Library of Memories

From this.....

...to this....

....in one evening!!

I have been wanting to incorporate Stacy Julian's Library of memories philosophy since reading her "Big Picture Scrapbooking" book a couple of years ago. Then I got her "photo freedom" book earlier this year, and I knew I definitely wanted to do this!! I was finding it hard to deal with the photo side of the plan, so decided to bite the bullet (phrase of the month) and get the LOs sorted. So I bought 4 American Crafts D ring 12x12 albums, and set about last night taking all my LOs out from their original albums and reorganising them and placing them in their new home :) So I went down from about 8 albums to 4, although I need another one already as my All About Us album is on the full side ;) I love that I can get all page sizes into the albums. I also loved looking over my past LOs, seeing how my approach has changed, and seeing what kind of things I tend to scrap - it seems that people and events are top of the list LOL. Maybe this will encourage me to look for other things to scrap - my Everyday things section is seriously lacking...

Tomorrow we are having a visit from Jo and her boys, which is always fun :) Right now I am waiting for the serviceman to finish servicing the boiler and checking the smoke alarm so I can go to Tesco to get milk and yummy stuff for us to eat tomorrow..

ttfn

xxx

I've been a bad, bad blogger....

...*hangs head in shame* - I know, I have neglected my poor old blog. It's a cliche, but time flies, and the past month has fairly whizzed by. A few things have happened though...

The Norty Crew meet in Blackpool was one of the best weekends I have ever had in my life!! The girls were all lovely, and a complete scream. We got a full days crop in a conference room in the Hilton (where we were staying), the food was amazing and the company just couldn't be beat! I have not eaten, laughed or stayed up late as much as we did in a LONG time, it took me a week to recover !!

I managed to do a board book and a LO during the crop.

The board book is a Maya Road - I cut the spine as I knew it would end up fat LOL, so used my BIA to bind it at the end. Its all done with a BG Archaic 6x6 paper pad. The poem is "Now we are six" by A.A Milne. I was inspired to do this after seeing a book using this poem on the homepage of UKScrappers in August.

This LO uses all BG Archaic range - I bought one of the purple pizza boxes from my LSS, a DO craft promotional thing, with a selection of papers, a box of buttons, brads and chipboard accents :) The title is Sizzlit Chunky font cut out in funky foam - I made my own thickers LOL.

Since then I have been in a creative downer - completely devoid from creativeness, not able to find motivation at all. Due to a few reasons I think -

• Mark left 10 days ago for 6 weeks in the sand


• I have been suffering with an unshakable cold (which spookily started as Mark departed)


• the kids are on a 2 week half term, and I am just worn out


• just looking in my cubbie made me groan, as it was a pigsty and I couldn't get in it, and I couldn't be bothered to tidy it

The lack of creativity makes me feel bleurgh which in turn makes me feel even less creative - a vicious circle I just have to bite the bullet to break.

I finally broke it this weekend. Tom has a party to go to, so I had a card to make, so I had to tidy up the cubbie. So I tidied, then I crafted - and did the card, and felt sooooo much better. I got the creative juices flowing again and it felt good.

I then decorated some candles with Christmas clip art images from PCcrafter.com.

I then got working on another board book. I had originally begun this a couple of weeks back, but nothing more had been done since. It is a book about memories from my childhood. As I sat there working, my mind began to wander and lots of suff came into my head - about things I had in my home as a child, about the sweets I loved, about things we did. I got a notebook out and started making lists, and then something I wrote made me think of Papa - my maternal grandfather. I sat and wrote 2 pages of journalling about him and I just know that its a LO I need to do asap.

For now the flood gates seem to be open, and I hope I can get back to doing pages again quickly - I haven't scrapped a proper page yet this month.

I managed to finish off my Shimelle album (a 4x4 so not "proper" pages iykwim !) and I was so glad I perservered with it, and its a smashing little book, even if I say so myself LOL.

