Saturday 21 November 2009

Advent calenders


I was shopping at Tescos with Ladybug when we found these lovely wooden advent calenders, Ladybug had seen the thread on UKS so we thought we would buy a couple and have a go at altering them. I have never altered anything before really so I was really pleased with the way it turned out.

The before shot

(stolen off of Ladybugs blog as I forgot to take a pic of mine before I started painting it! Thats Ladybugs JYC book next to it!!)
On Wednesday evening I sanded and painted the little boxes red and green and painted the roof green. When that was dry I added a coat of pearly glaze and then a coat of glitter glaze. I added some felt trim along the roof edge.

The painted stage!
Today Ladybug came to mine and we spent a lovely day adding the paper and embellishments to our little houses. I used Making Memories Falala paper for mine. I added some of Ladybugs pompoms along the roof line and two little reindeers on the roof(from Tescos). Mine and Ladybugs are very similar, all but the papers really! We added primas, gems, stickers and scalloped frames to the box fronts and used stamps to put the numbers on. I had picked up some felt xmas trees from the local garden centre for our JYC's so we added these to the larger panel with gems to represent lights.

The finished result

I am so pleased with this, I cant stop looking at it!! I am going to fill it with some lovely chocs so roll on Dec 1st! In fact I was sooo pleased with it I got my hubby to pick me up another one when he went to Tescos this evening! So now I have another one to decorate but no-one to give it to! I think I might keep it untill next year and do it then, I just could'nt resist buying another at the bargin price of £5!

Thursday 19 November 2009


1. Where is your cell phone? bedroom

2. Your hair? purple

3. Your mother? great

4. Your father? great

5. Your favorite food? mac & cheese

6. Your dream last night? dont remeber

7. Your favorite drink? coke

8. Your dream/goal? open craft shop

9. What room are you in? craft room

10. Your hobby? crafting

11. Your fear? losing loved ones

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? IOW

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren't? skinny!

15. Muffins? yes

16. Wish list item? a holiday
17. Where did you grow up? isle of wight

18. Last thing you did? wee!
19. What are you wearing? pj's

20. Your TV? off

21. Your Pets? dog

22. Friends? wonderful

23. Your life? good

24. Your mood? tired

25. Missing Someone? no

26. Vehicle? Push bike!

27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

28. Your favorite store? house

29. Your favorite colour? Purple

30. When was the last time you laughed? yesterday

31. Last time you cried? cant remember

32. Your best friend? sister

33. One place that I go to over and over? beach

34. Facebook? YES!!

35. Favorite place to eat? dairymans daughter
Thanks to Paige for this award!!

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Post for Carmen


Carmen, this is a picture of Paige's(ladybug) desk at the retreat...very tidy and it stayed tidy all weekend! I'm afraid to say she always has a tidy desk, whether crafting at home, at mine, at the crop and the retreat! She is just soooo organised!!!!!!

Monday 16 November 2009

Jessica Sprague's Holidays in hand


I have joined up to a free online course called Holidays in Hand by Jessica Sprague. I am hoping to combine this with JYC and a bit of Ali Edwards Dec daily thrown in. I am hoping this new course will add a bit more depth and meaning to my xmas album as I dont want my album to be the same as last years one.


Our first assignment for this course is to look at our values and goals for the holiday season, so here goes.


I was not brought up in a religous household. I suppose my family consider themselves christian but we never attended church or talked about God. Christmas in my childhood was about being with family, giving and recieving gifts, but there was never a religous tone to it. Thats not to say we only celebrated xmas for commercial reasons, we did understand the message behind xmas.


Eight years ago I became a Pagan, which changed my whole outlook on life and I believe has made me a better person in terms of understanding, listening and being non judgemental. Although I do not celebrate xmas as a christian, I respect the meaning and goodwill behind the celebration. Pagans celebrate Yule at xmas time, which is a celebration of the returning sun God. We contemplate our hopes and aspirations for the coming year and consider how our natural gifts and talents can be used for the better. We hang out lights, decorate a tree, bring in evergreens, burn a yule log and give gifts to those we love and to charities (yes, most christian traditions of xmas stem from pagan activities).
The Spirit of Yule

Yule is a festival rich in tradition and ritual. In the early days of christianity people were reluctant to give up their pagan path and mid winter celebrations, so it was decided that the birth of Christ should be celebrated at the same time. This enabled the rituals of the tree and evergreens, songs and decorations to be continued with added Christian meanings and made the transition from pagan to christian worship easier.
As a family we celebrate xmas day, when you have children its hard not to, but we have a pagan tone to it rather than christian. We celebrate the day as a time to be together with the ones you love, a day of sharing and coming together and gifts given and recieved as tokens of love to each other, not really any different to a christian christmas.


