Messy Mondays: Jars of fun with American Crafts!

 When first faced with a 12 by 12 sheet with a bold and fussy pattern I used to stroke it admiringly, but not really use it as I found the pattern daunting. However lots of Shimelle stalking has taught me that you fussy cut and use it for embellishments instead.
This layout uses lots of layers and lots of details cut from Studio Calico and American Crafts 6 by 6 pads. I used lots of washi tape to embellish and bakers twine. I stamped the title onto the American Crafts jar.

 How do you handle fussy papers?

Scrapping a family day out...

Last February half term we took a family day out to Botley Water Gardens and we snapped this rare picture of all of the crew.
I have been wanting to scrap it for a while and was waiting for inspiration.
I saw the idea of creating a border from punched out circles - which I inked the edges of to make them pop.
I used a 12 by 12 with border stripes to create a border and washi tape.
I like the polka dots with all of the patterned cardstock and stripy washi tape.
The main focus of the layout is the big wooden heart, which is part of a necklace that I broke and decided to stash for a good opportunity.
Click on the pictures to see the details better.

 

Remembering Remembrance Sunday

Our family tradition was always to go to the cenotaph in London to watch the remembrance day parade. I found this old photograph and decided that it needed scrapping. The journalling reads:
"There are a few things I love about this photo. Firstly we are waiting in the freezing cold to watch the remembrance day parade and that is a family tradition we always loved. Secondly the green jeans, the multi-coloured jumper and baseball cap are 90's fashion all over. Lastly I have my nose stuck in a book and not just any book one of The Babysitter's Club books. I loved those books and got the whole series. It's always the little things that you remember about a big day."

Do you have any family traditions like this?

10 Things I love about this epic double page...

All the way back in June this sketch by Shimelle caught my eye and I decided that although I sometimes find double layouts a bit intimidating and laborious I had some photos that I have been keen to scrap and so I decided to give it a go.
So the ten things I love about it:
1) The use of strips from this great cupcake 12 by 12 and how easy it was to also cut cute little embellishments with it.

2) The title - it is a favourite quotation of my sister's and I from the film How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It went so well with these picutres of my husband making his own cupcake in WhoDelicious in Santa Barbara and had to use a 'frostinator' to put the icing on the top.

3) The step-by-step process made by my dymo label maker. It helps to bring the layout together and to tell the story of the visit.

4) That cheesy grin in the first picture. The funniest part is that he usually hates cupcakes and suddenly he turned into a little boy just cos he could decorate it himself.

5) The use of the rule of three with the stamp to guide the eye.
6) The pinkness and girly look of the layout - it matched the vibe of the cupcakerie and the girly topic of cupcakes but then 7) the blue tiny polka dots add a more masculine touch.
8) The border stamp of mini hearts to pull it all together. So cute!

9) The banana frog mini cupcake stamp to create little clusters to guide the eye along the layout.

10) The fact that the lady behind the counter asked him to join her behind the pink curtain - possibly the funniest statement for a cheesy American lady to say to a sarcastic cupcake hating Belgian. My sister and I still laugh about it and it was last summer now!

I also love how different it is to Shimelle's khaki travel layout and that it why I love to use sketches as a starting point and to put my individual stamp on it.

Happy Bonfire Night!

5th November synonymous with toffee apples, candy floss, hot chocolate and lots of fireworks.
We went to the Bingley Bonfire on Saturday night as my sister was visiting for the weekend.
The Belgian had yet to be initiated into this very British tradition.
Finished off the night with...

Perfect!

Storytelling Sunday: The one where we lost the car park...

