Me & You

Things have been a little quiet here craft wise this week. The old mojo has had a little holiday, and I have not been feeling myself. But, I got back into my craft room and finished off a layout I started last week, using sketch #12 from Get Your Sketch On.



The photo is from a trip to Landmark, and is a rare photo - one of me and the kids, and also a photo of me that I actually like - a very rare photo indeed!

I went to town with my distressing tool, my pokey tool, and a needle and embroidery thread on this layout. Maybe a little too over enthusiastic with the handstitching...!!! I really had fun playing on this page - I got to ink up some stamps, I used a SVG cut file to make a flower, did a bit of handcutting and a spot of doodling. Just what the Doctor ordered! The heart stamp was a challenge prize from my fellow Sassy Pia - it is from a Swedish stamp company called Reprint. I love it!

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Patterned Paper: BasicGrey, Echo Park

Stamps: PaperTrey Ink, Reprint

Ink: Memento, Colorbox

Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts

Button: source unknown

Thread: DMC

SVG file: Laina Lamb

I am hoping that my mojo is back to stay for a bit - I have a pile of sketches that I am dying to use, plus a new sketch blog that I want to check out - Once Upon a ...Sketch. So many sketches, so little time...!!!

TTFN

xxxx

 

GYSO #11

This week, I have managed to play along with the girls at Get Your Sketch On.

As it is Tom's birthday today, it is only fitting that the layout is about him!

The photos are from Cove Bay, a small bay about 15 minutes walk along the coastal path from our village. There are lots of rocks to climb and explore, and little caves and tunnels carved in the rockface from the years of erosion from the sea.  Tom is a perfect size to fit in these holes. And he loves to explore them.

I pretty much stuck to the sketch, using 2 smaller photos instead of the one large one. The title was done using Sizzlit Chunkadelic alphabet dies, and a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I swiped a brown ink pad over them, and also outlined them with a brown Zig pen. I used my sewing machine to add a (wonky) stitched border.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants, Jillibean Soup

Punch: Martha Stewart

Chipboard elements:  BasicGrey

Button: PaperMania

Before I go, I have another Tom-ism. This morning, he was up early, so he could have his breakfast and still have plenty of time to open his presents, and start on building some of his new Lego sets. Anyway, he came through to our room after his breakfaast, and said "When I woke up, my tummy was full of butterflies. I still have butterflies in my tummy, but now they are covered in Weetabix... That feels weird"  Sometimes I look at him, and think "Where on Earth did that come from..."

TTFN

xxxx

GYSO #10 - Tyres

I am too late to link up Sketch #10 from Get Your Sketch On again this week! I knew I would be. But I went ahead and did the page anyway, as I do love their sketches and I knew exactly what photos I wanted to scrap when I first saw the sketch.

These photos were taken in the summer of 2005, when we visited Twin Lakes - a "theme" park near Melton Mowbray (home of the famous, and delicious, pork pie!). I say theme park, but it had large outdoor play parks, and 2 indoor play barns. And a petting zoo. And 2 boating lakes. And lots of things to keep kids, big and small, happy in all weathers...
The kids love any type of adventure playground, and they loved these tyre tunnels, quite the biggest ones they had ever seen. Bear in mind that we had only returned from Gibraltar the year before, and they had been quite deprived of adventurous playgrounds, as there aren't really any on the Rock ;)

I decided that I wanted to use up the remains of my Pasta Fagioli papers from Jillibean Soup. I cut a large circle by drawing round a dish and then, using a 1 inch circle punch, I punched out enough circles from my scraps to go round the edge. I handstitched them onto the large circle.

I then cut a rolled flower from Laina Lamb, using my Cricut. I bought these SVG files from Two Peas, as I have really caught the flower making bug. I know that SCAL and Cricut are a big talking point right now, but I am going to make the most out of both while I can ;) I rolled it up, and added some Stickles.
I stamped a leaf spray using VersaMark ink and a PaperTrey Ink stamp, onto Bazzill card, and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then handcut it out. I punched out some butterflies, using my Martha Stewart punch, and layered them up, adding Stickles to the wing edges.

I finished off the layout by adding the strip journalling, adding a doodled border using my Signo white pen, and adding the title - even using mismatched fonts!!

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Patterned Paper: Jillibean Soup

Stamp: PaperTrey Ink

Ink: VersaMark

Glitter Glue: Stickles

Digital cut file: Laina Lamb art and design

Stickers:American Crafts.

