SC Sunday Sketch & 500th post!

So i noticed it's my 500th post today! But i haven't been organised enough to arrange anything special. i thought it was worth a mention though. Here's to the next 500!

My big news this week is that we got the flat that we liked and are planning to move at the beginning of July, so yay for that!! So the next month is going to be spent purging and packing. Fun times!

i have been in a weird mood this week. i've had lots of time on my hands but zero inspiration for scrapping. So i used this week's sketch from Studio Calico. It's taken from a page by last month's guest designer Jennifer Johner.



i loved her page so much i just lifted the whole design of the sketch. i wasn't planning on having quite so much journaling but i can talk some if i'm given the opportunity, the page looks kind of unbalanced now but i'd rather have my thoughts down, so it's ok.




i find it difficult to use embellishments so it was fun to be able to use so many on this page. i love that Girl's Paperie paper soooo much, it's yummy! The theme for this page was inspired by some lyrics by The Killers. I often find ideas for layouts from lyrics, even if i don't actually use them on the page.

i'm off to Bournemouth to hang out with my sister and my dad for the weekend so have a great one! And if you're in the UK, enjoy your extra day off!

Bloggers are the sweetest!!

Last month Becky was giving away some iPad's, and she sent me one! It's perfect for iPhone geek's like me. if you'd like one of your own, she has them for sale and the money goes to charity.


Photo Credit Becky.
i wanted to send her a little thank you gift so i made a little mini book to put her photos in. She makes the most amazing crochet projects (you must check out her blog to see), often in rainbow colours so i knew that had to be the colour scheme. Looks like she already picked some photos out for it. Thanks for the sweet words Becky! Gotta love the blogosphere & the connections we make through it, makes me happy.

Scrapbook Shares on Sunday

Hi Blog friends,

i hope you've had a lovely weekend. The weather has been gorgeous here. Today i walked to the castle to get an ice cream and was shocked to find that 99 cones now cost £1.60!! Anyone else remember the days when they actually cost 99p, or was that too far in the past? i'm always shocked when i come to write my Scrapbook Shares on Sunday post that a whole entire week has wizzed by already. i haven't got anything new to share this week but i did come across a project that i did a while ago which i haven't shared before.




When i was travelling in Thailand i took a cookery course. i am not much of a cook but even i managed to keep up. As part of the course we got to visit a market to get some fresh produce. It's very different to a typical trip to the supermarket here. For a start it's an assault on the senses!

The colour of the alphabet chipboard i wanted to use didn't fit with the page so i painted it. Sometimes if an A appears in a title i like it to be a different colour or font so that it stands out as it's my initial. i like to leave my mark!

Flat hunting

Today i've been flat hunting. i'm moving in with my very good friend and partner in crime She Who Must Not Be Named. If you've been reading for a while you'll have heard her mentioned before because we pretty much do everything together. i nicknamed her this for the purpose of the blog because a) we have a mutual love for all things Harry Potter and b) she hates having her photo taken or any mention of her true identity in internet land. How she will cope with me and my picture taking/blog writing ways full time remains to be seen.

Anyways, flat hunting is a whole new experience to me because the only time i've lived away from home the accommodation was either already pre-arranged for me, or i was travelling about staying in hostels and such. i've also never lived near my family without actually living with them. i've either been in another county, like 3+ hours away or in another country. So it's going to be weird popping in to mum's for dinner or whatever. i know i am going to miss her a lot.

i thought i was going to hate the flat hunting game, but i immediately went into full on organisation mode and it's been fun looking around places. We found one today that we've decided on but we have to wait until Monday to speak to the letting agent, so keep your fingers crossed that it all runs smoothly for us!

i know that people say you shouldn't move in with friends, but we have both thought this through a lot. i think we are both so aware that it could ruin our friendship, that we will do everything we can to make it work. We care too much about each other & wouldn't be going into this if we thought it would be a disaster! We both like our own space (and know each other well enough to sense when the other needs space), we are both easy going, plus we have our own social lives outside our mutual circle so we will be out of each other's way enough. It's going to be so fun and we are super excited about making plans for the summer. We will be right in town, close to pubs, bars, live music venues, shops and walking distance to my friends and the seafront! Something i have been dreaming of for a long time. i am so so so excited for this new adventure!!

