Rainy Tuesday

We've had a lovely lot of rain today, everything is looking heavy and wet out there. Love it.

Good day for scrapping, too, though actually, I've been tidying, blog hopping and reading instead. And contemplating making a cake. There's nothing like a proper afternoon tea sometimes, and rainy days seem perfect somehow.

I had a good scrapping day yesterday, and here are the results, all challenges from the CC at The Scrapbooking Haven:

 This one had to have a handmade embellishment, ribbons and paint. I made the tree and fence and I put eyelets in the photos and threaded ribbon through. Love how that turned out. 

This one had to have Happy in the title. My take was a wee bit different, since my photo focuses on my very not happy DD, lol. I hope you can see the look on her face, she was very moody that day... 

 She was much happier this day, her usual cheerful self in fact. Had to use masking and/or stamping here. Love how you can alter a plain piece of cs so well with a little ink splashed about. 

And finally, me, with paint, string, pp strips and an altered chippy. I have been loving altering chipboard lately, using inks, paint, embossing powder and tiny wee chips of mica sometimes even. So much fun to experiment with it all. The crochet heart is a leftover from the ones I made for my gift tags at Christmas. The creamy splodges on the background are paint used on a stamp. It turned out very indistinctly, but I like it anyway.

All of these pages used up stash. Except for the tree and fence, I didn't actually cut anything for any of them, everything was already made or cut to that size, and in my scraps folders, etc. I am so loving that I have managed some great pages this week with my scraps. Just goes to show we should be delving in there more often!

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Pages Galore

I just realised I haven't been sharing my pages... I have been doing some secret ones but I forgot to share the ones I can share. The secret ones are for challenges coming up soon, but there are others that I've done over the last week or so, inspired by challenges from the forums I visit. I do love the creative minds that set a challenge and spark off so much other creativity, and I love seeing what everybody does with the same set of instructions or guidelines. It's endlessly fascinating.

I am on a stash buster kick at the moment, so almost all of these pages have been put together using up bits and pieces already cut, already made up, gifted by other scrappers during swaps or RAK items from friends. I have cut or made a few bits, but for the most part, the next month or so I am just using scraps - and loving the personal challenge :-)

First up here are my pages for Home and Scrapped and the Mid Week Challenges at Scrappy Sketches, both my own sites where the challenges were mine to start with.

 Mid Week Sketch 3-12 

I don't wear much red, or have much red in my life actually, but this new t-shirt has made me realise that it's not as bad as I thought. My DH and I have been together for half our lives now. The title says all there is to say about that.  

 Mid Week Sketch 2-12

My wild child using up more energy than is seemly (OK, more than I can muster, lol). I love all the different variations of banners/bunting that people use. This one was inspired by a journaling card I have, that has something similar printed on it. It's supposed to look like mini doilies. 

Then there are a couple for Challenge Heaven, another site that I sketch for. 

This is the December Sketch, which I turned on it's side and instead of one large photo, I used 4 smaller ones grouped together. Strong background colour for me, but it went so well with my daughter's bed linen.

And Rebekkah, who runs Challenge Heaven, set us a bonus challenge this month, to scrap-lift a page we like, preferably from CH, and I chose a page by Leah Cameron for it's elegant simplicity and different techniques. I rarely stamp straight onto a page, so I had to be brave, lol and just do it. Love the way it turned out. And yes, more red... but my daughter loves red and black, so it's not so unusual for her.

The butterflies came from pps I bought last year, aren't they pretty? One was BoBunny, but I can't find the name of the other one - must have thrown away the strip when I was cutting them out. I've bought a few pps just for cutting out the beautiful butterflies or flowers, it's a much more economical way to add embellishments to the stash.  And I love butterflies, love putting them on my pages, so I am always looking...

And because I don't have enough to do (um, or something...) I recently joined another forum. The Scrapbooking Haven had a Cyber Crop this weekend, so I've been being very inspired by the DT's challenges and have been happily creating pages this weekend for that. Still a few to go, but we don't have to have them done till Thursday, so I will keep going because they are all good. Here's what I've done so far:

This was a card sketch challenge - more red, lol... must be a craze at the moment with me. 

