National Scrapbooking Day - May 4th 2013

Hellooo there! Hope you're enjoying some spring sunshine today, on (inter)National Scrapbooking Day (or Star Wars Day - May the forth be with you!).

I've got a couple of layouts to share with you today, and a little revelation. I've been scrapbooking on and off since 2009, mostly off, as I have two young children (2 and 5). So the number of layouts I've done in the last year was nonexistent.

But I take a lot of photos. And I would rather do something with them than have them languishing unseen on my hard-drive. Hence my recent "project life" photos-into-divided-page-protectors frenzy.

Now on to the revelation. I'm going to stand up and admit that I like clean and simple. I want to be one of those scrapbookers who can create lovely layers, and artfully arranged embellishments, but I can't! Well, I can(ish), if I agonise over it for about three weeks. Like this one:

It's a gorgeous photo, but there was no story. I'm not kidding when I say it was sat on my desk for three weeks, if not more. And it's not even that complicated. Just some washi tape strips, some splats of ink and some basic embellishments. Three weeks!

Then I did this next layout. Another set of cracking photos, with great colours in it. And this took me about an hour.

 And that's when the revelation hit me. Or rather, two revelations hit me.  1 - If I choose a patterned background, I have to do a lot less fussing, because the paper is pretty enough to use as is; and 2 - I'm lazy Less is more!

I like this LO much more than the first one, and it caused me much less anxiety. Scrapbooking shouldn't be about being anxious. Creating is supposed to help you relax!

And one of my all-time favourite LOs that I did was this one, created for Scrapbook Inspirations magazine for their Ready, Steady, Scrap section:

And that is so simple. Clean, uncluttered, but pretty and with enough little details to draw the eye here and there.

What helped me realise was thinking about all the LOs that I loved creating, and cards that I'd made throughout my life, and realising that "Clean and Simple" is a valid way to scrapbook (as is any way of scrapbooking). I'd indoctrinated myself into thinking that what I was doing wasn't "worthy". And that's nonsense. What we create is so worthy of our time spent creating it,  but only if we enjoy creating it! (otherwise it's just work).

So, that's how I'm gonna roll from now on. Play to my strengths (colour combos and paperpiecing embellishments) and avoid my weaknesses (layers and frills).

Have you found your style/groove yet? Do share :)

Another couple of pages and an imminent giveaway!

Who would've believed it, but my little old blog is nearing its 2000th visitor. I'm so pleased that so many people have passed through that I feel the urge to host a little giveaway. Again. Soooo... watch this space, next weekend I shall do just that, giving me a few more days to cobble together something tasty to pass on.

Meanwhile, I have scraped another couple of hours together today, and have managed to finish another two pages for the Simple Pleasures album:



Not the best pics, they look all flat, and there's definitely a bit more dimension to them. I'll try to take some more photos tomorrow if I get a chance. I'm liking this simplistic approach at the moment, glue and run seems to be the order of the day.

Remember, watch this space for my giveaway next weekend, and in the meantime, tell me what else YOU do for fun (keep it clean ;) )

"Go To Press" has started!

So now that I've recovered from the challenges that Shimelle sent last week, I've given a small parcel of time to my cover for the album for Go To Press (go here if you don't know what the heck I'm blathering about, and you want to know).


As per usual it took me a good while to decide what paper and layout to use, but once I'd chosen an embellishment or two, the whole thing came nicely together!

I'm quite pleased with it, and can only hope that the other pages come together as well. What do you find the hardest part of crafting? Do tell ;)

And this one....

...was on page 70 of this month's Scrapbook Inspirations, in the Readers' Gallery section. This is my second layout that's been published in that section (I think!). The other was this:

which was in the June issue. Two very different styles, I'm sure you'll agree! I don't think I've settled on a style as yet, I am still definitely in the experimental stage. How about you? Do you have a style that you seem to scrapbook in? Do tell ;)

I'm famous(ish)!!

Go see - My layout featured on the Scrapbook Inspirations blog here. I recently completed their Ready Steady Scrap challenge, and they've featured my layout on their blog. How chuffed am I?
Really quite :)


I guess since they've published it on the web, I'm ok to publish it here. The bit I particularly liked making for this layout? It's a toss-up between the hand-cut picket fence and the owl peeking out of the layered hole in the tree! No journaling as such, but I think the title says it all.

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 ;)

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 ;)

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?

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!