Grandmas do listen......

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

So, last one of the dancing quartet today, and with critique taken on board, here is the girl with pink hair!!

Thing is kid, you want pink hair, Mamma gets to choose the rest of the colours ;0)

Thank you so much for sticking with me, see you soon!

Ali x 

#3 and my personal fave :0)

You can see I really have the bug now!

I spent the whole of last week working on these. Every time I past my craft room I would pop in and add another little something to one of them!
That is the beauty of mixed media you can spend 5 minutes and walk away. If I am doing a layout I have to finish it, so I have to make sure I have allowed enough time. Consequently, there are days when I don't even go near my craft room.
These little darlings meant that I had some time, maybe not as much as I would like, in my happy place every day.

This background is by far my favourite of the four. I love the colours, the texture and of course the glitter!! I like this girl the best too....I think it's her blue/black hair.

Thanks for popping in today, last one tomorrow :0)

Ali x 

Dancer Canvas #2

Back with number 2 today :0)

I took quotes from Scrapbook.Com, so brilliant that they list them by theme. It was easy to find four quotes that would work with my dancers and the words kind of took me in the direction of how to pose them and how I wanted the background to be.

I love the colours of this one.....you will note that every one has pink on it somewhere as this, in DGD's opinion, is the only colour of any consequence!!

Thanks for popping in today, back with my favourite tomorrow!

Ali x 

A little dabble into mixed media!

I guess it wasn't going to be long before I had a little play with canvases and mixed media, so many of my lovely bloggy friends have inspired me :0)

DD#1 and DGD are about to move into their new house and DGD is having a ballet themed bedroom. DD#1 was looking at canvases and asked if I could do something dance inspired, a) to save her a few bob and b) so that DGD had something unique. This was my chance :0)

I was going to post all 4 8 x 8 canvases together but I think it might be overload so I will do them one by one and in order of creation so that you can see things definitely get a lot freer as time goes on. I even went back to redo this one's hair as it was a little too restrained. LOL.

I have learnt that it is best not to use cardstock for your 'shes' as they stand proud on the canvas....but that's what it's all about eh? Live and learn!!

I am really proud of my girls as I have never even attempted to draw anything before!! I adore this new foray into paints and paper and texture.

This canvas is the only one that DGD has seen. She picked it up, studied it and commented 'thank you Mamma, she is beautiful, but I would have liked her to have pink hair' ain't no pleasing some Prima Donnas!!!

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

'All in a Day's Work'

The penultimate lo for Project Italy....yay!!

This one is of my Dad, Mum and me enjoying our evening aperetif :0) We couldn't believe it when DH and Dad asked for a gin and tonic and they brought what can only be described as a vase, full of gin and ice with no room for the tonic! The first few sips were pretty potent stuff!

papers are MME

super old DCWV letters, PLS tag, OA flag

speech bubble cut on the Sihouette

Super simple......but I am itching to get on with the next project now!!

Thanks for popping in,

Ali x 

'Hello, Hello?'

I loved this month's kit from Scraptastic Kit Club. I got Hall Pass and there is nothing in it that I don't love...trouble is I love it so much I am struggling to use it, LOL. When will I learn???

I did this layout for Project Italy and am submitting it for one of the challenges they host on their blog. I am supposed to be doing a double pager or 3 photos on a page but as I didn't have a 2 page spread left to do or 3 photos left to scrap I chose to ignore that part of the 'rules', he he he ;0)

The photo is from our day in Salo and after walking along a wonderful boardwalk for awhile I popped of fto buy some water......this is what I found on my return :0)

papers are all Studio Calico....be still my heart :0)

SC die cut frame, Panache Stash button, Elle studio cut out tags, Thickers question mark and MME brad. The stamp in the flag is also MME.

Ali Edwards stamp, the rubber xoxo thing is ancient!! I have no idea who made it.

splats and an inked lid that I salvaged from the bin

nearly there with Italy now :0)

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x

'If the Cap Fits'

I have made the deadline for Sketchbook 365's October sketch my the skin of my teeth! ** ha ha just went to upload this to their blog and it's closed!!! Thought I had until 11 tonight????!!**

I couldn't not do it as it's a beauty :0) I have just seen that November's has been posted today so I will aim to complete that before the last hours!!

