You Called?

I don't remember where I saw it (as I spend far too much time blog-hopping) but several people have been talking lately about bringing back old fashioned calling cards ... more than that, handmade ones. Well that seemed like a bandwagon I could happily jump on - so here's the first batch.
I made these as my DT entry for Di's sketch this week (April #5), using scraps left over from some of my recent Luxe Designs makes. Which also gave me the chance to break out the li'l icon stamps DH bought me about 4 years ago (yep! never used them before!!) & the brand new Spica glitter pen that Auntie Jane included with the goodies she brought me over from the US (gonna have to get me the whole set!!)
Really easy to make - just measure against a credit card for size. My cardstock is double sided, so I've just printed my deets on the PC & stuck them to the back - all that's left to do is to laminate them & hand them out!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes ...

Well I'm all over My Creative Classroom today! LOL. I have uploaded not one - but FOUR classes to the site today - and check out the news bulletin for May 23rd (scroll down the home page - before you log in). Yep! It's all about me just now! LOL

All my classes are enrollable now & I have a bunch more coming very soon - it's all exciting stuff!!

So have a lookie at ...
'Family Mini Book' - Starting May 12th
The Way Of The Scrapbooker - Starting May 19th
Totally Top Hats - Starting May 26th (see the cool piccie at the top right?)
Let's Kit Together: Love - Starting May 19th (I'm re-running this popular class!)

And talking about changes - we have re-branded the forum to better reflect the direction we are taking - pop over & take a look ... & if you aren't already a member why not register with us now - we'd love some new friends to chat to - the more the merrier!

It's All About Family ...

My MIL has to go into hospital soon, so I made this li'l album for her to take in - if we can't be with her in person ... etc. I'm also gonna be offering this as a class over at My Creative Classroom - deets should be up by Monday!!
And on the subject of family - gotta tell you about the challenge on Fab's blog (OK - he's not family but if you could choose your big brother, he'd be mine - LOVE that man! LOL) It's a Christmas card challenge & although started back in February, I guess it's OK to jump right in!! On the 25th of each month, the next month's challenge starts - you can either make 1 card each month or a number equal to the month (so 4 in april, 5 for may etc) - fabulous idea!!!

How Much Do I Love Auntie Jane????

The answer is LOOOOOOADS! LOL. Auntie Jane (better known as EJ across the pond) paid one of her flying visits yesterday and brought me this HUGE bunch of goodies! OMG - there is just soooooo much stuff here: a pinpoint glue pen & crafter's workshop template, vintage glass glitter (I've been wanting this since I first read Lisa Pace's blog an absolute AGE ago), Dream Street papers & chipboard covers (why these haven't been on my 'must have' list is beyond me!) Teresa Collins die cut sheets - designed to be used with the BIA (which I bought at Christmas & still haven't used!), KI Memories, Luxe & Prima Paintables (I always loved colouring in! LOL), Ranger Crackle Paints (I keep thinking about getting these for the store - I have played & I will be getting them in!!), TONS of velvet ric rac from the Art Bar (which we don't have over here!!), Hambly overlays - love these too! The cutest li'l pirate paper (perfect for my li'l pirate - and some cards!) & a couple of US mags - i look forward to these every time Auntie Jane comes over! Oh & a Spica clear pen - love this & will deffo put more on my list!!
So far I've only played with the Spica pen, crackle paint & the LUXE as I'm deep in one of those DT submissions again (didn't get the last couple - or believe me, you'd have heard about it! LOL). The plus point to keep making submissions is I have a ton of cool projects to add to my online classes - vast amounts of write ups to do this weekend & I should have my new classes for May listed by Monday - so watch this space for deets.
I'm very honest in my DT submissions (which isn't necessarily a good thing) as I'm not only looking for another manufacturer DT place but also this will determine the future brands stocked in the webstore & the product that I use for my online classes - I'm looking to tie everything together (much as Lisa Pace's kits & classes are heavily based upon Maya Road). Is that wrong?
Anyway - I LOVE YOU Auntie Jane - and your visits are just too short!

Stuff to share ...

