Baby Card & Time pages

First I'll start this post by showing a card I made some time ago now for a dear blog friend. Congratulations Micayla & Steve on the birth of your sweet daughter, Emily. I know they have got the card now so I can blog it. I made the card using some scraps of Via Airmail SC kit & hand stitched all around before rubbing gently with a pink pad.

Time for Happiness... very hard to pick one photo for this as you probably know HAPPY is my word & I have a minibook taking shape at design stage to depict just what makes this girl happy.

This bag is one of many things. It's not just the bag I love, but the memories it brings when I see it as it was a fabulous day, the day I bought it. My sister, Tracy & I were tipsy after a boozy long lunch & were partners in crime, I got expensive Radley bag, she, Billy shoes then we fell asleep exhausted!!!
Time to trust... I have to have a great deal of trust in myself right now to study hard & learn all that i have to in the next 6 months as it is very important for the next step in my career. My job is going so very well I haven't felt this happy since I worked for my sister 6 years ago. Life is a funny old thing & its odd how things turn out. I would have given anything to keep the life that I had, but it wasn't to be. Now, though I have developed strength & confidence to push for something just as good and.....I'm getting there.

The page was made using ink sponged over some sequin waste. The photo is of my books that I fill every day.

MIA

Sorry if I've been a bit quiet. I had my sister, Tracy come to stay for the weekend. She lives up in Newcastle & as its a while since she stayed over we did girly things. I went to Ikea to buy some very much needed bedroom storage as my clothes live on the spare bed. So you can imagine the fun I had trying to square the place up so Tracy could actually sleep in her room!! I have spent the last two evenings putting together my two new chest of drawers between studying & feeding myself.
My job is going very well & I am learning so much stuff I never thought possible. I plan to spend the weekend crafting and hopefully getting some sleep as the world & his wife have done there best to keep me awake in the small hours two days running. Tracy & I didn't exactly go to bed before we had turned into pumpkins but we had a lot of talking to do ;)

Autumn Glory

This page started out as an inter team challenge to do a scrap lift but mine doesn't resemble the lift in any way!! I did however forever conquer my fear of orange, I think it is more grown up with the modern papers & very sophisticated & I enjoyed putting this together from my Studio Calico Confections kit.

I got my next kit paid for this morning so more yummy goodies are heading my way around the 10th Sept. I feel so special getting these every month it is something to really look forward to & I get stuck in & use them straight away. I also think my scrapping style has changed since I got these kits, I am more colour confident these days & not scared to cut up a sheet of paper as I have done here on the Creative Imaginations Bloom, Floral Sunshine.

I also love that the papers are mostly double sided & the reverse of the sheets is as yummy as the fronts. I used the alpha stickers from last months Via Airmail kit to keep the brown compilmenting colour going. The HS felt flowers are delicious & were in the main kit. The photo is one of my favourtie trees in our local park in its most glorious colours. I have the ame tree taken in frost, & in snow along with another tree from a different area of the park & I plan a minibook of them as they always make me feel happy.

Forum Challenge

As we haven't done much in the way of challenges over on the altered art forum, Jo came up with an inspirational idea to get us crafting, Sets. I love to see matching things on people's blogs so I decided to make matching tags. They are the same except for the colours & eventually these will form parts of pages in a minibook. I make up backgrounds & bits from time to time & when I have enough I will put them all together into a book.

I used distress inks but only have one shade of purple & one shade of green so I was limited in my choice & had to use browns, but they will fit perfectly with an autumnal page. The others will be blogging there's as they are made & they can all be found in my sidebar under forum friends.

Bouquet

I have been watching the Olympics during my lunch hour at work & each day I would see the events & the individuals competing in each event. The design around the individual caught my eye & I roughly sketched it because I thought it would make a fab sketch for a layout. It was a series of black circles & between them were smaller circles & swirls. Sadly I don't own any BG swirls, either in stamps or rub ons as they would have worked perfectly. The papers & embellishments are from my SC Confections Kit, the painted frame is from the SC Via Airmail kit. I used my corner rounder to scallop the large circle. I was going to use the reverse side the dots but I love this floral paper far too much & so made the smallest circle dots instead. I used a gromet & punched holes with my eyelet setter & place fuchsia pink paper behind around the two smaller circles. I used Rangers Wild Plum acrylic paint to dab on the sequin waste to create the background.

