Fab's June Christmas Cards

Here's my entry for Fab's Big Christmas Challenge - this month's nutter level is to make 6 cards - before 25th July, when the next month's challenge will start.
So I'm still on a mission to use my stash ... & I'm still on the HOTP personal shopper Cardmaker's kits ... Ooooooooh it's gonna be a long, long time 'til I use all these up! LOL. I have made 42 cards from 1 kit before - & I have at least 18 month's worth (plus a few ex-display from the store - in varying states of use) so I guess I better start making a whole bunch of cards! LOL
Anyway, these 6 were a good start I think. You might notice a few poinsettias here & there - gotta say I love flowers on my cards just as much, if not more than layouts!
The next 40 days event is coming up later - be sure to check back!!

Wanna Swapp?

I really struggled to make anything today - seems my Mojo has left the building. I was reading Heidi Swapp's blog yesterday & realised I'd yet to use the Runway collection. She also reminded me about using 'the stack'. I guess we all have one - that stack of photos (or in my case, 2 A4 boxes) that are sitting, taunting us & waiting to be transformed! Yet still we print off a new batch every time we create a page! LOL.
Now many of you will have read about my PC crash ... & my complete failure to save anything to disk ... so in my case 'the stack' (as it will forever more be named) contains many photos for which I have no other copies!
Anyway, I'm not entirely happy with this page - I smudged ink, got my letters wonky etc but the basic principle was, I think, sound. Did I mention my Mojo is missing? But I guess Friday's class will be happy with it - & they have the option not to smudge ink & do wonky lettering! LOL. I'm thinking I'm gonna use 'the stack' for all my class layouts in future ... until I come across an event that has to be scrapped right now!!
I also used a a couple of Heidi Swapp stamps. I knew that the ink would 'pool' a bit on the 'imagine' stamp - always does with new stamps (you can lightly sand them before first use to prevent that) - but I kinda like that & I'd intended outlining in black anyway, so that was OK. The other stamp is the clock face peeking out from behind the photo mat. The flowers are from a mix of several Dahlia Box blends. My journaling is written along the top of the branch.
I half thought it would be a good idea to stop while it wasn't really working for me - but looking at the leftover papers, I had a couple of card ideas I wanted to try - & you know if you leave it 'til later, you just forget what you had in mind (or is that just me??)
These papers are soooo lovely that you don't really need to add much to make a pretty card. For the second one, I thought I'd try something other than black for the accent colour - love this kinda duck egg blue. The buttons & blossoms were from a Making Memories selection box - the rubs I've had for aaaages! Oh! & the li'l flower gems are also from the dahlia box blends.
By the third card, I think my Mojo was about to make a comeback - I have a huge box of manilla tags (luggage label size) & decided to make a clear pocket with a corner from the Runway Clear Extras. This is soooo thick that my li'l sewing machine's motor (I have one of those mini machines) couldn't cope. So I had to manually operate it (or handsew - didn't fancy that AT ALL! lol.) The tag is covered on both sides, sanded & inked at the edges. The felt flower is from that same Making Memories selection box, layered with a trinket pin (love Tim Holtz for metal stuff & unusual embellies!) & some ribbon (the perfect colours in an old Personal Shopper kit). The rub on alphas I've had forever!
So just as I'd got into 'the zone' I had to stop for family stuff. This evening I'd have preferred to craft some more - but there's much online stuff to be done! LOL
Back soon with a prize draw winner & more bloggy stuff!

Missed Deadline!!

This first card is the one I made for Di Hickman's Card Sketch Team this week (March #2) - but I forgot to e-mail it over on time (I am an idiot!!). I loved this sketch so I made a couple of others too! Having a bit of a run on St. Patrick's Day Cards! LOL. I bought these rub ons 3 years ago & hadn't touched them, so it was about time - I still have a few left, so I'll be using them for some good luck cards I think.
The papers, shamrock ribbon and card blanks were all from a HOTP Personal Shopper for CardMakers kit (Feb 07) - currently on sale in the shop for just £6.99 (RRP 17.50). There's a bargain or two to be had over there! LOL.
You could also try your hand at winning one this week - We are sponsoring the challenge over at Arty Girlz and have a March Kit up for grabs. I'm gonna try & get around to comment on every entry - but if I miss you out please don't hate me!! I'm making lots of DT stuff right now but it's all a bit secret squirrel. I really want to get ahead on some deadlines so if I'm AWOL from blogland again for a while - that'll be why!! LOL
I have a busy family week coming up too - Dad visiting next week before he returns to Bulgaria, DS4's birthday on Monday (St. Patrick's Day) & his party the next week on Easter Monday. So lots to do!!