Well I'm getting around a bit this week! First, here's my DT card (more of that yummy MM 5th Avenue stash!) for this week's sketch over at Di Hickman's fabby blog. If you've not been over before you really are missing out ... Di has a regular RAK on fridays & has recently started a series of 'GREEN' tutorials - the first two are about making scrapping storage at a fraction of the price.
While you are there, why not grab this week's sketch and have a go - we'd love to see what you do with it!
Next up - you might see my webstore popping up in new places this week - we are sponsoring both the weekly challenge at 'My Time to Craft' challenge blog & sponsoring a prize for the weekend's events at UKS. We have donated some of our yummy ribbon packs for these events - different selections for each one, so why not do both & double your chances to win. And even if you don't win - why not pop on over to the webshop & treat yourself!!

There'll be some exciting news in the next week or two over at the store blog (just as soon as I catch up with my DT work) & the only clue I'm giving is .... DT!!! (sssshhhhhh! don't tell - it's a secret.)

A Brush With The Law!

This is the layout for tomorrow's class - lots of handcutting & penwork (cuz I know how much they love it ... NOT!!!)Excuse the pants photo - had to use the flash as it's getting late now (OK ... it's 2 am - so I guess it IS late! LOL)Supplies are mainly Making Memories 5th Avenue - with a couple of odd brads & some textured cardstock thrown in.

Winter to spring in just 1 day!

I thought it about time I had a go at one of those 'white space' layouts - so this is my layout for Pearl's bingo challenge at Sisterhood of Scrap. All supplies are Luxe Designs, with the exception of the bingo card, which was a free download for which Pearl gave a link - a good idea to pop on over & bookmark it - you never know when you'll need one! LOL
I've posted too late to take part in the draw - but thought I'd share anyway!

Nearly Forgot!!

I have been really bad at blogging my DT cards for Di Hickman's weekly card sketches (sorry Di!) so I'm gonna try much harder in future! LOL. This is my take on this week's sketch - be sure to pop over & see what the rest of the sketch girls created this week - some fabby stuff there.
I've been playing with my new Luxe Designs stash .... & Bazzill mini ric rac - love this stuff!

30-Something

It's a bit of a running joke in my house that DH has to think really hard to remember how old he is (he's a bit of a ditz). As it's his birthday today, I made this card for him! LOL. For what it's worth, I happen to know that he's actually 34 (yep! I bagged me a toy boy!!)

You might be recognising those papers as Upsy Daisy ones - using a few scraps I had left from the 'pass the parcel' layout - colorbox fluid chalk ink in lime pastel goes really well with these papers & makes a change from Chestnut Roan (which I use a lot!!)

Gonna keep it short today - I have 'dyslexic keyboard syndrome' - which usually means I'm tired!! Should have a layout to share tomorrow

Tote-Ally Cool!!

Is this the yummiest rolling tote or what???? I had my eye on it for a li'l while but it didn't really take long to give in! LOL. Black & Pink - gotta have it then! Sadly it doesn't look like I'm gonna get to Scrap-a-Ganza (I absolutely refuse to pay an £85 penalty for single occupancy & none of my scrappy buds can do it!) so I might have to wait a bit to show it off properly!
Here's the features:
Large main compartment holds hundreds of 12x12 papers, albums, etc. and features a large zippered mesh pocket, elastic pen loops, cell phone pocket and PDA/camera pocket. Includes a padded laptop case with handles. Telescoping handle with button release and durable reinforced wheels.

It's all lined in pink w/black polka dots - I'm in heaven! LOL. I'm waiting on the tote (the one with the carousel base) now but think I might be forced to get the matching shoulder bag too - would be rude not to really! LOL

It's a Mystery!!

Last month I accepted the mystery envelope challenge at Sisterhood Of Scrap. The rules are this: you receive a C5 envelope with some supplies, to which you can add cardstock but keep other product to a minimum. Produce a layout on any theme. And this is the result.
I had some tiny scraps left over, so I made a card as well (as I'm sure I might have mentioned how I hate waste! LOL)
All I have added is ...
Layout: Blue & Orange cardstock, stamps, ink & acrylic paint. everything else was supplied & I handcut some of the embellies: check out the first letter of my subtitle at the bottom - I layered the sticker waste from the 'beautiful day' sticker on to cardstock, the flower sticker and leaves cut from one of the papers, used a foam stamp to make a template to cut the 'U', which has inked & faux stitched edges & is then mounted on foam tape for depth. Really easy to do but adds a bit of interest I think.
Card: Blue cardstock (Bazzill I think) a button, some micro dot gems & sentiment stamp (both A Muse). The flowers were punched from scraps - I read somewhere this morning that paper punches are 'out' now: Guess what??? I DON'T CARE!!! i USE MINE A LOT & i WILL KEEP DOING SO! Rounded the corners of the scraps & card base, layered them - a bit of faux stitching (I use the HOTP stitching template cuz I'm lazy!) - curled the small flower petals (after doodling the edges) & stuck it all down - dead easy!

