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!

 DECEMBER DAILY AFTERMATH

MONDAY,  1 DECEMBER, 2014

I know that I am a bit late to the party. Not only in joining in on doing a December Daily album but also in creating one! 

Yes, I created it today, December 1st and the picture above is the aftermath of said event.

As I said I wasn't intending to do a December Daily but have been inspired by others, mainly foreverandaday_gram.  You can find her December Daily album here.  It's simply in-cred-i-ble! 

I have probably watched her video like fifty times by now! Way to become an Instagram stalker. 

I will be switching it up a bit as I intend to include my regular monthly pocket pages along with my December Daily. 

As well, I wanted a bit of structure to follow as I'm sure I won't have enough Christmas related stuff to add myself, so I have decided to play along with a pin I found on Pinterest with photo prompts for capturing December. 

These are just a couple of the pages I have created.  

I plan to add my daily #'s as I go along as I'm not sure which pages I will be using for each day or photo.

I like the fact that I can swap it around as I go.  

I have spent many a year collecting sheets upon sheets of Christmas paper only to never use them so I am busting through my stash for this!

Lastly, here's hoping I will finish it as I have noticed that a lot of other scrappers start these and are then finishing them years later!

Happy Scrapping!

OCTOBER - BURNHAM BEECHES

    FRIDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2014

BURNHAM BEECHES

As it gets closer to Winter here in the UK we cannot always get out during the week, with the evenings getting dark so early, for a proper dog walk.

However, that's not the case at the weekend. This particular Saturday we decided to go for a walk at Burnham Beeches, a preserved area of natural beauty only about a 25 minute drive from where we live.

We are lucky to live so close to what has been described as one of the finest woodland tracts in Britain, that people visit from miles around. I especially love visiting there in the Fall to see all the beautiful trees as they turn for the season. 

For the main page I really wanted the focus to be of the stunning picture of one of the water features within the woodlands.

I wanted to echo the Fall colours so chose this background paper by K&CO.

SUPPLIES| The background paper is from a pad of "designer" paper by K&Co I picked up from Target, of all places, many years ago. The brown alphas are by Simple Stories with the big chipboard B by K&Co from an old pack in my stash called Wild Saffron. The leaf accents I created with paintchip cards and one of my punches.

I wanted the above page to be very naturey - if that's a word! So I chose a textured green paper for the background to echo the feel of the woodland trees.

Then I cut apart a biolique paper (I think it was called) by Anna Griffin for my accents. Something that has been in my stash for quite some time. 

The one big adventure sticker is by Simple Stories.

This page includes a couple of woodland shots from our walk in the top pockets.  Trying out selective focus in the picture on the top left. Creates a nice perspective I think.

The bottom pocket holds a PL journaling card which I ran through my printer, date stamped and then mounted on the same paper as used for the main page.  Added a few doggie paw prints with a Studio Calico stamp, some more stickers by Simple Stories and a bit of the flower from the Anna Griffin page.

Do any of you have areas of outstanding natural beauty near you that you like to visit for a leisurely stroll, walk with your dog or other activity?

As much as I do sometimes miss the big cities of America I am grateful, whilst living in the UK, for beautiful places like this.

OCTOBER - AT THE MOVIES & FEGO'S CAFE

WEDNESDAY, 19 NOVEMBER 2014

Since I have been spending the past week catching up with October I will now have a lot of blogging to catch up on as well.

MOVIE TIME
Simon and I do love our films! This week we went to see The Equalizer, a remake of the 80's tv programme.

This page was quite simple - a movie themed filler card, a photo of the movie poster, a project life journal card and then a filmstrip card with two mock tickets.

 A close up of the "movie" tickets.

LOOK @ THIS

This next pocket page is about a mishap (or more appropriately, severe damage) with my curling iron.

Not the best way to start your day.

I wanted the title to say "This Happened" but I didn't have enough "e's" so I ended up with Look @ This.

The journaling card is PL and the alpha stickers are by Simple Stories.

BLACK SEAMED STOCKINGS
I like the retro look and on this particular evening Simon snapped a pic of my stockings just before we were going out for the evening.

I printed the picture in B&W and then did a simple B&W insert card with a stitched font to match.  

FEGO'S
I try to have a regular catch-up with two former colleagues who have become very close friends. 

We try to meet up at least once a month to have a meal, a good chat and a few laughs.

This month it was at Fego's in Marlow.

The background for this page is the restaurant menu printed out onto white cardstock.

I knew that as soon as I saw the pic that this is the way I wanted to use it.

I added a photo strip of some of our food, a group shot of us and the title with American Craft Thickers.

The tiny alphas at the top and bottom of the page are by Kaisercraft. The chipboard button by Webster's Pages and the banner label by Jillibean Soup.

