It's Giveaway Time!!

Tuesday 31 July 2012

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Hi Everyone

I've recently got this fabulous and shiny new blog but it's missing a few things: followers! With only a few so far I'm feeling a little lonely here so would absolutely love you to follow me and my (usually) daily ramblings and crafty projects, and I have a MASSIVE giveaway for you if you join me:


This massive goody box contains patterned papers, page kits, rubber stamps, a punch, and loads of embellishments and the contents are worth over £100 so it's well worth going in for the draw.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to become one of my followers and leave a comment on this post telling me what sort of things you like to see in/on the blogs that you follow - that's it!

The draw will close at the end of July and I will announce the winner on 2nd August!

I {heart} my camera

Morning All

I'm very excited to say that I've been selected for the Design Team over at Fantastic Ribbons! How cool is that! Ribbon is a big deal to me, I use it on almost every project I make and I have a ton of it in my craft room in so many different varieties and colours I've run out of room to put it! In fact my lovely Dad has had to make me two custom built ribbon racks to hold my stash and do you know what, I have a sneaking suspicion that I am about to get loads more from the Fantastic Ribbons guys! Even though this is going to cause me major storage problems I absolutely cannot wait!!

Anyway enough about that and on to last week's challenge over at UK Scrappers.  The challenge was all about your personal favourites. We had to create a layout using:

1. Our favourite colour combination
2. Our favourite technique
3. an item we can't live without or something you love to do when not at work.

I was away on holiday last week so I asked one of my lovely teamies to text me with this info so I could plan the challenge while I was away so I could quickly get it done on Sunday evening when I got back as the challenges have to be completed before midnight on the Sunday of that week.

I had decided to scrap my camera as it is pretty much my favourite thing at the moment so that was 3. taken care of.  The colour combo was a bit more tricky though.

I'd say that my favourite colour combo is probably pink & green. I love various shades of pink with bright green so that is what initially sprang to mind. However I don't think I've ever actually scrapped in those colours. I've made lots of cards but no scrapbook pages. I can also be a bit fickle when it comes to colour combos, I go off ones I used to love - I think that comes down to boredom and a need to use colours that create new and different looks and I am constantly intrigued by combos I see on other people's layouts. I also take a lot of inspiration from patterned paper and that is what I decided to do for this challenge.

My favourite piece of patterned paper (currently, and not anymore because I've now used it...!) is this piece:

It is by My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy range which isn't very old but isn't exactly brand new either but it is a paper that I am attracted to time and time again. I've used little pieces of it in other layouts but have been saving the majority for the perfect layout. It's not the design/pattern I love (although I do have a love for diagonal stripes) but the colours.  The main colours are orange & teal but they are complimented by grey, cream, brown and yellow and together I think this is a winning combination and is definitely a colour combination I adore.  So that's my colour scheme chosen. Not the first obvious one that sprang to my mind but a definite favourite nonetheless.

Here is the layout I made:


How do you take a photo of your camera? I needed my camera to take the picture but the camera had to be in the picture so this posed a problem! I got out my iphone and used the Hipstamatic app to take polaroid style photos of my camera. I love the effect of these - very retro! I think using Hipstamatic photos is a technique in itself but even though I love it, I don't think I can say it's my favourite technique because I hardly ever use it.


My favourite technique at the moment is to use ink splatters. I know quite boring but definitely my favourite right now so I've used that on the layout. I've also done some stamping - a border  which isn't very clear from the photos and the little camera is stamped too. Stamping is also one of my favourite techniques as it is so versatile.


So there you go, my favourite layout. It has to be my favourite doesn't it as it incorporates all my favourite things (until tomorrow that is!) xx


Only Scraps Allowed...Metal

Monday 30 July 2012

Morning, morning! I have returned from my little holiday in France which was a bit of a disaster unfortunately. The first couple of days were alright but then someone came down with a sickness bug which took a different person out each day of the holiday pretty much - not much fun. Also the weather was just that bit too hot and we were unable to cool down (and when you have a sickness bug that's not good news) but it didn't even cool down at night so there wasn't much sleeping going on either - there was no air conditioning!  So all in all, I'm glad to be home.

