February Project Life

 I woke up early this morning and realised Inkie Quill was doing a scrap stream so logged and watched while I ate breakfast and then felt inspired to catch up on my February pocket pages (seeing as everyone else was still asleep!)

Feb was quite a quiet month and I didn't take too  many photos so it's just a two side spread.  Again I've used my Gossamer Blue kit which came with some really lovely Fancy pants puffy dots, hearts and stars plus I printed and cut up the free printables to add...

So now I've lost my morning to crafting (not a bad thing obviously!) I need to crack on with the main plan for the day to sort and clear Josh's room ready for decorating and move him into the spare room. Wish me luck!

Project Life - and we're off!

This year I decided to do a pocket page album.  It's not quote traditional project life as I knew I wouldn't keep up with a spread for every week but I thought I could do a few pages for each month - no specific amount, just however many I could fill up.  Sometimes life is busy & all go and other times not a lot is happening.  I also wanted to capture some of the smaller details as well as the things I'm doing to celebrate my 50th birthday as I knew I couldn't make a 12x12 page for every single thing!

So with this in mind I watched videos. read blogs and subscribed to the Gossamer Blue Life Pages Kit.  These things combined have given me a system I think will work for me...

When I've done pocket pages before I have printed and made the cards as I've gone along.  I now realise this is not an efficient method and explains why it's taken me so long to complete pages in the past!

This time I've done it in stages.  First I printed off all the photos I wanted to use and chose the style of page protector.  This was made easy using my Canon Selphy that I got for Christmas and I can now print straight from my iPhone...

The next evening I picked out all the cards to go in the pockets either as a base for the photo or on their own.

This side I left fairly minimal when it came to adding embellishments as the photos speak for themselves...

The final stage was the fun bit - adding the journalling and the embellishments.  This again was easier as I stuck mostly to the kit only adding a few wood veneers and enamel dots from my stash.  By sticking to a limited number of alphas and embellies I put the cards together really quickly.  Watching Inkie Quill's Grab 5 videos gave me this inspiration :)

The end result is four pages for January that I am really pleased with.  Now it's time to crack on with February!

National Scrapbooking Day

So, did you join in?

I was working on the Saturday and so couldn't get to play until Sunday but when I did a made one layout, nearly finished another and made some PL style cards from my pocket scrapbooking pages.

I joined in with challenges from two Facebook groups I belong too - For the love of pretty paper and The Sketchy Scrappers who both organised some brilliant challenges and I hope to do some more over this week for the former and the rest of May for the latter :)

So this was the page I made first with the challenge to use 3 photos and some new stash.

I had two embellishment kits delivered from Freckled Fawn this week so dived in to use the new stash!

Challenge 3 was a fabulous challenge set by Fiona which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was to make some project life cards,  I don't do PL but I do scrap with pocket pages. They are just fab for adding a load of photos from one event or holiday and I've shared many on here.

I used the remainder of my Gossamer Blue kit from the page above so the cards would blend and I can add lots more photos from our trip to Northumbria in 2008 - I may  even be able to finish the album!

What did you get up to on NSD?  I'll be stopping by this week to take a look :)

Meadow Barn Pages - Part 3

Just realised I'd still not shared my final pages from my weekend crafting at Meadow Barn. For these two I found an easy sketch to use with scraps which was from a UKS cyber crop in 2009! Sorry no link to share. I love that the two pages have come out very different even with the same basic design. 

First up is "swing" and photos of Alex and Josh on, yes you've guessed it, a swing!  

The next one is "This is how you feed the birds". When we were all at my parents for my Dad's birthday celebrations my Mum put out raw beef burgers that they didn't want to cook (been in the freezer too long apparantly!) and we suddenly had several red kites circling overhead. It wasn't til we went indoors that they swooped down for the food but Tony was lucky and caught some shots out of a window. It's now a tradition for Mum to put raw meat out every time we go and stay!  They've always been keen bird lovers with loads of bread and nuts out in the garden but this takes it to a whole new level!