I really enjoyed having a sketh to follow each day. I think I may use the sketches again for my Christmas journal, if Shimelle doesn't do sketches for it this year. Sometimes I find it hard enough to follow the prompt, without having to think about the page design too... I am already thinking of papers for this though - may get a co ordinated paper pack and some stickers... more stash spending... I was doing well with that until today, when I bought 4 stamps (2 journalling, 2 definition) from one site, 2 American Crafts 12x12 D ring albums and a US scrapbook magazine from another, and then Monica left a link on our team thread to a bargain on QVC which I then bought.. LOL. But in my defence, the stamps were to replace some that had been damaged in my cubbie, the albums I have been after for a while (so I can set up my Library of Memories) and the magazine is one I haven't had before. The QVC stuff was a real bargain, and if its not to my taste it'll become part of my Mum's Christmas present....

If you got this far, then congratulations!!! I know I am not the best updater in the world, but when I do update, boy do you know about it tee hee hee...

ttfn
xxxx

September

Crikey, September already....

What I have been up to so far in September -

• I became one year older
• I started playing netball again
• I joined a Pilates class - first one was last night, so far so good :)
• doing Shimelle's "Learn something new every day" class, and actually managing to keep up to date - bought a great kit from Shimelle to do this class with, and its a 4" x 4" format which is making this project sooooo much easier and quicker ;)
• making up page kits, and mini book kits to take to our UKS team get together in Blackpool next week - NEXT WEEK!!!!! So, so excited about this. And hoping and praying that Anne will be there with us too :)
• getting far too excited about above weekend, and also about seeing Amanda again :)
• trying to research some family history
• enjoying walking trails, bike rides and counting slugs with the family this past weekend :)
• learning alot about rivers courtesy of a P6 project...
• making christmas present lists - not entirely my doing or my suggestion, more like a "keeping hubby happy by making a list" list :P
• trying not to think about Mark going away in October :(
• spending far too much money on stash for my liking LOL
• did I mention looking forward to the weekend in Blackpool.... :P
• oh, and last but not least a little bit of scrapping.....

I did this one today, when I saw the BG Archaic range I knew that it was perfect for Tom - dinosaurs and orange, what more can I ask??? And to get a chipboard orange dinosaur, well that tipped the balance and that's why I ended up with the stash in the first place...

Cardstock is Bazill Kraft, and the rest is Basic Grey :) LO based on a pagemap from Becky Fleck's book "Scrapbook Pagemaps".

ttfn

xxx

A few more things to share...

...as I have had a productive crafting week :) Helps when the kids are back at school :P

Really trying to finish off this NZ album now, as I am determined that I will not be taking NZ photos to our team get together in September :)

Not much to say today, I think I talk too much anyway LOL, so all I will say is that the following LOs are all based on Pagemaps :)





I did another 2, but I think 4 is enough to bore you with today - it's getting to be a bit like the dreaded holiday slide evenings of the 70s...

So that's my annual total up to 73 :)

Continuing to strive for balance, although most of the time I am like Bambi on ice.....

ttfn

xxxx

More LOs to share...

... and more of New Zealand :)

First LO is from Christchurch, at the caravan park we stayed at. Kids and play equipment eh?


I used a July 2007 pagemap, the papers are Sweetwater and Paperloft. I added a bit of ribbon, and some rik rak and the title are foam thickers alphas :)

The DLO uses photos from one of the most unexpected finds of our holiday. We rounded a corner on the Arthur's Pass road, to see a Lake completely frozen. There were people on the ice on skates, with babies in bathtubs, so Mark thought it would be good to stop and have a go, seeing as he had never been on a frozen lake before.... So the 2 of them went to explore, walking on the ice in trainers - with me stood back on the hard, non slippy, safe ground LOL, armed with my camera and a 10x zoom :)


I used a November 2007 pagemap, Kraft bazzill, and Urban Lily paper. I used a zig pen to continue the black curved lines from the paper, and added MM flowers and buttons. The large flower came from a Little Silver Hat kit, and the centre of the flower is a MM chipboard accent. The title uses American Crafts Stickers.

Hoping to get some more LOs finished this week - and with the kids going back to school, I should find a bit more time to do it LOL. I can't believe the holidays are nearly over, this summer has gone so fast...

ttfn

xxx

Keep that mojo working!!!!

Seems my mojo has come back from holidays refreshed and raring to go LOL. Another 2 LOs done for the New Zealand album - I am sure going to miss it when its done!!
This DLO is of Pancake rocks - Mark was obsessed with catching the waves splashing up on the rocks on camera, he spent ages stood there with MY camera trying to get the perfect shot LOL. But it was a truly amazing sight, the scenery was unbeatable.

