What A Load Of Scrap

I Do Still Scrap....Honest!!

2012-03-08T10:10:00.000Z

Miraculously, don't ask me how, I have managed over the last few weeks to scrap two layouts!! I won't share them both now.....I'll use them as an excuse to blog twice!!

Here is the first...

Photo's of me and Sarah on our day out in the Forest of Dean. I used my funky new washi tapes that I treated myself to with some Paypal funds I never realised I had!!

Back soon with the other one xxx

Month in Numbers: January

2012-03-04T17:51:00.000Z

Yes I know I'm late and I know I've been MIA!! Life is hectic here, I am just 17 days away from the end of my placement and the end of my course and finally being a proper real life teacher!!

So anyway, I have been keeping a note of my month in numbers and documenting it, even if I haven't got round to blogging it!

In January I did 1 day at uni, my first of 2012 and last one ever! I also passed 1 essay, applied for 2 jobs and did 8 days in my new school.

Me and my 5 friends on our last day.

Before I went back to uni I went to see an exhibition, Bruce Munro's 'Field of Light' which featured 5000 colour changing lights and was really magical.

I managed to find lots of time for baking and crochet, I tried 4 new recipes and added 25 rows to the ripple blanket for my best friends baby. I attended 2 wedding fairs with my other best friend.

At the end of January I spent 1 day out for my best friend's Mum's 60th birthday, we celebrated with a lovely walk in the Forest of Dean which was enjoyed by 1 very happy dog...

followed by a round or 2, and 3 games of pool and a lovely meal with 4 happy diners.

And that was January! Back soon with Feb! xxx

ETA I completely forgot the link so you can join in on Julie's blog xxx

2012-01-25T11:11:00.000Z

Before Christmas I used up loads of wool scraps by crocheting little tiny hearts. I used them to make bunting to hang on our fireplace and as little decorations on all my Christmas gift wrapping. After Christmas I still had loads left so I decided to use them up on some cards. I then remembered I had a whole load of brooch pins lying around so I thought I'd turn the little hearts into little brooches making the cards into gifts! Here they are.....

Now I need to make sure I don't give them to anyone who reads my blog!! xxxx

Specsy

2012-01-23T15:06:00.000Z

Wow, it feels like ages since I just found time/inspiration to sit down a do a layout just because. Not for doc 2011 or for the wedding album, just because! I loved all these photos of me and my friends at a wedding and at the moment am loving multi photo layouts so I decided to trim them down and use them all!

Hope you like it! xx

Beware....This is VERY Cute!!!!

2012-01-21T10:01:00.000Z

I just had to share a little crochet project that I've just finished. It's for my best friend's baby, or maybe I should say it's for my best friend to dress her baby in and take photos to embarrass him when he's 18!!!

Cute huh???

Once again thanks to Pinterest for the inspiration!

xxxx

Inspire...The Layout!

2012-01-19T14:58:00.001Z

So after finding my 'one little word' I wanted to document it in some way, so the other evening I found half an hour to fiddle about at my desk and this is what I came up with.......

This also coincided with a challenge on the Sarah's Cards blog to scrap your creative intentions for 2012 and as my one little word covers my crafting plans I thought I'd enter it.

TFL xxx

Festive Treats!!

2012-01-16T13:53:00.000Z

Sorry, I know you've all just got over Christmas but I just wanted to share something I did for Christmas Eve. Once again, Pinterest has a lot to answer for!! For ages I'd been pinning lots of ideas for different Christmas themed baked goods and sweet treats, so I decided my contribution to our family Christmas Eve party would be a dessert table.

The photos are terrible I'm afraid but Christmas lights don't make for the best conditions!!

Marshmallow reindeer pops!

Oreo pops which were yummy!

Mini Christmas tree cupcakes.

My personal favourite, white chocolate dipped pretzels.

Homemade iced gems.

Mini santa hat cupcakes.

There were also chocolate drizzled tree marshmallows, chocolate buttons, christmas shaped biscuits, chocolate buttons, oreo truffles and chocolate dipped candy canes.

Needless to say it went down very well!

xxx

Have You Seen This??

2012-01-15T21:11:00.000Z

Every month I love to read Julie's Month in Numbers posts. I have even had a go myself once, but as I have a few OCD tendencies, I couldn't bring myself to fully get involved as I much prefer to start in January and work through the year (I know, I'm weird, I annoy myself with this but I can't help it!!) I once only made it a few weeks with Project 365 because I just couldn't cope with the fact that I started on january the 3rd!! So anyway, I plan to join in properly this year, especially as my Document project isn't going to be so in depth, I thought this would be a good way of recording several aspects of day to day life in one post and maybe a layout. With this in mind I have spent a few minutes today, after being reminded by this post, making a dedicated notes file on my phone and recording a few numbers so that I am not scrabbling round at the end of the month and get into a good habit for the whole year!

Looking forward to starting this and seeing everyone else's 'Month in Numbers.' Make sure you let Julie know if you're going to join in too!

xxxxx

More Wedding Pages

2012-01-14T14:31:00.000Z

So the album is now with it's rightful owners, who I might add were very pleased with it, so time to share a few more pages with you.....

Once again, apologies for any repeats but it's easier to double up then to dig back into the archives to find out what I've already shown you!!

xxxx

Inspiration

2012-01-12T12:04:00.001Z

After my 'one little word' post the other day, this post on Lucy's blog caught my eye. That's all xxx

Something New

2012-01-12T08:26:00.000Z

A few months ago, I was faffing around on Pinterest, as I so often do, and I suddenly became drawn in by several art journal pages. It has always been something I never quite 'got' but I just suddenly was inspired by the experimental, messy, paintiness of it all! I didn't want to get too carried away, after all I might not get on with it, so I bought a £4 journal type book from Paperchase and a pot of Gesso and decided to use whatever else I had in my craft room already.

I had also started pinning loads of different quotes that had struck a chord with me so I thought combining the two would be a great thing to do. Anyway, enough waffle, here are the two pages I've done....

I know they are amateurish up to most peoples work but they are my style and I am pretty happy with them. I have found them really therapeutic to do and can't wait to do more.

TFL xxxx

2012

2012-01-10T20:14:00.001Z

I promised I'd be back with my plans for 2012 so here I am!

With this promising to be such a big year for me, rather than setting 'resolutions' as it were, I felt that my hopes for this year were better expressed in a different way. I have always liked the way SJ, and various other bloggers that I follow, choose a word of the year. I'd never really been able to think of one before but in the last few weeks of 2011 one just kept springing to mind and ever since it's just felt more and more appropriate. So my word for 2012 is.......

This is a word which just seems to cover lots of different aspects of my life and how I hope it will develop in the coming year. I hope to.....

I hope to be inspired by the people I work with on placement and fingers crossed, my first job. On that note I also hope to inspire someone to employ me!! I hope to be inspiring to the children I work with and also be inspired by their constant enthusiasm.

Creatively I hope to be inspired, I am not anticipating as much time to craft this year as I have been lucky enough to have before so some help with ideas might mean I get more done! Having said that, in some small way I still hope to inspire someone with my creativity, maybe just one of my blog readers!! Part of the reason I chose this word was because someone said to me just before Christmas, that I had inspired her to pick up a pair of knitting needles for the first time in years, and just yesterday someone else told me that I had inspired her to learn to crochet. I have to say that I found both comments hugely flattering and was really touched.

So hopefully, during the year, I hope to be able to update you with this. I also have plans to document this word in a layout which I will share with you soon.

In 2012 I am also looking forward to......

Welcoming my best friend's baby into the world (and knitting/crocheting lots of gifts!!)

Seeing another best friend get married (so excited!!).

Finishing and hopefully passing my course (I've had a good start to this today with a fantastic start to my final placement!)

Graduating (again!!)

Getting a job.

Completing a 'document' style project, albeit a much simpler version.

And just generally having another fab year.

I hope 2012 is a good one for you too!!

xxxxx

(Images from Pinterest)

2011 A Round Up

2012-01-06T10:00:00.000Z

So back at the beginning of January I shared this layout and my goals for the coming year. I always go back to these at the end of the year and see how well I've done. This year they were fairly simple but achievable.

This was them.....

And on the whole I've done very well with them.

1. Get more DT work. This is one that I addressed almost immediately by joining the Banana Frog DT in January. Unfortunately it ended a while back because my uni work had to come first but it was a great creative achievement.

2. To carry on doing well and enjoying my course. Well I've managed that, I got through my first block placement and did very well, and I've just had a ball, this course is the best thing I've ever done.

3. Get through placements. I think I covered that above!

4. Keep well. Done....this year has definitely been my most well year since 2006, I've still had my moments but I'm definitely so much better.

5. Develop my scrapping style, scrap less but pay more attention to detail. Developing my style is something I always strive to do as it keeps things fresh and interesting, this year as I have had so much less time to scrap I think I have tried to savour it more and have managed to pay much more attention to detail.

6. Have fun and spend more time with my friends. This one was more prominent in 2011 than I could have imagined. It has been an amazing year with my friends, with lots to celebrate, engagements, weddings, baby news. New friendships were created that I know will last a lifetime. Existing friendships have lead to new extended groups of friends who have provided some big laughs and really fun memories. I have built friendships at uni that have proved to be so supportive and I know I wouldn't have got through the course without them. Have also had so much fun with my family who continue to be as crazy as ever and certainly know how to have a good time!