I have ensured that my kids know and understand the christian and pagan meanings of the day, so that they are free to chose their own path in life.


Christmas is now a very commercial holiday, adverts for gifts and xmas luxuries starting as early as the end of october! I have hopefully taught my children to understand that xmas is not about the biggest and most expensive gifts, its about being together as a family, being thankful for what you have and knowing you are loved.


So, although a pagan, xmas is celebrated in our house much the same as any christian household, with love, family and friends, sharing and being together.





My goals for this christmas are:


1. Celebrate all our family traditions and ask the kids to come up with a tradition of their own.

2.Not to feel pressured that the kids dont have enough gifts, i do this every year when I know that they will be happy with anything they recieve.

3.Ensure that my family knows how special they are to me and how glad I am that we can celebrate together.

4. Be more organised, dont leave everything to the last minute

5. Take the children around to all the light displays

6. Chose a charity to donate to in my sisters name. We decide last year that instead of gifts to each other we would each make a donation in the others name to a charity of our choice.

7. Not to buy so much food, nobody eats it all and it makes me sick to throw it away when I know how many people in this world have nothing.


So those are my values and my goals for this years christmas. I hope I can achieve them all, I have not set them too high otherwise I know I will fail!

Monday 19 October 2009

Wight Craft Circle Retreat


The Wight craft circle held its first ever retreat at the weekend! We had 16 ladies attend and our venue was Totland Bay youth hostel on the Isle of Wight who went out of their way to accomadate us and all of our stash!It was a lot of hard work to organise but well worth it. So I would like to say a big thank you to all the nice ladies that came and made it an unforgettable weekend. New friends were made and bonds were formed and loads of wonderful crafting was enjoyed! Also a big thank you must go to Katie from Cre8tive online who came at the last minute with her shop so all of us IOW ladies could spend our hard earned stash money, you were great Katie!
Heres some pics of us all down at the beach on saturday afternoon. I am waiting to get copies of the photos paige took of the group shots.


Paige, Center front!





Faya, Anna & Nicole


Debs & Julia

Mandy & Paige




Zoe & Me



Before this weekend I had quite a naive attitude that all ladies who scrapped would be nice! Looking back I dont know why I just assumed this, Probably because everyone I have met so far in the scrapping world has been. When we started our crop new people came and have been nothing short of wonderful, when I post on UKS people are helpful, polite and willing to go out of their way to help you so I think it was a natural assumption. That theory has certainly been challenged this weekend so I would like to say again a big thank you to most of the women that attended and pulled together to make sure our weekend was not spoiled by the actions and attitudes of a few. The Wight Circle group will be looking forward to seeing you again in February at our next retreat.


I managed to catch up on SLYMI at the retreat as i was far, far behind! I did 5 of the LO's shown here and managed to make a mini book, I thought i had done quite well until Paige counted up her LO's and had done 12 plus 2 mini books!! Some of the photos are a bit blurry, sorry!




SLYMI Wk 30- scrap your independance

I chose this photo of me and my son because i think it sums up when i really became independant! I cant remember what the PP is, alphas are adornit, prima, gem and ric rac.


SLYMI Wk 31- something old, new borrowed, blue

I didnt go with the wedding theme for this one. The barn is old, the bridge is new and so is the PP (craft), the C/S is blue and the stamp was borrowed! I used a free programe called Rollip for the polaroid effect photos. The chipboard frame is MM and they were one of my purchases from the retreat!

SLYMI Wk 32- write in white

This is a photo of my dad and my son taken at a wedding a few weeks ago.PP is some left over doodlebug papers, a flower punch and thickers and doodlebug alphas.