Time to Celebrate & to Listen

I have had another fabulous week at work & am glad to be home for a long weekend to re charge my batteries, do a bit of crafting & get ready for a new week of more reading & learning. I made a start on these pages for the time minibook yesterday but waited for full light before finishing off the second one & getting the photos. Sadly the second one isn't very clear, don't know what is wrong the camera said it was too bright for the flash but the picture seems a touch too dark for me!

Right, page 25, Celebrate. I used a new stamp free from a membership, love the curvy angled lettering on this word, bold & works perfectly with the offcut of paper from a page layout I had done last weekend. Since I turned 40, last year my life has been a series of non stop small celebrations. I found a new inner strength soon after my 40th, must have been the photo shoot & the fabulous pictures I got that made me look at myself differently. Since then I have made a fair few changes to my lifestyle & achieve a great deal ranging from losing a lot of weight after a nasty experience taking steroids, to having better control of my finances and the more recent new job success.

Week 26, Listen. I handmade the paper on the page using inks & stamps. The photo I took a few years ago & basically it was the inspiration for the word. I love to listen to the wind in the trees & the birds singing. It is calming & reminds me to slow down & breathe in the nature around me. Stop rushing & enjoy the beauty that is all around. As I said the photo hasn't come out too well & editing hasn't helped a great deal either. I really hope it doens't mean my camera is coming to the end of its life!!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Blog!

My blog is two today, & probably feeling rather neglected but work has to come first for the next 5 months. Luckily it is the Bank Holiday weekend & I have 4 projects sketched & ready to create. I'm really looking forward to it! I made this card about a month ago & forgot all about it.

Two Studio Calico Layouts.

This first page is from the July Via Airmail Kit. The photos were taken by my friend Louise on her trip to Vegas a few years ago. I only noticed when taking the photos of this page ( and believe me I have had to take a fair few because the camera is not liking the light at all) that her partner Pete appears just in the bottom corner of the Statue of Liberty photo! They stayed in a hotel on the strip & she took lots of fantastic pics so I get to play with more soon! I stamped the background paper with my script stamp & then sat & hand stitched the frame around it. I refuse to use my machine anymore, once it is repaired as sewing page layouts ruined it. Once the frame was done I sat & stitched the small squares, it is very theraupetic & to be recommended. I had to mount them & the photos onto foam pads to allow for the bulk behind. I didn't bother with journalling.

My new August kit, Confections, arrived on Thursday morning & today I made my first page with all the yummy goodies. I have had this photo for a long time & never done anything with it but each time I see it I always smile. I love nature & marvel at how things grow. I used a piece of my flutter white lacy cardstock from the add on kit & felt bold enough to use a cheerful coloured piece of Bazzill from the kit to match the colour of the flower in the photo. Using the butterfly stamp in the kit, I made blue spotty butterflies & attached them to the lace cardstock strip mounting each wing with tiny pieces of foam pad to keep the wings angled as in flight.

I used other stash from my hoard as they matched beautifully with the kit pieces & also stamped a dragon fly onto the gorgeous {note}worthy Delaney Floral paper. I just adore this paper so bought the extra paper add on so I had a second sheet. Here is a close up shot of my journalling & two of the butterflies.

I have enjoyed crafting today. I had got all my study done on Friday night, spent yesterday shopping for the weekly groceries then had a massage. That took care of the afternoon as I slept until beyond tea time!! Today, I unplugged the phone, kept the computer switched off & endulged in a few hours total crafting bliss.

Cards

I made these two cards towards the end of last week & its taken me until now to get a photo of them, all be it not brilliant ones. The upper card is just distress inks & stamps, the lower card is a page from an old book covered in gesso & inked before stamping my fav flower stamp. The lace adds a feminine touch. I really love the blues they are so soft. Work is going very well but I am glad it is Friday as all the study fries my brain by Thursday afternoon. I've had a good social week too, of Chinese meal with old work friends & mate Louise on Tuesday & an Indian with just my mate Louise last night. Tomorrow is massage day & I am so looking forward to that. I plan a couple of hour study on Sunday morning but hope to play with my new SC kit!

