Scrapology December Layout Challenge - F is for Filter Paper

Over on Scrapology this month we chose a layout by Pamela Young which she created for Miss Fancy Pants on Scrapbook.com.

My layout featured photos of my daughter taken recently when she was a flower girl / bridesmaid at my niece's wedding.

I used very little to create the layout. I just used a sheet of patterned paper from Prima's Madeline collection, a chipboard body form, some tulle, satin fabric, adhesive gems and some handmade flowers.

The Scrapology design team challenges you to use Filter Papers in your layout. Several manufacturers (for example Fancy Pants) have produced filter paper products but I decided to use the type of filter papers used in schools and laboratories to make my handmade flowers.

I took the filter papers and punched lots of scalloped circles.

The circles were then put into groups of 5 and I pierced a whole through the centres.

I then pushed several artificial stamens through the hole in the centre of the circles.

The filter paper circles were then lightly sprayed with water and the layers were gently teased apart. This was the only tricky part of making the flowers because once wet the filter paper is very delicate.

The flowers were then placed some where warm (I put mine in the airing cupboard) until they were dry and could be used on my layout.

Here is Pamela's original layout...............

.......... and Lynn's sketch.

Do pop over to Scrapology to have a look at all the design team's layouts and have a go at creating your own layout based on the sketch and featuring filter papers.

Our first Christmas card arrived yesterday. I haven't written any of mine yet but I have made the few handmade cards that I usually make for my crafty friends.

It doesn't feel at all wintry at the moment. Apart from a light frost this morning we have had sunshine most of the day. A little bit of snow would certainly make it feel more like Christmassy but with so much still to do before the big day I guess it would be better it the weather stayed like it is for a few more weeks.

Journal Your Christmas - A Christmas Manifesto

As time is in short supply, I decided to use the Manifesto as provided by Shimelle. I am also going to have a go at using Shimelle's 4x6 Quickpages with a view (if I manage to complete the project) to having them printed at the end. I'm not a digital scrapbooker but hopefully with the little knowledge of have of PSE I'll manage to create something vaguely pleasing to the eye.So, here's day one.

Journal Your Christmas

Many years ago I signed up for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas online class but have never managed to take part due to other commitments, lack of time, etc. This year I have decided to make a concerted effort to take part by blogging daily, hopefully following the prompts and trying to take photographs daily to illustrate my posts. We'll see whether I manage to keep up!

Book Review - Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley

Its been quote a while since I last wrote a book review so I thought I would make amends and write a review of the book I've just finished - Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley. Over the last few years I have acquired quite a collection of Christmas themed books and try to read some of these in the lead up to Christmas. As I'm a relatively slow reader (I read about two books a month) I thought I would start this years Christmas reads in November LOL.

Fantastic Fiction Review: Christmas has always been a sad time for young widow Holly Brown, so when she's asked to look after a remote house on the Lancashire moors, the opportunity to hide herself away is irresistible -- the perfect excuse to forget about the festivities. Sculptor, Jude Martland, is determined that this year there will be no Christmas after his brother runs off with his fiancee and he is keen to avoid the family home. However, he will have to return by Twelfth Night, when the hamlet of Little Mumming hold their historic festivities and all of his family are required to attend. Meanwhile, Holly is finding that if she wants to avoid Christmas, she has come to the wrong place. When Jude unexpectedly returns on Christmas Eve he is far from delighted to discover that Holly seems to be holding the very family party he had hoped to avoid. Suddenly, the blizzards come out of nowhere and the whole village is snowed in. With no escape, Holly and Jude get much more than they bargained for -- it looks like the twelve days of Christmas are going to be very interesting indeed!

If you want a feel good book to put you in the Christmas mood this is just the book and I loved it right from the beginning. Trisha Ashley has a great writing style scattered with humour and wit. The main character, Holly was very likeable as were the other characters. I loved the descriptive text. I could image the rambling house in the middle of nowhere, taste the food as it was described and loved all the detail about the Christmas preparations and the quirky characters. Most of my books are quickly passed onto others to read but this one will certainly be a keeper.

I have decided to continue with the chicklit challenge during 2012 so hopefully lots my book reviews to come.

Scrapology November Card Challenge

I saw a mouse! Where? Over on Scrapology!