So all in all I think I can safely say 2011 was a good one! 2012 promises to be such a huge year for me so I'll be back soon to share my plans for it xxxx

Document 2011: December

2012-01-05T10:28:00.000Z

So one final installment of 2011 to share with you...here goes December...

The pocket page, I used one of the little hearts that I crocheted as they featured quite heavily this Christmas, but more on that in another post! The pocket is packed with lots of bits and pieces, gift tags, place settings and a few photos that I didn't have space for.

My focus page is a non Christmassy one, my nephews 18th...

The first section of this one had to be covered up because it is a photo of the school nativity play, then there was Jan's 80th birthday party which was probably more raucous than your average 80th birthday party!!

My last day volunteering in school, staff night out, my Christmas craftiness!

Because of not doing a Christmas journal this year and having too much to fit in I decided to do two divided pages this month. Christmas eve, my dessert table that I slaved away at, Chewie's Christmas jumper...too cute, Christmas Day.

More Christmas day, a party with the girls and New Years Eve.

So that's 2011 all done and documented.

Back soon with my plans for a 2012 project xxx

Document 2011:November

2012-01-04T14:10:00.001Z

Happy New Year!!

Hope 2011 was a good year for you and 2012 is treating you well so far!!

Before I share my round up of 2011 and my plans for 2012 I though I should catch you up with my Document 2011 project. It's finally finished, it felt like a bit of a drag towards the end but I'm so glad I did it otherwise I don't think I'd have scrapped much this year at all!!

So this is November...

Because of my birthday and wanting to save a few special cards, the pocket page became a pocket on a pocket page!! All the pocket pages are now home to the corresponding page from my 2011 calendar too, so I can see exactly what I did each month.

The focus page was my night out for Emily's birthday. We went in a limo and everything!!

Divided page number 1...I ran out of divided protectors this month and as I haven't enjoyed them much I didn't have any intention of buying a big pack when I only needed a couple so I improvised! Had to be creative with these as I spent most of November holed up writing my essay! Few more snapshots from the big night out, my birthday.....

In my rush to get the album finished and my desperation to find something to fill November's pages I inadvertently managed to use the same photo twice...oooops! More birthday, a wine/takeaway night, and the sports awards.

Back tomorrow with December xxx

A Few More.....

2011-12-23T20:02:00.001Z

Taking five minutes out of the Christmas madness to put my feet up for five minutes and share with you a few more of the wedding layouts.

This is one of David waiting for the ceremony to start.......

I know you will have seen this one!

The first half of a DLO....

And the other half......

And finally another that I'm pretty sure I would have already blogged

The next few days promise to be completely manic so I will take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas.

See you on the other side!!

xxxxxxx

It's Done!

2011-12-21T17:37:00.000Z

Merry Christmas!! I know.....it's been too long! So what have I been up to since I last blogged?? Well quite a bit, I turned 28..arrrrgggghhhh!! I submitted my final essay and completed the uni phase of my course, all bar one day in the new year. I've had a busy term in school, as well as the small matter of preparing for Christmas!

Not much crafting has been happening, except for Christmas presents, one of which is the wedding album I have been working on for one of my best friends. She got married in May and I planned to give them their wedding album on their first anniversary but seeing as she will now be 38 weeks pregnant on their anniversary I thought she'd have a little more time to enjoy it if I gave it to her now. It has been a massive undertaking with a whopping 30 layouts but I've done it....by the skin of my teeth....but I have finished!!! I know I have already shared some layouts with you but it's easier to repeat a few rather than try and work out which ones you've already seen!

First an introductory page with space for them to write the engagement story......

I collected all the information on choosing her dress so I could include it in a page....

A simple one of the dress close ups.......

Emma getting ready.......

Emma and her niece finishing the flowers.......

Back soon with a few more pages xxxx

No You're Not Seeing Things, I Am Blogging!!

2011-11-06T20:29:00.000Z

My apologies for my recent lack of blogging! I don't really know where the last few weeks have gone!! So what have I been doing? Well, I've spent a lot of time reading and researching for my final essay which is due in one month from today, arrrrgghhh!!! I also had half term where I doggy sat, spent some time with my friends, helped one of them choose her wedding dress, cooked twice (shock horror!!), did a bit of knitting, spent too long on pinterest and spent loads of time with my head in a book. It's been pretty busy, and not looking like it's gonna slow down anytime soon. Over the next month I have an English test (tomorrow), Maths and Science assessments, a tutorial which involves another piece of written work and while all this is going on I have the small matter of the big essay, scary!!

In amongst the madness, I have managed to squeeze in the odd half hour in the craft room. I've done a couple of layouts and made a start on document October which I will share at another time.

Firstly I did this one for the wedding album which is very nearly done. I used the Crate Portait collection which is proving to be so perfect for this album.

This was a bit of a fun layout to do. I love this photo of me, at a different wedding party, it just seems to sum up what a crazy, fun night it was and how I truly let my hair down. I used the Crate Random collection which I am totally in love with. I also used some Sassafras stamps and some paint splatters.

I WILL be back soon to share some knitting and crochet projects and hopefully my doc October. I also seem to have a rapidly growing pile of photos to scrap so I really hope I might be able to allow myself a scrappy day sometime soon!

TFL xxx

It Only Took A Year..... photo heavy

2011-10-16T10:02:00.000+01:00

If you met me at the Gogo Getaway last year, was it really a whole year ago?? You might have seen me working on this......

Well, once I got back, I was so inspired by the techniques I had picked up over the weekend that I put it away and there it stayed.....

Until a couple of weeks ago, when finally I felt the need to get it finished! It's not like me to leave something unfinished, particularly for so long.

So this is it, a tactile little book, showcasing the photos I took of the lions in Bath last year.

Feels good to finally have it done!!

TFL xxx

Two of a Kind

2011-10-14T12:28:00.000+01:00

Even though I'm not getting much time to scrap lately, I do at least seem to have plenty of inspiration, this is really handy cos when I do find myself with the time I can whip up a layout quick! I also seem to be going through a bit of a style change too, I keep getting drawn, on Pinterest, to layouts that are clustered with lots of detail but lots of white space at the same time, and with a bit of interest top and bottom.

Here are a couple of pages that I have done. They are fairly similar but one is for me and one is for the wedding album so I won't end up with albums full of the same layouts!!

This one is of me and my bestie Sarah, at a wedding party a few months back. I don't seem to get many photos of us and when I do they tend to be slightly drunken arms length photos...as this one is, but this one does seem to be one of the better ones!!

The title doesn't stand out very well in the photo but it does seem to work in real life!!

And this one for Emma and David's album. This is one of my favourite photos from the wedding. Neither of us can remember what I said to make her laugh, I'm guessing it must have been a bit rude by the way I'm turning my head away from the gathered crowd!!! (but not that rude.....there was a child present!!!)

TFL xxx

Document 2011: September

2011-10-12T17:31:00.001+01:00

Apologies for the delay in posting peeps! It's all for good reason, I'm working REALLY hard at the moment in preparation for my final essay which is due in less than 8 weeks, scary!! Anyway, I finally have some craftiness to share with you!

September was a difficult one to do, firstly because I had to stop my kit subscription. I have always used monthly kits for this type of project as it keeps each month different and I have it all there ready to go. I did however treat myself to a couple of the new Cosmo Cricket papers so I used those.......

The second reason that september was a tricky one was because I didn't do much, and didn't take many photos. Luckily on the very last day of the month I had a very funny evening with some friends and made sure I had some pics!!

And then the divided pages, I had to be mega creative to fill these, but I kept reminding myself that it is ok for this project to be 'everyday' it doesn't have to be filled with exciting stuff!

I used Ruby Rock It papers for this, I'd never used them before but I was impressed!

TFL xxxx

Flying Visit

2011-10-03T19:11:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone, just a really quickie post to let you know I haven't given up blogging!! Life in the second year is hectic!! This week is set to be another busy one, with an observation placement starting tomorrow, and a school trip on Wednesday, I will be back with a proper post soon but I can't say when!!

I'll leave you with a picture of some cupcakes I made, inspired by Cath Kidston (via Pinterest), a couple of weeks ago for a friends birthday.

TFL xxxxx

New Stuff!

2011-09-21T11:09:00.001+01:00

I just wanted to say Thank You for the lovely comments I've had so far about my Folksy shop. You can read more about it and find out how you can get yourself some freebies in this post.

Anyway, I was just popping in to share some new items that I've just listed for sale.

I have had lots of great feedback on the finger puppets, so inbetween getting ready to go back to uni, I have been making some more.

I love these little minibeasts!

And I do have plans for more so keep watching this space. Don't forget that the first five people to mention my blog when ordering will get a freebie!!!

B xxx

Kirsty's Anniversary Blog Hop

2011-09-17T10:00:00.000+01:00

If you've arrived here from Kirsty's blog, welcome, if you follow me anyway then you have stumbled upon Kirsty's anniversary blog hop!