LOAD 8-12

I'm still managing to keep up with the LayOut A Day challenge over at BPS - here's the last 5 days (evidently I'm not so good at blogging them! LOL) I'm also still working through all my old stash - This lot are all HOTP. They are also mostly retro 8x8, which I have now finished save for a few card size scraps (YAY!) The ecxception is the 'AJ' layout below, which comes from the HOTP September 2007 Personal Shopper kit. My fave from this selection is 'Traveling Ted Came To Stay'. That one was definitely not a quick LO. It might be little but it still took a couple of hours to put together. I'll be back tomorrow with some non-LOAD stuff to share. And my latest li'l bit of good news!

Another LOAD of Layouts.

These are my latest layouts for days 3-5 on the LayOut A Day challenge over at Big Picture Scrapbooking. All 3 use supplies from the HOTP Personal Shopper September Kit. They were all really quick and easy to do - although I am struggling a bit with the concept of 'simple'. I'm going to stick with it as a personal challenge but I have to say i like taking days to do a layout. I get that for some people, fitting in time to scrap can be really hard & for them, maybe quick & easy 'speed scrapping' is a great idea. I guess if you are only scrapping for yourself then so long as you like the resulting page it doesn't matter how simple or complex the design is.
But for me, it isn't what I want. I want to scrap fabulous, complex, chuck it all at the page & then add a bit more layouts. I don't want to think about stamping a title rather than die cutting one because

it will be quicker - I don't want to stop inking or sanding my papers or elements because it takes time (an hour on the last LO I did).
For me, the challenge is to go with the flow. It's an organic process that just keeps on going until it is done. Some pages might come together in an hour, others could take days - but always it's done when it's done & not before. These are the pages I'm using for classes, the ones I'll be teaching online & the ones I'll be submitting for magazines.
So I'm still planning on doing the LOAD challenge & I will try to create a LO every day for it (I have done day 6 but I can't go public for a few days) - I just don't think these will be my best!

Scrappy Holidays!

This is the layout I would have posted yesterday - if the light was good for photographs! Still not a great photo as there's a slight reflection to the bottom of the overlay! So anyway, I used Vanessa Collant's Saturday Sketch from Sisterhood of Scrap - the deal at the mo is enter a layout from any previous sketch to be in with a chance of winning the monthly prize. All supplies are from the November HOTP Personal Shopper Kit (if you live in the UK and want one, I have a couple left & you can e-mail to order while the webshop is down). It's also the LO I'd have submitted for Arty Girlz 'Christmas' challenge - so maybe I'll pop over there even tho the deadline has passed.
You can't tell too well from the photo but there's a fair amount of dimension to this page. I've used a 12x12 overlay (from the kit) & the embellies are both under & on to of that. The overlay is only attached top & bottom of the title banner so you can get into the journaling (in the file folder, middle right)

More Challenges = More Christmas Cards!

Another couple of quick cards to share & yet more stash used up! The first is my take on Di's Dec #1 sketch - you have until Wednesday if you want to play along. I used some scraps from the November Personal Shopper kit for this one (I have a LO to share tomorrow!) I added a li'l bit of fluid chalk ink to the poinsettia - it seemed a bit stark against the vibrant papers. The greeting is a HOTP embossed sentiment (from a non-Christmas pack!)
I think the sketch for this second card is quite similar to the first but the card turned out quite different. This one is from
Sketch This! Cards #34. Again, it's all scraps. The papers & sticker are from DCWV (last year's), the ribbon was a magazine freebie & the li'l ribbon rose came from the centre of a chiffon bow buried in my stash! The best bit of sorting out my new scrap space is that I've come across sooooooo many things I'd completely forgotten about.
Both cards also qualify for Arty Girlz Christmas themed challenge. I'd planned on submitting a LO for that but the photo was too dark - I'll try again when the light is better in the morning!

