Little Extra Monograms

Wooden monogram "B" painted pink. Some pink paper from sarapapers wedding pack. Computer font calligrapher for rest of the word birthday. This card is for a colleague's niece.

Carrying on with the Happy Theme

I decided to make this canvas for my wall. It is full of pretty colours that lift me & make me happy.
I was so inspired by the front cover of Ali Edward's first book, that I copied the design onto my canvas & added more embellishements with it being wall art.
I use two photos of things that make me happy. They are both layouts I have made that I just can't stop looking at. The actual HAPPY layout i did to represent my chosen word & a recent UKS challenge I did about the birth of Singer sewing machines. I love the collaged look I achieved so thought that could go on too.
The light isn't too good so the pic isn't as clear as I would like it to be but this is going to hang right above me as I sit here on my computer, in the living room. I can see it where ever I am in the room & I know it will lift me up when I wobble..
It tooks two days to make & I was thrilled with the whole process. So making it made me very happy too. I never tried one before & I want to make more now. The only draw back is waiting for the layers to dry!!! I used very tacky glue which is fantabulous!!!!!! Things feel welded on now!

Pencil Lines Sketch #21- Wild Fowl

Another fabulous sketch this week from the guest designer Tammy Brownlee.
I had a design in mind the moment I saw the sketch as I haven't yet scrapped an Autumn picture & it is my absolute favourite season. I adore the reds, golds, browns & dark greens. The falling leaves the glorious early morning sunshine & the fab late evening sun on a good day. I like a clear frosty morning walk at a weekend watching the birds in the hedgerow!
The photograph was from a Royalty Free Image CD Rom. I do not have many photos that can be scrapped as my very old camera did poor quality shots. I don't get a great deal of opportunity to see birds like this pheasant so it was great that I have this CD rom for those kind of moments when you wish you had such a pic.
I love Denmark & I hope there might some pics of it on their too, it is a double CD Rom & very worth the £8 I paid for it back in 2004!!!

This was made using some very old paper called All The Leaves are Brown, by scrapperdashery & coloured textured cardstock from the local artshop. Computer font signature for my handcut title & some ribbon from a garment. All my work mates cut them out of their clothes for me & bring them in.
The title isn't as orange IRL. I bought these supplies back in April last year & have never used them. The photos I intended for a double layout are still sat waiting but the design now looks quite naff as I have evolved as a scrapper.
I love my heritage/vintage pages but I also adore nature so hope to do more in this theme. Perhaps I need two albums one for each!
I don't scrap in any order, but I do use pictures I like. I don't stress about which photos must be used first age wise etc, I just go with whatever I feel is right at the time.

Yesterday's Sunday blogger prompt.

I couldn't get this to work last night so thought I'd have another go today.
The blog prompt was who do I look like?
Well I think this is quite a close match really & funnily enough I have a strange attraction to this man. I don't think he is particulalry attractive, but yet I think he is sexy!!!!!
Very odd, quite bizzare!

City of Lincoln, Minibook.

As I may have said, many moons ago, The city of Lincoln is very special to me.
I have spent some many happy years visiting this place & in recent years some very unhappy visits. My BIL, Nigel, was very sick & spent practically the last 9 or 10 months of his life in Lincoln Hospital. I have only been to the city once since, & although I am totally in love with this happening place, I will find it very hard to ever love it the way I used to.
The architecture is out of this world & the shops are fabulous.
I made this mini book for myself to remember the good places, & it is a shame I never had my camera when we visited many of the fantastic eating establishments.
there is always somewhere open to eat no matter what day it is.
We have favourite haunts which are painful to visit since he left us but one day I hope I can be strong enough to go back.
He has been on my mind a great deal of late. It is spring & he came alive this time of year.
Here is the book. nothing stunning, I wanted the pictures to be the focus.

DCM - 20/20 vision

Our design brief for this weeks' Friday dare was to use 20 of something.

I decided on 20 pieces of paper, however I have actually used 21!!! Still, I have used 15 strips of patterned paper as the background to this card. I have used two pieces of green shimmer paper for the flowere backdrop & the greeting background.

