My Sister's Christmas Card

I'm disappointed with the photographs of this card I made Tracy as it doesn't show the richness of the colours nor the sparkle of the perfect pearls in the panels of handmade paper.

Front

Back

Inside

I love making these multi panel cards, they give the recipient so much to see. They are time consuming to make & it is always advisable to make enough handmade paper to begin before doing any stamping. On the back panel I embossed with a cuttelbug folder to add interest.

All stamps are Crafty Individuals.

Boxing Day

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and got nice things to create with for the new Year. I'm currently staying with my Dad in Immingham. I spent most of Xmas Day in bed poorly, my tummy was really not happy, but it is lovely & warm here at dad's and Im far better today. The snow is thankfully nearly all gone as it caused havoc with travelling on the trains.

I had to get a new mobile phone on Xmas Eve as mine kept going blank on me which proved awkward as I kept getting stranded at the station, trains running up to 40 minutes late & I need to know I can contact work & warn them. My phone is over 5 years old so my new one is quite modern & taken me a day to work out. The good part is I'm now on a contract which will work out far cheaper for me, the phone was free & it has two built in cameras so no excuse for not taking photos when I'm out & about. I am terrible for leaving my camera at home & missing the perfect shots!! I have work to share once I get home & can access the pictures on my own computer.

So for now, I wish you another fabulous day eating festive fayre & playing with your new toys :)

Middle of December....

and I can't believe I haven't blogged!!!!

To be honest I have been very busy at work & the trains have not been running to time so once I get home I am too busy with chores to upload my photos. So here are a few cards. I only made cards for family & very close friends. Time is not something I have in abundance right now.

The first card is for Audrey, it was her birthday the first week of the month.

The rest are my Christmas cards. I will show my sister's card another day as I need to resize all the pictures of it.

Year of Studio Calico - November

Another page for my album. Sadly there is only one page left to go next month & the album is full. But as I enjoyed every second of creating this, I have an idea for another one in the New Year.

All materials from my Studio Calico kit - Market Place.

Background is Jenni Bowlin Calendar page from the Dec 08 kit.

Patterned Paper- Cosmo Cricket-Earth Love-Remember

Basic Grey-Nook & Pantry-Pear Tart

Cosmo Cricket -Earth Love-Repeat (covering house)

Mini Chipboard house - Maya Road

Title - American Crafts Fabric Alphas -Delight- Leaf Green

Chimney smoke -AC dots from alpha pack coloured black with acrylic paint.

Red Tissue for house window.

Karin's Oriental Birthday Piece

It was Karin's birthday at the weekend and after our usual birthday game on the forum, I can now show my piece. Instead of a card I went with a hanging & just made an ATC for a tag. The background was one of my "happy" experiments & at the time I made it all I had in my mind was rich opulent summer colours. I actually made this in July but kept hold of it for Karin's birthday. My favourite part was adding the beading at the bottom. It took a bit of fiddling but eventually I got there.

Close up of beading. (Can you tell Im proud!)

Making it proved easier than photographing it!

A Page to Share

This was a page I made during my time on the mojoholder DT. It was one of the lifts we had lined up but never featured. The original page was done by a dear blog friend, Christiane Muller.

The photo was supplied by my sister from her holiday to France. I just added stamping to the page along with the gorgeous map flowers from one of my Studio Calico kits.

You can see the original page by clicking here.

safe HAVEN

This layout was made last weekend and it has been terrible trying to get a photo of it. Im still not 100% happy with this one but it is the best of 10!! The picture was taken a few weeks ago during my stay with my sister, Tracy. This is her home & I love it! Im on a half day holiday from work today so thought it might be the perfect to try one last time to get a photo while it is daylight. After all I am never normally home until 5.45pm and daylight is just a memory by then!

Materials list; Studio Calico October 2009 kit Yearbook and Add on Fall Festival

Patterned paper;

My Mind's Eye-Abbey Road-Lucky Me "Sisters"/Forever Rings paper

Basic Grey-Indian Summer-Acorn

Bo Bunny-Delilah-Circle Scalloped

Bo Bunny-Delilah-Here's 2 u
Embellishments;

BG Indian Summer element stickers (bird, leaf trail border, journal block)

American Crafts Fieldhouse Blue Skies (felt tree)

MME-Abbey Road (spotted orange brad)

Fancy Pants Orange pom pom trim

Title;

safe (white letter stickers ASDA)

Haven (Cosmo Cricket The Boyfriend chip alphas.

