Another One For Di.

So I was meant to be working on a new LO today & it just wouldn't come together. It's all Di Hickman's fault - here's why: Di's latest sketch (December #4) is sooooo fabulous that every time I try to make something another card idea pops into my head. So I made this one to get it out of my system! LOL. The rub-on greeting (on the bottom piece of tape measure) reads 'Party Time'.
Papers: Creative Imaginations; Chipboard Clock: Heidi Swapp; Ribbons, Rubons, Chipboard Arrow, yellow card blank & tape measure all from my stash.
Happily, I was then able to at least make a start on my LO - won't be able to share it for a week tho'.

Is This A Winning Card???

OOoops! Being as Di Hickman has publicly confirmed that I did indeed enter her Card Sketch Team call - I thought I may as well share it all with you - bit of a risk if I don't make the cut tho'. This was the second card from this sketch - you can see the first one here.
Anyway, my dear friend Bina has finally had a beautiful baby girl of her very own: Li'l Lola. I'm sure she wouldn't mind me saying that it has been a long & painful journey but soooo worth the heartache along the way.
Anyone that knows Bina will understand that this had to be the pinkest & sugariest of all li'l pink cards! LOL. And in true Di fashion - it's all scraps.

So that just leaves the following questions:
Is this the sort of card that will win me a place on Di's sketch team? and ...
How long do I have to stalk her blog & my e-mail to get an answer to the first question??

So c'mon Di - put this wannabe sketch team member out of her misery! LOL

WOOT!

I just got a spot as featured Blog of the Day over at QKD Bloggers - Check it out here!!
The new challenge at Journaling Junkie went up on Monday - you have until Saturday to join in & have your chance to win a li'l prize. It's got a Christmassy theme, so why not pop on over and have a go.
I'm off to spend some quality time in my scrap space now - will share later! LOL.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Festivities are well underway in the 'Crafty Moments' household, so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for visiting my blog this past year & leaving a li'l love here and there. I love reading all your comments & keeping in touch with my crafty friends worldwide. I hope you'll all carry on popping in during 2008 - now I've closed the B&M store I'll have much more time for creating & blogging - so there'll be much more from me in the next 12 months!
I'll be posting a couple of things over the holidays (hint: look out for a new regular post starting new year's day!)
All that's left to say is: Have a fabulous Christmas however you choose to celebrate & a peaceful, creative, crafty new year!

The Bonus Card!

I made a li'l card with Di's bonus sketch last Saturday. It's not my entry for the DT call, altho' obviously I'll be submitting for that, but my card for this week's Design Challenge at Crop 'Til You Drop. With the DT being on their annual break, there'll be a lot more from me over there this next couple of weeks.
All the papers are from the HOTP classic cardmakers pack, as is the ribbon. I used a chipboard key from Fancy Pants Biggest Board 'Dreamer'. For the keyhole, I drew around a chipboard keyhole from the same set, cut it from black glimmer & mounted it on a circle punched with the Marvy Mega Scalloped Circle. The sentiment was added using Queen & Co lower case clear alpha stamps.
Should have my take on this week's sketch (December #3) up tomorrow!

Oh! & I've finally got the webshop back up & running - new stuff going on over there every day so go take a lookie!

Finally I'm Back Online!!

Wow! I've had sooooo many hassles getting online this week - but I'm finally back & managing to catch up on some of the stuff I should have been doing.

First up: The winner of my li'l RAK was comment #22 - ALIX. A fabby li'l prize is on its way to you - have a fabulous Christmas!!
As always, I used the Random Number Generator to pick a winner - Thank you to everyone who popped by & left a comment - I hope you'll all pop by again soon x

I've also managed to send this month's newsletter - if you've not yet signed up yet, you can do so here.
AND I've updated all the challenge entries for our weekly challenges - join in the fun here - the prizes are great!

Stampy Scrapping

The Monday Challenge at Sisterhood of Scrap this week is to create a layout with a stamped title. The sisters don't mind if the layouts you use are old or new, so even if you don't have the time during the week to create a new page, why not revisit an old one that fits the bill. This page is months old but I really love the papers (making memories) as they are much brighter than the stuff I'd usually choose. The stamps are by A Muse, stamped & handcut from co ordinating pink paper. So that covers Arty Girlz 'handcut' challenge too!

My layout for the Journaling Junkie challenge #2 was posted today, along with Anam Stubbington's - check them out here & maybe have a go yourself - very therapeutic this one!