Over on Scrapology we have gone mouse mad this month. This months card challenge has been sponsored by Joanna Sheen who challenged the design team to create cards using the well known 'House Mouse' images.

I used an image from the 'Birthdays - Cake' rubber stamp collection.

I coloured the image with promarkers and added stickles to make the icing on the cake sparkle. I used very, very old papers from Bella Press and Rhonna Farrer (thinking of making a New Year resolution next year not to buy any more patterned papers because the amount of 12x12 sheets of paper I have is truly obscene!), some Just the Edge cardstock strips from Bazzill, some beautiful paper flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and punched leaves. The sentiment was a good old gold peel off.

Pop over to Scrapology to see the rest of the teams cards and to also find out how you can take part in this months card challenge

Crop Day

Yesterday was crop day at Stamp Addicts.

I made three layouts.

The first layout 'Fishing with Dad' used photos taken during the summer when Wayne took fishing for an afternoon. It was a glorious hot, sunny day and she really enjoyed it.

The layout is in the style of Stephanie Klauck. I used Bazzill cardstock and patterned papers from the Echo Park Playground collection and a small piece of Scenic Route ledger paper. The 'Gone Fishing' embelishment and title were both cut on my Craft Robo (still loviong the downloads available from the Silouette online shop). I had fun putting this layout together.

The second layout used pictures taken last month when Lara was carving her Halloween pumpkin. Its based on a layout by Jana Eubank.

I used Bazzill cardstock and patterned papers from Fancy Pants Trick or Treat collection and small piece of text paper from October Afternoon. The journaling card was also from Fancy Pants and the pumpkins, bats and title were again cut on the Craft Robo. The pumpkins and bats were flocked using Queen & Co Flock and I also added a dot of stickles to the bats.

The last layout is of Lara (again!). The photo was taken October 2010 when we visited the seals at Donna Nook beach in Lincolnshire. Lara wanted to take some photos of the seals and I snapped this photo as she was getting ready to take her own photo.

I used very old patterned papers from Dream Street Papers , Crate Paper and BasicGrey. I also used scraps of ribbon, buttons and BasicGrey letter stickers.

Scrapology November Layout Challenge - F is for Fabric Flowers

I can't believe it's November already - where has the year gone?

Over on Scrapology this month the theme is 'Fabric Flowers' and the team choose a layout by Hannah Young of Handmade Hannah as inspiration.

With Halloween only a week ago, I choose to use some photos of my daughter taken on Halloween last year on my page.

I used patterned papers from Basicgrey's Eerie Collection and cardstock from Bazzill. The lettering was cut on the Craft Robo and stickled to add lots of sparkle.

The fabric Flowers were made using a tutorial from Gabrielle Pollocco's blog. The purple fabric flowers was made from ribbon saved from a box of chocolates and the black and silver flowers were made from a pair of my daughters Halloween tights! Just proves that most things can be used in scrapbooking to good effect. I punched some leaves from cardstock and stickled them and also made an extra paper from patterned paper which I cut on the Craft Robo and also stickled. Lots of sparkle on this layout which unfortunately only shows in real life.

Here is Hannah's original layout ..................

............ and the sketch prepared by Lynn.

Please pop over to Scrapology to see all the team's layouts and to join in the fun by creating your own layout using the design team's pages for inspiration and the technique of creating flowers from fabrics.

My Little Flower Girl

Some of my friends who follow my blog will know that this weekend we've been to a very special wedding. On Friday my niece was married and Lara was her flower girl / bridesmaid.

I don't feel it's my place to post too many of the wedding photos online but I'm posting a few of Lara so you can see what a sweetie she looked.

This photo was taken in the church as the bride and groom were signing the register. There were 6 bridesmaids in all including two flower girls.

Here she is outside the church. It was a gloriously sunny day (really lucky for this time of the year) but in case it was a little chilly the little girls had cute little sequined cardigans to wear.

Here she is minus the cardigan waiting to shower the bride and groom in rose petal confetti. The confetti had all been hand made using rose petals collected (and dried) from family gardens and bouquets people had received over the months leading up to the wedding.

And finally, here's a photo of Lara on the double decker London bus which transported all the guests too and from the reception venue/church. I love this photo - so dreamy.