From One Chick To Another

and here's another li'l card I made at mums yesterday - this one's for Deanne's 'follow the leader' challenge at SOS. It's a scraplift of her layout but I thought it would make a great card. The card blank is one of a stack of deckle edge ones I have from making the order of service from Fish's naming ceremony (4 years ago!!!) - maybe I should revive the deckle edge trend?? More Upsy Daisy papers - did I mention how much I love them??? LOL.
Deffo gonna have to get them for the store - I couldn't find them in the UK at all! The stamp is by A Muse.
More birds coming I think - strange really, I like the look of birds but totally freak if one flies anywhere near me. My folks had an avery when I was in my teens (until just a year or so ago) & I thought they birds were the most annoying creatures ever! Fish would get in there with them tho' & squeal with delight at all these budgies flying around his head - I guess time will tell as to whether we have mentally scarred that child for life! Wonder if they took any photos??

Watch The Birdie!

As promised, here's a couple of pics from my recent obsession with Upsy Daisy Designs. Totally love this range - check out the names of the papers - so cool! LOL. Aaaaaanyway - I made the doodlebug house cuz I've been wanting to do one for such a long time! The papers were perfect for this kinda 'spring's-gotta-get-here-soon' theme. The chicks came from a pack of 12 different coloured ones that I picked up for Easter projects (& mislaid until a couple of weeks ago!)and I made the li'l nest from some raffia - note to self: Mod Podge is not great for sticking raffia! LOL. Inked it up a bit to create some depth too. I'm really pleased with how it all turned out - and yes, I did 'wallpaper' inside before assembling the house! There are more photos in my gallery including a couple of close ups here.

Next up is this cute li'l card I made today over at my mum's. A few of us are getting together on alternate mondays - they are doing some iris folding, teabag folding & decopage & I'm just pottering on a few bits. It's great to get some time out of the house where I'm not teaching!
I really struggled with this card & then I switched to square & it all fell into place. I used some scraps left over from the 'Tweet' projects along with some rub ons (also Upsy Daisy) for the sentiment. The 'TWEET' is actually cut from the barcode strip - I hate waste! LOL. I have plans for other bits of the strips too - the li'l birds are repeated there and the other paper names (harmony, serenity et al) are definitely useable. Check out my Pass The Parcel layout - the li'l cupcakes in the letter centres are handcut from the barcode strip too! (it's not too late to join in that challenge either!)
I have others to share but need to get better light - will take photos in the morning!

I'm Official!!

So I finally took the plunge & created an online resume. I have been threatening to do so for a LOOOOOOONG time now! I used the programme recommended by Susan on Sisterhood of Scrap. - yep! it's another google one! Basically, it's a web page template - you choose the layout & theme ... then google does all the work for you. So all you have to do is type in the text, pretty much the same as blogger. Clever huh?
It took me hours - mostly as I'm a bit hazy on dates and since my last PC's blue screen death I don't have any of the info to hand - lots of searching hard copies and web pages then! I'm so glad it's done though - shouldn't be too hard to keep it updated.
So if you are feeling curious, go here to read all about me!!

