It's Me, Sarah

Oh, Where To Start?

It's been one of those months, lots of nothing going on and it is all taking up my time.  I haven't really felt in the blogging mood as all the crafting I have done is design team work and can't be shared.  My camera has been firmly zipped in it's case so there haven't been any photo shoots.  I seem to have so much to do that I don't know where to start and now I have even more to do so I need to get my a** in gear on Monday and start to sort through the 'to do' list!

Did you watch Tim Holtz on QVC's craft day last week?  I loved it and, of course, had to order his TSV which was brilliant, the book is great.  I have to admit when it arrived in the post the book "A Compendium of Curiosities' was much smaller than I had anticipated but that does not detract from the content. The book is jam packed with information, technique tutorials and fabulous photographs - did I say that I loved it.  I can't wait to sort all my other 'stuff' out and have a play in the craft room.

Issue 44 of The Scrapbook Magazine is out and the cover features a layout that I created for them.  I was a little scared of the brief which required me to create a layout with purple in it to match the masthead.  Purple is a colour I always find difficult to scrap with and I didn't have many papers in that colour either.  I was pleased with the resulting layout though - you can't see on the image but the purple vellum down the left hand side of the photo is layered and punched with the Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch and it looks so pretty.

I don't have an article in this issue but there are some great ones so it really is worth picking the magazine up if you see it.

Talking of Martha Stewart punches have you seen the new embossed button punch - I can think of so many ways to use this!  Mine is on the way, I couldn't resist it.

We went into town yesterday and I bought some clothes for Amy, but my favourite item had to be a gorgeous little denim skirt with Hello Kitty on the pocket.  Charlotte was quite jealous when she saw it, I may have to go in and see if they have it in her size too.  Mark bought me a new Emma Bridgewater pen and a moleskin notebook with squared paper (for all those layout sketches!).

I can't wait to start scribbling!

The Last Week of School

It is the last week of school for Ben and Charlotte this week and that is always a bit of a manic week, not to mention the extreme excitement that will invade the house next week whilst they have 6 days at  home before the big day.  Luckily Mark goes on leave on Friday as well which is a huge relief because the children's behaviour is much better when victorian Daddy is home!

I have got three days now to get everything sorted in the house for Christmas so that I can enjoy the week before Christmas with my family, I really don't want to be stressing about last minute presents, cards or wrapping, oh and not forgetting I have Amy's first Nativity on Thursday and the girls are coming round on Friday for a get together - can't wait :)

I took a load of photographs of the kids in front of the Christmas Tree the other day to use for family cards, not one came out good enough!  I may need to do more of that this evening - oh the joy!  They hate to pose (except Ben who is a regular little model!).

Here are some more of my Journal Your Christmas pages, just to add a little light relief to my post

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

 

Day 12

 

Day 13

Now, I need to go and find the wobbly antlers headband for Charlotte to wear to school today :)

JYC Catch Up and Decorating for Christmas

Just a quick catch up on my Journal Your Christmas pages.  I will add a couple more tomorrow, I love how this album is turning out :)

 

 

 

I didn't get around to uploading these at the weekend as we were out most of the day on Saturday having a lovely meal at Frankie and Benny's and generally looking around the shops.  On Sunday I decorated the Christmas tree with the children which went quite well this year!

 

 

 

Journal Your Christmas - Day 3

Can't believe I have managed this three days in a row!  I am getting worried about binding my album already though, it's going to be thick.  I think I need to do a few less dimensional pages over the next few days.

Here is my entry for Day 3.  The journaling is in the envelope and tells how I try to make cards each year and in the past they have been cross stitched, photographic and papercrafted. The pictures show some of the cross stitch cards I have sent in the past.

Envelope closed:

Envelope open:

Amy went to pre-school this morning and the local newspaper came to take photographs of the children in their nativity outfits, apparently she was NOT happy because the baby jesus had to stay in the crib - Amy absolutely loves babies of any kind whether they are real or not.  When I arrived to pick her up she didn't want to come home because one of the Mums was in the hall with a real baby in a pram - Amy wouldn't move away from it she was just staring at the sleeping baby.  She cried when I picked her up to bring her home which is a slight improvement on a few weeks ago when she wouldn't even let me drop her off at school!!

Journal Your Christmas - Day 2

Just a quick post to upload my JYC page for 2 December.  If I can keep this up, I am going to have a great festive album - it makes me happy :)

 

Todays page uses photographs that I acquired from my nephew Jason's facebook album because we so rarely get snow here in the south west.

The 'Let It Snow' circle was cut from some patterned paper, stuck onto some Kraft cardstock and covered with Tim Holtz Crackle Paint (Rock Candy) and then rubbed with white acrylic paint - it looks really frosty in real life.  I am using lots of Ranger products on this album and I am particularly loving using Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Line whether it be the paints or the multi matte medium - they are really worth the investment!

