SNOW DAY LAYOUT

THURSDAY, 5 FEBRUARY, 2015

I haven't had a chance to sit down and document my recent pictures for my Project Life properly so today I am sharing a layout about the recent snowfall we had here in the UK. They have been predicting snow now for over a month but we had yet to receive any until the start of this week. Although I suppose in all fairness, I should clarify to say that we haven't received any down south, in Berkshire but there has been a fair amount up north and in Scotland as well. 

SPACER

 SPACER

You could really feel the temperature drop at the start of the week and then before it snowed it almost seemed to warm up a tiny bit on the day and then went eerily quiet just before it fell. 

Having grown up in California snow is not something I experienced on a yearly basis, so I actually find it quite serene and peaceful. That is, when it's falling. But then having to go out in it and drive around as well as be mindful not to fall down in icy areas can become very bothersome. 

SPACER

SPACER

I hadn't originally intended to scrap this photo in a layout but then I was on Studio Calico and came across a beautiful winter layout by Sherry C. which you can find here. I was so inspired by her beautiful layout that I wanted to create my own wintry layout. If you like, you can also visit her blog here to see what other lovely things she is currently working on! 

SPACER

SPACER

I wanted the photo to be the focus of the layout and had imagined using white wintry colours like Sherry had.  However, I did not have enough supplies to create a look such as this plus I wanted to use an acetate overlay so went with other wintry colours, such as the blue and silver. 

SPACER

SPACER

I knew that I had some silvery gray cardstock and as I mentioned, I wanted to use this acetate winter overlay that I've had for ages by Creative Imaginations so I thought this would be a good start, to help the white script pop off the background. 

I also wanted to use up a few blue paper scraps from my December Daily album along with some snowflake wood veneers so these were incorporated into the layout. 

I wanted to get a bit of sparkle in there so used some glittery silver tape by Paperchase that I had picked up at Christmas. I used a scalloped border from Bella Blvd from their Thankful alphabits sticker sheet by Stephanie Hunt. 

SPACER

SPACER

I added some metal snowflake brads by Papermania and used Glossy Accents on them to give them a bit more depth and sparkle. 

I finished the page off by adding the title with Dymo type words called Label Lingo stickers by EK Success onto a bit of scrap paper also from my December Daily album. 

I also added a further Dymo style label at the top of the page, near the snowflake brad. This is Marcella by Kay. 

And finally, the completed layout.

SPACER

Thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog. 

Hope your Project Life and scrapping for the new year is coming along nicely. 

OCTOBER - SWEATER WEATHER

TUESDAY, 16 DECEMBER, 2014

(This blog entry was written at the time I took these pictures, which I do sometimes to ensure I get the journaling accurate. So this perspective is from October although I didn't get time to pull it together and post it until December)

We have been really lucky with the warm weather here, from a UK perspective. It is unusual for it to be so warm this time of year.

SWEATER WEATHER
However, this week the weather has finally turned. We caught the tail end of Hurricane Gonzalo and it has been windy, wet and rainy.

Within minutes there was two to three inches of standing water by the back door. I captured this reflection as I was sitting there watching the rain come down. 

I think the hats, gloves and scarves will need to be taken out of the back of the closet this week!

SUPPLIES | Blue chevron paper is by MME and came from the SC Two Scoops kit. Alphas are Amy Tangerine Thickers by AC. The bobble hat, which I love is an old Jolee's Boutique that I have had for ages. The rain drops are Jolee's and the cut up typed words are from Pebbles - Garden Party.

INSTA-PAGES

TIME FOR TEA & CAKE and I LOVE CHALLAH

This is the back of my Insta-page titled Sunday Dinner & Good Dog.

Found it enjoyable creating these little squares and it's also a good way to use up your teeny tiny scraps.

Both pics were taken using a new app I love called Photofy.

SUPPLIES | Polka dot paper is by Simple Stories as is the cup sticker. The pink paper is part of an insert card by Echo Park and the ampersand is Cork by Studio Calico. The beige cardstock is Bazzill with the alpha stickers by Simple Stories as well as the chipboard love heart and the bread & bakery embellishments are Jolee's.

SOMEONE IS TIRED

I know my pages are monopolised by pictures of Rupert but I just can't help it! To me he is so very cute!

This particular day we went for a very long walk in Cookham and ended up with a very tired dog.

