Scrapping the past...

I love scrapping old photos. I'm not a scrapbooker who exclusively scraps current photos, I love going back and reliving memories through older photos - although I do get frustrated when I can't remember the facts LOL. Scrapping much older photos - ie from before I was born - is fascinating to me, part of the fun for me is finding out the who, where, when, why and what of the photos.
On Two Peas, I have been taking part in Heritage challenges. This month, the challenges were to use photos without people, to use photos from the 1930's and to use a sketch. I don't have any old photos not including people, but as you can split the challenge up, I did what I know best - use a sketch!
I used PageMaps (what else?) as my sketches, and the first one is from the August 2010 selection.
This is a photo of my 2 Aunts on my parent's wedding day in 1970. They were the bridesmaids. I used bazzill card, My Mind's Eye paper and then plenty of Prima flowers. The title is Papermania alpha stickers and American Crafts foam Thickers.

The next layout meets 2 of the challenges - a photo from 1930's and a sketch. This sketch is from the July 2010 selection at PageMaps. This is a photo of my Great Grandmother, taken in 1933 when she was 57 years old. By this time she'd had 10 children, and was a grandma many times over. She reminds me of my Gran - her youngest child - the resemblance is uncanny. She died in 1967 aged 91, I just wished that I could have met her, all the evidence I have of her is that she was a strong, determined woman.

I used My Minds Eye and Making Memories papers, plus some scraps. The type paper is K&Co. I rolled 1 inch squares of paper and stuck them down to make the border. The swirl is Maya Road chipboard covered in Bazzill bling card. I then used 2 sizes of retro flower punch for the bloom. The title is using Basic Grey chipboard numbers.

I can't wait to see what challenges the girls come up with for September.

TTFN

xxxx

Coffee and a chat...

The summer holidays are almost over, and one of the things I am looking forward to doing when the kids have gone back to school is to catch up with friends over a coffee. But over the summer, I have lost a few friends who have been posted to bases in England, a downside to Forces Life :( One of them in particular, I will miss the most. I was in Starbucks a couple of weeks ago, and spied their VIA coffee sachets, and thought, "hmm I'm sure I can do something with this", followed shortly by, "I know I have a stamp that is perfect for this", followed again by "I must pop by my LSS and pick up the perfect Sugar Nellie stamp for this"... So, armed with my stamps and a kit I have had for donkey's years - not even sure whose kit it is, it could be a Sarah's Cards kit, or even a ScrapaGoGo kit - I set to make a little something to send my pal through the post :)

The Sugar Nellie stamp is called "Coffee Time", and I coloured her in with my ProMarkers. The papers are Jilly Beans Soup - Minestrone. I used Bazzill kraft card for the base. I card lifted from one of my favourite Dutch cardmakers - Tiets - I love all the layers she uses. The flowers are Making Memories.

Inside, I punched out a 2 1/2 inch circle from another coloured image, and layered it onto a 3 inch scallop circle. And then I added the sentiment stamp from Elzybells that I have owned for years, but never inked up onto the front of the second flap.

I made a little pocket from kraft card to house the coffee sachets, and then covered the front with patterned paper. To keep the symmetry, I added some patterned paper to the other side, and added a square of kraft card to add a message.

On the back, is another of my Elzybells stamps, I don't always sign the back, but seeing as I was happy with the result, I thought I'd put my name to it LOL. I added a bit of blue organza ribbon to tie the card/booklet together.

I'm sure my friend will like it, and I hope that she enjoys the coffee too, although it's not the same without the chat :(

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! Not unlucky for me at all, in fact 13 crops up a couple of times in our family, and never in a bad way. Today is our 16th wedding anniversary, and no we got married on a Saturday, not a Friday! Also my daughter was born on the 13th April, and no not on a Friday, although many times I have thought that she should have been, and have searched endlessly for the 666 sign on her head....

TTFN

xxxx

New supplies and new projects...

