Cards

Sandra at Gotta Craft has the most gorgeous stamps in for Christmas and I just couldn't resist Beanie Anya which is currenly on special offer :)

I also managed to use up all of my Aloe Vera Bazzill from my last Gotta Craft kit. Isn't it just the most gorgeous shade of greeny, turquoisey teal! I must nag Sandra to get more in (she loves me nagging her really!)

Eeeek... Nearly Christmas

I do love Christmas. In fact it is my favourite time of the year but this year it has rolled around far too early. My head is still in October and cannot grasp that its less than 3 weeks until the big day!

I am trying to catch up though and so far on the festive front: I have written most of my cards and located the decorations. I have done almost all of the present shopping and ordered the food. We have also been lucky enough to win a big toy hamper in the raffle at the school fair. The kids haven't seen it yet as it arrived this morning but Christmas is coming even earlier at our house (if I'd known it was going to be so good I would have glossed over the win and wrapped everything up from Santa but its too late - they know all about winning and want to see their prize!)

Things rumble on on the house front. The partition walls are down, the roof is up and most of the electrics are done so its progress. Here is a piccie of my bedroom (well DH's bedroom too not that he's had much input lol):


The door on the left will lead to a little ensuite and the door on the right is a walk in closet. The photo was taken last month - I really must get some new photos of it this week as when the madness is over I want to scrap it all so that I can look back on it and vow never to do anything so mad again. Next time we move I want a totally totally finished house that doesn't need so much as a light bulb changed!

Bad Blogger

Apologies - I have been a very bad Blogger. We had a lovely Summer Holiday (which now seems months away as is usual with these things!) and returned to settle the children into their new school. They are doing really well so far :)
The same week, we discovered that after months of paperwork, we finally have planning permission to move (the house we are moving to was used as a business so it needs official permission to make it residential again) so now its full steam ahead with packing up a house and a garden. It was so much easier when we moved here from a little flat. Where on earth does all the junk come from over the years?!

So anyway - those are my excuses for being very quiet and not so crafty these past few weeks. I am having a last minute flurry of card making and scrapbooking before my craft stuff is relegated to packing boxes (oh yes - I forgot to mention - we're not just moving but overhauling the new house too so the nearest I'm going to get to paint techniques for a few months is a big roller and a jumbo can of white gloss!) Still it will be nice when its done (deep breath and repeat....nice when its done, nice when its done...lol)

Luckily I will still have my Gotta Craft kit coming every month to give me a fix of the newest stash and the most gorgeous papers. I have also been drooling over their new CC stamps (Autumn themed and soooo pretty) that are new in. I have used the Fall Birgitta one to create this card for my lovely Niece

Onslow Crop

A bit of a miracle - 3 layouts in one day (if you count a double layout as two separate layouts which I definitely do purely in order to boost my scrapping output!)


I had a lovely day yesterday at the Onslow Village crop. It was my first time there - the other ladies were very welcoming and Jackie hosts a mean crop (lots of cakes, yummy sweets, a deli opposite and tons of scrapping room - what more could a girl want?).
The other page I completed was ages old - from April 2009 but this double layout is my first with photos from 2010 - woohoo I am finally catching up! Once again I've blurred the faces of the other children - its not some new craze for photo editing that I'm trying to start :)

I used pretty much everything from my June Gotta Craft kit including the journalling tag and gorgeous mesh fabric. The chipboard letters are also covered with DeLovley papers from the kit. I think I will be buying some extras though as they will be perfect for sunny holiday photos too.

A bit of a challenge

I am gradually working my way through my 2009 album and am very nearly there now. Mind you it will take all of 2011 to catch up with the 2010 photos as I haven't even printed most of them yet let alone scrapped them.
I've left the hardest ones to last ie the boy themed layouts or the ones where all the photos are hurriedly taken and badly lit. My son's Laser Quest Birthday party fell into both categories so was second to last on the list!


As it was a school party, not just family, I don't have everyone's permission to put the photos up have blanked out some faces. The original photos aren't great either which is why it was so hard to do - that and the funny colours!!
He had a bright orange alien cake, a cow print table cloth and friends wearing either white or red. Honestly - you'd think table cloth and children's clothing manufacturers could consider the latest scrapbooking paper trends and churn out clothes and cloths in appropriate designs to match - preferably with pictures of owls on them!

Best Friends Always....

Its that time of year again. The end of the school year and for some a parting of the ways. I made this card for my little DD to give to her best friend in the whole wide world. From September they will be at different schools and I know they will miss each other a great deal.





