How long since?

Blimey. I think this is the longest gap between posts in my blog's short history! Suffice to say, I've been busy doing worky-type stuff with the people at my placement (see last post), gardening, woodwork and general vocational fun. Current project involves helping the trainees all make a personalised clock out of wood and printed images. All good!

So, in my little craft world, I've been watching Shimelle's Month of Colour which is rapidly nearing its end. The challenges have come thick and fast, and I've been biding my time and thinking which ones to attempt, mainly because I have very little spare time at the moment. I had a go at Kirsty Neale's guest spot challenge last night, after being inspired by her pants (that is not as dodgy as it sounds, I promise. Check out her guest post here, and you'll see some fabulous customised vest/pyjama pants sets). So here is my card, inspired by the fab colour/graphic combo on one of her creations.


I'm definitely not a pink/green girl, but I think this looks pretty funky. I reckon I'm also going to have to get myself a few square envelopes, as this may well be my choice of shape for cards in future.



Another little project I've been working on is these little menu magnets for my fridge. Every week, I make a list of what food to cook, in order to reduce waste and to keep me sane! It usually ends up on a tatty bit of paper stuck to the fridge, and then in the bin at the end of the week.



I thought I could make a set of reuseable labels, and got these natty little magnets to hold them. I had some resin vegetables that I'd been saving for a recipe book project, but I thought they'd look good on this instead. The lettering is some plain American Crafts Thickers in chipboard, and I haven't yet decided whether to paint them. I might just matt varnish them instead... whaddya reckon?



(For those that are in the know, I'm now aware that canneloni actually two 'l's. And I'm still trying to get another two magnets for Fri and Sat - wish me luck, as I bought them over a year ago)

Lastly, my blog-buddy Trees has reached the grand total of 100 posts on her creative blog, and is giving away a generous bundle of gorgeous goodies. She's firmly convinced that only 3 people read her blog, and it's most definitely a shame if this is the case. Feel free to cruise by her blog here and leave your mark. Though if anyone else except me wins, I shall hunt them down and nick the bundle off them ;)

More twitter posts scrapped

So, what have I been doing with myself the last week or so? I've been busy playing with some fabric and ribbons, and recovering a cheap looking journal ready for my work placement next week.


I'm off to spend 6 months working part-time with adults with learning disabilities in a local vocational rehabilitation-type place. I'm so excited, they do some arty-crafty type stuff, as well as running a cafe and garden centre there. I'm hoping that my meagre ideas will also play a part in helping them to become self-funding. I have to say, I've found a lot of inspiration for stuff on this blog - It's a Creative World. There're a lot of regular contributors, and the variety of posts is fantastic.

Besides that, I've been adding to my Cathy Zielske album, as seen below.

Some of the images are stock ones, free from here, others I've replaced with patterned paper.

I didn't have any appropriate pictures in my "library", and I have too many other things to do to be setting up photo shoots for this little album.

For future reincanations of this idea, I might actually take an appropriately linked snap at the same time.

In a completely unrelated post, I got a lovely FREE box of nibbly goodies through the post today, courtesy of www.graze.com. I have also got a code for anyone else to get their first box free and the second box half price - YT6XNN7 is said promo code if you fancy trying it out. I intend to cancel after my second box, but in the meantime, I'm loving the gorgeous fresh pineapple, milkshake mix and cashews I got this morning. Not only that, the sturdy card box it came is is the perfect size for either converting into a mini album, or perhaps for posting delicate birthday card type things - double bargain!

I'm definitely becoming more adventurous in my creativity, I'm hoping I'll be brave enough to post some more stuff here soon :)

Everyone can write a little

Yes that's right! Cathy Zielske's new class on Big Picture Scrapbooking involves micro-journaling a la Twitter or Facebook updates. And it rocks! It's one of the most satisfying albums I've made, because it's quick, personal and could be endlessly repeated or reinvented. It's a little more expensive than other classes I've taken, so I waited right up until the last minute to join. I've enjoyed it all thus far - Cathy has a very good sense of humour and this has definitely added more value and interest to the class!


I made the album from scratch, as I didn't have the funds for a gorgeous American Crafts 6x6 Ring binder. I aimed to make something a bit like a Bind-it-all Cover it, since I wanted the same effect as the ring binders. And even though I say so myself, I think I did a pretty good job! I've been saving this Tinkering Ink paper for so long, the most expensive paper I have in my stash, and it suits the purpose perfectly.


The inside covers and the paper for the title page are also from the same pad. It's got some cracking contrasts in it! I love the rich chocolate in combination with the reds and blues.

It's such a simple concept but so effective (well, it is Cathy Zielske after all, the Queen of Simple Scrapbooking!)

There are many more posts just ready to be dropped into the template, but it's just a case of finding the appropriate photos to go with them. It has the potential to build up quickly, and I like that sort of thing.

What's your current project, and do you twitter? My username is SBLove_crafts, if you're on there, drop by and let me know!
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Ooh my very first crop!

Well folks, I had a thoroughly good time last night - me and my friend Paula had our very first crop! I used to work with Paula back in the day, and lost touch when I moved jobs, but we reconnected last year after we'd both had children. Not only did we have this in common, but she also did scrapbooking - the joy of finding someone else who shared my love of paper and glue!

