Isn't she lovely?

Time again to get a catchy tune stuck in your head :) Scrap it with a song has a Stevie Wonder classic for you to use as inspiration (and to sway along to) this week. For my layout I used fancy pants Roadshow papers, a doily that my neighbour gave me, BG 2 scoops rub-ons. The alphas, I'm not sure who makes them but they came from my local papermill shop. Click here to see the full challenge and what the rest of the DT created. While I leave you with the soulful voice of Mr Wonder, I'm off to do some bopping of my own. Its festival time in the City so I'll be dancing away to some Beatles classics. Enjoy your week!

Get Stripping!

Settle down! LOL. Get stripping with paper!! This is the latest challenge from Scrapwhispers. To see the full challenge click here. Get tearing, punching, cutting those strips of paper and show us just how you strip...

Summer, summer, summertime....

Remember that news I had a while back that I said I was going to share? Well, now its all official, I can. I made the grade for the Scrap it with a song Design Team!!! :) I am sooo happy. Music is a huge inspiration for me when I create my layouts so being accepted onto this fab challenge site is amazing. And here is my first DT creation, based on the very relaxed, soulful sound of Jazzy Jeff and the fresh Prince: Summertime. It just has all the sounds of summer doesn't it? I've used a photo of me, taken at a park somewhere in Spain in the summer of 1983. I used papers from MME, Dovecraft and some of my bargain basement lace, to keep it soft and flowey (is that even a word?! ) Go and see what the other talented ladies on the DT made, and I hope this gives you some inspiration to join in!

Longest day

Our challenge for you at Scrapwhispers this week is to show us your longest day. Is there a day you wish you could freeze in time? or a day that just seemed to drag on and on..? I scrapped about a trip I had to the Blue Lagoon in Comino. It is just the most stunning place I've ever seen in my life. Just so perfect with its turquoise water, white sand, the placement of the rocks. It was amazing as well that obviously being a tourist attraction and it was packed full of people, clambering all over each other to get on the tiny beach, I felt as if I was the only person on the island. It is so serene. I actually cried when it was time to go. If I could stay in that moment of time, I so, so would! So where would you be? Come and show us :)

Frame Card

Hello! Thursday already... I can't believe how the time just flies.. I'm just popping in to share my new obsession with you. Frame cards. These are super easy and vey effective, I've made 8 so far and I'm not stopping there. So I wanted to show you how I make them.

Start with a piece of 12x12" cardstock, cut it in half. Take one of 6x12" and fold in half so you have a 6x6" card base. Put this to one side and then cut your other 6x12 piece down to 6x8" (put the small offcut to one side). Score at 1/2", 1", 7" and 7 1/2 down the 6" side. Then inside the 6x6 square you need to cut an aperture. What ever size you want to cut this is up to you, I've done mine 4x4". Whatever size you chose you then need to measure in 1/2" so you have a square within a square. Next you need to cut across the square, as shown in the photo. Tip: Before you cut your card, cover the front of your card with adheisive and attach some patterned paper if you want to. This makes it easier to attach the paper than if you cut first.

Next you need to make your frame. to do this you need to bend your triangles outwards on the first score line, then back in on the second score line, so your triangles look like they do in the photo below. The little piece of card you had left over, cut it down to fit your aperture (mine's 4x4") you can now decorate that and then sit it inside the frame. I added double sided tape, but you don't have to. On the outer score lines at each side of you frame panel, put some adheisive, and then attach this to your card base, and there you have your frame card. Once you get the hang of this, you will be hooked. I hope I've inspired you to have a go, and if you do then I'd love to see what you've done. :)

Colour create

Colour create's colours this week are sooo lovely that how could I not join in? There is a great photo for inspiration along with the colours of ivory, duck egg blue and one other colour from the picture, so I chose the soft green. The papers are just gorgeous in real life - Memory box, Frond, very soft colours and just right for this. the photo also screamed shabby chic to me so I roughed the papers up a bit and added some of my bargain bucket lace with a wire butterfly I've had for an age! A card for all ocassions.

With a hip hop, a hippity hop...

Hello!!! (Yep, 4 posts today... woo hoo!) This is a biggy, because its scrapwhispers blog hop time!! If you have come straight here, go back to the beginning for the tutorial. This month was my turn to come up with a tutorial and seeing as it's back to school season for many, and of course holiday season, I've created a little backpack scrapbook album which is perfect to show your holiday or school photos, or even to give as a new teacher gift (if you do that) For mine, I've chosen the school theme, using the gorgeous papers from October afternoon - Report card. So don't forget to see how I did this, head back to the Scrapwhispers blog for the tutorial and to follow the hop to see what the rest of the amazingly talented design team have done. Next on the hop is Leah! Make sure to check out her gorgeous backpack album! Also seeing as this is my birthday month, I am giving away a little RAK in a prize draw for those who join in and create one of these backpack albums. So link us up to your blogs when you're done and I'll put your name in the hat. So spread the word. You have 2 weeks from now. Have fun and Good luck!!!

