Awesome

New Year's Eve- time for reflection I guess. I'm not a big new year's eve fan, but I do love New Year's Day.

I thought I'd end the year with my favourite layout. Maybe my favourite ever, but definitely this year.

For a start it's an awesome photo of my girl laughing, it's pretty awesome all on it's own. 

I'd had a big sort out of my ribbon drawers, and pulled out lots that I didn't want anymore, and lots of odds and ends that I'd kept. You know the inch here and there that you cut off a project and think- it'll come in... and then it never does?

Well I found a use for them. A rainbow of ribbon offcuts stapled onto my layout.

Awesome take 2, right? And my favourite layout. Because of the smile on the photo, but also because it was a bit of inspiration that used up something I'd have thrown away, and it looks so pretty!

Thanks for looking, and may inspiration strike you often in 2020.

My name is Min. TN pages.

Some TN pages to show today. Featuring the youngest of our cats, Min. Our cats are all named after witches-  Luna, Kiki and Min. This is the tale of Min's real name. 

I couldn't resist this cute stamp- it reminded me so much of our midnight black kitty.

Thanks for looking.

Christmas- a layout with a cut file

I've never used a cut file before- now before you seasoned scrappers take a sharp breath, let me explain. I don't have the equipment to cut them, and to be honest, they're never particularly appealed to me enough to invest. I don't think I'd get the use out of it. I love scrapping, but it's not my only creative outlet, so...

However, at the December Central Crop, the fragrantly lovely Cal gave us all a kit to make this layout. It was fiddly to back the letters, but I love how it turned out!

Of course, once I'd done what I was told, I then went off piste with my black pen. Had to be done...

I'm not sure how to display this- I think it needs a box frame so that the stars don't get squished.

I really like the mix of papers, and the red backing to frame it all. Thanks Cal!

Thanks for looking, and Happy Christmas!

Christmas puddings

Guess what this Christmas pudding is hiding? A Chocolate Orange! I've seen lots of these about, so I had to have a go- I found several patterns and this is a made version of all of them.

There will be a few of these being popped into stockings this Christmas! The big issue has been my son eating the Chocolate Oranges before I'd finished. He's a good lad, he replaced everything he ate, but still...

Thanks for looking!

Crocheted handsies

I have no idea what to call these- hand warmers? wrist warmers? fingerless gloves? They have no fingers at all, so I'm really not sure...

Any way, I crocheted these from a kit I received as a gift, and made them to fit my girl. They're gorgeous merino wool, and very soft, but quite substantial as there are stitches layered over stitches. Really easy to do though, and I intend to make more.

Thanks for looking!

Luv a duck

My favourite layout from this month's Crop to show today. I'm so chuffed with how it turned out! Hvae to say it's a favourite photo from our 2016 Disney trip- I love my girl's hair, and the angle, and Donald was fabulous.

This started with the stamped strip. I've been planning this for a few weeks after a chance Pinterest viewing (what else!). I ripped a page of A4 in half and lightly washi taped it down, then stamped a lot of teeny stamps in black Versafine, overlapping the torn paper edged. Once I'd filled it in quite densely, I sponged some Peeled Paint Distress ink onto the edges. 

Then came the search for a photo. Probably should have started there, right? I dunno, sometimes I do, sometimes I go with the flow and then try to find a photo that fits, colour/theme-wise. This time I struck gold. Donald's jacket is green, and if you look closely...there are ducks in the stamping! Karma? I think so.

I was equally pleased with the title- luv a duck seemed appropriate and the alphas were another snag from the freebie table at Crop. Perfect, right?

Another Disney layout for the album.

Thanks for looking!

be Happy

Layout 2 from Crop today. 

The challenge on the Crop Central Facebook page was to use:

Blue

Purple

Vellum

Camera

Mixed Media

Challenge accepted!

I was a little bit generous saying I'd used Mixed Media, but I kinda have a problem with that term. What does it mean? It's all media and it's all mixed. I've always used inks and paint and watercolours, and paper and stencils and all sorts on my ATCs and cards, and never thought of it as mixed media really. Anyway, I splodged watercolours onto this one, and ticked off the Mixed Media box.

I cut the arrow out to match the arrow paper. I chose the photo becasue it had purple flowers on it, however I wasn't sure the purple would fit in, but a camera, some splodges and a photo mat, and what do you know? It looks good...

My lovely Crop friend Vicky loaned me some stamps, so the white images and stamped and fussy cut, I quite like the contrast of the coloured cameras and the monochrome.