This was a white + one challenge, and the one was magenta. I didn't even know I had much in the way of magenta, but there you go, I had enough :-) I was inspired for this by my mother's magenta dress and I was delighted in the end, because this was the only half decent photo of her visit to Brisbane recently and it was a story I wanted to tell. I was putting it off a bit because of the photo, so this challenge was perfect and I love how it turned out. I used my delicious and treasured last snippet of the magenta Basic Grey I had to make the roses, and I think they set it off really well. The dark strip is a piece of velvet ribbon. Yum.

Believe it or not, this is quite a lot more yellow in real life. Dull day photography doesn't do much for some colours. The challenge was to use blue and yellow. I didn't cut or make a single thing for this page, it was already in my stash, tucked away here and there. I bet I could do a few pages like that... 

I have actually done another page too, and I have one on the desk, so I will be back later with more to share. Hope you like what I've been doing so far. I wish I could share the other three I've done, but all will be revealed in time. 

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

And Some More Flowers...

I put some new flowers in my Flower Shop the other day - and promptly sold more than half of them! So excited, thanks girls :-) But, it did leave the Shop looking rather bare, so I had to get busy and make some more. It isn't a quick job really, so it's taken a few days of planning, cutting and sticking, but oh, they just look so scrumptious, it's worth every minute. There is just something satisfying about creating these little darlings, and I love it.

So, I just added 20 new packs! And I've decided to get a bit more organised and bring out a fresh new garden's worth at the beginning of every month, so look for them again in February, if you want to keep up a fresh supply.

Here are a few of the flower packs, but for the full range, head to the Flower Shop on this blog. All the details about how to have these little beauties on your desk to play with are at the bottom of that page.

And now that my desk is clear of snippets, petals and leaves, I am going to do some mending, then go scrap :-)   It's raining today, a perfect scrapping day. My daughter has a pile of friends around and they are playing war games or some such thing (very ladylike I'm sure) and watching DVDs. I guess they will need feeding at some stage, teens are always hungry. Might be able to sneak a few photos for even more scrapping. Shhh!

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Crochet Goodness

Have you seen the deliciousness that is Lime Tree Creations? Becci makes the nicest crochet doilies, lace strips and sweet little flowers - you have to check it out. And if you do it this month, you might be super lucky and win one of these lovely packs. Just look at those lovely colours! Just look at the hours of work that has gone into each one. Becci is always generous and her work is gorgeous (I know, I have some of it).  {{smug}}



love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

New Sketch and New Flowers

I've been busy this morning, putting up some delicious new flower packs in the Flower Shop and adding a new Mid Week Sketch to ScrappySketches. More flowers on their way soon too, just had to share some, I love them so much, lol. I hope you do too.

So, not a lot of pages done recently, or anything else much either... but today I'm scrapping and mending, and making space in the garage so that I can take my big old desk out there and do it up. It's going to take a fair bit of prep before I can paint it, because whoever painted it before didn't use a good paint and it's scratching off. It will be worth it though.

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Cool

I was checking out blogs the other day and came across a link to a new forum. The Scrapbook Haven looks like a nice one, so I joined. Made a page with their sketch and love it, such a good idea to just use ribbons as a background. I put the scalloped mat on thick pop dots and it looks really good, gives the ribbons some space.

There are so many great forums and blogs out there. Inspiration everywhere (have I said that before, lol?) and I am all fired up with mojo, so I'm happy to take a few on atm. I've done 8 pages so far this year, woo hoo!

Do you like my poppy? I made that last night and I was so thrilled with it. Going to make a few more today for my flower shop, which will be reopening soon with a whole new range. 

Another couple of pages today, and then I think I will have to put the paper away and get the sewing machine out, because the sewing mojo is just as fired up as the scrapping mojo, lol.  

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

New Sketch

Looking for some inspiration? Have a look at my sketch blog, ScrappySketches. I have uploaded a new sketch today, the first of my new plan for a Mid Week Sketch, every week.

I have also been doing some fun pages from the challenges at Challenge Heaven. There are so many good challenges on blogs and forums to start the year with - a girl could just scrap non stop with all the inspiration out there. Love it! Here's the first page I did.

Had to use stamping and embossing on this one - messy, but heaps of fun. Love how it turned out. I should do more embossing straight onto the page, I like how it turned out.

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Pretty, pretty

Do you like my new look blog? I am loving this design, it's so gorgeous to my eye. The background and header both came from Itkupilli, that uber clever and inspired Finnish artist - love her work! I had to change the size of the header, and used two different designs from Itkupilli for it, to get that fab distressed look. Thank goodness my DH was here, because I could just look all girlie and pathetic and he showed me what to do. Non-techy, me. But yes, that's me in the picture. Well, it is, inside. Pity the outside doesn't quite match, lol.

