Layout 5/100 '& baby makes 3'

This layout is using my CKC kit...yay, for the second time this month!! and also the sketch over at Sketchbook365.

This is the first layout for my new DGS' album :0) and is also one of the first photos taken of his arrival :0)))

journal tag is tucked away into the glassine bag

circle cut on Silhouette, the house stamp is super old

I punched all the hearts to make the 'tiles', the stamp is my fave MME

Studio Calico wood veneers and Pink Paislee really old chipboard number

It was such a fun idea to 'build' a house around this new little family :0)

Here is the sketch:

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

Basil :)

Morning,

another one bites the dust!! I am on scrapping cloud nine!!!

I am always on the lookout for new challenges as a little prompt usually helps to get the creative juices flowing and having seen a few of my blogging friends refer to Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge I thought I would pop over and take a look ....so glad I did!!

Smashing inspiration and not only sketch challenges, although that is what floats my boat!!

Here is a layout of my beloved Basil :0)

I misted with acrylic paint as I wanted that specific limey green......I am going to be doing that a lot more often!

This is my homage to Heidi Swapp...created in frustration at not having a Michaels here!!! You can see I had a little accident with the white love but it doesn't notice so much in real life! Obviously cut on the Silhouette and the black was a an offset shadow of the original word.....I am finally getting to grips with all the functions!

Look at that face! Triangles cut from an old Anna Griffin photo corner and the star is from my bonzer mate Lizzy

and here is the fabulous sketch:

 reminds me of that Tim Holtz stamp :0)

Do you want a laugh?? For those of you who pop in from time to time you will know that I am having real problems getting my photos true to colour with all this dingy grey weather....this is what I resorted to for this one. Balancing on swivel chair, one foot on DH's desk (hence the clutter!!) trying desperately to keep the chair still just so I could photograph the lo under his desk lamp and hope that that would fix the problem.......erm.....nope!!!

I am off to try using some coloured paper ;0)

Thanks for popping in,

Ali x

Today is Your Day

Another FAB-U-LOUS challenge over at ScrapFriends :0)

This time I am playing along with their colour challenge.......and it's a good 'un!!

I have had this old photo of me, DH and DD#2 hanging around since I brought it down from the loft to repurpose the frame...I know it was taken on one of my birthdays...I think around 1993...hence the hair...both DH and me!!!

Papers are scraps :0) Background stamp is Kaisercraft

Check out the fabulous texture rub ons from Christy Tomlinson...yummy!

Lovely flair badge from Stash Panache :0)

So the challenge is:




and I used this week's sketch from Let's Get Sketchy



go and have a play here

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

A real 'scrap' mini!!

Some of you will have read that I organised all my scraps into individual acrylic folders, one for each colour plus neutrals...well I have also done the same for my embellishments, one drawer per colour..... patterned paper and ......cardstock!! Told ya...OCD Queen (and I wonder why I have so little time to myself!!) Ribbons, flowers and buttons were done a long time ago...and as for stickles....

 need I say more? LOL

Anyway I am on a mission to use all these bits and pieces I lovingly spare from the bin :0) I saw a mini recently on the Pink Paislee blog, super simple, fold 6 x 12 papers in half and attach!! Great huh?

I have a lot of 6 x 12 pieces as I only have a mini cricut and that's the size of my cutting mat. Armed with a selection of randomness I folded and punched holes and tied with seam binding.

I also have a little box that contains anything I have cut on the Silhouette or Cuttlebug and didn't use.....at last, a use for these little bits and bobs!

And here we have a mini documenting our day at the Discovery Centre with DD#1 and DGD :0)

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x

'Big Thanks'

I am on a roll!! Can't seem to prize myself away from my desk at the moment, but it's all helping to keep me on the straight and narrow :0) ....over a week now, so by my calculations that's £40 more to spend on paper, paint and pretty things!!!

I saw this week's sketch over at Let's Get Sketchy and thought it would be right up my street....albeit shrunk down!

It took a few little tweaks to get it right enough to go into an album....I went a bit mad with the mist...so not happy from the offset....I know, I know I should have started again, but I just can't bear to throw cardstock away!!

I made the chevron mask on the Silhouette and misted with Mr Huey and Tattered Angels mists and liked it. Then the postman delivered some new SC masks so I decided to use the star one...yeah I know hard to tell as the mist I used was clogged and squirted rather then misted...grrr! So there is a hint of the stars and then I turned the mask over to use up the residual ink. I cut the photo into two as there was a big gap between my Mum and Dad, wouldn't have thought of doing that if the sketch hadn't called out for 2 photos!

The title is cut on the Silhouette as is the arrow that you can hardly see on the left! Papers are Pink Paislee and MME. With Teresa Collins transparency and a chipboard corner from WRMK.

The heart and arrow were also done on the Silhouette. The 21 die cut is Pretty Little Studio (forgot I had them!) Teh stamp is MME, the felt flower is an old Heidi Swapp and the pearls are Kaisercraft

I added some drips of black ink to ground it all, and am now happy with the result :0)

Here is the sketch that inspired it all




Thanks for popping in,

Ali x 

'Back in Time'

Oooh I have to say that ScrapFriends is still my absolute favourite for Sketch Inspiration and this one is no exception!!

This page is the very last one for my Welsh Album....it does seem like forever ago...and to be honest I had forgotten that there was still one to do!!

Anywho, the photo was taken on a very rainy day in the Mumbles. What a gloriously beautiful little town with Victorian touches everywhere... I loved it, even in the rain!