I like a nice bit of stash shopping as much as the next scrapbooker, and this week I had a double whammy! On Monday, I found some lovely Making Memories stuff and an American Crafts D ring album in TK Maxx of all places... Then on Wednesday, I went to my LSS for a quick Sugar fix and to generally have a nose around. Of course I left with a bag of goodies, including Prima stamps, Bo Bunny papers and Personal Impressions stamps. Oh and the Sugar Nellie stamp I went in for in the first place...
As it is the beginning of August, the new PageMaps are out, so after printing them out, one caught my eye and before I knew it, I had delved into my new stuff and came out with this...


Mark took these photos of Jemma doing a spot of harbour jumping. Now Jemma is a bit of an adventure girl, an adrenaline junkie. Anything remotely dangerous or adventurous is real magnet to this girl. She was really up for harbour jumping, but when the time came, all of a sudden she was really reluctant to do it. Even after a few visits, she still faffs and delays before jumping in. Very odd. She is a confident swimmer, and has jumped into pools from rocks before, and off diving boards. Not sure what the deal is with the harbour. Anyhow, these photos were taken last weekend, using the continous mode on my camera.
The papers are BoBunny Abbey Road - I love double sided papers. I used punches for the scallop circles and journalling spots, and my threading water punch. Title alphas are Sizzix Nouveau for "leap" and Papermania mini foam stickers for "of faith". The script paper is actually a Prima stamp, stamped onto Bazzill card.

Then, I did an unusual thing, I made a card from my scraps! I know I should do this more often, but alot of the time I am just plain lazy LOL.

This card is for a friend over the pond.
I used brown Memento ink to stamp the Sugar Nellie Manga stamp onto cardstock, and then coloured her in with ProMarkers. I used the BoBunny papers again, and then cut out a flower from one of the papers, and layered it with some Making Memories felt, paper and voile flowers. I finished it off with a pearl brad. The sentiment is from Elzybells. I added some Stickles to her hair, just for fun!


I can't believe it is Friday again, another week has flown by. The kids have had a whale of a time at Funtazia, and Tom especially is thoroughly worn out. It's my weekend off work this weekend, so I am sure that will fly by too. We need to get Jemma's camping kit sorted, as she is off camping with the Scouts next week. And they want to go to the library, so they can get the next stickers at the reading scheme. I think Karate Kid is on the agenda too, and probably a bit of gardening (weather permitting) as there are a few jobs that need doing.
Me and the boy have to go shopping for uniform and shoes, I seem to have left it a bit late this year, as next week is the last week of the hols, so no doubt will be a hellish experience. But that'll be a job for when Jemma is at camp - taking one child shopping is just that little bit easier...

TTFN

xxxx

One sketch, 2 layouts...

Hello, my name is Sarah and I am a sketch junkie. 'Tis true. Sarah's Cards Ltd have a sketch challenge on their blog, and my two layouts today are based on that sketch. You can find all the info here.

This first layout has been a long time coming. I found the letter and drawing at my Gran's house on the day of her funeral in December 2007, and have wanted to do a page about it ever since. But I needed to find both information and inspiration before I was happy enough to commit to paper. This past couple of weeks I have found both. Information, via Wikipedia and my Dad (some people would say they are one and the same, seeing as he is King of Trivia), and inspiration from the sketch and also from Alexa. I had a lot of information and journalling to put onto this page, but I didn't want it to overwhelm everything else. So, I hid it. Inspired by Alexa's fold out pamphlet, I made a section of the layout lift up, and I had lots of journalling space.

The crux of the layout was a letter and drawing sent to my Grandad after the 1959 General Election, by Arthur Champion. He was the sitting MP for South East Derbyshire, but at the 1959 Election, he lost his seat by 12 votes. My Grandad was Secretary of the Derby Branch of the AEU (Amalgamated Engineers Union) and the Union had sponsored Mr Champion during his campaign. The drawing is of my Grandad, at the ballot count, drawn by Mr Champion. Arthur Champion went on to become a Life Peer, taking the title Baron Champion of Pontypridd. Researching all this was fascinating to me. I love the programme "Who Do You Think You Are?" and would love to have the time and money to go and research all the stories from my family. Especially as it appears we have relatives in Florida...

