Have arrived safely in "The North" albeit to freezing temperatures and lashing rain! Can't have it all, at least I'm tucked up in my jamas being fed and tea and biccies at my parents house :o)
Tomorrow we have a trip to a new Hobbycraft to look forward to - looking forward to seeing what goodies I can treat myself too! Although after raiding two deliveries at ScrapShed yesterday I should be being good! Have got the lovely Paper Doll range from Crate Paper and all the new My Little Shoebox collections waiting for me back in my studio. I'm sure they will be added to......
Right,I'm off now to scrapbook with the little squishies as I have a Pyjama Party tonight - wooo!
Ta-ra! x
Flutterbys.....
Today I finally got round to a project I've had in mind since we went to York last year (can't believe its been that long!) In the York Museum they had an old fashioned classroom and in there was a Butterfly Box (that's probably not what they're really called) I've always been fascinated by these - my Uncle Ken had one when I was little - I love to look at Butterflies but don't like things flying near me so sadly this is the only way I get to have a good look at them! Here is a pic of the one in the museum - it's not a great pic as it was taken in a dark room with my old dying camera
Since I saw this I've had it in mind to make my own (from paper obviously!) and today I did! Made from Daisy D's Coin Holders backed onto chipboard - the butterflies are punched from scraps and layered with glossy accents, tulle and gems - I even managed to get in a tiny Tim Holtz spinner! I used gold wax round the inside edges so no chipboard showed through and to give it a lovely vintagey look
I think I'll make a few more now! I'd still like to make a bigger box but am waiting for something to inspire me for that one - will probably need a bigger butterfly punch too!
I also received my Dear Lizzy goodies from Sarah's Cards today - everything is soooo lovely I was almost tempted to use them but decided I need a bit more stoking time before attacking them with scissors - they're THAT nice! Something for the weekend....... x
I also received my Dear Lizzy goodies from Sarah's Cards today - everything is soooo lovely I was almost tempted to use them but decided I need a bit more stoking time before attacking them with scissors - they're THAT nice! Something for the weekend....... x
All about ME!
Recently I was challenged to make a layout all about me. This caused a complete crafters block! (and a manic hunt for a pic where I don't look drunk, weird or "facially challenged") as I'm sure most scrapbookers will understand, its very rare to do a layout of yourself, entirely about you. The focus of most of my layouts are family, friends, B or Belle (my fur baby) Anyway, after getting the shortlist of pics printed and then choosing one I had a mad hunt through my stash to find all the stuff I love the most - polka dots, red and blue and my trusty butterfly punch. I used some gorgeous Making Memories paper that I'd been stroking for the last few weeks and some lovely lettering from the new 'Flutter' range - they are sooo pretty!
Part of the challenge was to include 5 random facts about yourself. I jumped on the chance to cut out the gorgeous cherries from one of my Websters Pages papers (as cherry is my favourite smell and flavour)
and right as I was struggling to finish the 5th fact about myself I found a Melody Ross epoxy sticker that summed it all up perfectly - "Beautiful things make me giddy"
Part of the challenge was to include 5 random facts about yourself. I jumped on the chance to cut out the gorgeous cherries from one of my Websters Pages papers (as cherry is my favourite smell and flavour)
and right as I was struggling to finish the 5th fact about myself I found a Melody Ross epoxy sticker that summed it all up perfectly - "Beautiful things make me giddy"
So there you go - all about ME!
x
x
New Projects
Today I've designed 3 mini album projects - not sure if these are to go with my new range of papers (nearly finished desigining) or whether to use them with others as classes / kits - I'm going to make some samples tomorrow to see what works with them - I may even do them as part of the CD I'm working on - watch this space!! Will post some sneak peeks once the templates are refined and I'm happy with them.