SLYMI Wk 33- Scrap a square in a square

This pic is a bit blurry! This was a trip to a local theme park that my son won at school. I had already made a mini book but wanted to do a LO aswell. This was scraplifted from Paige! The PP's are all scraps and i have used stamps and primas aswell. The big letters are some I bought at the retreat.

SLYMI Wk 34-scrap from the sketch

This looks nothing like the sketch but i dont care!! The pp's are scraps again with a jornalling tag pinched from paige (its such a good job i was sitting next to her at the retreat!) pm alphas, riff raff chipboard and some buttons.

SLYMI Wk 35- scrap a bank holiday weekend

I did this one a while ago, just had not got round to posting it. The PP is Fancy pants rough and tough, circle stamp is stamps away and the arrow stamp is PM. The alphas are American crafts remarks which i coloured in to match the page.

SLYMI Wk 39- Scrap with your own handwriting

I had to use my new papers by My minds eye that i bought at the retreat, and thought this was the perfect photo for them. The pack is called bloom and grow and there was 36 papers for £10-bargain i thought! I have used some corragated carboard that i distressed and inked to put my title on. The little stamp at the side was by Crate paper Lillian collection but it was exactly the same design as the papers.

I have forgotten to take a photo of my mini book so will post that next time.

Thanks for looking!

Wednesday 29 July 2009

All caught up

I have taken the photos so here they are. Mixture of SLYMI and some just for me!



SLYMI wk 24-use felt. This photo is of me and my hubby and kids at Bembridge Duver. My sister took the pic for me as i wanted a photo of all of us together as i am normally the one behind the camera. The paper was Imaginese, chipboard frame-Love Elsie, Queen & Co black felt, We R memory keepers-pink felt, Fancy pants rub ons and journalling tag and doodlebug alphas.




SLYMI wk 25-scrap in blue & green. I love this photo of my sister and my daughter together. They are so alike, I always say she should have been her daughter! They look alike, act alike and have the same attitude, hence the title! The papers are We R memory keepers as are the chipboard and rub ons, from the Tiffanys range(from my last ever kit from Scrapbook apprentice..booo!) The alphas are Doodlebug.


SLYMI wk 26-scrap with stickers. This is a photo of our puppy Willow enjoying the last bit of my icecream. The papers are Papermania. Ice lolly stickers are Doodlebug, i have used letter stickers from Tesco and the chipboard is RiffRaff.




SLYMI wk 27-scrap a happy story. This one isnt really a happy story but a photo of my kids, who make me happy. Papers are Fancypants-Delight, C/S is Core'dinations whitewash, Basic grey rubons and RiffRaff chipboard. I painted the Doodlebug alphas to match the colour scheme and added primas, buttons and some lovely folksy ribbon i bought at a little shop called My Home in Newport on the IOW(great Store!!)
SLYMI wk 28-Scrap with a needle & thread. I am not that pleased with this LO. I wanted to scrap some photos of the quilts i have made. All the photos were pre digi and my scanner doesnt work so i had to cut up the orginals and they are all different sizes and not really great photos!! Its amazing how much better my photos have been since i started scrapbooking!! I used scraps of papers, i cant even remember what they are! I used my slice for the title and the little index tabs. I did some stitching on the page and then cheated and drew the stitches on!


SLYMI wk 29-Scrap with 3. I used 3 papers, 3 owls and three words in my title. The photo is my sis at Firestone copse earlier this year. The papers were Basic Grey and Papermania, chipboard owl from RiffRaff and the other two owls were cut out of some other paper scraps i had. I used vellum in my DS's Dymo label maker for my journalling, PM alphas and a prima flower. I cut the tree out freehand and layered some ribbon along the bottom of it to look like the muddy forest floor.



And finally, one just for the album! My two wonderful kiddies at Bembridge Duver. The papers and notecard are Fancypants-the daily grind &doodles, Fancypants rubons and Studio G stamps. The alphas are thickers and PM.

Well, thats me all caught up now except to find the time to do SLYMI wk 30 sometime this week! Hope everybody is having a good summer holiday!

Busy, busy, busy...

