Scrapwhispers Tutorial

Morning! I hope you have all had a lovely christmas, are all with belly's full of wonderful food and that santa was very kind! I have posted a tutorial on the Scrapwhispers blog which shows you how to colour stamped images like the one in my card. To find out how I did it have a look here. Just a short post today but I hope you enjoy the rest of the festivities. Kel x

A date with an easel card

I've seen these easel cards all over blogland and well, it would be rude not to try wouldnt it?! So here is my take on the popular card type. I did this as part of a teacher gift, I just hope they know how to stand it LOL. I thought a desk calendar would come in handy. I've used all basic grey for this project, including the stamps, which are just too cute! With an added bit of sparkle of number stickers by papermania it was hard to give this one away. I'll defo be making some more of this style. Beware anyone who has a space on their desk for a calendar! :)

Sketch Saturday

Here is another card for another challenge. This card follows the sketch on Sketch saturday. A great sketch to work with! I've used the same Basic Grey Gamma stamp Image and coloured her in using various inkpads and a paintbrush. The sentiment is from Papermania Snag 'em duo's. The paper is from basic grey - Nook and Pantry... becoming a firm favourite of mine. This girl image can look so different with which ever papers you use but she looks really sweet alongside these scrummy pastel papers. Its great to be able to join in these challenges again! Thanks for looking x

Butterfly Crafts DT- Kids

My challenge is up over at Butterfly crafts. This fortnight is all about the kids. Your kids, your neices or nephews, grandchildren, or any child that may be special in your life. What makes you proud? Come and tell us! This is my layout for the challenge. My DD with her first reading book from school. She really surprised me when she came home and read this book with such ease. She surprises me all the time and she makes me beam with pride! Come and join in the challenge. Tell us all about that special kid in your life!!

Challenges

I thought I would join in some challenges this week. Its been a while since I did. This first card fits into 2 challenges. The colour combo is for Basic Grey Challenge. It was to use Cream, Pink and Blue. The BG-Nook and Pantry collection was perfect for this. The stamp is also BG from the gamma collection. The other challenge is the Allsorts Challenge blog which was to use Swirls and pearls this week. I hand drew some swirls on the background paper with pink Gelly Roll Sakura pen and I added some pearls to the centre of the bow. This next card was made with the sketch from Friday Sketchers. A nice and simple sketch that was fun and easy to work with. I used BG-Lemonade papers, and made the ribbon rosette flower from ribbon and button from stash. The stamp is Pink Gem Designs-birthday milly. Its been so nice to make something other than a christmas card! :) Thanks for looking. Let me know you stopped by so I can come and show you some love x

Skater Boy

Here is a layout I have managed to get done for the Boy's album. I am lacking in pages for his album so I am trying to do a bit of a catch up. Here he is on his sisters roller skates. It took alot of bumps and sore bottoms but he insisted on having a go (well, anything big sister can do...) and he has really got the hang of it now and is getting faster by the day. I am so used to doing girly layouts that I was abit afraid to do boy ones. Its just a bit harder for me really. But I am very happy with how this turned out, all in less than an hour! Papers are from Basic Grey "Nook and Pantry", MME "Wild asparagus", DCWV "Nana's kids" and papermania notelets.

Scrapbook wallet

Well, hello! I have been super busy the last week or so making this and that and I can't actually show you any of it..... yet! So here is something I knocked up, that I can share. Its for my 10 week old nephew, Zach, as part of his Christmas present. When I got to visit my family in October I took loads of photos, as you do, of him and I have now put them all together in this nifty little wallet. As you can see it all folds out, a bit like a flip book. I added photos to each page but you could add a few pages of journalling if the book required it. I loved making this. Not only is it a fab gift to give someone (especially when you have taken alot of photos and they haven't seen the pics yet!), but it can be made for absolutely any occasion. I made this in a flash and I can't wait to be able to give it to my sister. I found the tutorial on Splitcoast stampers but I have adapted it, so once I get a minute to do a step by step then I'll show you how I did it. Got a few tutorials backing up now... oops. see you soon x

cute card slugs and snails

This is the first challenge I have entered for while. This card is for the cute card Thursday challenge. Its all about making a card for the younger boys. I never really make boys cards so its great to get some in the kitty. I used Space Jack from Pink Gem Designs and the papers are from DCWV Nana's Kids collection. The button and sentiment are from stash. Sorry its such a short post. I don;t know where my time goes these days. Anyway, hope you like my card and I'll be back soon with a tutorial and some more cards and layout :) x