I've also discovered - thanks to a fellow designer I follow on Twitter - the lovely Nikky Hall - a company called Graze
They send you the most scrummylicious box of snacks as often as you like - all tailored to your likes and dislikes and all nutrionally balanced, for just £2.99!!!!. Has been proven to stop you inhaling Milky Ways at the speed of light (not me obv. someone else, who I know does that, honest guv....) check it out here - and use this code to get yourself a free box!! 4NKV84F
Right, back to the grindstone! x
I've also discovered - thanks to a fellow designer I follow on Twitter - the lovely Nikky Hall - a company called Graze
They send you the most scrummylicious box of snacks as often as you like - all tailored to your likes and dislikes and all nutrionally balanced, for just £2.99!!!!. Has been proven to stop you inhaling Milky Ways at the speed of light (not me obv. someone else, who I know does that, honest guv....) check it out here - and use this code to get yourself a free box!! 4NKV84F
Right, back to the grindstone! x
Layouts & Timmy Tags
Going through some of my Scrapbook pages this week (in a vain attempt to tidy up, ha!) I noticed that I don't have a single one of me and B (my other half) can you believe that?? and after we got engaged last year and everything - sooooo much I could have scrapped about!! Anyway, to quickly right that wrong I made a quick layout of us - ahhhh bless, arent we sweet, LOL
I have also ordered some more prints of our lovely mini break in York last year and of course of my gorge engagement ring, so plenty more luvey dovey scrapping to come - yay!
I've also been experimenting with some rubber stamping this week with my lovely new distress inks and some of my old favourites - Im still in love with my Adirondack inks even though I've had them forever! The colours are just lovely - especially Stream - I'm obssessed with it. Taking inspiration from Tim Holtz and as I'm very impatient I decided to do some "Timmy Tags" gives me a chance to play around and experiment without messing up any of my lovely stash. I used some of my Tim Holtz stamps and a new set from Prima that go so well with them (available from Scrapshed soon!) I'll be getting a couple of the other sets next week now, I was well impressed and I really wasn't expecting to be as they were so cheap!
I've also been experimenting with some rubber stamping this week with my lovely new distress inks and some of my old favourites - Im still in love with my Adirondack inks even though I've had them forever! The colours are just lovely - especially Stream - I'm obssessed with it. Taking inspiration from Tim Holtz and as I'm very impatient I decided to do some "Timmy Tags" gives me a chance to play around and experiment without messing up any of my lovely stash. I used some of my Tim Holtz stamps and a new set from Prima that go so well with them (available from Scrapshed soon!) I'll be getting a couple of the other sets next week now, I was well impressed and I really wasn't expecting to be as they were so cheap!
My faves were this one:
Note the use of 'Stream' for the music notes (one of the Prima stamps I mentioned) and this one is my absolute fave:
Only because I got to use the scary eye gouged from a dolly - mwahahahahaha! Doing this also made me reflect how my style changes from day to day - one day making cutesy stuff using lines like October Afternoon and My Little Shoebox (2 of my faves) and the next day grunging (yes, it is a word!) it up with Tim Holtz stuff, bits of old metal, melting dolls faces and gouging their eyes out etc..... I'm either versatile or quite mad - I'll let you be the judge!
Right, thats all for now, got to go and whip up a card for B as its his Birthday tomorrow!
x
Right, thats all for now, got to go and whip up a card for B as its his Birthday tomorrow!
x
Playing Catch Up
Doesn't it always feel like you're playing catch up? it's always "once this out of the way, I'll be OK" but of course that never actually happens because then more stuff happens!! So this week my aim is to actually "catch up" for real!! I have so many projects half started and so many deadlines getting scarily close!!
I also have some illustrations to do for my sister Xena, who has written her first ever book at the age of just 10 and has kindly given me the commission to illustrate it - I feel very honoured to be given such an important job and hope I can do it justice - I have been practising drawing cows for a few weeks now and think I have finally perfected the whimsical style she was hoping for with her story.
My other sister Harley is also writing a book about horses (she may be a tad horse obsessed!) so I now have to perfect the art of drawing horses too - such talented little squishes I have!! No wonder I have the constant urge to scrapbook their every move!! Hopefully I'll get my pics back tomorrow so I can do just that
I also have to mention Lucky the Wonder Dog! (isn't he adorable?? not quite as cute as my little Belle - his girlfriend - but pretty darn close!)
He is the fur baby of Karen from Scrapshed - he is doing the Sport Relief mile this Sunday to raise money for a very worthy cause and on those little stumpy legs its a very brave undertaking! I just hope Karen and Bruce take lots of water and are ready to rub his little paws at the other end - what a trooper! You can sponsor him here
I also have some illustrations to do for my sister Xena, who has written her first ever book at the age of just 10 and has kindly given me the commission to illustrate it - I feel very honoured to be given such an important job and hope I can do it justice - I have been practising drawing cows for a few weeks now and think I have finally perfected the whimsical style she was hoping for with her story.