TTFN

xxxx



A Wintry Wednesday morning...

...here in the Highlands of Scotland. Luckily it is not enough to bring any disruptions or for snowmen, but it is the polar opposite to the lovely spring like weather we have had for the past week. I think Spring is having a little vacation...

I have a couple of layouts to share with you today. The first one is based on a sketch from Pencillines.



I had fun with this one, making some flowers by folding strips of paper and then adding buttons on top. I even made a lacy looking one by using a strip of paper I had punched with a Martha Stewart punch. I handcut some leaves out again, and handstitched some swirls using a template.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Patterned Paper: BoBunny Press, Making Memories, PaperMania

Stamp: PaperTrey Ink

Buttons: PaperMania

Alphabet Stickers : American Crafts

Stitching template: InStitchz by Bazzill Basics

This second layout is based on Get Your Sketch On #9. I was a bit late is doing this one this week, with having a short deadline for an assignment, but I still loved the sketch, and sat and did it yesterday :)



This is Tom, back in 2007, with his recently purchased (for a pricely sum of 20p) beanie cat, who he called Choco. He was hamming it up for the camera, which was a recent purchase at the time for me (and a bit more than 20p) ready for our upcoming trip to New Zealand.

I kept this one nice and simple, no handcut leaves on this one! I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to add some texture to the strip behind the title, and I also coloured in the Thickers with a Promarker to make them a slightly darker shade of grey. I added a bit of white ink to the background paper as I was going to write directly onto the paper, then had a change of heart and stuck with some journalling strips again...

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants Design

Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts

Embossing folder: ProvoCraft

Buttons: PaperMania

Now the sun is out, and I expect the white stuff will be gone by lunchtime. I hope that the Spring like weather returns soon, I was getting used to having the windows open again!!

TTFN

xxxx

GYSO #8

Time for this weeks layout using sketch #8 at Get Your Sketch On.

I used photos from our holiday to Turkey in 2008. We spent a day at a water park, and as we got there first thing in the morning, all the big water slides were relatively quiet, and the guys got lots of chances to ride them before the crowds came in later. Also, Tom was lucky in that the life guards were lenient towards him, as he was under the miminum age, but Mark persuaded them that Tom was a good swimmer (which he is) and he got a couple of shots. Later on, different life guards refused him, but he was happy that he got a shot!
This particular slide was like a whirlpool, and as you came down, you shot round the drum before falling through a hole in the bottom. It looked a bit scary, but they still wanted to ride it. Aah, the adrenaline always wins...!!

I used papers from the Scenic Route Grafton collection, and did alot of distressing, and stitching (both real and faux). The title was cut with my Cricut and SCAL2, and it was during the cutting that I realised that I needed a new blade... But the "distressed" edges to the letters actually fit in well with the rest of the page... I now have a new blade, and a couple of new mats, so hopefully the machine will cut cleaner now ;)

TTFN


xxxx

GYSO #7

TGIF!! This week seems to have whizzed by in a blur, what with work, extra training and juggling everything around it. But today I have a day off - a complete day off, no work for me tonight! So hoping to spend most of it in my little room with the happy green wall, and play with paper and glue!

Another week means another sketch over at Get Your Sketch On. I love these sketches, and it seems the feeling is mutual, as I was picked as a winner again for my layout using sketch #6. Thanks girls, it really is a lot of fun playing along with you each week!


I used some more 1970s photos on this layout. This is me (in the orange and brown dress) with my Gran and Grandad, and my baby brother Ewan (who turned 36 last week!) is the grumpy looking baby in the blue. I don't think he smiled as a baby, all the photos I have of him he always looks so serious! The photos were taken in the back garden of the house I grew up in. My parents don't live there anymore, and it is really strange going to visit them now, as I don't look at it as home. Funnily enough, a girl I went to school with bought my parents house, and I hope that her children will have as fond a memory of it as I do.

Onto the layout itself. Cardstock is Kraft Bazzill, and the patterned paper is Jillibean Soup, from the Pasta Fagioli collection. I thought it was a perfect match to the 70s colours. The title is done with Scenic Route chipboard letters, and the blue flowers are more haandmade ones, coloured with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. The leaf sprig is a PaperTrey Ink stamp, stamped onto kraft card with Rich Cocoa Memento ink, and handcut out.

If you are on the look out for more sketches, don't forget to head across to the Sassy Lil' Sketches Layout and Card sketch blogs. There are 4 new sketches posted each month, on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th with prizes up for grabs from both paper and digital sponsors.

