Taking a break

I won't be blogging for a while so I'm just here to say goodbye!
And to share a last few layouts. I've been a scrapping fool recently. I think I'm ready for a bit more card making now. Which is just as well as I have a Church Fair and Christmas cards on the horizon. I will just moan a tad and say that I would actually like to see some more traditional Christmas colours please. I have decided to do stamped Nativity cards this year and they just won't go with the bright colours I have seen so far. Still I suppose it is only August and usually I don't start thinking about these things til late November.

The pictures aren't great as I took the photos last night. Both lots should have a white background!

I made it even harder to photograph this by putting my title on acetate. Ever since I did the doodling class for Imagine That and bought a doodling book I have been going mad for it!
This was my attempt to go for a more layered style. I love that look. Still needs more work though.
I used KI memories papers, Queen and Co felt, a stamp that I can't remember the make of, some Scenic Route buttons and some Poundland trimmings (only the best eh?) Rees or Nevard was handwritten copying some Penny Black stamps. The font is actually Rebekah's Birthday if you wanted to print it on something or try copying it for yourself. Its v. easy!

The next layout took me hours! But I am so proud of finally cracking a double layout that goes across two pages
Some of the time was taken up triple embossing loads of chipboard which I then decided looked better with doodles. This is because chose the colour of the embossing powder and THEN chose the paper which wasn't a great match. The paper is 3 Bugs in a rug, from a Scrummy Stash Cafe kit I bought and have never used because I like the paper too much. The papers are double sided and I layered them into a wave shape and cut out elements too. I doodled on buttons, chipboard and acetate and then sprinkled my journalling over the top. Click on it for a closer look.
And when I say I actually thought about throwing myself off just to make the torture stop I was not kidding. Obviously there are no pictures of the waves being really choppy and the boat going UP and DOWN because I was clinging on for dear life at that stage.

Right I am away for some more family adventures. Ciao baby!

Good times

loving having the kids back.
They had to tidy their bookshelves on Saturday (no mean feat) and they did it all within 20 minutes without any real arguing. They are not angels by any means but it is lovely when they all work together like that. We all had fun earlier that day spending the book tokens we have accumulated. How great to spend loads in a bookshop but only having to give 2.50 in cash! Which is why we needed to clear the shelves...

I thought I would show some more of the scrapping I have been doing. Here are another two. It is looking less likely though that the 2007 album will be finished before the 2008 holiday. Ah well. And I have a cunning plan anyway. At Imagine That you can buy "Lickety Split" albums by Bazzill where you can simply slip photos in the special pockets as well as doing layouts. Which should speed things up. I also have my Germany mini album to even start. Hmmm. I think I need a crafting holiday!

Anyhoo, here are the layouts.
I was amused in my own little way, to see a police box in Glasgow. Which led to this layout using Daisy D's papers
the letters are stamped with the Technique Tuesday tall timbers stamps. V. expensive but I have used them loads. Also features my new favourite doodle patters and some paper flower and bling combos.

This one very simple for me. Urban Couture papers and letter stickers. Time had to be traced as the big letters I had were the wrong patterns. The ribbons are Fancy Pants. Now I actually have Urban Couture ribbons somewhere but they are not where they should be :( Fancy Pants goes OK though. The lace butterfly is from Imagine That.

I have a fun day of washing, shopping - ooh and a little teaching at the craft shop to do today. Hope you have a good time too!

the results are in

Phil and I went for a healthy walk first this morning and then got on with the weighing and measuring. For the first time my hip really hurt and I had to limp round. Ironic after two weeks of fast walking every that the first day I don't have to - I can't! Ah, I love the signs of getting old.

Not that we were having a competition BUT Phil won the weight loss and I won the inch loss. I don't set that much store by weight anyway as I can fluctuate by a good few pounds depending on the time of the month. I lost 4 1/2 lbs and 10 inches overall from my bust, waist, hips and thighs. I am WELL chuffed with that. Sadly, I still have some little belly rolls so can't be too complacent. I don't look as chubby as I am as I dress carefully and I have thin bottoms of my arms and ankles which is the most anyone sees. But trust me, the flab is there.

