Blog candy giveaway!

There is the chance to win some amazing goodies if you pop over to Tracie's blog by clicking here!
Here's a glimpse at what is to be won...

 Wow eh?!? I'd love all those goodies. One of these days I've got to be picked surely (finger's x'd!!!!)

Life versus scrapbooking ;0) plus a plea for help at the end of the post!!

I love scrapbooking!! When I have time off work I love nothing more to be out in my Craft room creating! The problem I have, is that as the weather gets better and better I am more inclined to be out doing things (which is great in itself, but results in yet more photos and events to scrap!!) rather than scrapping about things I have already done or want to do!
Thats where the great British weather comes in!! However glorious our summers may get (and they DO get glorious on occasion!!!), you can pretty much guarentee that you will have a few grey days, or rainy days. Days where you just don't want to be out visiting places in the rain etc. These are PERFECT scrapping days!!!
This year I am far more creative (shall we just say 'obsessed with scrapping' and be done with it?!) than I was last year. I have really blossomed into this past time and am always thinkign about it - even if that thought is just a little one at the back of my mind!!
I have decided that one night this week - or on the next grey day ;0) I am going to organise my Pictures folders and PSE albums and get in to the habit of uploading photos each week or month. I also plan to make myself a little Rainy Day notebook.  In this I plan to write down pages I really really want to scrap but I may not have time to do t that point in time.  I know alot of you probably already do this, but so far I never have.
I have a notebook I scribbles scrapping things I see in magazines into - but no actual Scrap Journal.  I'd like it to be a really pretty, usable and visual thing. Something that will grow to be colourful and bursting with ideas.
 Does anyone have a book like this? Could you post a photo on your own blog and leave a link here or in an email so I can pop over and get some inspiration?? Thanks in advance!!

I've had a catch up day...

As you can see from this and the previous post, I have been catching up on some half started projects!!
These were things left over from Shimelle's Crop Party :

• Make a coffee cup mini book ( I had already made one of these but as Wilna has 3 kits for sale at Two Peas it was easy to make a different one!!)
• There was a sketch to follow, which I inverted and used on the layout in the last post.
• Make something with bunting:

I had half only half finished this seasonal bunting for my Craft room - I plan to make some for each season :0)

• Another challenge was to create something with cupcakes.  I complete this layout today about my very first cupcake (which I ate only last month)
 

Mmmmmmm thats making me hungry!!!

I hope you like todays crafty achievements! I really wish I could do this for a living!!!

Coffee cup mini book

I've made another lovely coffee cup mini book from a digi kit that you an buy over at Two Peas by clicking here!
I decided to use photos from a recent day trip to Glastonbury with a very special friend:

And here is a full page I did about part of the day at Chalice Well:

Prima blooms - advice needed!!!

Help!! I am completely in love with Prima flowers (particularly all the lush new ones out there) BUT I am only just venturing into the world of online scrap shopping and wonder if anyone can recommend any UK stores where I can get good deals on Prima flowers OR who stock a wide range. I've googled, but the hits are huge and I was hoping someone out there may have stores they have used and thus can recommend them to me.
Any help greatfully received (although my bank balance may regret it!!! Tee Hee!!)
:0)

There's nothing to be afraid of...

At work staff are are currently going through times of massive change.  Seeing the reactions people are having has made me consider change and in particular, fear.
It is awful how much change can frighten us, and make us truly fearful. We can react in so many different ways to fear  - anger, sorrow, hysteria, stubborn-ness, denial - to name just a few that I personally go through when I fear something! I try to be someone who always embraces change, who bends like a willow, rather than snapping when the breeze pushes me this way and that against my will.
There is a wonderful section in the classic "Dune" series by Frank Herbert concerning fear.  I thought I'd share it here...

The Litany against Fear

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain

Sneak peak at my first CJ!!!!

Here is the cover of my first ever Circle Journal (or CJ for short). 

For those who don't know, a CJ is a small album or minibook that you create in a round with other people.

In my CJ group (which is called Around the Houses) there are 10 of us. We each create a book/album cover, introduction/ 'rules' section and then our own page/s - usually the format is a double page layout (hence the size restriction most CJ's have of a maximum of 8x8)
Then on a set date, we each post the project to the next person on the list, once you receive the next persons CJ you create a LO for them in it, following any rules they may have set and using any photos they may have sent (if they are creating a photo journal)
And then after 10 months or repeating this pattern you finally receive your own book back - with your own and 9 other layouts in it!
I'm really excited to give this type of project a go.
There are LOADS of CJs you can be involved in over on UKScrappers. If you have never been involved with one before, you need to do whats called a Newbie CJ (which is what I am doing) Its basically so you can test out the project and also prove yourself to be reliable (the CJ project kind of falls apart if one of the participants doesn't join in or delays postings alot.