This morning in between viewings we stopped for brunch in an American Diner (which will be right down the street from our new place, if we get it!).

I had milkshake and pancakes. nom nom.



It's been such beautiful weather today too, i hope it lasts forever! We stopped by the seafront to meet up with some friends and it was packed. So great to see so many people outside. i hope your Saturday has been as exciting as mine!

i love nuts!

Picture Source.
Lately i've seriously been considering going vegetarian. i need to do a bit more research and consider if i really could cut meat out all together, but the thoughts are peculating. Clearly i will have to find a substitute for protein and a good source of it is nuts. So i've been trying to incorporate them into my diet on a daily basis over the last few weeks. i discovered Graze and i've loved having a little box of yummy arrive in the post. i am hooked! i went for the the graze nibble selection, but you can also choose to have fresh fruit included in the box. i've been nibbling on them throughout the day and having a sandwich or soup for lunch plus my usual breakfast. i've even bought my own selection of nuts and dried cranberries to snack on at home. Plus all their packaging is made from recycled materials and is recyclable in turn. If you want to give them a go then you can use this code: 65QX3C2 to get a free box to try! Everyone loves free stuff right?

Granny's Cupboard

A special hello to my new followers & thanks for your sweet comments over the last few days. i'm so happy that you're here!

i knew i'd LOVE the Studio Calico Kit this month and i wasn't wrong. For a start it features The Girls' Paperie & the Thrift Shop line from October Afternoon, which i have been desperate to get my hands on since CHA in January. It's also got lot's of other vintage style stuff in it, which is so my style, and i ended up getting 2 add-ons which is a first for me. And it's got me using some of my hoard of vintage lace. i don't want this vintage trend in scrapbooking to ever end. i'm having so much fun with it, thought i'd share a page with you.


Oh how i miss this little face, i think she is the cutest little munchkin on the planet! (but clearly i am biased). i should point out that i didn't take these photo's, my dad sometime's e-mails us pictures so we can see how she's growing and changing as we don't get to see her often. This page is about how after her first trip to Taiwan she started to do the 'peace' sign every time a camera was pointed in her direction. It's something they do in Japan all. the. time. too. A part of their culture i guess. Anyway it drives me and my sister crazy but i suppose she does pull it off, especially when she was at that age when she still had yummy little squidgy toddler hands. i have to admit that it's great having a little sister so that i can scrapbook pink and girly pages!

Tag, i'm it!

At a party on Saturday night i was discussing my blog with a friend. i've been worrying about the content of le blog of late, and that i'm not pleasing everybody. i've mostly been posting scrapbook pages and such and not really talking about my life. i feel a bit torn between my readers who seem to be made up of scrapbookers and 'my real life' friends. i initially started the blog to share my pages and communicate with other scrappers, but over the years some of my closer friends, near and far, have started reading and use it as a way to keep up with my goings on. The reasons i don't tend to talk too much about personal stuff are because a) i am a fairly secretive person anyway b) i'm not your typical scrapbooker.

What i mean by this is that the majority of scrapbookers are mothers/wives. i am neither. i'm single with no plans to have children (possibly ever) and have long since given up hope of my Prince Charming ever making an appearance. And i'm happy with that. But it does make me concious that fellow scrapbookers probably aren't too interested in my talk of singledom and the adventures it brings.

i also don't wish to come across as narcissistic in any way. i honestly don't think any of you readers would care what my opinion is on the latest book/film/glee episode so i have steered away from doing that. However, i love to read about other people's lives and recommendations, so it got me to thinking that maybe i should be posting about those things, even if some people don't like it or disagree with my opinions. After all, it is my blog! So from now on i will try and get more of a balance here, be more open and honest. i think i am probably over thinking things anyway, as is my way.