Back to the layout, I used Bazzill Kraft cardstock, and Crate Paper "Hampton" papers. The title is cut with the cricut, and the buttons are Papermania.

Now onto the second take on the sketch....

I flipped it, so the photos were on the other side of the page. I have a thing that I don't like people in photos looking off the page...
Anyway, this is Tom doing his finest harbour jumping - known as dookin' around these parts.

Again I have used Kraft Bazzill, and the papers are Scenic Route. The chipboard is Maya Road, the "right now" chipboard is Scenic Route, and the tiny tag is Fancy pants. The title alphas are American Crafts Thickers. I added a smattering of brads from my extensive collection, and did a bit of machine sewing to finish it all off.

The past few weeks have been pretty hectic around here, what with the village Gala week, and then a week of family adventure... Mark booked us all to go Gorge Walking, then go up in the tree tops to do a high ropes course, finishing off the week kayaking... To say I was needing another week to recover was an understatement, I needed to go to work for a rest LOL. This week the kids are off at Funtazia, an organised programme of activities based at the RAF camp where Mark is stationed. So I have a bit of me time. Finally. Mind you, a fortnight today the kids will be back at school... The summer has gone rather quickly...

TTFN

xxx

PageMaps contest

On the PageMaps blog, Becky is having another of her little contests, with a fab prize of a big pile of chipboard diecuts. Details of the contest can be found here on the blog :) As you might know, I am a huge fan of PageMaps, but also I love me a bit of chipboard LOL, so I just knew I had to have a stab at the contest.

As always, the contest involves using a sketch, but this time there was an added challenge, which was to use a colour combo of aqua blue, yellow and orange.

As soon as I saw the sketch, with the bunting across the top, I knew which photo I was wanting to use. Bunting to me always conjours up memories of the beach, but this photo is not of me, but of my Mum on the beach - with her parents and grandparents circa 1950 or there abouts.

I love these heritage shots :) I love that my great grandparents are dressed up almost in their Sunday best to go to the beach, and that my great grandmother is still wearing her hat. I love that my Mum is being a little madam - something that she has told me that I was at that age LOL. I love the stripy deckchairs, and the wind breaker. I love the proper spades they had for building sandcastles, made from metal with wooden handles - not the plastic ones that these days seem to break so easily. I just love that it is a snapshot of their holidays - for better or worse, as I doubt if my Nan would have paid for more than one photo LOL, so if the child was uncooperative, then its tough LOL



Anyway, for this layout I used Bo Bunny Flutter Butter papers, a scrap of Basic Grey in there too, and Bazzill cardstock. The flowers are all Prima, and the little "photo op" chipboard is Scenic Route.

TFL & TTFN

xxxx

Recent crafting

Although I haven't been very good at this blog updating lark recently, I have been a little bit crafty ;)
I have managed a healthy turn out of pages, probably due to the now semi-organised state of the craft room. I can get to all my supplies without having to dig in cupboards, or root through a filing cabinet in the garage LOL. I have also got easy access to all the photos too, and have had a recent spurt of doing older photos - mostly of Jemma when she was smaller.

Love the photo on "wasn't me" - classic Jemma. I used a PageMap for this one, and busted out the sewing machine for a touch of stitching. I used up some of my much cherished Scenic Route scraps, it is amazing how many layouts I have managed to eek out of these papers!

Another layout of Jemma, this time when she was about 11 months old in our packing boxes in Gibraltar. I recycled a pizza box for the photo mat. Another PageMap sketch, and more paper scraps - this time Creative Imaginations.