My other sister Harley is also writing a book about horses (she may be a tad horse obsessed!) so I now have to perfect the art of drawing horses too - such talented little squishes I have!! No wonder I have the constant urge to scrapbook their every move!! Hopefully I'll get my pics back tomorrow so I can do just that
I also have to mention Lucky the Wonder Dog! (isn't he adorable?? not quite as cute as my little Belle - his girlfriend - but pretty darn close!)
He is the fur baby of Karen from Scrapshed - he is doing the Sport Relief mile this Sunday to raise money for a very worthy cause and on those little stumpy legs its a very brave undertaking! I just hope Karen and Bruce take lots of water and are ready to rub his little paws at the other end - what a trooper! You can sponsor him here
Busy, Busy, Busy!!
Today I spent most of the day trawling through all my pics to find some nice ones to get printed for Scrapbooking. I still have some LO's to make for ScrapShed so have picked some to match the lovely papers I've been given - do love it when you get a burst of inspiration!! Have also nearly finished my loooooovely new website which will then tie in with my blog banner and business cards - I do like it when everything matches!
Also had a look at the Ikea website, my old desk in my studio is falling apart so am treating myself to a little refurb! New lovely table and chairs and some much needed (isn't it always!) storage - will post pics when its done (2 weeks for delivery so don't hold your breath! LOL)
Also looking forward to seeing my 'rents and lovely sisters in a couple of weeks, I'm off ooop north just before Easter for a few days and my sister and her boyfriend will drive me back and stay with me and B for the Easter break - so excited to see everyone again, it always seems like so long between visits! Hope to have some lovely family Scrapbooking to show them - have managed to get my mum to send me some pics as well - by email of course, she never parts with actual real life photos!!
Now I'm off to my studio for an hour before bed, got a couple of projects to finish off and scan / photograph before I send them off.
Night! x
Also had a look at the Ikea website, my old desk in my studio is falling apart so am treating myself to a little refurb! New lovely table and chairs and some much needed (isn't it always!) storage - will post pics when its done (2 weeks for delivery so don't hold your breath! LOL)
Also looking forward to seeing my 'rents and lovely sisters in a couple of weeks, I'm off ooop north just before Easter for a few days and my sister and her boyfriend will drive me back and stay with me and B for the Easter break - so excited to see everyone again, it always seems like so long between visits! Hope to have some lovely family Scrapbooking to show them - have managed to get my mum to send me some pics as well - by email of course, she never parts with actual real life photos!!
Now I'm off to my studio for an hour before bed, got a couple of projects to finish off and scan / photograph before I send them off.
Night! x
Scrapbooking
After a big break from Scrapbooking (it's been months!) I started again last week and I still love it! (even more if thats possible) I spent all day in my studio doing layout after layout - mostly all about my little sisters - kids are so easy to scrapbook as their photos capture exactly what they are thinking and feeling and are not as posed as adults ones tend to be - if they're sulking, you know about it!! Have now got another load of pics being printed so I don't lose my mojo again! Here is some of my hard work from the last few days....
This weeks aim is to improve my photography skills, looking at some of my pics I think they can be a bit dark and not as sharp as Id like, so im going to actually read the manual for my camera instead of randomly pushing buttons, and work out how to improve. Its so important to try and constantly learn and improve don't you think? thats why I'm such a study junkie I think. Speaking of which I have an OU assignment to finish!!
Toodles x
This weeks aim is to improve my photography skills, looking at some of my pics I think they can be a bit dark and not as sharp as Id like, so im going to actually read the manual for my camera instead of randomly pushing buttons, and work out how to improve. Its so important to try and constantly learn and improve don't you think? thats why I'm such a study junkie I think. Speaking of which I have an OU assignment to finish!!
Toodles x
Mini Portfolio
Last week I made a mini portfolio from a lovely Crown shaped Kaisercraft book - every time I tell people what I do they say "ooooh, lets see" so I thought if I had a tiny portfolio I could carry in my giant Mary Poppins style bag I could actually show them. It also gave me an excuse to break out the Ranger distress crackle paint (tattered rose - my all time favourite!) it works so well on wood and I loved the final effect. I printed some pics of previous work and even managed to squeeze in some ATC's as they were a perfect fit!