I used K&Co Wild Saffron papers, kraft cardstock, and a MM journalling page. Title is using foam thickers, and the stamps are Autumn Leaves. This is based on a pagemap from Becky Fleck's book - this is from page 63:)

The next LO uses a photo taken at Shantytown. Whilst Mark and I were dressing up in period costume, the kids were adamant they were staying in their nice warm 21st century clothes thank you very much LOL. So they amused themselves with the 1860's props dotted around the saloon - namely the piano and a huge shotgun :s

I used an April 2008 Pagemap, bazzill card and Daisy D's papers. The title is foam thickers, that I inked with cats eye ink, but it didn't dry, and I ended up getting ink everywhere, so I covered them in 3D gloss to stop the mess :) The flowers and brads are from Little Silver Hat kits :)

Finally, I can show you the other mini book I did last week :) Now I know that it safely reached my teamie Sharon all the way in Michigan, I can share it:)

I used K&Co Wild Saffron papers and tags, and then went to town on the cover with leaves, blossoms and a birdie :)
I'm glad she liked it, and can't wait to see it when she has put some photos in it :)

I must get cracking with some organising - I am half way there with my photos, getting some albums to stick my scrapping fodder in to get them out of envelopes :) I also have 5 pizza boxes in my craft room - which ain't a big space - filled with kits that I haven't had a chance to use yet....

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xxxx

Getting back on track...

My scrapping has certainly taken a back seat over the past couple of months, and so it was really nice to be able to sit down on Friday night and get some LOs done. Two more for the New Zealand part deux album LOL.

Whilst on South Island, we visited a place called Shantytown, on the West Coast near Greymouth. It was mid winter, cold and very damp, and the place was almost deserted, but we still had a great time, looking at the buildings and shops recreating the 1860's - Gold Rush era. We even got to pan for gold - we all came home with a tiny bottle with gold flakes in the bottom, and panning is not as easy as it looks :)

The LO was done using an April 2008 pagemap. I used bazill card, and Chloe's Closet paper. Braid is from a Little Silver Hat kit, and the title is American Crafts foam thickers :)

The second LO is also from Shantytown. In the Saloon, there was a photographer, taking sepia photos in period costume. Mark thought this was a great idea, persuading me that it would be fun.... Hmmm.... Well, I got given a skirt and a corset top, both of which were about 8 sizes too big, so I was pinned together with about 25 safety pins, to get it to look right. I was wearing walking boots, so I had to go barefoot - and it was not the warmest days of the year, so I was absolutely freezing LOL. Mark fared better with the clothes, but was not as enamoured with the hat, as it did make him look like Stan Laurel LOL. The photographer had quite an old DSLR, and actually, my little Fuji S5700 took better photos than hers, so she kindly took some with my camera too, and we also bought the proper print she did for us ;)

The LO is done using a June 2008 pagemap. The card is Bazzill, with the hearts already punched out. The paper is Junkitz. I used thin organza ribbon from my vast ribbon collection, and the title is using foam thickers again :) The flower ribbon slide came from a Little Silver Hat kit :) I inked this LO within an inch of its life ;)

It's so good to get a couple of LOs under my belt, hopefully this is the springboard to help me get back into the swing, and to reach 100 LOs for the year :)

ttfn

xxxxx

Finally back...

... after my holidays and the week or so it takes to get over a holiday LOL :) Plus I didn't have anything crafty to share - and I'm sure you'll get to see my holiday snaps over the coming months anyway LOL

The first bit of crafting I have done is a minibook - instructions were given by Annette (Voodoo Vixen) on the homepage of UKScrappers on Monday showing 2 different minibooks. I chose to do the square book, and thought it would make a nice gift for our cousin whose wedding we attended at the end of July :)

I used Papermania 8x8 card, and Basic Grey Sultry 6x6 pad - went fantastic with the photos :) I added a few mini prima flowers, and used American Crafts foam thickers on the front cover. The ribbon I think came in a Little Silver Hat kit.