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)

Heads Up!

Just a couple of li'l announcements to keep you going 'til this evening!

• Still time for the RAK: all the deets are here & you have until tomorrow (wednesday) morning at 7 am GMT to get your comment posted.
• There's a fab challenge over at Journaling Junkie this week, set by the one & only Allyson Bright Myer (author of the idiots guides to scrapbooking & altered art) & a li'l prize donated by the lady herself.
• We are busy planning the kick off events at My Creative Classroom for the January launch. The only way to qualify for the free classes is to sign up for the newsletter (it's free to register) so do it now!! There'll be lots of challenges, classes & loads more - you are not gonna want to miss this!
• Make sure you sign up for my newsletter here. The physical store will be closing at the end of this month (webstore will be retained) & the newsletter contains info about all the special offers, new stock, freebies, online & local classes as well as li'l bits I come across while on my blog-hopping travels. It's a great way to stay ahead of the game! The webstore is currently undergoing maintenance but it'll be back in a week or two more.
• The weekly challenge over on Blog 'Til You Drop, the store's blog & home to my DT needs more entries! I give a prize worth around £20 every month for the best entry over all the weekly challenges. So if you enter every week, that's around four chances to win each month! New challenges are set every Saturday at 6 pm - you have until then to get the previous week's entry e-mailed to me.

That's it 'til tonight, so watch this space for a couple of LOs later on.

Three Steps To {Scrapping} Heaven.

Actually there are thirteen steps leading to my scrapping heaven - but where would we be without artistic licence?? So these four li'l pics represent the entire size of my scraproom & considering it's quite 'compact', I like it sooooo much more than the huge space I had at the store. I've sent bags & bags of stuff down to Fish's playgroup (they think it's Christmas - oh wait! it is!! LOL) but still have tons left. Most of what I've got rid of is stuff I haven't touched in at least 3 years. Sequins, stickers, toppers, holographic paper etc.
Anyway, I digress! The first pic is the entrance to the walk in cupboard. I took off the door (& by me, I mean DH), which gave me an extra couple of feet wall space. The shelves were already in the cupboard - it was a dumping ground for all sorts of stuff: inflatable matresses, spare crash helmets, fencing garb (!) & that all has new homes now. The key to a small space is plenty of storage ... and labels. I mostly know where everything is but you don't want to be spending half your crafting time searching in identical boxes for the elusive must have item to finish a project!
Photo 2 shows the back of the wardrobes that form a false 'wall' separating my scrap space from my bedroom. I tell ya - this whole thing has been done in minimum time with the tiniest budget. In time, I'll be hanging extra wall pockets or something here (possibly some 12x12 paper racks from the store when it closes) but it needs to be lightweight. There's no lighting at this end of the room, so I'm finally using my big daylight lamp. First time really in about 3 years - they cost looooads now but I got mine for around £20 on offer back then. There's a whole bunch of storage boxes (including my Stanley tool box collection) along this wall but they had to be quite slimline as I sit with my back to this bit.
The two freestanding bookshelves have been liberated from the store already. Happily, I had just the right number of shelves to house all my brads, buttons, ribbons etc. I have a whole bunch of those lidded stacking boxes. There are 7 stacked in the corner, 7 more under the table and 5 in the cupboard (said I have alot of stash!) I have 6 that are full of alterables - I needed two for mini books alone! LOL
The last picture shows my table (not overly tidy!) The pink & blue mini dump bins on the table are a godsend. Great for throwing in all the bits I'm using for a project, bits & pieces that are yet to find a home & the couple of bits that I don't have sufficient of to need a home. I'll have to clear these out regularly but that's gotta be a good thing to help keep me organised. Believe it or not, there's still quite a lot of space to store more stash - which is just as well as I've still loads in DS1's room, stashed under his bed! Not to mention the stuff on the shelves in the lounge & under the kitchen table! The before pics are here if you want to compare.
I have a load more piccies showing the deets of my storage solutions so I'm gonna set up an album on my gallery. As I said before, it's all been done on a tiny budget: much of the storage I had already, utilised from other areas (some of these boxes were baby layette boxes in their formative years!) or are bargain finds from the local £1 store. There's recycling a-plenty going on here too!
I didn't feel the need to redecorate my space - stark walls are fine for me - I only have to look at all those jars of yummy ribbons & buttons to be inspired!
Don't forget the RAK posted here - you have until Wednesday morning to enter and win some yummy stash from me!
I'll post a link to the gallery when I'm finished there!