Speaking of my DH, I made him a kindle cover for Christmas, and it worked so well, that I thought I'd share. Going to make another one and do a tutorial to show you how to do it. Watch this space :-)

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Fresh New Start

You have to love a new year. It always feels like such a great chance to start again somehow. It's not really any different to any other day or week, but it certainly feels like it is. The old and jaded is sloughed off with the night, and the day dawns with new hope. Well, that's what happens to me anyway. It just has a different feel to it.

I am really ready for a fresh new start, too. Last year had more than it's share of sadness, tension and worry for lots of us, despite the many good things that happened too.

This year, I want to focus on the good and the positive, much more. I have been aware of the power this holds for a long time, but I still have some negative people in my life, so I obviously still attract that a bit. Going to be taking responsibility for that this year, and getting my own positivity in order, so that is what I attract. That's how I believe the world works, and I'm not the type to deliberately walk under a ladder and think it's worth the risk, lol.

I have put up three challenges at Home and Scrapped today. Starting out the year with very good intentions, and even a bit of a bang, since I have actually done the pages already, yay!

This first one is for the journalling challenge. My daughter's friend took these great photos of her and I was delighted to find them on her camera. I have used various old embellishments that have been lurking - it's my intention to use up heaps of stash this year - and a pp I bought on sale last November. The big flower came from a friend in a swap and just happened to be perfect for the page.

The second one is for the colour challenge - more stash, and that was the last of those two pieces. More photos found on my daughter's camera, self portraits this time. Love them, I have to say, they are so much fun, just like she is.  

And this is the sketch challenge - just a nice simple sketch that lets the photos shine. The ribbon is the string from an old pair of sweat pants - you find treasure everywhere if your eyes are open, lol - and the flower leaves are from my new Quickutz die that just arrived in the post a couple of days ago. I think it's an old one, but it's new to me and I think it's going to have a good bit of use. I made the journalling card from plain white cardstock, which I inked and stamped. Love these photos of my son and his puppy.

So, a good start to the year, with book reading, scrapping, blog hopping and a little stitching all thrown in. I hope your day has been positive and relaxed and that this year brings you peace, time to play, grow and be your best you.

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Favourite Layouts of 2011

I have been inspired by others to go through my scrapbooking pages today and choose my favourite ones for the year. Here they are, in no particular order.

I am loving this new style I have going, stamping the background. It gives me quite a bit more freedom of expression and it's really fun to do. 

 Not to forget painting and stencilling the background. Love the dark grey with the acid green, but it all looked a bit dull until that little pop of pink, which seemed to make the rest just look good. 

This is what started me out on the whole getting messy business. Love this layout, which was a challenge on Home and Scrapped by Angela Budden, combined with a tutorial on how to do it. This is one of the rarer pages in my collection, in that there is no journaling. But then, the title says it all. 

Love the clean blue and white, the silver lettering and the mixed flowers. I don't use embossing much, but sometimes it's just exactly what you need. 

I love my pot of roses and the beaded circle in this one. Also the little bird watching my Aunty working :-) 

 I should use negative space more often, I like it.

 Twinchies, hand lettered title, using fairly simple lines to make it look complex. 

Love this idea of having a group portrait and then using random photos with a bit of info about each person. 

 Loving that orange! So fresh and pretty without being boring old pink. 

The patchwork I love, but the hearts really make this page, I think. Love scrapping the older photos. 

 Just like this one, love the softness and the pale colours, and that I didn't cut or make anything for it, it was all just stuff I already had made or scraps to hand. Also love that I captured my daughter just checking - she does that a lot, LOL.

Thanks 2011, you helped me tell our story a little bit more. Not all of it was good, and I'm kind of glad it's over. There are bits of 2011 that will stick in my memory forever but oh well, it's all part of life, learning, loving and living. I'd rather have been here than not, lol. We have ended up whole and happy and still standing, and that, my friends, counts for a lot. 