What does this fluffy peach layout have to do with a dark and stormy night I hear you say?
Well this layout represents the fluff that came before the storm.
Fluff like girly shopping, consuming the cutest cupcakes with rock star names and then seeing a cheesy boyband sing their best hits at M.E.N.
Fluff that I was so excited at participating in that I neglected to pay attention to where we had parked our car.
It seemed to be in a random car park that was at the opposite end of a long road leading to the arena.
So surely if we just followed that road we would get to the car park?
In the dark it seemed someone had moved that road.
Or the car park.
Or both.
It was approaching midnight.
A storm might be a push, but it was certainly drizzly.
And very scary.
We stopped into a take-away to ask for directions (having not had much luck with the drunks on the street as it seemed a car park at the end of a long road wasn't enough to go on!)
We got chips.
He still couldn't help us though.
Then his South African friend said he had a feeling that he knew where it was and it was just up the road and that he would take us.
Hmm..I felt a bit hesitant about following a stranger into the dark.
The guy behind the counter confirmed 'he's alright' so off we went hesitantly.
We walked a few blocks into the darkness.
I had my phone ready in my pocket.
We found some railway arches, a car park and my little Ford KA.
I had never been so happy to see my car before.
The guy then offered to get into the car with us and direct us out to Leeds.
Vulnerable but not stupid - we said we'd use sat nav but thanks very much.
An hour later I was home in bed.
But a valuable lesson was learnt and now I ALWAYS note down the address or level of the car park.
Has anyone else every lost their car?
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Linking up with the lovely Sian From High in the Sky

Second starburst of the week...

Procrastination.
That is what this post is really all about.
I have piles of exercise books to mark and essay drafts which give me a headache just looking at them.
So instead I immerse myself in prettiness.
In paper, letter stickers and flair.
Is there a difference between procrastination and just taking a break.
All you teachers out there how do you establish that work/life balance?
I try to keep most of my half term about me and relaxing.
Like eating a delicious toblerone brownies with an enormous hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and mini marshmallows.
Seeing Skyfall. My three word review: action packed, epic and endearing.
Okay so that was four words.
What have you been up to?
I know my sister who teaches in Canada doesn't get a half term.
So back to scrapping...some close-up shots...

I have been wanting to create a layout about where we live and what we like about it, but kept forgetting to take pics. This shows the market which is one of the things we like about where we live.

And a sneak peak of another trend I have been dabbling in...

Tuesday trends: Starburst design layout!

So following on from my previous post about keeping up with current scrapbooking trends, I decided (quite a few months ago now) to have a go at the starburst layout. Lisa Truesdell over at two peas made this great layout (top picture) that took all of the guesswork out of it as it included a step-by-step video.
I must admit that it was a very time consumming process and I had to use a ruler and make measurements - something that I NEVER do in my layouts. I've never been a fan of math or being too precise. I used my kraft knife to slice the little sections out - but it doesn't look as though mine are bursting with as many sequins (or punched out circles as I used) as Lisa'a segments.

What I loved about Lisa's layout was:

• all the cute polka dots
• the amazing frosty picture
• the glittery title which pops from the page
• the chevron stamping
• the buttons

Other than obviously copying the whole composition of it I also tried to incorporate a lot of these elements in my layout. It was definititly more of a scraplift than just using a layout for inspiration.
The subject of my layout was my sister's first 'proper' holiday to America. She had been to Chicago on a work trip but had never been on a roadtrip in California and so because I loved this picture of her, I felt that the starburst would reflect her excitment and the shininess of the picture.
It was one of those layouts that I was working on for a few weeks as I had to be really alert and ensure that I got it all right to make it fit together right.

Do you love starbursts, but want to start smaller? Here are some links to other layouts using this fun techniques. Jen at Studio Calico using kraft, Amy Tan rocking a small starburst, Magda went cute with hearts and pastel shades and last but not least October Afternoon ran it as a sketch challenge and you can check out what their design team did with the starburst.

I'd love to see - have any of you used starbursts on your layouts?

Photo booth and hexagons layout...

I used to just scrap out of what I had and was inspired by my photos.
But since blogging I've started to follow trends more and see ideas that I want to use on my layouts and lust after specific stash and ranges more than before.
I got this 6 by 6 pad from Studio Calico and decided to start using the honeycomb/hexagon trend.

