So.....Valentines Day was over a week ago now. i like the idea of having a day to celebrate love, but i don't like all the commercial hype that goes with it or that prices for flowers and eating out goes sky rocketing or that you have to celebrate your love on this one specific day, what about every other day? Maybe i'm too cynical? But i guess i am on the fence about Valentines. Anyway, it got me thinking about how much i am loved by so many different people and how it really makes everything worth while and so the beginnings of a layout started to form in my mind. Because even though i am not in a relationship, i still have a lot of love in my life. And this i am so very grateful for.
Paper: Hambly, Crepe Ribbon, Rhinestone Button: JBS, Mist: Studio Calico, Alphabet Stickers: Making Memories, Journalling Tag: Geralyn Sy, Border Punch: EK Success, Twine, Embroidery Floss & Rik Rak from own stash.
Journalling reads: I may not have a special someone right now, but I have lots of special someone's who love me deeply and I feel their love every day.
Can i just say, i've had the JBS Crepe Ribbon in my stash for a loooong time and this is the first time i've ever used it. i'm not sure why it's been neglected for so long because i love it! Anyone got any more ideas for it's uses?
i was in the midst of working on this layout when a little happy mail arrived from Geralyn. i was the lucky winner of a give away she did on her blog of these gorgeous tags she designed and i knew the one with the hearts would work just perfectly for this LO. Thanks Geralyn! Aren't they cute?
And whilst i'm being sentimental, let me send a little love your way. i just wanted to say thanks so much for reading! And for those of you who take the time to comment, i appreciate it very much, you lift me up! Have a great day!
i allowed myself a whole day of scrapbooking yesterday and decided to play along with a Pencil Lines Sketch. i like to save my favourite sketches from Pencil Lines and print them out so i have instant inspiration if i need a little help with design. i love that sketches can take some of the thought process out for you but still allow plenty of room to play and put your own spin on things. This is Sketch 199, designed by Mahlin Wiggur.
Here's my take on it. i originally wanted to scale it down to 8 1/2"x11" but then i decided to add in the kite and the clouds and it wouldn't all have fit so it became a 12x12. The kite is made out of some Sassafras banner stickers and i freehanded the stitching. It was a lot of fun to mix such bright colours, it's making me long for the summer!
Papers: Crate Paper, Echo Park, Stickers: Sassafras, Alphabets: American Crafts & Sassafras, Clouds: Buzz & Bloom, Ribbon & Buttons: MME, Mist: Studio Calico & Maya Road, Punch, Martha Stewart, Ink: Colorbox. Twine from own stash.
It's been a while since i played along with a sketch over at the Crate Paper Blog but i couldn't resist this month's designed by Emily Pitt's, it was too fabulous. i scaled it down to 8 1/2"x11" and i also added a border, but otherwise i stuck to the sketch. i knew it was the perfect opportunity to use up some Restoration from Crate Paper and i'm obsessed with my tiny attached at the moment, so that saw some action. And a splattering of some White Mr Huey, of course.
Paper: Crate Paper, Alpha stickers: Basic Grey, Punch: Martha Stewart, Mist: Studio Calico, Buttons: own stash.
This photo was taken by my sister last month in Bournemouth. Check out her fab use of the rule of thirds in this pic, i'd like to think subconsciously some of my photography skills are rubbing off on her! My ma and i went down to celebrate her birthday and we all went out to lunch. On the way back we came across this wall, covered in tiles, each one different and individually hand crafted. It was was so inspiring. And what kind of scrapbooker would i be if i missed out on the opportunity to have a photo taken in front of it?!