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!

Playing Catch Up Again!

Hmmmm. More Christmas cards - this time I've used the sketches from Sisterhood of Scrap posted a couple of weeks back. Great sketches & they make quick & easy cards - just what I need just now!
The front card also covers the current challenge over at Blog 'Til You Drop - the theme is 'wish'.
So my wish isn't for myself but for all the blog-hoppers that come visit me here. I wish you all happy holidays & an inspiring & creative New Year. I hope you'll all continue to come by in 2008!

Santa Lives In The US ...

& her name is Jane!! Check out this fab bunch of goodies that Auntie Jane (EJ in the US) brought me back from the US: Lace cardstock - oh wow! I'm not sure this is available over here yet - soooooo yummy! LOL. Hambly heavyweight overlay - so I can make my very first clear album - WOOT!! The cutest li'l sticky notes - 1 pad says 'Crop 'til you drop' - how cool is that? A post it named after my very own shop! LOL (OK, I know it's probably a coincidence ... or is it???) Some back issue mags - luuurve the occasional US scrapping mag BUT THAT'S NOT THE BEST BIT - a couple of Donna Downey's books - one dedicated and signed by the great lady herself!! AND a copy of the effer dares book - signed by Kristina Contes!! Am I the luckiest lady in the world or what?

Thanks Jane - luv ya loads!!

I'm Celebrating a Bi-centenery!!

First bit of exciting news!! The last post was my 200th to this blog & I'm gonna celebrate by giving out a little RAK or two - it's open to anyone, anywhere in the world!
Rather than just leaving a comment, I'd like you to answer the following question:
If you had £200 (or USD, or whatever currency your country uses) that MUST be spent on craft goodies - what would you buy & why.
Pop me a li'l comment on this post and I'll pick a random winner at 7 am (GMT) on Wednesday 12th December (that's 200 hours by my calculations! LOL) I'll post the winner sometime on the Wednesday night. Good luck!!

Could This Be A Scrapping Heaven?

This little area is the front of our bedroom. We divided it off with wardrobes when Fish was very little to give him a 'room of his own' of sorts. He moved into a proper room on the other side of the landing over a year ago and since then it has been a general dumping ground for stuff that should either be given a proper home or thrown out. The first piccie shows the view through the entrance next to the wardrobes. I wanted to take pictures while it was still a tip (but have to admit I had already cleared out must of the real rubbish - this is just the clutter that's left!)
The second picture was taken standing at the far end (shown on the left of the first pic). As you can see there's a li'l cupboard at the end - it measures just 3'4" x 2'7". We took the door off already to create extra space & so I can see what's there. The main room measures 6'5" x 11'1". If you know me well, you might be wondering how I'm gonna fit my vast amounts of stash into such a tiny space and still have space to work in there!!
This third & final piccie shows a bit of clutter and two of the 5 drawer units that I'm confident will fit in this tiny space. An estate agent might describe it as compact! LOL.
The odd few boxes, drawers etc are scrapping stuff that I pulled out from our lounge. Currently, we've got most of my stash - all the essentials over from the store - it took 3 loads in my mum's car! LOL. I still have some sorting out to do (tonight) & more stuff to move out from DS1's room. I reckon I'll have the after photos for you tomorrow (& proof that it all fits!!) it's gotta be soon as I'm having serious crafting withdrawal - sorting out all that fabulous stash & having NO time to use it!!
Would love to hear what you think - could this be a scrapping heaven? pop me a comment & let me know!

Nearly Forgot This One!

So a while ago I posted about this calendar that I'd bought in the local £1 store & I know a few of you were wondering how I was gonna make it look fabby. Well here is the finished piece - I used the cropadile to punch the holes for the book rings & matted the cropped calendar pages on to A4 textured cardstock. The letters are die cut from scraps of the patterned papers & I doodled around the edges of the letters and the holes. Easy Peasy - and the papers/cardstock are all at least 1 year old (some much more)! LOL.
Supplies: papers, ribbons & blooms - Daisy D's; Cardstock - DCWV.

It's gonna be a mega blogging night tonight - Auntie Jane has been to visit: she's better than santa cuz she brings extra special scrapping goodies! LOL. I'll also be showing the 'before' photos of my new scrapping space (prepare to be shocked!!) & I have an exciting announcement or two to make ;o)

Check back later!!