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Get Inspired

If you are looking for some scrappy inspiration to get you motivated and making pages this year coming, you will find all that you need at Home and Scrapped  Challenge Heaven and Red Earth Scrapping three fab forums that have all sorts of goodness happening. New DTs, loads of challenges, chatting and friendship, and Oh My Gosh, so much inspiration! Join in, you won't be disappointed. And if you do when you do, you will find my sketches at H&S and CH for your scrapping pleasure :-)

Yep, not only am I challenging everyone all over the place at Home and Scrapped, but I am now doing two sketches every month at Challenge Heaven! Fun, fun, fun :-) I am just in the middle of doing my pages for the monthly challenges at H&S (will share later) and also the sketch for the CH Cyber Crop which is coming up soon. Oh, and I must tell you, both places have also had a bit of a transformation and update. Both looking very pretty in their new summer dresses ;-)

It's been such a nice day, just pottering here in my scraproom, with no other commitments, apart from rushing out to get the washing in when it started to rain. Of course, it stopped as soon as it was all safely inside, tsk... I don't really want to be not-working, but if I am not-working, then this is what I want to be doing - stitching, crafting, making pretty with paper. I hope you are getting time for some creative fun too.

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Assessing and Wishing

This time of year is all about assessment and reassessment, don't you think? Reviewing what has been and what maybe should have been. That's how it gets me anyway. I wonder how it would be if we didn't name the years, and we just had to carry on with only the seasons for change? I suspect we would still have this assessing time, just at the end of winter before the spring arrives or something. It's necessary in lots of ways, I think.

One thing I've been assessing is this blog. I've been a bit of a bad blogger this year. And part of that is that I want it to be more than just about scrapping now. I love lots of other crafts and things too, so I'm going to start bringing those into my blog too, sharing creativity in all it's forms. I feel a reawakening of all that I used to love, and all the new things to love and explore are mustering on the horizon as well, waiting for attention. Pretty exciting.

Anyway, more of that later. For now, I just want to say that I wish you every happiness in 2012. I hope that good stalks you in every moment, that you find peace, comfort, pleasure and well being and that you are surrounded by love from all and sundry. I wish you well and safe and happy, whatever comes your way. I hope you get to the end of the year with roses in your cheeks and with a lot of good memories. x

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June

Time Slip

I can't believe it was August the last time I was here. What? How does life do that - slip by while you are busy fiddling about living it, and disappear forever?

I have some excuses, but not many. I moved house. I started working again. I am naturally idle, my mojo has been a little sluggish ... um... I'm sure there is something else I've forgotten. Oh, that'll do: I'm forgetful :-D

I have a nice new scraproom to play in at the new house, and it's been quite a rearrangement of my craft space with this move. I used to sew, you see. I used to sew and sew and sew. But then I fell into the open doors of my then local scrapbook shop and the thimble had to share with the glue stick. Then I damaged all the ligaments in my wrists and sewing was too painful for ages, even strapped up. So the glue stick, which had been biding it's time quietly, took over.

I've always been a secret stationery lover. That line in You've Got Mail about a bouquet of sharpened pencils, I get that. The idea gives me a little thrill. I love paper, pencils and scissors, and everything to do with them, really. If there was an apocalypse it's paper I'd miss most. Well, that and chocolate... and quite a lot more actually, but you get my point - a world where paper production stopped would be a very strange and somehow lonely place.

So, with this move, there is much more space dedicated to paper pursuits than there is to fabric pursuits. For the first time in my adult life, my space isn't called my Sewing room/area, even in my heart. This room is my Scraproom.

I had to change things a fair bit, because I lost the big bookcase I used to have, and the cupboard in here is only half the size of the last one, which was in turn, half the size of the one in the house before that. Eeek, just as well I'm OK at de-cluttering. Mind you, having just made that bold statement, we won't discuss the boxes still needing attention in the garage, shhh. Back to the Scraproom. I have a one door built in cupboard, behind which I've put a little metal shelf unit from Ikea, $16. Can't argue much about that price... It is the perfect size for my paper and cardstock stash, the folders that hold all my scrap offcuts and the boxes that hold my ribbons. It's good, there is no space for junk so there is none. Love it. When I am scrapping, the door is open, when I'm not, the door is shut and the room looks tidy. Shhh, I know the desk is a mess, but I'm doing something.

The something I am doing is Christmas cards and presents. And a couple of swaps. I fear the desk will be messy for a while. I'll share the cards soon. In the meantime, here are some of the layouts I've done in the few months since August. Sorry for being absent, but I'm back now. :-)

love, Heather "It's about love. You don't have to scrapbook to love but you have to love in order to scrapbook." June