It's Friday!!!

Hooray it is Friday!

This week I have worked my way through two more layouts using my sketch. After reading the Just One Sketch Blog I am a little behind, as they have not only covered rotation of the sketch but also mirror image and now going monochrome. Oh well, I have next week to try and catch up.

Below is my layout using my first rotation. I am not happy with it, I love the colours, but it feels like it is lacking something, just not sure what.

Next layout is using the second rotation. This layout I am much happier with, the colours don't work as well on screen, the dots make it look fuzzy, but looking at the actual layout it is much clearer. I can even tolerate the wonky stamping.

I tried using stickers for the title, but they didn't look right. I really like how the title feels the space.

I used two Sizzix dies for the embellishments, a paint splat and Tim Holtz's rosette.

Hope my friend Laurie takes note that I have inked the edges, she is big on this and I get polite reminders at crop to do it :) So two new layouts to add to my 100 target, doing quite well this month, let's hope that I can keep it up.

Birthday celebrations this weekend, my lovely husband and my Fabulous Mum both have birthdays to celebrate, so a good opportunity for photos. Also means that I will have some use for the lovely boxes full of new stash that arrived this week. Yes I know that I am meant to be being good, but some of it was to good a bargain not to buy and also I still had some Christmas money to use.

No bootcamp, but lots of scrapping.

I have a poorly Ella, she has tonsillitis poor thing, so no school! This means that I have been unable to go to bootcamp, which is not good as I ate a HUGE piece of coffee cake at the weekend. On the flip side, Ella has been sleeping a lot, so I have put my time to good use in my craft room (can't do housework just in case I wake her, well that is my excuse & I am sticking to it). I have been working my way through some more of the Let's Scrap National Scrapbook Day Challenges. I have managed four more pages, all using Let's Scrap sketches, two for the challenges.

The first of my layouts had a long list of things the page must be include, it is my second attempt at this challenge, the first attempt you will see further down. My layout had to include the word "first" in the title, have some sort of texture, I used fabric and ribbon, it also had to have three patterned papers and a hand drawn border and finally a quote. I think I have remembered it all. The photo was taken at my Sister's wedding last year. The ribbon is the same ribbon that we used on the wedding invites. I love the layout other than my handwriting, which reminds me I forgot something, we also had to journal around the photo.

My next layout is the layout that I started with the above challenge in mind, but I did not re-read my notes before starting, so I missed half the list. Ella looks so small in the photo, it was taken on her first day of school. It was only at the end of 2008, but she has changed so much.

My third layout is using a sketch especially designed for the Let's Scrap National Scrapbook Day celebrations.

I really like this sketch I can see so many different ways that I will be able to use it. I have gone for simple (as always) this time, but I ma thinking that when I next use it I might change the shape of the squares. The photo on this layout is of Ella on her 7th birthday, hence the title 7even. I have hidden some journaling behind the photo, I don't have to see my handwriting then. I took the photo on the London Eye, which is what Ella wanted to visit on her birthday. We all had a great day in London.

My final scrapbook layout is of my niece Maddie, she is so easy to photograph and I have never taken a bad photo of her. I took these photos of her at Easter when she came to stay with us. Ella idolises her and follows her around like a puppy, it is very sweet and Maddie is brilliant with her. We spent most of Easter outside which was great. I might enter this page in the Let's Scrap weekly challenge, which this week is to use punches.

Finally the surprise, I made a card!! I follow Ann Freeman's blog and think she does amazing layouts, well this week she posted a card, at the same time my neighbour gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy. So using Ann's card for inspiration I made a card for my neighbours. I am really pleased with how it has turned out. Big thanks to Ann.

So there we have it, even though Ella is poorly, I have managed four layouts, which is another four towards my 100 goal.

To freestyle or not to freestyle? That is the question

I had another lovely day at the Eclectic Keepsakes crop on Saturday. As always Karen M had made some very yummy cupcakes (diet went out the window) and Karen C had designed a gorgeous layout, using Mind's Eye Lime Twist papers,  for us to do in the afternoon.

I really enjoy going to crops and I always want to make the most of my day scrapping. This month I actually managed to finish something! In total I have six pages to add to my total for the year, hooray!

In the morning I did a layout for a Let's Scrap challenge. The challenge was to include the word "time" in the title. I entitled mine "Over Time", the journalling reads "your teeth will grow back. It seems as soon as one grows back another starts to wobble. Between ages 6 to 7 I have lost count of how many teeth the tooth fairy has taken." My Sister took these lovely photos of Ella for me. I am starting to get used to that toothy grin, just as well as the tooth fairy came to visit again last night.

The other layout I completed used the same sketch from Let's Scrap. I used the photos that I took the other week at the new playground at Highwoods. Ella loves it there and has no problem with me taking lots of photos. I am finding my pages a little plain, but I am not brave enough to take that next step and be bolder. I am hoping that, that will come with practice.

After a quick lunch (I was starving) Karen showed us her gorgeous layout, which used some lovely papers from Minds Eye. This is where my freestyling quandary starts, do I follow Karen's gorgeous layout (shown below) exactly or do I make a couple of small changes? Just in case you are like me and haven't come across the term freestyling (I hadn't until I started going to the crop) it is when you take somebodies layout and do your own thing with it. The ladies at the crop like to take the mickey about it, it is a standing joke.