So there couldn't have been a more perfect time for Miss Laura to tag me in some questions. Here goes:

1. If you could only ever eat crisps or chocolate ever again, which would you pick?

Chocolate. No question. i am a chocolate monster, always have been. My favourite is galaxy chocolate. My other favourite is Peanut Butter M&M's. Unfortunately they are not available in the UK, except in some American Sweet shops and then they are very overpriced! If you follow me on twitter you will know that i ate the last of my supply at the weekend. :( i did a whole page about them the other week, ha ha!


2. What are you most proud of?

Travelling the world on my own.

It's made me the person i am today.

3. Do you have any weird phobias?

i wouldn't say it's weird, because it's quite common, but i am terrified of snakes. i can't even watch them on tv and when i am anxious or stressed i wake up in the middle of the night thinking there's one in my bed. When i was travelling in Australia i had to psyche myself up to go on bush walks but one time i was faced with them unexpectedly and i had a full on panic attack, that was no fun.

4. Which teacher inspired you most at school?

Mrs Elliot. She was my teacher in my first primary school. She was really into archaeology and our school was built on a Roman site which was being excavated. i featured on an educational video for National Heritage, it's hilarious to watch now! Up until the age of about 11 i wanted to be an archaeologist when i grew up.

5. Which Friends character are you most like?


Make of that what you will.

6. If you could be a super hero, what would your powers be?

Healing. Not for myself but for other people.

7. Do you like your handwriting?

Mostly. i don't dislike it. People often tell me i have nice handwriting which i do find a bit odd. Sometimes it can be very messy. And i don't always have the same handwriting which is strange. i'm not sure if there is a proper term for it, but my handwriting changes depending on my mood, the space i have to write in and the pen i'm using. i probably have about 5 or 6 different 'font's' but there's one that i use most often, which is the one you will usually see on my pages.

8. What has been the best Christmas present you ever recieved?

i'm not sure if it was a Christmas present or a birthday present, but my first boyfriend had the first rose he ever gave me professionally framed with a personal quote put on a plaque underneath it. i still have it hanging in my room and i don't think anyone will ever get me anything so thoughtful again.

9. Would you rather be too hot or too cold?

Hot. i can't stand the cold. And i really feel the cold, to the point where i think i might have circulation problems. But i hate wearing layers and shoes or socks :/

10. Are you still watching Lost? And if so... do you have a clue what is going on????

No, i gave up after season 2. i actually tried to pick it up again last month but i couldn't even get through one episode.

So for my questions:

1. The Simpson's or Family Guy?
2. What was your favourite book as a child?
3. What was your last purchase?
4. What advice would you give your younger self?
5. What is your favourite dinner dish?
6. If there were a film or movie written about your life, what would it be called?
7. What makes you cringe?
8. Do you like your name?
9. Where in the world would you most like to go?
10. What's your current favourite band/artist?

And i'm going to tag: Sian, Kellie, Caketin, Helen and Becky . But you can consider yourselves all tagged!

Scrapbook Share on Sunday + new giveaway winner

For Create It Green this month we were asked to use recycled items for the squares that were on the sketch provided. i used paint chips and cardboard on mine.


And speaking of CiG, unfortunately the person who won the giveaway i did for the Earth Day blog hop hasn't given me their address, despite several attempts to contact her. As it's been three weeks now i've decided to pick another winner. i used trusty old random.org again. And the winner is:


Congrat's Dora, please e-mail me your address so i can get the mini book kit out to you!

Whilst we are on the topic of giveaway's, i wanted to point out an amazing thing happening over at Cocoa Daisy in order to Raise money for Linda Burnasakorn. For a donation you can be entered into a draw with a chance to win some amazing prizes including a Scrapbooking Retreat in Greece!! There are some seriously awesome sponsors and Linda's story is very touching, you can read all about it and the prizes up for grabs here. More prizes have since been offered up so it is well worth entering the raffle whilst doing some good. The fundraiser is running until the 22nd of May.

