Sick day

I have a sick kiddo at home today. It's that time of year again, isn't it?! Is anyone else stuck indoors with a sniffly one? But there's always a silver lining - when he's zoned out watching Spongebob, I can get some scrapping done!

And today is a great day, because the latest Sassy Lil' Sketch has gone live... here it is:


Isn't it fabulous? This is the layout I created for it, just a little bit inspired by my friend Val and all the lovely stitching she does on her layouts :) I have a ton of Cosmo Cricket paper packs I need to get to using, I always rush straight out to buy them, so it's another Cosmo page from me! This time, it's the Boyfriend collection.


Thanks to everyone who's made lovely comments about my new little shop :) I really appreciate all your support! xx

You are invited...

...to the Scrap Rat launch party!


I'm excited to tell you I've launched my own little vintage craft world, the Scrap Rat Shop! I'm selling vintage and vintage inspired goodies to add to all of your papercraft projects :)


Come on over to the Scrap Rat blog to find out about the Launch Party special offers! I'm also on Etsy and ship worldwide, so my international friends can get their hands on things too.

I also have 2 lovely ladies designing with some of my products to help me out - find out who over on the blog!


I'll be featuring some gorgeous projects over there too, in the next week or so, from the team! Hope to see you there!

A show of hands

How many of you see a new paper collection and fall in love? You see hundreds of beautiful layouts people are creating with it. You rush out and buy it...

And then it sits there. And sits there. You're over it as quickly as you were, well, under it. I'm probably worse than most - I have the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to new product. Always looking for the next great idea.

Meet Early Bird, by Cosmo Cricket:


Yes, I HAD to have it. I made maybe one or two layouts using the tiniest sliver of those papers. I still love it, but it's not in the front of my mind any more when creating a layout.

Skip forward a month or two, to me perusing Precocious Paper deciding what to buy myself for my birthday (ha!). What should I spy but some yummy flowers created with the Early Bird FABRIC. They were in my basket quicker than you could say 'Precocious Paper'. OK, bad example, you can't say that too quickly. But I thought they'd be perfect to freshen up my papers.

So here's my Early Bird revival layout, created for Scrappin' Silhouette number 14! The new silhouette is up now, why not come over and say hi? :)


Now I have my eye on these. What paper collection can I revive with them?!

I should also mention that it's my little man's birthday today. He's eight. What a difference a year makes in the present buying stakes! Last year it was cars, building stuff, and still quite childish things. This year he wanted a wetsuit for Surf Life Saving club, an X-box game, some crazy little Beyblade toy that I don't see the point of ;) and a drum kit. And, you know, I have a nervous feeling that Grandad is going out at the weekend to buy a drum kit. It's a good job our neighbour's son also has one. I hope they don't mind a little payback! I remember begging for a drum kit when I was Lewis' age. My Dad didn't rush out shopping so quickly then. I guess it's different when it will be residing in someone else's spare bedroom!

Almost Friday! Have a great evening :)

The bestest thing, evah!

I'm so, so excited to have been picked to be a member of Tessa's Design Team for her Precocious Paper Shop! I love both Tessa and her shop, and I'm so blessed to be able to work with her beautiful products more frequently! Thank you, Tessa!

So now is as good a time as any to show you a few projects I created using Precocious Paper goodies. Check back tomorrow too, for the latest Scrappin' Silhouette - my example layout has a Precocious Paper twist :)


This is a little mini album I made using a Precocious Paper flower as the main cover design. The book holds little words of wisdom that I try to live by, and which I hope to teach my son and any future children. I distressed the flower just a little with a spritz of Old Lace glimmer mist and by fraying the edges a little. I then distressed some tags and made little labels for the title of my album, which I tucked under the petals of the flower. I kept it simple inside to withstand the tests of time and little fingers!



I bought this vintage mirror at a charity auction. I loved it just as it was but, as I already have several mirrors around my home, I decided that it would be fun to make this one a little different. I used some Precocious Paper lace flowers, along with vintage fabric, doilies, game pieces and an old photo. I made it with my pregnant friend in mind, hence the little boy picture. I don’t know if I will be giving it away now - I love it so!