It has been weeks since I have blogged anything, I have been so busy with my new job I have not had a chance to do anything! I will try to take pics of my LO's and post on here as soon as possible!
I am now working two jobs, so I am basically working everyday then rushing home to spend time with the kiddies and trying to do the housework and everything else that needs doing, HECTIC!
I have two weeks off next week so I am going to try and do some scrapping...and take the kids out, organise our anniversary and my DD birthday.........hopefully i will post soon!

Monday 8 June 2009

All caught up and more

I am all caught up with SLYMI and i might even post this weeks LO in the gallery on UKS as i am quite pleased with it. I recieved the SA kit before i was eliminated so that has become all mine, just to play with!! It was the new We R Memory Keepers papers, rubons, chipboard, trims and flowers and some lovely glittery doodlebug alphas, a really great kit this time, typical!!!






WK 20- Use pen. This is a photo of my two kids up on Brading downs on mothers day. Papers are Fancy Pants on a whimsy/fresh air. I used whispers brush markers to doodle and colour in. The chipboard shapes are from the papermill shop and i used acrylic paint, anitas 3d gloss and crackle glaze on them. I cant make up my mind on this LO, some days i like it and some days i dont!!



WK 21-Scrap a song title. Not that impressed with this one, I did it at our monthly crop and sometimes i find it hard to produce anything good there as i am always chatting with everyone!! I think the papers are by PM. My friend Paige took this photo of my dog Willow, running around on ventnor downs, her feet are not even touching the ground!!



Wk 22-Scrap from the sketch. The sketch was extremely minimal so i have added a bit more to my LO! The paper is Daisy Bucket/playlist, chipboard by rusty pickle and stamps by little yellow bicycle, borrowed from Paige. I love these photos of my son (also taken by paige!). I find it very hard to get natural pictures of my kids because as soon as i point a camera their way they both go into pose mode!



WK 23-Scrap a self portrait. As you can see from the photos i found it very hard to take a self portrait!! None of the photos were any good so i decided to scrap the crap and make that the theme of my LO! The Papers, flowers, journal spot and trim are from the SA kit, We R Memory Keepers Tiffanys range. The chipboard flower is rusty pickle and i painted it with acrylics and used 3d gloss on it. I love this paper kit and am pleased i got to do what i want with it!!


And i actually got two more LO's done this weekend. This is using the We R Memory Keepers kit again and is about me and my son. I was looking at the cliff face and said to Caleb, oh look at all the pretty colours, to which he replied, mum thats called strata!! It comes to something when your 12 yr old knows more than you do!!

This is a LO of my husband. The papers are Imaginisce and i have used Fancy Pants rub ons, little chipboard birds from RiffRaff, painted with acrylic paint and pearly glaze, MM journal tag, prima flower and doodlebug alphas. I have been waiting to use this paper for ages but never seem to be able to get a photo of my husband!! I love the little chipboard birds, i may have to order some more of those!

Well i am all caught up now so im off to have some lunch and maybe watch a little twilight..again!!

Tuesday 2 June 2009

FIRED!

Well I have been voted out of the Scrapbook Apprentice competition, so thats it folks! It was fun while it lasted but I must admit it will be nice to scrap something and not worry about criteria and write ups and supplies lists and whether its good enough! Back to scrapping just for me and if its rubbish its only me that has to look at it!
There were some really talented scrappers in the competition so i feel that it was a very big achievement to get through six months when I thought I would be the first one out, and I would like to thank everyone who voted for me....so THANKS x

Tuesday 26 May 2009

Few more days left to vote










There are 3 more days left to vote for the Creativity life Scrapbook Apprentice comp. I seem to be bottom again so any votes would be greatly appreciated. Please check it has registered your vote as for some reason i have not been able to vote for anyone this month and several of my family members have tried to vote and cant, I dont know why im not technical enough!!!! I was saved last month when i was in the bottom 2 but i dont know if i will be as lucky a second time!

Here are my sneak peaks anyway as you may not get to see them!

We were sent kits this month by Doodlebug and had to make 1 LO, 1 card and as many other items as we wanted using just basics like white card for extras. I think i lucked out a bit by getting the green and orange seaside theme kit, not my fav combination, but as always i did my best! Hope you like them.


Thanks for looking. You can vote by clicking on the Scrapbook Apprentice link on the right hand side.