So I will feel more confident on holiday - the reason for doing this. And I do want to keep up the healthy lifestyle. My sugar craving really shocked me and now it is gone I don't want it back. I also need to keep off the crisps if I can and exercise more. That is probably the key for me! I think making meals from scratch probably helps as well. Alcohol WILL be going back on the menu though... can you get low calorie cider? (my sophisticated drink of choice!)

Phil lost 4 inches overall - I was surprised it wasn't more as he looks so much trimmer. But lost a fab 6lbs. Having a diet buddy is the way to go.

OK I promise, no more boring diet talk. ON with this weeks Daring card.
Sue set the theme this week

It’s a Wrap

No, not the kind stuffed with Chicken & Cesar Salad or the woolly kind you put around your shoulders to keep you warm, mind you, the way our summer is going I think we could all do with one of those!

I would like you to give your card a coat made of acetate, vellum or anything for that matter.
As long as it ‘wraps’ around the outside of your card, anything goes!

I needed to make a card for a 90 year old and thought I would try my hand at elegant, which if you have looked at this blog before, you will know is not my natural style. I found some vellum I bought ages ago and scalloped the edge with a corner rounder, then stamped it using versamark and a Banana Frog swirl stamp. I then swooshed it with Blonde Moments pearl pigments powder. The numbers were cut on the robo and given the versamark/powder treatment.
For the inside I ran the card through a Swirl cuttlebug folder and added a strip of paper to hide the join. After it was all put together I decided to do the versamark/powder thing agin. This looks much better when the card is fully closed than when it is open!
some swirly sheer ribbon finished the card off.

I also want to show you another layout - in complete contrast to the card!
We had a fab day at this country park on holiday last year. But were quite stunned by the art on the beautiful manor house. I really don't think I could do it... So I went wild on the papers too - it is doodled to an inch of its life, helped by the Frances Meyer papers - Sharpie just glides over it so beautifully. The papers came in a kit with the chipboard flowers . All I added was the Robo cut lettering. Very bright, very busy but loads of fun to do!

Its the final countdown

Dee diddle diddle dum
Ah Europe. What a classy song.
And if you weren't old enough in the 80's to enjoy a bit of OTT classic rock, I'm sorry.

So...
my babies are back!
The journey was torture on Tuesday. It took an extra hour to get there due to accidents and road works. Here are the boys together. Emrys has grown by at least 2 inches in three weeks.
You can see Lil C on the layout below which is my Salt contribution for this week. Nothing like using a fresh photo!

The Salt challenge this time is...

Obedience
Psalm 119:60, “I made haste and did not delay to keep Your commandments.”

and all I became aware of is how hard it can be to actually make that verse true. I am more "procrastinate and eventually think about living God's way" I am ashamed to say. But thank God - I can be forgiven and challenged and helped to live right straight away
So the layout kinda reflects that
as I finished it I remembered I am supposed to be making more 8.5x11 layouts for my scrapbook as I have loads of those inserts to use. Doh!
The papers are new American Crafts everyday. Letter stickers AC too. Oh how I wish I had stuck them down just a few cms further to the left. But once they are down those bad boys are down/ Add some doodles and some Poundland bling and thats it. Helped enormously by this weeks Sketch This sketch

I used another Sketch This sketch for a layout this week and it is one of my all time faves already!

Sometimes simple is the way to go. This goes in the holiday 2007 album (now filling up nicely!)
Crate paper, American crafts thickers, Distress ink. Done.

Today is the last Drop a Dress Size day. Tune in tomorrow for the results!

Almost there

Less than 24 hours til I see my babies
2 and a bit days left of the diet
Only just over a fortnight until the hols

And then its September - eeek!

I was going to take my Prisma pencils with me on holiday to start colouring some Christmas images but I've had second thoughts. I don't think they really go with camping. I'll have my cross stitch and loads of books and of course, the family to play with so I have plenty to do. I will just have to start doing a few images at a time in September.