Have a great week!

Those pictures i promised

Apologies for my blog absence this week, i've been having a self imposed internet ban so I could get a few projects done. i've also been obsessed with the news and with everything that's going on in the political world right now. i don't want to have a massive rant on here about it, but i am disappointed with the turn of events over the past week and am worried about the future of our country. Just looking at the new Cabinet proves to me that the Conservatives haven't really changed as David Cameron had assured us they had, for a start there are only 3 women in it! Grrr! Anyway moving on...

i realised that I still haven't shared pictures from last week when we had a Bank Holiday. Seems like a long time ago now. i went to Exbury Gardens with a few friends of mine for a picnic. It was typical British weather, sunny one moment drizzly the next, we even had hail stones at one point! But there was lot's in bloom.



i used to hate going to places like this as a kid but i had lot's of fun taking pictures and feeding the Koi Carp, oh and eating the picnic of course! We were all exhausted by the end of the day with all the fresh air.




These garden's are really worth a look around if you are ever in the area.

Scrapbook Shares on Sunday

A few My Little Shoebox layout's to share today. i used the Just Add Butter line on these and you know i love cupcakes so i love this line! The die-cuts are fun to play with, i've used 2 whole packs in the last few weeks!

This one is of my sister cooking pizza together, so sweet!


And this one is of the cupcake my mum got for me on valentines day this year. She always get me a little something to show her love, last year I got some slippers.


Hope you have a super duper week!

Crate Sketch

Crate Paper have just started doing a weekly feature using a sketch. And you know this girl loves sketches! Here is this week's, designed by Emily Pitts.


And here's the layout i designed using the sketch. The background paper and the grey patterned paper are from Crate paper, the other paper and stickers are from Sassafrass Lass.


To make these wool embellishments, i plaited some wool and then glued it to some card, sticking it down in a spiral motion. Does that make sense? i think they are something i will be adding to my projects more often.


The page is about the first time i went horse riding, in the Australian outback. The trainers purposefully picked a well behaved horse for me because i was a first timer. Her name was buttons, rather appropriate for me, i thought!

Lucky Girl

i think a leprechaun has rubbed his luck off on me or something with the week i've had!

First i won some gorgeous papers from the GCD blog


Then i won some delightful Blushing Pearl stationary from Michelle's blog!

I received the most amazing package from my friend Dianne yesterday. i mean look at all this stuff, isn't she a darling?! 3 paper stacks, an album, my favourite Sharpie paint pens (which are impossible to get here) and all those stickers and embellies. AND it all came it an adorable project box from Modular Scrapbook!! What a treat to find when i arrived home from work!


i also won another competition recently for 2 tickets to an exclusive pre-gig soundcheck with Biffy Clyro, one of my all time favourite rock bands! Obviously i was super excited!


We got to see them perform a few songs on stage that they weren't going to do at the main gig.

Then they performed an acoustic song for us, and we got to meet them briefly, like shake their hands and everything!!! Such a special experience that i will always treasure! i was sooooo excited!


The gig was awesome too, there was such a great atmosphere. Here's a little crowd shot.


Today in the UK there is general & local elections, it's exciting to think that tomorrow we will wake up to a whole new government. i just hope that whatever change that comes is for the good and isn't a step back.

i've had a pretty day today

Will share more pics later in the week.

Scrapbook Share on Sunday

Hello lovelies,

Did you see me featured over at Laura's Blog? She said some really sweet things about the lift i did of her's as part of Shimelle's blog party the other week. It made my day!

i only have one little scrapbook share today. i'm working on a few secret projects at the moment that i can't share, and i feel a total tease saying that but hopefully i'll be able to show you in the coming months.

i made this using the Sunday Sketch over at SC, which is based on a layout by Waleska, an amazing scrapbooker, i loooove her style!