Plus, in this moment captured, he was quite smart! He stole the cushion from the kitchen chair (which I was unaware of until I saw him under the table) to put over the wooden beam underneath the kitchen table to make it more comfortable to lie on.

SUPPLIES | Alphas are a mix of Simple Stories Typeset, Stickers Letters, Urban Traveller and Daily Grind. The "This is a dog's life" is from the Simple Stories Dog line. The big arrow is K&Co and the green background paper is called Sand & Surf by Stephanie Hunt with Bella Blvd. The pink background paper is from Garden Party by Pebbles. The pink love hearts are by Studio Calico.


STUDIO CALICO OCTOBER LOAW#3 CHALLENGE

This was shared in a post for the October SC LOAW challenge here.

I included it here simply to show where it went amongst the other pages in my album.

That's another one done for me.

See you next time!

DECEMBER DAILY

"TITLE PAGE, DAY 1 & 2"

WEDNESDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2014

As mentioned in my previous post I have decided to do a December Daily album, albeit at the last minute! I am hopeful that I will keep up with it daily, however I have to say, if I'm honest, that this concept of daily is not the best approach for me so I will see how I get on.

As well, as I did not think that I would have enough of my own stuff to include in the December album I have decided to a use a photo-a-day prompt list for the month, just in case.  If I don't have something to include for that day, then I will fall back to the prompt from the photo-a-day list. 

This is my title page for the album. Kept it simple. Actually had something else but went with this instead. Still feel like it needs something else though.

DAY 1
"TEMPERATURE"
My first photo prompt was to capture the temperature for the day.

As the page was so small there wasn't room for journalling so I punched a hole in a insert card to include the journalling on the facing page.

The page below titled Merry & Bright is not part of the photo-a-day prompt. It is simply a picture I took of Christmas ornaments which I liked so decided to scrap it. 

DAY 2
"FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIE"

The prompt for Day 2 was Favorite Holiday Movie. This was tough for me as I have quite a few favorite films for this time of year, however I suppose if I had to pick one it would have to be Elf!

For the left hand page I used a printable by invitingprintables which I found on Pinterest that you can find here. The 3 x 4 insert card with the Elf legs (in the top right pocket) and with the quote from Elf is by Leslie Jean Jacobs and can be found here on her blog. 

The page below is not part of the photo-a-day prompt either. Just something I chose to include. 

The reindeer insert card in the top left pocket is by Ashley Horton. It came from a full sheet of festive fun printables by her and can be found here on her blog. The photo on the right is a picture I took while shopping at TK Maxx. I love shopping at TK Maxx and luckily a new location just opened by our house. The card on the bottom I created with free clipart from Google. 

The quality of the pictures I have taken are quite poorly as getting good light for photographing in the house this time of year in the UK is virtually impossible. I have done my best to lighten them in an editing app, but I think they are still not the best. 

Well that's my December "Daily" so far!

Happy Scrapping!

STUDIO CALICO OCTOBER 2014

"SCRAPLIFT THE PERSON ABOVE YOU"

MONDAY, 17TH NOVEMBER 2014
 

If you've visited my blog before you'll know that I am a regular over at Studio Calico.

 

In the past I haven't been one to partake often in scrapping challenges but as of late I can see that participating in these challenges can help you work outside your creative comfort zone.

I just happened to be on the SC message board when someone was posting a thread about the October 2014 Edition - "Scraplift the Person Above You" so I jumped in feet first! Actually it was scrap paper first, but that doesn't sound as good.

Basically each person will chime in, posting that they are up for the challenge and as they do so, they simply just need to look at who commented before them on the message board and pick a layout from their gallery to scraplift. It's kinda fun and definitely challenging!

I was lucky enough to comment just after AndreaHoneyFire (not sure if that is her real name or her screen name) who is a very talented scrapper with a gallery full of wonderful layouts.

Upon seeing her gallery I had hoped she had a blog to follow so I could keep track of her crafty goodness but alas she did not. If you'd like to view her work, you can find her here.

I tried to pick something from her gallery that would most definitely give me a challenge! I chose the following layout titled Pumpkin found here: http://www.studiocalico.com/galleries/143264-pumpkin.

As I typically scrap horizontally I liked her layout as it had a vertical element to it.  As well I found the sentiment behind it very cute and wanted to try working with something where the layout was grouped in one area of the page.

