Where is Everybody?

I based this layout on a Thursday sketch from the October Afternoon blog, so I thought it was only fitting that I used lots of OA '9 to 5' on it. I was quite pleased with the final layout, so I decided to pop it in the OA Flickr gallery. Then I forgot about it. So imagine my surprise when I opened the latest post from October Afternoon in my blog reader, and saw my layout staring back at me!

Not only that, but they called it 'awesome'! I eventually managed to pick myself up off the floor, and thought I'd pop in here to share my excitement :D

Week In The Life Album

I've just realised that I've had these photos sat in a draft post for ages, and haven't shared them yet! I loved joining in with a Week in the Life, and had great fun documenting the different bits to my daily routine - if you haven't taken the plunge yet then I definitely recommend it!

My base album is a mini Smash book, which turned out to be the perfect size. My only complaint is that the binding wires aren't big enough, so the book doesn't close properly now that it's full. I've used Crate Paper's 'Storyteller' collection with odd bits of Smash tape here and there. The front cover also has some Lily Bee and Amy Tangerine alphas, and there are some glassine envelopes and tags on some of the inner pages. 
Ready to see the inside? Wait...you might want to grab a cuppa before you start - there are a lot of photos!

You still here? Well done for making it to the end, and thank you for looking! Which is your favourite page?

Apple's Best Customer

Last Sunday's challenge over at The Studio was to scrap a layout using negatives. I really like using the negatives left from using a punch on patterned paper, so that was what I focused on in my layout.

This is as close as I've got recently to using a photo of my DH on a layout! He didn't object to having his hand feature on one, so I thought I'd go for it. I layered up loads of October Afternoon '9 to 5', including lots of punched circles which I've clustered together. I've also created a frame for my title by cutting out the overprint from one of the '9 to 5' label stickers. 

The Jenni Bowlin team joined us for this challenge, so you should definitely pop over and see what they all came up with, there are some fabulous layouts!

Notebook

This is my third project using the latest kit from Ann at The Scrapbook Garden.

I love making these little books, they're so easy to do! To make this one I just cut several pieces of card to the same size (this one is 3x4" so I cut my pieces to 6x4"), folded them all in half and then glued them back to back in a stack. I then cut a piece of the canvas to roughly 8x4", glued one edge of it to the front of the stack, wrapped it round the back (with the stack fully closed) and glued to the back, then trimmed the excess. Embellished the front and it was done! Easy peasy, and a great way to use up scraps because you can make them any size you want :D

It's The Hard Knock Life

Here's my second layout using the DT kit from The Scrapbook Garden. I've used more of the Glitz Design papers on this page, I love the text on the background piece.

I stamped on some more of the canvas cloth with a dotty stamp, and cut some banner pieces to go under the photo. I broke out the sewing machine and sewed around the edge of the black cardstock and across the top of the banner - in rather a wonky manner but never mind!

I used the black glitter from a Papermania glitter stack on the DIY Thickers, including some of the spare dots which I've used as embellishments. I also scattered some sequins from the glitter stack among the dots, to give a bit more sparkle! 

You're Such A Goofy Girl

This is my first layout from the latest DT kit from Ann at The Scrapbook Garden. I had great fun playing with the DIY Thickers, even though I managed to get glitter everywhere! 

I've never seen the Personal Impressions Canvas Cloth before, but I absolutely love it! I used a Studio Calico/Hero Arts chevron stamp with the brown ink pad that Ann sent with the kit, and stamped on the reverse side of the canvas. I then cut around the stamped area and used it as patterned paper - I love the extra texture it gives to the page :D

Wonder What You Are Thinking

I don't own a lot of Kaisercraft, it's not really my thing, so using it really pushes me out of my comfort zone. When I got a package of papers and embellishments from the 'Miss Nelly' collection from Merly Impressions, I decided to turn to one of their blog challenges for some inspiration on how to use it!  

This is my take on their May sketch, and I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out! All I've added are some Amy Tangerine Thickers, the rest is all from the 'Miss Nelly' collection. I guess it's good to jump out of your comfort zone every now and then!

Posing For Photos

I thought I'd join in with this month's challenge from 'Kraft It Up!', which is to create a layout using Kraft Cardstock or Kraft Patterned Paper, plus 3 different alphas, 3 photos, a title with 3 or more words and a masked background!

Kraft cardstock - background - check

3 alphas - Amy Tangerine Thickers, Kesi'Art stickers and Studio Calico chipboard alphas - check

3 photos - one large and two small photos of Mojo - check

Title with 3 or more words - 'posing for photos' is 3 words - check

Masked background - 'That Special Touch' doily mask, versamark ink and then heat embossed - check 

Phew!

I used some of the bits that I had left from the Quirky Kits goodies that I was sent for one of last month's challenges at The Studio. The bits that led me to subscribe to Quirky Kits, and judging from the first one that arrived the other week, I won't be disappointed!

Thanks for stopping by, I do love to see you all :D

Adorable You

I've managed to enjoy lots of lovely crafty time over the extended weekend - so far I've made an art journal page, 5 layouts and a canvas, which is pretty good going for me! I've also been trying to take part in more challenges, so when I saw the latest sketch at Elle's Studio I thought I'd give it a go.

I combined some Elle's Studio tags with some Crate Paper 'Pretty Party', and even broke out the sewing machine for the banner! 

I've just had a huge stack of photos delivered from Snapfish so I'm itching to get back into my craft room. Unfortunately I've got an essay due on Friday that isn't going to write itself! It's times like these when I'm tempted to agree with the people who say I'm mad to study and work full time, but then I remember that I enjoy it really :D

Being Grumpy

I really enjoyed the June challenge at Truly Madly Crafty! Maxine's challenge is to create a monochrome layout. I decided to put my first Quirky Kit to good use with a cream/yellow/gold colour scheme. 

I love how this turned out - I tried a different technique and piled all my layers together, then glued them top to bottom until I had a layered pile that was separate to the base cardstock. Then I decided where it was going to sit on my background and was able to add the stamping and stitched edges before gluing the two bits together. I'll definitely be doing that again!

The prize this month is an embellishment kit in your choice of colour from the Truly Madly Crafty store, which are perfect for creating monochrome layouts :D