The flower is made of two more pieces of patterned paper & I used a small blue brad for its centre. I finished it off with two punched flowers from another piece of patterned paper!!

I have finished my mini book of Lincoln & hope to post up pictures tomorrow.
Today I changed my music to Counting Crows - Round Here.

I haven't blogged in a few days as I am under the weather. I am up every week day at 5.30am & work until 3.30pm. I then have all the regular chores to do such as the washing, cleaning, ironing, etc.. I am exhausted & have a mouth full of ulcers because I am run down. It is hard work doing everything sometimes when you don't feel up to it. The 3 weeks without heat didn't help!!
I'm full of cold & just want to sleep all day & night.
At work, we aren't busy yet & I'm the sort of person who really gets tired doing nothing.
So, this weekend is my weekend. I am watching telly, drinking wine & eating total crap!!!
Tomorrow, I am going to craft. I will feel well rested & far better by then.

DCM Little Extra - Men & I'm tagged

I think the vintage layout in yesterday's blog post, has sapped me of my mojo as I struggled to get anything together for this mid week challenge. Still, the day has gone suddenly very bright & no doubt it is the calm before the storm, but I don't care it was bright enough to get a decent picture of this card.
I created the postcard myself in Desktop Publishing. The stamp on the postcard is put on using publisher & is a smaller version of the large photo. I place a larger version of the same image behind to act as backing paper.
Me being a vintage girl & all, I decided a B&W pic of a Penny farthing was better than the usual sports car or golf card you buy in the shops!!!

I have been tagged by Latharia in response to the 123 book meme.

here goes;

1. Find the nearest book

got it, was close to hand.

2. Name the book & the author

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

3.Turn to page 123. I'm there...

4. Got to the 5th sentence on the page & copy out the next three sentences onto your blog.

Sympathy, as any defense lawyer knows, can be bought with a good lie.

"What did you say to her, exactly?"

"She was four, she had no experience with death, my parents were already both gone when she was born & elise's mom & dad lived in Mexico"

5. Tag 3 more people.

I tag Kathy(Kathy's waffle), Rhonda (help (me) Rhonda, & Lynne (crafty devil)

Thanks Latharia, I had fun with this!! Is someone going to write a book with all the sentences?

UKS Feb wk3 challenge - Birth theme

Use Birth/birthday theme 10pts
Use stitching 5pts
Use hidden journalling 5pts
Use circle 5pts
Use stamp 5pts = 30 bonus pts
SLO - 10pts =40 total

I used papers from UrbanLily, babylily, denim, Sassfrass Lass
glassine envelope for journalling.
did a bit of stitching but the needle bent!!!!!!
Had to custom make a stamp as I had nothing suitable. Lid of a effervescent vit C tube!! Circles I used several.

I have designed this more of a collage of vintage images as opposed to a standard type of layout, me having a love of Vintage things & all!
I used the heart, flower buttons & small crochet flower given to me along with the UrbanLily papers. I maanged to only use one side of the sheet so Ihave another side for a similar layout.

I love the finished look but it might not be to many people's taste.
However, I decided to scrap for me this year, not what other people think.
I had a vision of a graphic designer's desk when given a design brief to do a magazine page, when I designed this piece.

Project Backlog!!!

I will be blogging properly later on today, as I have completed the Feb week 3 UKS challenge & am waiting for decent light to get a picture.
I also have yet to make week 7 Art Journal card & the mid week extra card dare, for Men.
Feels like quite a back log as I have one or two things started, but not fully completed & boring household chores I just can't put off any longer!!! Then of course I have the boring 7 hours at work to go & do!!! Talk about it ruining my social life, it is killing my scrap time. Still each day does seem to be just a tiny bit brighter, longer!!!

Pencil Lines sketch #20 & A Card

This was a brilliant sketch, nice & easy after last week's!!! It was a fab sketch but I just couldn't make anything work. However this one was simple. I had the pics ready to scrap, the sketch ws timed perfectly to showcase them. I used 5 pictures of my sister's home. The top pic of the front view of the cottage is an optical illusion as the lake with the swans does not run along the front of this cottage. I didn't realise until after I had taken the photo that it looked like one photo!!

