Lynn's birthday and as it was her birthday this week and I know she received the card I think it's safe for me to post a picture of it now.

I used these Papermania Papers and flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The End of Lost

We watched the 'Lost' Finale today (didn't get up at 5am - recorded it instead and watched it at a more respectable time). Whilst I enjoyed watching the finale I'm also sad that it is now all over. For six years we have been following the lives of the surviving passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 and I have to admit that the finale left me confused, disappointed and rather deflated. Don't get me wrong, the finale was expertly written and superbly acted but I really wasn't at all happy with the ending. I think I will have to watch it again another day and hope I feel differently then.

And as a Double Whammy I've just found out that 'FlashForward' (The new 'Lost') has been cancelled by ABC and that there will be no more series of that show.

What am I going to do without my weekly fix of confusing, time-warpy TV?

Really Useful Boxes

Thought UK readers of my blog might like to know that whilst I was out shopping this afternoon I noticed that our local QD Store have 7 litre Really Useful Boxes (the shallow ones that hold 12 x 12 papers) for £2.79! I think these usually sell for about £6 so I quickly snapped up 6 and there were still loads and loads left in the shop.

I already have several which I use for storing some of my 12 x 12 papers and now I can get really organised. LOL

Baby Elephant - Ahhhhhhh!

I finally got around to finishing the remaining layout that I started at the crop a couple of weeks ago. Its of the baby elephant that Lara and I saw when we visited Whipsnade Zoo with the school last month. I used papers from the Quite Contrary line by My Minds Eye, Chipboard trees from Maya Road, Letter Stickers from BasicGrey, some ribbon, a few eyelets, a bit of twine and a brad. The elephant embelishment in the bottom right corner was simply clip art that I printed onto patterned paper and then gave it a bit of shine with some glossy accents.

Another Birthday Layout

This evening I have finished the second layout that I started at the weekend. It is a birthday layout of Christopher's 16th Birthday. The design is the same as the layout I created a few weeks ago for Steven's birthday except mirrored and this time I used BasicGrey Color Me Silly papers. Another collection which is bright and ideal for birthday layouts. I have had these papers for quite some time (I actually searched and found out that they were released by BasicGrey at winter 2006 CHA and as I bought them as soon as they were released they must have been hibernating in my paper collection for over 4 years!) Its such a good feeling to use up old stash and some how helps justify buying something new. LOL

Smile!

Yesterday was my monthly crop at Stamp Addicts. It was nice to spend a day scrapbooking especially when just lately I don't seem to find any time to do any crafting at home.

I put together three layouts but two still need the journalling adding so I only have one to show you today. This layout of Lara is an almost complete scrap lift of a layout by Susan Goetter apart from the embelishments and title. I used Papers from the BasicGrey Lemonade collection, an epoxy sticker from Creative Imaginations, Prima 'Say it in Pearls' swirl, Liquid Pearls and BasicGrey letter stickers.



The flowers were handmade using this tutorial on the Whiff of Joy Inspirations blog. I was really pleased how they came out and really like that they cost virtually nothing to make using just some scraps of Bazzill, some stickles and a few brads. Some of the ladies at my crop liked them so much that quite a few of them made some too to add to layouts.

BasicGrey Birthday Layout

Last night I completed the final layout that I started at the Debden weekend. It was a layout of Steven's 12th birthday and I used BasicGrey Lime Rickey papers. The Lime Rickey collection is SO bright and zingy and I thought it was just right for a birthday layout. I handcut the background shape using a die cut sheet of paper as a template. The round yellow circle was cut using fancy cut scissors and the edges coloured with a black pen to add definition. The handcut stars have been mounted on 3D foam.