Meadow Barn Pages

2 weekends ago I spent a fantastic weekend away at a barn in Herefordshire with a lovely group of crafting ladies.  We drank tea and ate cake, we had tea cooked for us by two lovely husbands, we chatted and crafted, we did a little Voice watching, we drank wine and we laughed until we cried!

It was a weekend that was good for the soul.  And good for my albums too as I managed 6 layouts and 3 cards over the weekend plus a framed gift a friend asked me to make.

Here are a few of the pages...(and I promise they are all straight in real life!)

First is Strawberry Tea.

I made a kit from anything pink I had in my stash and I love the result,  The Good Times tab behind the papers holds the journalling which describes how I was the main organiser for Strawberry Tea in Josh's last year at Primary School.  This is an annual event by the school and all the mums back strawberry cakes, the choir sings, there are a few readings by the children and parents and grandparents come to watch, drink tea and eat cake.  We raise a lovely amount of money for Breast Cancer Care and have fun doing it!  Alex was on an inset day from high school so joined in the fun too!

Melissani cave - This next one was made from a Gossamer blue kit and a sketch set by Gemma for our Sketchy Scrappers FB group.  I used a lovely, but rare, photo of all 4 of us on holiday in Kefalonia last year.  This was the sketch;

My Guys - The photo was taken in the early eve when the light was perfect outside the Millenium Centre while we were on a break in Cardiff. I love this picture so much.  It's such a great photo even thought they are all looking in different directions!  

This was also from a Gossamer Blue kit and I managed to kill 2 kits whilst I was away!  I need to keep up the momentum as I would dearly love to subscribe again but need to use the old stuff up first (insert determined smiley!)

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment,  I'll share the rest of my pages as soon as possible.

Final page share from last year!

I promised to come back a few weeks back (eek!) and share another page.  Well, I am later than planned (that darn thing called life getting in the way again!) but I found not one but 3 pages I made before the close of 2014 that I still haven't blogged.

First up is Reunited, using up the rest of my home made kit...

The journalling reads "After more than 20 years we were finally all in the same place for a family photo at City Road having spent the day celebrating Dad's 85th".  A family rift meant one of my brothers lost touch with the family for over 18 years,  It was a lovely day when we were all back together again.

Next, something unusual for me - a page without a sketch as a starting point!  I looked at the scraps I had left in one of my Gossamer Blue kits and moved them around to see what I could create.  I love this photo of A&J.  Alex is teaching her brother how to do a selfie and the expressions on their faces are priceless.

Finally a sketch challenge using even more scraps from the same kit!  Jess set this challenge on the Sketchy Scrappers FB group for January and it was great to use the leftovers for.  I'd seen a page Mercy Tiara had made detailing all her cats nicknames.  I can't find the specific process video but you can check out Tracy's work here on You Tube and she has hundreds of fab videos to watch :)

Anyway, I took this idea and made a page about one of our cats, Bruce, now 18 months old he has been given several nick names by us all!

Thanks for looking and leaving comments.  I do love to hear what people think and your feedback always make my day.

Some pages to share

As I've been a bit remiss with my blogging I thought I'd best share some of the pages I made last month...

This is the island of Spinalonga made famous in Victoria Hislop's novel The Island (If you've not read it I can't recommend it highly enough).   I'd put together a kit for myself with mostly Amy Tangerine "yes please" plus some embellishments of my own to use up.  The sketch was the one I'd set for our sketch challenge group...

 I assure you this page is straight in real life!  

To go with the page I put together 3 pocket pages with photos from the island itself and an information leaflet plus our tour tickets.  I have yet to add journalling which I am still thinking about as I found the place very moving.

The other page I have to share is also a sketchy scrappers page using up a Gossamer Blue kit

This was the sketch set by Gemma...

And this is what I came up with adding a few extra bits from my own stash.  The photos are of Josh on the same holiday enjoying the spheres on the water in the water park we visited...

Back soon with more pages to share.  Thanks for stopping by.

Carfest North

At the bank holiday weekend in August I managed to rattle off a few pages due to the combination of a poorly me and some rainy weather!

I finished off a Gossamer Blue kit and, without the aid of a sketch, threw all the bits on the page to create this;

We had a great day at Carfest North last year but by far the best bit was the concert in the evening.  It was made even more special by a beautiful sunset.