On to this week's Only Scraps Allowed Challenge - this week I want you to incorporate metal into your layouts somehow.  Joining in the challenge is easy - just create a layout using only paper scraps and incorporate metal into your layout. You are allowed to use one whole sheet for the background but other than that, it's scraps only! Feel free to add whatever embellishments and alphas you like.

This week I had a very cute picture of my Little Miss helping my Dad put up the stair gates in our house - well, hindering actually, so I went through my scraps basket to find suitable papers. There wasn't really an obvious colour scheme from the photos so I just picked out everything that I thought might go, I went for a few wood effect papers, some browns and some blues:


and here is the layout I made with them:


I stamped a border around the edge of my one whole sheet - kraft - and then built up some layers focusing on some of the wood effect paper I had. I also had some Maya Road fibers that went really well with the papers so added a couple of those to the layout too as well as some cute tool charms that I had - that took care of the metal element!


I added the date in all different alpha stickers down at the bottom of the layout together with another charm and also some tiny Tim Holtz brads which are like screws, perfect!



If you'd like to join in with the challenge this week then simply create a layout using up your paper scraps and incorporating metal and link below. Thanks for joining in xx


Sketch Saturday - Sweet 16

Saturday 28 July 2012

Morning Campers!

Another Saturday morning means another amazing sketch over at Sketch Saturday! So without further ado, here it is:


And here is the card I made based on it for my Design Team entry.  I made this for my little friend Eleanor who isn't so little anymore - she's just turned 16!  Eleanor loves the Miss Anya stamps so I had to put one on her card and I just love this one as she looks so pretty sitting down - and that hat is fabulous!


Here she is close up...


and don't you just love that absolutely MASSIVE bow! I don't normally go quite so large but I'm trying to broaden my ribbon horizon these days and big bows look great on cards - although it makes them expensive to send! Hey, I think it's worth it, if you've spent ages making a card then it is definitely worth the postage.


and to finish off I added a little handbag charm just under the bow - so pretty!

Make sure you join in with Sketch Saturday this week - the Craft Barn are sponsoring the challenge this week and there is a prize on offer so pop over and link your card!

Thanks for looking and I hope you like it!

52 Layouts Step-by-Step #8 This Cupcake Doesn't Taste Right

Friday 27 July 2012

Happy Friday morning to all the scrappers out there!  I have another installment of 52 Layouts Step-by-Step for you today.

You will need:
One plain sheet for the background
another sheet of coordinating card for mounting (there are a couple pictured but I actually only used one)
3 patterned papers. There is a fourth pictured but I have only used that to cut out a cupcake emblem that was featured on it.
A large alphabet and a small one
one 6x4 portrait photo
a small piece of white card
some rubber stamps to make embellishments with...

Step 1
Choose your background (very easy first step!)


Step 2
Cut a strip of patterned paper to 4x12" - don't stick though


Step 3
Cut a strip of another patterned paper to 5 1/2 x 12" - don't stick this either!

Step 4
Cut a strip of card to 3/4 x 12" and cut a scalloped edge using a border punch - NOW you can stick them all - see the next picture below.


Step 5
Cut another patterned paper to 5 1/2 x 6" and stick to the left side of your layout:

Step 6
Mount a 6x4 photo onto coloured card (the same colour as your strip of scallops)  4 1/2 x 7 1/2". You can stick the photo to the mount but don't stick it to the layout yet.


Step 7
Cut your small piece of white card to 3 1/4 x 4" and create a notebook edge (or any other design you fancy) on one side using a border punch. Tuck that under your photo and stick everything down.


Step 8
Stamp and colour some embellishments and then cut them out. If you have some small ones then cut them into 4 circles as pictured below. Stick the two large ones to your layout, to the right of your photo - save the circles for later. Also stamp a tiny cupcake onto the bottom of your notebook journalling card:


(Note: I've also cut out a large cupcake emblem from one of my patterned papers - if you have something similar then use that, otherwise replace this with another stamped image)


Step 9
Add a title to your layout using a mixture of large and small alphabet stickers:


Step 10
Write in your journalling and stick on those four circles to the left of your photo. I also stamped another tiny cupcake at the top of my journalling just because the white space above the writing was just a bit too sparse.  And that's it - layout complete!