The mission - I chose to accept it :)

I thought I'd have a go at the latest mission at Mission to create. It always really gets the grey matter going into overdrive... and what a great mission this is! You have to try and get all the elements into one page. So I've used brads, stitched a border, used 6 patterned papers no larger than 1"x1" (I used 6 different papers many times over to create the quilted effect, use the photo for inspiration and to use photo booth photos. Technically, my photos aren't from a photo booth, they were long arm shots of ones self and then printed out passport sized and then arranged into photo booth style... Cheating? Maybe... I prefer, experimental :) So this is me, though I officially still have a week until I turn 32 (ouch!) (there is an "almost" written in the title, but you can't see it on the photo). I have journalled which you also can't see very clearly, but it basically says how it still pains me to say the T word. Because I'm now not twenty anymore and I don't like it. Something I will just have to get used to.... :(

Home sweet Home

Scrap that Poetry's challenge poem is Home Sweet Home by John Howard Payne. A beautiful poem with a lot of inspiration throughout. Instead of creating a layout this fortnight, I chose to do some home decor. I bought a frame from M&S for just £4, and it's so lovely it was just calling out for some chintz. Using up my Fancy Pants - Roadshow papersI pieced together this little house. I added some lace to the layers in the roof, which also opens up to reveal some hidden journalling about all the places we have lived and where we call home. I sewed around the edges to give it a more homely feel. And the little "home" sign was embroidered onto some old cotton fabric from an underskirt of one of DD's dresses. Check me out being all thrifty! LOL. Pop over to Scrap that Poetry's blog and I hope you can join in with us. What will you create?

Say what?

Scrapwhispers super duper challenge this week is all about speech bubbles. Use them on your projects, cards or layouts to be in with the chance to win a brand new pack of papers from Graphic 45. I created this frame card for my example. I simply cut a cloud shape and added some pearls to add to the speech bubble. Click here to see what the rest of the design team came up with. I hope we will have inspired you to "chat" with us this week!

Scrapwhispers Team game!

We are still taking sign ups for the next round of scrapwhispers. The new game starts August 14th. Not sure?? Go over to Scrapwhispers and check out the big reveals and the rules. Don't want to commit? You only need to create one layout in the whole game, which you would "lift" from layout before. Want to play? email Georgina at GH26@sky.com

Winter wonders

I've not joined in a challenge for a while, and now I want to really get a kick start on my christmas cards, Winter wonderland's challenge of an Easel card with sparkle seemed a perfect way to get moving. Easel cards are just fab to make, but this time instead of using the usual square card, I went for a long DL card. Generally, I don't like this shape of card. I'm a bit particular with my cards and far prefer the order of a square, but I'm thinking I could learn to love. A pretty simple card, really. I just used up some scraps of MME christmas papers, added a vintage mini postcard, a feather, some old lace (I picked up 4 metres for 15p at the local market!!!!) and some buttons to which I added some crystal stickles. I might have a go at making some more of these in this size.

Animals

Another fabby challenge is up over at Scrapwhispers! This week we want to see Animals on your projects. Pets, zoo animals, wild animals caught sneeking around your garden (I will catch that pesky Badger one night!!), show us your animals. My page is about my Kitten, Pepe, when he was around 2 months old. We kept visiting him so he would get used to us before he came to live with us (it worked!). We just couldn't wait to take him home. You have until Thursday to load up your projects over at Scrapwhispers. Can't wait to see the wild ones! :) Enjoy your weekend!

Kingdom by the sea

I'm back from my hols down south, the tummy bug has finally gone, the sun is shining and I have my computer back!! Its so not the same using someone elses. I am really late posting this fortnights poem challenge for Scrap that Poetry, and this fortnight is an exciting one. Not only do we have a poem from Edgar Allen Poe for you, we also have a scavenger hunt and I am providing a little RAK for the winner. This is my layout based on the Poem "Annabelle Lee". I used a line from it for my title, "Kingdom by the Sea". In France last year, my DD climbed on this rock and declared it her Island!! Isla de la Sinéad, was what she named it. Just how cute! And if you wanted to go onto her island you had to pay... thankfully in stones, LOL. She spent so much time decorating her rock with seaweed and pebbles, it was so sweet watching her work. So now all you have to do is go check out the poem, and click on the DT individual blogs for the scavenger hunt for a chance to win a prize from Moi! Have fun and good luck!! :)