So Cute!

Somehow I managed to plan this layout without having a picture in mind to go with it. I'd cut the frame for my "Beautiful" layout and then just dumped the negative part down on the bit of red cardstock. The next day I saw it lying there and just had to turn it into a layout.

I inked the cardstock using a Maya Road mask, stitched the paper onto the cardstock, made the butterfly, laid out all the crochet, flower, bird and leaf parts... then realised that I hadn't really thought it all through!

Finally went with this picture solely because I'm wearing a green t-shirt and I'm outside, so I sort of match both colour and theme! Even managed a suitable title. Quite happy with the way this turned out.

Scrap Map Saturday ~ Springtime

This week at Creative Craft World the Scrap Map Saturday theme is "spring / seasons".

Thought at first it might be a problem as I didn't seem to have many pictures from Spring (or autumn, or winter...), certainly not eight of them! I don't have photo printing capabilities at home, I always send them out to be printed, so my photos are always sized at whatever options I'm allowed on Photobox.

Then it occurred to me that, obviously, sketches are jumping off points, they're for kick starting your mojo and sending it off to scrap. My mojo came up with this:

{Forde Abbey in Dorset, Easter 2009}

I cut one photo into six pieces, displaced them a little and filled the gaps with daisies and my journalling. Also made my own background with Distress Inks (mustard seed, peeled paint & faded jeans) and a Maya Road butterfly sheer sheet.

Once I'd done that I didn't want to cover up my background any more than I had to, so I added a teeny title.

Then I had to go away and play with the Sheer Sheet as I'd not used it before and it's FUN!

Scrap Map Saturday ~ Our View

This week the challenge on the Creative Craft World Blog is to use chipboard on your layout.


I've used chipboard Thickers, a chipboard bracket and tag by Maya Road.

This is my first layout from our recent "second honeymoon" trip to Paris showing the views that we had from our balcony.

I bought the papers in Paris, first time using Rouge de Garance and these are from the gorgeous "Gustav" line featuring the Eiffel Tower and architectural plans of the Tower.

Cheers!

This is my latest layout for the Creative Craft World Saturday Sketch Map.

I've turned the sketch on its side and used hearts rather than stars. I tried the stars, but I can't draw a decent star, so I used a template for the heart.

The theme was "celebration" and we are celebrating Hannah's Wedding.

Bees and Day Trips

I used a PageMap sketch from the first book for this. Suddenly occurred to me whilst trying to use up older stash that I really should scrap the picture of bees with the Garden Variety papers that feature bees. Yep, obvious.


Also a good way to use up all those left over Zs that I had lying around.

Our Team has just finished a 12 Days of Christmas swap and I wanted to use the goodies that I received (thank you, Sarah!) right away, rather than filing them away in my paper box.

I'd never seen glossy cardstock before and it would have been way too easy to just keep stroking this, but I've been brave and cut into it. Same goes for the paper, the little flowers, butterflies and leaves were just begging to be cut out from one side of it - so I did.

Being a bin-diving paper hoarder, however, I did have to punch out extra scallops, butterflies and flowers from the left overs, so I do have some odds and ends to use up. I also gutted the cardstock as I couldn't bear to leave such a large chunk of it covered up.

Also managed to use a bunch of brads, which I seem to collect and never use, and a Maya Road chipboard strip that I've had for ages and never used. Probably because I got them in a kit in the days before I discovered inking and glimmer misting.

Houghton Mill and Peckover House. Day Trips that I went on with the Parentals last July when John was on a jolly (I mean, working...) in the States.

A couple of layering close-ups:

Scrap, Paper Scissors

Here's the layout that I made for the Saturday Sketch on the Scrap, Paper, Scissors Blog. I made a special effort in taking the photo... outside on one of John's small easels!

My parents, with their granny-grabbers, go blackberry picking. I should have been blackberry picking, but instead I took a lot of close up photos of interesting things in the hedgerows.

I've been trying to use the old stash to thin it out and get myself some space in my paper box. I can't break out of that box, I don't have the room! So I used my final full sheet of the gorgeous Wild Saffron.

Two of the butterflies have been painted and the other has been Distress inked. They've all been Stickled.

Sketchy Thursdays 4.1

Here I am in Niagara on the "Journey Behind the Falls" tour in 2006. I've even found my entry ticket to include on the layout. Hoarding everything does finally pay off!

No patterned paper in sight and yet this took ages and used so many different supplies. I've taken to writing what I've used on the backs of layouts so I can remember what came from where. I might not have enough supplies to stock a shop like some of my friends (who know who you are...), but I'm getting more items now from more places and I want to be able to recall which bit came from where!

The tag says "A roaring watery kind of noise" which is a line from Red Dwarf. Bonus cyber cookies if you can tell me which episode it's from! Anyway, it sure was roaring and watery and I needed that fetching yellow mac.

Sketch Thursdays 3.11

This is my first attempt at creating a layout on fabric...


I've based it on a piece of fabric, which I inked a little and covered in green net, which doesn't show up! The photo is on fabric covered in grey net. I've also used ribbon and fabric flowers. Thanks to various Teamies for those!

Decided to add on some hard embellishments as well, especially after realising that pinning the photo layer on was easier than sewing!

The picture is me at our recent Retreat tucking into a Danish. The main elements of the layout are made from a Quirky Kit.

Sketchy Thursdays 2.25

Today I found some natural light to take these pictures... on top of the radiator by the back door! Not too bad for a really rainy day. On the other hand, you still can't see all the gold dots on the chipboard very well. Still, getting better!

I wasn't expecting it, but this is the February Kit from Sarah's Cards.

Maya Road Bird Book

Thought that I wouldn't just make layouts from this months Sarah's Cards kit, so I used some of it to make this Bird Book. I've not photographed all of it as the pictures I used are old slide scans of me as a Little Person and they're already pretty fuzzy!






I didn't bother with loads of journalling, mainly because I don't need it, but also because I just couldn't make it fit. Besides, I can't even remember where I am in most of these pictures!




I'm also using this Bird Book for one of Shimelle's Colour Challenges - to use acrylic paint. The covers, edges and lots of the chipboard elements have been acrylic'd.