First of all let me tell you about Kirsty..... I met her at the Gogo Getaway last year and having not seen her work before I was blown away by what I saw. She has a style all of her own which is so distinctive and original, you just can't help but be impressed! When I got back I started following her blog and now I'm addicted, she has such a way with words that I often find myself laughing out loud! So, when I read that she was giving away these gorgeous little handmade embellishments and making a blog hop of the resulting projects, I just had to be a part of it!

Here is what I came up with.........

This proved to be a really interesting project for me. At the moment my mojo has been a little on the sparse side, so my creative journey was a little different to the route it normally takes but having an embellishment to kick start it really helped. First I gathered up a pile of scraps that coordinated with it. Happily, they kind of fell into a pattern, perfect for the basis of a layout, I then chose a background sheet and finally, leafed through a pile of photos I had to hand and found this one of my friend and I at our work night out, that just happened to coordinate with everything else! I then added some washi tape, some stitching and a punched detail at the top and finally, an unimaginative one, but a title none the less.

Inspired by Kirsty's work, I also added some journalling directly onto the layout, something I've often been too nervous to do, but it just always looks so fab so I'm making a conscious effort to do more.

You may have already spotted the second embellishment as I used it on my August Document 2011. I simply added it to a photo and popped it into a pocket, it was the perfect finishing touch for this kind of project.

Anyway, that's enough of me, there are lots of other really inspiring scrappers taking part, so starting with Louise, make your way around the rest of the blog hop.

Have a great weekend xx

Gifted

2011-09-15T09:00:00.000+01:00

What do you think of this?

Want one?? What about this.......

And these.....

Would look fab on your winter coat. I bet you'd love one of these for Christmas.....

And who wouldn't want to play with these......

Well they have all been lovingly made, along with lots of other goodies which would make perfect gifts, by my own fair hand and you can buy them in my new *drum roll* Folksy Shop 'Gifted'.

I have to thank my nephew Dan, for my funky logo, he is gonna be a much better Graphic Designer than I ever was...who am I kidding??.... he already is!!!

I am very excited about it, I have always been tempted and now that I need a bit of spending money to get me through my last few months as a poor student (get your violins out!!), I thought what better time to give it a go!

To get things kicked off I'm offering the opportunity to grab yourself some freebies. If you have a blog and can leave a link to my shop, I will put you in a draw for some goodies, make sure you leave a comment on this post with a link so I know who you are! Secondly, the first 5 people who order from my shop and mention my blog when they pay, will receive something extra in with their order.

I will also consider custom orders, so if you ever spot anything I post on here that you like the look of, don't be afraid to send me an email. It might not always be possible but I will do my best to accommodate any requests.

I hope to keep the shop topped up with lots of goodies, which I will try and post here but keep an eye out for new things.

Hope you like it xxxx

Project of the Day

2011-09-13T09:00:00.000+01:00

Pop on over to the Banana Frog blog to see my......

xxxx

Make and Create Guest Designer

2011-09-12T13:09:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Anna asked me to design with a kit from her shop The Make and Create Shop. It's called Perfect Day and was full pretties, just right for a wedding layout for Emma and David's album.

All I added was the cardstock, canvas tag and Thickers. Go have a look at Anna's shop and grab one for yourself.

Hope you're having a good start to the week xxx

Document 2011 August

2011-09-04T22:46:00.001+01:00

I'm liking the new blogger! Don't want to speak too soon but think it's gonna be a bit more user friendly...well I hope it is anyway! Thought it was time I shared my eighth installment of my document 2011, I'm actually onto my second album for this, I'm really happy with it but think next year's yearbook project is going to have to be a little less involved as I hope to be somewhat busier!

So firstly the pocket page, containing cinema tickets, I never go to the cinema but I went twice in August, I watched One Day and the Inbetweeners. There are also tickets from our day at the race track. I had an idea for these pocket pages, at the end of the year I am going to tear the pages from my calendar and pop them into the corresponding pockets in my album so I have a record of everything I did. I tend to use my calendar to write down what I have done rather than what I am going to do, I use my diary for that, so every little detail tends to go on it. Just thought it would be a good idea as a snapshot of my year.

It took me a while to decide what to do for my focus page but what really stood out was what a packed month I had. I really made the most of the holidays this year as I knew it would be my last as a student and I had the best summer ever. So I got lots of little photos printed small and squeezed them all onto the page!

And then the pocket pages.....Jenny and Lee's engagement *exciting*, Jess and Me taking part in Operation Cup of Tea during the riots, Mine and Jenny's wedding film marathon/duvet day and Jenny's birthday cake. (You can see a theme emerging...it's great having teacher friends to keep you entertained in the hols!!)

Then a crafty day making 'infinity' dresses with Sarah and Jayne, I will do a post on that sometime! A day at the race track with three of my nephews (2 of which are as into motor racing as me!!) Our attempts at Planking!! And tapas night.

Sorry if I've waffled on but at least I had lots to talk about this month!! I have another two weeks before I go back to uni but now the schools are back I feel like I should be getting back to work mode. I'm spending tomorrow with a friend working on our science subject knowledge project...not fun but has to be done! I am also working on a bit of a new crafty project but more on that soon...watch this space!!

TFL xxx

August Blog Hop

2011-08-30T09:00:00.000+01:00

Welcome to another Banana Frog blog hop. As us froglets have been busy with the summer hols this month is theme free so I thought I'd share some stamping that I did that couldn't be simpler but I am so happy with the effect.

Once again I dug out my absolute favourite, fail safe, BF stamp set, Fireworks.

I simply stamped them in the corners of my layout and embossed them in clear embossing powder. I then built the rest of my layout around this detail.
I added clusters of embellishments near the stamping to really highlight and draw attention to it.
And that's it! Your next stop on the hop is the ever so talented Jo Firth Young. And don't forget to leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning a set of stamps xxx

A Saturday How To....

2011-08-27T12:01:00.003+01:00

Hey blogland, hope you're enjoying this bank holiday weekend? I'm having a lazy one, I have a cold so this weekend I plan to cosy up with the GP for company and a spot of craftiness at some point and not much else! Hopefully I will be feeling better by monday as we have a trip to the local race circuit planned. Anyway, I did promise you a how to post....

For this layout I used a photo from the wedding and papers from Crate's Portrait collection.

First I cut out the corresponding month from the calendar paper...unfortunately the one I needed was right in the middle but nevermind!!
I then used a chipboard heart as a template and drew around it on the back of some red paper.
Using the filmstrip sticker from the sticker sheet, I cut tiny scraps of paper and popped one behind each negative space.
Next I assembled the layout on a white background using all the elements I prepared above and layering with some patterned papers.
This may take a little patience, but cut out a flower detail from one of the papers...this is a great way to make embellishments that coordinate perfectly with your paper collection.
Add this to your page, layering with a couple of journalling stickers.
I then added the title, a rub on and a couple of little embellishments.
For a bit of texture I used a stitching template to punch and hand stitch a design. If you don't have a template simply draw a design on the back and punch at regular intervals.
And that's it!
Really hope you like it....if you use any of the ideas or techniques make sure you leave me a link as I would love to see xxx

See No, Hear No, Speak No!

2011-08-25T19:37:00.002+01:00

This is another of the layouts I did for the DT application. This is a fun boyish one, a photo I took of my nephew and two cousins, they were sat in the stairs cos we had a houseful and had run out of seats, and they decided to tease me by swapping places every time I looked away! Long story short, this layout title popped into my head so I had to get a photo of them! Typical scrapbooker!!

I used a mixture of OA and Jillibean Soup.

The final layout I did for the application was a class instruction so I will do a 'how to' post soon.

TFL xxx

A Mini Success

2011-08-23T18:04:00.003+01:00

Here's another of the layouts I did for a DT application. I was so pleased with this page, it was a bit of an unusual one for me but one that has lead me to using mini photos more often. It's a wedding one but for my album. I used Echo Park 'For The Record'

I also used some paint mists and stamps from Banana Frog's 'Butterflies and Swirls' and some Thickers for the title.

Hope you like xx

Shimelle Challenges: 3 is The Magic Number

2011-08-21T20:24:00.002+01:00

Managed to squeeze in one last challenge before the deadline tonight.

This one is for the wedding album and the challenge was to use 3 elements. I chose three circles with cupcake detail.

I used the scrappiest of scraps for this one!

TFL xx

Shimelle Challenges: Stickery Challenge

2011-08-20T19:34:00.002+01:00

And finally....

This challenge was to use stickers from 2 or more different collections. I dug out some OA Thrift Shop border stickers and some others from a manufacturer I can't remember that I had in a kit ages ago.

There is a bit of a story with this photo, hence the title. The picture is from my Great Uncle George and Great Aunty Ann's wedding in the very early 60's. My Grampy, Dad and Aunty Sue are all in the picture but unfortunately my Nan couldn't be there as she was in hospital in London having (what was then) pioneering surgery to close a hole in her heart. I am lucky enough to have a tin full of letters that different people wrote to my Nan while she was there including a letter that my then 11 or 12 year old aunty wrote telling her all about the wedding and a telegram that Aunty Ann and Uncle George sent from the airport on their way to Dublin for their honeymoon. I have included copies of both in the pocket.

