The Secret To Finding Time To Scrap!

I did it I worked out the secret. All we keen scrapaholics need to do is become insomniacs! EASY?! LOL. It's been such a long time since I had the opportunity to scrap although I have always had good intentions actually taking the time to sit down & do something always results in the kids shouting MAM & disturbing the peace until I give in & neglect my poor scrap room once again.

I have been suffering this past fortnight with the worst cold I think I have ever encountered. Losing a lot of sleep & trying to make up for it during the day & basically knocking my body clock into reverse. So last night I gave in & decided enough was enough & an all night session was called for to get back on track. As you can imagine I had a good 10hrs to fill but that was easier than I thought. First I tackled the housework by 8pm everyone was fed & happy & the whole house was vacuumed from top to bottom, so once the kids passed out I moved onto the quieter things, ironing, dusting, sorting laundry, dishes, school uniforms, packed lunches, that kind of thing. Then I tackled the ever filling memory on my TV recorder. I caught up with a good 10hrs worth of programs in a few hours, oh the luxury of a fast forward button to skip the ads! Then I realised the only thing I could do & really ENJOY in the peace & quiet of the dead of night was hit my scrap room. So I did just that, using The Color Room Palette #85 for inspiration this is what I achieved & I just love how it turned out. As you know a feminine page is a challenge for me but this was simple it just came together so fast I knew before my bottom hit my chair exactly what I wanted to do.

I can only pick one fault with this page, in my hazy state of mind I stamped the wrong date for the picture, but I was only a day out. This picture was taken at my sons 6th birthday party this year & my other dogs birthday is the day before my sons, so instead of stamping the 11th I stamped the 10th but never mind.

Lets hope I can get more time to scrap without having to feel ill & lose sleep to do so! I am hoping for this cold to pass as soon as possible. I didn't realise how bad I had got until my darling husband compared sharing our bed with me to sleeping with Darth Vader!

Happy scrapping folks & thank you for stopping by!

Challenge Yourself!

So everywhere we look around the scrapping world there is always challenges. Be it a blog, a forum or somewhere else. Well I love a challenge & love to challenge myself in my scrap room. This past weekend my darling husband had to work for four days. Cold & tissues aside it turned into a very productive weekend for me.

First I challenged myself to complete the monthly sketch challenge for September over at Sarah's Cards. Here is the sketch.

And here is my complete page. I will be honest I did stray off the beaten track a little from the sketch. I didn't refer to it until I was finished & that was when I realised the circle in the sketch is a full circle. Unlike my page which I have only used the bottom half.

My second challenge to myself was to use one of my full monthly subscription kits. In hind sight I should have challenged myself to use up some of my kit leftovers that are lying in my card making basket. I randomly grabbed a kit from my ever growing pile. It happened to be from July this year a gorgeous array of goodies centred around the Pebbles Happy Go Lucky Line. My first reaction was too girly!!! But after pulling out the pink & feminine papers & putting them to one side, I saw there was a more subtle masculine tone to the line I hadn't noticed on first glance.

So far I have completed 3 pages which I am more than satisfied with. Most of the time I have to leave my pages out where I can see them for a few days before I decide they are finished & I like them. Maybe it's the break from scrapping or maybe I just look at my work differently but I love these pages!

Thank you for stopping by & watch this space. I still have quite a bit of my kit left to work with & already have some ideas for cards to use up some of those smaller scraps which I hate to put in the bin, but don't have space to store either. Also I feel a couple of girly pages coming on. Now the question is where can I find a girl to scrap. I think it's time to call up big brother & hassle him pics of my darling niece.

Until next time keep on scrapping

x

Decorative Hot Air Balloon Project.

You know how it is when you see something & think, oooo I must try that? Well this was exactly what happened when I saw this hot air balloon idea in a magazine recently. (Please forgive me I cannot remember which.)

I can honestly say it has been a long time since I made something just for the sake of having fun. This project was 'just for fun' & I enjoyed it as did my kids when they got chance to get stuck in & help.

So if you would like to make your own decorative hot air balloon you will need the following items:

A balloon, a newspaper, PVA glue, patterned paper, paint, string or cord & any other additions of your choice. I added beads & a chipboard button. For the basket you can use either a premade one or a container. I used a yoghurt pot.