What are everyone's plans for the weekend? Hope you all have a fantastic time!
i won't lie, it almost gave me a panic attack when i cut out the patterned paper for this project. i instantly wanted to replace it with kraft cardstock, it was too busy for me. But i talked myself round, kraft would be a bit plain and this is a good way to use up some of my stash. Besides, i want this project to be about Documenting. i'm using imperfect photos that i wouldn't usually share and probably wouldn't otherwise get scrapped. And for those occasions when i'm too busy enjoying soaking up the moment to take pictures i've got journalling, and lots of it. This project is not about aesthetics, it's about the stuff of life. i'd like to think that's what all my pages are at the heart of them, but i do usually pay a lot more attention to making them pretty then just trying to get the photos + memories down.
i decided to go with 6x4 photos so i wouldn't have to faff about with re-sizing plus i already had some of these page protectors from American Crafts. Sometimes they come in handy for my travel albums when i want to add in more photos. i'm just going to have a double page spread like this each month to show an overview of what i've been up to. i know a lot of people are playing along with Project Life this year, which looks fab, but that's too big a project for me to take on, this is much more manageable.
Click on photo to see larger.
Top right photo credit: Miss. Middle right photo: Michaela Gill. Project based on the Document 2010 Class by Shimelle.
This month i've included a photo of my diary, i take great care over the purchase of my diary, i'm very specific about what i want and i thought it would be fun to have a record of this years. i also included a picture of my camera because it broke this month :( and that was kind of a big deal for me. i miss it more then i could ever have imagined. Luckily She Who Must Not Be Named has kindly lent me hers. i included a picture from our Cheese & Wine evening and some from a night of drinking games and dancing. But there was lots of other fun stuff that happened which i didn't get pictures of, like Playzone for Matt's birthday, cake & afternoon tea with Katie, a visit from Adam for an entire weekend and an afternoon with Paul before he jetted off to Taiwan to start a new life. i also took a trip to Bournemouth for my mum's birthday where we had a family dinner. And i documented all the films i've watched and books i've read.
i already love this project and it's only January.
i've had a relatively quiet week but i did go and see Swan Lake On Ice last night which was pretty awesome. i think ice skating is so beautiful and graceful and the costumes are always so sparkly!
Just wanted to share this layout with you today. You may have noticed of late i've been using a lot more scraps of paper and bits and pieces on my layouts lately and i'm finding this really works for me. And yeah i know chocolate milkshake isn't very healthy, but i love it and nothing will make me give it up! i do limit myself to a bottle a week, it's usually a special treat at weekends. It's even more of a treat to get a nutella milkshake from Shakeaway. Mmmmm...
Papers: Sassafras, Cosmo Cricket, Studio Calico, Stickers: Sassafras, Mist: Studio Calico, Button: from own stash
This was made using the Back 40 kit (which amazingly, is still available!) and Open Pasture add-on from Studio Calico, i'm making an effort to try and use up some of my older kits and this one has been getting a lot of use. i wear navy a lot so the Indie Girl papers from Sassafras work with a lot of my photos. i wish we could get full sheets of just the donut banner sticker from Sassafras as it's always my favourite on the sticker sheet. I already had to order another bottle of the Atmosphere Mr Huey because i'm almost out, i use it all the time! The photo on this layout was taken with the webcam on my laptop and then processed using Poladroid.
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, thanks for stopping by!
This time of year us crafters get terribly excited because the Craft and Hobby Association hold a big show and all our favourite manufacturers show off the new goodies that they've got in store for us (oh, how i dream of going one day!). i love it when the sneak peeks begin to appear and the show was held last week so we now mostly know what's going to be hitting the shops in the upcoming months. If money grew on trees, this is what would be on my *must have* list.
All the new Mr Hueys from Studio Calico. They are the best mists, hands down!
These doilies from Cosmo Cricket in every colour way!
i am a huge fan of Hambly and the new Washi Tape is SO exciting!! And i love the new woodgrain remix &moustache papers/overlays. They have a new colour, antique pink which is just lovely too.
The Girls Paperie was my favourite new manufacturer of 2010 & Margie has designed some more stellar lines for 2011. Kitsch is very Cath Kidston and so right up my street.
Round doilies from GCD's sweet surrender collection.
From Maya Road, kraft doilies, wooden buttons, and star pins in the yellow & white.
From Crate Paper the Portrait & Emma's Shoppe Collections. i'm so so happy they have released buttons & ribbon with these collections, they are my favourite embellishments of all time!
Resin flowers seem to be a popular trend this year & i love them, but these ones from Prima especially caught my eye.