I used some of my brand spanking new Basic Grey Scarlet Letter paper, the alphabet that came in the collection & brackets made on the computer in the absence of chipboard ones!!!

I used 3 simple green Papermania blooms to to add that countryside touch.

So thank you ladies over on pencil lines & for the fab guest designer Kate.

This was a Thank You card to Gill for the papers & bits along with those huge book rings she obtained for me!! :) I have been waiting for it to get to Australia so I could post the pic...

something done from the weekend!!!

Sadly the light here today is bordering on dismal & night!! We have had a fine fog all morning & I just can't get a decent shot of this page. The word Lincoln actually stands out clearly on the page itself.
The paper is from sarapapers card pack amethyst & the page bubbles I made myself from coloured squares in microsoft word & turned the writing white. I stuck clear square page pebbles over the top, but I have to say, these things hate me!!!!! They don't want to stick, so can anyone give me some tips!!!??
The cardstock is Papermania special effects & I chose it to highlight the grandure of these two very majestic buildings. I have almost completed the mini book of Lincoln & have made a start on this weeks pencil lines sketch.
My new BG Scarlett Letter arrived today & I am going to use some!!!!! shock horror, yes you read it right, I am going to use some slivers for this layout I'm doing.
The new weekly challenge is up on UKS & it is going to take some thinking about, but I have a few ideas, Lord, just give me the daylight needed to do them!!!!

Fruitless Saturday!!

Oh yes, I planned two layouts or even an attempt at two doubles & I then sat the whole day with a desk full of pics & not one single design idea!!!!!!!!!!
By tea time I was feeling very miserable, as I saw it as a day completely wasted.
Then I hit on the idea of a mini book using one of the free minis from SI.
It is almost completed. I wanted the book to focus on the pics but also mostly on the journalling.
So I have kept the patterned paper to a bare minimum. It just requires a bit of embellishing & it is done. I am more than pleased with it.
Then as you might guess, I sat bolt upright in bed about 5.30am this morning with an idea for a page using two of the best pictures. Once I get my chores done I will crack on. It is going to be based on a sketch Shimelle did in SI back in Jan 06.
I have come to the conclusion that I will never design a double page & it is a shame, but it always looks far too uniform when I sketch them & layout the pictures!!!
I do have plans for a page on my sisters home, but must wait & see what the pencil lines sketch for today is. The sketch goes live at 8pm.

DCM - In the Fold!!

Make a card that has more than one fold or incorporate folds into the design itself...
This was the dare this week. I chose to do Tea Bag folding using the Medallion folding technique.
I finished it off with a purple blink brad by Karen Foster & two silver stick on corners.

UKS Feb week2 challenge

This weeks challenge was on a Love theme.
You could choose, person (s), animal, Country or anything 10pts. ( I chose Vintage)
Use 4 different patterned papers 10pts
Use a heart 10pts = 30 bonus pts. + 10 SLO 40pts total.
I had such great fun putting this together. It was sparked from doing the Henry VIII last week.

My papers are all from K&Co, Lifes Journey, Script & Pansy.
The inked pieces in the frame are actually wallpaper as in lining paper. Try this ladies, it runs through the printer a treat. It may not be acid safe etc.. but I only ever use printed copies of photos never orignals. I did my title on it using font Calligrapher.
The top & one side 0f the frame has some vintage lace. The luggage tag is inked & has a clock face from Maya Road. Used postage stamps & script dic def of time.
Inside the frame are images of vintage things along with some costume jewellery I was given & buttons. The centre photo of the pocket watch is actually one of my Great Great Grandfather's watches.

As I was a very tolerant pixie over the last few weeks without heat & hot water, I decided pixie really deserved a reward/treat. So the brand new Basic Grey, Scarlett Letter collection is finding its way to me very soon!!!!!!!
I don't normally jump on the "got to have it" bandwagon but I am so in love with the vintage feel of this paper collection & I am still yearning for the last Cherryarte collections & the rather yummy new ones!!!!!