This layout was done for a team challenge on UKScrappers - this week it was the turn of our team, the Norty Crew to set a challenge, and we set the following criteria: Use an Elvis song title or lyrics, use either black and white or bright colours, and use either silver, a crown or something sparkly. This photo is another one of my favourites, and as I looked through the long list of Elvis's songs, I was amazed to find one that fit this phot perfectly! I used up black and white scraps for this page, and a journalling page from Making Memories. The title uses American Craft Jewelry Box Thickers, and I added some stickles to the white alphas for added bling. The flowers are made using retro flower punches in 3 sizes. I love how this turned out!

It's not just pages I have been creating - it was my crafting pal Erika's birthday at the end of May, and it was rude of me if I didn't send her a handmade card! I used one of the Sugar Nellie Manga stamps, and coloured her in with Promarkers. I found more Scenic Route scraps to match, and added some ruched ribbon and a hand crocheted flower. The frame was made using my Cricut. The sentiment is from Craftwork cards. I chose these colours, as teal is Erika's favourite colour - she wears a teal coat on the school run everyday, and even her glasses are teal coloured! And I had just the right colours of Promarkers to do the trick!

Erika organised the inaugural Hopeman crop last month as well - the last Sunday in May - at the local Memorial Hall. I was well prepared, taking some page kits - much to the ribbing of my fellow crafters - and minimal tool kit. I have always been known to travel light ;)

Now although I didn't finish the 3 layouts I started, I had made a good start on them, they only really needed titles and some journalling to finish them off whe I got home. Much chat, laughter, tea and cake aswell as the odd bit of crafting occured, and I can't wait for the next one!

This is one of my Stacy Julian Library of Memories inspired layouts. Flicking through the photo albums, I found these 2 photos - one of Jemma, and one of Tom. They both had a habit of falling asleep in their bouncy chairs next to the washing machine when it was on it's final spin! As I looked at the photos, I noticed that it was the same washing machine! I used another PageMaps sketch for this one, and used up some of the scrapbook papers I found in Tesco's many moons ago.

This layout is a 6x12 landscape, again using a PageMap sketch. A lovely photo of Tom on Roseisle beach, deep in thought, I really do wonder what goes on in that head of his sometimes! I used up some scraps again on this - Love Elsie, Scenic Route, K&Co and American crafts. The border is a Martha Stewart punch. I painted the chipboard arrow with Making Memories paint and then inked the edges to distress it a bit.

Finally, another layout of the toddler Jemma! This photo was taken in The Waterfront Restaurant in Gibraltar, one of our many haunts for Sunday lunch. The restaurants were so accomodating to families, and we had a fold up seat that would strap to a chair, so we didn't have to worry about high chairs. Jemma asked for an ice cream for pudding that day, and out came a cone that was nearly as big as her!

Again I used a PageMap sketch, and I used Sassafrass papers. The hand stitching is done using a Bazzill In Stitchez template, and the title is done with American Craft Jewelry Box thickers.

Well that's my recent crafty activity recorded for posterity once more! Not alot of crafting going on just at the moment, as I have the parental units visiting, and throw in a Tang Soo Do tournament on my weekend off, well you can just imagine the chaos!!!

No football on in the house just yet - although I would if I could, but the kids are watching Dr Who... Probably better for England's chances if I don't watch...

TTFN

XXXX

Sugar Bowl challenge

I thought I would join in with the Sugar Bowl challenge this week. I am a bit of a Sugar Nellie addict, doesn't help that my closest scrapbook shop also happens to be the House of Sugar..... Definitely a local shop for local people ;)
I am a sucker for a good sketch, and I loved the one that Lillian provided for the challenge. Seeing as it is my father-in-laws birthday this weekend, I thought it was rude to not make him a card... So, although I used the sketch, I chose more manly colours, as I thought that black, white and pink were a bit girly for him! I used one of my newest Nellies - Rock Idol - for this card, and coloured him in with Promarkers. I then routed through my scraps box and found some Creative Imagination and Chatterbox papers that went with the image. The buttons are PaperMania, and the greeting is from Craftwork cards.

Thanks to the Sugar Bowl girls for a great challenge and the chance to win some great prizes :)

TTFN

xxxx