When I started this layout I really wasn't sure about it but as I added more it seemed to really come together and I am really pleased with it now!

TFL xx

PS Scroll down to see the other posts I have written today x

Shimelle Challenges: Colour Story

2011-08-20T19:31:00.001+01:00

And another one....

This one uses all the scraps of red, white and aqua I could find! These challenges have been great for stashbusting!
Don't forget to scroll down to see my 'From the heart' and 'Half Page' layouts xxx

Shimelle Challenges: Half Page

2011-08-20T19:26:00.002+01:00

No, you're not seeing things...I am posting again. You'll probably be fed up of me by the time I post all of these challenge layouts!

This one is the half page challenge and I promise you that this layout takes up no more than 6x12 of it's 12x12 background!
It's a mixture of Crate Paper Toybox, 5&Dime by OA and Echo Park For The Record, along with some various embellies that I've had for ages.

TFL xx

Shimelle Challenges: From The Heart

2011-08-20T19:19:00.002+01:00

Still trying to get through the Shimelle challenges before the prize deadline tomorrow.

This one was to use 'I love' or 'I (heart)' as the title. I used a photo we took from the big screen at the Take That concert and the journalling documents how awesome the sight of that many flashes going off was.
A bit of a grungey, experimental kind of layout but I like it!

TFL xx

Layer Cake

2011-08-19T17:44:00.006+01:00

If you follow me on twitter, you'll know that I spent some time last weekend working on a non-scrappy but, never the less, creative project. It was my friend's birthday and I wanted to make a special cake for her. I had a look on Pinterest for ideas and when I found this idea I just knew I had to make it. I had seen brightly coloured layer cakes before but I needed something more grown up (and with a more appetising look!). So this is what I made......

It was topped with white chocolate frosting and white chocolate dipped strawberries......

Which were glittery (obvs).....

And inside were 5 layers of pink cake. The effect was really cool and I have to say it went down really well. The reaction when I cut it made several people come running to see what had happened and someone said they thought a man must have popped up from the middle of it!!

As you can imagine, there wasn't much left!!!

TFL xxx

ETA I started with a normal batch of cake mix, then added a little pink colouring, then filled a tin, then added a little more pink, filled another tin...and so on. I used paste colour, the kind you use to colour fondant icing, the liquid stuff you get in the supermarket is too natural these days and doesn't give a strong enough colour!

ETA (again) Emma, I tried to leave you a comment but couldn't! I got the paste colour from eBay but you can get it in the cake shop in Kingswood although last time I went the colours were a little thin on the ground! Good luck with your attempt xx

Better Luck Next Time

2011-08-18T19:04:00.002+01:00

Last week I had one of the nicest DT rejections I've ever had!! The let down email was so lovely and left me feeling like now wasn't my time but it didn't mean I never had a chance, and the designers that did get picked were so worthy of the places, I couldn't feel down about it. Subsequently I now have some layouts to share with you!

This one is of my neice Kerrie on her 22nd birthday....hence the title....and was done with scraps of Girls Paperie.
I managed to cram on quite a few techniques....sequin waste stencilling, punching, liquid pearls, a handmade embellishment, my trademark bunting, handcutting....the list goes on.

Back soon with more xx

Shimelle Challenges: Grid It Up

2011-08-16T00:36:00.002+01:00

For this challenge I decided to use a grid of photos. Luckily I already had this collage of 9 photos from the wedding already printed.

xxx

Shimelle Challenges: Starting Point

2011-08-16T00:18:00.003+01:00

Another Shimelle challenge. This time the challenge was to start from this point......
And build the layout from there. My layout was unseasonally festive but I was pleased with myself for using up some old stash.

I thought the starting point gave an effect a bit like a christmas present!

xxx

Scroll down for the Signature Accent challenge

Shimelle Challenges: Signature Accent

2011-08-16T00:07:00.002+01:00

As I had quite a busy weekend I didn't have time to join in with Shimelle's weekend of challenges. Today I found myself with a free afternoon and evening so I thought I'd have a go at catching up with some of them.

This one was for the 'Signature Accent' challenge. This one involved using an element that you might use frequently so I chose bunting. I killed two birds with one stone for this one as I needed a card for a friend who had just moved house.
Back in a bit with more xxx

BTW have you seen the giveaway Kirsty has on her blog? It's such a cool idea I couldn't resist joining in...go and have a look!

Lush

2011-08-15T11:26:00.001+01:00

Last Friday my sis and my nephews girlfriend came over for a bit of a crafty/girly day, we did a spot of baking, flicked through the latest copies of Mollie Makes and rounded the day off with a yummy roast. After my nephew got back and whisked his girlfriend off, my sis and I headed up to my craft room for an impromptu scrapping session. We picked a random sketch from the Sketches2Scrapbook app and I did this layout.......

The papers are from the MME Lush collection which ordinarily are a bit pricey but they were a bargain in the Sarahs Cards sale so I treated myself to a few sheets. I have to say they do feel like really good quality papers and are probably worth spending a little more on. I also threw in some woodgrain paper from Crate to break it up a bit and make it a little less pink!!

The photo is from our trip to see Take That and I think the funky patterns compliment our spotty and stripy tops (we did not plan our outfits beforehand!!!!)

TFL xxx

Happy Birthday

2011-08-14T16:22:00.000+01:00

By the time you read this post I will be at my friends 25th birthday BBQ and would have given her this card.....
If you want to know how I made it, pop over to the BananaFrog Blog and look at my Project of the Day. TFL xx

Happy Birthday Jenny xxxx

Challenge Time

2011-08-13T08:07:00.001+01:00

Last night I found myself finally with some time to scrap, not that I have been busy with horrible things this week, quite the opposite in fact. This week has totally made up for the fact that I am not going away anywhere this year, thanks to a couple of bits of crappy news (not to mention the state of our country) it could have been an awful week but thanks to my friends and family it has been a week of fun, laughs, lots of food, many wedding films, baking, coffee, crafty time and relaxation.

Anyway, back to the scrapping, I decided to have a bash at the challenge that lovely Rachel set on the Sarah's Cards blog. The challenge was to use 5 different patterned papers on one layout. I thought I'd take the opportunity to do another wedding layout. The title came from a line from 'Songbird' which is what Em walked down the aisle to.
I cut this detail from an October Afternoon 5&Dime paper......

And used 2 Girls Paperie and another 5&Dime to make these strips and paper bow. Then a final sheet of GP to mount the photos.

A little detail in the corner......

I have lots more layouts to share with you. Back soon xxx

Simple But Effective

2011-08-12T15:16:00.000+01:00

Still plodding on with the wedding album. It's becoming more apparent that simplicity is the key to this project. Both of these layouts came together really quickly but look really effective and when I plan to do at least 30 layouts, that's got to be a good idea!

Firstly, I absolutely had to document the flowers, Emma did them herself and what a stunning job she did, they really did look amazing and everyone commented. I love this picture of her finishing the ribbons with Jasmine, her new neice, on the morning of the wedding. I didn't even cut a single piece of paper for this layout, just took scraps and used them exactly as they were.
Then, I wanted to document the process of getting ready and I loved this pic of Sarah, Emma's SIL, doing her make up. Because there was quite a lot going on in the photo I thought it best to keep the colour scheme and pattern simple. It was a great opportunity to use up some of the muslin flowers I made ages ago.

I'm hoping to really crack on with this album over the summer, I think I'm about a third of the way through. Watch this space for more soon.

Document 2011 July: The Rest

2011-08-10T11:04:00.001+01:00

So I promised the rest of my July pages and here they are.....

The pocket page has quite a bit in this month. My Take That ticket (obvs), the results sheets from my QTS tests (which are only there cos they say pass!!), a picture that one of the kids in school did for me and a business card from the restaurant we went to for a retirement do.
July seemed like a really busy month, I could've probably filled these twice over! First we celebrated Sarah's birthday a little late and I caught up with friends I hadn't seen for ages. Did I mention I went to see Take That?? Then birthday drinks for my twin cousins. I've actually just realised that these were three consecutive days so maybe it wasn't as busy as it seemed!!

On the other side.....a retirement do with everyone from school, I'm so pleased I get invited even though I'm not staff, we always have such a laugh!! My boys returned from their cruise and I was sooo pleased to see them. And finally at the end of the month, Hannah and Greg's wedding party which was AWESOME!!

Lots has happened already that will be appearing on my August pages....this album is gonna be finished before I know it!!

TFL xxx

Just A Card!

2011-08-08T17:17:00.000+01:00

So last week I mentioned that I had a secret email about an engagement party. Well, as soon as I got it I got stuck straight into making a card....not an engagement card you'll notice...just a card (I didn't wanna jinx it!!)
I used some SU stamps that I've had for ages (flourish, 'bliss' and the lil bird) but not had much excuse to use, and was pleased with the result.

As it happens I didn't end up giving them this card because as soon as I heard they got engaged in Paris I remembered I had some stickers with the Eiffel Tower on (typical scrapbooker thinking!!) so I made another, which I forgot to photograph!! They did get this one tho, just from somebody else!