Scrapwhispers big reveal and news

So the latest game of Scrapwhispers has come to an end and we have had the big reveal of all of the teams. I was on Team 3, with Telah as my team leader. This was the original layout from Georgina, which of course I didnt get to see! The original layout was passed to Telah who created this beauty. This was then passed onto Linda Linda's evolved into this layout. Isn't the background paper just lovely?! Linda's was then passed to me, And this is mine. So mine changed the basics slightly, like I missed out the scalloped edge and the title got a bit bigger, but basically the layout is pretty much the same. Mine was then passed to Shannon and on and on til the end. It so great to see the big reveal. Its brilliant to see how the layouts change from person to person. You can see how all the teams did here The next round (which starts in Jan) is taking sign up's so why not give it a go. Its loads of fun even if you just take part in the main whisper. I promised you some news too, didn't I?! Well, drum roll please......... I have been asked to join the very talented design team for Scrapwhispers!!!!!!! I have been bursting to tell you for weeks!! I am so excited. I will be leading one of the teams for the main whisper and my layouts and cards will be used to provide some inspiration for weekly challenges (I hope!). Come over and join us!! x

I'm back!

Morning! Its been a while since a proper post, so here I am with some cards and it will be like I've never been away! LOL (I know you missed me! :) ) A couple of weeks ago I got the new whiff of joy winter kit through my door and I've only just been able to sit down and play with them. So here is what I have so far.

These stamps are beautiful and so easy to work with. The rubber is nice and thick so gives a good clear image. All of these stamps have been coloured with just normal colouring pencils (its becoming a habit!) and I've used ..... Yep, MME Wonderful Winter and Signature christmas papers. So there we have it. Simple cards, but its been lovely to be able to sit and craft for me! I've got a bit of time on my hands today so expect some more tomorrow. I also have some very big news, so make sure you check back and help me celebrate!!

And if you've popped by, don;t be shy, say hello :)

Happiness is? Butterfly crafts DT

Hello! I am just popping in today to let you know that challenge 23 is up over at Butterfly crafts! This challenge, set by Guiseppa, is a fun one. What makes you happy? What really makes you smile, laugh and your heart sing? Your kids, your other half, a cup of tea or coffee first thing in the morning or even your hot water bottle in this horrible cold weather? Well, thats the challenge. We want you to scrap what makes you happy. You have until the end of the month to join in. Be sure to show us your creations by uploading to our gallery. I can't wait to see what you create! x

Just a note

Hi! I've been such a bad blogger recently. I just haven't stopped lately. I've been creating but its on a grand scale so I haven't really had time for much else. Last night I got to sit down and do a layout for me, though. Just one random one for my album. I tried a vintagey looking style as the photo is from 1979. I got Basic Grey's "Nook and Pantry" collection and I have to say I am in love. Its nearly all gone already! I've only had it since last wednesday! I inked around the edges of the papers and the flowers to give an extra lift. The red flower is from a stem I bought in my local Wilkinsons store and I just pulled it apart. I thought they looked a bit Prima-ish but with a nicer price tag for more flowers. I hand drew a few swirls and added some self adhesive pearls. And this is it all finished. And yep, thats me aged 15 months! I also used a rub on from Basic Grey "Two Scoops" and the stamps are from Papermania Signature collection. Also, I found some cute little notepads on Michelle Woodersons blog when I was blog hopping and decided to have a go. I went to my local stationers and asked them to cut 5 A5 notepads straight down the middle, then just measured them against some cardstock and decorated. I've already given one as a present to a friend of the family and she loved it. I thought these were great to have as something you can attach to your fridge or keep in your handbag to use as to-do lists or as shopping lists or just a little memo pad. I'm on a roll with these too. These are just 3 of the 10 I made. They are so quick and easy. Check out Michelle's blog for more and let me know if you have a go! x

A few cards and a challenge

Hi! I just wanted to share with you a few christmas cards I made last night. I tried to do the all white colour create challenge but had run out of my white pearl brads, so had to use teal instead! I love this little Manga Fairy from Sugar Nellie. The backing paper is doodlebug and really shimmers in real life. You can just about see it on the picture. I just love this image from Sugar Nellie. Isn't it just so sweet! Because it was a bit big for my card blank I cut it out and fixed it with foam pads. Now, these little guys are turning into a favourite of mine. Aren't they just so cute?! Not much needs to be done to them at all but yet they look so effective and just make a card stand out! And last, but by no means least, this one, again is using another adorable Sugar Nellie image. I'm entering this one into the lastest Basic Grey challenge which has a fab inspirational challenge to take inspiration from. Never mind the challenge, I want the room in the photo! If you love all things basic grey then go check it out. The papers I used on this is from the Wassail collection and the ribbon came off a bunch of flowers I got for christmas last year!