I also made a special page to celebrate my Mum and Dad’s ruby wedding anniversary. I love those Sewing Pattern Petals! They look good on ANYTHING. I know, I didn’t use red for ruby. I thought that would be too predictable! Besides, I'm pretty addicted to yellow product right now.

I also played along with The Paper Variety's latest challenge today. It's a recipe challenge - here's my layout.

Housework avoidance

It's amazing how much scrapping you can get done when you're actively avoiding housework. I finished off a few DT assignments and still had about 45 minutes of time in which to avoid housework. This was the result.


I scrapped this photo once before, on one of the very first scrapbook pages I ever made. I still have it for posterity, but I really wanted to create something much more pleasing to the eye ;) The picture was taken in the hospital, the day after I gave birth, just before we left to take Lewis home.


Most of the product is from Girls' Paperie. I can't get enough of those die cuts. I added a little bit of vintage crocheted trim, some old Basic Grey alphas and a little paper flower. And, of course, a little bit of subtle blue and pink glimmer mist in the background.


It's so bittersweet looking back at pictures like this, don't you think? I mean, this little guy slept 24/7, ate everything I fed him and couldn't answer back. Where'd he go?!

A toughie!

This layout was created for today's Studio challenge, which was set for us by the very lovely Lain Ehmann from layoutaday.com. Here's what she challenged us to do...

Use holiday theme stuff on a page that's NOT about that holiday. I have tons of holiday stuff (Christmas and Halloween in particular) that only makes it out once a year - I'd love to use it in some creative ways and see what other people can do.

I used new halloween papers from Echo Park on a layout about my Mum in the sixties. I think it still looks a bit too halloween-ish. What do you think?

I have been non-stop creating this weekend. I am almost ready to tell you all what I've been working on over the last several weeks. But not quite! I'm spending another day on it tomorrow and I am praying it will be good to go after that :)

Have a great week everyone! x

Want to win a kit?

Just a quick post today, to let you know about a giveaway! If you'd like to get your hands on a Scrapagogo kit, hop over to Scrap That! Reviews as we're giving one away!

I almost forgot...

...to share this! Look what I wore to work today.


I made it last weekend and finally decided this morning (a very grey monday) that a) I needed something fun and happy to wear, and b) I was brave enough to wear it! I am normally not very adventurous with my hair. I never wear it up, it just gets straightened (sometimes!) and left down. I figured this was a good way to add variety without having to actually put it into any kind of 'up' style!


It was very simple to make, I just stitched some silk leaves to a Precocious Paper fabric flower and then stitched the whole thing to a plastic headband. It certainly attracted attention at work. Everyone wants one! That's birthdays sorted out for the next year! :)

How things change

This week's Studio challenge is to scrap about your favourite food or drink. I chose to scrap about roast dinners, as they're a family occasion for us. Rumour has it that Tessa is going to have those yummy sewing pattern petals I've used back in stock soon :) Just so ya know.

My love of all things food is probably why I no longer have a skinny figure like this:


Check out those Levi 501s! I had a pair in every colour they sold. In a 26" waist. *sigh* And, if you click on the pic to make it bigger, you can just about make out the interesting decor on the wall in my friend's house. Yellow, sponged over with blue. Nice.

I made another couple of pages this weekend for The Craft Garden, using the gorgeous Prima loveliness that Kerry sent me. My nineties layout above was made using the Paisley Road collection - such a fun range! This next one uses the Annalee collection. Perfect for vintage, girly pages, I think.



Off now to collect the dude-ster from school and mourn the loss of youthful 26" waists. Enjoy your day!

Beach Bum

Here's my little beach bum, enjoying a paddle in the sea. This page was made for the latest Scrappin' Silhouette which revealed today.

I have a drawer full of bits and pieces I've saved to use as misting masks. I thought it was high time I used some, so I created my background using 'riptide' glimmer mist spritzed over a piece of the plasticy cross stitching stuff (got a name for it, anyone?!) and the waste from a very old set of Cosmo Cricket chipboard letters that came in a kit from QVC about 5 years ago :)

We have a guest designer joining us this week, too. Come and see what everyone else has been creating and see the sketch you have to play along with. Jennipher is a fabby host, and more than happy for you to interpret the sketches in your own, unique way.