A corny title I know but hey ho! I cut the letters on the Silhouette (not done that before, a cornucopia of fonts to choose from but I wanted mine to be simple) as well as the 'mask'

Tag with TH stamp, transparency die cut on Grand Calibur form Glitz, tin letter from back in the day!

clock stamp is super old, Studio Calico veneer and Pink Paislee ephemera, MME brad

Here is the fabulous sketch that inspired my layout:

I shall definitely do this one again and try doing the paper piecing!!

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

A promise is a promise.....

Hello,

I have been saying for ages that I am going to stop my dirty little habit and with the imminent arrival of our new DGS there is no time like the present!!

Quid pro quo is that I need to have more time in my craft room to keep my hands busy!! So you will be seeing a lot more of me, at least until DD#2 gets her new house and new baby :0)

DD#1 and DGD moved into their new house last week and we have been spending a lot of time with them settling them in nicely. DD#1 is a chip off the old block and wants everything done yesterday so amazingly she already has 2 rooms completely redecorated and her Dad is busy decorating her bedroom as I type in preparation for the arrival of her new flooring and furniture next weekend!!

We have managed to fit in a weekend in London for the New Year and last weekend we went away en famille for my Mum's 70th birthday......it takes a lot of planning!! Lucky that I am queen of the list!!

Anyway, I didn't want to quit on NYD as I knew there was so much coming up, but promised I would buy no more cigs after the 6th...so far so good. Do you know what's helped? We have a programme here called One Born Every Minute about a maternity unit and I watched a Grandmother help deliver her Grandson and then go and have a fag, come back in and pick him up....disgusting! I did give up before DGD was born but started again just before she was a year old. Just having the odd one, easy, NOT! So this time there will be no cheating, no 'I can be a social smoker' what an oxymoron that is!! However, I am not judging those of you who do, just jealous LOL

Saw a lovely sketch over at Sarah's Cards after shopping in their fab sale :0) and took myself off to play!

I wanted this to be bright, happy and positive...and yes I am back to my beloved white backgrounds!!

This delightful die cut is from Lileth Eckels for the Silhouette. The stamps are Pink Paislee arrow and MME phrase

 Pop over to Lileth's blog and pick it up for free

all the papers are from my HUGE collection of scraps - using more and more since I sorted them into colours. 

These MME stamps were chosen because of what they represent: Balloon for freedom of tobacco, Tightrope Lady because it will be tricky at times but I can do it, and phrase because I intend to stay positive and not an old grump! Hearts are Studio Calico veneer, painted chipboard and Sizzix die using corrugated card and painted

Here is the sketch at Sarah's Cards




Sorry for the incredibly long rambling....it's good to type, LOL.

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

'Totally Silly'

Hellloooooo!! Happy New Year to you all :0)

Goodness me it has been ages since I last had a minute to blog!! 

Life is still very busy, but I won't bore you with the details....this is my happy place!!

So, I had said that I wouldn't be playing along with this month's
Sketch365 but then I thought 'blow it' I must be able to find a couple of hours to have a go at all the AMAZING techniques I have been watching on the Creative Jump Start series go and see what you are missing!


So here is my interpretation:

New Year, New Me????? Coloured background!!!  Watch this space ;0)

This fabulous background is made with texture paste and a crackle embossing folder. Tattered Angels Chalk Mist and water

Pink Paislee ephemera, Maya Road heart ribbon slide

Delicious drips!!

Here is the sketch that inspired me to get back into messy play :0)



You still have time to play just pop along to sketchbook365 and join in the fun!!

Hope to see you in the not too distant future, thanks for popping in,

Ali x 

'Pod'

I am a huge fan of Lileth Eckels and she recently hosted a challenge at Scraptastic Kit Club (actually it's because of her that I looked into joining their kit club).

The challenge is

1. Use as many embellishments/die cuts/ letters stickers/mists/stamps/washi ... as you like.
2. You can only use ONE patterned paper
3. and ONE sheet of cardstock. 

So off I went to play and created a lo for my Welsh album.

the patterned paper is an old piece of PP Mistables that I inked and flicked with paint

kaisercraft paint, Ali Edwards stamp, recycled (removed from a mini album I started and never finished and is now in the bin!) Anna Griffin bee

Silhouette shapes, Crate Paper chipbard

Silhouette shapes ....again! Basic Grey letters

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x 

'Behave!'

It has been some while since I took part in the CSI challenges :0(

This week I found a little bit of time to sit and rifle through my stash and come up with the criteria to solve the case....hooray!

These photos have been hanging around for a while and after seeing one of the journaling prompts was about etiquette (or rather DH's lack of etiquette!) it seemed the perfect chance to scrap them. They were taken in a photo booth at our friends' wedding earlier this year.....you have hats, wigs and various things to put on...then you get a copy of the photo and another copy goes in an album and you write them a message on the page...love that!!

papers are from my scraps folders...so easy to find the right colour now :0) Cosmo Cricket, Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, Webster's Pages

my journaling is on a film reel die tucked behind the mat

Flourish cut on Silhouette, Ali Edwards stamp

stitched fabric and Basic Grey letters....I have just found a whole load under a pile of sticker sheets!

My evidence is patchwork (of sorts), gold accent, flourish, fabric and journaling...oh and obviously the colour scheme!!

Here is the challenge if you would like to play along :0)

Thanks for popping in today,

Ali x