A Bit of Late Night Crafting

I should really be in bed at this hour but as I have been stressing lately over looking for a job and now on top of that, moving house I have had the desperate desire/need to scrap but just haven't found the time.
 
Well tonight I was sitting in bed, trying to unwind from the day and a thought struck me like a thunderbolt.
 
Recently I have joined a group on Facebook called Pocket Scrapbooking UK & Europe. On this site one of the members, I believe it was the lovely Karen Spreckley turned me onto Insta Place, Insta Weather and Insta Food and I am obsessed now.  I am always and forever taking pictures of my food and had mentioned this when she suggested I download Insta Food. When I told her that I had not heard of this app (but always taking pictures of my food nonetheless), she also said, well if you like something like this, then you will probably also like Insta Weather & Insta Place.  It only took mere moments after that to find them in the play store and download them!
 
I wanted to start including these pictures in my "Project Life" album (via the Simple Stories Sn@p albums) but there wasn't really a pocket page that seemed to work properly.  The pictures print out quite square so I didn't want to cut them down to 3 x 4 or alternatively put them in a 4 x 6 and then fill the left over space with something else.  I typically don't use the pages by Simple Stories that have (2) 4 x 4 pockets and the one 2 x 8 strip as I find the 2 x 8 difficult to fill.  I have used them on occasion but not regularly. I am more of a 3 x 4, 4 x 6 or 6 x 8 girl!
 
So I got to thinking, what if I cut the 2 x 8 strip off and then attempted to sew the (2) 4 x 4 pockets back onto the plastic strip with the holes punched into it.
 
Well, it might be a harebrained idea and it did take a few attempts to sew them back together (as I only just got my mini Hobbycraft sewing machine for Christmas, so sewing is a new "craft" for me), plus I did cut up more than a handful of pocket pages to boot but I got there in the end.  I finally made one that seemed sturdy enough to hold together and for good measure I put some washi tape over the seams in the hopes this will help keep the page from falling apart.  I will let you know how it goes!
 Here's a pic (not a very good one) of the custom pocket pages.  I have to say that I am pleased as punch!
 
Once I got in the crafting mood and the creative juices started flowing I also found myself pulling together a sort of "traditional" page for my Simple Stories album. Granted it's not complete yet as I still need to do my journaling but at least I go to bed and feel like I have done a bit of scrapping.  These pages (the insta pages & the other one below) are the first pages for January 2014.  
Yes, I have yet to create my title page like many others I find but that's simply because I need to sweet talk Simon into letting me take a few pictures of him for the title page this year. He's even more camera shy than me, although I do say he is by far more photogenic than I.
 
Well, as I did say it is quite late I really should go to bed now, considering that it is now 2:30 in the morning.
 
As it is late, apologies if there are any spelling errors or glaring mistakes, I'm probably a bit punchy at this point.
 
Good Night!
And thanks for stopping by.
 
Christine x

Crafting with a Friend

Hello All!

It has been a while since I have been on the blog.  This year I would like to try to be more consistent with my posts, which means making more time for crafting.  I love crafting and wish I could do it 24/7 but sometimes life and grown-up responsibilities, like work and such, get in the way!

I am trying to start on January, have yet to do my title page but today I actually did get a chance to do a bit of crafting with a friend!!  Which is always enjoyable for me.  Even if I am not feeling my scrap "mojo" I seem to find that once I am in a creative environment and talking with someone, excitedly and passionately about scrapping, it just seems to help get the juices flowing.  

So today life didn't completely get in the way and I was able to get together with Cat for some quality scrapping together whilst listening to the Studio Calico play list. 
It was a brilliant afternoon! 
(If you want to see what Cat is working on, you can check out her blog over here: http://decisioninspired.com/)
 At the moment I am working on finishing a chipboard "Mother & Daughter" album for my sister-in-law, that is a belated Christmas present.  I have most of it done, I just need to complete two last pages and put the finishing details on it. 
The picture above is from this album as is
the last picture in this post.
This page here (the pink polka dot page) is a page that I am including in my "Project Life" mini album.  Besides doing the pocket pages I also like to include full size (6x8) pages when I feel the need to be a bit more crafty.
 As mentioned above this page is from the "Mother & Daughter" chipboard album.  Once completed (hopefully this week), I will post the entire album here for all to see along with the supplies used.
Thanks for stopping by and hope you fellow crafters out there have had a chance in the new year madness to find some time to get crafty and creative as well.
It would be great to hear your comments or feedback!  I know people are stopping by as I can see the "posts viewed" numbers but it would be great to hear from you all!
Christine x

Studio Calico December Scraplift Challenge

Hello All!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  As well, I hope that you all found a bit of free time to do some scrapping too! 
 
I have recently become a member of the lovely online community over at Studio Calico.  This month I joined the December "Scrap the Person Above" Challenge as it seemed like a fun way to push me beyond my comfort zone or normal style of scrapping and as well to take inspiration from a fellow scrapper.
 
My challenge was to lift from fellow SC scrapper Rowie.  This is her layout titled "What's the Word" that I used for inspiration.
 
 My layout is titled "My Cracker King".  I really enjoyed creating this layout and taking inspiration from a fellow SC scrapper.
 
Journaling reads| "Simon really is a good sport.  Not only did he drive me all the way to the craft store in Long Crendon but then allowed me to put the paper hat from the Christmas cracker (that the shop keeper gave me as it was the day before Christmas) on his head as we were goofing around in the car on the way home.  This is one of the reasons I love him, his good natured spirit!  
Thanks for stopping by to take a look!  Please do feel free to leave comments as I would love to know what you all think!.
 Supplies used|  I wanted a colourful paper to mimic the playful mood and as well something that would imitate the points on the paper crown, so I chose Scenic Route Paper designed by Sarah Milne.  A lot of the supplies used came out of my stash. Paper used for the title "My Cracker King" is Chatterbox Scrapbook Wall Light Tangerine solid. The green paper for the journaling is just Bazzill cardstock. In the upper right hand corner the red chipboard button is by Terera Collins from her Stationary Noted collection, Decorative Buttons. The ticket stub underneath that is by Recollections, Signature Embellishments. The Simple Things is a Dymo style label is an embossed sticker by Marcella by Kay. The green polka dot paper (with the three brads) comes from the Simple Stories line for Snap albums, one of their 3 x 4 pads. The red chipboard photo corner is by K & Co Kazoo Kids.  The "Peace, Love, Hope" cloth brad is by Kaisercraft, Belle collection. The two Christmassy brads are by Dovecraft, Victorian Christmas collection - Funky Brads. On the lower right corner the small red brad as well as the green polka dot brad is by Simple Stories, Snap Brads "Life". The sparkly brad is by BoBunny. The "Joy" button is by Fashion Sense "Tis the Season" buttons. The "Smile" and "Heart This" chipboard tags are by Simple Stories, Snap Studio - "Hello" collection.