Scrapology October Card Challenge

This month, Sue Roberts (AKA Doogle007) challenged the team on Scrapology to use eyelets on their cards.

Although I own quite a few eyelets they are not something that I use very much in my crafting - either on scrapbook layouts of cards, so it was indeed a challenge to come up with a card which incorporated them in an imaginative way.

After two attempts I came up with this card using some very old papers from the BasicGrey 'Colour Me Silly' collection which was released in 2006 (wow 5 years ago!!!) and has now been retired.

I decided to accentuate the circles on the frogs bodies with eyelets and also added some wobble eyes. I layered the frogs on 3D foam to add some depth and also machine stitched round the outside of the card.

Before making the frog card I had a go at a card using a digital stamp called 'Ladybug Flower Tower' from Pink Cat Studios.

I coloured the image using Promarkers and then accentuated the spots on the ladybirds with eyelets as well as adding eyelets to the corners of the image. The papers were from a DCWV 'Scrapbook Kit in a Stack - All Occasion'.

Do have a look at the rest of the team's card on Scrapology and if you have a go yourself at making a card incorporating eyelets you could be in with a chance of winning a whole heap of eyelets kindly supplied by Anita.

Scrapology October Layout Challenge - B is for Borders

On Scrapology this month the theme of our challenge is 'B is for Borders'.

The team chose to take inspiration from a layout by Georgia K Keays and I had so much fun creating my layout. I love Georgia's style and the colours in my choice of photos meant I also chose similar papers to those that Georgia used in her original layout. I decided to rotate the layout as it better suited the portrait photos I used.

Over the summer I developed a taste for homemade still lemonade and Lara was happy to make a jug of the drink for me each week. My layout documents this.

For my layout I used cardstock from Bazzill (black and white), patterned papers from Cosmo Cricket (Blue), Crate Paper (Yellow) and October Afternoon (Text), Leaves and title cut on the Craft Robo, Flat Backed Pearls from Quixotic Paperie, Paper Flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and crochet doilies which I bought many years ago whilst on holiday on one of the Greek Islands.

Here is Georgia's stunning original layout.

And the sketch drawn by our own Lynn.

Hop on over the Scrapology to see all the team layouts and then why not create your own layout based on the sketch (and using borders).

Book Review - The Sweetest Thing by Cathy Woodman

Fantastic Fiction Review: If only everything in life was as simple as baking a cake...Jennie Copeland thought she knew the recipe for a happy life: marriage to her university sweetheart, a nice house in the suburbs and three beautiful children. But when her husband leaves her, she is forced to find a different recipe. And she thinks she's found just what she needs: a ramshackle house on the outskirts of the beautiful Talyton St George, a new cake-baking business, a dog, a horse, chickens...But life in the country is not quite as idyllic as she'd hoped, and Jennie can't help wondering whether neighbouring farmer Guy Barnes was right when he told her she wouldn't last the year. Or perhaps the problem is that she's missing one vital ingredient to make her new life a success. Could Guy be the person to provide it?

I really, really enjoyed this book. It was the first Cathy Woodman book I've read and I really liked her style of writing. Right from the start I liked the main Character, Jennie and was willing her to succeed in her new life in the country. Cathy Woodman's descriptions of Jennie's new cottage and life in the country were well written and really enjoyable to read.

I loved that the title of each chapter was the name of a cake mentioned in the chapter and the descriptions of Jennie's cake baking were delicious.

Thoroughly enjoyable read and kept me turning the pages late into the night.

Scrapology - September Card Challenge

This month Sue from Craftwork Cards has set the monthly Card Challenge on Scrapology and wants us to make cards with BUNTING on them.

For my card I chose to use papers and die cut bunting from Craftwork Cards Sweet Meadow collection, a cute die cut pre coloured image from their Warren collection and a foiled birthday sentiment.

The scalloped circles used to mat the image and the sentiment were cut on the Craft Robo and I hand drew stitching round the edges to match the Sweet Meadow Paper. I also drew stitching on the bunting which I hung from the top of the card. Pink flowers from Hobbycraft were added to the bunting to add some dimension.