I think my take on her layout was a fair representation. When I was done with my layout I thought to myself it might be a bit garish, that I may have gone overboard with all the bright colours, even for me! But I did enjoy the challenge and playing along!

 

SUPPLIES | Background paper is from an SC kit, believe it was the Two Scoops. The green polka dot paper is by Simple Stories. The pink polka dot paper was a scrap so not sure who it is by but I think it might be Bella Blvd. The glittery pink foam stars, which I never thought I would use are by Freckled Fawn. The green alphas are by Simple Stories (Typeset) and the polka dot chipboard alphas are by American Crafts. The flair is from a kit by American Crafts and the pink sticker at the bottom is by Simple Stories.

 

Hole in One (nearly)

First my disclaimer for the quality of these horrible photos: I tried taking these pictures a few times, at different times of the day and in different places in the house but these are the best shots that I could get.  I can't believe that it is already that time of year in the UK where you can't get decent light in the house for the purpose of taking photos. It's not even officially Fall, or as they say here, Autumn.  Fall to the Brits is something you do when you trip, not a season (as it is to us in the US)!

This layout is to document the great shot that Simon made one day while out on the golf course.  He was so pleased with himself that he took a picture of the shot and sent it to me via text.  I literally laughed out loud when I looked at the text message and was genuinely well pleased for him. It was a great shot indeed. Only sorry I wasn't there to see it!

At first with this layout I struggled with the background paper, I tried so many different variations and different brands, trying to find the right fit.  I tried so many patterns, thinking I just hadn't found the right one yet or the one with the right colours, but that wasn't it.  Then I thought, well, maybe patterned paper isn't the way to go and I should just go with a coloured cardstock but that didn't work either.

I then remembered that I had quite a few pieces of vintage style paper on my shelf and that maybe something in there would work.  I recalled that I had an "old college style sports" paper by K&Co so pulled that out.  I pulled it from the stack, laid it on my craft table, put the picture on it and it seemed to work so perfectly.  The background really made the picture pop.  After that the rest of it was pretty easy to pull together - add the title, a few embellishments and I was done.  Love pages that happen that quickly, once you're going.

I also had an 8 x 8 paper pad from Graphic45 called The Proper Gentleman Collection.  I flipped through this looking for something that would work as a golf embellishment.  I happened upon one piece of paper, called Sporting Aristocrat, that was a collage of many smaller pictures so used the 2 x 2 square of the man playing golf. Thought it worked quite well on the corner of the page.  

The Full Page

SUPPLIES | The background paper is by K&Co which I have had in my stash for years so not sure on the name as it did not have a name strip at the bottom nor on the back. The alphas spelling out Hole and One are by American Crafts called Kitten.  The letters spelling IN are by Echo Park from their original Photo Freedom kit.  The round metal tag is by Making Memories and comes from a "make your own tag" kit.  Rather than inserting paper in this I just inserted a round camera sticker from the Simple Stories DIY Boutique line and then pressed the edge round the metal tag to seal it.   The small Cruden Bay picture is by Graphic45 from the Gentlemen's 8 x 8 pad. And finally the green "play" sticker is by Bella Blvd from their Boy Play line.

This is just a snapshot of the back of the golf page.  Having used a 6 x 8 page protector for the golf layout I needed to put something on the back to finish it off.  As the golf page was the last layout for the month, I didn't have any further pictures to add so instead created some text from one of my favourite works of literature, Pride & Prejudice, to complete the backside of this pocket page.

Thanks for dropping by to have a look and letting me share my layouts with you.

Christine   x   : )

Trying to Exercise More!

Hello my fellow crafters!

I recently was lucky enough to acquire some new scrapbooking supplies through a Facebook destash group.  Suffice it to say I have already put them to good use!

Even before the kit arrived I thought that the colours would tie in well with a layout I wanted to do about my fitness routine lately as the colours in the photo I was using were pink, green and grey.  I have been exercising a lot more recently and thought that it would be fitting to document this as well. Again, sometimes I just don't think about documenting these types of things. 

Due to a general lack of energy attributed to health reasons it has been some time since I have had a regular exercise routine, despite my best intentions.  As well, with bad joints, there are only so many types of exercise that I can take up that won't inflict further "injury" or severe impact on my already defunct bag of bones.

