A Swag Full of Pages

I've been a bit out of action lately. It's not that I haven't been busy... just not getting much done. You know how it is sometimes. Anyway, I have done a few pages, thanks to some excellent challenges at Home and Scrapped on the Cyber Crop weekend. 

Joy's Challenge to use no patterned papers and to play with some of the techniques we've learned lately. So I masked, misted, inked, stamped, heat embossed, distressed and rolled the background cardstock, then doodled on it for good measure. Love the texture of the corrugated card on this layout. 

Amy's challenge to use 25 squares on your page. I followed her example and laid them all out evenly spaced. Love how this turned out, it was heaps of fun. I was sparked by a few Twinchies that came in a swap at Home and Scrapped a few months ago. Made a few more and turned some of the photos into Twinchies too, matting them on cs.  

This is Joy's second challenge, to scraplift a page of hers from the gallery. Loved this one with the tags for layers and the flowers and lace framing the photos. So pretty and a great chance to use one of those pps with a printed corner design.

And this was my challenge, a Step By Step that included a bit of stamping and stitching.

and I made a card with the scraps of each layout too. 

  

I love making a card with the scraps while they are still out. It seems to go more quickly, and is easier. These ones are just simple ones, no stitching or heavy layering, but they are pretty, and I won't be ashamed to give them. I haven't put sentiments on them because I don't anymore, not while I'm making. I wait until the occasion arises and then add the sentiment to suit. 

And it's just occurred to me that there are a few others I haven't shared... oh so tardy, lol. 

My Sketch for February for Challenge Heaven

Mid Week Sketch 4-12 from Scrappy Sketches 

Mid Week Sketch 7-12 at Scrappy Sketches 

One of my favourite pages from the January CC at Challenge Heaven.

 Mid Week Sketch 5-12 at Scrappy Sketches

 Mid Week Sketch 1-12 at Scrappy Sketches

February Friday Night Step by Step at Home and Scrapped

My Sketch for the January Cyber Crop at Challenge Heaven

this week's Mid Week Sketch over at ScrappySketches

and a couple of cards. There you go, I've haven't been doing nothing after all! 

And there is another Cyber Crop this weekend at Challenge Heaven. More great pages coming :-)

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

February Flowers

I've been busy creating heaps of flowers to adorn your cards and pages, and you can find them on my new Made It page, Elsie & Grace. I did that to get a bit wider exposure, hope it works, lol.

Made It is a website a bit like Etsy, where people who make things can set up shop and sell their goods. It's brim full of handmade goodness, in every category you can think of. If you are looking for a gift for someone or just want to get away from mass produced items and buy something unique and interesting for your home, Made It has the answer. And it's all Australian.

Here's a sneak peek of some of my favourite flowers from my February collection:

I actually started a facebook page for my collection, but I've since decided that Made It would be a better option.

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

Children of Scrapbookers

You know your children come from a scrapbooking family when they hand you their old worn out shoes and things before they go in the bin, so you can take off the buttons and buckles, or bring home snippets of ribbon they found lying in the road, 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

Who Do You Love?

What are you going to do for Valentine's Day - anything? I hope we can all remember the message of Valentine's - it's about love. It's about love made visible. Not just romantic love, although that's good too, but filling yourself with love and letting it spread out.

Who do you love? Could you send your parent, sister or friend a chocolate heart or a poem on pretty paper with a cut out heart to remind them that you love them? Or make your children some heart shaped cookies for their lunch box? Now's the time to do something, and get it posted. We never know what tomorrow will bring, so we should remember to say I love you whenever we can. 

I just watched this Martha Stewart clip and although this guest goes completely over the top, lol, it's totally worth watching for the sweet little ideas - one or two would be lovely. And darn it, why not, it's fun to mark the festivals and such like as we go through the year. Making a small effort for these things kind of helps the year go along nicely - and great photo ops too, for scrapping, LOL!

You could also google valentines ideas images like I just did and find a wealth of ideas. I mean, when faced with the whole page of images it's a bit in your face, but pick one or two and have a go, then remember to take photos. 

Oh, and for those of us who don't get anything back - remember, we teach people how to treat us. Tell them straight we expect an effort back. Sometimes they need a poke in the ribs. And for little kids, that might just be drawing a heart for you on paper and giving you a kiss.

And if all else fails, remember to love yourself no matter what. Make it special for yourself and lie in a bath with some red rose petals sprinkled in it, wear a heart necklace, eat a heart chocolate, make yourself a special lunch or dinner, buy a little bunch of pretty flowers and enjoy seeing them on the table, listen to some nice music, paint your toenails, watch a girly movie. Tell yourself in the mirror that you love you no matter what, and you care about your happiness. Oooh, hard, I know, lol. Do it anyway.

Some other ideas: 

Do a layout of someone you love and put a truely heartfelt message on it.

Make a pile of cards and dish them out. 

Write a letter (yes, a proper one) to an old aunt or uncle, or a friend or cousin you haven't seen for ages.

Go for a nice stroll in the park and take some corny love shots with your hands held in heart shapes.

Write a list of things you love about someone and put it under their pillow. 

Buy a heart shaped ice cream and just indulge your senses in the creaminess of it.

Make the cat a heart shaped pillow with some cat nip in it.

Put some heart stickers on your teabag tags.
Take a bloom with a love note to a favourite graveside.
Visit a friend or a neglected relative and take a cake and some flowers from your garden. 

Punch out some hearts and scatter them on your child's floor.

Give a homeless person a bit of love with some heart cookies and a fiver in a box.

There's heaps of things we can do to remind ourselves of the love we feel. And the funny thing is, giving that love helps it flow and come back to us, and that has to be a good thing. Love makes the world go around, right?

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

Friday Flower Sale

I have been encouraged by a few scrappy friends to have a regular monthly release of my flower packs, so that everyone knows when to come and get some deliciousness. Today I decided that the second Friday of each month would be a good time, and as luck would have it, that's this week coming :-) So... what are you doing on Friday 10th Feb? Hopefully you will be here to see all the deliciousness I have been making, ready to email me with an order of your favourites. Everything will be in the flower shop tab, ready and waiting on Friday morning.

Want one of my large flower packs without it costing you anything? You can go in the draw to win one by telling people about the sale on your blog, forum, facebook, twitter or wherever, becoming or being a follower, and leaving me a comment to tell me how you've shared the knowledge. One point for every share, giving you more chances to win. It will be a pack something like this one:

Oooh, isn't it exciting? I can hardly wait to share all the pretty new flowers with you, you're going to love them :-)

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