Here's the finished layout. I think making your own embellishments using rubber stamps is a great and economical way of dressing up your layouts, for those of us who don't have an unlimited supply of stash!  I hope you enjoyed this layout - if you make one using these instructions please link your work below so I can have a nosy, but please note I'm not around for comments this week as I'm on holiday in France! I will visit when I get back though, I promise.

Here is what you'll need to join in with next week:
3 sheets of patterned paper - one of mine is made up of stripes that I can cut up into individual strips
1 sheet of card
Some border stickers
a medium sized alpha
Washi tape
a few brads and little flowers
one 6x4 portrait photo

You have a week to gather your supplies - see you then!



Weekly Kit Release: July4 'Memoire'

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Morning Everyone

I have a fantabulous kit to reveal today, it features some of the super gorgeous 'En Francais' range by Prima. Here it is:


The kit contains:
2 x Prima 'En Francais' patterned papers
2x coordinating Bazzill cardstock
'Flutterbits' - die cut butterflies that coordinate with the 'En Francais' range
Red grosgrain ribbin and blue ricrac
Pearls

Here is the first layout I made with this kit. I raided some alpha stickers from the 'Sunrise' kit and 'Staccato' kits that were out earlier in the month and I also had some leftover brads from last week's kit so I put all that together and came up with this:

The Flutterbits are absolutely great and I put a couple of pearls in each one which really made them look gorgeous.

Here's a second layout I made with this kit - and again I raided some alphas from a previous kit. I did the same thing with the flutterbits but only used a few of them as this layout wasn't so girly.  I had to add the background sheet of card as I had used the two that came with the kit.

I made this flat bow out of some of the leftover ribbon and embellished with some of the pearls - lovely!

and here is the layout Kirei made with this kit. Pop by her blog to see more info on how she made it.

This kit costs £7.00 and you can purchase this here or you can subscribe monthly to save some cash!


Our 2nd Anniversary

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Me and my hubby have been married for two whole years today. We've been together for 7 and a half years in total but it took us quite a while to get around to a wedding so we only have two years under our belts on the marriage front. We are celebrating in France on holiday (this is a scheduled post!) and hopefully we're going out for a nice dinner tonight!

The second anniversary is cotton so I bought him a posh t-shirt and some tennis socks (not very romantic I know but he was desperate for them!) and here is the card I made him:


The stamp is a digi by Clear Dollar Stamps and I actually used my sewing machine for a change to sew the layers of the card together.


and I looked up the definition of the 2nd anniversary symbolism and typed that on my computer so I could incorporate it into the card. I was quite pleased with the result in the end, lets hope Ben likes it!


Only Scraps Allowed...Tidy Up Time

Monday 23 July 2012

Morning Chapesses

Hopefully all will be ok with this week's posts - they are all scheduled as I am actually in France on holiday for a week. All being well I should be enjoying warm weather and lots of yummy cheese. We are going with two other couples, both with children and one of the other couples have TWO children so that makes a total of 6 adults and 4 children, my my, what were we thinking when we agreed to go?! 

Anyway, on to this week's Only Scraps Allowed Challenge. I thought I'd throw a theme in this week to mix things up a bit - not sure I'll do it every week but then again I might if I can think of enough themes...

So this week's theme for your scraps is 'ombre' which means 'shaded or graduated in tone of colour'. In other words, lets see some of the colours in your layout go from light to dark shades.  Here's some examples:





You get the idea huh?

Right, I had a cute photo of my favourite model this week and I picked out some of the orangy/peachy tones in the photo so raided my scraps basket for anything in those shades. Here's what I found:


and here's the layout I made with them. Can you see the 'ombre' in my layout. I made it pretty obvious with those strips but you could use graduated paper, inks, embellishments etc or just go for strips and I reckon they are probably the easiest option!



Technically, I'm not sure that row of dark hearts fits in with the 'ombre' theme but hey I thought it looked pretty!

My layout looked a little bare as it was so I added three little embellishment clustered around the edges of the layout to finish it off:




I would love you to join in with the challenge this week - bear in mind I'm not around for comments though until I get back from holiday but please join in anyway by linking your layouts below.

Don't forget that to join in you must only use paper scraps! You can of course use one whole sheet of card or patterned paper for your background and also add whatever embellishments you like. Don't forget the 'ombre' theme too this week!

Happy scrapping!