However, due to a bad back (which I gained by being the lucky recipient of a car accident some years ago-someone who was going way too fast who then failed to stop in time, thereby rear ending me putting me in bed for two months) plus a chronic sciatic nerve that can rear it's ugly head at the best of times, it has been advised that I should develop a regular exercise routine, despite all of this.  Geez, reading back over that it sounds like I'm falling apart and I'm only forty...(mumbling) something.

I did enjoy pulling this layout together and already sort of had the layout design in my head, so I thought it would have gone quicker than it did, but I suppose no surprise there.  I liked working with all the bright colours in this kit.  I do typically use bright colours in my layouts but I think I use them more sparingly so this was a bit different for me to have a complete layout like this.  I also liked that this kit had the numbered paper which I thought would work well for a fitness layout.  After adding my embellishments around the page I was looking for something further to add along the left side of the photo so even went so far as to cut the name of the kit from the packaging to use that. 

(See photo below)

And the final result....

SUPPLIES | Blue title letters are by Simple Stories from Vintage Bliss. The blue chipboard camera is Simple Stories. All the paper used is American Crafts from the Everyday kit. The pink polka dot paper is by Echo Park called Dots and Stripes. The blue photo corners are by Bella Blvd from the Playdate line. The pink polka dot washi tape is a sticker by Simple Stories. The September banner at the bottom of the page is by Echo Park and the "remember" sticker below that is Simple Stories Typeset.  The white enamel dot is by Simple Stories from the DIY line.

Thanks for having a look!

Christine

 

A Really Quick One!

Hello!

Just a quick one here, adding a few more "finishing touches".  Created a title page for my first album from 2014 and also worked on the front cover. Long overdue!

Was quite fun, quick and easy!  This post is short as it is mostly pictures.

Cover of the album

Details from the Title Page

And that's all, I did say it was a quick one!

For the supplies, the polka dot paper is old, something I had in my stash for a while so not sure on the brand.  The rest of the supplies used - stickers, embellishments and enamel dots are by Studio Calico, Simple Stories, Bella Blvd, Webster's Pages and American Crafts Thickers.

Thanks for having a look!

Christine  : )

Dog Tired & Goofing Around

Well, the Muse is still in the house so I have been scrapping away today. 

 I have actually been contemplating whether I will continue with the whole PL style aspect of scrapbooking.  I was never really a big fan of the actual Project Life product line when it first came out and found that I instead leaned more towards the Simple Stories Life Documented range.  I just preferred the 6 x 8 size, liked the bright colours and the products they had to offer in that line.  However, in the past few days when I've been creating the "traditional" layouts (even though they are only 6 x 8) I find that I am enjoying these more than the detailed pocket page layouts.

 Granted I am already documenting monthly, although I did start out weekly, so this is or should be a more laid back way of keeping track of the day-to-day things.  But I am finding that I still fall behind, even though this is a more looser approach and I just don't like feeling guilty over something that is meant to be relaxing and help me de-stress from the woes of day to day life.  Yes, I know we only put upon ourselves what we allow.  But even the giants, the old pro's and the dinosaurs of the industry (if you read their blogs) they too feel guilty as well when they fall behind or cannot keep up. So it almost seems inevitable, the feeling guilty that is. That's why I've been thinking that I may just go back to scrapping when I feel like it with no time or calendar restraints adhered to. Not keeping track of my day-to-day weekly or monthly but just whenever.  Plus, if you look at the way the PL style was marketed it was supposed to make scrapbooking faster and easier but it has become so involved now (and yes again, it is what you choose to make it).  If you look at all the giants or gurus that everyone follows, most of their PL layouts are not simple and basic, a lot of time and work goes into them.  But again, these are just my thoughts.

 

Moving along.  I have put the journaling about this layout hidden behind it as one, there wasn't enough room to include it along with the photos and two, its kind of a bit private.  In short it talks about how in my 20's I was starting to learn to love myself, figuring out who I was and what I was about, developing self confidence and building my self esteem.  Eventually I got to a place where I liked who I was with a healthy dose of self confidence but not arrogant about it.  However as of late, I haven't been loving myself very much and was pondering as to whether this is due to circumstances - being made redundant over a year ago, struggling with money, have relationship problems and finding a place to live OR whether it is just a stage in my life, such as age and being in my 40's, learning to re-adjust and find myself again.