They will still see each other at Brownies but its not the same as being joined at the hip for lessons, eating lunch together every day and playing rabbits or horsies every playtime. DS is moving schools too but is much more cheerful about the new adventure. I am sure they will both be just fine. It will be me that's still sobbing over their little class photos come Christmas. Its just so sad that they get old and grow up so quickly!

185 Days to Go.......

......until Christmas. Yipeeee!!
Christmas is my absolute favourite time of the year and its never too early to start thinking about it. I have a couple of presents already and today I made my first cards (using one of the gorgeous new CC stamps available from Gotta Craft)






I have added some red Pro Markers to my collection especially for Christmas projects. The reds I have used are: Red, Ruby and Poppy

BBQ Layouts

I am living up to my name of only being a Saturday Scrapper at the moment but I did finish a double layout at yesterday's crop which is super-speedy scrapping my by usual standards.

The circle ideas on each page were taken from Sandra's mega bundle of scrap sketches, the papers are a mix from a past Gotta Craft kit and the bird embellie & felt flower are from this month's Dabble Kit

More Cards....

For somebody that has never got the hang of rubber stamping and whose colouring skills are normally limited to the kid's menu and pot of crayons in Pizza Express, I have to confess I am addicted!

I blame Sandra over at Gotta Craft with her huuuuge array of promarkers and gorgeous new CC stamps. They are so easy to stamp with and I have really enjoyed learning to blend pro markers to colour them in (you just need 2 or 3 colours in slightly varying shade and away you go - the results are fab!)


This is the Sweet November Corander stamp and the colours I have used are:
ivory, blush and pale pink for the skin
leaf green and meadow green for the dress
terracotta, cinnamon and burnt umber for the hair
glitter for the wings
white pen for highlights
ice grey1 pen for shadow outline



Sweet November Corander stamp again
ivory, blush and pale pink for the skin (more coats of blush than ivory this time)
primrose, pastel yellow and vanilla for the hair
pale pink, baby pink and cocktail pink for the dress
glitter for the wings
white pen for highlights
ice grey1 pen for shadow outline

Graceful Cards

A couple of cards made with the Graceful papers - one for Father's Day:




And a more feminine Birthday card:



I haven't made many cards recently so it was nice to dig out some old stamps and have a play again. I still can't get away from too much layering though - they do stand up on their own but its a good job I don't have to post the golf one - its really quite heavy!

Fairy Dreams...

My daughter has a special bedtime routine. We ask her what she will dream about and she always replies "fairies, princes, flowers, butterflies and donkeys" and then she blows the light out.
It occured to me that although she will probably always be a girly girl, she won't always want to dream about donkeys so I created this layout to remember her cuteness lol.
The papers are all Graceful by My Mind's Eye and the pearl butterfly is by Prima

Graceful...

I have been happily playing with the new papers by My Mind's Eye tonight and avoiding the football on the tele (the football season is going to do wonders for my scrapping time!)
The Graceful papers are just gorgeous... beautiful vintagey designs and lovely muted colours. I don't normally like working with either yellow or purple but these are more creams and plums and are just soooo pretty.

The lovely Sandra over at Gotta Craft asked me to use some of them to make a layout for her Gallery this month which I was very excited about. I am really pleased with how it turned out although I admit I might have slightly over embellished it and, as usual, I have used 5 different papers and cardstock! I do love Prima goodies and I am a sucker for layering - I just can't help myself.


I will post the finished layout once its in Sandra's Gallery but in the meantime here are a couple of sneak peeks.

Bingo Bags

We are off for a Bingo night in honour of my Sister's Birthday. It's not something we do very often but it is such good fun and my Bingo Bags are ready for the trip: a gift bag containing my Sister's Birthday present and a big bag ready to lug home all my winnings (well here's hoping). My lucky green dabber is in there somewhere as well!
Actually I never travel light and have a handbag that is at least half as big as me at all times. With today's glorious weather though, I have traded it in for a more summery but equally large version (and a TK Maxx January sale bargain for only £18 too) :)
If I never post again its because I've won big on a linked game. Obviously I will try to contact you all but I'm not sure what the connection will be like on a yacht off of the coast of the Bahamas!

First Post

I am hoping that owning my very own little corner of blog-land will mean that I start using up some supplies, discover new stash to purchase and generally become all round super creative and productive. Hmmmm - we'll see!!
With that in mind - here is a layout I have just completed for the lovely Sandra over at Gotta Craft (her with the kits that sell out in a blink!). It is of my two monsters not bashing each other which means that it deserved to be scrapped just for rarity value!