October Afternoon papers, Jenni Bowlin journalling circle & alphabet from Making Memories.

i love those October Afternoon papers but it's not often you find use for tartan/plaid/whatever you want to call it! It amused me so when i discovered a lumberjack chair in my hotel room when i was staying in Toronto last year. Only in Canada....

It's a Bank Holiday tomorrow in the UK & i have some fun stuff planned, provided the weather turns out nice! What are you up to?

NSD SC Layouts

As promised i'm back with the layout's i did today for the Studio Calico challenges. We were allowed to combine the challenges so i got quite a few covered.

This was for Jen's Sketch challenge.


i took the photo with a disposable camera last summer which means it's not great quality! Despite the dark clouds in the photo it was a summer's day so i wanted to make the layout nice and bright. i know banners are so in right now, but i struggle to use them, so i'm glad to have got some used up on this page. i also made the kite by sticking two pieces of a banner together.

This one combine's 3 of the challenges: Joy's Scrap Yo Mama!, Kelly's 5 product (polka dot's, 4 patterned paper's, brad's, an SC stamp & mist), and Maggie's mist challenge.


i don't really scrap mum very often so i'm glad to have got this one done. There's journalling hidden on the tag tucked into the photo.

And i think this is my favourite one of the day & it combine's 5 of the challenges: Tina's scrap your Avatar, Lisa's use a phone photo (took this with the hipstamatic app on my iPhone), Maggie's mist challenge, Laura's use an SC stamp & Sasha's White Space challenge.




If you're not a member of the Studio Calico board then you really should be! It's lot's of fun over there, it's super friendly, supportive & inspirational, they have the best DT and lots of fab members! It's one of my favourite places to hang out on the web. They are also holding a competition for 2 x 2 6 month subscriptions to their kits. i've been a subscriber since February & i love it! If you want to enter you need to be a new subscriber so you'll need to set up an account over there, but it's totally free. You'll also need to sign your name in this thread & post that i sent you, my user name is Curlywiggles. The competition closes at 11:59pm EST on Sunday, May 2, so don't dilly dally!

OK, it's 2am now and i should go to bed but i've still got lot's of NSD blog hopping to do! i'll be back with my Scrapbook Shares on Sunday much later!

Happy {inter}National Scrapbook Day!

Hello Bloglets,

If you are visiting from Kara's blog (i am super excited to be a sponsor over there this month!) then you probably haven't been here before. So let me tell you a bit about myself... My name is Alexa, i am 27 and i live on the South Coast of England. i like to scrapbook, i have an indecent number of camera's in various format's, i spend most of my time daydreaming and i overuse the phrase 'cool beans'. Please say hello, i would love to meet you!

Ok, so today is National Scrapbook Day. All my non-scrapbookey friends will probably be surprised to hear that we have a whole holiday to celebrate this wonderful hobby, but i think it is awesome.

i mentioned the other day that i discovered scrapbooking through Creative Memories back in 2001 and it turns out that they were the ones who started this holiday! i thought i'd share some of my very first pages so you could all have a giggle! i dare you to do the same, link me up if you do.

My first album was from CM and you had to stick the pages in, what a hassle! Man am i glad to have discovered D Ring albums!



As you can see, stickers were the hottest trend in scrapbooking at the time, if you've been scrapbooking as long as i have then you'll remember. Those circle and oval cutters were popular too. There have been so many advancements since then, digital photography for a start! It makes me cringe a little to look at these now and i wish i had journalled more, but overall they just make me happy. The photos and memories make me smile & that's what matters. Life is full of so many precious moments and people and if you enjoy documenting them in whatever format suits you best then i think that is great!

As it is NSD it would be rude not to scrapbook! So that's what i'm going to be spending the rest of the day doing. There's lot's of fun challenges going on over at Studio Calico. i'll be back later with my shares.