Sweetie Card

This is a card I created for the last of the weekly challenges of this round of Scrapwhispers. The theme was "Candy" and so to create based on your favourite candy. My favourite were Tootie Fruities. I really miss not being able to buy them now. Sometimes when I crave something sweet I really want a pack, but in reality they probably went out of circulation in 1989! I just loved the hard, bright coloured shell (these DCWV birthday stack papers are perfect for these sweeties) and the fruity chewy bit in the middle. Skittles are the next best thing but they just don;t really do it for me. Any hoo before I bore you any longer about sweets you cannot buy, I'll leave you to it. Just a quick one today. Kel x

BOO!!

Happy Halloween!! Are you having a spooktacular weekend? (Sorry :) ) We don;t really celebrate halloween but the kids love to be dressed up and we were invited to a neighours party, and couldn't go without a card. Naturally! So here are a couple of spooky themed cards I made.

This first one is made with Basic Grey "Eerie" papers (that I won from Scrapwhispers) and a squiggle Stamps image. The trick or treat sentiment came from Basic Grey Eerie stickers. And this next one, again made with Eerie papers and stickers, but the image this time is from Sugar Nellie. I loved colouring him in with an acid yellow face (though its not too clear on here). Not sure why but thats my favourite part of this card. LOL. I just wanted to share.

hope you have a defrightful night... sorry I mean delightful..... Mwah ha ha ha! :)

Yoo Hoo!

Hello! I have been dying to share this post with you all week but have had to wait til now because I've been away to Mum and Dad's. We got back yesterday. Anyway, last Saturday I got to meet up with some online friends, Georgina and Rosey. We have been talking online for around 2 years and have now finally got to meet face to face and have a mini crop together! It was fab that all of our timings just fitted. Me being at my family home, Georgina being home that weekend and Rosey being over from Singapore.

So here we are! L-R: Me, Rosey, Georgina. I was so nervous... well, more nervous excitement I think, about meeting with these ladies. We know so much about each other and we speak so often on the forum pages and via email. We also grew up around each other, even worked in the same building without knowing and we came together on an American website. Seriously, you just couldnt make it up.

This is Georgina, and Rosey. They are both so lovely!! Very easy to talk to and they were both full of tips and inspiration. So down to earth and very, very sweet & kind. Georgina let me loose with her Copics (Thanks, G!!!), had lots of tips to share and even gave us goodie bags! (there was also a sweet gift for DD. Her very own Goodbyn, which she has not left alone since!)

And Rosey showed me how to do shading and helped me out with a couple of scrapper block moments. She also showed me how to reduce my bag of rubbish when I am crafting. There were no scraps left, apart from the backing from double sided tape!! It was honestly, the smallest bag of rubbish ever!!! Rosey also bought some food from Singapore and some homemade fruit slices which were delicious! Here are the cards we created between us. I managed 4 tiny ones (4x4"). It was my first time using Copics and I am sold! I NEED these pens! I hope santa is listening, LOL.

We had such a great time. I really hope that we can get to meet again. These ladies are just so fantastic, I am so happy to have them as my friends.

So Georgina, thanks once again for organising it all and doing all the leg work! And Rosey, thank you for the treats from Singapore. They went down well!! And I am very sorry for getting you lost on the way back to mine, even if it was the scenic route :)

I'm looking forward to the next crop!!!

All about me in a Whisper

There are so many BOM challenges out there at the moment which I am loving because I am trying to get some pages of me done to pass down to my kids, so they can get to know the other sides of me other than just Mum. This fortnights challenge for All about me is to scrap a life turning moment. Of course I alrady had this topic for my DT challenge with Butterfly crafts, but I have more than one turning point. A huge one is when I became pregnant with DD. I was never maternal, I didnt even really like kids that much. So when I became pregnant I went into a state of shock and panic, thinking all kinds of things and the one I kept thinking was that I wasn't good enough to be a mum. As soon as I held my little girl in my arms I knew then that I was going to be ok. She needed me and if I am honest I needed her. I was in love from the second I saw her and it changed me into a far better person. I am also going to be entering this layout for the scrapwhispers challenge which is to create a Book Of Me layout. I'm off for a week to visit my family so this will be my last blog post for a while, but I will be back soon to share some more. I am so excited for this weekend when I get to meet some very special oline friends for the first time! I can't wait! (See you tomorrow ladies!!!!) :) Enjoy your week X

Almost no adhesive box of notelets

I've made this little box set as an early christmas present for my Grandma. She still loves to send cards and letters so I thought this would be ideal for her and after she has finished with the cards she can send the box to someone with a gift inside. This box is made from one piece of 7x10 cardstock and it holds 5 cards and envelopes of 4x4" size. I've just realised I've added this photo on its side! DOH! I'll try and rectify it..... This is how the back of the box looks. Then all I have done is closed it with some sticky fixers that I would usually use to close cellophane bags. I will do a proper tutorial when I can work out the measurements again. I did this completely off the cuff and so I am really happy with how it turned out. Look out for the tutorial later this week!