Red Sky in a Morning!

I just had to take photos of this beautiful sky this morning!!

I opened my kitchen curtains & saw the gorgeous colours of the sun.

I had the very best Valentine's Day present any girl could get last night, my boiler was fixed!!!!!

I'm so happy, I am sad to be so excited, but when you lose these basic amenities, you suddenly realise how much you rely on them!!

I had no idea Rick was coming, I expected the parts would take several days to arrive & I was so thrilled to see him & be able to take a long hot soak & wash my hair properly. Boiling kettles is not my prefered method!!!

mid week little extra- back to the 70's

Well as I posted earlier today, the mid week extra from the daring cardmakers is Back to the 70's.

Here is my take on this theme. The striped paper is charming Stripes, All My Memories (which were free in a mag & annoyingly I can see the writing on the back coming thrugh in the phot)

The flowers were cut from a sheet of matching paper, Charming Daisy, also AMM & the two largest flowers are actually 3D but the light isn't too great here to capture it.

I loved the colours on these papers, they remind me of my spacehopper as mine was blue with a horses face. The memories plaque was from a chipboard set by Making Memories.

Boiler Update & Other Things!!!

Despite the boiler STILL being broken, I am managing to remain calm & although crafting is a struggle, I am working on a few pieces, which hopefully I can share soon. The parts are now on order & if all goes well, I should be "fixed" on Friday. It no longer comes on at all, so no heat even for an hour. Good job it has got warmer round here!!!

The card dare for the mid week extra is Back in time 70's style. I have now found the papers I want to use & hope to get it made when I get in from work today. I remember the 70's well, I had a spacehopper & rollerskates. We ran around the streets completely safe playing & it was fun.

My other piece is for the UKS weekly challenge. For those of you who don't know, this is a website where we all get together & do challenges, share ideas & I am a member of a team there. This weeks challenge is a really good one on the theme of Love, it being Valentines' & all!!! But, you don't have to choose someone you love it can be anything from a Country to an item of clothing etc... My piece is coming together very slowly but it is "gelling" as I like to say & hopefully it should be done by tomorrow. (Well it should be completed tonight but getting a photo is another thing!!) Well I must go now & get ready for work. Happy Valentines day to all the "loved up" folk, my day will come.

Art Journal Challenge- wk6 LOVE

Being Valentine's week, it was only natural that this week's theme would be LOVE!

Sadly, for those of us not fortunate enough to have someone special in our lives, it is a time of envious looks when people get flowers & other pretty things!!!

So I decided to do my AJ based on my cat, Thomas who sadly had to be PTS almost 2 years ago due to failing kidneys. He was in my life for 14 years & gave me some fantatstic laughs & heaps of love along the way. This is a pic of him aged around 6 months old sat in his favourite place of the time, his red pyramid.

Aezine challenge - Personal Creative Manifesto

For this weeks’ Aezine challenge, Ali wanted us to play around with some words & phrases that will help us to write our very own Personal Creative Manifestos!!!!
Yep! I thought What!! When I first read the email, but having spent the whole week giving it some serious though (lets face it, I can do precious little else with little or no heat!!)
Now she did say not to take it too seriously, but I wanted to do this right first time & get down the essentials of my personal thoughts.
So I now feel I am at a stage where I can lay down my manifesto.

Happy - is the main achievement. I must feel happy doing the craft. If for what ever reason I am down & unwell, I leave well alone for fear of doing something to a page that can’t be mended!! Crafting for me is therapy. It is relaxing & gives me immense pleasure. I also feel intense excitement when working on a page that gels. I see the latest challenge or sketch & I "buzz". Crafting is sexy for me.

Plan - Take time out to plan what I am trying to say. Choose a subject & select what I will use to showcase it to best effect. Draw sketches & more sketches of the finished page to get a feel for it. If I’m am using a sketch for a base (e.g. pencil lines) I still plan out a design brief. I will lay out all the items on the page & leave them. Each time I walk up to it, I move them about until I am completely happy with it before sticking down anything.

