A secret mission from the no-stress scrapper

So, there I was, browsing my email the other day when I got a request from Shimelle Laine. She was wanting to host an inspiration party on her blog this weekend, and was looking for some contributions. I was very honoured to be asked to contribute, and I was sent an assignment forthwith. Be warned if you've come here from Shimelle.com: my photos are in no way as arty and beautiful as all the other party-ers, though I am working on it :)

I tried printing out the cupcakes and one of the quotes on shrink plastic, but the only stuff I had was clear - the ink on the cupcakes was taking AGES to dry, and I'm really not that patient!

Shrinking them resulted in a bit of a messy mini-cupcake fob, which, though still useable (only just - see keyring) was not what I wanted. So I traced the original cupcake onto the plastic, dabbed white opaque StazOn over the back, and then coloured the front in with my alcohol markers.



These shrunk really nicely, so I threaded them onto a ball-chain and used this to hold my second project together. This project (a minibook) involved lots of copies of a journaling tag printed out onto cream card: I then cut then out and punched a hole in the top left corner. Easy peasy. I'm going to pick out a selection of my favourite indulgent recipes, and write them in the minibook, probably with a photo on the left-hand page.


The cover of the minibook has a cut-out chocolate cupcake stuck on it and a shrink-plastic "indulge" title, also found on the printables sheet.


So, onto the card. Cupcakes, and lots of them, deserve to be presented nicely, and so I cut a cake stand out of some white card, keeping it simple, drew a brown rim on the plates, chose some co-ordinating paper, glued it all down, added the "indulge" title and voila! One tasty-looking card.


Then finally to the easiest project of the lot. This photo:


I enlarged the printables file (opened in Adobe Photoshop Elements, not in Adobe Acrobat), and copied the cupcake quote that I wanted. This was then placed on a new layer of the photo, printed out to A4 and framed. Job's a good 'un!

It's been so useful to have this challenge, it's given me loads of ideas for future projects, but alas, there was only so much time to spend crafting this week. Mind you, I think that 4 projects in about 6 hours is pretty good. So, cruise on by Shimelle's blog this weekend, take a look at all the other blogs that she's linking to. Who knows what you might find? And if you can't make that, maybe I'll see you in the classroom for Go To Press!

Forget Journal Your Christmas - Scrap your Day instead!

Well, seeing as Christmas is well and truly over, I'm trying to stick to my resolution of crafting more regularly. I've had a lovely day making an album for Shimelle's free class "Scrap your day". I'm documenting the 25th of each month in photos and journaling. Her class actually started early last year, but I'm starting from the beginning. The compulsive in me won't let me start a 12-month project half-way through a year!
So here's the album I made last night (I'm definitely making use of my Bind-it-all).


The first day of the project was Sunday, and the pictures mostly show the disaster that was our kitchen. Apparently, a radiator had been leaking and soaked a wall in our kitchen. We discovered this happy event at 0:31, when the kitchen cupboards fell off the said wall, completely emptying their contents all over the kitchen!

The homesweethome title is said with tongue in cheek. The house we live in at the moment has provided us with many many horrors, due to the previous owner's pathetic attempts at home maintenance.

A happy time was had all that morning and afternoon, spent cleaning up the mess, and thanking our lucky stars that nobody had been in the kitchen at the time, and that the cat had managed to get out of the catflap in time.

I'm still doing my 52Q (years 2009 and 2007), but that's tonight's project!

The joy of Thickers

Oh me oh my. They are delightful. And I've just spent a happy half hour browsing and purchasing at Make The Moment Last, which has a New Year Sale on at the mo. I've bought a few different sorts, some colours that I don't usually go for, just because they're cheaper than usual.
And I stuck to my resolution of "no patterned paper". Hoorah!

But now, I really want a Cuttlebug and some Nestabilities. Oh, and a desk to scrap at, and someone else to write my assignment so that I can start some of the projects that are circling my brain at the moment (I've just read the latest Scrapbook Inspirations, and have loads of ideas, but no time!).

I just keep telling myself that this time next year, I'll have lots of time to craft. How do you make time to craft? And where do you craft? Do tell!

2009 already?

Blimey. We got back from Wales and relative-visiting yesterday to find little piles of cat-vomit (fur-balls), and a large pile of cat on our bed. In our haste to leave, we (I) had left the stair gate unlocked, and the kitchen door open, and the cat had made full use of the facilities. I am guessing that all the furballs are his, and that he has not had a party and invited his mates round for a booze-up. But then who really knows what they get up to whilst our backs are turned...

And then apparently it was New Years Eve last night! I was asleep on the sofa at eleven, from sheer exhaustion of packing, unpacking, setting up the travel cot, being sociable and smiley, packing, driving, unpacking, setting up the... etc etc. Not that we were planning to do much, what with a small child upstairs asleep, but more than a glass of wine would have been good!

So... Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for 2009, and I hope it is a happy, healthy and fun one for all of us :)

Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings, A Cool Yule...

Whatsoever takes your fancy!
Either way, just wishing you lovely readers the best of the season
And thanks for reading xx