On the 6th and 7th Day of Christmas....

My Santa gave to me:

A pack of MME 3x4 cards just perfect for layering and journalling. The cards are all gorgeous shades of corals, greys and teals. They are stunning and I know they are going to get used lots.

A sheet of Basic Grey Spice Market paper in gold and coral which is just beautiful and a 12x12 sheet of Simple Stories stickers which I love. There are hearts and butterflies and borders for all sorts of layouts but also some wedding themed ones which will I am so excited about as I started a wedding layout at yesterday's crop and had nothing to finish it off. Psychic Santa - Thank You xx

On the 5th Day of Christmas....

My Santa gave to me:

Gorgeous sequin paper by Simple Stories and Hopper paper by Shimelle. Thank you Santa :)

On the 4th Day of Christmas....

My Santa gave to me:

DIY Shop Sequins. They say the best things come in small packages and this just proves it. They are perfect colours too - I love greens, greys and golds right now. Thank you Santa xx

On the 3rd Day of Christmas....

My Santa gave to me:

Gorgeous papers from 2 collections that I love. The film strip paper is Shimelle's Goodfield paper and the floral one is Basic Grey Spice Market. Thank you Santa :)

Advent Time - Yay!

It's that time of the year again and my advent swap parcel looks so festive. Thank you very much Santa Sandra for going to so much effort. It looks beautiful:

How cute is the little buckle? It works too and I am under strict instructions to reseal it each day to discourage poking and cheating :)

Day 1: I was very spoilt with ginger chocolates (my favourites), a stitch-able journalling sheet, white pen, very pretty advent calendar card and a sheet of real cork just the right thickness for die cutting. I've never seen these before and am going to love using it all - thank you Santa

Day 2: Gorgeously wrapped in kraft coloured tissue paper with snowflakes and a curly red Santa boot

Inside: Basic Grey Spice Market paper and a MME paper with frames all over the back that I already have plans for. I am loving my presents - thank you.

The Roaring Twenties by the sea...

The theme of this year's scrapbooking retreat was the glamorous 1920's. Cue lots of beads, feathers, glamorous accessories and a few glamorous layouts and classes too. Ali did a gilding class that had most of us wondering how much of our home and furnishings could be turned gold before Christmas. We completed 3 challenges, a quiz, bingo night and a thread catcher class over the weekend (a thread catcher being a little fabric bucket attached to a weighted pin cushion to use with a sewing machine for those who are wondering). 

 

The mystery kit challenge featured Simple Stories "Legacy" papers which I have to admit are not my thing at all. They contain yellow and brown together and are very muted but hey, it wouldn't be a challenge if they were easy to work with. The rules are no added embellishments apart from the lace and dots in the kit (but when I got home I added some bunting and a kraft coloured background!)

The "Upstairs Downstairs" challenge was to scrap opposites. Some layouts were light and dark or busy with white space or floral and patterned and some used photos of opposites. Here is my super keen, all weather sporty golfer... and the other one who less keen!

Friday night was party night. Everyone dressed up and got into the 1920's spirit. 

Yet Another Paint Related Post...

This time using Grand Illusions Vintage Paints.
Similar in concept to the Annie Sloan, these paints require no primer and no sanding. Just paint and go. Well paint and wait really....but definitely no fiddly bits and not too much prep.

DD chose colour 25 "Charleston Vintage." Personally, I thought it looked a little dark but she was very decisive. "It's just more me," she explained and who can argue with that? Plus, once again, we already own something so hideous that no iffy colour choice can make it any worse.

Here is the before photo:

Note the attractive fake knot effect and overall faux pine sheen. 
Ignore the handles though because they're staying. Ten new handles cost far too much to replace but I did remove the backing on some to tone them down a bit.

The paint is much thinner than Annie Sloan so goes on very easily but is more prone to drips. The colour changes as it dries in a very alarming way. After the first coat it looked just awful and very patchy but the second coat gave a uniform, flat colour and fewer visible brush strokes than Annie Sloan paint. I guess it depends on what sort of look you're after and whether you use a brush or a roller.

I preferred the final stage with this paint: using clear varnish as opposed to waxing but only because I am never sure if I am applying Annie Sloan wax correctly. Water based varnish allows you to feel certain that the entire surface is covered properly and it requires no buffing of course.

Here is the finished chest of drawers back in DD's room:

Actually, I think she was right to go a bit bolder with the colour. Maybe I should leave all my paint shade dilemmas to her in future!