Do pop over to Scrapology to see the rest of the design team's cards and don't forget if you create a card yourself incorporating bunting you could be a winner. The Closing date for entries is the 15th October and full details can be found on the Scrapology blog.

Nichol Magouirk - From Start to Finish video

This week I thought I would have another go at one of Nichol Magouirk's 'From Start to Finish' classes from Two Peas in a Bucket. The class I chose was from 16th February.

I used the Echo Park Life is Good collection. I also used American Craft Thickers, some text cut from a sheet of Scenic Route paper and also a sheet of Scenic Route Ledger paper. I changed the design slightly by adding a title rather than the tags which Nichol suggested.

The photos are some of my favourite photos of the children with their cousin. They were taken in the garden by my sister-in-law a few years ago.

Back to School

The school holidays are over and the children are all now back at school.

Lara went back yesterday and is at the same school but now in year 4 with a new teacher. We have a three tier school system here and so this will be her last year at this school. Next year she will be off to the Middle School which means her catching the school bus to a nearby town.

Steven started at the Upper School (Community College) in a nearby village today in year 9. He's quite pleased that after wearing a shirt and tie for the past 9 years of his schooling his new school uniform consists of polo shirts and sweatshirts. His uniform is black whereas previously it's always been red.

Christopher also returned to the upper sixth today. He and Steven are now at the same school. No photos of Christopher though - I did unsuccessfully suggest taking some!

Lets Go Fly A Kite

Today I went to my monthly crop at Stamp Addicts. I worked on three layouts but as two of them are design team projects I can only show you one.

Recently I came across the blog of Candian scrapper Stephanie Klauck. Stephanie is on design teams from Jillybean Soup and Elle's Studio. I just LOVE how she incorporates so many photos on her layouts and am inspired by her clean style of scrapping. I decided to create a layout in her style and came up with 'Lets Go Fly A Kite'

I used patterned papers from My Minds Eye (clouds) , Simple Stories (green spot, stripe and red) and Scenic Route (ledger). I also used a few buttons and some bakers twine.

The title was cut on my Craft Robo which since I recently downloaded (rather belatedly) the Silhouette software for it and bought a new blade is cutting so well and I can now see me using it much more.

I think this style of layout is the way to go if I want to incorporate lots of photos from a specific event or day out

Scrapology September Layout Challenge - E is for Embossing

Over on Scrapology this month the team choose to scrap lift a layout from one of my all time favourite scrapbookers - Kelly Goree. I have been a huge fan of Kelly's work ever since I started scrapbooking and find her work so inspirational.

The technique for this month is Embossing - dry embossing, wet embossing and any other type of embossing you can think of.

I choose to use a sheet of Core Impressions BasicGrey Ornate 12" x 12" card stock as a background for my layout. The cardstock is embossed with a BasicGrey design and sanded to make the image more distinct. The patterned paper and border sticker are from BasicGrey's Olivia collection. The chipboard flowers were from a Little Leaves Cardmaking Kit, lace from The Hobby House, gems from an old bracelet and the concertina flowers were made from scraps of Olivia patterned paper.

The little girl in my layout is me. The photo was taken either at Christmas or on my birthday when I was given a huge doll. She was almost as tall as I was. I can still picture the doll - short blond curly hair, peachy coloured dress and eyes that closed when she was laid down. She was made from really hard plastic (not at all cuddly) and I used to play 'tea parties' with her. I also remember the little chair I was sitting on in the photo. You can't see it well but if it's the one I think it is, the back was a furry black and white panda face.

Here is this months sketch based on the original layout ..............

........... and Kelly's gorgeous original layout.

Do pop over to Scrapology to see all the design team layouts and play along too. You could have a chance of winning a beautiful tamps set and ink pad donated by Jill of Cardinal Colours.

Fifth Day of the Sixth Week of the School Summer Holidays - Paper Bead Bracelet

Today we turned to Lara's Klutz Paper Beads book which one of her friends gave her one year for her birthday. She had made beads from it before and was, I think, a little disappointed that I hadn't anything 'new' for her to make today but I was short of time to supervise craft time today and thought it was something she could do without any adult help.

The Book came with precut strips of patterned paper, glue, elastic and a tool for winding the paper into beads.

Some of the beads drying.

Finished bracelet.