If you are inspired to create something with the sketch please link it up using the Simply Linked widget on the post before 6 p.m. EST next Tuesday and you'll be featured in the Sensational Creations line-up and also be considered for a Guest DT position. We'd love to have you join us!

Vintage album

Today I thought I'd share with you an album I made by altering an old book cover. Isn't the cover beautiful! It's deeply embossed (it looks almost like carved wood up close) and is inlaid with gold accents which don't show up too well in the photo. I was going to call it a mini album, but it's actually about 12"x9"! I've not decided whether to use it as a 'traditional' scrapbook or to finally start the art journal I've been meaning to start for about 2 years! What do you think I should use it for?

I came into this book cover already minus the pages. I don't like destroying old books, and I tend to 'repurpose' those which are already past their sell by date and damaged beyond repair.


The spine had seen better days so I strengthened it with some layers of Tim Holtz tissue tape.



I then took a selection of vintage papers and mixed them up with some scraps of modern but 'vintage style' scrapbooking papers and even threw in some product packaging, transparencies and a vintage envelope to make a pocket.



I used my Bind-It-All to bind the pages together, before fixing them inside the book cover. If you're thinking of doing this yourself, remember not to fill the book entirely with paper if you intend to add dimensional embellishments, or you'll end up with a book that doesn't close!



To fix my pages to the cover, I stitched the rings to the spine using doubled up embroidery floss. I had to mark out where to stitch and then poke holes through before I could start sewing, as the spine was a bit thick with all the tape!



I love it so much! I'm desperate to create something in it now :)

Is it raining for you too?

What can be better than to spend a day creating, when the weather is terrible?

Come over to The Studio and play along with this week's challenge if you're looking for something to keep you busy today :) Here's my layout - the challenge this week is to scrap a birthday page, and try not to make it too cheesy! Here's mine:


I have also been creating some cards and layouts for The Craft Garden, showing off some of their new Prima Goodies. Here are 2 layouts, and you can see some cards I made also featured on their blog today.

This one was made with the Prima Fairy Flora collection - I loved the mystical feel to this line, and it would also be perfect for all things girly!

This page uses the Prima Road Trip collection, and my fave thing about it? The fact that it says 'holiday' instead of 'vacation'! A must for us UK girls!

If you haven't shopped at The Craft Garden before, it's well worth a look, especially if you are a Prima fan! (Who isnt?!) I love how Kerry, the owner, has thought about it and offers prima packs split, so you can get a nice useable amount of flowers for a great price, without having to commit to a whole tub. Which, of course, means you can buy from more collections, and that can't be a bad thing!

And something else you should check out, is our new review site! Rebekah Montague is one of our new writers, and she's written a review of Scrapagogo's September kit as part of our kit feature for the month of September. There are lots more kit reviews, amongst other things, coming up this month, including Studio Calico, Cleo Crafts, Becky Higgins' Project Life to name but a few! We also have a little chance to win a cool prize coming up in the next couple of weeks, so you'll want to keep your eye on the site!

A tease!

In the words of Rolf Harris - can you guess what it is yet?


I can't wait to share with everyone, but there's just still too much work to do!!

Last chance!

You only have until midnight tomorrow to get your entries in for The Studio's Summer Crop!


And I have to say, not that I'm sulking or anything lol, there haven't been many entries for my home sweet home class! Especially as I know there are some of you out there with the kits all ready to go! What are you waiting for?!

*sulk*

Only joking! But, seriously, don't miss out on the deadline and the chance to win those amazing prizes!

Happy Birthday to me!

I thought I'd share some boy-craftyness today! Each year my big man and my little man endeavour to make me cards they think I'll like. I don't think they understand that it's not the card, but the fact that they bother, that matters.

Neither of them would pretend to be crafting geniuses. In fact, it's pretty much an annual event. Although, Lewis does have his own craft box. Does it make me nervous the week before my birthday, every year, knowing that Tony is going to be rummaging through my stash and USING things? Yep!

Anyway, here are this years delights :)


You should know, that this was not the first photo I took. These were the first few!





Does anyone else have a cat that refuses to let you take their photograph, unless you don't want to?!