Princess Charlotte card

The prize for the Whiff of Joy challenge this week is become a Guest Designer - which I know I have absolutely no chance of winning. So, I haven't entered the competition but as I love the stamps so much, I just made a card anyway!!! I coloured her in using my fave Pro Markers and Sakura glitter pens. The papers are from the Crate Paper Katlin collection and I have added some Prima flowers and some Card Candy.
The photograph is bit poor as the flowers are cerise pink in real life but look red in the photo!

Friday Sketchers #41

This week's sketch is:

And here is my card. I bought this stamp and some others along the same line at the Make It Show last week. They really made me chuckle. I have coloured it using Pro Markers and Sakura glitter pens. The papers are from the My Minds Eye Magnolia paper stack. I have added some flowers, ribbon and some pink and purple Card Candy dots that I also bought last week at the show. They are like little paper domed brads and you got loads for a £1.

My Year - 28th February - Moors Valley Play

Yesterday I went to Moors Valley with some friends and our children. We went on the Tree Top Trail and this is Zoe trying to get back down the ladder. She is not very brave about this sort of thing and I was constantly having to help her down.

Scrap Like You Mean It 2009 - Week 9

This week Shimelle challenged us to scrap using a punch or punches.

I have used the Fiskars Threading Water punch to make a frame for the photo. The papers and letters are all from the Total Papercrafts February Kit. I used another shaped piece of paper to draw round and cut out to make the mat.

My Year - 27th February - Squirrel

This little fellow was busy munching on the bird feeders in the garden. It drives James mad when he sees the squirrels eating the bird food - but I love them and am always trying get photos of them and this morning he obliged for me.

My Year - 26th February - Grumpy

Look at this for a grumpy face. I took it for Scrap Your Day yesterday which was all about expressions - well I think I captured one here!!! I think this become an all time favourite photo!

My Year - 25th February - Spring is here

This a photo of the crocuses in our garden this year. Our snowdrops have been out for a couple of weeks and now we have lots of crocuses popping up everywhere and even the tub of daffodils have started to flower - Spring must be on it's way!

UK Scrappers February Week Four Challenge

Since I am learning how to scrap digitally, I have decided that I will try to do the weekly challenge on UK Scrappers. This is a challenge set by a team each week and you have to meet various criteria to earn the points. This week the challenge is set by Magical Mojo Makers and the challenge is to use:
6 of something (5pts)
Something on LO flips (10pts)
Repeated first letter in title (10pts)
Something new (5pts)

Here is my layout.

I think I have earned full points as I have used 6 flowers with buttons on them. The cardboard bit would lift/flip in real life (not sure I can claim points for this), I have Z for the first letter in each word of the title and something new is me being new to digi scrapping.
I have used a Carrie Stephens Spontaneous Delight freebie kit.

My Year - 24th February - Sleeping Beauty

This is Zoe fast asleep in her pushchair. It is very rare for her to fall asleep during the day. This photo was taken on Friday when we went for a stroll after our Christmas Dinner.

More Digi Scrapping

I have been having a play tonight and have come up with this. The kit used is a Welcome freebie kit from http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/.

Really am enjoying this but not really sure what I am doing. Still managed to come up with this.

My Year - 23rd February - A Snowdrop

My step mum had these amazing double headed snowdrops in her garden, so I had to, very naughtily, pick one to see if I could get a good photo of it. I placed it on a dark book and the flash of the camera gave a lovely shadow to blue of the book and a glow to the flower.

My Year - 22nd February - My dad

On our "Christmas Day" in February, my step mum had bought a whole load of model making balloons and we had a competition on who could make certain things. This is my dad wearing his balloon hat.

Scrap Like You Mean It 2009 - Week 8

This week we were challenged to cut up photos. Having spent the day at my dad's yesterday I got some great photos and so used the cow photo which was perfect for cutting round the outline.

