~ Life on the Backwaters ~

Today I was woken up from my post night shift sleep by my neighbour playing the drums. As you can imagine I wasn't impressed especially as I'm working again tonight. I decided to use the extra time wisely and retreated in to my craft room to play with pretty papers. 

Over on the Like For Ever Subscribers Facebook group Nicola had set us 2 different challenges. There was another Tic Tac Toe challenge and the fortnightly Sunday challenge. For the Tic Tac Toe I chose a diagonal line (stamping, coloured cardstock & thread) and the Sunday challenge was to use a colour you wouldn't normally use (Green).

I'm starting to pack for a couple of upcoming retreats so most of my kits and up to date stash is in a box ready so I'm challenging myself to use my other stash to make a dent in the increasing piles. I'm really pleased with how this layout turned out, especially because I was tired when making it and didn't use a sketch or anything as inspiration.

Off to work now, hopefully it won't be a long night!

Happy Crafting!

~ Smitten ~

Well I'm off on a night shift tonight so thought I would share this layout with you which always makes me smile!

The photo is from my friend's wedding last year where I was a bridesmaid. It does make me laugh because my fiancé has worn the same shirt to the last 2/3 weddings we have been to as its his favourite. I did like how it matched my flowers though.

I've not really scrapped may photos from the wedding, think this is only the second one. The February Like For Ever kit was perfect to use with this photo. I just added a few thickers, washi and stamp from my stash.

It was rather fiddly trying to back the wood veneer heart with different pieces of patterned paper. Not really sure where the idea for this layout came from I think I just sat with lots of pretty patterned paper in front of me.

Happy Crafting!

~ Monochrome challenge - Differences noted ~

Over on Shimelle.com this week is a great challenge featuring Monochromes! Find the original post here. I've never really stuck to one colour plus black/white so I found this challenge particularly good fun.

I've had this photo printed off a while but not really found the inspiration to scrap it. I decided I wanted to use this photo to tell the story of how me & my fiancé have some very different interests. He is follows pretty much any sport which I just don't understand and I have my crafting and scrapbooking. When you first meet some one you worry about your differences but actually it balances out well for us. When he watches sky sports I go up in my craft room to play with pretty paper, but we do make time to do things together. 

This layout was made using patterned paper from various different manufacturers and embellishments from my stash. I wanted the photo and the background to be the main focus for the page so kept the embellishments to a minimum. I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks on plastic packaging spritzed with water to create the blue tones on the background.

Today has been such a happy crafty day as I received 2 pizza boxes from Like For Ever and Hey Little Magpie full of gorgeous stash ready for my retreats in March.

Head back here on Tuesday for a new Stick It Down DT layout and a new process video.

Happy Crafting!

~ Feeling Chilly ~

Due to the postage issues with American Crafts at the moment it sees Like For Ever having a kit break due to supply issues. However, the wonderful Nicola has offered us a pre-order of Cocoa Vanilla Studios 'Free Spirit' collection to satisfy those who need their monthly stash fix!

To keep spirits up (see what I did there!) Nicola added an extra challenge over on the Like For Ever subscribers facebook page. It was a Tic Tac Toe challenge, where you had to pick 3 items of stash which follow a specific line (horizontal, vertical or diagonal). My 3 things were Stripes, White cardstock and Twine.

I'm desperately trying to use up some of my kits and stash so I can buy more guilt-free at my up and coming 2 retreats. This layout uses Like For Ever kits from last summer which included Dear Lizzy 'Fine & Dandy' and PinkFresh Studio 'Happy Things'. Most of what you see is from the Dear Lizzy collection.

Another 9x12 layout for my travel album which is slowly building up to say we've only been back 4 weeks.

Happy Crafting!

~ Epic Journey ~

This layout has been in my head ever since we started to travel back from Laos.

We had a few days to get back to the UK so we went the long way round. This seemed like a good idea at the time although an amazing experience it was pretty exhausting in the end. The photo was taken only half way trough the journey in the Skytrain station in Bangkok. 

The papers are the last of my travel themed items I bought last year. Mostly it is MME 'Hello, World' collection but there is a splash of Fancy Pants 'As You Wish', a random journaling card and a flair badge from Hey Little Magpie.

The journaling reads:

4 Countries

(Laos + Thailand + Dubai + England)

53 hours travelling

9 Modes of transport used

(taxi + public bus + tuk tuk + overnight train + metro + skytrain + plane + train + car)

I have another process video which accompanies this layout. I'm really enjoying making these but they do take forever to load on to YouTube.