Experiment - Try out new ideas. Don’t write myself off as unable to use a product until I have tried. Use waste paper & keep at it until I can achieve the look I want.

Enjoy – Carry on enjoying myself playing with the products & papers. Enjoy the whole process right through to the final photo of the done page. Just have fun, touch & feel these thinks & let them work for me.

Inspire – Take inspiration from other people & from daily life. Adverts, programs & books are full of images & ideas. Inspire others with the pages but don’t be afraid to stick to a format that works for me.

Criticise – Be critical of my work, but not in a derogatory way. Look at a finished piece & say to myself that I like it but perhaps items could have been well placed elsewhere. Make notes on this & try it out on the next design.

Since beginning my quest for "HAPPY",this year, I have thought about precious little else. Happy has invaded my life, let me say in a very good way. It has certainly helped me to remain positive through this latest testing time.
I think just crafting in general is making me very happy & the very positive responses & feedback I am getting is helping me to grow.
I do feel I am growing daily & it helps to have camaraderie.
I have my UKS team mates for great support. We share our work & trials daily with each other & gain confidence in knowing they give constructive criticism & also if they truly love something they will say so. They are none of them, gushing folk who say stuff to please you.
Also I am involved with the Emily Falconbridge 52 week, Art Journal challenge & it is great swapping ideas with the ladies doing it also.

Pencil Lines sketch #18, better late than never!

This Layout has taken me a full week to complete!!

I so wanted it done on time & even resorted to sitting in bed cutting out my title & all the Wives badges.

I love History & like to read books about the monarchs of old. Henry VIII is one that interests me the most as he was a very colourful character.

I have a book by Antonia Frazer which tells the story from each of the wives point of views.

He was a monster, but then, he had to produce an heir to the throne no matter what.

It is fascinating reading the ins & outs knowing that it changed the way this country was formed back then. I chose a large picture of his first wife, as one of the main pics, as she was his true wife for many years, Catherine (Catalina) of Aragon.

Vintage Romance-DCM?

The card dare this Friday is Looking at Media. Advertisements are all around us & they do influence us a great deal. The dare was to make a card using an advert or similar as part of your design.
Well unfortunately, I can't craft tonight as my fingers are cold, I am struggling to type this as it is. I'm hoping the boiler will attempt to light at some point but right now it is saying NO!!!
However, I do have my own range of cards, Bygone Days & Victorian/Vintage Romance. I havd made this card over a year ago but it has not seen the light of day or been on the blog because I lost it!!!
I imagined I had made it as I couldn't find it, then at the weekend I was going through some folders & found it along with several others & a few sketches.
So I'm hoping that this will count as my entry because otherwise I will not be taking part this week.

Behind with my crafting!!

Due to the lack of heating this week, I have been suffering & so has my art!!
My fingers are not very nimble when cold & I have not produced any work since Tuesday!
This is dreadful!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a pencil lines sketch I really wanted to do but right now the design is not "speaking" to me. I just can't find photos I want to use & I put it down to being cold & can't be bothered to think.
The new card dare will be up today & I'm hoping to get that made. I did make a card for someone which I can't share & until I can get to the Post Office (kinda stuck in waiting for boiler repair) the lady the card is destined for has not even received it yet!

I received in the post a fabulous mini project made by a lady I met on a forum, Diane Von Kesmark, & until my camera batteries are charged up I can't take a photo. She made a tiny mini book in a mouth freshener container. It is very small & cute & pics will be on here as & when.

On a good note, I did get my Aezine newsletter from Ali Edwards on Wednesday evening, & it is all about Creative Manifestos' & writing my own.
At first I thought, OMG, what!!! But, having re read the email & the prompt questions, I have let it run around my head a while & am coming up with something. I can't see me making a page layout or minibook about it but I can get started on short sentences. that said, who knows what the weekend will bring!!!
One thing is for certain I just can't see me making a page for the UKS House Challenge, this month as I can't gel a page together using a Nursery Rhyme, I don't even have any suitable papers & buying stash just to do a layout is not on the cards this year unless it is for a special person or occasion, cash is VERY tight this year!!!