Thanks for cheking in.  Not much scrapping going on round here due to a new job, fund raising planning for Alex and her trip with Guides next year and two weekends away coming up.  Normal service (whatever that is!) will be resumed soon!

Sizergh Castle

This bank holiday has been a bit of a wash out up here in the North West - lots of rain and cold wind!  So what better to do than some clearing out of cupboards, book shelves and desks (in both kids rooms) and a little scrapbooking?  At least I have a sense of achievement!

So on Saturday I completed the challenge  #1 in the UKScrappers Summer Scrapbooking Challenge which was to "Lets get started with a sketch"...

As per usual the two photos I wanted to use were portrait and landscape (I never seem to think about this when taking the pictures!) so I cut them both down so they would work with the sketch.  

I'm on a mission to use up my Gossamer Blue kits so carried on scrapping with the same kit as my last few pages...

Once again I've used embellishments from my own stash as the kit ones were pretty much all gone...

Plus some gorgeous new flair from A flair for buttons and some bits from my "For goodness sake use me up" pile...

Back soon with the final page from this kit.  Hope you've had a lovely bank holiday weekend wherever you are and that the weather has been kinder to you!

More Florida pages...

I've finished my second UKS Summer Scrapbooking challenge.  This time number 5 - Use a sketch and typography.

Sticking with the same Gossamer Blue kit as my last page I chose to scrap about our villa in Florida.  I didn't have any PL cards to use for the typography element which meant me heading over to Pinterest (My nemisis! I really don't go on it as it's such a time stealer!) and finding some free printables to download.  I couldn't believe how many were out there!  I found some great ones from Plant Your Story that fitted with both the theme and the colour scheme.

I added a lot of my own embellishments as I seem to have decimated the kit of these!  Plus some stars and some clear, patterned ribbon from my "Must use it up" dish.

I made the facing page to co-ordinate from the same kit and completed my Sketchy Scrappers July challenge.  The sketch was set by Karen this month and was based on a project life type spread...

 I decided to flip the page to use some portrait photos from our "pool days" at the house - we needed one every few days just to recover from the park days which were fun filled, action packed and very tiring!

I do love scrapping out of order. These photos are 6 years old but it's great to scrap them now as it brings back all the memories too.  

Still struggling with a virus and very bad cough so no day out for us today which probably means more scrapping for me :)  The UKS Summer Challenge is open until 30th September if you want to take part.

The Playlist

Sheena set the sketch for June with a little extra challenge to use flowers. 

I kept my embellishments simple and encorporated flowers on the patter paper instead. Around the outside I have written a list of songs from one of Alex's playlists that we listened to on a drive to one of her International meetings in deepest, darkest Cheshire. 

I also combined my challenges on this one and completed number 7 on the UKS Summer Challenges list - scrap the everyday.  My first of the challenges done.

I used a Gossamer Blue kit with some sequins, sprays and a flair badge from my own stash. 

Have you been joining in the Summer Challenge?  If so how many have you done so far?

Silverstone

I hadn't done a weekly challenge on UKS for a while but I took a look at this one and knew straight away what I could scrap.  I'd printed the photos off a couple of years ago (yep, I have a pile of pics that goes back that far...or further!) and together with some Gossamer Blue kits I'm trying to use up it was game on!

The challenge was...

Scrap about a summer or sporting event - The British Grand Prix ticks both those boxes :)
Use patriotic colours - plenty of red white and blue in my photos and papers
Use 5 photos or more - I used 5 with the help of a Shimelle 4x6 Photo Love sketch

So here is my double layout...

And the two separate pages...

In the interests of using up old stash on every layout I also sprayed some Basic Grey chipboard alphas.  Do you remember them?  The ones we used to buy before Thickers came along?!

Feeling my mojo return now after a scrapping hiatus so off to see what this week's challenge is...What has got you scrapping again?

Pool Pals

A quick post today to share a page I made last week with the last full sheet from my Gossamer Blue kit from December 2012.   This was the kit...

and it was so bright and full of bits to embellish :)  Although by the end of it I was craving some pastel colours to work with!  Anyway, I threw my last lot of June photos onto the paper and added some stickers and enamel dots from my own stash plus some stickers from the kit - love the little lady and man!