Kraft cardstock base.

Apologies to my blog friends

due to some rather suggestive comments left by a sex site, it is with regret that I have had to put comment moderation back onto my blog. It is hoped that they can not then link to your blogs too. I am disgusted that Blogger allows them to get through to be honest. I have enough to do out at work all day without having to patrol my blog.

Anyhow, finally I have a photo of a layout I made about two weeks ago! It is a very old photo taken during a very difficult period of my life but I remember this as been one really nice day. We were all dresed for winter but it was gloriously hot. We were friends & step brothers & sisters back then.

I made it bright & cheerful even though that time of my life was miserable & dark. All the same the photo holds a memory that I have of sun, laughter & holidays. The girl at the very front was a friend I met up with each weekend when we stayed in our caravan. Photo taken around 1978/9.

Materials used from Studio Calico September 2009 kit Cotillion, with the odd few embellishments used from older kits. I thought this Basic Grey paper screamed 1970's. Names printed onto blue dymo tape.

October page for my Year of Studio Calico

I have had a week off work from 24th Oct until today and I went away to visit my sister, Tracy in Newcastle for a very long weekend. Bless her, she had got Swine Flu and despite nasty hallucinations from the Tamiflu drugs, she looked a lot better by the time I got up there and we had an amazing girly time together. I had the pleasure of relaxing, listening to the sound of silence interupted only now & then by the sound of cash tills as we shopped. :) :) Once I got back home I decided on a total break & spent my hours home making. I love burning scented candles while reading in a corner wrapped in fleecy blankets. I find it the only way to truly recharge my batteries. The home making bit was defrosting the freezer & cooking to fill it up for the winter months ahead.

I took some lovely photos while up at Tracy's and this one of the hens waltzing into the house to see what she was doing just begged to be scrapped.

The materials are all from the October SC kit- Yearbook and the add on Fall Festival. (Another page will foloow once I can get photos) I only got this kit when i got home as the postman left it with my designated safe place but we kept missing each other the whole week.

It was great to get it & have a few days to sit & decide how to use it.

Jenni Bowlin calendar page (Dec 08 kit)

Paper - Jillibean Soup, Lentil Soup-Vegetable broth.

American Crafts Remarks Garden Walk journal block.

Sassafrass Lass Paper Whimsies Beatnik Buds.

Prima Flower centres.

Title both stamps from the kit.

Paper edges & calendar distressed & inked with Versamagic Chalk ink in Gingerbread.

Guest Designer for Little Shop of Sketches

I had the pleasure of being guest designer over on Little Shop of Sketches this week. My dear friend Pearl contacted me early last month to ask if I would return the favour as she had kindly done a GD spot for me on mojoholder. The sketch was fun to work with & I kept my page simple to show off the tranquil photo that I had taken at Xmas while staying with my sister, Tracy.

Here is a close up of my simple cluster of embellishments.

The materials I used are all from my last 3 SC kits.
I have been away from blog land for a while as I am rather tired. I am at the stage where getting out of bed is difficult in a morning and I'm finding myself late getting ready for work. The warmer duvet is partly to blame. I'm only up this early today because I have a train to catch in an hour!

Thankfully I am having a week's holiday from work starting with a long weekend this Saturday, when finger's crossed I am going up to Newcastle to stay with my sister, Tracy. I say finger's crossed as right now she has the flu & as a precaution the doctors have given her the swine flu drugs, Tamiflu. Once I get home I have a day out at Meadowhall shopping and plan to rest. I made a layout just for the hell of it last weekend but so far haven't had the right light for a photo then the day it was perfect, both sets of camera batteries were flat!!! Still they are fully charged & ready for my trip.

3 days & counting!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANGE!!

Today is my fellow Scrapbooking Teamie, Angela's birthday. I made this mini layout card for her as I know she is at her happiest near water. Paper is Dovecraft, Sequin waste from haberdashery. Photo was taken by me at Christmas during my stay at my sister's house.

Welcome Millie Jane - Crazy Amigo Challenge

One of my teamies, Nic & her husband Ian welcomed their new daughter Millie Jane into the world on Sunday. She will be adored by her big sister, Isabella. This is the card I made for them all. I hand stitched the row of tiny buttons onto the lace. It was rather fiddly but worth it as it looks unique.

