Hijacked by a 7 year old.

I was happily scrapping away last week using American Crafts Nightfall when my nosey James asked what I was going to call it. I said "I don't know yet" so he asked me to call it "Looking at a monkey" ...

so I did.

I usually try to scrap equal numbers of pages for each boy, but I hadn't scrapped many pages for James's album recently so the next one is also of him. The photo was taken for his karate license in November so it is a very plain face shot. As I was looking at it I was trying to see if his chicken pox scars were visable - that gave me the idea for the LO. YOu should be able to read the journalling if you click on it . The papers are American Crafts Chap.

I'll be able to blog my Sarahscards pages soon I think, as the kits should have been delivered.

TTFN

M.I.A

Happy New Year! I didn't realise I had been MIA for so long. Christmas does that doesn't it - steals a whole month of your life away! I've been scrapping as much as usual but can't share 5 of my pages until I know which ones Sarah chose for the Sarahscards January Kit booklet. The kit was lovely and I still have enough of it to scrap a few more pages! Value for ££ :)

I scrapped this page way before Christmas but forgot to blog it. It's my fabulous in-laws with the boys when we were in Scotland in August. We really are lucky to have them. They look after the boys when I am at work and are on hand to babysit the odd time The Husband and I actually go out together. The papers are old MME ones called "Bloom and Grow" and the bird stamp was from a Scarlett Lime kit I got eons ago and have never used. Can you spot my favourite alpha trick? Using a substitute for a letter when I have run out? Answers on a postcard...

 This is the start of my New Year Scrapping Resolution. I used to take part in "12 of 12" that was a free to join in scrapping challenge. It seems to have been taken over and commercialised (sp?) so I'm just making my own version up. I am going to take photos of all the mundane "stuff" we do on or around the first of each month then scrap the photos. This is (obviously) 1.1.12. I love, love, love these papers - American Craft Amy Tangerine from Sarahscards.

 Lastly, this is a page I had thought about and started but then put aside to focus on Sarahs January kit. I thought the papers were Fancy Pants but they say "Scrap Within Reach" on them "Paper Boy" range. Anyway, it is Josh and his class mascot on a bike ride. There are a few Elle's Studio bits on there too.

So, that's me officially caught up on here until I can blogg the kit LO's.

TTFN
x

Christmas crafting

Christmas crafting with my boys.

Idea from Pinterest - chocolate bars wrapped as Christmas characters.

 Pom pom fun!

 Christmas colouring.

 Pinteresting again! Strawberry Shortcake Santa Hats <3

 Plus printing out this amazing man who has been in my life for 20 years! About time he featured on my wall of things to inspire me around my craft desk <3

Christmas is coming.

Christmas is coming..... and coming fast! Which means life has been busier than usual. I've done  some scrapping but not got around to scanning the pages yet. I've also been busy Christmas crafting with the boys. A couple of weeks ago we had a snowflake making session. We have covered the back window with them and they look great. Then just yesterday I saw this on pinterest:  

So I decided to have a go at making one just like it.

Fail #1

                                                                             Fail #2

Then I wimped out and tried an easier version:

Successful enough...

I've also been making some Christmas bunting. I used two different paper manufacturers for this project, which is the current challenge on Sarahscards. I used Crate "Peppermint Collection" and 3 Bugs "Snow Much Fun" as well as some random papers from TKMaxx. Not a layout I know, call it artistic license haha.

I'm also busy stressing over layouts as I've been asked to guest design for Sarahscards January kit. Woo Hoo and Yikes all rolled into one!!!

Have a great Christmas everyone.

TTFN

x

Scrappy Dappy Doo Day

Lou, Helen, Lianne, Sarah and I had another of our fabby crop days on Sunday (we missed you Vanessa). Along with Percy Pigs, Naughty Nibbles, Hot Chocolate Jen Style and some soup that is best left unmentioned (bleurgh) we did actually .... GOSSIP! Yeah, ok, we scrapped a bit too - well some of us did!

This was my last page of the day which i finished at home. I used Bella Blvd " Finally Fall" papers and a strip of woodgrain mix tape.

This one was actually from before our mini crop. I used some old scraps of basic Grey "Marrakech" that I came across when looking through my papers doing Nat's mix it up challenge. I added some Elle's Studio, a WRMK journalling tag and some digi print offs I think I found on UKS.

This "Josh is 5" LO uses My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup along with a couple of Elle's Studio bits.

This last one was actually my first of the day. I used Bella "Paper Boy" papers with some reeeeeaaaaally old Cherry Arte paper - still "mixing it up" see?

Thanks for popping in for a look.

TTFN

Jen

x

Colour me blonde and call me Welsh!!

Lovely Miss Natalie's last post on Sarahscards encouraged me to mix and match some paper ranges. It's easy to scrap with a complete range because everything coordinates already - and that is what I usually do. But over the weekend I had a go at Nat's "mix it up" style. I used Bella Paper Doll "Nostalgic" for the border, Cosmo Cricket's The Boyfriend "Homework" using the lined side for the main base; a random spotty piece of PP behind the photo along with a 6x6 piece of Dovecraft Christmas paper (the pink piece). I matted the photo with Pink Paislee "Think Big" from the 365 Collection and also made a heart with this PP with a smaller heart in the pink Dovecraft again. I stole Nat's idea of sticking punched circles together to make a scallop detail and Lou's masking tape idea to sit the title on.

Whilst I had all those papers on my desk I moved onto another picture of my gorgeous niece. The base is Bella Paper Doll "Jot"; the hearts sheet is American Crafts "Craft Fair" as is the pink woodgrain. The words come from Bella Paper Doll "Collage" and the blue piece behind the photo is Pink Paislee "Think Big" again. I much prefer the first LO to the second. The second is a bit "in yer face" colour wise I think, but I did enjoy stepping out of my coordinated range box!

So, feeling a bit PP'd out, this was my next page. No PP at all, just a piece of that lovely chalkboard paper from American Crafts that Sarah has in stock, along with loads of different mix tape and masking sticker tapes. I wasn't sure how I was going to use the chalkboard sheet in A4 format but I'm liking the result. The black thickers on black background looks quite funky in real life too.

As it's Tuesday today I have a little "me" time so I'm off to play with pretty paper some more.

TTFN

Say hi if you stop by :)

Negative

This month's challenge on Sarahscards is to think NEGATIVE. Nat suggests interpreting this word however you wish. I've interpreted it several ways.

1) You may look at this LO and think - "That's a layout? Really?" There are NO embellishments NO patterned paper (shocking for me I know) and NO fancy paper folding or other techniques.

No=negative right?

2) The main part of the title is made by spraying over masks leaving a NEGATIVE space.

3) The subject matter could be seen as negative. It's not about how lovely my son is. Nor is it about what a lovely day we had the day we ..... etc It is all about his speech issues - or lack of speech. The journalling explains it all. You may see this as me being negative about Sam, but I feel it is an important part of his life, especially if his communication issues continue as he gets older (which unfortunately I was told yesterday they possibly will). Last year when Josh was in hospital some people may have thought it was odd to take photos of him so ill and then to scrapbook them. I wanted to do it to help him remember what it was like and how brave he was. Plus it is important to document some of the NEGATIVE as well as loads of the POSITIVE.

So take a look, have a read, but focus on the positive for me would you? Because he is gorgeous and lovely and we do have lovely days the day we..... etc