Cake Baking & 1976

Kept at it with the Quirky Kit for a couple more layouts!


I wanted to know why Mummy's fruit cake was always so much better than mine when we use the same recipe. So I watched while she made one. Better quality ingredients and more moisture is the key!

Got out the good old Circle Circus again for this one. This is me in 1976 and I'm wondering now how I can possibly be about to have one of these when I still feel like I am one!

Even More from the Quirky Kit!

I've given up trying to get decent photos without PSP, so these are just propped up on my desk, complete with scruffy desk backgrounds.

When this picture was being taken I knew the layout would have to be called "Tosser" ~ sorry Sue!

We were lucky enough that our Retreat fell on Pancake Day, so Susi bought ready mixed pancake batter and we all had a go at making pancakes. Sue was the only one brave enough to actually give pancake tossing a go and it worked!

These are the flowers that John bought for me the day we had a positive pregnancy test. Seems like five minutes ago and now I only have days left!

I used netting on this, thinking that it might tone down the brightness of the cardstock, but it didn't! Still, the photo had come out in very bright green and yellow, so it probably doesn't matter. Inked the CS using a technique I found in the free Craft Stamper ezine, which has worked, but left me with a large pile of inky post-its. Fun though!

More From Wicken Fen

Still chopping up the fabulous Quirky Kit! Today I decided to make a couple more layouts from my trip to Wicken Fen with the Parental Units last month. This way I get a bunch of layouts that match each other.

My Mother proving that she's still fun, despite being a Grandmother-To-Be, just don't call her Granny!

I wanted to use the Cosmo Cricket Material (Sunrise pattern from Early Bird), so I turned it into a folded ribbon.

I made four of the flower embellishments, so they're all used up now.

Quirky Kit Layouts

The first couple of layouts using the latest Quirky Kit. Another one is on my desk for this afternoon. I'm enjoying my plan to get a layout a day done while I still can.

Maria and Susi enjoying a Tea Cake at the Deli in Olney.

I decided that the best way to get started was to attack the kit as much as possible and cut into as many bits of it as I thought I might need. Otherwise I know what I'm like, I'll just use ordinary rectangular pieces because I don't want to muck up the patterns.

Knife in hand I cut out the detail from the Good Living sheet, it was just crying out to be cut into, so I did. The signpost part I've lifted up on foam squares and I decided that I needed to make one of the signs point towards Olney! Even (reluctantly) used one of the adorable resin birds.

I was on a roll by this point, so I made up some flowers with Red Tomato, Charme, Brooch, some netting and one of the AC rose brads. The kit came with two sheets of Kesi'Art alphas, so I used some from both packs, rather than hoarding. The black and white houndstooth is material, which makes the layout rather touchy-feely in real life. I stitched that on at the bottom to keep it in place.

My Mother's Incorrect Footwear

My parents took me to Wicken Fen in February for some exercise. Almost didn't happen as it turned out my Mother had left her wellies and walking shoes at home. However, a nice man from the National Trust told us that it was possible to reach the first Hide on the new, mud free, boardwalks. So we were able to go birdwatching and look at squirrels.


This involved more attacking of the papers!

I cut the Webster's Page Die Cut in half, cut out a few of the circles from Amazing Views and Epicea and used the woodgrain side of Bouleau. Stampin' Up Circle Circus on the flowers, one of the resin flowers and the last resin bird - yay me for not hanging onto it forever.

Right. Time to go work on another! I want to use up some of the Cosmo Cricket material today, it's the Sunrise pattern from Early Bird. Yum!