My prize for last month's came today...stunning trims on the most adorable vintage spools...I am going to play once this has been posted.



Photos are of DGD on one a sunny beach day we had in September. R is wearing DH's hat and none of the photos are posed I love that she appears to be giving a cheeky wink in one of them....she was, in fact, squinting into the sun!

papers are all from the Happy Days collection.....I love it!

OA letter stickers, American Crafts fabric brad

die cuts are Spellbinders and MS butterfly, Ali Edwards stamp, American Crafts rub ons, OA sticker

More American Crafts rub ons, acrylic sticker thing and Ali Edwards stamp

Here is the beautiful sketch that inspired it all:



Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

'Ghosts'

Hello, hello!!

I took the plunge and submitted a couple of los for the very first time to a magazine.

This is one of them but I can't show you the other one as it is going to be published....yay!! I am bouncing off the walls with joy :0) It's not due to come out till January but my Mum has already been into her local newsagents to reserve a copy....love that my Mum is so proud of her 47 year old child :0)

So the idea behind this one is a song that means something to you and to tell the story on the layout. Our song is not at all romantic but it is very special to us nonetheless.

I understand why it wasn't chosen as it really doesn't look that great in the photo....just one of those that is so much nicer in real life :0)

I printed the song out and cut it into random strips

 The story, in a nutshell, is DH was very shy and not what you would call a chatty man, LOL. He had an absolute passion for music  (he still does) and instead of talking to me he would play records. The very first time he spoke to me was to tell me about this record and the band Japan. I moved to Canada a few months later and he bought the record for me to take, listen to and think of him. When I moved back 8 months later I had barely got through the door before I was on the phone to him letting him know that I was back. He took me to the cinema that night .........30 years later when I hear this song it still makes my heart do a little flip :0)

I die cut all the circles then drew round them to 'ground' them. The white ones have all been embossed. Webster's Pages and MME papers. Studio Calico wood veneers.

The little house is part of a Crate Paper die cut

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

'The Beauty of Every Day Life'

Hello,

another lo for Project Italy...I could do with those blue skies and sunshine today....very grey and gloomy in this part of the world :0(

This lo was inspired by the lovely sketch #6 over at ScrapFriends, lots and lots of lovely inspiration so do and go and take a peep.

The photo was taken at beautiful Bardolino, a wonderful town in Lake Garda.

no pp on this one (or the last lo come to that...how will my stash ever go down?!!)

background stamp is MS, felt cut with Sizzix die, PP button, arrow thing was me messing about with scissors, Elle Studio tag

I literally typed and welded this word on the Silhouette...oh how I love that machine :0)

The arrows are a spikey flower stamp from Prima. stamped and cut around, Ali Edwards phrase stamps and die cut Heidi Swapp paper....oh, ok that's 2 inches of paper used!

I loved this sketch....I always make a beeline for ScrapFriends' sketches, they have yet to disappoint :0)

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

'Here's the Story'

Hello lovely bloggers,

I am back from a super week in Welsh Wales with DH and Basil :0) I was able to tear myself away from the  ironing pile (you pay for your pleasures) long enough to complete a lo for the sketch challenge at Skissedilla #179. I love the inspiration that you get over there!!

Another one for my Italian album, I am on the home stretch now, most of the project pages (i.e. 4 x 6ers) are embellished and journalled and there are only a handful of 12 x 12s left....just as well as I have tons of photos from Wales to scrap!!

my camera really did not like the whiteness of this one today....hence the crappy focus! Rub ons from OA Thrift Store (I never use rub-ons, but I like how these came out)

Die Cut Heidi Swapp Destinations paper, MME chevron stamp, MS butterfly punch...card stock was inked with Scattered Straw to tone it down a bit

Loving my homemade embellie! Bobunny chipboard, die cut SC paper (heart), Anna Griffin (label), MME stamp. American Crafts brad

Thanks for popping in today :0)

Ali x