First Impressions

This is a late entry into the latest challenge over at All About Me. This challenge is called Pigeon-holed. Do people see you as something you're not? Do you feel like you should be a certain way? Are you mis-understood? The journalling on this layout reads:

"On first impressions, people generally think I am a snob, posh, unapproachable, when that really couldn't be further from the truth. I am friendly, chatty, down to earth, with a great sense of humour! I guess its just the way my face falls"

In this photo I know I do look a little harsh but that really is just my face, lol!!

I tried to make the flowers on here look a bit feathery by added the contrasting colour leaves to the black flowers. Adding diamonds and Pearls just were for the sake of the snobby part of the title. And today I have no idea on which companies made these papers, apart from DCWV, All Dressed Up (flowers) & Rock Star.

There is only 2 days left on this challenge, so another is due very soon!!!

Challenge 21 - Butterfly Crafts

Here is my first design team entry for Butterfly crafts challenge blog!! The challenge for this fortnight is "the moment that changed your life". For me it would be too easy to say that after I became a mum it changed my life. Which don't get me wrong, it did change my life in more ways than I can count. But for me it was the journey of how I got to be a mum that was important. I am a huge believer in fate and destiny and all things happen for a reason. So when I quit my dead end job at the age of 20, it started me on a path that I would never believe I would have been travelling. I set me off for my first job abroad, on a campsite in Germany, where noone spoke a word of English and I didnt speak German. I was alone there, but it was a challenge I threw myself into and never looked back from there. It also led me to do a HND course in European travel and tourism management, a logistics course in Copenhagen, Denmark, a job as a mountain guide in Austria and finally to 4 summers and 2 winter seasons in Spain. It was there that I met the man who was to become the father to my children. It gave me confidence and made me stronger. I have met some amazing people and done some incredible things.... most of all I found ME!!!!! For this layout I used a mix of Prima & graphic 45 paper, some lace ribbon, and gold wire threaded with plastic red and black beads, attached with green gem brads. the journalling is written on the Prima paper but it makes it a little hard to see. Go on over and check out the challenge. Its a fab one for a Book Of Me! I can't wait to see what you create!

Starting tomorrow!

Just to say that the first of the Winter DT challenges is up tomorrow over at Butterfly Crafts. Come and join us!! It will be loads of fun! Hope to see you there!

Scrap whispers Recipe

The new challenge on Scrap whispers this week is a really fun one. Its a recipe to follow. For the challenge you had to use 1 piece 12x12 cardstock, 1 piece 5x7 patterned paper, 1 piece 3x9 pp, 1 piece 8x8 pp, i journalling tag, letter stickers, 5 flowers and ribbon! I chose this photo of the Boy storming around the garden with his little bubble mower. He was so deep in concentration, pacing up and down. I just love this photo! And you guessed it some more MME bloom and grow papers were used (I do have other papers, I swear! :) ) I added some rickrack and punched some flowers from some Basic Grey june bug paper (see, told you! ). This challenge is up til saturday night. Give it a try??!

A pirates life

Morning all! I have been a bad little blogger recently. I've had a virus so I've not had much energy for creating but my mojo is creeping back in. So here is a card I made for friends little boy who is just nuts on Pirates. Everytime I see him he is dressed as one and talkin' arll piratey! So this stamp from Pink Gem designs was ideal! The papers I used are MME (suprise, suprise) wild asparagus, I hand drew and cut the tree and leaf shapes and then I went to the kids sandpit (again) and dunked the card in so the sand would stick to the double sided tape. The letter stickers are basic grey and the Pirate image was coloured in with normal colouring pencils (I really am getting lazy!) :) Pink Gem Designs have got some of the most cutest stamps around and there are some gorgeous christmas ones..... x

Alpha Challenge

On Scrapjazz there is an alpha challenge going on. We are on letters F, G, &H. Here is a layout I did for the letter F. It was to create a layout with a frame, flowers, felt and with a theme of Favourites. Well these are 3 of my favourite people, my Grandma, DD and the Boy. I took a sketch from a very talented lady called Davinie Fiero. I loved her layout with the grid stitching so I thought I would have a go. 3 days later it was done. Yes! 3 days!! Because Davinie had obviously had the sense to use a sewing machine, but I started pricking paper and hand sewing. Still, I am thrilled with the results! Don't tell her, but this layout is going into a frame and Im going to give it to Grandma, just because!