This was Alex and Josh in the pool at my brother's house in Portugal.  The lucky devil has just moved out there permanently.  Am I jealous?  Of course I am!!

I made a couple of other pocket pages to finish off the month (but not photographed those) and then I thought I'd do a look back on all the pages made with this kit so here they are...

Six 12 x 12 pages, two 6 x 12 and two pocketed pages.  Pretty good going for one kit!

Today was awesome...

Following on from yesterday's post and on to the page I was scrapping at the time from June 2012.  We had such a great time at The Cheshire Show.  It was lovely to have one-on-one time with Josh and to spend a day watching him enjoy himself to the max!  The show is always midweek (Goodness knows why?!) so in 2012 it fell on my rest day and the last day of Josh's half term (Alex had already gone back to high school).

We started off with the archery, followed by a spell in the display ring as Josh was picked out to help herd the ducks, then the motorbike display,he  made a bug house, bought a horseshoe (with his pocket money) for good luck!, climbed the wall on the scout stand, played mini golf, threw sponges at a fireman to dunk him, went on the trampolines, the list was endless!!!  And all on a relatively sunny, summers day.

It was a really fun day out and one I will always remember as all too soon he was heading off to high school, teenage years and hormones!

Anyway, enough rambling.the page was for a sketch challenge from Sketchy Scrappers from the lovely Alison using this sketch;

And this is the page I put together;

Added some bit from my own stash; black sequins, wood veneer stars anda  geotag, ink splatters and flair badges.

Have you been enjoying some bank holiday scrapping?  I'll be round to take a look this week :)

The Cheshire Show

Hello to you and hope you are enjoying the long bank holiday weekend.  We have had the week off too and have had a lovely trip away to Cardiff (and The Dr Who Exhibition) and my parents.  The last two days have been glorious here in the North West so it was out into the garden for a good spring tidy up.

So that brings me to today when I felt I'd done enough to earn myself a little scrapping time!  I have made a layout which I will share soon but it reminded me that I hadn't shared this one , which will sit opposite it in my 2012 album.

This was for a UKS weekly challenge a couple of weeks ago and I used some red, white and blue papers to go with the jubilee theme that was everywhere at the Cheshire Show in 2012.  I had never visited before as it is always (bizarrely) mid-week in June.  But this year it fell on my day off and an inset day for Joshua so we had a fabulous day out!

Must dash - still some scrapping time left before our roast lamb and then we are all out to the cinema to see Spiderman!

Zip it!

Ali set a lovely challenge last week on UKS to focus on ourselves.  I had a photo on my desk waiting to be scrapped from 2012 (I'm up to June so getting there...slowly!) and it fitted the bill perfectly.

So the challenge was;

Theme - Featuring yourself or someone close to you 5 points
Using numbers, but not as a bullet point - 5 points
Using visible journalling - 10 points 
Using photographs of yourself & other events 10 points

I had such an amazing experience doing my zip wire challenge that I had to document it;

Some of the numbers I wrote about;

• 260 meter zip wire
• Travelling at up to 25 mph
• £709 raised for the BSSA
• 150 girls and leaders from Girlguiding UK too part
• 1/2 million people in UK affected by Sjogrens
• 9/10 sufferers are women

I used a Gossamer Blue kit (giving the last few Sarah's ones a rest while I use up my Gossamer ones now!) and added some random stitching.

And if you have not seen it before (please allow me to indulge myself if you have!) here is good old me on the zip wire....

UKS March Challenge

Whilst away at Meadow Barn I had a crack at the March House Challenge on UKS.  I don't normally look at this but I do love a sketch challenge.  This was the one we were asked to use...

And using a Gossamer Blue kit I came up with this...

I scrapped a photo from Jan 2013 when it started snowing late one Friday eve and we got the kids out of bed and bundled into coats, scarfs and hats to go and play in it!  We stayed out til about 10pm and the close was so quiet apart from the crunching of our feet and the giggles from the kids!