Then I took some photos of the crocuses in our garden this afternoon to put on the stalks on the paper. The paper is from a DCWV Spring Stack from a couple of years ago.

My Year - 21st February - Animal

Whilst at Dad's yesterday, we went for a walk after Christmas lunch and Dad said that one of his supposedly barren cows had just had a calf. So we kept a look out whilst on our walk. The mum cow was across the field munching hay and we found the calf curled up in the hedgerow - which is quite normal. When we went into the field, the mum came over and I got loads of photos - this is my favourite.

My Year - 20th February - Christmas Day

Yes that is right - Christmas Day. My dad is a very busy farmer and so we celebrated Christmas on the 20th Feb. We had the works - Christmas tree, Christmas dinner, crackers, party games and presents. It was absolutely great! I don't get to see enough of my dad due to his busy worklife but when we do get together, he really goes to town!!!!! I won't need to eat again for another week at least!

And another digi

This time I have used various bits from Diana Rooney freebie kits and just been playing really. Pretty basic but have managed to invert and flip a ribbon so I could have it top and bottom of layout with the bow in opposite corners the right way up!

My first ever Digi Layout

Lynne and Kay - my 365 buddies - are learning digi scrapping and so, seeing as I am not one to be left out of things, I have had a play too. Shirley sent me a link to a free tutorial and kit to play with - it is a Pickleberry Pop one and can be found here.

After an hour of playing, this is what I have come up with - I worry this may become addictive!!!

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge #39 Sketch

This week we were given a sketch by Debbie - a lovely nice simple one. So easy to follow.

Zoe seems to be entering birthday party season so I have made this card for Callum - a friend at her nursery.

I have used the Sugar Nellie Pirate stamp and coloured him using Pro Markers and Sakura glitter pens. The papers are some left overs from an old Scrap A Go Go kit and the greeting is a Scrappy Cat one. I have used Doodlebug Sugar coated card too.

Sketch Saturday # 38

This week's sketch is so lovely:

It was one of Zoe's friends's birthday next week so I have used a Sugar Nellie Fairy stamp and coloured her in pinks and purples with my Pro Markers. The papers are from DCWV Nana's Stack and I used my Nesties to mat and layer the stamped image, greeting and the scalloped hole with the bow in the middle.

Friday Sketchers #39

This week we had a fab sketch to work to from Heidi from Norway.I do not know what the stamped image is as I stamped it from Pauline at the Abingdon crop a couple of weeks ago whilst she was playing with my Pro Markers. I love it and you can make it really bright and zingy. The photo doesn't show it but I made her quite sparkly with a Sakura glitter pen.

The papers are from the My Minds Eye Magnolia paper stack and then I have added a greeting (Hero Arts - I think) and some Prima Quick Pick Hydrangeas. I am going to give it to my DH's Auntie who is having her hip replaced tomorrow and I hope the lovely bright colours cheer her up and help with a speedy recovery.

My Year - 19th February - A Tree

This is the Acer tree in our back garden. I love this tree - it such a fantastic range of colours throughout the yea. It is just beginning to grow new shoots of growth and it looked lovely glistening with water drops hanging off it.

My Year - 18th February - What is it?

Today photo theme is where I take a photo of something and you have to guess what it is.

Here it is...

My Year - 17th February - New Scrummy Stamps

Today my long awaited Spring Kit came from Whiff of Joy - I ordered this back in January and feel like I have been waiting for ages for it.

Can't wait to play tonight!!!

My Year - 16th February - Sunset

As I left work tonight and walked round the corner of the Hobbycraft building, this was the sight that greeted me. I had to stop and get my camera out to take the photo - isn't it lovely after all the horrible weather we have been having?

My Year - 15th February - Green

This is the Valentine present that I bought for my husband. It is great - you pull it back and it zooms off! He loves Lego and pretends to buy it for Zoe but really it is for him ;-) He has spent all morning building a castle.
This is my green photo with a splash of orange!

