This is just a flying visit as I am in the middle of tax return filing season and don't have much free time at all.  However, I thought I would just pop in to show you what I have been working on!  I've been using a kit that is slightly out of my comfort zone  - I mean, you are looking now at someone who only goes to the hairdressers twice a year for a perm and the thought of journalling about that really does not inspire me!  Still, there were some lovely papers in the kit and some neat elements.  But really, you need to see what I worked with, don't you?!!!


It's a kit from Nibbles Skribbles and I just love the colours in it and even though I really like the journalling tags, I didn't actually use them this time around, preferring instead to leave space for more photos in this album.  Mind you, I can see some of these being really useful as the front of birthday cards and so on, so I know I will get more use out of this kit ;)!

Since it is a kit with a hairdressing theme, it just shows how versatile it is and that you don't have to do anything about hairdressing to make full use of it! 


I managed to persuade hubbie that the current Sizzix sale was too good an opportunity to miss so wangled a scalloped rectangle album die just before Christmas.  I also managed to sneak in a reindeer die too, so it was definitely my lucky day ;).  So for its first outing, the scalloped rectangle die was used for this album and here it is:



The above photos show the front and back covers.  I added one of the kit clusters to the front cover, although I did have to chop off the splatter behind the cluster - I know I'm not the best fussy cutter in the world, but even the best would have had trouble cutting out a paint splatter!

These are some of the inside pages:



and here are some more:




You'll see I added ribbons from my stash on some of the pages, as well as on the binder clips to finish it off.  I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out and I love the album die - a real bargain at £8!!!

Oh, well, better get my nose back to the grindstone I suppose.....I;m in the middle of analysing a bank account and I can hear it calling my name loud and clear!

Happy Scrapping!



Well, I have been trying for what seems like a month of Sundays to find the time to get this posted, as I made this a while ago, then the photos sat on my camera for ages, and the final previews have been on my hard drive for a week now.... where does the time go and why can't I have more than my fair share of it?  I really do need at least 25 hours in the day and 8 days in each week to stand any chance of getting done everything I need to do.....sigh!

Anyhow, this is what I was working with:



Isn't it gorgeous?!!!  I really love those colours although m,y printer didn't!  Whether it was the ink or the printer settings or what, I just couldn't get them to come out right.  I was obviously not doing something right, but thanks to Photoshop, the actual photos are better ;)!

This time around, I decided to make an altered tin.  A friend gave me some empty cigar tins a while ago and I thought it was about time I used them so this is what I ended up with:



These are actually bible verse tags which fit perfectly inside the tin.  I managed to photograph them with one tag upside down, so here are the close ups:






It just shows the versatility of the kit and how you can use it in different ways.  I just love those papers, and the elements are not just for seaside or harbour LO's either.  


After making the tags, I used a paintbrush to put Gesso over the lid of the tin to make base to which I could adhere the papers, etc.  I've actually had that Gesso for months but this was the first time I have used it.... I used one of the kit papers as the base for the lid and put baker's twine around the sides of the lid:




The flowers and leaves were also made with kit papers and my Tattered pinecone die from Tim Holtz.  The crocheted lace under the flowers was some I bought from the wool stall at our local market a few weeks ago! I also used the caged bird die (another die from Tim Holtz - I do love my Tim Holtz dies ;)) to end up with:






Of course I had to add glitter glue as well!  And this is the full frontal view!!!




I'm planning on making more tags to go put inside the tin, but exactly when I will ever get around to that, your guess is as good as mine :)!!!!

Happy scrapping!



Well, I managed to persuade hubbie to let me buy two new Bigz dies in the Sizzix sale yesterday.  They were such a bargain!  I picked up a scalloped rectangle album for £7 instead of £28 and the reindeer which wasn't quite so much of a bargain (only reduced from £13.99 to £8.40) but I have had my eye on this for quite some time.  I am now eagerly awaiting the postman, but it says on the Sizzix website it could take as long as ten days.  TEN DAYS????!!!!  Don't they realise I have crafting needs, Christmas will soon be here and gone and where is my reindeer?  I'd like everything in the post please, preferably yesterday (even though this time yesterday I hadn't even ordered the dies....) but failing that, Monday morning...or rather early afternoon since our postman changed the order in which he does his rounds and we now have to wait until lunchtime to get any post....  Chances are I won't get these until at least the end of next week and that is if I am lucky and Sizzix haven't already run out of these dies!

So, in the absence of these much longed for dies, I decided to get crafting, get out my Big Shot and look see what I made:


Isn't that one gorgeous poinsettia and that brad is to die for.  It's a Stampin' Up! antique brad and I tell you, they are absolutely gorgeous.  In fact, they are so gorgeous, I just do not want to let them out of my hands and the only reason I used one here is that I can give this pillow box to my daughter for Christmas and get the wrapping (and the brad ;) ) back!  If I was Gollum, these would definitely be my precious!!!

The pillow box was made using a Sizzix/Stampin' Up! pillow box die and is just big enough to hold two Cadbury fudges from a Heroes tin.... don't ask where the rest of the chocolates went to, some of them went into my son's advent calendar, and the rest...well, that's my secret!   The poinsettia was made using a template from Paper Garden Designs:




The files are so easy to use but since I don't have a cutting machine, I actually used the png files, then layered papers from this kit to make the petals/leaves:




Aren't those colours gorgeous and I love those flowers!  The leaves are relatively easy to cut out using scissors, so don't let the fact that you may not have a cutting machine put you off.  A cutting machine is on my wish list but an iPad comes first (as and when I can afford one)!!!!