That's all for now! 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.

 

OCTOBER - FALL IS HERE

THURSDAY, 13TH  NOVEMBER 2014

Now that I have my laptop back in my hot little hands I have been scrapping away like a mad person to catch up! 

I have been printing off my October pictures and holding a steadfast position at my scrap table. 

This is my title page for October. I have always liked this style of photograph - (including a bit of your feet and inserting the month in text on the photo.)

To be honest I think I have done quite well so far as I am nearly done with October at this point.

This is the back of my title page - script with some Octobery words.

FALL IS HERE

Until moving to the UK, being a California girl, I never really got a chance to experience Fall or Autumn in an LA suburb, therefore I do really enjoy the turn of the season here.

It's the dreaded season that comes after it that I don't like so much!

I like seeing the colours of the trees change and then the leaves slowly flit and float to the ground over the upcoming weeks.

I took this picture whilst I was walking Rupert at Braywick Park.
 

SUPPLIES| This is simply a 5 x 7 photo on Chatterbox cardstock along with alphas by AC called Patchwork. Added a few leaves punched out of a paintchip card & the leaf in the lower left hand corner is an old Jolee's product.

BAKING

This page documents an unexpected day, sometimes the memories I cherish the most! 

As Simon works outdoors, when the weather is poor he unfortunately cannot go to work. On this particular Monday he was rained off work by mid morning. 

He came home and we spent the afternoon baking chocolate chip cookies and catching up on The Blacklist. An afternoon well spent!

SUPPLIES| Background paper is by K&CO from a Cut N Paste designer paper pad that I picked up at Target, of all places, years ago. The alphas are AC Patchwork and the (2) little die cut 1950's style stickers are by Melissa Frances called Kitschy Kitchen.

INSTA-PAGES

SUNDAY NIGHT DINNER & GOOD DOG

When I ordered my last Simple Stories Snap album I also ordered some of the new Instapages page protectors. 

I thought I would try this style as I have been taking a lot of Instagram pictures lately as well as using another app called Photofy and wanted to use these photos in my albums. 

I am really pleased with how these pages have turned out and as well it was fun to create such small detailed elements.

 Close up of the top half

Close up of the bottom half 

You may have noticed that I have played around with the blog and changed the format a bit. Thought I would try something new.

That's it for now.

See you next time!

Life Without You - Studio Calico LOAW Challenge

Hello All!

 

I am a regular over on the Studio Calico website and enjoy the inspiration that I find there as well as the camaraderie amongst the community.  Last week as I was scrolling through the message board I came across a post about a SC challenge, presented by Tara Elias. She is very talented and I enjoy following her on SC, seeing what her latest project or layout is, so was interested to see what the challenge was. (You can check her out here).  

 

She was responsible for the month of October for the L.O.A.W. (Layout a Week) challenge.  This particular challenge (L.O.A.W #3) was to create a layout but not use any embellishments.  I just happened to comment on the message thread as I happened to be on the message board when they were posting some comments.

 

 

Basically my comment was such that I would find it really difficult to create a page without embellishments, that I thought it would look so plain.  Tara responded back saying, funnily enough, "well therein lies the challenge".  Normally I probably would have just gone on with visiting the rest of the message boards that evening and then logged off.  But for some reason I thought no, I am going to take this challenge.  Rare for me.  Yes, if you know me personally I am the type of person who will accept a dare or challenge, in person, but not typically something online, whether it be on a forum or those annoying status posts on something like FB that you get strong armed or emotionally blackmailed, if you will, into posting as your status.  I'm sure you all know what I mean!

 

 

I didn't want to create just a plain page with a photo and text but I did want to try to find a way that I could get the look of an embellishment onto the page. So I decided to try a bit of masking as it's "all the rage" at the moment and "all the kids are doing it".  

 

 

I have played around with paints before but this was my first attempt using this technique and I was pleased with how it turned out.

 

I do have to say that I did find this challenge just that, very challenging!  There were more than a handful of times that in the midst of creating the page that I started to reach for different embellishments and then remembered that I wasn't allowed to use any.  I did think there for a while that I would not finish the page as it just sat on the side of my desk for about a week, not making any progress. I also debated about whether I would finish it in its entirety and thought to myself, its just causing me too much frustration, maybe I should leave it.  Nevertheless, I vowed it wasn't going to get the better of me and just decided to sit down and be done with it.

 

What you see below is the finished page.

 

 

In addition to the masking I also put my hand to trying that new script lettering that again "all the kids are trying".  I'm not sure if this is the right style or the way it is done but this was my take on it.

 

In the end I am glad that I took the challenge and that I finished the page, that I could rise to the occasion and complete what I set out to do.

 

Thanks for having a look!

Christine