Thanks for watching.

Happy Crafting!

~ Amazing Sunset ~

So not only am I getting to grips with 9 x 12 scrapping I have also tried scrapping an extra large photo. This is one of my favourites from our trip so I had it printed in 9x7 so it fitted the whole width of the page. The photo was of the sunset over the Mekong River from a temple on the hillside in Pakbeng, Laos.

I am using up a few leftovers from different Like For Ever kits here and I was pleased with how well they co-ordinated together. I actually found it quite difficult to add embellishment as the photo took up so much space on the page. So for me there is actually only a small amount of embellishment framing the photo as I wanted to leave a bit of blank space.

I've had a go at another process video for this layout. Again any tips will be gratefully received.

Happy Crafting! 

~ Shine Bright like a Diamond ~

This page is a homage to my new found enthusiasm for scrapping my piles of photos and using up stash. It uses a mix of three different Like For Ever Kits and features a photo from 2013!  We got engaged in Italy and bought the most beautiful diamond engagement ring.

I dreamt about this layout so had to get it done before I forgot about it!

When I first saw the gemstone rub ons I really didn't like them and had no idea what I was going to do with them but then I had the dream (and I saw Nicola use them on this layout). I'm really pleased with this layout, it's become one of my favourites. This is what I love about kits, you get products you wouldn't buy and then they surprise you.

Happy Crafting!

~ Let's try something new! ~

Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day!

I had originally planned on posting this yesterday but simply ran out of time before I went out to see Hairspray at the theatre. About a week ago I created this 9 x 12 layout for my 'Thailand & Laos' Album and had a go at creating a process video to go with it. It's taken me a while to get to grips with Movie Maker and You Tube but hopefully there will be more to come in the very near future as I have a couple more ready for editing.  

As soon as I say the background patterned paper in the October 'Hello, Beautiful' Like For Ever kit I knew it had to be used as a background and I am really pleased with how it has turned out. I have stuck with my usual layering style and added 3 main groups of embellishments to create a triangle effect round the photo. We took quite a few photos at these waterfalls in Laos so I'm sure they will pop up on at least another couple of layouts.

Thank you for reading/watching. Please give me any tips in the comments as I'm just getting to grips with hearing my own voice. I'm still playing around with the camera placement settings too so hoping to improve the angle.

Happy Crafting!

~ Getting to grips with 'Smitten' ~

I have absolutely loads of photos that are waiting to be scrapped, sometimes I feel like I'm drowning under them. Well I've taken a stand. I always feel inspired to scrap my most recent photos but am on a mission to also get down the pile of pics from the last couple of years. I usually print loads of photos and then sift through hundreds of photos to find inspiration but I'm going to tackle it from a different angle. So apart from my holiday photos I plan to print as I scrap using my Selphy or print one or two photos which I know I specifically want to scrap to tell a story.

Starting as I mean to go on. Here is a photo from last December and there is a great story behind the photo. We went Christmas shopping to Lincoln and managed to spend a long time sat in their café nero/Waterstones. It was brilliant to be able to sit with a Winter berry mocha and peruse the literature. I found the fantastic Mary Berry Christmas cookbook which I used to cook my first Christmas dinner. I think all bookshops should have a café inside them!

Again I've managed to use my February Like For Ever Kit with a few added extras from  my stash. I've used my usual layered style here with a few splatters of Heidi Shine mist.

Happy Crafting!

~ Steaming ahead! ~

I didn't realise I hadn't already blogged this layout. I'm going to aim to blog at least every Tuesday so I've got an achievable goal (although I hope it will be much more frequently than that in reality). I've got a busy few months ahead that include two fun filled scrapbooking retreats, which I can't wait for. It will be great to finally meet the ladies from the Like For Ever subscribers Facebook group.

I think its amazing how peoples' pages can look so different even though they may have the same/ similar photos. I scrapped this photo of my mum and I in Leeds having a cheeky cocktail. She has also scrapped this photo using different paper and it turned out completely differently.

This was the first layout I created with the January Like For Ever kit. I used gelatos to add a splash of colour to the black heart background. I really should play around with them a bit more but I hate waiting for things to dry! Maybe I should have 2 layouts on the go and switch between them

The cocktail was called Mad Hatter's Tea Party and was alcohol warmed and infused with fruit and mint, then mixed with dry ice and served in tea cups. It was a little bit of fun, although rather expensive! If you are ever in Leeds I can recommend a visit to The Alchemist for their speciality cocktails.