Time ..... to enjoy

Week 24 see's Ronda asking us to enjoy...

Well I always enjoy a sweet treat, & no treat is as lovely as these dark chocolate ginger biscuits. Now I've lost lots of weight I can have the odd small box. They transport me back in time & I enjoy the memories of my early married life living on a dairy farm in the south of the country. I used to buy finger shaped half coated ginger biscuits to enjoy with morning coffee while baking & tending my garden.

Isn't it funny how something can take you back like that! The ink is very well dried on the divorce papers but the good times remind me it wasn't all in vain.

I have completed my first full week in the new job & am mentally exhausted, but in a very good way. I have a lot of literature to read, learn & once studied, tests to take. I have already taken my first & am half way through the second. I have been very fortunate to be employed for a position I am not fully qualified for as I shall be receiving full in house training. At the end of it all I shall be a Personal Insurance Broker. I have spent the day lounging on the sofa chilling & watching telly. (and sleeping!! Well it is raining & grey!) My crafting might be sporadic for a while until I get into a routine but at least my new wardrobe is all non iron clothes!!! A girl's best friend. I certainly enjoyed making these small pages & might get my stamps & inks out tomorrow. I have another scrap kit on its way from the States so am very excited about getting that. I might even complete this layout here on my craft table, all it needs is the title adding, but I am feeling rather a tad lazy today!

Desk Calendar

I have made these few pages to start my calendar for my new job. The photos aren't fabulous as the light isn't too good at this time of the morning. I need to take it with me today so I can calculate renewal dates as I keep having to look at my colleagues. I will eventually make the rest of the years pages & cover the current dates up with next years in dec so it can live permanently on the desk. My other calendar is old & tired now & it was time for something brighter. I made it all even sat & typed all the dates!!!! The tags were orignially going to be a altered tag book but decided they made a great page decoration instead. All done with inks & stamps.

Very quick post to say

I am loving my new job. The longer hours haven't really affected me as I am technically only working 1/2 hour more each day with an hour travel, 1/2 hr each end of the day. The work is good, although I'm a newbie I am getting stuck in quickly with the admin side of the job & have already started my training to become a broker. My new colleagues are really lovely helpful people who have made me feel at home & taken some of the scarey "new girl" feelings away! My new desk calendar is almost completed I can share pictures soon.

Thank You..

to everyone who has sent well wishes for the start of my new job tomorrow. I apologise if I haven't dropped by your blogs but as you can imagine I have had rather a lot to do. I will pop by soon.
I had to cancel my sister, Tracy's visit this weekend as I couldn't cope with a house guest this close to my first day. She is going to come at the end of the month instead so that will be real fun. My job change has also brought with it life changes. I will be commuting daily but am fortunate to be working & travelling with my mate, Louise that left 3 months ago. It will be tiring the first week until I get into the pattern. I've been spoilt coming home for lunch everyday & working 7.30-3.30. Its 9-5 now & a 35 minute car journey either end. Still there was a time I worked from 5.30am - 6pm cleaning murder scenes & the like, so I consider Im doing okay these days! No craft to show you, it was too late to get photos but I will see if I can update in the week. I don't leave home until 8am so I might get decent light for some pics!!!

You remember my word is Happy, & I have been struggling a lot with it. Well I am well on the way now. I hadn't realised how unhappy I had become.

Time to heal

Another perfect word from Ronda this week!! I often feel we are kindred spirits as I too have been undergoing a slow healing process. Getting my new job has given me a huge confidence boost & the healing process has sped up quite a lot since being told the job was mine! I took this photo of myself almost a year ago & have turned it black & white so the colour didn't distract from the other side of the page.