I've done a fair bit (for me) of scrapping recently. Here are another two
The first is based on a Sketch This sketch
I couldn't use the adorable sketch as is because the photo was quite big and I was scrapping 8.5x11 but I didn't want to cut the photo down so I made my page even simpler. Punched circles of Scenic Route Metropolis inked and stuck down, some American Crafts thickers and a little Bazzill for writing on and there you are. He started wearing glasses about 4 months after this shot was taken!

This photo was also taken in Scotland - but 14 or so years later
I have now moved the top button over by the way. I have had two square scallop frames like this for ages and never have a square photo to put inside. SO I decided to just add a strip of paper. The frame is Fancy Pants and the papers are Piggy Tales. I thought the blue, which is the back of a patterned piece went well with Phil's shirt. As ever I didn't have all the right letters so decided to go with "krayzee" spelling - the letters came with the frames. The buttons are from a Costco kit and the stickers are all 7 Gypsies.

I've done another 3 pages but I'll save them for another day. Too excited about seeing the kids to photograph them now...

Countdowns

4 days until I can see my babies again
6 days until the regime ends (don't feel like I have lost much padding as yet though)
12 days until the hols... and GCSE results.

Mostly filled with trying to get to the bottom of my "to do" pile, getting ready for holidays, not eating sweets or having ANY alcohol, pining for my kids (this may come as a shock to those whose little ones are still really little, but you still pine when they are big smelly teenagers, and I suspect when they are old enough to have babies of their own!) Some tidying of the house (not as much as should be done) and a smidgeon of crafting. The nice thing about the summer is less evening meetings which means I have a little more time.
However I still didn't load my Daring card for this week until a minute past the deadline!

Scrumdiddlyumptious

All things foodie - feature a food you associate with summer and sunny days (just to remind us of those summer feelings)

It was a lovely dare. I misread it - as ever - and thought I had to use a summer fruit not food (doh!) but that helped me to really try and use my little grey cells
So I went for a cherry. I tried hard not to put it on a cupcake as that seems to be my easy option du jour, but it sulked until I relented.
The papers are all from old Self Addressed kits - all but the stripy one coming from the same kit. Is the paper Fancy Pants? possibly. the stripe one is Collage Press. Lots of hand cutting, inking and doodling as ever with a few brads and foam pad layers. I'm going to send it to someone who has a special birthday coming up who doesn't want it mentioned. So I'll put some BIG numbers inside!
Here is a close up of the layeringThe second card I did for a Just Bex challenge. I can't remember when I did the last one as I find just keeping up with the two challenge blogs I am on takes my crafting time up!

It was a template challenge and I came up with this
The tanda stamp belongs to Sue Hyde and I coloured it with prisma pencils. The card centre was cut out with a nestability die. Of course I forgot the thing about american cards being slightly smaller so managed to smoosh the side a bit. Hopefully you can't tell! Lots more nestie circles and inking and Basic Grey Boxer pad papers were used. Its a bit busy!
The basket behind is more in focus than the card but here you can see how it is layered!

Right must get back to that desk. DO you know I think it might be made of wood. I'd forgotten!

left, right, left, right

I am looking a tad chubby at the mo' so decided a quick fix was required. So Phil and I (also on the wobbly side) are on the "Drop a dress size" two week regime. Which involves a lot of walking. We are up to 80 minutes a day and I'm just hoping it doesn't go up any higher! It is good for us though and I feel the benefits although the podge is still there. And I can't wait for a week Friday when it is over. Although I am going to have to look at fitting more exercise into my life (than the none I normally do)

Which all leaves a little less time for crafting - or more specifically blogging as its the taking photos and writing it down bit I keep missing out!
So here is a flavour (oh no, food similes - disaster! Is it a simile though? My grammar brain isn't working today) if what I have been doing. I'm still seeing if I can finish the Scotland 07 album off before going on the 08 holiday. Honestly? I doubt it!