Roll on home time, 3.30pm I am sooooooooo glad it is Friday!!!!

LO to share & dodgy boiler!!

Here is one I made a few days ago but aren't entirely happy with. I made the page but couldnt decide on the background cardstock colour so it sat on the table done but for sticking down to card. Now it is finished I wish I hadn't done the white square mount but I felt the flower photo needed the lift. It is some spring blossom I photographed back in May last year. Big floral bits cut from papers by CherryArte. Square metal tag, papermania & purple blossom also papermania.
As for the boiler it lights when IT WANTS to which was not at all yesterday!!!!!
No snow here please, give it to those that want it!!!!

DCM mid week extra- weather/season cards.

The design brief was to make a card about the weather or season near you.

Well, I'm not sure about outside, but it is still a bit cool in here. The boiler is having tantrums & only lights when it feels like it!!! They are coming back to it, but they are also run off their feet right now & are doing their best to fit me in between other jobs. Let's face it, there are no doubt others in the same predicament as me.

So my card is more of the season than the actual weather. It is a parchment design of a daffodil.

The card has a daffodil drawn onto it & coloured in with pencil crayons. I have then made the same daffodil embossed onto the parchment & covered over so the colour comes through like watercolour. The edges are a bit raggedy, admittedly I have precious little patience at the best of times & after so long pricking holes to tear the edges away I get a bit bored....

UKS February Week 1 challenge

Feb week 1,
Incorporate your favourite things 10pts (Spencer Bear)
Handwritten Journalling 10pts (Mine is along the bottom, but not legible on here)
Use Circles 5pts (The papers & most of the embellishements)
Use Red 5pts (One sinlge red bloom)
bonus 30pts + 10pts for SLO= total 40pts
The papers are all SEI, Grannies kitchen, I just love these & have the whole set...
The went well with the teddy colours in the photo & the cardstock is bazzill but can't remember the shade as I've had it a while. Embellishements are round bits from the papers kit & a metal tag. I cut a circle from the reverse of one of the papers to give some deeper blue.
I used buttons to continue the circles theme & originally I planned a red layout but decided to go with the teddy colours & add one single red flower for impact.
The layout is based on a sketch from August SI.
I really enjoyed this page.

Art Journal week 5

"Use ephemera from your week."

I chose to use my till receipt & the picture from the fish pack as my promise to myself for this year ( not a resolution, a firm promise) is to eat more fish.

It is healthy & very good for you but I hate all the bones & skin. These from Sainsburys & I daresay other supermarkets have their own range, are de boned & skinned & reasonably priced as I find fish is so expensive.

The boiler is almost sorted. It was working for 3 hours yesterday & he thought it was sorted as the fan had got stuck. Sadly the moment I asked for hot water for a bath it went out, not to be re-lit!!! Never mind my bosses have given me permission to duck home at any time to get it sorted when they an get back to it.

Aezine Non Essentials Layout

Here is the page I made to go with my list of Crafting Non - Essentials that make the producing of these pages a real joy.
I based my design on one I saw by a lady called Ngaire Bartlam. I copied the ribbon wrapped squares & found myself draw to these Sassafras Lass free papers with SI.
I used the minimal of embellishments so that the pictures & the ribbon spoke for me.
I am very pleased with the finished look.
The bottom corner is stamped using household bleach & the little flowers & orange bling were from a card kit I picked up a year or so ago.

Sunday Blogger

<<<<<<>>>>>>>>
Todays blog prompt has been thought up by UKS's maisymay"What changes do you plan to make in your life in the coming months. Do you like or loath change?"

I am glad to see that Scrappyfairy is back this week with the Sunday bloggers. I missed last weeks prompt.

So, what changes do I plan to make in my life?

One of the main things I planned to do is already taking shape in the form of more crafting.

I decided to create far more for myself in the way of layouts & minibooks.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love making them for other people, & I had such fun with the Photo Swop, (see post below) but I just never make myself anything. So, when Shimelle's class came up I made that mini & had such great fun!!

