Paper Obsession

While the cat's away...

...the mouse will play! Gareth was out for drinks after work last night, giving me a whole evening of guilt-free scrapping.. and I managed to complete two layouts that I'm really happy with.

The first of these was in response to this month's challenge on the Fiskarettes blog. It's a sketch challenge, and the prize is a year's subscription to one of a whole range of craft magazines, including Craft Stamper, Scrapbook Trends, Simply Handmade and several others. Well worth a go - the closing date is Monday 12th April so get to it!

I've just checked the rules and you're allowed to post your entry to your own personal blog, so here it is:

 
The journaling reads:

'He might look as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, but at 15 months old, Harry had an alarming habit of throwing his cutlery across the table... often closely followed by his plate. Thankfully he's grown out of this now (although he's still no angel!).

As you can see, Shimelle's lessons have really sunk in:

scraps of cardstock - check!

assorted alpha stickers - check!

My second layout of the night was based on Shimelle's Friday prompt - using flowers - and her sketch. You know, I'm really loving sketches at the moment! Also, I think I'm beginning to embrace white space and let go of the urge to fill it with stuff. Perhaps the clean and simple style is not beyond me, after all!

Julie - if you're reading this - thank you for the purple hydrangeas!

The journaling reads:

'Harry! Don't step on the flowers!' I called in vain.

'I wouldn't!' he called back.

I don't know where he's got this phrase, 'I wouldn't!' - usually uttered whenever he is doing just what I have asked him not to do. Infuriating... but so cute at the same time!

Finally... Julie Kirk very kindly did a post on the Gauche Alchemy blog yesterday which mentioned my article in this month's Scrapbook Magazine. Two of the layouts I did for the article used lots of gorgeous sparkly bits from Gauche Alchemy's mixed media colour kits.. which, of course, I mentioned in the article! As a reward for getting their name in print, GA are going to send me a little goodie bag.. result!!

Have a happy weekend.. :o)

Could this be the quickest layout ever?

...whipped up this afternoon while Harry snoozed on the sofa and Charlie played at nursery

...inspired by Shimelle's prompt on using stickers (and I certainly have enough of those)

...also inspired by this post by Anso to pick a bunch of photos that make you happy and scrapbook them.

I love seeing how my boys... and the garden... have changed in the last two years.

Sometimes it's the details in the background that can catch your eye.. like the abundance of flowers in the borders... reminding me that occasionally it's good not to 'go in close and cut out the distracting mess behind the subject'!

Sticker count:

• Papermania embossed glittery butterflies: 3
• Papermania epoxy flowers: 12
• Fabric/cardstock arrows and rectangles (from Pound shop): 5
• October Afternoon circle label: 1
• American Crafts Thickers: 7

TOTAL: 28 stickers!!!

I really enjoyed doing this layout... it was quick (about 30 minutes, must be an all-time record), easy and fun!

Guess who's in Scrapbook Magazine this month?

Oooh, can you possibly guess?

I was pleasantly surprised to find this issue on my doormat yesterday, a whole three days before it's out in the shops. Turn to page 36 and you'll find an article on using black & white photos in bold, colourful layouts, written by me!

The article, including three layouts, was commissioned back in January as a result of the Scrapbooker of the Year competition (of which I was one of nine runners-up). It seems so long ago that I did these layouts but I really loved doing them. When I get them back, I'll photograph them and post pictures here. But if you do get the magazine, I'd love to know what you think of what I wrote, as well as my layouts of course!

My next commission is to come up with a sketch and matching layout with the theme of Summer, again for Scrapbook Magazine. It will be in issue 47 (out in about three months) and is a work in progress at the moment! Here's a sneak peek of what it may involve...

That's all for now... except to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who left a lovely comment on the post below.. I really appreciate every comment!

Killing three birds with one LO?

Not literally, you understand... it's just that I've been working on this layout since Friday - when Shimelle's class prompt involved using up your patterned paper scraps. Inspired by one of the gorgeous layouts in the prompt, I punched about a million circles out of my Basic Grey 'Urban Prairie' papers.. and then fell prey to scrapper's block. My original idea just looked rubbish so I had to leave it awhile.. until I thought of using them to form scallops around the edge of a smaller piece of cardstock, then mounting on 12x12.

I felt the blue cardstock was a bit plain so I stamped it with some lovely Basic Grey swirl stamps using Clear Embossing Ink, which seemed to have a watermark effect like using Versamark. In the morning, though, I found it had all but disappeared! I could just make out the swirly lines, so I went over the stamping with a Sakura Souffle green pen - and now it looks like doodling!