My CJ is all about Words of Wisdom. There is  little envelope on the inside page (opposite the 'rules' page) which contains lots of meaningful single words. The CJ participants need to pick a word and do a double layout for it.

My word was AWAKENING and here are my pages (click on the image for a bigger photo):

Its off to be posted by recorded delivery tomorrow and then the adventure beginnings.

BY 2010 for April ??? Help!

Does anyone know if BY 2010 is happening this month and if so who is hosting it??
I am loving being involved with this project and have an album I have been creating. I've missed it this month.
Any help VERY much appreciated!

Simple Things

Last month's prompt was HONESTY. I opted for all journalling again on the tag-to remind me of a valuable lesson I learned about being honest. For my cover I used a green shimmer mist over paint. The photo doesn't pick up the shimmer well, but its there! That combined with the glitzy Thickers shows how I think honesty is precious.

Tonight I'm going to be a busy bee - I hope!!!

I'm off to the Bromsgrove crop tonight and hope to complete my CJ cover and page- despite forgetting my chipboard sheets for the cover :0(
I've also managed to book a sneaky day off work tomorrow so am planning on lots of crafty fun over a long weekend!
With a delivery from Sarah's Cards AND my April Scrapagogo box here, I am going to have LOTS of fun!!

One proud scrapper!

I've just spotted my recent Fall into Oblivion layout on the ScrapaGoGo blog!! How proud am I!! :0)GoGo blog

The Earth smiles in Flowers

There are some truly beautiful flowers in bloom in our garden at the moment:

And there was a rather adorable one inside the house too!!!!!

Todays crafty achievements and a request for advice on a page...

My fourth page from my GoGo March kit (I'm allllll ready for the April kit now!!) celebrates my first ever ride on Oblivion at Alton Towers.
I'm really happy with the glossy accents on the covered chipboard circles. They pick out our faces in the photo perfectly!

I caught up on the final two pages for my Celebrate Life album with Shimelle's Something from almost nothing course.
The album I've used is an 8x8 one, this isn't a format and I've had mixed results with my pages. Disliking some:

Disappointing chipboard prompt page :0(

And loving some!

My first ever transparency page(s) which I totally adore :0)

And then finally I used this sketch from an old Scrapbook Inspirations mag:

To create this page:

I kind of love the page, but am not sure whether the block of journalling ruins the page. Any thoughts anyone?? It is glued down, but I could glue over it or pull it off and then glue something else there??????????

Newly painted stash drawers!

These now just need some inked pretty paper on the front to be truly lovey!

The weekend starts here!

Finally I'm home. We have just had a yummy curry washed down with my fav cider. The Masters golf is on all weekend, so the OH will be camped out on the sofa! You can just catch the reflection of the tv+golf green in the window!! I'm happy to curl up next to him with my cider and Scrapbook Inspirations Ideas Book- what a blissful Saturday night!

Its just sooooooo awful...

to be at work on such a BEAUTIFUL Saturday!! I am trapped here until 5.30 and I am feeling very very blue!! I have got lots of things to do but nothing that I eally WANT to be doing!!
I wish I could be:

1. out walking in the countryside and taking photos
2. spending the day with my OH doing lovely things together
3. scrapping
4. reading my book
5. at the seaside
6. outside

Oh well, eh!? You have to make the best with what you have, so here I am drinking a yummy smoothie and just catching up while I have a quick break, and then back to the masses of library customers we have today (that was irony!!) If I was working on my own I woudl curl up and read but I'm not, and as the manager I must set a good example - borrrrrring ;0)
Oh well, the WHOLE day off tomorrow to look forward to!! I'm also looking forward to experimenting with my brand new sewing machine when I get home. I have never owned or even used a sewing machine before (blush) so am going to just have a play tonight and then my first project is some quick and simple (ahem - thats the plan anyway!!!) bunting for my kitchen and craft room!

Busy bee all weekend!!

I have had such a WONDERFUL weekend and have made so many pages, I am really happy with myself!!

I went to crop on Saturday and made these while I was there:

This used up my Febrary Go Go kit. Its a photo of mom when she was about 5! I hate not using flowers on my pages so made a few with some paper scraps:

Next I made this page using the crop sketch.
Here is the sketch supplied by Julie:

And here is my page:

I enjoyed using the March kit and the GoGo hybrids on this - its great to have extra alpha options!!

And here is a sneak peak of a mini book I made at crop using up the February Go Go Kit:

And then yesterday I enjoyed a full day in my little crafty shed and here is what I did:

Caught up on Something from Almost Nothing  - the button prompt:

My Document 2010 March pages:

My March Go Go Yearbook March pages:

And finally, as I was in the scrapping zone, I scraplifted the page on the cover of Scrapbook Trends and made this page:

I hope you like them :0)