I made the background paper for this as I couldn't decide on a piece of patterned from my growing collection (thanks Studio Calico!). First I inked a piece of cartridge paper with two shades of Rangers Distress ink, Fired Brick & Worn Lipstick, & blended them together. First I stamped lightly all over with a script stamp, then I added very faint dragon flies for a bit of depth.

I have taken to stamping on cartridge paper as it gives a smooth surface & the images are crisp. It also takes inks well & doesn't buckle too much like card can often do.

Congratulations.....

to my ex colleague, Nick & his wife Stacey, on the birth of their son, Hayden Nicholas. He was born on Monday but I had to be sure the parents got the card first before blogging.

I made the card copying slightly a design I saw in my Amercian Papercrafts magazine as I so loved this idea.

I've also been busy making another new baby card, but it will be the end of August before I can share that one. Wanted to get it made before I start my new job on Monday!! I'm enjoying this week of crafting & I also got glorious weather up until yesterday. Still, it didn't stop me having a creative day.

Fly High, fly free

Another page using mainly my Studio Calico kit but with a few extras from my stash. The striped paper, is 7Gypsies, Nottinghill-Elgin. I scalloped the edge with my corner rounder & punched the holes. The rub on frame corner is Fancy Pants. The dates down the side are from an old calendar, I am a great believer in recycling! Bird is from a team mate but source unknown! Photo was taken by my dad. I do wish Pixresizer would not blur the images but they are far too large to blog otherwise.

OLW - Be

Another page made using my Studio Calico Via Airmail Kit. I wanted to get creative with the paper & actually folded over one end & then turned up the corner to use both sides. You will have to click on the photo to make it larger to see the Hambly rub on on the turned corner. I glued on tiny pale blue buttons to the lace next to the prima flowers to match the 3 buttons neare the title. These buttons were Papermania & not part of the kit. I matted this fav photo of mine onto handmade paper from the kit. It is fabulous blossoms that go well with the floral dress Margaret is wearing.

The Journey of Life

Made using my July Studio Calico Kit Via Airmail. The red diamonds on brown are actually a rubber stamp I own stamped onto the brown paper bag that the kit came in. I have used Pixresizer & again it has ended up looking blurred. I had a terrible time getting a decent photo anyhow, it seems too much bright light is just as bad as none at all!!! The stamps are some sent to me from a friend. The photo is by Captured by Kirsty.

Time to Hope

This week's prompt is another fitting word. Hope. Where would we be without it? Without hope, dreams can't come true.

I never gave up hope of getting on in my life & achieving happy!

I stamped these Angels instead of using a photo as they sum up hope to me. I stamped them twice so I could mount them on foam. I used a Heidi Swapp journal stamp to create the box for the word Hope.

Two Cards

I have adored this BG Periphery since I got it but never really done much with it. I loved the bird sheet & so came up with using it like this. I saw something similar in an American Craft magazine.

This one is made using just two of my Heidi Swapp Stamps, one Studio G corner stamp & some Papermania stick on crystals. I'm on a week's holiday before I start my new job & want to get a lot of crafting done so I feel like I have made use of the time off.

More Flowers

I got more leaving day flowers today & this photo shows off the gorgeous pink vase that my beautiful bouquet from Denise came in yesterday. Look how fabulous & wide it is!! The new flowers are from all at the office wishing me well in my new job. Click on this photo for better detail. I love the Agapanthus they are some of my favourite flowers. I used a photo of them a few weeks ago for my time minibook. I am having a full week's holiday now & hope to do lots of crafting before begining my new job on 4th August.

Final Day

Today is my last day in my current job. Yesterday, a friend & colleague who isn't in work today but she is also leaving next Friday, bought me this gorgeous bouquet of flowers. They came in a box & they are in a pink glass vase. The pretty pink straw like stuff around them is actually a cage to hold the flowers together. Aren't they gorgeous. Mind you using the picture resizer makes them blurred!

Happy Birthday, Louise.

While this may not look very much of a birthday card, it has great significance for my friend, Louise. She is Canadian by descent & recently got her Canadian Citizenship through. So it seemed only fitting she had the Canada flag for her birthday complete with maple leaf which I luckily had a paper punch of!! She has to go to work today, but have a fab time anyway, Lou!