STEP 1: Mix your PVA glue with water & cut your newspaper into pieces. You will need to cover your balloon in 4-6 layers depending on the thickness of the paper. Make sure you overlap each piece slightly.

STEP 2: I chose to cover the top half of my balloon with brown paper bag, I used 2 layers this time. You could also use mulberry paper or just paint it in a co-ordinating colour to the bottom half.

STEP 3: Next I cut the opening to my balloon to match the size of my yoghurt pot. I also painted the bottom half of my balloon using Ranger acrylic paint. (Colour: Pool)

STEP 4: Time to get your strings in place. I lay my strings over the balloon then added some PVA glue to the top to hold them in place. I cut 1 string a lot longer than the others & tied a knot in it. This is the string used for hanging. You can also secure them in place using tape. I also covered this top area with a circle of patterned paper when finished.

STEP 5: Time to decorate. Take your patterned paper & cut 2 strips approximately an inch wide. The size of your balloon will decide how much paper strip you will need. I used 2 12in strips & a small 4in strip to get right round my balloon.

STEP 6: Time to add your 'basket' & any other

decorative bits & bobs. You will need 4 strings for this step they are best attched before the patterned paper strip. You can fasten your strings to your basket in many ways. I made a small loop at each end them threaded another string through these & fastened them into place around the pot securing with a tight knot.

And here is my finished balloon. I love how cute it looks!

Thanks for stopping by, if you have any questions just ask & I will get back to you ASAP.

Ali x

Dr Who Carnival Adventures.

Every year there is a small community carnival in our area & now being involved with our local scout troop we had the pleasure of being involved. This years theme was space & time so the kids put their heads together & came up with our Dr Who theme.

We all worked hard making costumes & it all came together perfectly when a friend offered some Dr Who props to adorn our float. So not only did we have lots of characters spanning the decades of this awesome TV show we also had a very authentic Tardis, Dalek & K-9!

Well I am pleased to say our group took first place in the awards for the 2nd year running & a lovely day was had by all. My 9yr old didn't want to get dressed up so he was officially left in charge of photo taking & I wanted to share with you some of his pictures. He does quite well & looks for pictures to take that are a little different too. I think it is time we invested in a

camera of his own.

Stuck Sketches June 15th

Two posts in one week, my word I must have some free time at last. It's a good job you can't see me doing my happy dance because that would be a sight for sore eyes.

This is the first layout I have done since the beginning of May & to be honest I have had a bit of a drought where time & motivation are concerned lately. I used this fortnights sketch over at, Stuck?! for inspiration.

This sketch is nice, clean & simple. Just how I like it. I have had this large picture of my 6yr old fur baby Chester laying in the to do pile on my desk for ages. So when I saw this sketch I knew instantly it was perfect. I tried to keep it as minimal & masculine as possible.

I also got to use some of my monthly kit leftovers. My latest scraproom crusade now I have banished the majority of small scraps. Stay tuned for more leftover projects, I am planning a card making session tonight so will have something new to post here very soon.

And here he is my silly fur baby, he loves to sleep on his back & looks hilarious. I swear he thinks he is a child. He was born the day before my youngest son. I delivered him myself, needless to say that makes me a proud mommy.

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Ali x

Supplies:

Cardstock ~ Robin's Egg 12x12 American Crafts

Patterned Paper ~ Prima Blooming Retro ~ Cocoa & Pumkin PIe

Alphas ~ Thickers

Ink & Pen ~ American Crafts

Card Candi ~ Craftworks

Let's Get Arty!

Just a quick post to get back in the scrappy saddle. It's been awhile since I scrapped or did anything creative but that is all I think about lately.

So I wanted to share with you a little something that I made this week. Taking inspiration from Louise over at the new look Sarah's Cards blog. I really wanted to get stuck in & get arty & here are the results.

I just love the new look at Sarah's, it is now more jam packed than ever with great tips & techniques to try & great easy to follow instructions too. Pop on over & see for yourself & while your there stop by the store & check out the awesome ranges they stock & fab special offers section.

Although my art canvas probably doesn't have as much detail as Louise's projects I am pleased with how it turned out especially as it was my first attempt.