I also plan to get more photos of myself & scrap them to document my life as I will be 40 in March. Quite a milestone year & I hope a turning point.

I do want to be happy & that is being dealt with in the shape & form of my Aezine challenge word for 2007, by the wonderful Ali Edwards.

I am planning more work around that word so if you do read my blog regular watch in the coming weeks for this!!

I have changed direction with my scrapping style & being part of the team has made me do more work anyhow. Working towards points is fun & spurs you on to challenge yourself within the challenge. I find my pages are a little safe & boring at times, but that is all set to change this year.

I just completed the fabulous pencil lines sketch #17, the other day (few posts down) & I had such fun. I made all the squares irregular so it wasn't too symmetrical & it worked so well with the pictures of myself being utterly silly!!

I used to hate change, but I can tolerate it in small doses.............

revealing the Photo Swop page..

This is the full page I did for Jacqui for the photo swop over on Bumbleberry Cafe.

I know she has received it & likes it very much so I can now show it.

Sadly it is a little blurred as I couldn't use the flash. It turned all the orange acidic!!

All orange supplies were kindly donated by my Scrap Shoppin' Girls, teamies.

I just "slapped" them together..hee hee...

I didn't want to part with it in the end & am now using a bit of orange on the next layout I am doing. Makes me feel warm looking at it & considering I STILL have no heating or water I could do with it back!!!

Gorgeous things

This is what the post man kindly brought me today from Gillian, over in Australia.

Gillian very recently did a RAK, & although my name wasn't selected she knew how much I loved these blue papers by Urban Lily, babylily range.

So she kindly saved some of them for me & posted them over along with a few bits & pieces to match them.

We had chatted about book rings as being a big minibook fan, I struggled to find decent sized ones. She found these four big ones at the front of the pic.

I can see that will do nicely for my Happy minibook which is in progress.

So A very warm Thank You, to Gillian for thinking of this cold little pixie.

(but fingers crossed the boiler gets fixed today!!)

don't say it too loud in case it hears & doesn't happen!!!!!

Oh, & of course another music change. The Killers & Mr Brightside..... quite apt right now as I can still smile & see the bright side despite being very cold...

DCM/Speshal Joint Dare- Valentine

Yes, this week the Daring Cardmakers have teamed up with The Speshals Team to;

Create a scrapbook page on a card for that Event called Valentine's Day!

Well, I don't have a valentine, or perhaps that should read, I have no idea where he is to send his card!! So I have made one anyway & this is what I would give him.

Being a shy, gentle soul, he wouldn't want bombarding with red hearts & declarations of love.

So I kept it masculine & simple, but with some love images & a puzzle piece showing the importance of a relationship.

It was all inked in black & red & the papers are some offcuts from Basic Grey's Black Tie range.

Pencil Lines Sketch 17

If you have never been to this site then you are really missing out.

I don't do the challenges but every time I am creating a page I do go see if anything fits the bill as they are all completely amazing.

This one is by Elsie Flannigan, who I love.

A friend Jakey, did a fabulous one & I started a design using it but at the moment the page won't gel & as no elements have been stuck down I am keeping it on the back burner shall we say!!!

I took these pictures while trying to get a blog profile shot. I hate my photo taken I always look posed. I didn't want to throw them away as I thought they might come in handy one day.

To stop the design looking too uniform, I cut the MM Boho Chic Olivia papers into uneven squares.

I had great fun making this page using up some stuff I have had a while.

Bumbleberry Photo Swop

The postman brought me this yesterday. Isn't it just fab!!!

This is my photograph sent to Angie in Ireland for the photo swop.

The picture is my Dad & Grandad. Dad is about 8years old & they are at Brigg Market.

It used to be a marvellous day out at the cattle market in Brigg. They sold all livestock & I remember going a time or two as well.

I love the colours & the design.

I coouldn't scrap this picture I just couldn't get an idea to work.

So a BIG THANK YOU from a very happy, but still very cold Pixie!!