Hope you have a great weekend!

TTFN


xxxx

GYSO #6

Another great sketch this week over at Get Your Sketch On. And I knew exactly which photo I wanted to use, I just had to switch the sketch about a bit to make it fit... but that's all part of the fun of playing with sketches!

So this is the sketch... And this is my take on it...

I rotated the sketch to accomodate the portrait photograph. This is one of my favourite photos of Tom. It was taken in Grant Park, and he is looking at Mark, while Mark is trying to explain to him how to hang upside down from a climbing frame. I love the look on his face. It really gives me goosebumps, and makes my heart flutter just looking at it.

I used one sheet of BasicGrey paper on this page - a double sided sheet from the Nook & Pantry collection. I love using double sided papers! I cut the doilies out by hand, and halved them to make the edging. The foliage is a PaperTrey Ink stamp, that I stamped onto kraft card with brown Staz On ink and hand cut them out. The handmade flower is coloured with Walnut Stain distress ink, and the little bird is from Prima Marketing. I covered a small chipboard butterfly from Papermania with matching paper. The title uses American Craft chipboard Thickers.

Journalling and a bit of doodling finished it off!

TTFN

xxxx

GYSO #5 - Catch me

Another great sketch at Get Your Sketch On, and I knew straight away what photos I wanted to use...

This is me. Yep. Honest. Me aged 1 and a bit. I found these photos in the box I got from my Gran. The photos were taken in her garden. Last time I visited (the day of her funeral 3 years ago) the garden looked exactly the same. The man in the background is my Grandad. I still miss him so much, even though it is 26 years since he passed. And those panda dungarees... well my younger brother also wore them as a toddler. Gotta love 70s fashion!

The photos are the originals. Yep, I know. But I have made digital copies. I was going to use the copies I printed out, but the colours didn't seem right for some reason, and I preferred the 1970s originals. I have used the minimum amount of adhesive on them just in case. The size of the photos were perfect for the sketch at 5" x 3". I used a threading water punch to punch a border out of cardstock to add to the top and bottom of the photo block.

I pretty much stuck with the sketch when it came to embellishments. I cut circles from felt using my Nestabilities and Cuttlebug. I added some stitching round the edges of the circles to add some interest, and used buttons to tie in with the colours in the photos. The buttons are all PaperMania. I added a few butterflies to compliment the garden theme. There were always lots of butterflies in my Gran's garden.

The background paper is actually a flocked overlay from Fancy Pants - I ordered the My Family kit, and was amazed with what was inside, and the flocked overlay just cried out to be used on this page. I thought it worked really well with the sketch. I adhered the overlay to a sheet of white Bazzill cardstock.

I used my favourite way to journal - strip journalling - and added a title cut from funky foam with my Cuttlebug and the Sizzlits Nouveau alphabet dies.

Journalling reads - You're no fun Grandad. I wanted you to chase me and catch me and lift me high into the air. But you are just happy to watch me finding my feet and running up and down the garden path.

Thanks to the GYSO team for another fantastic sketch!

TTFN


xxxx

GYSO #4

Another fun sketch this week at Get Your Sketch On. And this week I decided to go a bit pink....

I found this photo of Jemma taken on her 3rd birthday in her new inline skates and pads. Jemma loves to skate, and this is where it all began. The courtyard where we lived in Gibraltar was perfect for learning how to skate, as it was long and flat and completely enclosed, so no traffic or pedestrians to get in the way. Jemma learned to ride her bike here too.

I used Sassafrass and American Crafts papers, Bazzill cardstock and American Crafts Thickers. I coloured the thickers with a Canary Promarker, as the two sheets were slightly different shades of yellow - probably sunbleached, and now I know why they were such a bargain at TK Maxx.... I added some stickles on the top, so they tied in with the glitter on the stripey American Crafts paper. The border is punched with a Martha Stewart border punch. The buttons are from PaperMania. And the flowers are Prima ones. I doodled the borders using a Zig pen.

I have a confession to make about the flowers. They were not part of my plan for the page. But as I came to take a photo, I noticed some pen marks in the bottom left hand corner. So I added the flowers to cover them up! I don't know how the marks got there. But I was using a double ended Zig pen, so maybe I didn't have the lids on properly...

Journalling reads - For your 3rd birthday, you got your first pair of inline skates. With stabilisers. Rosia Court was the ideal place for you to perfect your technique, and you soon left the training wheels behind.