I started with a blank 8x8 art canvas, to which I added left over patterned paper from one of my Sarah's Cards monthly kits. I then used a piece of paper to create my heart mask. I followed Louise's instructions & used a thinned down white acrylic paint for my first layer. Then I added a drop or red ink to the white to create a pink layer around the heart mask. Next out came the ink & paint sprays. I used Maya Rd Pink Lemonade ink, followed by Purple, Lilac & Green Mica mists that I snapped up last 'thrifty' Thursday saving 50% on RRP, again over at the Sarah's Cards store. (I told you they had some great special offers).

So six layer of paint & ink later. I got out my stamps & found the cute flower image. I stamped some of these onto a scrap of pale aqua paper to cut out & add later. To finish off I added a row of pearl drops & some self adhesive pearls & a daisy that has been lying around my desk for sometime. I then with the critical eye of a good friend, decided the patterned paper didn't quite look right so I sponged a little white paint into the heart shape to try & rectify this. Added a little Turquoise stickles to the aqua flowers & ta~da was all done.

Now the big question is what to do with it. It doesn't match any of my decor & I don't have little girls with pretty pink bedroom walls to adorn. My friend did however hint that it would look nice in her daughters newly decorated bedroom. No doubt it will go to a good home but for now it is sitting on my desk looking pretty.

*** Check out this sneak peek of my current project ***

coming soon my experimenting with paper mache!

Thanks for stopping by

Ali x

Bank Holiday Scrappy Fun!

What a fabulous Bank Holiday weekend we have had.

How did you spend yours?

Naturally I spent mine attending the Royal wedding (kind of) & didn't our Prince & Princess look lovely!

So after our mock wedding I had all weekend to scrap. After battling on & off with my migraine that is. There was a online crop over at Pages In Time so I decided to stop on over & meet the girls there. Can I just say I had a blast. I have never met such a fun & friendlier bunch of ladies. I ended up staying up well into the night chatting & scrapping & playing games. If your looking for somewhere new to hang out do stop on by. I think the DT deserve a big thank you for all their hard work this weekend.

Although I am still playing along (last day for entries to challenges is the 8th) I wanted to share with you all the few projects I did get finished.

Firstly I dived in to the dare to distress challenge. Something I love to enjoy in other peoples galleries but haven't done a lot of my own. Here is my finished page.

Next we played hide & seek. After hunting down this sweet little girl amongst the forum pages we were challenged to use the image on a project & to include sewing. Here is my card, I printed the image onto Aida & stitched some of the outlines.

After that it was time for something to eat so I stopped on over at the BBQ challenge. My menu gave me the following to use: Kraft, Ribbon, Lace & Red. I used this weeks Sketchy Thursdays sketch for inspiration. Here is the sketch & my interpretation.

All in all it's been a busy weekend around here, but a very fun packed one.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ali x

Sketchy Thursdays GDT ~ Girly Girl.

I felt a little out of sorts today after being cooped up indoors through the sun abandoning us! To try & cheer up my day I decided a layout was in order & I felt like trying something new. Above is the sketch I used for inspiration. It is the guest design team sketch from Sketchy Thursdays. So I decided to try out masking. Mists are the latest addition to my stash & I really love the effect they have. I don't own any masks so I improvised. I used these die cut letters from Basic Grey's Oh Baby Girl collection. I must admit I have seen masking & misting in the past & felt a little overwhelmed, but my layout turned out just great. It is completely different to what I normally create & this great title was achieved in three simple steps.

Step 1 ~ Title Placement

I held my letters in place with some small pieces of tack.

Step 2 ~ Simply Apply Mist

Step 3 ~ Leave to dry & remove.

And here is my finished page!

I had to scrap this photo, my hair never looks this good! I am about 25 percent girly so this page is totally out or the norm for me. Don't get me wrong I'm not a tom boy but I am just not a girly girl either. So when I went out for my friend's birthday at the weekend & my hair was all done I decided to take a quick snap shot to remind me how I should look. I say should because I am just not willing to become a slave to my hair straighteners for an hour a day. Especially when I could be scrapping instead!