The Lille paper tape from 7Gypsies is perfect for my travel pages.
These alpha stickers from Lily Bee, there's so many stickers on one sheet, it's unreal!
So far i haven't felt the need to purchase any Echo Park Papers but their For The Record collection has changed that.
Everything from Sassafras! i love everything Sass releases and this winter's release did not disappoint. The Sweetly Smitten line (Co-designed by Michelle Clement) is my favourite though, can't wait to play with it!
And the new Smash line from K&Co looks like the journal of my dreams. Check out what it's all about in the video.
Ya, so basically i'm a sucker for doilies, washi tape, vintage, woodgrain and anything kraft. Those trends will never get old for me. What are you most looking forward to getting your hands on from the latest releases?
The DT over at Studio Calico decided to set some scrappy challenges for those of us not going to CHA this week. You can see them all in the Challenges forum. There's often challenges posted there and sometimes it's just the prompt i need to get motivated.
The first one i tackled was Tina's challenge to scrap a photo taken in front of a mirror (note the silly face i'm pulling, heee!). My DSLR is still broken but She Who Must Not Be Named is kindly letting me use her point and shoot. The idea for the layout also came from her. She pointed out a while ago what an extreme person i am, in the sense that i usually really love something or really dislike it, there's no real middle ground with me. It's the same for books, films, music, and people. i guess i am just a passionate person, it's the same with my emotions too.
Papers: Basic Grey & Girls Paperie. Brad & Alpha: Making Memories. Stickers: October Afternoon. Mist: Studio Calico
Next up was Sasha's challenge to scraplift a DT layout from the Candy Shoppe Gallery. i chose to lift the design of Stephanie Howell'sSweet Lucy layout., because i loved it so much. i love using those OA stickers as journalling spots.
One of my goals for 2011 is to read 25 books. i thought i'd share with you each month what i've read to help me keep on track! i am not really good at summarising stories, but i will try and give a brief outline. i should point out that some of the books i'm reading at the moment have been made into films and will be released this year, which is why i'm trying to read them now! i find that films almost never do books justice so i like to try and read the books first if i can. If i saw the film first, i would probably never bother to read the book. i like to have a picture in my head of the characters when i'm reading and if i know which actor is going to play someone then my imagination gets overridden.
Much to the disgust of some of my friends, i am a huge fan of young adult fiction. i love books about vampires,werewolves, wizards, fairies etc etc If it's a fantasy land that i can get lost in then i'll probably like it. The Darren Shan books are aimed at a slightly younger audience then 'young adults', but i still enjoy them. They are really easy, quick reads and i like the humour of the vampire, Mr Crepsley. This is the fourth book in the series. In the first Darren Shan becomes a Vampires Assistant.
i'm not sure what to say about this book without giving away the main spoiler. And i'm still not sure what i think of it. i did kind of enjoy the book, but i wasn't gripped and i was a bit disappointed with the ending. There are some interesting themes though which are worth exploring.
This is a new favourite. It's the best book i've read in a long while, I read it in 2 sittings, which is very rare for me! It's told by a grumpy elderly man, Jacob, living in a home who tells the story of the time in his early 20's when he loses everything and jumps on a train to discover it's a travelling circus. He soon gets immersed in circus life where he becomes the vet. It's set in the great depression era of the 1930's and you really do get transported to that time, which is probably why i liked it so much. It's clear that Gruen did a lot of research! This book has some cruel characters and some that you'll grow rather fond of (Rosie, the elephant was one of my favourites) but they're all very real. You also begin to like both Jacob at 23 and at (what he thinks might be) 93. It's a story of love and of hate, and one you should definitely read.
i just started The Host last week & so far i'm not loving it. i actually bought this a few years ago when i was obsessed with the Twilight saga & even got it in hardback (i hate reading hardbacks) because i wanted to read it so much, but it's just sat on my bookshelf. i'm struggling to get into it but i don't like to give up on books so i'm going to give it a bit more time.
i usually have a non fiction book on the go which i dip in and out of. At the moment it's The Happiness Project which is resonating with me. i'll let you know what i think of these two when i'm done.
