50th post!

It's been a while since my last post, I promise I've only been thinking of lots of lovely stuff to give away in celebration of my 1000th(!!) visitor (and coincidentally, my 50th post). So, photo to come, but suffice to say that anyone who comments on this post will be entered into a draw for a little bundle of crafty/scrapbooking goodies of various types - in shades of purple, green and pink. Lovely!

International commenters are welcome, but I reserve the right to substitute the bulky stash for something more amenable to overseas postage - say an Amazon/Ebay/digiscrap voucher or something ;) I'll close the draw on 12.00 midnight GMT Sunday 19th April and post the winner on Monday some time

Also, if you're up for even more free stuff, take a look at the gorgeous Tollipop blog. It's always choc-full of delightful pictures, photos and the most absorbing tales to accompany both. It's also her one year blog-anniversary, and so she's having a giveaway for the gorgeous framed original artworks below, plus other goodies. I have no idea why I'm telling you all about this... I want them all for myself. Mwa ha ha haaaa.

Stitch and Craft Show 2009

So, this last weekend was my big moment, my chance to see my name in lights... well, on laminated card anyway. It was the Stitch and Craft Show 2009 at Olympia 2 in London, and the Best of British Scrapbooking 2008 winning layouts were to be exhibited. That'll be mine then! Well, along with five other far more fabulously talented people, Michelle Jackson-Mogford, Julie Kirk, Jo-Anne Cavanagh, Jane Knight and the overall winner, Kim Tomlinson.

Needless to say, I was very excited! I managed to arrange to meet up with a couple of the other winners who were also going, and we got together for a photo or two. I also got to meet the very lovely (and dinky) Rosie Waddicor, the editor of Scrapbook Inspirations - the magazine that ran the competition.

I went with all intentions of splurging on loads of stash, but managed to only buy knitting-related products. Not quite sure how that happened, but hey ho. All is good!

Right now though, I'm really wanting this wallpaper - it's fabulously decadent!

I also got to meet up with one of my "Pay It Forward" giftees, Tinkersdamn, and handed her a little cute something that I hope will be useful. The 6 spots are now filled, though I will be having a 1000 (!!!) visitor giveaway at some point very soon, so keep your eyes peeled. Suffice to say, I've had lots of fun fiddling with felt, and think I might have to make all sorts with the stuff.

So, tell me, is scrapbooking your only craft, or like me do you have crafty fingers in too many pies?

Q52 update - it's been a loooong while!

Ok so I admit. My plan to do one a week of these somewhat fell by the wayside around my last assignment deadline, and I got a little behind. 6 weeks behind.

But I'm all caught up, so here they are:

Q6 - If I could do it all again, would I change anything?

Q7 - What would I do if I knew I could not fail?

Q8 - What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

Q9 - What was the last brave thing I did?

Q11 - What keeps you awake at night?

Those eagle-eyed people may well spot that Q10 is missing. It was "name 5 movies that inspire you creatively." I am hard-pushed to name even one movie, so I may just do 5 things (people, music, objects, situations) that inspire me creatively instead. THAT list is endless...

My answer to Q7 may seem mercenary, but I'm already doing everything else I've ever dreamed of, and if I fail, then hey - it was meant to be. I'm one of those people who can ALWAYS find a silver lining. And I figure, if I win the lottery, then I have a list of lovely things I could do for other people with the money :)

Pay It forward Update

It's not been that long since I posted this, but already I have received my gorgeous gift from Sophie. A beautiful card wallet, complete with four cards and envelopes! The fabric is just wonderful, and I want more :) Thank you very much Sophie!

And so, this has spurred me on to get a move on with my PIF items. So far, I am sending Steph, Lisa, Eleanor, Sarah and Sophie a little something. All I can tell you is that it involves some of this:

from here - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Pixie-Rose-Crafts - any more than that would give the game away. It's a new craft for me, so the results could be VERY interesting. So, watch this space, or your letterbox if you're one of the commenters (oh, and I've still got one left, so feel free to read and comment on the original "Pay It Forward" post here if you want to join in the fun!)

Scrap your Day February 2009

Well, it soon came round again. After last month's astounding start to this project (see this post if you're curious), I was hoping for a fairly low-key day on February 25. Thankfully, I got it. The replacement carpet for DD's bedroom did arrive, but other than that it was a fairly uneventful day. That is, unless you count the first appearance of tree pollen, which is never a good day in my sniffy, red-eyed book.

I'm really enjoying the way my pages (and cards) are evolving as I make them at the moment. I start with the bare essentials, and the ideas are just popping in to my head. It's this aspect of crafting that really cheers me up. Liking the end product helps, but it's the process that I find most therapeutic!

What's your favourite bit, why do you craft? Is it for the end product, or just the sheer joy of making something?

Yet more cards

Just another two today - my card calendar is so busy this time of year. I think I'm going to have to make a stock of them in advance. Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? That would require forward planning. Pah.

Anyhow. I'm still using the same kit I won from SI/Creative Expressions, in fact, the same piece of paper. Who knew how many cards you could get from a 12x12 piece! I'd never used patterned paper on cards before I started scrapbooking, and it's really opened my eyes. There are only so many things you can do with blank cardstock!

The lettering is more done with the pound stamps. Also, rub-ons are now my "thing". They're great, and I want more. But then there's no surprise. Since I stopped buying paper, I've been accumulating more stash for embellishment. Now I really need that house extension for my craft room...