The first page...

...of my Christmas album is complete, I think I am really going to enjoy making this -  I am so glad a won a free pass to one of Shimelle's classes a few weeks ago.

There is journaling beneath the little flap with the button and bow on which is secured in place with a magnetic snap.  The journaling just says that I am committed to creating a keepsake for us, as a family, to cherish full of everyday memories and christmas cheer.

The swirl stamp is from the Cherish set by Stampin' Up but it works beautifully for christmas projects - I love it.  The Kraft cardstock has been stamped with a Christmas script stamp (i think it is from Hero Arts) but I stamped it with Old Paper Distress Ink and it is very faint, this was the effect I wanted but I couldn't get it to show up in the photographs.  Also, I just love the little felt poinsettia from Hero Arts - LOVE it!

Advent

Well the advent calenders have been removed from the packaging and Ben, Charlotte and Amy have had their first taste of breakfast chocolate for the Christmas season.  Unfortunately Amy doesn't really understand and just wants to eat the whole calander now which was causing a few problems before the school run this morning but I am sure she will get the hang of it.

I promised I would come back this morning and post a picture of my album cover for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class.  I had such fun making it! I particularly enjoyed creating the snowflake which was from a Holiday chipboard set from a few years ago by Basic Grey.  The snowflake was gesso'd (is that a word?), painted, glimmer misted, glossy accented and glittered - I got really messy and still have paint on my nails to prove it!  The whole cover was spritzed with Iridescant Gold Glimmer Mist so it has a lovely shine which doesn't really show in the pictures.  Do you recognise the little reindeer?  He is one of my stash of little chipboard reindeer from Tesco (although he has been painted and UTEE'd).  My favourite part is the glitter on the corners, it is so thick and lumpy but looks just like ice.  The glitter was applied to a layer of Glossy Accents and then when almost dry I added another layer to prevent it chipping off (the glitter is from Doodlebug).

 

right, must take Amy to Pre-School!!

Scrapbook Magazine Issue 42

The current issue of the Scrapbook Magazine features a lovely little mini book that I made detailing Mark's penchant for taking the kids for long walks to wear them out.  I loved this little book and will definitely be making more of them.  There was a template printed in the magazine that I made to make it a little easier to understand how I made it but it was printed quite small so I have put the original file here for you (below the book), just  click on it to make the image bigger and then right click and choose to save the image.

Here is the little book:

 

This is a template for the outside of the book.  The left hand square is the front cover and the centre square is the back of the book - it just wraps around.  Just cut two more rectangles slightly smaller than this one to create the inner pages and thread a long piece of ribbon through the slits leaving an equal length either side before sticking the centre squares of the three layers together to make the book.

I love the Scrapbook Magazine, I may be biased but I think the magazine offers a lot of inspiration and is suitable for all scrapbookers right from beginners.

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Here are the other projects I made for this article.  All the items are made from a small kit I put together myself which included only a few sheets of paper, card a bit of ribbon and a couple of other bits.

First Snow Layout

Many Thanks Card

Spiral Flower ATC

 

I just can't wait until Journal Your Christmas starts tomorrow.  I will be back tomorrow morning to post a picture of my finished album cover.

A Little Late...and JYC

... I know it is a little late to post this for Remembrance day but I enjoyed making this layout so much that I just had to blog it!  I was commissioned to use the poppy stamps on a layout for Creativity Magazine Issue 18.  I haven't seen the layout in print because I don't get send a copy of the magazine and I haven't seen it any shops yet but I know that the issue is available now.

The photographs feature members of Mark's family and as a military family we have a great respect for those that fight or have fought for our country. 

This layout was made from the heart and it took an age to stamp, colour and cut out all those poppies but it was worth it.  I made the little wooden crosses from coffee stirrers (McDonalds) tied together with a piece of linen thread.  The title was cut with the Quickutz Silhouette as was the torn effect paper.  The border of the page is raised on 3D foam to frame the layout.

 

I am currently waiting for a heap of glitter to dry on the cover of my album for Shimelle's 'Journal Your Christmas' class.  I had a slight disaster this afternoon, after covering myself in gesso, gel medium, paint, Glimmer Mist and embossing powder whilst making the album I was just going to finish off a snowflake by painting some glitter glaze over the top and and managed to accidently squirt half the bottle over the front of my album!!  I managed to rescue it but I was NOT happy when it happened, I did actually scream!!!

She's Got Style

I have just realised that I haven't share this layout yet.  I love these photographs of Charlotte in her little pink hat.  I got it in Pumpkin Patch last year and I am so glad I did because I can pass it on to Amy when Charlotte grows out of it.

 

I put little googly eyes on one of the owls, cute!