Cool Blues

I was playing around with gesso & distress inks recently & made up a few backgrounds. I thought the subtle tones would work perfectly with this new stamp & I have also finally treated myself to the Stazon Teal Blue ink pad. I have adored this colour like, forever! Stamped in this colour, the image looks like a botanical plate. Inks used for the background, Ranger distress, Broken China, Dusty Concord, Faded Jeans. Stamps a mix of Crafty Individuals & Studio G. I stamped the images in the distress inks & rubbed with a dry cloth to blur them.

Watercolour Card

I bought this Tin Can Mail stamp by Inkadinkado at the weekend as a reward for my new job. I love Hydrangeas & they always remind me of my Grandma. She had two large bushes in her front garden & I was always fascinated by the varying shades of the petals as they opened & gradually aged. I coloured them with my watercolour brush & distress inks. Unfortunately I don't have the Worn Lipstick shade which would have been more suitable with the Broken China & Dusty Concord. I used Tattered Rose. The green I used was Peeled Paint & the background is very watery Spiced Marmalade. I tore some patterned vellum & inked it with the Peeled Paint to make the pattern show more & the card was coverd in the matching patterned paper, both by Papermania. I really enjoyed doing this as the painting part is quite therapeutic. I like to stamp my pads onto acetate to use as a palette rather than putting my brush direct to the pad. This way you can gentle squeeze water onto the ink from the brush to dilute the shades.

Time ...to Seek

SEEK: to go in search or quest of; to try to find or discover by searching or questioning; to try to obtain; to try or attempt; to search or explore.

A perfect word for me right now as I am moving on. I have got a new job & resigned from my current position at the end of last week.

As part of my quest to be happy, I have decided to make changes to better my life. One way of doing this is to provide better for myself financially. Not just for now though, but also for 20 odd years down the line when I shall look to retire & need something more substantial to live on as I have little set in place.

It is the right word as I am seeking new skills & exploring more options. I have no regrets about my decision other than I wish I had believed in myself a lot sooner.

I used this map paper because my career change is a journey. I am going to be travelling metaphorically. I turned this wonderful photo taken for me by Kirsty Wiseman, (Captured by Kirsty) sepia as it matched the paper. The signpost is from a stamp set as are the words. Seek is spelt with Flea Market stickers from my Studio Calico Kit.

Congratulations Nikki....

on your wedding day.
Nikki my team mate & her partner Ian tied the knot today & this is the card I made for them based on a design in Craft Stamper March 2008 issue.

The card inside
The stamping in the card
I have been out & about today & not got this weeks Time minibook pages made yet. It is a perfect prompt for me this week. I shall share tomorrow along with some very good news.

Grunge background hanging for Carol

Last week I was feeling really creative, but unable to complete a project. So I settled myself down to make some backgrounds. They are fun to do & always useful to have laying around the craft table. Once created I cut them up into sections & the section below I turned into a hanging for my forum friend, Carol. She loves the grunge look & it gave me chance to get messy. I used distress inks & lots of stamps, overstamping in areas & wiping the ink straight off for a soft blurred look. I took this picture without the flash so you could see the design.

This second photo was taken with the flash so that you can see the shimmer I gave it by spraying perfect pearls mixed with water in a mini spray bottle. All stamps, Crafty Individuals & See D's. Flower Prima Artful Mosaic from my Studio Calico kit.

Time to bloom & Studio Calico

Another great prompt this week for the capturing Time Minibook. I love flowers, especially these Agapanthus. I kept the page simple with a bit of stamping this week.

I recently subscribed to Studio Calico kits & my first one arrived this week. I was at work so you might guess I missed the postie & had to wait 24 hours before I could collect the parcel. As it was my first one & Studio Calico's 1st birthday I treated myself to two add on kits as well. I can't believe how much stuff I have. Now normally the stuff would be stroked & hidden for weeks but I had to get scrapping straight away. I used some photos kindly donated to me as I don't go abroad. These are pictures from Thailand.