So, after a few months of just talking about it, we decided we'd get together and actually scrap side by side, a mini-crop all of our own. There are no crops that I know of in our area (Sheffield/Chesterfield), but if anyone else knows different, please let us know.

We chose a layout designed by Natalia Harandon in a recent issue of Scrapbook Inspirations (page 40 issue 52 if you're interested) as our inspiration, and arranged a night away from the respective squealers.

After spotting this post about the men's testicular cancer charity Orchid on It's a Creative World, I thought I'd scrap my man. He's a great fan of dressing up, and delights in growing a beard for the purpose of shaving it into various shapes. I chose the best photos, converted them to black and white, and kept the main (tastiest) photo in colour.


Paula also scrapped fabulous photos of her eldest boy at 18 months old, already as tall as his dad's lawnmower - eek! I love the colours she's used - even though they're exactly the sort that I gave away in my last post!


We plan to have another in a few weeks, and will probably do a similar thing. What do you do when you go to a crop? Take your own individual project, or have a joint inspiration piece or topic? Do tell ;)

Get that citrus zing in your craftspace!

Well, inspired by the clean-up giveaway at Shimelle's blog/Twitter, I've had a tidy up myself and have decided to be ruthless. Here I have, for free, two sets of stash each comprising of a 12x12 album, a pack of citrus HOTP 12x12 paper, half the pack of citrus flowers, half the pack of brads, and half the pack of citrus monograms. They're part of my prize for winning BOB2008, and I've been keeping them in the hope that I'd learn to love bright colours. I have come to accept that they're just not me! So, the first two UK people to comment below will get a little stash boost (has to be UK, cause they're so darned heavy, sorry).Whatcha waiting for? Go comment!

Title changed to stop spam.

Well, after some rather fetching moments with my darling daughter, who strenuously fights any attempts to put any pretty stuff in her hair, I'm looking for a couple or three readers who have a small child who'd love to try some of my new felt flower hair clips or bobbles FREE OF CHARGE!! Yes, that's right, FREE! I think they're delightful, and if I had any hair, I'd wear them myself, which of course you may want to do. Whatever you wish to do with them is fine, provided you don't sell them! Because that's what I'm planning to do.


The only thing I'd ask for in return is your opinion on a couple of things - the design and the price! So, if you fancy a little pretty in your post this weekend, drop me a line at rattuspackus@hotmail.com - the first 3 people to mail with a choice of type (either bobble/clip) and colour (purple/orange/blue/bright pink/dusky pink) will get the chance to help me out :)

If that sort of giveaway isn't your thing, try this blog from Charmed Stamps - they're a stamp company and they have such a lovely bundle of free stash to celebrate their new stamp range...

Update - still two samples up for grabs... email me :)

Prepare yourselves...

I've actually gone and scrapped a photo of me, when I had long hair. It's really quite sad, how much I miss my hair. It's short now, for the main reason that at the moment, there's quite often bald patches due to stress. That and the fact that with a toddler it's quite difficult to spend time scrunching and combing. I don't think I could bear to go through the in-between stage - with curly hair it can be a nightmare!

Anyway, enough of my whingey reminiscence. Are you ready?


I've been trying to be a bit more simplistic with my layouts, otherwise I spend far too much time thinking about what to do. This one still took me three hours from start to finish though. I think most of the time I spend thinking about which papers and cardstock to use. I then hunt through the rest of my stash, and pick out stuff that coordinates with the colours I've chosen, sling it in the pile, and then discard it bit by bit until I get what I want. I think it looks ok, but I'll probably go back at some point to tart it up a bit.

What takes you the most time? Do tell ;)

Pay It forward Layout - it had to happen!

Now my work is done with the pay it forward goodies, I can post this layout here. I really had fun with this one, but made an error which I have duly noted for future reference. That is - "title lettering should be the same type for each separate word."


I've posted the before and after, and I hope you'll agree, it was an improvement, though I have to do something to disguise the marker pen and the glue from the previous placement underneath. I might just take all the letters off an put a strip of card underneath - though any other ideas gratefully received.


I think I have a problem with Thickers. They are pricey, and sometimes I just can't bear to use too many. What's your favourite item that you can never bear to use? A piece of patterned paper? Or a strip of glorious ribbon - do tell ;)

The goodies

So, as promised, here are a couple of shots of the stash that will be making its way to Floppy. It's going to feel a bit like Jim Bowen on Bullseye for the rest of you - have a look at what you could have won...



And what's in the box, I hear you say... well, I wanted to keep a few small bits and bobs a surprise - that way, Floppy gets the best of both worlds!



Thanks to all who participated. No doubt I'll have another draw soon for something or other, so keep popping back and browsing!

Hoorah!

And we have a winner! It is: Floppy, who said...

Congratulations on your 50th post and 1000th visitor!! Well done :) I really should get my finger out and start my own blog...I did sign up for one months ago but haven't done anything to it!

Edited: Floppy has been in touch! And very delighted she was too. Let's see if she still feels the same when she's got the stash! I'll also make sure she get a couple of my lovely handstitched felt flowers in a co-ordinating shade. Have a looksee here at my pal Trees's blog for a pic of said flowers - I have mislaid my pics, and wanted to blog the winner asap... I'll be posting photos of stash tonight, just so you know I wasn't teasing!

Enjoy the sunshine...