Engagements, Chinese Temples and cake...what more could you ask for?

Firstly I will start with the actual scrapping - a page from our honeymoon when we went on a bike ride to the local market and the tour guide took us to this Chinese temple on a detour. It was stunning and we climbed all the way to the top. I used the red from the pics for the chipboard lettering I painted some red and left some white - I think it looks really effective. Then I backed one pic in yellow and brought it together with a yellow flower and a turquoise border strip with an oriental dragon pattern on it. Overall not colours I would usually use together, but I think it works well and am pleased with it.

On Wednesday night I went to The Art of Gateaux baking with the charasmatic guy from Patisserie Veniosse in Otley. He showed us how to make black forest gateaux, cheesecake and a fruit gateaux. He uses soooo much cream and the biggest bar of chocolate you can imagine for the chocolate curls on top and round the sides. We were amazed. He passed round a little tester of his yummy chocs and my mouth was totally watering for more. He sells his cakes for £34 each! But he did us a special of a fiver for a quarter. There were 40 ladies there and only 3 cakes so I missed out, but Martha and Sally took a big chunk home for their other halves. I am keen to try it now, but he made it look so easy and I don't think mine will look half as good!

Yay Laura got engaged in Paris on valentines day. How romantic! So we all went out for Tapas in Leeds to celebrate it. The fake rose made a good little prop for the budding bride to be. She wants my help with invites and favours and things - all the little details that make the day special, unique and memorable.

Elated...

I really liked the sketch this week on Twisted Sketches http://www.twistedsketches.com/ and it has resulted in one of my most simple layouts for a long time. I chose stripy paper and this pic of my bro-in-law in his stripy hat on Christmas day. I loved this smiley pic and had wanted to scrap it for a while and was glad to steer away from the usual Christmas colours. I love my sexy new leather look thickers. I wanted them to stand out so painted a grey matt liberally doused in glitter - which tends not to photograph very well!

Overall an effective page with a little sprinkling of magic - hope you like it!

Disenchanted...

I have been annoyed at myself for many reasons this week. I did some fab scrapping (the week before as it was half term) for all sorts of challenges and sketch blogs. Then I pasted them all up on my blog and forgot to link them to the challenge. So I felt it was all a waste of time even tho I do have pretty layouts to coo over now. I have also started a few this week and failed to finish them. I had a stinking back to school cold at the start of the week and was struggling to sleep and so have been grouchy and not teaching to the best of my ability. It is one of those jobs where you never feel on top of it and I hate that and find it frustrating. I haven't enjoyed teaching this week like I normally do. So...I rewarded myself to a whole morning in bed with pastries, innocent smoothies (in their cute new trial packs - check em out) and the Saturday paper. It was lush. For once the Belgian was out of bed before me. A real first. SO now I am faced with what to do...I have just been inspired by Rachel's page and all her scrapping so will have to get my act together...I am keen to try the poloriod style pics. Another funny thing happened this week, the girls at school made a facebook page in admiration of my hubby (or rather his bum!) hahah! He was so chuffed as it has 79 followers, but he has had to report it and the shy little girl that started it has to close it. I searched high and low on facebook but there is no page in homage to me! :( Perhaps I have lost my appeal now I teach with my hubby! xxx

Celebrate good times - come on!!!

So because blogger just loads pics up randomly...I will tease you with the little details and then present the final version, which I am renaming CARNIVAL! Woo! It is a less than perfect pic from New Years 2009 at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but I think what it lacks in composition it makes up for in energy and spirit. So the journalling is in a cloud I cut out as it mirrors the pattern in this funky cardstock:- My fav feature is the little rosset I made with a chipboard scallop and lots of ribbon and tape - I think this really sets the page off and looks almost like the fireworks we were watching at the time.

So here is the real deal....a really vibrant layout that I love, love, love... I could have gone overboard with it, but I don't like layouts that are too OTT. Plus I like to stick mine on the wall and if they are too heavy they fall off all the time! Ha! So there you go...carnival in Paris! Ohh la la!

Completed for: http://sarahscardsltd.blogspot.com/2010/02/sketch-challenge.html

I could not ask for more...

8 easy steps for making a slushy wedding page:- 1) Get inspired by a cheesy song from Lord of the Rings by Sarah Evans 2) Pick your cardstock - stripes are always a vibrant pattern 3) Break up the stripes with another colour - silver is quite neutral and the hearts tie the marriage theme in. An extra bonus is if its wrapping paper from your actual wedding gift! 4) A little purple plague with handwritten journalling on is perfect to explain the context of the picture. Inking is of course essential to make it "pop!" Thread it with the ribbon used on your wedding invites because you love it (and not because you have reels of it knocking around your stash!)

5) Pick a variety of different lettering to give the long title some more interest. Use chipboard to add dimension to the page. Use a bright pink brad to make it stand out and co-ordinate with the lettering below (see step 8)

6) Choose purple to mat the photo as it is the colour of the cravat. Decide it is too dull next to the silver and introduce some punched bright pink circles to border the pic. Decide to cover the scrapping wall with some turquoise ribbon tied with a pipe cleaner to add some interest and texture to the layout. Sew a heart button onto the bottom circle as you can't resist hearts!