The photo strip pictures are from sixth form prom and the journalling and title are all about the cheesy music that we were enjoying on the night - the sixth form prom committee chose all of the songs and we were amazed by how 80's and 90's inspired it was. Britney, S-Club 7 and Rick Ashley. It was a really fun night.

How about you? Do you follow trends or do you march to your own creative beat?

 

Messy Mondays: Scrapbook layout of arty Barcelona!

One thing which people always told me about Barcelona was that there was art everywhere. I certainly found this to be true. My sister and I loved all the graffitti on the boulders at the beach - it made a nice change from all the naturists on the beach. We couldn't believe how many people got their bits out of a public beach - men included. And old men at that...
I felt that I needed to dedicate a whole layout to this art form and so I did.

This was my personal fav!

 I wanted the layout to be bright and bold to fit with the subject and so edged all my embellishments and photos in black to make them pop off the page. I also added washi tape and veneer cameras from Studio Calico to embellish. Don't you just love the supersize camera too?

In other news (as it feels like its been a while):

• my sister is loving in in Vancouver and you can follow her adventures over here on her blog.
• I am looking forward to making this tomato soup cake now that autumn has arrived
• If I had lots of money I would buy these shoes and this top
• Only two more gets-up till half term - 8 weeks is surely too long without a break?
• I have been getting into a frenzy about all things pumpkin - like all my fellow bloggers and pinners. Pumpkin milkshakes or scones anyone?

What are you into right now?

That's entertainment!

Do you ever find yourself getting bored at a wedding? Sometimes it can seem like such a long day and you often have to wait ages to get any food - a big breakfast is definately a must! One thing I decided when plannig my wedding was that I wanted our guests to have fun between pictures, food courses and the speeches so we came up with some ideas to entertain them and this is what this layout is all about.
We entertained guests with:

• nibbles and some very embarrassing home videos of my sisters and I singing Spice Girls ( I did not okay this - it was my dad being a pain)
•  A Mr and Mrs Quiz on each table with questions about both of us
• Little quiz boxes on each table
• A pinata full of sweets and prizes for the kids - although my The Belgian got first pop at it and almost took me out - a great start to marital bliss!

Here are some close-up shots of the layout...

It was a great layout to use up scraps - even the purple heart ribbon that we used for invites and favours. I think I used a Shimelle sketch of the week for inspiration on the composition - but I can't find it now! I also used up cute little scraps cut from 12 by 12 sheets and also plently of washi tape.I swoon over my blue star washi tape - don't you love it?
Purple and turquoise were out wedding colours and so I took a slight departure from this using purple with browns and oranges - not a colour combo I had ever used before but it just seemed to work really well.

Do you ever find that weddings can drag? What ideas for entertainment have you seen at weddings?

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For more of our wedding layouts see here, here and here

Messy Mondays: Scrapbook layout using up scraps

 I love how Shimelle (and other scrappers) use enlarged pictures for layouts. I think its great as it makes the photo the focus and can really showpiece a photo you are proud of.
I used the white space in this photo to put a journalling mat and my title.
I used several different washi tapes to affix the picture.
I used my Studio Calico abroad range to create some scraps to embellish the layout.
Some close-ups below:

 The funny thing about this layout is that the day after my sister and I were doing a 'photo shoot' on the rocks at the beach and I put down my glasses for a second - next minute they had fallen down a crack between the rocks and were gone into the oblivion on the beach. I loved those glasses too. I had spent more than I normally do on sunglasses too. My other pair were free in a magazine, but these were Quicksilver and they were purple and big and I loved them. :(
Perhaps the layout should have been ode to my sunglasses.

As the nights get darker and the temperature has dropped to 5 degrees - its nice to think back to sunnier days in Barcelona.
What do you do with your leftover scraps?