Challenge accepted, challenge smashed!

Thanks for looking.

Tired but happy

 Yesterday was Crop day. Hurray! I love Crop day. 

Only 3 layouts to show this month, but they're good ones...

This first one was based on the square offcut of inky stampy goodness that I found on my desk and took along to Crop. I chose colours for the mats that complemented it, and the same for the photo. It didn't need much!  

I snagged the alphas from the freebie table, my girl was so exhausted in this photo. We'd had a full on day or two and were waiting for my son and husband in Costa coffee. The smoothie perked her up, but she had such a tired little face.

I am pleased with this background. It's Distress Inks splodged onto a craft mat and sprayed with water, then I dunk the paper in. Lots of stamping over the top too. Happy inky fun!

Thanks for looking- more layouts to follow!

Fish are friends, not food!

Oooh, ATC time. The crop I now go to each month- Crop Central- has started an ATC swap, which makes me very happy. I miss making ATCs and swapping them, and I was so happy to get back into the miniature groove!

Having said that, the Under the Sea theme gave me pause. I dug out my fish and reptiles stamp drawer, which just reminded me how much I love my stamps, and how gorgeous that big frog stamp is, and then I promptly went on to making other things and just kept looking at the reptily fishy goodness hoping for inspiration.

Anyone else do this? Well it didn't arrive really, so I stamped my favourites on an offcut of painty/inked card and carried on from there.

The fishes got watercoloured, gently. Then I stuck white tissue paper scraps on. I liked that, so on went pink tissue paper.

Yesterday I decided to sponge through sequin waste for a bit of greenery, and then had a little bubble brainwave, so out came the seed beads and glossy accents. Don't know if it shows up, but the eyes are glossy accented too, for extra bulge.

I still wasn't really feeling them though, I posted on the Facebook group that I was ready to start again, but then had one last pop at them.

I cut out cartoony submarines from some cool underwater paper and added a few Finding Nemo quotes, and whaddya know? I like them! I need to re do the words on the one below, because my black pen went a bit wonky, but otherwise I'm happy.

They're all a bit odd, but so am I, so that's cool.

Thanks for looking!

Fairy jar. Pixie jar. Sprite jar.

ATC time. Hooray! 

These are for a swap- the theme was the letter J. 

I'd made the background with ink drips, ink sponged through a Lollipop Box Club stencil, and some stamping with a fishnet background stamp I'd forgotten I had.

The jars and fairies were stamped onto tissue paper, then glued on to the ATC with pritt stick. I wanted a glassy finish, so I covered the jar with Glossy accents. It worked so well!

The words are stamped and cut out- J for jar remember?

I edged with my trusty black pen. Always with the pen!!

Thanks for looking!

Post TKD Meal

OK, so today my habit of naming my posts after the title or sentiment on the layout of card I've made is a bit dodgy..... ah well, I'll stick to it, I'm not one to back down from a questionable title!

Today's layout is a 12x12, inspired by the gorgeous floral paper which is so lovely it makes me smile to see it. I'm not usually a very floral person, but the colours on this page are smashing!

Faces covered up beacuse there's someone on there who doesn't belong to me!!!

I've got a stock of little word and phrase strips now, and they're fab to layer up at the side of a photo. For this one I went in descending size order for some reason- looks nice I guess!!!

These are interesting thickers- half wood effect, they remind me of laminate flooring! I do like the different colours in the pack though, it makes it much more versatile.

The backgroun of the page is splattered with pale pink paint- just a bit of something extra, and it brings the pink in from the flowers.

I do love an artistic splatter...

Thanks for looking!

Coffee and friends

A couple of simple cards to show today. This is an old Stampin' Up set, but it's so useful! 

I went for a simple watercolouring on the coffee cups, I like making the steam.

I added some washi tape to one of them, kinda wish I'd done it on both now. Ah hindsight!

Thanks for looking!

Smiles

I do love to create in my TN. I have a long history of making ATCs, so the smaller size of a traveller's notebook appeals to me. I often use scraps from other projects on these dinky pages. As is the case in this one- the background is left over from a 12x12 page I'd painted and stamped (take a look- it's called Summer).

For this page I picked all of the pretty offcuts and punchings on my workmat and used them.

I'm quite partial to wonky lettering too. Life's too short to line letters up... Spot my beloved scribbly circle stamp from Lollipop Box Club too.

Thanks for looking!