Congrats Jenny and Lee xxxx

Document 2011 July: The Focus Page

2011-08-07T11:57:00.003+01:00

This month I was pretty pleased with my doc 2011 focus page so I thought it deserved a post all of it's own, with close up shots and everything!

It was clear from day 1 (well day 2 technically) of July that my focus page would be for the month would be my trip to see Take That. We had the tickets for months and I was very excited about my fourth trip to see the boys as well as my first ever trip to Wembley Stadium. I actually commited the ultimate scrapbooking crime of forgetting to charge my camera batteries but luckily Clare and Jenny didn't forget and took some wicked photos which they very kindly shared with me! There were so many cool photos that I couldn't choose just one so I went for mini ones.
I think I cheated somewhat by using a sheet from Sassafras starters, a lot of the work was done for me, infact the only other papers I used were a tiny bit to mount the photos and the barcode strip from the background sheet.

I used the stamp that came in my SC kit and some pink shimmer mist to create some texture and cut some flowers from an SC Fabrip using my Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die.

Love those dotty orange Thickers!

And the (now obligatory it seems) detail in the top corner!! I think you are gonna see a bit more of me using mini photos in future layouts!

Back soon with the rest! xx

ETA I've just realised how dark the photos are...sorry!!

A Little Something for a Little Someone (or two!)

2011-08-03T17:01:00.004+01:00

Apologies for my lack of posting lately. It's not been lack of time or crafty things to show you that kept me away but I have been keeping a secret from a friend that I know reads my blog (hi Jen xx) so I thought it safer to keep quiet on tinternet for a few days!! It was a weird coincidence that I posted the layout last week about keeping a proposal secret from a friend because almost as soon as I blogged it a very similar thing happened again! I got a top secret email inviting me to an engagement party and I had to keep my mouth shut (if you know me you'll know how tough that is!!!) Anyway, the party has happened now and yet another of my closest friends has a new bit of bling on her left hand!! I am destined to scrap wedding albums forever more!!!

So now to share some craftiness. The newest bride to be had asked me to make a couple of books for friends who were having/had new babies to give as gifts, so while I was excitedly waiting for news of the engagement, I had something to keep me busy. The baby that was already born was a boy but they still don't know the flavour of the one yet to be born so I decided that good papers to go with would be Sunshine Broadcast by Sassafras as they had lovely soft colours and were pretty enough for babies without being too girly or boyish.

I did both books more or less the same, the main difference was obviously the fact that I had photos for one but not the other!

The pictures are from the one that I didn't have photos for.....
We did manage to get a copy of the scan picture......

These pieces of paper are blu tacked in so they can be removed and used as templates for the photos once the baby has arrived.

It was quite tricky trying to keep it as neutral as possible, heart shapes seemed like a good way to go!

I decided to make paper rolls from the off cuts left from covering the pages.....

Space for the parents to do a little bit of journalling.....

I absolutely love these papers!

And I always see baby projects as the perfect excuse to use this lovely little stamp!!

I really hope the recipients are pleased with them!!

I have a couple of other crafty projects lined up for this summer, a little bigger this time, which I can't wait to get on with....watch this space!!

TFL xxx

ETA: I used the 6x6 papers so that the patterns were mini! I got the 'Wee Bundle' from Sarahs Cards....they seem to be the only place in the UK that stock it!

July Blog Hop

2011-07-30T09:00:00.000+01:00

Welcome to July's Banana Frog Blog Hop. This month's theme is 'Summer' and even though we haven't had much of it this month, I thought I'd bring you a sunny project!

As you may have realised by now, my very favourite Banana Frog Stamp set is 'Fireworks'. I had them before I joined the DT and they are the ones I easily use the most as they are so very versatile. This time I thought I'd turn them into a sun and make some journalling blocks for summery layouts or maybe to be included inside a travel journal.......
I simply stamped a large firework in yellow and a smaller one in orange to create a 'sun', then I stamped a title using 'Steelfish Outline'. I then handstitched a running stitch or back stitch around the edge in blue for a striking contrast.

These can easily be popped into a suitcase so you can journal as you go and add them to a holiday album on your return!

Thanks for visiting and you can now move on to fellow froglet Francine's blog.

Don't forget to leave comments as you go and be in with a chance of winning a set of stamps.

TFL xxx

Document 2011 June

2011-07-25T22:21:00.003+01:00

Up until May I kept up with this album really well but with the last term of the school year came a lot of work and it wasn't until the school holidays started that I was able to catch up with my June pages.

As expected I had to be pretty creative with this month as I was so busy with uni that I was too tired to do much socialising, a not a lot really happened. I did find though that this gave me an opportunity to include some more everyday things that I might not have included on a more exciting month!

First of all the pocket page, not much in it!!
I was very proud when my nephew won Resource Base Sports Personality of the year. He plays Boccia and Table Top Cricket, for which he visited Lord's to play in the National Finals!

My focus page and pocket pages have been done using my June SC kit. A trip to Weston, and presents from Florida.

Spending time with family, some details about other things I did but didn't photograph and a place to showcase the fab hand stitched tag that came in my kit!

You'll be pleased to know that July has been MUCH more exciting already and I have made a start on the pages....watch this space!

Tomorrow morning I am taking my skills tests required for Qualified Teacher Status, I am a little nervous although my friends who have already taken them have reassured me that they are not too bad! Will just be glad to get them done and be ready to start my final year without having them on my mind! Will let you know how I get on!

TFL xxx

Keeping A Secret

2011-07-19T10:30:00.001+01:00

Sometimes the reason I love scrapbooking the most is because it can allow you to document a memory that you don't necessarily have a decent photo of. This was definitely one of those times.

Last November I had an evening out planned to celebrate my birthday with a few friends. I drove to my best friends house where I was going to stay the night. She wasn't home from work yet so I had a drink with her partner, I had a feeling he wasn't quite himself but he shocked me somewhat with the revelation that he was planning a proposal. This meant I was left with a massive secret (for, at that point, an unknown amount of time, turned out to be 6 weeks!) to keep from the very person that I tell all my secrets to! I tried to make myself forget all about it and act like normal....it was tough. That evening someone took a photo of my and Laurence and I thought, I'm gonna have to scrap that! I then came across a quote that was just spot on, 'he who wishes to keep a secret must act like he doesn't have one'.

Anyway, enough rambling, here it is........
I used Cosmo Cricket Upcycle and did the journalling on a card which I hid behind the photo.

TFL xxx

Dry Spell

2011-07-17T20:18:00.002+01:00

Finally I am back with some layouts to share with you! As I expected, not being able to scrap for ages caused a huge lack of inspiration once I did find time to scrap. I spent hours the last week or two pushing paper around and coming up with things I was nowhere near happy with. To try and kick start things I went off around blogland to see if something would give me a bit of inspiration.

On the October Afternoon blog, I came across a beautiful layout using 5&Dime papers which I just happened to have in my stash so had a go at lifting it. This is the result....
Although I'm still beating myself up about the fact that it wasn't my idea, it wasn't an exact copy and I am actually really happy with the look of it. Another wedding layout but this one is gonna be for my own album (although I think I might do something similar for the official album!)

I love the paper bow and I think I will be using a few more on future pages. Anyway, you will be pleased to know that the drought appears to be ending and there have been much better, and more original layouts that have happened since.

Back with those soon xxx

Love CHA Time

2011-07-13T11:35:00.000+01:00

I always enjoy the time of year when you start to see the CHA releases appearing. (For the non crafty peeps following that's the Craft and Hobby Association!)

As you know Crate Paper is a firm favourite of mine but I think this one may be a contender for all time favourite (until the next time!!)
And I think this one is gonna appear on some Christmas cards!

Look how adorable this is......

What are your faves so far? xx

Like These....

2011-07-12T18:21:00.000+01:00

That's all! xx

Progress

2011-07-06T18:14:00.002+01:00

After finishing my placement last Thursday I was in a celebratory mood. So it was a very good job that it also happened to be the weekend that I had tickets to go and see this fab five.....
I went with my sis (on the right, as if you couldn't tell) and my friend Jenny (who I know will be reading this!!) to Wembley Stadium.

It was so AWESOME! I sang and danced until I had no voice and could barely stand a moment longer, and drooled, especially over this one.......

The robot was unbelieveable, as was the atmosphere (and the price of a pint!!!)

I had an absolutely fab time and am gutted that it's all over, but I do have some fab photos to scrap (thanks Jenny, at least one of us remembered to charge our camera.....bad scrapbooker!!)

Hopefully back soon with some layouts!

xxxx

Short and Sweet

2011-07-01T08:53:00.000+01:00

I'm back with a couple more wedding layouts.......

Firstly the one that's going to go at the front of the album. This was one of my favourite photos...
Behind the photo is a tag for them to write a bit about how they met and the proposal. Used a real mixture of scraps on this one.

A bit of a fun one......

I used the most recent SC kit for this one, the one and only LO I've done with it so far!

This confetti shot is gorgeous so I wanted to keep the page simple but pretty.

Used my Big Bite to punch random holes and stuck little bits of paper behind.