In my next post, I'm gonna share some pics of my scrap space. They were quite difficult to take as it's such a small area - but I think they give a sense of how much I have crammed in there! LOL.
Don't forget to enter your name for my RAK. Draw takes place Wednesday. Follow this link for all the deets!

Sisters Scrap

I've been hanging on to this layout for a couple of weeks - it's the sample layout I did for this week's Monday challenge over at the Sisterhood of Scrap blog (in my role as Sister of the Week!) Most of the bits come from last month's Personal Shopper kit, with the exception of the chipboard & the Junkitz Double Playz (which have sat in my stash untouched for about 3 years! Lol). For the chipboard, I colour washed the letters with some thinned down acrylic paint & just inked the right hand side of each one with a red chalk ink pad once dry. The effect is rather fabulous - lots of texture from the chipboard itself & the ink touching the edges like the sunset on the horizon. Hope you like it!

Made It - (Just!!)

Cutting it really fine this time! LOL. There are 20 minutes to go 'til the deadline for the Texas Hold 'Em challenges over at Sisterhood of Scrap I'm playing for fun more than prizes at this point - the best hand I could muster was two pairs - a bit lame but soooo fun! All I was missing was the Thursday challenge, a layout using red or black & 4 lines of journaling - this one fits the bill and I finished it in under two hours - which is a bit unusual for me!
But this is more than a one-challenge layout, oh yes indeed!! I have fitted in all 3 Sisterhood of Scrap challenges - the Monday challenge (use 10 pieces of chipboard); Saturday's sketch & the Texas Hold 'Em challenge! AND, it also works for Arty Girlz 'bling' challenge; Shary's 'buttons, bows & brads' challenge; GPP Street Team's 'Muse' & MagikDiva's 'Use a Word'. It would also have qualified for the OLW challenge but I'm about 36 hours too late! Never mind, it'll have to be a seven challenge layout! LOL.
Here's how:

1. Thursday challenge - as explained!
2. Sister's Monday Challenge: 10 pieces of chipboard. I could have just used a longer title (10 letters) but that seemed a bit obvious, so I raided my stash & I used a mix by heidi swap, karen foster, TLC, & a few die cut bits. The clock is a piece cut from a whole one, inked red and a black hand (seperate piece) inked black & stuck on top. There are two arrows - both inked & written on, three alpha charms - I inked the white one & doodled on all three. The title is mounted on a chipboard tag, covered with co-ordinating paper & the black circle is mounted & painted with black acrylic (I found that in my stash left over from a previous project), the last piece is the heart buckle - die cut, covered with mulberry paper & inked black & red. I hope they like it - I REALLY want to be their sister! LOL
3. Sister's Saturday sketch - self explanatory - the examples on their site are for cards but I like it for a LO.
4. Arty Girlz - use bling. It might be subtle bling - but it's there nonetheless. 2 sizes of red twinkle gems (I use these soooo much cuz they are self adhesive!) on the clock hand & the curved arrow - plus the two brads securing the initials at the top - red metallic - I count that as bling!!
5. Shary, from my own DT, set this week's challenge to use at least one button, brad & bow - brads as mentioned above, square buttons on the flower to the bottom left and a larger one at the end of the curved arrow. I have a faux bow (hope that counts) tied through the hole in the chipboard alpha charm that's the first letter of my title.
6. GPP's Street Team Crusade #14 - what or who inspires you? this didn't have to be a piece of artwork - it could have been a regular blog post - but my little man inspires me every day & that has to be worth a layout!
7. MagickDiva's use a word - my word is 'delight'. Fish (DS4) delights in everything he does, all the time, every day. That is why he is my constant source of inspiration & that is why I delight in him!

Hope you like it!!

Ooops! Late Again!