A friend of mine, Rein, stopped by to tell me that the challenge over at Crazy Amigos is baby/ birth cards. So I am adding the link & entering my card.

Travel Project

This is a recent project I made to give away to a friend of mine, Marjolein & it took a while to get decent photos as the camera had flat batteries. The moment they were charged the weather was too bright or too dark, typical really.

The first picture shows the front cover & the tag I made to send with it.

This is page 4 of the 6 page book.

This is page 5.
The other pictures are really not good enough quality to blog. Shame but that's how it goes sometimes. I hope you are all having a relaxing weekend so far. I am having a great time. I had my feet up all afternoon flicking through a magazine & I feel like I have had a more than a day off work.

A Challenge

I am a team member of Scrap Shoppin' Girls and we haven't done a lot of team stuff in a while. You know how life gets in the way & time flies by. Babies are born to some ( well one born & another due VERY soon), Grandchildren for another. University study for one and new jobs for myself, followed by a career for the university student. So we decided to do a sketch to get the creativity flowing. The sketch we picked is an old Pencil Lines one. Here is my version below.

My designed is made mainly from my August Studio Calico kit -Over the Rainbow & the add on No Place Like Home.
Patterned Paper; Knave of Hearts, Summer's Day, Crafty Strips & Collage Cuts - Tell Your Story-Collage Press.
Making Memories -Great Escape -Compass Foil.
Large Brad, Cherry- American Crafts
Title - Bamboo Alphas - Making Memories
Reverse Tiny Circle Alphas, Jenni Bowlin.
Ric Rac from my stash.
Photos - from my sister, Tracy taken in France 2007.

Two pages from last weekend

I unplugged the phone last weekend for some chill-out "me" time. I am frazzled from the last few weeks of staff coverage & needed to shut myself away.

The first page is using my FountainSquare/Hobson Grove Studio Calico kit from November 2008 but I used the photo frame from this months kit as it fitted with my design. Leaves are stamped with some Habico clear stamps I bought over two years ago. Title was using the Making Memories Bamboo alphas that went perfectly with tis photo.

This 2nd page is from my latest SC kit. White cardstock. MM eyelet die cut paper which I inked with Broken China distress ink to make it stand out. The papers are Basic Grey-June Bug Aggie & Anna Griffin- Darcey Multi Floral. Yellow trim is Maya Road. Title June Bug chipboard Alphas.

Photo is my sister's cat, Kia.

I just need to say sorry to my regular blogs that I visit, but some of them I just can't get onto to comment. I get so frustrated when my computer freezes & I ended up having to shut down so I have not blog hoped very much lately. Time is a little too short, any spare time I have, I want to spend creating, while listening to music, breathing in the scent of burning incense.

Finally.... Something to share!!

I have had a busy few weeks at work as it is peak holiday time & everyone is jetting off to warmer climes. I have also been busy completing a travel project, when I could fit in some crafting time, which I can't share until it reaches its destination. I really need to get it posted off ,but I was run off my feet yesterday & missed the post office!!! Still I can get it all sorted out & post at work in the week. Someone should receive it throught the letterbox soon ;)

Anyway here is a page to share from my new September SC kit, Cotillion. I really want to create with this one as the papers that came are far nicer in reality. Sometimes photos just don't do things justice. I love the last kit too, but am lacking inspiration for it right now. But, the beauty is these kits don't really date so I can always use them anytime in the next year.

The page is another for the Year of SC album & again is made from the Jenni Bowlin calendar that came in the 2008 December kit.

Materials List;

Patterned paper, Studio Calico double sided Papillon.(butterflies/stripes)

Mini Frame stamp, Studio Calico.

Title, "you & me" & red flowers; Anna Griffin Darcey flocked stickers.

Sub title; sisters, Jenni Bowlin reverse black stickers.
Inks; Rangers black archival. StazOn Teal Blue.

Year of Studio Calico - August

As I only got this kit two days ago I am late making a contribution to my Album. I chose this photo taken by my sister, Tracy on her trip to France in August 2007. This is the first time I have created anything in days. I had my sister with me over BH weekend & the mojo forum took a break. I have two pages ready for when we get back so Im glad as time is very short for me right now.

We had sad news on our forum, our dear friend Suse passed away and we had little to say & crafting seemed a little pointless. I found creating hard as I was also very busy, actually am still very busy at work covering staff holiday time in our office & another of our branches in York. I have several projects half started & I'm certain I will get round to completing them eventually.