TFL xx

A Happy Couple

2011-06-29T11:50:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to share a couple of wedding layouts. I am keeping them simple as there are lots to do and I want them to fit into one album so don't want them to be to bulky. I have a bit more of a plan now about which photos to use and have a few titles sorted. Also having a box of papers ready to use and knowing that the backgrounds will be white, makes it quite easy to sit down and put together a layout quite quickly.

They had studio style shots taken because there wasn't a great deal of time available in the outdoor space, I think it was the best decision because the shots were just beautiful. The pink flowers look so striking in this one. I used some scraps of Echo Park Be Mine and a couple of old Basic Grey rub ons.

This one is about me! As Emma's best friend, I was one of the witnesses, and very proud I was too! I finally got properly stuck into my Portrait collection for this one.

More soon...watch this space!

Uh Oh

2011-06-28T21:51:00.001+01:00

I was just doing a spot of idle blog hopping when I stumbled across my first summer CHA sneaks on the Glitz blog....I neeeeeed these.......

Can't wait til the summer!!!

xxxx

Over Worked and Underpaid

2011-06-26T19:34:00.003+01:00

Hi blogland.....sorry it's been a while two weeks eeeeek! It's actually longer than you think as most of my recent posts were scheduled in half term so it's been more like 4 weeks...bad blogger! I have had very good reason, uni work has taken away all my socialising/hobby time and I am now a crazy essay writing robot! I never took on this course because I thought it would be easy but it has hit me like a ton of bricks this weekend, essay writing does not come easily to me so it has been stressful to say the least!

Over the next two weeks I have two big deadlines and am still on placement until Thursday so have lessons to plan and teach too! As you can imagine, there is a thick layer of dust over my craft room!

I did make it in there for 5 minutes...literally....to make these two cards for my mentor and teaching assisstant to say thank you when I leave. I used scraps and barely evenly cut anything, just plucked them from my scraps box and used them as they were!
I did find a load of photos of wedding layouts that I did a couple of weeks ago so I will schedule more posts to share them with you. Just wait til the summer holidays when I have lots of time and several crafty commissions....you'll be sick of me!!

TFL xxx

ETA I keep promising to 'pimp' my lovely friend Kim's blog and forgetting so get yourselves on over there, she's a very clever lady!!

Project of The Day

2011-06-13T08:00:00.000+01:00

I can't believe how quickly my project of the day comes around on the Banana Frog blog. If you want to see how to make these, pop over and have a look at my post.
TFL xx

Document 2011 May

2011-06-11T14:12:00.000+01:00

Another month, another page in my Document 2011 album! I had lots to fit in this month.

In the pocket page, my wedding invitation, placecard, Maid of Honour Thank You card, and a few other bits and pieces. I always keep the little card that comes with my SC kit because I love the design of them.
There was no question what the focus page should be! The one and only photo I took at the wedding!

I try to cover the little things as well as the big events in the divided pages. This month, new songs at choir, final wedding prep as well as the main event!

Jake getting his wish to meet Gordon Ramsey (thanks Rays of Sunshine!), a very rare family shot, a night with friends and a weekend away with Max.

I somehow think that June will be a little sparse.....school, planning, essay writing and a tiny bit of sleeping!! May have to be very creative with this one!

TFL xx

Cute

2011-06-09T14:08:00.000+01:00

Last week I treated myself to a few sheets from the most recent Girls Paperie collections. This is a layout I did using some of the Jubilee (I think!) papers and a mixture of various embellies that I have had for ages!

I used a pic of two of my little cousins after they had climbed up Pew Tor, they loved it and surprised us all by walking all that way!

TFL xx

The Start of a Big Project

2011-06-07T13:57:00.000+01:00

So I'm sure all my followers have heard me going on about my best friend's wedding three weeks ago. Well I only managed to take one photo on the actual day as I was just too busy with my Maid of Honour duties. Luckily my BIL was the official photographer so as soon as the happy couple returned from their honeymoon I was able to place a big Photobox order and make a start on the album.

The photos are absolutely beautiful and I'm so inspired, I can't wait to scrap them all! My first layout was of their first dance. I used Crate Paper Portrait which I have been saving especially for their album. I have decided to keep the whole album uniform by using white cardstock backgrounds but other than that anything goes! I used a line from their song as the little.
This second layout is one I've had in my head for over a year! When she bought her dress I kept a note of all the details so I could document it in the album.

This page was done using scraps, I do love a thrifty layout!

I have lots more ideas and loads of photos to get through, I am planning on this being a long project that I am really going to take my time over and make them an album that they can treasure forever.

TFL xxx

Several Attempts

2011-06-05T13:48:00.002+01:00

Hello peeps, well, another half term has been and gone in the blink of an eye! I've manage to pack a lot into it, a couple of days away, catching up with friends, including my bestie back from her honeymoon, LOTS of work, and a little bit of very much needed crafty time!

I finally got my May SC kit after a bit of a delay and straight away put together this layout.
These photos were taken at Emma's second Hen night, it was a more sedate version for the older rellies!! We wanted a photo of the two of us together as we didn't manage to get one on the first hen night so I handed my phone to David's aunty. Well who'd have thought a camera with only one button could cause so much confusion, bless her!! At one point she even took a photo of the woman sat behind her!! After several attempts we handed the camera to a younger cousin and finally got a half decent shot.

It was a great opportunity to use the number stamp that came with the kit too.

I've now got the official wedding photos and have made a start on the album...watch this space for the first couple of layouts!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Beks xxx

Good Old Fashioned Fun

2011-05-27T08:55:00.000+01:00

This page came together quite quickly, I think I did it the night before I started placement.....it was like a last fix before I went cold turkey!!!

I love it when I find cool boy papers, and these were perfect for this pic of Max playing snakes and ladders with Wes and Jess. This had to be scrapped because it's rare to see Max not glued to a screen!! And he looked sooooo cute!

TFL xx

Toybox

2011-05-26T10:51:00.001+01:00

Just to prove to you that I do scrap with other collections than 'Emma's Shoppe' here's a quickie post of a layout using 'Toybox'. Ok, it's still a Crate collection, but hey, they're good, what can I do?!
Such a cute picture of Jake, posing as usual!!

TFL xx

Quick Fix

2011-05-25T09:45:00.000+01:00

Sometimes when I need a quick crafty fix on an evening, and I just don't have the brain power to do a layout, I whizz together a couple of quick cards. These were particularly satisfying as they gave me that fix after a stressful day but also allowed me to use up some scraps and other bits and pieces.
Some SC kit leftovers and an acetate flower I made ages ago.

Some random scraps.

And the last little scraps of last months SC kit plus a few other bits.

And it is always good to have a little stash of cards for emergencies, especially when you have as much on your mind as I do right now....no getting caught out forgetting birthdays for me!! xx

Hairspray!

2011-05-23T12:37:00.000+01:00

After I went to see Hairspray a few weeks ago, I just couldn't resist buying the soundtrack. It's so cheesy and perfect for singing along to in the car (I'm one of those drivers you probably laugh at when you pull up at traffic lights!!) So one day I was listening to it and one of the song lyrics gave me inspiration for a layout title. I thought of a photo I could use and started the layout.....then, half way through, it occured to me that there was a better photo I could use, so I did this layout......

My Mum on her 60th birthday. Another one using Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe (not many more now I promise!!) Of course this left me with the dilemma of thinking of a new title for the original layout, but I kept it simple and was able to use up a couple of number stickers at the same time....

This one using Echo Park For The Record which I haven't actually managed to use much of yet. I'm sure the wedding photos will give me opportunities to really use it up!

TFL xxx

I'm Back

2011-05-22T10:58:00.002+01:00

Good Morning Blogland! Apologies once again for my absence....this week has gone by in a bit of a daze. I officially taught my first few lessons this week whilst still trying to recover from the exhausting (but perfect) wedding weekend. I'm not able to bore you with the photos yet as I don't have any, I was too busy with my Maid of Honour duties to take any, but my BIL was the official photographer and as soon as the happy couple return from their honeymoon and see the photos, I'll be allowed to see them and they will begin appearing on many layouts!

When I got home from school on Thursday I was in the mood to scrap so I sat down and this layout came together really easily. It feels like months since that happened! Typical that my mojo returns when I have no time to make the most of it!
I'm getting down to the dregs of Emma's Shoppe now but it was just perfect for this layout, pretty enough to go with Jess's beautiful skirt but not too girly for my handsome nephew!

I've just photographed lots of layouts that I did a couple of weeks ago so I will schedule some posts throughout this week for you to enjoy!

Happy Sunday xx

Document 2011 April

2011-05-14T15:26:00.000+01:00

I thought I would be super organised and schedule a little post for you while I am at the wedding! With everything going on this month I wanted to keep right on top of my Document 2011 project so here are April's pages......

In the pocket my ticket from Hairspray (which was awesome by the way!!) a picture that Jake did for me, a card that I had with a present and a flyer from the spa that me and Em went to.
The focus page just had to be Emma's hen night. The photos came out really well considering it was dark. That isn't really Prince William...apparently he was at a little party of his own that night!!! And by the time you read this she will be a married woman!!

I had so many things to choose from for the divided pages this month which made life a bit easier!

I'm glad I have the wedding to scrap about for May because with all the work I am a little worried that pictures may be a little thin on the ground!