7) At the last minute decide some paint would really jazz up the top of the page. Spell the title in stickers and then mixing purple and turquoise acrylic paint dab it on with a washing up sponge (clean of course!) and then wait (but not too long as I am impatient) for it to dry and very carefully peel them back.

8) Now you have used all of the lettering you can imagine you still have the last word to scrap. Decide upon the fushia pink of the button holes. Cut out by hand and then doodle with black pen. Step back and admire the beauty!

So check it out on my fav competition blog - http://scrappingthemusic.blogspot.com/

Explosion of love...

So Mission Create came up with five more fab concepts to include in a page:

Here is this week's Mission! Deborah - Lace trim Jocie - Cardboard or corragated paper Nicole - Use at least 5 hearts Vanessa - Glimmer Mist/Maya Mist or Smooch Spray Jen -Turquoise

Lots of hearts and turquoise...reminded me of a sunny day bacl in July when I became Mrs Ide! This is one of my (and all my fb friend') fav pics from the big day; one friend commented it was pure romance and that inspired my title. Fitting five hearts in was the easy part and I sewed some onto the lace trim for a really effective and cute border. I backed the main pic in cardboard which I splattered with paint, as I must admit I still have not caught onto the glimmer mist trend * gasp * from all you hardened and up to date scrappers. Am I still living in the past with splatters of acrylic paint? Can anyone suggest a good brand of glimmer mist and online stockist?So there is my confession I have managed four of the concepts. I then backed the cardboard with some button cardstock I have had kicking around my stash for years! Glad to finally get some use out of it. I am really pleased with this layout and grateful for the inspiration to scrap my fav wedding photo.

A close-up of the photo. This pose has been "borrowed" at many of my friends wedding since.

I love this journalling card I got at a scrap shop in Emery. I just had to use it straight away and I couldn't chose so I just ticked them all!

Fabric thickers title. I gotta get some more of them - I loooovvveee them! Especially the glitter ones!!

If you like it leave me some love! Thanks for stopping by! xxx

Sisters are doing it for themselves...

Hmm...well I just typed a whole post and it froze and then...poof! Like magic it was gone - black magic perhaps! So this is a sweet nostalgic page about my older sister Tamara and I. I chose STILL as it links in with the journalling about the fact we still like to dress alike (in Gap hoodies and Hollister cardies) and play (scrapping and shopping not swings and barbies now!) The 7Gypsies papers is gorgeous and required minimum embellies due to its fussy pattern. I doused it liberally in glitter and lace.

I used a sketch on http://www.twistedsketches.com/ to inspire me. The twist was to use pens, pencils and markers. The journalling is handwritten and I doodled a frame round the photos and round the bird. I LOVE this layout and all the fab memories it conjures up. xx

Ah, yes love!

Since Martha and I decided to use our planning time to set the world at rights my eyes are going square from a whole night staring at the laptop and designing zombie boxing games to keeps the kiddies interested! I thought I would "treat" myself to an update on my blog.

This layout is a soppy one for Valentines day inspired by the poem by Clarence B. Campbell. I got the inspiration from this fab blog - http://scrapthatpoetry.blogspot.com/2010/01/ah-yes-love-by-clarence-b-campbell.html

The beautiful northern weather has caused us to look washed out and pale so a black and white print was more flattering. I am loving the overlay and the green mini thickers. The pastel colours really liven up the layout and I am really glad I backed the letters in black cardstock as they really pop now and stand out. Altogether a yummy layout, which makes me want to be on a little romantic mini-break again. Well Mr Brugges tells me we are going away for a romantic few days over half term so I am super excited about that and planning lots of fun excursions already.

Only two more sleeps and then I can finally get a lie in (perhaps a week long lie in...) bliss!

Soon to be scrapped...

Any ideaa for captions??!

Last Friday we had a newly married couples night out at Casvegas to play Cosmic Golf. Its fab! I am getting better - although I stupidly wore my glasses and then found the 3D glasses tricky to fit over them! Esther impressed us all with her chip on the last hole - the hole with the ramp that causes all of your low scores to go out the window. On honeymoon I read this fab book about mini golf tournaments that go on all over England and Europe - who knew!? Its a very serious and competative sport! I wanted to enter right away. It was more of a comedic take with the author writing about his history of being a pathetic sportsman, turns out his mini golfing skills weren't too much better!

We finished off the night at Nando's which now has a bigger menu with more choices. It was quite tasty and reminded me of the good old days when I lived on Kirkstall Road. Sigh...the salad days...

Love Equations...

You + me = true love

Being an English teacher I usually avoid numbers in any way, shape or form so this was a big ask! I enjoyed working with the sketch though and had been looking forward to scrapping this pic. I included all of the important dates for us leading up to our wedding date. Since we only dated for a year before we got engaged and six months before we got married, some people might say we rushed into it...but my reply was 'Why wait?' which is what I wrote on the chipboard cloud. I used the newsprint as I thought it contrasted well with the numbers and reminds me of what I love to do - reading!

I fringed the photo in ribbon which is another technique I love to use as I wanted it to stand out and be the focal point of the layout.