SUPPLIES | The black and white background paper is from my stash, old 7 Gypsies Paddington Paper called Piccadilly. The stickers spelling out "Goofing" and "Selfies" are both by Simple Stories - the first from the D.I.Y. line and the latter called Typeset.  The pink and white love heart I cut out of the middle of a PL card. The tiny alphas are by Kaisercraft. The "Today" circle, the three pink hearts on the grey background and the pink polka dot paper are all scraps from PL cards that I cut up.  As well, the "Read Me" tab is a scrap from a PL card stuck onto another PL card to create the journaling.  The lettering for that is by Simple Stories. The pink camera is from the Borders paper by Bella Blvd.

 

Nonetheless I am trying to get better, or get back to, loving myself.  As we (scrapbookers) typically don't include ourselves in our scrapping and as well, being our own worst critics I thought it might help me in some way, especially right now to include myself more in my layouts/pages.  So was goofing around (hence the title), taking some pictures of myself and trying to love what I saw or what was captured. I wanted the goof part of goofing to stand out (as that's what I am!) so used the pink letter and grey letters to make it pop more.  Trying to have a bit of fun with it.

 

For something a little bit less "serious" I have also included a layout today called Dog Tired.  Simon has been working really hard lately as he's been full on with work.  He has also been working some Saturday's just to stay on top of it.  This particular Saturday he came home and crashed out on the sofa.  As per usual, whenever and wherever Simon is, Rupert has to be right along side him.  Captured this moment as they were sleeping as I thought it was so heart-warming. Decided to keep this one simple, don't think it needed much detail.  

SUPPLIES | The "Cherish" sticker is by Simple Stories Typeset and the "Life is Ruff" sticker tag is by Simple Stories Dog pack.  The background mock notebook paper that the photo is mounted on came from the original Simple Stories Sn@p kit. The brown and white polka dot washi tape is by Queen & Co.

SUPPLIES | Black alphas spelling "Dog" are by LilyBee Designs called Sweet Shoppe.  The love heart and the letters spelling "Tired" are by Simple Stories Dog pack.

Thanks for stopping by to have a look and letting me share my layouts with you!

Christine  x

Retro Style

Hello Fellow Crafters!

Rare for me to create another post so soon. I wish I could be like some of these people that do blogging and scrapping for a living, having time for it on a regular basis, with no outside work distractions or life in general.  Although I suppose at the moment, with not working full time, I don't really have an excuse for something keeping me busy all day and not allowing me to be creative as I like.

So moving along! 

As well, the Muse has been in residence consistently as of late, which is rare so I thought I would take advantage of her visit.  Work with it while you can!

I have always been mad about polka dots and as well enamoured of the whole retro style "pin-up" girl look but have never really embraced it till now.  I wish I had sooner!  At this age I can now understand those 'write a letter to the 16 year old you' exercise.  I never really got it before, sounds stupid I know and thought what is the point.  It's me, writing to me, what am I going to tell myself?

  Well, I guess what I would now say is embrace who you are.  Don't ever let anyone sway you from being the way you want to be simply because they don't approve of it or think it might be ridiculous.

Be who you are meant to be and be proud of it!

I originally started out the layout with just the pink and black but wanted to add a tertiary colour to give the layout a bit more pop, so thought the green would be a nice accent.  I will probably also add some journaling behind the layout about embracing the retro style and as well about having more of a presence on Instagram . Was never really interested in it when it came out but have now found some great female role models on there that I now follow (Miss Victory Violet, The Cherry Dollface, Curve Creation, Curvy Kate, Redhead Without a Cause, Honor my Curves, Hot Rod Steffie and Hennney) 

SUPPLIES | Background paper is Simple Stories D.I.Y. Boutique, black & white polka dot paper is Bella Blvd "Borders", pink & white polka dot paper is a PL Blush card.  The black profile figurine is cut out from Barbie paper by Creative Keepsakes. The B&W puffy letters spelling out "Retro" are Making Memories. The "style" letters are October Afternoon called "Daily Flash". The black "inspire" sticker is Dymo style by K&Co.  The green "look" sticker and the "remember this" sticker are by Simple Stories.  The polaroid photo frame over the shoes is by La De Dah. The enamel dots are by Simple Stories D.I.Y. Boutique. The flower is from my stash & not in its original package so not sure the brand.  The green chipboard button is by Webster Pages. The B&W heart shaped brads are by BoBunny. The B&W mini button brads are by Making Memories. The green "nifty" sticker is Marcella by Kay and finally the brad in the middle of the flower is by Cart-us.