Monday's prompt was all about using ribbon.. reminding me that I had a bundle of Urban Prairie fibres tucked away that I've never used. I fancied threading them around the edges of the layout in some way.. then - lightbulb moment - thought of my little-used Bind-It-All. What a simple way to get nice evenly spaced holes all around the edges of the cardstock. I really like how this turned out.

I decided the layout needed something to fill the space on the left.. either circles or birds. I went for three birds as I thought they echoed the little blue bird in one of the patterned paper scallops at the top. I loved its closed eye and eyelashes, so tried to recreate that on my die-cut birdies.. particularly as I'm also blinking in the photo! The third 'bird' I'm metaphorically killing? Well, I've used metal brads for their eyes. I think that counts.. :o)

The birds were die-cut using the Shapeabilities Nesting Bird dies. I added hand-cut wings, flower sequins and inked around the edges. On one of the birds I used some sequin waste (punchinella) from Gauche Alchemy as a stencil and dabbed ink through it. Love that effect!

The layout is simply about how I'm happy that we are following our dream by moving down to the South Coast, happy to be closer to our family.. and just happy to be on the beach!

Thanks for looking.. if you made it this far! ;-)

Celebrate Life... the album

So Shimelle's eagerly-awaited new class started on Wednesday... and so far, so fabulous! The first prompt was designed to get you using up all things metal - brads, eyelets, frames, tags and so on... I must have hundreds of brads n' eyelets which I rarely use. The prompt contained some really lovely ideas for using these things.. and then a sketch for the title page of the album project, Celebrate Life (interpret as you will!).

Here's a couple of peeks at my title page..

I'll take a picture of the whole thing in proper light tomorrow (if we get any) and post a list of the supplies I used (hint: it includes LOTS of brads).

The second prompt, which Shimelle posted today, includes some fabulous ideas for making use of patterned paper scraps.. let's face it, who doesn't have mountains of them?! I am VERY keen to tame my paper scrap collection, it really is getting out of hand.

Talking of which, if you have any top tips for organising paper scraps... I'd love to hear them!

Finally... some news!

Well, we waited impatiently throughout Tuesday, slept badly that night, waited even more impatiently most of the day Wednesday... and then - when I was truly at the end of my tether - received news via email from our mortgage adviser -

Had a number chats some quite heated

However the good news is it is finally approved and has gone to survey

Will be chasing for dates

He doesn't mince words, our mortgage man.. but I had a strange sense of anti-climax - as if I didn't quite dare believe it. And we're not home and dry quite yet.. the survey of our new house will be done early next week. Assuming they don't discover anything dire, we should receive our formal mortgage offer soon after.. by next Friday perhaps?!

So now we can, just about, book the Removals company, start packing.. and start panicking. Foolishly, I reminded Gareth that Shimelle's class started on Wednesday. "And when do you think you'll have time to do that?!!" was the not-unreasonable reply. I can see his point I suppose!

However, while he was watching the Champions League, I managed to rustle up two Mothers Day cards and make a start on the title page of my new album based on Shimelle's class, 'Celebrate Life'. I'm hoping to get this page finished today (just need to add the journaling and maybe a few more sparkly bits).. then I'll be able to post a pretty picture.

Note: This post should have gone out yesterday but I was hoping to have finished my 'Celebrate Life' title page to include here. Sometimes the 'life' I'm meant to be celebrating gets right in the way of blogging and scrapping... ;o)

Something from (almost) nothing...

Well, I wouldn't call it nothing, exactly! This was my desk yesterday.. I've managed to clear it, apart from one or two irritating piles of stuff that I can't quite find a place for. I have labelled drawers and folders, sorted scraps of cardstock and patterned paper into colours and brands, and made a folder for all my clear stamps.

Tonight, and this is perhaps a little embarrassing, I've spent hour or so sorting through all my patterned papers, filing them alphabetically by brand... and writing up what I have on a spreadsheet. Did I go too far?! Yes, probably... but at least I've clapped eyes on every sheet of paper I own - and know exactly where they all are! 

Shimelle's class starts tomorrow.. and all I can say is, I'm (almost) ready!

By the way... we didn't get 'the phone call' today.. so the waiting continues... at least I'll have something else to think about.

:o)

Sorting out the stash

Shimelle has set a challenge for everyone taking part in her latest class, starting on Wednesday 10th March. The challenge is to admit you probably have just a little too much scrapping stash.. a few more ribbons, brads and embellishments than you could use in a lifetime.. possibly enough patterned paper to decorate your entire house, inside and out..?