It's taking me a while to get back into the swing of crafting and scrapping - I ordered 919 photos from Photobox when we got back, and have only just organised them into an album so I can see what I want to scrap. With the kids on holidays still, it's all go, and at the end of the day I feel shattered after all our activities. When the kids are back at school, and we are back into our old routines I think that I shall feel up to scrapping more - I hope so !!

ttfn

xxxx

Tagged, teachers gifts, LO, cards and dodgems....

... phew, lots to do today !!!

First things first - I was tagged by Jo (thanks, I think LOL) so here goes...

What was happening 10 years ago: Hmmm, July 1998... Well we were living in Forres, I was working part time in a local petrol station, and I was trying to get pregnant LOL, which by the end of July I was ;)

5 things to do today: Just 5??? OK, pick 5 from this lot.... Pay off visa bill, washing, ironing, get some ice cream for pudding tonight, blog (!!!!), make a wedding anniversary card, sew a button on some trousers, clean the inside of the car, sort clothes for holiday....

Snacks I like: Chocolate, obviously LOL - especially Mint Aeros, Minstrels and Revels hmmmm. Oh, and I am a bit partial to Lime and Coriander poppodums ;)

What would I do if I was a millionaire: Well, seeing as we are in a married quarter, I would first go and buy a house, nice and big, with room for a designated craft room, which I would then kit out :) I would also buy myself a little car - never owned my own car before. Then, if there was any money left I would buy a small holiday home in Christchurch, New Zealand :)

Places I have lived: Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, Forres, Gibraltar and Kinloss. Plus Peterborough, Doncaster, Kettering, Rotherham and Sheffield on placement during Uni.

So thats me, so now I have to tag some other people, so I choose,

Anne
Tinks
Paula
Monica
Amanda

Right, on to the next thing - teachers gifts :)

Nice and simple this year - buckets with a selection of goodies inside, like candles, chocolate, handcream etc. I just wrapped the buckets in sellophane and tied with ribbon. I have a couple of tags for the kids to both write on :)


Next up, a LO - I have not scrapped for over a week, which is quite unusual for me, I have enjoyed doing at least a LO a week this year, although I have completed alot more :)
Another LO for NZ vol 2 :P These seals were on rocks just off the side of the main East coast road, as we travelled from Picton to Kiakoura.
I used a pagemap from my lovely Pagemaps for scrapbooking book - this is based on page 20's map :)

I used Doodlebug papers, a scrap of white card, foam Thickers, PM page turns and brads, and some trim and a siler rimmed tag that I think came from one of the first Funky Kits kits !!

Next up a couple of cards :

First off, a wedding card for Mark's cousin whose wedding we are going to in a few weeks time :)
I used Papertrey inks "Piece of cake" set :) The card is silver, so I used white ink to stamp the cake flowers as a background, and to stamp the main cake image. Then used purple to stamp the flowers onto the cake :) I added some pearl tulip paint on the purple flowers, and some lilac organze ribbon :) The scan has not done this card justice, it looks better in real life ;)

The second card I made for my brother and sister-in-law, whose wedding anniversary is on the same day as the wedding we are attending LOL
I used a Sugar Nellie Little Cotton Rabbit stamp, as the pair of them are bunny bonkers - they have 3 rabbits and 2 guinea pigs :) I used a Studio G butterfly stamp for the border, and after watercolouring, added some Stickles to the wings :)

Well thats all the creative gumph out of the way, and seeing as my teamies over on UKS have been asking, here is a photo of me enjoying the dodgems at the Summer ball last Friday night :) Unfortunately you cannot see my dress properly, as I had my jacket on at this point - the alocohol hadn't warmed me up just then LOL

Cheerio for now, I am off on my hols on Friday, and won't be back for 3 weeks :) A bit of sunbathing in Turkey, followed by theme parks and a family wedding - plenty of photo opportunities and I am taking my holiday journal too :)

ttfn

xxxxx

Going through a blue phase...

....it seems this week LOL.
I am now onto the photos from South Island, and onto the second album... So this week I have been busy sorting photos, choosing pagemaps and making up page kits :) And I did manage to do a couple of LOs too, both using pagemaps from April 2008 :)

These photos were taken on the ferry from Wellington (North Island) to Picton (South Island), and the sea was flat calm, quite unusual for mid-winter :) I am not a good sailor at all, but the kids wanted to go to the front of the boat, so Mark took them, and took some cracking photos of both the kids and the views :)

I used Scenic Route paper, bazzill card, foam thickers, a journalling spot from a Gogo kit, some chipboard stars, Stickles and oodles of buttons :)

These are the views which awaited us as we crossed from East coast to West coast, in our campervan. We had to cross the Southern Alps, via Arthur's Pass, which we were quite worried about seeing as the roads close frequently during the winter. The snow came right down to raod level, and it is the first time I have seen snow in July - even living in Scotland LOL!!