Materials are BG, Boxer; Corduroy & Wing-tip. Flowers, buttons, trim & die cut shape, all Making Memories Passport Collection. The flowers & one of the buttons along with the die cut came in this darling embellishment suitcase. I also used a BG Boxer glazed brad & the flower button is from a packet of KI Memories La di dah courtyard findings also supplied with my kit. Go See Do & the hand stamps are Studio Calico Limited Editions. The post mark & word stamp, Travel, Explore, Discover are from CI.

Another Tree card

I have made a few cards for birthdays, weddings & other occasions that I can't share just now but while I had the gear out i thought I'd have another play with this recently bought stamp. Instead of using background paper I made my own with a text stamp. It was a very simple design of white card blank with a black card rectangle mounted ontop. Then I added my stamped white rectangle ontop of that. I stamped the image & cut it out close to the design & mounted it onto a smaller rectangle & added it to the design. Then I applied frosted lace stickles all over the white ground area & the tree branches. It looks just like a frosty morning.

I'm pleased with it as I can't normally do black & white very well.

Time......

Finally got ink for my printer & could get up to date with these pages.

Time to laugh... I used a photo of some family friends because the way they are looking & laughing together is very infectious.

Time for friends... I collaged 4 pics of my friends for this one
Time to let go.... One of my fav photos from a royalty free CD I bought years ago. I made a cloud stamp cut from funky foam & dabbed on rangers acrylic dabber snowcap.
I am so loving these mini creations!

OLW - Now

The OLW challenge this week is the word Now. I couldn't play along with the last one, Strong, as I had no suitable photos to scrap & no ink in my printer! This photo was one I had printed by photobox.

Paper, Fancy Pants Wildheart, Dreamer, Pemberley & the reverse side of Stained Stripes. Clock & Title (font she), HS. Flowers & spot ribbon, Rebecca's June blossom kit. Maya Road velvet blossom trim, cream. Swirl stamps, Hampton Art/Studio G. Fake pearls from a junk shop necklace find. Stickles, Frosted Lace.

Close up of the flowers. Not sure you can see the stickles added to the petals randomly. I also glued seed beads to the flower centres on the velvet trim.All the swirls around the photo have seed beads glued onto them too. I love sewing beads as I have masses of Mill Hill cross stitch beads but glueing them is very therapeutic too. All you need is patience a cocktail stick & good strong glue.

I am very pleased with how this page turned out. I wanted something sophisticated & ultra feminine as now I am in my forties I actually feel more of a woman. I have spent very much of my life as a bit of a tomboy. I cut the reverse of the stained stripe paper for the journal block & thought the blue back of the paper was more of a contrast & adds impact. The papers were all in the kit I purchased from Bellaboo

Happy Birthday Tracy!!

Today is my sister, Tracy's birthday. Have a fab day, sis.

She likes her cards to be simple. Very much a "less is more" kind of gal. So I made this using some HS stamps that I bought & so far have never used. Well the chandelier has been used in collage stuff but the words stamps I picked up are still in their packets waiting for the right project. I adore all HS products they are very elegant. I added a few sticky flat backed crystals to the lower arms of the chandelier & one to the centre of the "o" for a touch of glamour. Paper is some HOTP scraps of a wedding pad.

Brand New Stamp

I got this brand new Crafty Individuals Stamp in the post today & just had to create something with it. Paper is BG Black Tie. Ribbons from my teamie, Anne. Buy the stamp here.

I can't normally pull off monochromatic but this was so simple. The torn edges give it a rustic feel. I only wish I could find my tissue paper it would have looked great stamped on it.

Happy Birthday, Den.

It's Denise's birthday today & she always takes the day off work so I passed this onto her yesterday.

I'm on a bit of a roll, I have several birthdays & a wedding this month & it has kicked my butt into getting some cards done. I'm quite pleased with how they are turning out as many were awful. Which is why I stopped card making in the first place.

This one is BG Sultry with a journal spot to stamp my message on. I thought about adding more to the design but decided less was more although I wish I'd punched holes in the scalloped paper before gluing down!! Paper was scalloped with my corner rounder. As always the edges are all inked & I love the hot pink ric rac it matches the paper perfectly.