The gift tag was again made using papers from the kit and the centre of the button on that white snowflake flower in the preview but I also used the ornament png from these cutting files:



Aren't they neat?  You can actually use them for gift tags or for cards and I will let you see how the cards I am in the process of making from these turn out later.  

In the meantime, I need to go get the church notices started and then make some bible verse tags but before I go, I'll leave you with my new siggie for the Digichick forum that I made using the Glitter and Memories collab:


I just love that kit!  It has so many scrumptious items in it!  

Happy scrapping!


Just to let you all know that there is a great gift blog hop going on from Paperie, Technique Junkie, and Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and it is well worth a visit to each blog for some amazing Christmas inspiration!

Just take a look at this for some creative gift wrapping:



Aren't they gorgeous?  You can find them HERE and also follow the links to the blog hop as well.

Happy scrapping!

Well, they have some amazing templates and cutting files at The Digichick, and I just couldn't resist having a go at making a vase and flowers.  I've been wanting to make a vase for ages, and when the chance came to use a bag template (yes, you heard right, a bag template;) ), it seemed the perfect opportunity.

I used the following items, firstly this gorgeous collaboration kit from the Digichick Designers:


Then I used two sets of cutting files from Kelleigh Ratzlaff:





And finally, to make the vase itself, I used this  bag template:



It was so easy to make!  For the stems of the flowers I used some stalk like strips of wood (these were really thin but I don't know what type of wood or what the whole thing is called!!!) I had bought from a craft store ages ago and then covered these with green crepe paper.  I printed and cut out one of the leaf templates and used this to make the leaves from the crepe paper and attach those to the stem.  The papers from the kit were used as a clipping masks on the roses, then I printed the paper out on one side of 160g/m paper and printed the roses out on the other side so the petals had the pattern on both sides.  I then used a polka dot embossing folder and my Big Shot on each set of petals to get the textured effect, and then built up the roses using double sided tape and PVA glue.  

The vase was so easy to make - it was a case of using a kit paper for the vase background ( a clipping mask again), printing it out on heavyweight cardstock then cutting out, and adhering it all together. 

The butterfly on the front of the vase is an embellishment I have had for ages, and the ribbon is from my stash.

I also added small pebbles in the base of the vase to prevent it from tipping over now the roses are in.  The vase and roses are now decorating my desk at work!

Why not give this a go yourself?  Bag templates aren't just for making bags, you know, and this was so easy to make!  It took longer to cut everything out than it did to make the vase and flowers!

Happy scrapping!


Well, November was really hectic (but hey, when is my life not hectic?!!!) and the bast part, apart obviously from seeing my son and his girlfriend when they came over to celebrate his birthday (awe, my baby is 27!!!!), was becoming a member of the hybrid team at The Digichick.  I've loved their site for absolutely ages and was over the moon to become a team member - it is, literally, a dream come true ;).  My son is well impressed (apart from my daughter and mum (she makes all her own cards too), he is the only other member of the family who takes an interest in my crafting) and I haven't even bothered telling hubbie about being on the hybrid team as he will only go on about how busy I am and how come I think I can do this and work and blah, blah, blah, blah!

Anyhow, for my first project (and tutorial!!!) I decided to make a Christmas album/planner.  Yes, I am totally disorganised, and yes, I haven't done anything for Christmas yet (other than put up the mini tree in my office!) but I intend to get organised and this planner is a start.....  Anyhow, if you are anything at all like me, maybe you should have a go at making one of these too?

I'm not going to go into great detail here about what, where, who and how I made it as you will be able to find it all on The Hybrid Chick blog from tomorrow (Monday).   However, will show you what I used.  Firstly, this is the kit I worked with:



Pretty neat for a Christmas album, eh, and perfect for a planner/organiser!  I just printed off what I needed onto cardstock and paper, added double sided tape and glitter glue, and et voila, one Christmas album!!!  Well, it did take a little bit longer than that to make, although to be honest, it actually took even longer to take the photos and write and post the tutorial than it did to make the album, tags and cards!


And here are the inside pages:



You will see I also made some Christmas cards and tags to go with the album.  The tags were made using the kit and a selection of templates from Michelle Batton:



These are so useful and you can do so many different things with them.  I reckon they would make brilliant card backgrounds once printed out - all you would have to do is add embellishments.  IO just used them for journaling here, and this is what I ended up with:


I reckon I'll be able to use these for all the lists I need to make for Christmas....presents, stocking fillers, shopping list, work to do before the big day......  Can you tell I am  a list kind of person?

The cards are A6 size so can fit into the album (which is A5 size) so if I am out and about, I can whip out a card for someone in no time at all ;).  The cards were made with these brilliant digital stamps:






I love that music and swirls stamp and can see me using that on birthday cards in the future ;).  these are the cards I made with them:


Mind you, I did add some Christmas Ornaments made with the Stampin' Up! Ornament Keepsakes bundle and the purple-y paper is from Stampin' Up! too.

Like I said earlier, if you want the full details of how to make this album, take a wander over to the Hybrid chick blog tomorrow.  My album is quite plain, I didn't add any embellishments, but I am really pleased with how it turned out.  Mind you, next year, I think I will make an earlier start on an album so I can dress it up somewhat!

Happy scrapping!