I used Sassafrass Lass paper, bazzill card, ribbon was from a Little Silver Hat ribbon kit, foam thickers, a snowflake brad, and the journalling block is a Stamps Away! stamp I got in a kit from Scrummy Stash Cafe :) I put flat backed jewels round the journalling block ;)

This week has flown by, what with Sports Day, Brownie BBQ, work, taking the cat for her injections, and a Tang Soo Do competition.... Tom and Jemma had fun at sports day, Tom got a 3rd place sticker, but no stickers for Jemma, but smiles all round anyway. Mark did both the Dad's race and a tug of war, causing much merriment LOL.

Tom got a silver medal for his sparring at the TSD competition :) He is a yellow belt, quite junior compared to the brown and black belts of the others in his group, and he was beaten to gold by the black belt, so I am very proud of him today :) I came home to find some new Sugar Nellie stamps on my door mat - Karate Boy, and the Halloween set ;) I am hoping to make a mini book of Tom showing his progression through the belts, and the Karate boy will come in most useful....

ttfn

xxx

On a roll....

...makes a change!!!

I had this photo enlarged as I love it, but then had a hard time working out what I wanted to do with it. I am not a serial one-photo scrapper, and tend to use 4x6 or 4.5x6 photos. But flicking through my file of old Cybercrop classes, I found one that caught my eye, and I think it works :)

I based this LO on Mystic Nat's "Notions" class from the Harry Potter Cyber crop of November 2006. It was the first CC I took part in, and I did quite a few of the classes. The technique in this class was stamping onto acetate, and I used my Autumn Leaves Rhonna Farrer Swirls v2 and white Staz on :) The papers are Scrapworks and Basic Grey. I am not sure where the quote sticker is from, and the alpha stickers are Rusty Pickle.

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Maybe it was yesterday's date...

... as today I feel slightly more positive and feel a bit more in control, and I managed to finish off the LO that has been sat on my desk all week :)

The Haka was the one thing that I was looking forward to seeing when we visited New Zealand - I do have a fascination for foreign cultures and languages;)
Seeing the Haka on tv is nothing compared to seeing it performed in real life - I can see why the Maori people use it in battle. It was quite intimidating, and there were only 8 people doing it!!
Tom and Mark had a go too - I took video clips of them, no stills, which was a good job as they would have been blurry from the camera shaking as I was laughing so much !!

The LO was done using a May 2006 pagemap, the card is bazzill, and the patterned paper is We R Memory makers. The wooden embellishments I got from KiwiScraps in Wellington - the only scrapbook shop I visited in NZ... The title is cut with Sizzix Nouveau sizzlit alpha, and the buttons are papermania.
The journalling is the words to the Haka that the All Blacks rugby team use - "Ka mate".

I need to organise some pagekits now, as I think I am down to the last one now, and it makes my scrapping that much easier when I can sit and pull out a 12x12 baggie with photos, card and papers already put together:) I am still in limbo with the Photo Freedom, although I did start uploading photos to Photobox last night, and started to put heritage photos into a "traditional" photo album using photo corners.
I'm getting there, if a little slowly.....

ttfn

xxxx

Scrappers block.....

...is a bummer :(

Life has seriously got in the way the last couple of weeks - the calendar is jam packed for June, with sport competitions, scout camps, birthday parties, and end of term stuff, that I am constantly meeting myself coming back.

The huge box of photos has not helped either - I love my Photo Freedom book, but implementing the system is going to take time, although the start I have made is encouraging... But I just seem to be overwhelmed by it all. I have made a start on a LO this week, but don't seem to have the oomph to finish it off... Maybe I will over the weekend, with Mark and Tom at camp, and Jemma has a friend over for sleepover, I may just find an hour or two to get something done. I am almost out of page kits too, so I need to sit and sort some papers and sketches :) I also need to sort out a photobox order at some point too, and reorganise my LOs into my new D ring binder albums.... Can you see why I feel overwhelmed...?

ttfn

xxx

Finally back to scrapping!!!