Despite having a whole month to do it, I still managed to miss the deadline for Di Hickman's monthly sketch - sorry Di! Will try harder! LOL. It's not that it wasn't finished but more a case of I've not had time to breathe let alone blog in the last few days. I'm actually gonna be teaching this layout in our HOTP Personal Shopper class tonight - so fun. Each month I create two layouts from the current kit & all the local subscribers come along & have a couple of workshops - This kit is the October 2007 one, exclusive in the UK through my store.
So here's the story: In the hundred years or so that I've been scrapping, I've never done a layout of me & my four boys - and mostly there are no photos of us all together, save for the odd group photo at weddings etc., (and they always have loooooads of other people in them too). So I picked my fave photo of each of my lads & one of the few photos of me as an adult (there are few photos of me - full stop!) This is the result.
You may notice that me & my lads all tend to prefer darker colours, black mostly, which is great for putting this page together - it makes it so much easier to pick your background colours. I love these autumn shades & the blocks, stripes & jade give it a sense of fun I think. It did go against the grain a bit cutting strips for the woven background (I'd usually use scraps!) but I wanted to have a bit of fun with layering - both the papers and the embellies. The felt flowers are from a strip of Queen & Co. Felt Fusion, which cuts apart beautifully. I've used a strip to underline my title & individual flowers as accents. If you click on the picture you can get a better look at the two embellie accents: the layered flower at the bottom & the sticker embellie in the top right. I don't often use stickers but they were in the kit, Daisy D's ones (to die for) - so what the hey! LOL
I also got to play with my newest acquisition - white Sharpies! This is simply the best white pen I have come across - fabulous for journaling & stays soooo white - I guess I'm gonna be using it alot! LOL. Can't imagine how I managed so long without one.

Park Life

I have a whole bunch of layouts part-prepped for the Outrageous Octoberfest Finale on Saturday, where I'll be demonstrating with some yummy HOTP stash - but here's one we tackled on our Personal Shopper club night. We have these fortnightly at the store & they are open to anyone who has the kit (whether they subscribe or buy occasional kits).
This layout came from the September issue, which contains the entire range of HOTP Use 'em for Anything - Pastels (12x12 papers, monograms, silk flowers & value pack of brads), plus co-ordinating ribbons, 8x8 overlays, a newsletter full of step by step projects & a free CD full of hints & tips from Sara Naumann & Paulette Jarvey - definitely a 'must watch' DVD you can tell that they are having soooo much fun with it! LOL. I have 15 layouts prepped from this kit - and stash leftover for cards, tags & ATCs.
We worked out the contents are worth about £40 but the kit is just £22.50 - so definitely a bargain!
The October kit came in a couple of days ago - but I've not had a chance to play yet. I had a quick peek tho' - another HOTP template, Daisy D's cardstock stickers, Queen & Co felt as well as tons of ribbons, embellies & papers - I sooooo need time to play! LOL
I'm hoping to post the envelope mini book that I've made for Megan's Halloween birthday later - but first I have to clean my craft room (I may be gone some time!!)

Spooky Two.

Here's a li'l sneaky peak at a page from the envelope accordian album I'm making for Megan's 2nd birthday on Halloween. She's a bit of a girly girl, so I've done the whole album in orange, lilac & hot pink - not overly traditional then! LOL.
I made the envelopes using this template. The moon is a 2" circle, punched inked with first orange & then edged with black. The bats are cut using a paddle punch from hot pink friendly felt, the brad buddy is from the HOTP Personal Shopper October 06 kit - I've attached it with foam tape & coloured black behind the mouth & the pumpkin tent stamp (bottom right) is this one by A Muse. I'll be able to show the whole thing next week but it's entered in a contest right now - so I don't think I'm allowed to share!
Megan's mum is a scrapper too, so I've not finished the embellishing & photomats but will be including a li'l kit of co-ordinating stash so that she can finish it off as she chooses.

The Sky's The Limit

I haven't done a Pencil Lines sketch for a while again but the Ali Edwards sketch was perfect for this photo I took just a couple of nights ago. I have flipped the sketch and replaced the original photo spaces with panels of machine stitched patterned papers but essentially all the elements are there. Fabulous for using up scraps (I soooo need more sketches like that!)
I used a sheet of deep purple textured cardstock, lilac bloom & brown mini brads from the HOTP vintage embellish-abilities kit, brown blossoms from the HOTP retro embellish-abilities kit, assorted lettering from my stash (rub on, stickers and die cuts) other than that all the bits were left over from the HOTP Personal Shopper August 07 Kit. The papers are mostly from the wedding themed collection & the 'he said, she said' accents were perfect for journaling the conversation I had with Fish before & after taking the photo.

It's 2 am & I really ought to go to bed - but I'll have more to share with you this evening. Oh! and if you like challenges, check out this one - we have a super stash prize for the best entry from all the challenges e-mailed to us during the month.