Back soon to bore you with the wedding snaps!!

TFL xxx

POTD

2011-05-13T09:00:00.000+01:00

It seems like so long ago now but the Royal Wedding was such a lovely occasion. In true Norman fashion, we had a little bit of a party and of course I made sure I took plenty of photos so that the moment could be captured in my albums.

So today is my project of the day over on the Frog blog, if you'd like to see how I made this layout........ Head on over there now.

Tomorrow is the big day so I am in full on Maid of Honour mode and have a very busy day ahead so I best dash.

Bye xxxx

Bunches

2011-05-10T10:13:00.000+01:00

Hi Blogland, life is very busy around here at the moment it's my first proper week of placement and my best friend is getting married in just 4 days time so this will be a quick post to share a layout that I did over the bank holiday weekend.

I took these photos of my little cousin having her hair done because when she was little all she wanted was to have long hair and bless her, it took a loooooong time for it to grow, her twin brother's hair grew really quickly and whenever he had to have it cut my aunty would have to pretend to cut Chloe's too just so she wouldn't feel left out! So these photos just had to be scrapped!
I used the April SC kit and took inspiration from a couple of different layouts in the Scrapbook Inspiration Ideas Book which over a year on I still find myself going back to for ideas....I really miss it!!

TFL xxxx

Happy Birthday Mum!

2011-05-08T09:00:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday Mum xxxxxxx

Looking Windswept

2011-05-06T11:23:00.001+01:00

I'm back with yet another layout that I did in the school hols! This one is me and my little cousin Ted at the top of Pew Tor, one of my favourite places ever. He is only 3 and made the climb look easy...such a little star. When he got to the top he told me 'It's a bit windy' so I knew that would have to be the title of this page!
Done using April's SC kit and a few extra bits.

TFL xx

The Very Camp Pink Wheelbarrow!!!

2011-05-04T11:28:00.000+01:00

A bit of a fun layout using some pics that I found from last summer. My big bro pushing me around the garden in his very camp pink wheel barrow! They just made me crack up!
I used some of the bolder papers from Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe. Inspired by a sketch from the Sketches2Scrapbook App.

TFL xx

Too Cute

2011-05-02T11:18:00.002+01:00

Another page from the same walk as the 'Sneaky Drink' page.....

We were walking along a country lane when we heard this little cutie bleating away from behind a gate.
We went to look at it and take a few photos and realised that there were no other sheep in the field. Luckily the farmer came along and spotted it and told us that he was miles out of his way, poor little thing! I'm just glad the farmer came along cos I don't think I'd have been able to leave him!

Layout using April Studio Calico kit and quite a bit of handcutting!!

TFL xx

April Blog Hop

2011-04-30T09:00:00.001+01:00

Welcome to April's Banana Frog blog hop. This month's theme is Spring. I used a couple of different stamp sets for these tags.....
When I looked at my stamps I was quite surprised at just how many stamps were appropriate for Spring....so versatile!

For something a bit different I used some scraps of fabric to stamp on. They give the tags a nice bit of texture.

And I stuck to fresh spring colours. These should look great on presents for lots of special occasions that I have coming up this month!

Right, don't forget to leave a comment....who knows you might win some stamps! Now hop on over to Lory's blog to see what treats she has in store for you!

Beki xx

Disaster Averted

2011-04-29T16:34:00.000+01:00

At the moment I'm really enjoying scrapping some old photos that belonged to my grandparents, mainly of my Dad and aunty as children.

This page very nearly ended in disaster when I managed to spill juice on it.....obviously was not paying attention to my own 'no drinks on the desk' rule! Luckily it wasn't too bad and I managed to save it...you'd never know now!
I think my Dad had probably grown out of his high chair at this point but if he was anything like he is now they probably squeezed him in it to make him sit still for 5 minutes!

Layout done using Echo Park 'For The Record'.

TFL xxx

Naughty!

2011-04-27T11:10:00.000+01:00

As ever my Easter holidays weekend away with the family gave me plenty of photo ops and I have already found time to scrap a couple of them.

This one was very funny, we went for a walk and some of the boys decided to go the long way round, us girls didn't fancy the look of it so we took the easy route and arranged a place to meet. Conveniently the meeting place was in the village so when we arrived and found the boys hadn't yet, we decided to pop into the pub for a swift half! We felt like naughty school girls in the pub garden waiting for the boys to spot us!
It was slightly less funny when my cousin Em found glass in her drink...but that's a whole other story!

I did the layout using the Feb kit from Studio Calico.

TFL xx

Organised

2011-04-25T10:59:00.002+01:00

Hey blogland! Happy Easter...hope you are having a great weekend. I can't quite believe it's the last day of the school hols, I have had the best time and really made the most of the break but it has still gone far too quickly!

Tomorrow I start on my next placement....over the next term and a half it's going to be taking up a fair amount of my time so my apologies if my blogging becomes even more sporadic than it already is! In a bid to be organised I have spent some time making some cards ready for the next couple of months.

First a wedding card....less than 3 weeks to go now, exciting!!
One for my bestie whose birthday is in June.....

And one for the other bestie (the bride!!) whose birthday is just a few days before the wedding!

And another friend who has a birthday in June......

I'm looking forward to spending a quiet day at home today, the last two weeks have been great fun but a little manic so I need to wind down and get my head back into work mode!!

Have a great day xxx

Something A Bit Different

2011-04-14T14:18:00.000+01:00

Just a quickie post with a layout I did last week. I was a bit inspired to do something a bit different so I used 3 photos, something I rarely do, and hardly any papers, just some mists, ink and die cuts, and a bit of bakers twine for good measure. They were really cool photos so I think the simplicity does them justice. TFL xx

POTD

2011-04-13T11:06:00.001+01:00

Check out the Banana Frog blog today to see my project of the day.
Happy Wednesday xx

Document 2011 March

2011-04-11T13:22:00.000+01:00

It's that time again! I'm really trying to keep on top of this project in March and April as I know that May and June might not happen until a bit later cos I will be on placement and don't expect to be getting much scrapping done then! Lets just hope I have time to do stuff to document!!! So anyway, back to March. The pocket page, using March SC kit. Not much in the pocket this time. The focus page had to be about our recent family tree discovery. My uncle managed to trace my Dad's paternal Grandmother's line back over 40 generations uncovering all sorts of royalty, including William the Conqueror! I mixed in a bit of Crate Portrait with the SC kit for this one.

A close up of the detail, I livened up the Kraft CS with some cream and blue mists and some bumblebees stamped in Versamark.

These pocket pages are turning out to be a bit of a pain! I started them because I loved the look of ones I saw on other peoples blogs from last year, but as I was saying to some Twitter friends yesterday, they just seem to be really time consuming and difficult to think of ideas that are a bit different on such a small canvas. But hey, my OCD nature won't let me abandon them so I've just got to get on with it!! They are also a right pain to photograph but I've done my best!!

Some fun at uni and Stella looking very cute!

Hannah's birthday, the boys being little monkeys and Dad filling out the Census!

Before you know it I will be back to share April's pages!!!

TFL xx

Sarah's Cards April Sketch

2011-04-10T19:07:00.002+01:00

We are only a couple of days into the Easter hols and I am already making the most of the plentiful scrapping time! Yesterday I thought I'd have a go at the Sarah's Cards sketch challenge. I used Crate Paper Toybox collection for this photo of Max messing about with the hose pipe last summer! I managed to squeeze in lots of different techniques, some paper ruffling, machine and hand stitching and a spot of misting/flicking. TFL xxx

The Guestbook

2011-04-07T16:23:00.000+01:00

As some of you know in just over 5 weeks time I will be Maid of Honour to my best friend Emma. I promised her and David that I would make the guestbook as part of their wedding present. So here it is... I used Echo Park Be Mine which just fitted so well with the colour scheme.

I bought that weding cake stamp at the Gogo Getaway with this in mind so it was great to finally use it!

The guests will write their messages on tags which fit in pockets on and between the pages.

I found a tutorial for making origami heart pockets on the Crate blog (I know I'm a bit obsessed!!)

This is the tag for the box.

And here it is all wrapped up and ready to go.

Just hope they like it!

TFL xx

Just Max

2011-04-05T12:19:00.000+01:00

Just a quickie to share another Crate inspired layout with you. I saw this Lego brick misting idea on the Crate blog and I knew I had to use it on a page about my Lego obsessed nephew. I was quite experimental with this one, there are bits that work better than others but overall I'm pleased with th result. TFL xx

Happy Mothers Day

2011-04-03T09:17:00.000+01:00

This is the card I made for my lovely Mum..... Happy Mothers Day Mum, Love you xxxx TFL xx

Hooray For The Weekend!