Well to start with I still have no working printer so I used a single photo that I had in my stash, rather than Karen's three. I also used different wording using those fab wood grain alphas. I also didn't add the rosette but you will see why in a bit. So here is my finished freestyled (only a little).

I loved Karen's orginal layout, but I think that it is nearly impossible not to freestyle just a small bit for a couple of reasons, firstly we all have different tastes, I am not as brave as some and tend to go for quite simple layouts, but I love that the crop lessons take me out of my comfort zone and I now have some lovely layouts that I would never of been brave enough to come up with. Secondly we all have different photos, our subjects vary greatly. Thirdly we all have different stories to tell. 

So using the leftovers from the above layout (they were too lovely to put away) I did my sixth layout. I carried on Karen's cloud theme and also used those lovely alphas again. I also used the rosette from the original layout, also adding two more. I am very pleased with myself and I have also now added the Tim Holtz rosette die to my wish list.

So there we go, I had a very productive crop. I also came home to discover that someone had finally done my challenge, hooray! I was starting to think that I would have no takers. 

Yesterday I went shopping with my Mum and I bought a dress pattern, so there is a new project on the horizon, I just need to find some lovely summery material.

Happy Birthday Eclectic Keepsakes

I had another great day at the crop on Saturday, Eclectic Keepsakes had it's first birthday. So as well as the lovely cupcakes that Karen makes, we also had birthday cake. As usual in the morning we did our own layouts. I had taken three double page layouts to do, in kit form. I did this as I usually end up chatting & I don't complete anything. This month my organisation was my downfall, the Karens had a sketch to do on the day, so I didn't have anything to use to put the sketch together. Never mind I am still learning, so in future as well as my kits I also need to take a small stash of something.

The afternoon class was designed by Denise, she had put together a beautiful layout using My Mind's Eye papers. I am still having printer trouble so I didn't take any photos. I have a half finished layout that once I find the right photos, I will post on here. The papers are so lovely and delicate, I am thinking maybe some black and white shots.

I have finished two layouts, so the scrapbooking mojo has returned from half term, hooray!

This layout I did using the Eclectic Keepsakes sketch from last month, it is another page for our Florida album, I am slowly getting there, it's only been a year since we went.

This is a closeup of the frogs, I used a Quickutz die to cut them out and I have added googly eyes, always a must on a frog.

The layout below is for the Let's Scrap weekly challenge, I have used photos I took at the beginning of last month, I altered the colour a little so that they looked better with the great papers from My Minds Eye. We had a lovely time over at the woods near us, Ella had a great time climbing trees.

So with these two layouts, I have three more pages to add to my 100 total, hooray! Tomorrow is my B&Q trip with my Dad, so hopefully by the end of the week I can post a photo of my lovely new noticeboard, fingers crossed.

Crop Day Tomorrow

Hooray! It's that time of the month again, crop day tomorrow. If I am totally honest it feels like it has come round really quickly. Need to get my act together and print off my photos tonight. We have been given a sneak peek and the papers look gorgeous, it is going to be a double page layout, which will help towards my 100 page goal.

Other than than not printing off my photos I am organised, I have roughly put some kits together, so hopefully I will get another page done for the Blog Hop. Spoke to soon, just realised I have bought myself any lunch for tomorrow. Oh well maybe one day, I will shock myself and remember everything.

So next time I blog I will be able to fill you in on what I got up to tomorrow.

Busy Becca

I have had a busy week, crafty week that is. I have been super busy doing the Let's Scrap Blog Hop and I have also finished my friends birthday present, as well as looking for new yummy recipes. I have also got myself involved in a new challenge.

I went into town today and got the press stud to finally finish the Phoebe Bag. I am really pleased with the end result. Yes my Mum did help me (a little), but who needs to know that.

My material is leftovers from my bedroom curtains, it is lovely & thick so hopefully it will be strong.

I downloaded the pattern, then cut it out. Here is the main piece of the pattern pinned to the material. The material is folded in half, so that I get a whole piece.

Here are my four main pieces of the bag. The two top pieces are for the lining. To give the bag shape you dart the bottom corners.

Here is the bags flap, I have sewn on a press stud & a button.

 The finished bag! I made the strap longer than on the pattern as I know my friend likes to carry her bag across her body, but it is not too long that you can't put it over your shoulder. I am really pleased with the end results and I am now on the look out for some material so that I can make myself one for the summer.

I will update you on my blog hop challenges tomorrow, as I have forgotten to make a note of which ones I have completed. I can tell you about the new challenge "TO COMPLETE 100 PAGES/LAYOUTS IN 2011". When I first read this challenge I thought "no way" but it is only for fun & the blog hop is helping a lot. As I type I have completed sixteen, yes SIXTEEN pages. Two are not Let's Scrap sketches, but that doesn't matter they all count. The lovely ladies at Let's Scrap have provided a link so that you can add a counter on your blog, but as yet I haven't figured out how to get it on here. So I will say bye for now, as I need to go play and see if I can figure it out.