After what seems like an eternity - but is probably only a couple of weeks - I have produced another LO for the New Zealand album :) Our trip to Auckland Zoo resulted in literally hundreds of photos, and I have already done a mini book of the animals, but still I keep finding more photos LOL. This DLO has 10 photos on it ;)


It is based on a DLO I saw in Creating Keepsakes " Super-Fast pages with 4x6 photos" - on page 113, by April Peterson. I switched the photos to be landscape, with space for journalling at the bottom of the LHS page.
The paper is Scenic Route Grafton - I went and bought 2 sheets especially for this LO :) I also used Kraft cardstock, American Crafts chipboard Thickers painted orange and some ribbon I got many moons ago from Little Silver Hat.

I recieved my Photo Freedom book in the post this morning, so I am hoping to sit down and start reading that this afternoon, maybe out in the garden as it is a beautiful day up here in the far north :)

ttfn

xxx

Mum's 60th album

Mum was so pleased with her album, and after filling in some journalling, I scanned in the pages :) So here is the finished album...

I used a Pagemap mini map, it made the whole album come together so quickly :) I used a Basic Grey 6x6 paper pad (Sultry), some white cardstock (8x8) , Autumn Leaves Swirls v2 stamps, and American crafts foam Thickers for the titles. I used Autumn Leaves journalling stamps, and a Zig pen to write the journalling. I put it all in a pink Paper Mania 8x8 album :)

I got my Pagemaps book in the post on Friday, and it is just fantastic, I love it!!! Not managed to do any scrapping since before my visitors arrived, but I know for sure I will be using the sketches from this book when I do get back into it:)

I also have a large box of photographs that my parents brought up with them - from my Gran's house. I have ordered Stacy Julian's Photo Freedom book, with a hope it may help me organise my photos better, as I am not very good at all LOL. I got a couple of paperchase photo albums over the weekend, and hope that they all fit in there....

ttfn

xxx

Another 2 layouts...

...completed whilst listening to the footie last night LOL.

More photos from New Zealand....

This is us on the luge at Rotorua - think of sledging, and then transfer it to concrete "racetracks" on a tea tray with wheels ....

I used a November 2005 pagemap, and bazzill card, Sassafrasslass papers and foam thickers :)

This is the kids at One Tree Hill Domain in Auckland - on a roundabout we call a Witches Hat, cos it looks like one LOL

I used an August 2006 pagemap for this one, and dug out my Basic Grey for this one :) Foam thickers make the title again :)

Almost finished the first album for New Zealand - a couple more LOs I think using photos from North Island, then its on to the South Island :) and another album.....

ttfn

xxxx

I reached my target...

... of 52 LOs in a year - I planned at the beginning of 2008 to endeavour to do a LO a week, and in reality I have achieved so much more :) This is the 52nd LO - another one for the New Zealand album :)

Tom at One Tree Hill Domain in Auckland, playing on the train with complete strangers, but so happy to push them round :)
The patterned papers are Creative Imaginations, the train is handcut from the reverse of the spotty paper and I used foam pads to raise it up a little on the LO. The title is foam thickers - how did I scrap without them ROFL :)

I have revised by target now, and my plan is now to have completed 100 LOs before the end of 2008, and to have 40 heritage LOs done too :) For me, heritage means anything pre me and Mark, and seeing as I have been with him now for 18 years I am regarding the first half of my life as "heritage" material LOL :) Mum, Dad and Kathryn are coming to visit next week, and they are bringing with them a huge box full of photos and documents that I "inherited" from my Gran - I don't think anyone else wanted them LOL. No idea where I am going to keep this huge box, but I am sure I will work something out. At this rate, I am going to need my own personal external hard drive just for my scrapbooking photos LOL. Mum will get her 60th Album too, and when that has had all its journalling in, I will scan in the pages and make a slide show ;)

I have added a couple more Slide shows at the bottom left of the blog - one has all my New Zealand LOs in it, and one has a selection of other LOs I have done this year :)

ttfn


xxx

Bad blogger..... A long post ....