Sigh. I miss that place. The 4 years we spent in Gibraltar were the best ever. I would go back in a heart beat, although half of what made it such a special time were the friends we made. It wouldn't really be the same. Not that there is any chance of it happening again anyway...

TTFN


xxxx

GYSO #3 top 5

The lovely girls over at Get Your Sketch On voted me top 5 this week! Thank you so much, I am really, really enjoying playing along with you each week!

Sketch 4 is up, and it's another good 'un and the DT have made some lovely examples to inspire us all. I have been picking a photo for this one...

I have a date with a drill today, not looking forwards to it at. all.

Hope your Wednesday is more pleasant than mine...

TTFN


xxxx

GYSO #3

This is my page based on the sketch over at Get Your Sketch On. I loved working with this one, and finally, finally made myself cut up and use my beloved Making Memories shaped ledger paper, which I had been hoarding for what seems like an eternity! I flipped the sketch to it's mirror image, as I had photos with Mark facing to the right, and then jumping to the left - I have a thing about people looking/doing stuff off the page, they have to be looking/doing into the middle... I added my journalling over the photos, as I am quite wordy when it comes to journalling, and I'd never have made it fit otherwise!

These photos I took last summer, at our village's harbour, when Mark had gone down with the kids to do some harbour jumping aka dookin'.

I swear sometimes he thinks he is a super hero... One of these days, he'll realise he's getting a bit old for all this carry on, but until then, he can be my hero anytime!

Journalling reads - You look like Mr Incredible, but sometimes you are more akin to Captain Chaos or major Disaster... You don't leap tall buildings, preferring to leap into the harbour at high tide... Figures...

The papers I used are Daisy D's and Making Memories. The cardstock is Bazzill. The alphabet stickers are American Crafts Thickers. I used a Martha Stewart border punch, and the stitched arrow was done with a PaperMania stitching template. The buttons are from my button box, and the trim is from my ribbon box...

I am amazed that I can actually use coloured cardstock as a base for a layout - it's been a while since I have used anything other than kraft or white!

I have a busy time ahead, with doctors and dentist appointments this week, and Tom has 2 parties next weekend so I have to make cards for those. Next weekend we have my brother in law coming for a flying visit. And I also have a pile of stuff on my desk right now, waiting to be done. I'm sure I'll fit it all in. Hang on, I have to go to work too, so maybe something will slip by the wayside...

TTFN


xxxx

GYSO #2

I love this sketch over at Get Your Sketch On. I do like the odd circle or two! I found these photos that I took in 2006, of the kids at Roseisle beach, which were perfect for cropping into circles. I used my new Spellbinders dies in my Cuttlebug to cut all the circles.

I remember this trip to the beach. It was at the end of a long summer - Mark was deployed for the whole of the kids school holidays. They had me tearing my hair out at points, with their constant bickering and arguing. Tom was just starting to hold his own against his big sister, and rebelling against her constant need to boss him about. I decided that this afternoon, we were going to take a walk through the forest and along the beach. I took the camera. That afternoon has been documented in so many layouts, as for some reason I had a good day with the camera! Being by the sea always makes me feel calm, I love to go and sit and feel the breeze and listen to the waves, and that day I remember thinking how nice it was not to be being a referee between the kids, and that I too could enjoy the beach. And I watched them playing. Together. Nicely. It was just what I needed.

Journalling reads : Watching you 2 on the beach, reminding me that you can be friends, proving to me that behind the squabbles, there is love. Thank you.

Another layout made just from scraps. My Minds Eye and some other papers that I don't know the name of. Cardstock is Bazzill Kraft, and the typed words are stamps from Close To My Heart. The little twig hearts came from somewhere, but not quite sure where. Probably some random craft shop! The title is done with American Crafts Thickers. I did a bit of doodling round the edge with a Zig pen.

TTFN


xxxx

GYSO #1

On my hunt around cyberspace for new sketch sites, I found Get Your Sketch On - a brand new sketch blog which launched on the 1st January.

This is my layout based on sketch #1


I used Crate Paper Snow Day for this page, which documents the traditions we have about our Christmas Dinner. I replaced one of the photo spaces with a journalling block, for 2 reasons. One was that I had a lot to say (nothing new there), and secondly as the photos taken of me at the table were just awful. Now I am trying to embrace my captured image, but these ones were just too bad. There is embracing, and there is humiliating...

TTFN



xxxx