I also managed to use some of my lovely Melody Ross textile tags as they had lovely sentiments like "I make Stuff" which fitted in perfectly.
Right now I'm working on some Scrapbook Layouts for samples and for myself - I have sooo many photo's to scrap, this is what happens when you fall behind! I'll post some pics soon. I'm loving the new Cosmo Cricket lines, Material Girl and Garden Variety - they're actually not so new now, Ive had them for a few weeks but only just got to the stage where I could actually cut into them!
I also managed to use some of my lovely Melody Ross textile tags as they had lovely sentiments like "I make Stuff" which fitted in perfectly.
Right now I'm working on some Scrapbook Layouts for samples and for myself - I have sooo many photo's to scrap, this is what happens when you fall behind! I'll post some pics soon. I'm loving the new Cosmo Cricket lines, Material Girl and Garden Variety - they're actually not so new now, Ive had them for a few weeks but only just got to the stage where I could actually cut into them!
Tim Holtz Fever!!
Everyone seems to have Tim Holtz fever at the moment, including me! Finally got my mucky little hands on his lovely book yesterday (Karen at ScrapShed finally relented and let me take it home - she wouldn't let me have it before in case I took it to Stitches and tried to get it autographed like an embarrassing groupie, mwahahahaha!) now I've devoured it all and of course seen the fabby demo at Stitches on Sunday so over the last day or two I've been stocking up on lots of things that of course now I've seen I actually literally cannot live without!! Like my lovely new Tim Holtz Stamp Binder - if you ever see this "in the flesh" you will not be able to resist - lush!!
Also now have new stamps so of course need lovely new ink pads and as Karen needed some swatches to show off the colours I got to play with them all first - yay! you can see in the pic I managed to once again get myself in a right old mess and have fun creating them, here's me "demoing" the new colours
My favourites are Rusty Hinge, Crushed Olive and Chipped Sapphire (which isn't purple as it looks on the packaging but actually a lovely dark blue, like a night sky)
Think my overall favourite is still the old walnut stain, I just LOVE it! Right I'm off to get some new samples made up and try all the techniques in the book I haven't yet tried!
Also now have new stamps so of course need lovely new ink pads and as Karen needed some swatches to show off the colours I got to play with them all first - yay! you can see in the pic I managed to once again get myself in a right old mess and have fun creating them, here's me "demoing" the new colours
My favourites are Rusty Hinge, Crushed Olive and Chipped Sapphire (which isn't purple as it looks on the packaging but actually a lovely dark blue, like a night sky)
You can see that the packaging (below) is not a great representation of the colours - they are much much better in "real life"
Think my overall favourite is still the old walnut stain, I just LOVE it! Right I'm off to get some new samples made up and try all the techniques in the book I haven't yet tried!
Stitches
Today I went to Stitches to see and stroke and stare longingly at all the fab new products - I'm sooooo excited and can't wait to get my hands on them all! Watch out for all my new samples coming soon.......
Watched a fab demo by Tim Holtz and a couple of others on the stands - came away feeling all fresh and inspired again - yay!
Watched a fab demo by Tim Holtz and a couple of others on the stands - came away feeling all fresh and inspired again - yay!
Chunky Books
I'm sooo obssessed with Chunky books and chipboard at the moment, I was so pleased with how my last set came out, all were Botanical themed:
now I'm working on some more with the Marah Johnson papers and after that I want to try something abit darker and scary - I feel a melted doll coming on again :o) or maybe something like the Zombie series I done a while ago:
I'll have to see what random doll parts and scary ephemera I can scavenge in the next week or so in preparation.
Anyway, Happy Valentines Day to you all! I'm off to scoff chocs and swoon over my lovely card (my first year with "fiancee"! ahhhhh)
Have a hug, feel the love x
now I'm working on some more with the Marah Johnson papers and after that I want to try something abit darker and scary - I feel a melted doll coming on again :o) or maybe something like the Zombie series I done a while ago:
I'll have to see what random doll parts and scary ephemera I can scavenge in the next week or so in preparation.
Anyway, Happy Valentines Day to you all! I'm off to scoff chocs and swoon over my lovely card (my first year with "fiancee"! ahhhhh)
Have a hug, feel the love x
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