2011-04-02T09:59:00.005+01:00

I am soooo glad it's saturday! It's been a pretty mad couple of weeks, lots of work, busy at school and on the edge of my seat waiting for news of my next placement, which I finally got on wednesday this week. I'm really happy with it, it seems like a lovely school and I got year 1 which I am very happy about! Yesterday I handed over a project that I've been working on since Christmas. A book for a friends Dad's 80th. It was quite hard work, I do find working with other peoples photos harder as you don't always know the stories behind them and the sentimental attachment isn't there but I did my best and she was over the moon. Infact she showed it to most of the staff and the comments were quite overwhelming *blushes* and after that a couple of people were trying to think of excuses for me to make them one! Anyway, I have had a little time for a spot of scrapping, I have such a stack of new stash that I really need to get properly stuck into, roll on the Easter hols! Here's a page I did inspired by something I saw on the Crate paper blog, if you haven't checked it out you really should their DT produce some really awesome work. So here it is.... Some pics of my Dad as a child, he would have been 3 in these photos. I was so pleased that my Nanny had written the date on the back of the photos.

It's quite scary how much he looks like my sis and my nephew at the same age!

Also pinched some of my sis' Mr Huey's Mist in white (can't remember the exact name of the colour and can't be bothered to go upstairs and check!)

Am well chuffed with this layout, think it's a style I'll be trying to develop a bit further.

Happy Saturday xxx

Apologies for the lack of spacing in this post, I did use paragraphs but blogger had otehr ideas!

March Blog Hop

2011-03-29T20:48:00.004+01:00

It's almost the end of the month and time again for the Banana Frog Blog Hop. It's almost scary how quickly they roll around!! This months theme is birds so I've come up with a little something using the Shake Your Tail Feathers tadpole set. They are really simple, just stamped (and coloured in in the case of the peacock) and cut out..... I used beads threaded on cotton to make cute dangly legs. They can be used for loads of different projects, cards, embellishments for layouts etc.

But I think mine look cute just dangling away on the shelf above my desk :-)

Leave a comment to be in with the chance of winning some Banana Frog stamps and then move on to the next blog which is Audrey's

TFL xx

Ooooh check out the frog blog for last months winners too xx

Into The Woods

2011-03-27T11:04:00.000+01:00

I'm back with a couple of LO's that I've done with this months Studio Calico kit. This kit is so yummy! First I did this page of Sarah and Sam messing about with a didgeridoo!! It did not sound good!!
Next I did this page of Wes at Kerries 21st. He couldn't really dress up cos he was only staying for a little while then going straight to work!

I used the chipboard stars as a mask and then added some bee stamps in brown.

TFL xx

That Friday Feeling

2011-03-25T15:52:00.003Z

On Wednesday I was super organised and took and uploaded photos which I was going to blog and schedule straight away.....well surprise, surprise it didn't happen! So now I've got a quiet half hour with my feet up I thought I'd share with you.

I know by now you are probably sick of my Peter Kay photos but here's another! This time it's Kerrie with her merchandise tea towel!
I used my sparkling new Emma's Shoppe collection from Crate (have also got Toy Box and Portrait, coming to a layout near you soon!)

Lots of layering, some cute alphas that I've had for donkeys and my gorgeous SU 'Bliss' stamp.

So this weekend is starting off with an evening with my bestie, followed by two days of catching up with some uni work, working on the 80th book and watching the first GP of the season (excited about that!) Just deciding whether I am a big enough fan to set my alarm for 7am on Sunday to watch the race??

Back with more pages soon xx

Sarah's Cards Sketch

2011-03-23T10:05:00.003Z

Just a quick post to let you know I haven't dissappeared and to show you this layout that I did for the Sarah's Cards sketch challenge.
It's quite different to the sketch but I like it!! I used a Heidi Swapp mask to ink the heart onto Glazed CS and outlined it with machine stitching.

Back soon with a couple more layouts xxx

Banana Frog POTD

2011-03-13T09:37:00.001Z

Pop over to the Banana Frog Blog to check out my DT post and find out how to make these......
Happy Sunday xxx

Stash Busting

2011-03-11T10:56:00.000Z

Last week I was sorting through my stash, I keep my more recent purchases beside my desk in bags according to collection so they are ready to go, so anyway I was going through them and I found the Mix and Mend that I bought at the Getaway, there was virtually a whole sheet of banner stickers left as well as some letter and shape stickers but only a couple of scraps of paper. So on my day off when I was a bit short of inspiration I decided to challenge myself to use up some of the stickers. This is what I came up with........
Looking back at it now I think I should have done the same misting at the top but mirrored (IYSWIM!?!) but it's too late to do anything about it now!!

All in all I'm fairly pleased with the outcome plus it feels really good to use up some old stash.

TFL xx

Document 2011 February

2011-03-09T17:16:00.002Z

I can't believe it's March already.....this year is going far too fast! So I'd better share my document 2011 pages for Feb before another month rolls around!

My pocket page is pretty packed this time......
A ticket from Calendar Girls, party invitations, and a sorry letter written by a little boy in school who was rude to me....I just had to keep it, it did make me chuckle!

My focus page is of three of my nephews at my SIL's bday party. Dan was actually the DJ but Jake and Max were desperate to help him and Max was soooo funny having a lil boogie with the headphones on, bless!

Lots of things in the pockets.....busy month! Tickets arrived for Hairspray in April, my Aunty's bday, and a family lunch.

My SIL's party, puppy sitting, choosing the bridesmaid dress and working hard!

Am a bit worried at the moment that March is looking a bit sparse so far but there's plenty of time yet!

TFL xxx

Bit of A Twist

2011-03-05T14:31:00.002Z

I thought I take a break from my weekend of essay writing to share a layout that I did a couple of weeks ago. I've had this photo of me and my niece on a half finished layout for AGES and it became obvious that it just wasn't happening so I took it apart and waited for fresh inspiration to strike. When I saw this months SC kit it finally came to me.

There were loads of pretty papers and one sheet with baubles on it, so it kind of became a Christmas layout with a twist, not your average Christmas layout!

So here it is......
Lots of pretty detail and the title comes from 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' which is from my very fave Christmassy film, Meet Me In St Louis.

Just had news that my new SC kit has been dispatched so fingers crossed it'll be here by the end of the week. Now to clear my to do list so I have time to play with it!

TFL xxx

4 In One Go!

2011-03-03T11:52:00.001Z

On Friday I had a day of crafty fun planned with my sis and our lovely friend Kirsty. I was pretty tired after a busy half term and thought I would get nowhere.....how wrong was I! The first layout went slowly but after that they just started flowing out of me and I completed two and a half by the time the others went home then I went on to finish the third and start a fourth in the evening! Not bad considering I had thought I had no inspiration!

These aren't in order but I did this one with my feb gogo kit. It's my niece Hannah when we went to the CIA to see Peter Kay.......
This one was with the SC Dec kit, also a photo from the same night! You have to love those scribble stickers!

A third layout of yes, you guessed it, our Cardiff adventure (I have managed to get so many layouts from that trip!) also from the SC Dec kit.

And finally my Dad and BIL messing around at a fancy dress party. Used Feb SC kit for this one....

Good job I got loads done as I am so snowed under with uni work this week that I've got no hope of scrapping much any time soon!

TFL xx

ETA the scribble stickers are by KI Memories, I got them in my December Studio Calico kit so don't know if you can get hold of them in the UK

Blog Hop

2011-03-02T21:50:00.002Z

Just to let you know winners from the Blog Hop have been chosen so keep an eye out on the Banana Frog Blog to find out if you have won a set of stamps. Thanks for all your lovely comments xxx

What A Load Of Scrap

I Do Still Scrap....Honest!!

Month in Numbers: January

Specsy

Beware....This is VERY Cute!!!!

Inspire...The Layout!

Festive Treats!!

Have You Seen This??

More Wedding Pages

Inspiration

Something New

2012

2011 A Round Up

Document 2011: December

Document 2011:November

A Few More.....

It's Done!

No You're Not Seeing Things, I Am Blogging!!

It Only Took A Year..... *photo heavy*

Two of a Kind

Document 2011: September

Flying Visit

New Stuff!

Kirsty's Anniversary Blog Hop

*Gifted*

Project of the Day

Make and Create Guest Designer

Document 2011 August

August Blog Hop

A Saturday How To....

See No, Hear No, Speak No!

A Mini Success

Shimelle Challenges: 3 is The Magic Number

Shimelle Challenges: Stickery Challenge

Shimelle Challenges: Colour Story

Shimelle Challenges: Half Page

Shimelle Challenges: From The Heart

Layer Cake

Better Luck Next Time

Shimelle Challenges: Grid It Up

Shimelle Challenges: Starting Point

Shimelle Challenges: Signature Accent

Lush

Happy Birthday

Challenge Time

Simple But Effective

Document 2011 July: The Rest

Just A Card!

Document 2011 July: The Focus Page

A Little Something for a Little Someone (or two!)

July Blog Hop

Document 2011 June

Keeping A Secret

Dry Spell

Love CHA Time

Like These....

Progress

Short and Sweet

A Happy Couple

Uh Oh

Over Worked and Underpaid

Project of The Day

Document 2011 May

Cute

The Start of a Big Project

Several Attempts

Good Old Fashioned Fun

Toybox

Quick Fix

Hairspray!

I'm Back

Document 2011 April

POTD

Bunches

Happy Birthday Mum!

Looking Windswept

The Very Camp Pink Wheelbarrow!!!

Too Cute

April Blog Hop

Disaster Averted

It Only Took A Year..... photo heavy

Gifted