Happy Crafting!

~ Playing with hearts ~

Hello Monday, today I have had a whole day to myself with no fixed plans (I have ignored the housework that needs doing!). After tidying my craft room a few days ago I was inspired to try and create more often and tidy up afterwards.

So today I have had a whole day of crafting which I will share with you over the next week or so. I have even had a go at creating a few process videos. I will upload links once they are edited.

Every Monday over on Shimelle.com there is a new weekly challenge. This weeks challenge was to use hearts on a layout, find the post here. I use hearts quite often on my layouts to embellish pages which feature my family, fiancé and my love of all things food related.

I printed these photos on my Selphy and then matted them side by side similar to how Shimelle often does with her 6x4s. These photos were taken on a spa day at Thoresby Hall last year with my mum.

This layout using February's Like For Ever Kit 'Smitten'. It contains a mix of Crate Paper 'Hello Love' and WRMK 'Crush' collections. I love some of the papers but the embellishments are a little too romantic for most of my layouts. Maybe I will make an extra effort on Valentine's Day in order to get some appropriate photos. 

Happy Crafting!

~ Stick It Down - February Sketch ~

Happy Friday, here is my design team entry for this month's sketch challenge over on the Stick It Down Blog. I actually found this month's sketch really challenging to use but I'm really pleased with my finished page.

I dipped in to my mountain of stash and used up a few old stickers to embellish the layout along with a few new bits from my Like For Ever kit. I'm not usually one to use pastel colours but think they really work with the pink and white marshmallows on the hot chocolate. I am a sucker for a good hot chocolate.

Happy Crafting!

~ Selfie alert! ~

So today I played along with the challenge over on Shimelle.com. This week she announced a new weekly challenge and design team. So I'm going to join in with the challenge each week. 

I have had this title for a while now. It was a plain chipboard word that my mum gave to me. She had it in a kit that she bought and knew she wouldn't use it. I applied gesso and then spritzed it with teal and silver Heidi Swapp Shine mist. It looks dull in the photo but is shimmery in real life.

I have used the January Like For Ever Kit 'Twenty Sixteen' for this layout. I love the papers but have really struggled to use the together. Lots of white and lots of bold patterns. I'm hoping to get a few more layouts out of the kit. I have managed to do about 10 previously just adding a few sheets of plain cardstock.

This photo was taken in August last year when Birmingham held 'The Big Hoot'. This photo is of the Owl sponsored by the Selfridges department store with the iconic Selfridges store in the  background so the title is multi faceted.

Happy Crafting!  

~ Missing: January! Have you seen it? ~

Ok, so who stole January?!?!

To be fair I was out of the country for 18 days of January but it certainly has gone way too fast. With it being Christmas just before I went away I didn't get chance to schedule any posts while I was away so it has been pretty quiet on the blog.

My trip to Thailand and Laos is giving me the opportunity to scrap in a different size. I've never scrapped anything other than squares (4x4, 8x8, 12x12) so when I had the opportunity to purchase a 9x12 inch scrapbook through Like For Ever I jumped at the chance. Starting out I felt pretty anxious about how it was going to work with a different ratio of paper. I asked the girls over on the Like For Ever kit subscribers Facebook group for some tips.

So here are my first two layouts for my trip scrapbook.

For this layout I have used some Basic Grey patterned papers that I bought in the sale over on Hey Little Magpie. I must say I'm gutted to learn that Basic Grey will no longer be producing scrapbooking collections. They were the company that really started my love of scrapbooking. I cut out part of the labels patterned paper to add a focal point the layout.

The photo shows our first glimpse of Laos, across the Mekong River from Thailand. I'm not really sure what size photos to use on the 9x12 papers but this 3x4 seems to work ok.

I absolutely love this layout! I used a Pagemaps sketch which was sent with the January Like For Ever kit. I used a tip from Nicola (the owner of Like For Ever) as she uses quite a lot of white space on her smaller layouts. I do love the clean crisp effect that it gives. All the elements seem to bounce off the page.

The letters are DIY thickers and I used Heidi Shine mist in teal to colour the bottom half. The wooden words are from a Heidi Swapp collection I bought in the sale over at Hey Little Magpie.

I'm off to organise the printing of some of my holiday photos so I can get lots of pages made over the next few weeks.

Happy Crafting!