... I can't believe it's over 2 weeks since I updated the blog - life just has this annoying habit of getting in the way :P I have been busy scrapping wise too - finding that trying to be creative a little bit everyday is helping me de-stress, which is no bad thing. I got Ali Edwards "Life Artist" book a couple of weeks back, and one of the things she advocates in her book is to try and incorporate creating stuff into your everyday routines. I can't say I've gone that far, but I'm trying LOL.

So here are my layouts from the past 2 weeks...

First up is a LO of Tom - yes it is that park in Levin AGAIN, and yes there is some orange, and yes I used Scenic Route papers and foam thickers LOL. And yes, it is a pagemap - from March 2007 :)


Next, a DLO featuring my DH Mark - seeing as he moaned that he isn't on enough of my pages.... These photos were taken on our holiday to the Dominican Republic in 1995, pre scrapbooking too, but I think I captured the demise of our lilo quite well LOL. A January 2007 pagemap this time, and the papers are Creative Imaginations, and not sure about the sand one. More foam thickers, and PM buttons, and a large prima blossom:)


Another LO of Mark, using recent photos this time :) Used a January 2008 pagemap for this one. Again, I used up very old papers, not sure of the makes, but used felt and foam thickers for the title :)

Last of the Mark only LOs (I think 3 is enough to keep him happy for now LOL). Used a May 2008 pagemap for this LO, and once more its photos from Levin, and using Scenic Route paper :P Added a collection of buttons from my stash, and the title is done with Scenic Route alpha stickers :)

Reading Ali Edwards blog a couple of weeks back, she did a series of posts about words and photos. I love telling a good story, and I love having a load of journalling on my pages - I have never shied away from journalling, for me the words are the most important thing. Her weekend creative for that week was to make a LO using just photos and words, and an odd embellishment if we liked. So I did this LO of my Dad. I added a strip of patterned paper too (SassafrassLass) but it is mainly words and the photos :) Oh and foam thickers ROFL, and a little prima birdie too :) I drew the border using a pencil crayon :)

Now it's my turn LOL. A LO I did for the May week 1 team challenge on UKS - the remit was to use a photo of yourself, use ribbons, have some visible journalling, and to either use a flower or a colour in the setting team's multicoloured blinkie :) Which I did, so claimed full points :) Paper is Rob n Bob studio, and the ribbon, rikrak, flowers and buttons all from my stash.

This one uses a particularly flattering photo of me - NOT lol. I used a sketch from week 2's challenge - see further down for the other LO I did for this challenge - and I turned it 90 degrees to do this LO. I used Sassafrasslass paper, the lace is from a Little Silver Hat kit, the flower is one I picked up in Au Naturelle, and the buttons are paper mania. The title is cut using Sizzlit Nouveau alpha :)

This is a heritage LO, with me, Grandad, Gran and a newborn baby brother :) I used an October 2006 pagemap for this one, the papers are Junkitz and Sassafrasslass, a Hambly frame overlay, and I used those pesky velvet thickers for the title - they don't stick very well, and they shed everywhere :(

This LO is the one I did for the May week 2 challenge on UKS - me doing 2 weeklies on the trot, now that must be a first LOL. They provided a Pencillines sketch to use, and also stipulated to use ribbon, stamping and doodling :) I doodled round the edge, stamped some lines to journal on, and used ribbon :) Full points claimed again... The paper I used as a background is Sassafrasslass - seem to be having a run on using their papers this week LOL.

Another LO using Sassafrasslass :) I went back and did the Stuntman class again from the Oscars cybercrop on UKS, as I loved it so much :) I used the KI memories lace card again, and the title is done with foam thickers - my 2 really are like Tiggers on acid when they get on our trampoline....

Finally, I did this LO last night. I used the LHS of a DLO pagemap from Novemver 2004 - this was one of the first pagemaps I ever used, and I loved it... then the love affair truly began LOL - and it was good to revisit it too :) This is us in our hard hats ready to go into some caves to look for glow worms :) I used Chatterbox and Crate Paper patterned papers, papermania buttons, and the ribbon is American Crafts, as are the thickers ;)

Now if you have got to the end without falling asleep, then give yourself a clap... I did warn you it would be a long post....

Hopefully I shall try and post more regularly, but I'm not promising, but thank you for stopping by my little piece of blogdom....

ttfn

xxx