Sam x

Monday 18 May 2009

sort of caught up!


I went crafting at Paige's and managed to get wk 18-scrap the great outdoors done, Plus had a very nice dinner and glass of wine!



These are photos of my friends Teresa and her husband Martin, taken on May Day. I have used papers from We R memory keepers and K&Co, K&Co tag, Rusty pickle chipboard painted with acrylic paint, crakle glaze and 3d gloss, MM rubon alphas, alphas from an old kit and gems.

And then finally i managed to get wk 16-scrap in the morning done on Sat morning. I dont often have the time to scrap in the morning so this one has been waiting for 4 weeks!


This is my DD up the totem pole at Indigo Skies. I have used papers from Sassafras Lass, Rusty Pickle chipboard, studio G and Autumn leaves stamps, thickers and PM alphas.

Yesterday the kids and me and a couple of friends did the 8 mile flat Walk the Wight! This is done every year for the Earl mountbatten hospice.There are several different walks on the day, My brother in law did the 28 mile one, well done Alan!!! It was a lovely walk and we only got a little bit wet!! I felt fine until i got home and sat down, then when i went to get up again i couldnt move!! The kids did so well though, 8 miles is a long way for an 8yr old and a 12yr old! But there was no moaning or winging from either of them!





Teresa and Caleb



Shelby


Maralin and me having a cup of tea whilst queing for the loo's!


Teresa caught on camera after having to nip behind a building!!!!!

(Sorry T, I know i said i would't put it on here but i couldnt resist!)

Well, Im off to do some more crafting now as my new papers and acrylic daubers have arrived! Dont forget you can still vote for me at www.creativitylifemag.blogspot.com until the end of may...all votes greatly appreciated!

Wednesday 13 May 2009

been a while...

I have been so busy lately that i have not been able to get much done. Our puppy Willow was spayed a couple of weeks ago and has needed lots of looking after, she has turned into one pampered pooch! The kids have had loads of activities at school, i was at my daughters school today for family learning. We had to make cookies and design packaging for them. Six children all screaming at me at once that they wanted to mix the dough, roll it out, cut the shapes!!!!ARgh...i dont know how teachers do it everyday, i was only there 31/2 hours and now have a raging headache! The kids worked really hard though and had some beautiful cookies wrapped in purple cellophane to show for it!!

Our Wight craft circle met up for our monthly crop on saturday so i was able to enjoy some ME time! I only got two LO's done but it was nice just to catch up with everyone and eat cakes!

I did this LO for wk 17 SLYMI-scrap with lace and layers. I am a bit behind with this, i still have not done wks 16 and 18! I had some lovely papers from Kaiser craft with fairys and butterflies on and some new stamps so just had to use them for this photo of my DD. I have used thickers, doodlebug rub ons, primas, K&Co fabric brads, freebie stamps and snag em stamps.


This one was for SLYMI wk 19-Scraplift a page from the SLYMI gallery. I scraplifted this from Jo.Bee on UKS (thanks!) I have used papers from Hedi grace and urban lily, thickers, technique tuesday and studio G stamps.

I am going scrapping with my friend tomorrow evening so hopefully i will be able to catch up on SLYMI!

I did get through to the next round of Scrapbook apprentice, much to my amazement! So challenge six is on the website now for voting www.creativitylifemag.blogspot.com so if you fancy popping over and placing a vote for me (sam) then please click on the link. It is getting harder every month so i am really pleased that i have made it this far. Please check it has registered your vote as quite a few people are telling me that it wont let them vote!

Monday 27 April 2009

Mini books and journals

My friend Paige showed me how to make these lovely little mini books a few weeks ago and since then i have been on a roll! I have made three with ideas for lots more! I used up some scraps, primas and gems and a circle and scallop punch for embellishments.






They are so quick to make and make lovely presents. A good way to use up all your scraps aswell!

I also bought this lovely Cath Kidson journal from Waterstones the other day. My intention was to rip the pages out to use for my LO's but the book is so pretty i cant bear to do it!!

Please take a look at the post below with my sneak peeks for the next Scrapbook Apprentice. I am bottom in the voting and with only two days to go i am not liking my chances!! So if you want to pop over and vote for me (sam) you can use the link on the right!!!! Thanks x