All three pages were made using Scenic Route. The first is Liberty - my newest collection which is great! (not that I created it, I just own it. And cherish it) The double pages are done using Roxbury because, obviously, there is no better paper to illustrate your summer holiday than Christmas stuff...
The background paper is from a Costco set. There is a lot of doodling going on. The orange patterned paper was scalloped using a corner rounder. It was a long job. The buttons and die cuts are also SR. The stars are from a Euro shop. Like poundland only foreign.
And look I did a double layout that works! I think the answer for me is to have similar but not moving over pages - if you know what I mean. The title is Robo'd. Loads more doodling (guess who just got a new doodle book) and brads from various places. And look how many photos I managed to cram on!

Must go and make tea - bolognese with courgette noodles.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm
mm
m
?

Friday frolics

Phil has been out all day today learning to drive a moped. He is saving up for one at the moment and now is keener than ever. Unfortunately the internet connection went down and only he knows the magic words to get it working again. I tried everything. It is SOOO frustrating to be internet-less - for work as well as play! Throw a very difficult funeral into the mix and I am rather frazzled. Phil managed to phone me up and share the magic words so I am back with you now!

I did mean to post yesterday too but somehow it didn't happen. Despite it being the summer time work life is still very full. I went for a day/night meeting to a Derby travelodge. 2 other Ministers and I meet up twice a year to share issues that we have. It is really useful. We meet there because although two of us are reasonably close together the other is in the North West and Derby is kind of equidistant.

SO I am both Salt-ing and Daring-ing today.

Amazingly Salt has been going a year now. I really love doing the faith scrapping and am beginning to plan how to share it at church in September. Hazel chose the dare this time.

And God saw that it was good'

This is a reflection on Genesis 1, which gives an account of God's marvellous work of Creation and His reflection on it was that He 'saw that it was good'.

I immediately thought about Margaret Hebblethwaite's reflections on having a baby being the nearest we get to knowing what God felt like at Creation - so that is what I went with
This is the layout that growed. I wanted to make an 8.5x11 layout but then felt it was too plain. So I mounted it on patterned paper and then thought it was a finny size so it ended up 12x12 after all! The paper is all American Crafts, as well as the thickers and the bling is Poundland. The other brad shapes came from a costco kit. I couldn't get the photograph colours quite right and it is just a shade brighter in real life. The journalling spot is a Maya Road sheer.

That is me with number 1 son. I don't have any photos from when he was totally newly born - we had an emergency section in the middle of the night. Phil then didn't come to the lunchtime visiting because he had a wedding to do (he sent his church secretary to see me instead. Hmmmm) so this was probably taken that evening. Dig my old lady haircut. I think I was trying to look the mature minister at that time. I have given up now!

ON to DCM for this week.

Sprinkles!
This week we're working with sprinkles. If you'd like to join in and play along then create a card using some teeny weeny dots/spots to represent little sprinkles. You might add a splash of french knots, beads, small sequins or bling, teeny buttons, hand drawn dots, paint splotches or think up something else thats teeny, tiny and sprinkled.

I've bought two of the new Spiral Whisper stamps so used one of them on my card
this card is another example of having to work round my many mistakes! You wouldn't believe how many times I had to stamp her out. The dots on the dress and shoes are a Stampin Up stamp that was coloured using two distress inks. I was always going to paper piece those elements. But when I came to colour her in - disaster. I don't know what went wrong as I used two different ink pads on two different versions - but the colour ran into the delicate skin I was trying to colour with Prisma pencils. SO I gave up and distress inked and cut out her face, hair, arms and legs! the sentiment is where it is to hide some red ink (how did it get so near her? I don't know, but I wasn't going to start again). The papers are basic grey Boxer, the flowers are a Stampin Up punch combined with an office hole punch and the bling on the flowers is all Poundland. The original card design is my interpretation of a Sketch This card sketch from waaaay back.

Right must finish service stuff for Sunday now the internet is back. No excuse any more!