Supply List: Cardstock ~ American Crafts, Alphas ~ Thickers, Bling ~ ZVA, Patterned Paper ~ Basic Grey, Quote ~ Rub-on - Daisy Bucket, Mist ~ Maya Mist - Pink Lemonade, Pearls, Lace, Cameo & Ribbon random bits from my stash.

Birthday Card & Mini Layouts.

It hasn't been a very productive week in my scraproom as far as layouts or cards are concerned. I have been working hard on the flower swap I am participating in this month.

It is my friends birthday on Saturday so I did make a little time to put together a card for her & two mini layouts that measure 6x6 & can be framed.

I especially love how the card turned out. I enjoy making my own cards but I tend to make more layouts. I used a pagemaps sketch for inspiration.

For the card I used patterned papers from the Fancy Pants Happy Together range, ticket from Pink Paislee, Flowers from Prima, White Doily Transparency from Maya Road & Trim from Webster's. For the mini layouts I used American Crafts white cardstock, Maya Mists in Blue Hydrangea & Pink Lemonade also some adhesive pearls & patterned papers from the new My Mind's Eye Lush 2 range.

Blog Giveaway Sponsored By 3tailscrafts.

We all love a chance to win some scrapping goodies, so I just had to share this fabulous giveaway with you guys.

I have recently found just how much I love chipboard & here is a fantastic opportunity for you to get your hands on some.

All you have to do is hop on over to

Melody's Magical Moments

blog to enter.

To get your name in the hat for a chance to win this great prize supplied by 3tailscrafts, all you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment on Melody's blog post.

2. Post about the giveaway on your own blog & link back to Melody's blog.

Or

3. Refer your friends to Melody's blog.

So that is 3 chances to get your name into the draw. How easy is that!!!

A winner will be drawn on the 9th of April, so let's get all our chipboard loving friends over there.

Here are a couple of my own projects using chipboard from 3tailscrafts. The are so versatile & can be used in many different ways. They are adding new products to the range all the time. So if you love chipboard why not stop on by & pay them a visit too.

Sketchy Thursdays ~ Crocodile

Well I didn't think I was going to have time to finish & post this weeks Sketchy Thursday's entry, but somehow I did. I really wasn't sure where to start with this weeks sketch. That I guess is always a good thing because it leads you to think outside of the box. I decided to start with 3 photos and figure the rest out from there. So here is what I came up with. These photos are my current favourites from all the things I have snapped recently. They were taken on comic relief day this year.

My journalling reads: Comic Relief - 18th March 2011. A record breaking 'On the night' total of £74,360,207 was raised. Victory Primary School staff & pupils raised a grand total of £496.97. My boys were proud to be apart of raising such a large amount.

My favourite thing about this page is the strip of tickets. I made them myself & they were so easy too. An awesome way to use up more of my dreaded scraps.

Supply List:

Cardstock ~ Bazzill Basics

Patterned Paper ~ K&Co Small Wonders

Tickets ~ Homemade

Brads ~ Card Candy from Craftwork Cards

Alphas ~ Unknown

Sarah's Cards Sketch Challenge

Here is March's fabulous sketch from Sarah's Cards. I saw it & I just had to play along this month. So as I was cropping online all weekend with some friends I made sure this was close at hand. Here is what I created with it. I rotated the sketch to suit my photos & just had fun with it.

Here are a few other pages I completed too. As you can see it was a very productive weekend for all! This also brings me back on track for my goal of a page a week in 2011.

How about a sketch?!

It's been awhile since I have drawn any sketches & feeling inspired earlier today decided to fool around. So out came the ruler & pen & here is what I did. My first time free hand drawing one too. Which reminds me I really need to download some programmes onto my new laptop. It's so fresh from my scrap space that I haven't even sat down to create a page with it myself yet! Not only did I draw this but I made two cards for Mother's day too.

I know 2 pages can be daunting, I'm not much of a 2 page scrapper. So you could use a single side instead. Just have fun & be inspired to create. If you find time or have the perfect project to use the sketch with. Please stop back here & post a comment linking your work. I love to see what other people create. If enough people post by the end of the month I will draw a winner at random for a RAK. My scrap mojo is really flowing at the minute. How about yours? Sending out some scrappy vibes to all my scrappy friends :)

Thanks for dropping by

Ali x