P.S. Still one more space left on my PIF post - take a look down the page :)

Buyer beware (or perhaps baker beware)

Yesterday, I made my most favourite recipe of the moment - apple cinnamon rolls (there would be a better pic, but I only have one left). It's a recipe I received in my Abel and Cole veg box last year in times of plentiful apples (one of their staff, Rachel, made it) and I made it A LOT. I swear it's addictive. You have been warned...

Easy Apple Cinnamon Rolls

3 medium-sized apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1cm cubes
Juice from 1 small or ½ large lemon
50g unsalted butter, chilled butter, cut into cubes
Extra butter for greasing
Plus 3 tsp butter set aside for glossing the rolls
200g self-raising flour
¼ tsp salt
25g caster sugar
2 tbsp natural yogurt
100ml milk
3 tsp cinnamon mixed with 6 tbsp caster sugar

Place apples in a pan with 2 tablespoons of cold water and lemon juice. Cover and simmer over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Strain liquid off and leave cooked apples to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 220C. Butter a 18-20cm loose-bottomed, round tin thoroughly. Line the base with baking parchment.

Sift the flour with the salt. Drop the butter cubes one by one in the flour, coating each with flour until all of the butter is in the bowl. Use your hands to gently rub the butter cubes into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Fold in the sugar.

Whisk yogurt with the milk. Gently incorporate into the flour. Mix until you have soft, slightly sticky dough. Turn dough onto a generously floured surface – if it’s is too wet to roll out, fold in a bit more flour. Pat into a 18 x 30cm rectangle.

Spoon the cooled apple mixture evenly over the dough. Sprinkle 2 tbsp cinnamon sugar over the apples. Roll the whole lot up tightly from the longer edge. Use a serrated knife and cut into 7 even slices. Position the rounds in the tin, cut side up, and with plenty of space between them.

Add a pinch of the reserved butter to the top of each roll. Sprinkle over the remaining cinnamon sugar, covering the tops of each round. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden. Remove and cover with a clean tea towel and leave to cool slightly before eating warm or cold.

That is the full recipe, but I don't put the extra butter on the top, nor do I use 6 tbsp sugar for the topping - I use 4 and adjust the cinnamon accordingly. They still taste fab, and I feel a little less guilty eating them. However, I feel this good behaviour is negated somewhat by the fact that I usually eat 4 out of the 7 rolls that it makes.

Enjoy :)

Card city!

Well, four anyway. Which is more than I've made in quite a while.
Luckily I made them yesterday before my mojo once again left me. 2 birthday cards, 1 V day (of course!) and a very early Mothers' Day card. The more observational of you may notice that I have clearly succumbed to the call of the Cuttlebug. I relented and spent the last of my Christmas money on it. And I love it! Of course, I had to get a couple of Nestability scallop dies to go with, but all in all, I am very happy.

It's the first time I've made cards since redoing my appalling effort at Christmas cards. I'm not over the moon about all four, but they have their bits of appeal.
I do love the lettering stamps (in the "always") - they were part of my Best of British Scrapbooking prize from Creative Expressions, as were the stems, the patterned paper and the pink ribbon. I thought I'd actually better make something with the stuff, rather than storing it neatly away under the bed or on the shelves.

The photo is one I've been waiting to take for a while. We have a fab Royal Mail pillar box over the road, and I've been waiting to get some decent snow to take this shot. The postie didn't make the pick-up that day :)

Crafty "Pay it forward" - what an EXCELLENT idea! FREE STUFF

I just visited my old pal Trees's blog, she's got a FAB post about Pay it forward. (I've also gone on to leave a PIF comment at an Aussie blog, so not sure about that one - postal charges etc) Just my sort of thing - I love giving presents, so... here goes.

If you are one of the first 6 people to comment on this post I shall send you something handmade by me which shall arrive at your abode in the next 12 months. If it doesn't you have written permission to publicly denounce me as a liar and a cheat :) Trees, you don't count, cause you need something to cheer you up, so I'm sending you something anyway!

My understanding of the 'rules' are that if you are one of the 'winners' you then have to set up your own Pay It Forward handmade giveaway to the first 3 that leave you a comment on your blog and I think you also have to use the PIF heart picture in your post.

HOWEVER, I'm with Trees and her friend Soph on this one, please leave a comment even if you don't blog and if you don't feel you could hand make a gift then maybe you could do someone a good turn or make a small donation to a charity. Whatever. Just leave your comment.

52Q - weeks 4 and 5

Back to the weekly art journal challenge for me. I'd been mulling over week 4's question - What do you see when you look into your eyes?

I wanted to use a close-up of my eye, and decided to mess about with photoshop. I converted a picture to black and white, adjusted the contrast and brightness to end up with what you see to the left.

My trusty £1 letter stamps came in handy, I've been wanting some of the making memories mini alpha stickers that I see on a lot of layouts, but these do much the same.

The "Time" is a 7 gypsies rub-on, and the rest is handwritten. All in all, I'm happy with the result!


The next week, the question was "How do you feel today?". With all the snow, I was out early this morning with my camera, snapping some fantastic scenery in glorius conditions. The front of the ATC is a photo of a snow-covered roof near me, complete with weather vane. It just looked to perfect, all clean, and against a beautiful blue sky. It summed up for me why I LOVE weather like this. Clean, peaceful and beautiful.

Simple crafting today, another couple of rub-ons and just a metal photo corner to finish off the journaling. I am thoroughly enjoying this project, but have a couple of layouts up my sleeve for this week. Watch this space ;)

What do you feel about weather like this? Do tell!