Yep, that's me. I really do have way more stuff than I need (don't we all..?) - so now is the time to seriously make a dent in it. That's what Shimelle's class is all about, finding ways to make Something From (Almost) Nothing (hence the name, obviously).

My first task is to get my stash organised, which is what I've been up to today. My cardstock, papers, stickers and embellishments are in a bit of jumble, it has to be said. I have stuff downstairs in the dining room shelves.. and I have stuff upstairs in the newly converted spare room/craft room. Not ideal!!! So today I've tried to get ALL my scrapping gear upstairs and sorted into my lovely IKEA shelves.. so that by Wednesday, (a) I'll know what I own, (b) I'll know where it is, and (c) I'll have it to hand without needing to run up/downstairs to fetch it!

Here's my craft area in the dining room:

And this is my new craft room (it used to be Charlie's room, hence the little boy curtains and wallpaper border):

It's a work in progress.. but I think I'm getting there. By the time it's totally sorted we'll be moving house, no doubt, then I'll have to start all over again.. but I'll worry about that when it happens. I'll post piccies of my freshly organised craft space tomorrow.. that's a promise.

Some scrappy discoveries

I seem to have been glued to the blogs for the last few days and have created nothing new.. shame on me! However, my boys have both created some lovely art - and seem to be developing very different styles! Charlie likes to put hand-prints on everything, while Harry just loves to make train tracks in paint.

Despite my lack of creativity this week, I have managed to bring my Google Reader under control (now down to a mere 23 subscriptions)... and have also discovered some interesting blogs and sites...

A website called ScrapScene - 'the who's who of scrapbooking' - am I the only scrapper who didn't know about this? It contains all sorts of scrapbooking news, along with design team calls and useful articles. Definitely worth a look.

Over at Get It Scrapped!, Debbie Hodge is running a free class called 'Scrap "Your" Story'. It's a series of 11 weekly lessons, posted each Tuesday, designed to get you scrapping about yourself. The first one, entitled 'Yourself: Who are you right now', is on the website now. It looks pretty detailed, and I doubt I'll commit to it, but could be useful if you've been meaning to scrap about yourself but keep putting it off.

From a link on the Gauche Alchemy blog, I discovered the Submissions page for Scrapbook Trends, Cards, Bead Trends and Simply Handmade magazines. I only have one copy of ST (the December '09 issue) but it's a fantastic source of inspiration, the layouts are just gorgeous.. and SO beautifully photographed. It would be a dream to be published in those hallowed pages.. so I thought why not have a go?

Well, you don't get anywhere if you don't try, right?!

I could go on, but it's getting hard to type with a little one on my lap..

Oh, just one more thing - I did sign up to Shimelle's new class 'Something for (Almost) Nothing' - so if you have too, see you in class! ;o)

And they call it... Muzzy Love

First day of March and Spring has sprung! Today was so glorious, after all the dismal weather on the weekend, that I couldn't help grinning all the way to Charlie's nursery this morning. I just hope it lasts.. for a while at least.

Here's a layout I did yesterday..

• Harry at six days old, just after a feed and giving me a beautiful gummy (ok, windy) grin.

• Evidence of the origin of his all-consuming obsession with muslin cloths (which he now calls muzzies).

He was a very sicky baby for the first few weeks so I constantly wore a muslin over my shoulder to soak up the inevitable post-feed bloops. Ever since, he has wanted a muzzy with him pretty much all the time. Thankfully he's not too fussy which one he has (and we do have LOTS of them).. although recently he has started insisting on a muzzy with a label.. and the blue ones are definitely his favourites.

I used my brand-new set of 'Red Tag Sale' alpha dies on the Cuttlebug to cut these letters out of Bazzill card and blue felt.. aren't they yummy! [..and the die set was only £20 on eBay..bargain!]

The papers and duck stamps are October Afternoon 'Ducks in a Row' (of course). 

I am currently debating whether to sign up for Shimelle's new class, 'Something for (Almost) Nothing'.. it's all about making the most of your stash, putting it to use in different ways and learning some new techniques along the way. It starts on 10th March and runs til the end of the month.

I just can't resist a Shimelle class and I'm sure I will end up joining in.. my only problem is that it overlaps with Dina Wakley's Art Journaling 101 online class, which runs from 22nd March to 16th April . I signed up for this a few months back (when it was an archived class) but didn't really get very far. Now she's running it again live, so to speak - so it's my chance to have another go - and maybe succeed this time (I hope)!