My Year - 14th February - Valentines

Today my lovely husband totally surprised me with 4 more Troll Beads:

Black Mosaic Flower, Spring Drop Bead, Buttons and Valentines. My bracelet is full now. He really is the best husband in the world!!!

365 Album

After making so many fantastic friends doing Anna Bowkis' 365 challenge last year and then getting to meet them all in November, I decided to use a Papermania album kit to make a 8x8 album about them.

The front page journalling reads:

In January 2008, I found a new challenge on UK Scrappers by Anna Bowkis. It was a photography challenge with daily prompts and then doing a scrapbook layout a week. I joined the forum created for the challenge. Lots of people signed up to do the project and there was lots of chit chat and excitement about the challenge ahead of us.
Slowly people started to drop out and soon there were just a few of us left. We fast became friends and we would all chat on a daily basis and post up our photos according to Anna’s prompts. We would share our problems, our good news and our sad news or troubles. We never judged each other and we were always there for one another
Some of us got the chance to meet up during the year at various craft fairs and I met up with Kay and Lynne down in Poole in the Summer. It is the strangest feeling to meet up with someone that you feel you know really well but have never actually met.
In November we organised a retreat in Oxford for the weekend. This was the chance for all of us to finally meet up – rather than a few of us at a time. We all had such a great time – lots of crafting, scrapping and chat. Anna came along and taught us a class - I even got her to sign my scrapbooking magazine that she was featured in that month.
All the photos in this album have been taken by Anna herself – hence them being so good and professional looking.
The only person who couldn’t make it to our retreat was Karen due to ill health and hence there is no page for her. But I hope to rectify that...
I am organising another retreat in June 2009 and we are all hoping that Karen will be able to come to this one. This time we are having a cottage in the New Forest for 3 days. There will be 16 of us – for more craft, scrapping and chat! And it is Shirley’s birthday, so maybe the odd glass of wine or two!!

Alli:

Anna:

Barbara:

Claire (Me):

Kath:

Kay:
Lynne:
Mary:

Paula:

Sal:

Sarah:

Shirley:

Steph:

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge #38 Doodle Doo

This week's challenge is to do doodling on your card. The doodles can be hand drawn or stamped.

I have used a digital download from The Greeting Farm called 50s Sweetheart DS. I have used Word Art for the greeting and then coloured it all in using Pro Markers.

The papers are from the Papermania's Love paper pack. I have doodled around the image and stamped swirls on each corner of the different papers. Then I have added some red grosgrain ribbon and some Prima flowers with love hearts in the middle.

This is the card that I will give to my husband tomorrow for Valentines Day.

My Year - 13th February - What is Zoe playing with today?

This is a Play Mobil doll's house that Zoe got for her birthday. She spends hours putting it all together but then doesn't actually play with it. Once it is put together she puts it away.

Sketch Saturday # 37 Amended

I made this card for Sketch Saturday, but I wasn't very happy with it so had a bit more of a play with it:

Before:
After:

Scrap Like You Mean It 2009 - Week 7

This week Shimelle has challenged us to scrap an old photo. I don't seem to have many old photos but this popped to mind as soon as I saw the challenge.

This picture was taken in approximately in 1984. This is me and my oldest friend Tina dressed as clowns for the village carnival. I think I was about 10 or 11 and Tina would have been 9 or 10. We had great big shoes on and had to walk about 1 or 2 miles in the parade - it was really hard.

The washing up bottle was to squirt the crowds.

The papers are all from the lovely Steph from her unwanted stash.

Whiff of Joy Challenge #18 Recipe

I just lurve Whiff of Joy stamps and am patiently waiting for the Spring Kit to arrive and hence the post below this one about the new stamps due out on Saturday.

This week's challenge was to use three different pieces of patterned papers, two flowers and one button or brad.

I have used papers from My Mind's Eye Magnolia paperstack, 2 Prima Paintables flowers - one with a brad in and one with the sentiment stampl placed in the middle.