Gonna share some projects tomorrow - or is that today? LOL

Just An Ordinary Day

My turn to set the challenge at Journaling Junkie this week - and a fab chance to play with the sponsor goodies sent to me from Cosmo Cricket. I found the papers a bit scary to start with - mostly as they were from the 'Be Good' range, which does smack of Christmas ... and I'm soooo over scrapping Christmas in April! LOL (although for magazine work I will be working on Christmas in August again - Oh dear!)
Anyway, Cosmo were seriously generous with product & I nearly fainted when I saw the stash! There's sooooo much left I'm gonna be doing some more with it soon! To do our sponsor justice, I created a layout using only the product sent, with the exception of rub-ons, ink, acrylic paint & basic tools. So the Cosmo products are patterned papers (around 7 different patterns there - i like 'busy'); Chipboard alphabuttons; 'Be Good' trims; Alphabutton Fashions (die cut letters that fit the chipboard ones perfectly - how easy is that???) There's a couple of interesting features here too (well I think so):

• The tabs on the sides of the photos are the waste from the centres of the 'D' (one chipboard and one from the die cuts). Just paint, ink, doodle or add ribbon accents. I keep all the 'petal' shape waste too and use to create faux flowers, raindrops etc.
  
• The 'die cut border' to the left is actually a hand cut strip from one of the patterned papers - it had a gorgeous scalloped pattern just shouting out to be cut an used as an accent! I inked the cut edge, layered the ric rac over the opposite edge (it will stick with a glue stick!) and the li'l faux brads are the waste from the button holes on the alphabuttons - just paint with acrylic for a fabby li'l embellishment!
• The lace fan is a wide piece of lace, folded in half and gathered on a small piece of ribbon. Attach with glue dots and add an embellished chipboard button to the centre.
  

We didn't stock this range in the webstore but do have some Cosmo coming soon - I love that this DT lark gives me the opportunity to try new things - many of our new stocks, class kits and the projects I offer at MCC (some fabby new ones to be added soon!) are a result of that - so it's all good! LOL

So check out the challenge (you can read the journaling on our layouts there too!) & if you join in, be sure to hook me up in the comments & I'll come by to see!

Pass The Parcel ... And Win A Prize!!

I was thrilled to be asked back to Sisterhood of Scrap this week to set a challenge for the week-long blog crop to celebrate their first anniversary. And today's the day!!
Even better, I'm applying for a DT place at Upsy Daisy Designs & these papers were just perfect for the layout I had in mind. I don't usually divulge the DT places I apply for (in case I don't get them!!) but I love these papers sooooo much that I really wanted to share - and you can expect to see a few more pieces cropping up in the next few days!

Anyway, with Fish's (DS4) birthday party still firmly in my mind, my challenge is based on the traditional party game Pass the Parcel. I know I loved this when I was a child (hey! I might even have an adult version for my 40th birthday bash in August!) and the li'l ones we had with us for Fish's birthday did too (we played twice with 2 ten-layer parcels each time! LOL) & cuz I love to see the li'l ones have fun we had a li'l surprise in every layer - oh! there were NO losers at this party!!

So the challenge is: Create a layout that has at least FIVE layers

You have a whole week to get it done (April 19th) & Don't forget to hook me up in the comments so I can come see. The sisters will be checking our blogs at the end of the week to draw their winners too.
Wanna know what the prize is? Check out the sister's blog for all the deets - and to see the rest of the challenge links - there's still time to enter all of them - the first one closes on Monday!!

Good luck - now go win prizes! LOL

Still Not Sharing ... But Check Out This!

The clue's in the title! LOL. So I'm still working on a few top secret projects & too pushed for time to post the regular stuff Buuuuuut ... you gotta check out the blog crop at Sisterhood of Scrap that's on all week. Looooads of prizes up for grabs & a fair amount of fun - & all to celebrate the Sisters' first anniversary.
So ... Happy Anniversary girls (((((HUGS)))))

Oh! and pop by her on the 12th to see my challenge for the Sisters' Blog Crop!

The Places You'll Go ...

Just a quick heads up for the ladies in my scrapping class tomorrow afternoon. This is the layout we'll be doing.
I bought these papers for the store on a total whim - DS4 loves the Dr Seuss books, so I couldn't resist. EK Success has now discontinued them I think, so I might not be able to get the others in - I guess we'll have to make the most of the ones I do have! LOL.
I do have a 'Green Eggs & Ham' layout to share but it hasn't been published on the journaling junkie blog yet - so I guess I'll have to wait! LOL
Also have a bunch of cards n stuff but right now I have some new goodies to play with - just arrived from Upsy Daisy Designs in Canada - you seriously need to check these out - LUSH OR WHAT??? I really, really want a place on their DT so I guess I better go be creative! LOL