Woohoo!  As you can see from my new blinkie, I have just become a member of Aimee Harrison's Creative Team and  I am over the moon!  I'm in the process of finding out exactly what is involved in being a CT member since whilst I am on the Hybrid CT at The Studio, being on the CT for a specific designer is more involved....


I'll still be making hybrid items as opposed to digital layouts (you just can't beat the combination of digital with distress inks and glue!), and am really looking forward to getting started.  Aimee has some gorgeous kits and is really organised, so I am sure I can pick up some good habits from her that I can even carry over into the work side of things!


Whilst I am still finding my feet, I was given "Everlasting" to work with.  This is a scrumptious kit as you can see:




The preview is linked to Aimee's store at The Studio where it is currently 30% off!


When I saw the stacked papers, I immediately thought of another organiser board like the paperclip board I made earlier in the week,  but this time, I adapted it even further:





I decided it would be really useful to have a dry wipe board, so I used one of the stacked papers (and you really should take a look at them because they are gorgeous!) as the base.  I added dates down the left hand side of the paper before I printed it off on plain white cardstock. Then I stapled an acetate slide on top, trimmed to fit.  If you use a water soluble marker, then you can write on the acetate cover and wipe it off later.


I covered the staples with cut out flowers (2 cut outs per flower) and added adhesive gems to the centre of each flower. 




I also made a pocket using one of the papers (again printed on white cardstock) and trimmed using the Tim Holtz Scalloped Edge die.  I added another flower and the owl to the front of the pocket and then printed and cut up one of the papers from the kit to make the note cards.





I finished off the board by punching two holes at the top and using my Cropadile to insert brads, then added some baker's twine so I could hang the board up.

I'm really pleased with the results and whilst this board is slightly smaller than the paperclip board I made earlier, I reckon I prefer it.  It is so useful to have the wipeable cover, and I just love the background paper!

I know I've said this before, but you should try making one of these yourself.  They are soooo easy to make and really useful!

Happy scrapping!



Well, I was over at Paper Craft Planet and saw this week's 3d challenge was to make a paperclip board.  How could I resist a challenge like that?  


I managed to get my grubby little hands on Cardboard Passion by Lara's Digi World:



Isn't it gorgeous?  It just screams to be used with Kraft cardstock and Tim Holtz dies and distress inks!  Well, I actually restrained myself this time around and managed to leave my distress inks safely in the drawer, but I had to use the tattered florals die and this is what I ended up with:







The board was made using an empty cereal box covered in paper from the bundle.  I added a pocket which was one of the papers from the kit printed on cardstock and placed diagonally on the base.  The flowers were made using my Sizzix/Tim Holtz tattered florals die (I printed two of the kit papers out on cardstock and used those).  I added the lace but the green border is from the kit.

The bulldog clip was covered in one of the kit papers and a ribbon added.  The flowers and paperclips were attached to the board using brads from my stash. 

I've actually started using this already.  As you can see, I  clipped the board to a filing tray on one of the shelves on my desk using the bulldog clip, so it is nice and handy.  I reckon it will be really useful as I am always jotting things down on scraps of paper or post it notes so this is ideal for keeping them all together!

Why don't you have a go at making one of these yourself?  It was really quick and easy, the hardest part was having the patience to wait for the glue to dry!

The kit is lovely to work with and I am already planning a birthday card with some of the papers so watch this space!

Happy scrapping!


You remember the smash book/alerted folder I created a few weeks ago using Digilicious Designs Project 365 for January?  Well, I was over the moon when they asked at Digishoptalk if they could include it in the March edition of Insider magazine :) !!!  I was really chuffed as my grandmother would have said, to think they thought it good enough.  


Insider magazine came out last week, so the very first thing I did was check to see if I was in the hybrid picks category :)  I'm still wearing the big grin on my face from seeing my work  published at DST!  I know I'm sad and really need to get a life, lol!


Well, with work being less hectic at the moment, I have had chance to get around to making more hybrid items, and I was fortunate enough to be given the chance to work with  Delight of this day by PrelestnayaP Design:





It is a beautiful kit to work with, and just the sort of thing to use for Mother's Day, which is coming up here in the UK at the end of March.  Now I have made altered notebooks before now, and one of my friends came up with the idea of using these in a card so here it is!!!




The card is 5"x5" and the background is just a fraction smaller - I think it was about 4.75"x4.75".  I actually printed on A4 cardstock two different backgrounds, made using different papers and elements.  One of them had a pale blue background (as shown above) and the other had a pale green one shown below:



I used double sided tape to attach the background to the base card, only taping on three sides.  the top was left unstuck so the notebook could be slid inside.  I made the card so that it was as stand alone card as well as a notebook card holder, and I actually think they turned out really well.  I did have to do some jigging around with the "Just a note" on the notebook to get it placed right, and this was a trial and error effort as my first attempt had the text to close to the flowers once it was printed out.













Guess what card my mum is going to get for Mother's Day?!!!

























It seems like an age since I last posted, yet is has only been a couple of weeks which, for me, isn't bad going!  Work is beginning to pick up again, not that it was ever quiet, but I now need t finish off stuff I didn't get chance to at the end of January plus do the new accounts, etc that have come in.,  as well as start the P35's and PIId's.  Life just seems to be one deadline after another!


So, never one to do work when the opportunity arises to do something more interesting, I decided to have a play with my zoom lens.  I was actually pegging out the washing when I noticed a robin on the fence.  So I dashed inside (well, crept actually, so as not to frighten the robin!), grabbed my camera and zoom lens, hit behind the washing on the line and took these:




He was singing away merrily, which is what caught my attention in the first place!  This is the first time I have been able to get my camera out quickly enough to photograph any birds close up, so I was really pleased with the results.  Of course, my hiding behind the washing did not go unnoticed for long......


And then he really got a good look at me:


and promptly flew away, but look what else I saw:


Not bad for a beginner with a zoom lens, eh?!!!  And ok, the exposure may leave a lot to be desired, but I am still learning manual mode.



Well, I then walked back into my office to put away my camera, but before I did, look what I found on my boot:


You probably can't make it out very well, so apologies for the poor photo, but here is a close up after I managed to place the butterfly on the ground:


It stayed there for ages but eventually flew off, but not before I had taken loads more photos!  Anyhow, after that, it just seemed a waste of a day not to go out, so I managed to persuade hubbie to go to Attingham Park for a walk around the deer park.  This is a side view of the house from the deer park:




 And look what we saw when we got into the deer park?!!!
  






They put food out for the deer this time of year so at weekends, if you time it right, you get to see one or more of the herds of deer.  They are used to people, so I was able to take photos and, having my zoom lens with me this time, I could get some close up shots too.


They have opened up a new p[art of the woodlands at Attingham Park too since we were last there, and this is completely new (or at least new to us ;) ):





You can't get into the hut, the door is blocked inside by branches and soil and stuff, but the walls are made of clay and it is apparently to demonstrate how you would build a home if you had no modern man made materials.  The path in this part of the woods leads back to the peacock carving:


and the footbridge over the river:





We then went on to Shawbury Garden Centre which was recently taken over by new owners.  They don't have that much there at the moment, but you can see how they will be developing the garden centre as they have done loads of work.  I did, however, manage to pot of white hyacinths for my office, so in a few days or so, the office should be filled with the beautiful aroma of blooming hyacinths! We had a lovely afternoon and finished it off with fish and chips from the chip shop at Tern Hill.  My youngest reckons they make the best chips around here!


Anyhow, that was my Saturday, so I'm now off to do some crafting!


Happy Scrapping!