A Sketch Challenge

The 2014 monthly challenges launched over on S J Crafts yesterday.

For our first challenge, Jennifer came up with this fab sketch:

and here's the layout I made based on the sketch

My main supplies were Simple Stories Daily Grind papers and stickers, Glitz hearts washi tape and a sprinkling of enamel dots.

A couple of close ups:

I also made a divided protector page to sit next to this one in my album - I'll pop back and show you that here soon!

We'd love you to take up the challenge as well and play along .... all the details are in this post , along with some fab examples from the rest of the Design Team. You have until the end of February to link up your layout/cards over there.

Thanks for popping in today!

Christmas Scrapping

Gosh, almost a month since I last posted on my little blog! I have been busy crafting. I've just not had time to take photos of my layouts and blog them!

So, last weekend I headed off to the Artful Angels Crop and spent a very enjoyable day scrapping some Christmas photos. Well, actually it was just a few hours! It was my birthday and I arrived late (after H had insisted on making me a birthday breakfast!) and left early as hubby and H wanted to take me out for a yummy cream tea!!

But, anyway I still managed a couple of pages at the crop.

I take a hundred million photographs at Christmas but hardly ever scrap them. I'm not sure why that is, but whilst looking through my albums a couple of weeks ago, I realised I had big gaps and a serious lack of Christmas layouts. I decided to fill those gaps and reduce the pile of photos!

For my first page I used a panel of Simple Stories paper, a border and  stickers from Echo Park This and That Christmas, Fancy Pants alphas, stickers and alphas from Studio Calico's Yearbook collection and a few gems. 

Sorry for the dreadful photo of this page! There is hardly any decent light at this time of year. 

These photos were taken last Christmas whilst we were waiting with H to see Santa. The approach to his grotto, where we had to queue was decorated as a beautiful Winter Wonderland. I still need to add some journalling to this layout in the space over on the right hand side!

A close up of the overlapped border stickers, alphas and gems! I also put gems in the centre of the snowflakes - I think you can see them better in the first picture!

For my next layout I wanted to record how H always leaves out drink and snacks for Santa for on Christmas Eve. This particular photo was taken a few years ago when we spent the holidays, staying with family.

This one was quite quick to do, a few strips of EP This & That paper (with the edges inked), green washi tape, a title created with an EP This & That "Christmas" sticker and black glitter thickers, a few buttons, green twine, a journalling card and I was done. Although I think I will add the year the photo was taken.

Do you have photos still to scrap from Christmas past? Or do you scrap them as soon as the festive season is over?

Before I go, don't forget to pop over to the S J Crafts Blog - the new challenge has just gone live and this month there's a prize of a £5 voucher to spend in the shop!

Thanks for stopping by xx

New Challenge at S J Crafts

Hello 

I hope your week is going well!

It's time for a new monthly challenge at S J Crafts and this time the theme is SCHOOL And/Or LEARNING

More details and Design Team samples are right here.

This was a fairly easy one for me. I wanted to make a layout featuring two photos taken 5 years apart. Both school photos. Both taken on my daughter's first day of a new school year. One when she started in Reception and the other taken just a couple of weeks ago!

She's hardly changed has she? Well, apart from the fringe is gone and she's a little taller! Note how her socks are falling down in both photos - her socks are forever "half asleep"!! 

Still aware of my stash busting promise I used up more scraps. I did use a whole sheet of blue bazzill cardstock for the background but I had a piece of white that was just the right size and I punched the scalloped border with my favourite Fiskars punch. The red gingham and the flower paper is Fancy Pants Childish Things and just about everything else is scraps of Note to Self papers and stickers. I rounded the corners with a punch similar to this one.

I hope you'll enter the challenge  - you have until 17th October!

Chasing Waves

Hi everyone, I hope you've had a lovely weekend - it's been a hot and sunny one down here on the south coast!

The new challenge went live over on the S J Crafts Blog a few days ago.

The theme this month is "Summer Time"!!

I chose to scrap some photos taken a few years ago on H's birthday when we were on the beach and she was having so much fun running in and out of the sea, chasing the waves!! I rarely use multiple photos on my layouts so using 4 made a nice change.

I used papers and stickers from Echo Park's collections - Paradise Beach and Hello Summer and Thickers letters for my title.

I used lots of foam dots to raise up some of the elements.

I'd love to see more scrapbook entries in the challenge so why not create a layout along the theme of summer time and upload it. There is a pack of mixed embellishments for one random winner!!

Craft Space Reorganisation - Part 1

I haven't posted for a while because there hasn't been an awful lot of crafting going on here just lately. One of the reasons (apart from everyday life and work keeping me busy!!) for the lack of crafting is that the reorganisation of my craft area has finally begun. I have been wanting (and needing!) to do this for a while now. You know how it is when the stash starts to take over the house and you can't find anything - or is that just me?

Anyway, my lovely hubby finally agreed that I needed some decent storage so we took a trip to Ikea. We also wanted to get a desk for H's bedroom and some storage, something a bit more grown up than the toy shelves and boxes she has had until now. I won't go into how long it took us to fit all the boxes, containing a desk, shelves, chair and a expedit 2 x 2 unit, into our medium sized car!! And still leave room for 3 people!!

So, I have built H's desk and chair ....

It's now been moved upstairs to her bedroom, where she is enjoying using it for her colouring, writing stories and drawing! She loves it!

My Expedit unit ....

We just have the storage shelves for H's room to do!

I've started to sort through my boxes and bags of stash and next week, I need to go through the rest and fill my new unit. I'm finding stuff I forgot I had.  I'm so looking forward to getting myself organised, at long last!!

I'll show you some more pics when it's all done!

Don't forget the challenge is still open over on the shop blog, there's a £10 voucher for the random winner!!

I hope you are having a fab weekend, thanks for stopping by!

The one I forgot to share ....

I hope you are having a fantastic weekend and have managed some crafting time!!

I have been having a little tidy up of my craft area. It really does need a serious sort out and reorganisation but today I only had time for a quick tidy. I came across a few layouts that need putting away in my albums and realised I hadn't shared this one with you.

I used the S J Crafts January kit and added some alphas from my stash for my title. The papers are My Minds Eye  Kraft Fun Day and as usual, all the edges are inked with Distress ink (Brushed Corduroy). The photos are from a few years ago, taken on holiday at a Haven Holiday Park where H loved the amusement park rides.

If you haven't already been over to the Shop Blog, why not pop over and join in the new monthly challenge - the first theme is "Happy" and there is some fab inspiration from the DT!! If you join in you could win yourself a £10 voucher to spend in the S J Crafts shop!!

Right, I'm off to settle down for Saturday night TV (Take Me Out!!) and a lasagne for tea!!