Just two more weeks to go & life should be back to normal at work & I will have some time for myself.

Materials; From the SC August Kit "Over the Rainbow" & add on kit "No Place Like Home" except for the Jenni Bowlin calendar page which came in the December 2008 kit.

Mini Compass Mask; Tim Holtz

Fired Brick Distress Ink.

Paper; Making Memories, Great Escape- Foil Compass. Collage Press, Knave of Hearts Collection-Crafty Strips.

Black cardstock. Black ink.

Title - Making Memories, Great Escape- Bamboo Alphas.

Mojoholder # 122 Kelly Goree

Something went wrong and this did not upload on Friday evening!!!!! I only found out 5 minutes ago!!

This week over on Mojoholder, we are featuring guest artist, Kelly Goree. Make sure you duck over there and see what the other DT ladies created. My page features another Australian photo that my Dad took but printed on my printer..... yup MY printer is back in action. Seems the problem I have had was simply that the ink cartridges I used were remanufactured ones & it upset my printer real bad. I won't be doing that again, in a hurry, I can tell you. Any how, I love this picture taken at Billabong Koala Park, New South Wales, Australia. Dad stayed with friends in Poret Macquarie and he went along with his camera for some excellent photos.

Materials List; (I'm being good & using up some old stuff!)

Bazzill Kraft cardstock.

Bazzill Rain Forest cardstock (photo mat)

Patterned Paper strips;

Basic Grey -Urban Couture-Pashmina

Basic Grey -Mortifica -Jade

Basic Grey -Scarlet's Letter-Desire

Basic Grey -Scarlet's Letter-Repose.

Inks; Rangers Archival black. Rangers Adirondack dye ink, Meadow.

Fiskars border punch

Title:- K&Co Adhesive Woodgrain Alphabet.

Green & silver embellishment - The Range as one of the Craft Works products that being at 99p Super, smashing, nice value!! :0) They do tiny foam alphas brads & all sorts.

I'm very impressed that this layout used up old papers but I kept looking longingly at all the new stuff!!

SaWo #68 Make a Journal Page

This week over at Saturday's Workout, the theme is to make a journal page.

I don't have a journal but I have always fancied making random pages & making them into a minibook. The page below is a kind of mix of all that is in my head right now.

I used to live on a Dairy Farm & I love Friesian Cows. I was very lucky to find this image of a cow in a magazine a few days ago & cut it out hoping to use it with the sellotape transfer method that I used on my tag for the TIO challenge on Wednesday. Perfect for this journal page. I have painted gesso over a book page & applied distress inks in a rainbow effect to illustrate that I love all colour. The travel words, bicycle & Paris ticket stamp are because I'm working on travel themes for my DT layouts & two other (secret for the moment) travel themed projects. The thistle picture, again sellotape transfer method as i just loved the picture as soon as I saw it. The clock because time is important to me, I have a fixation with images of clocks. The heart because mine is sad right now but all the happy colours cheer me. The rest are fill in pieces that represent things I like really.

I really enjoyed making this. It was great & I will make more now I have tackled my first!

Daring Cardmakers - Lace

The theme on Daring Cardmakers blog is Lace. It's been a year or more since I entered a challenge on this fabulous site. They are all very talented ladies & I had the honour of being Guest Designer in September 2007!

The main reason, for my not having entered any challenge o this fabby blog is, I just don't seem to make cards anymore! If I do make them its for a particular birthday, but I no longer make them every week. However I feel quite nostalic today as sadly my BIL Nigel passed away 5 years ago on this date, & I thought I would enter my Paris Postcard.

I made this postcard to pop into an envelope with some documents for my sister & as it has just a strip of lace I thought that it might just pass! Background is pink core'dinations card (Earth tone pack)The Gold Floral stamp is Elusive Images Damask Florals stamped in Adirondack Butterscotch dye ink. The torn page is from a book. I have painted it with artists Gesso & inked the edges with Adirondack Wild Plum dye ink. The torn paper ontop of that is some handmade paper using Adriondack inks & perfect pearls spray.
The Eiffel Tower (Elusive Images, Paris Stamp Collection) is stamped onto watercolour paper & coloured loosely with inks & a waterbrush. The blossoms are stamped with a script stamp. I layered up the whole piece with the strip of lace & added a gem for the flower centre. I stupidly forgot to take a photo of the back of it as it was stamped to look like a postcard!