Poorly Sick...

Hey guys... hope you're doing well! I, on the other hand have been given a lovely gift by my step-daughter - a rotten cold!! So, here I am, in my pj's, feeling very sorry for myself. I'm half way through making my own version of K&Co's Smash book, it's the most brilliant way to use up all those bits of paper you have lying around, and of course, the most wonderful opportunity to get out all your stamps! I'm looking forward to sharing with you when it's completed! Bye for now - I'm off to find another giant box of tissues... xxx

A very belated gift...

So, AGES ago, a friend asked me to make her daughter a banner for her bedroom, saying sleep. This was back in February, and I remember thinking to myself "oh, that's yonks away - I'll put it to one side for now"......
So when I saw her last week, I asked her when she needed it for, cos I thought it must be coming up pretty soon. "Oh yes", she said... "That was a couple of weeks ago".....
OH NO!!!! How rubbish am I??!! So, somewhere in the last week of revision/nagging the kids, I managed to make this:

She asked for something in greys and pinks, and for it to be shabby chic (or chabby chick as I like to say since I heard someone on You Tube pronouncing it that way - teehee...). Her daughter is in her early 20's, so I tried to keep it a little classy rather than out and out girly (the style I would opt for when creating for my teenage darling).
I think one of the favourite elements I used on it has to be the Diamond Dust on the letters. Because it's chunky and made of real glass, it seems to sparkle and shine in a beautiful way, without being too OTT. Nearly finished my first tub - will need to go order more soon! xxx

Busy but Absent...

Just a quickie - I've not been around to blog much this week - it's the kids revision half term, and the majority of my energy has gone into coaxing/cajoling/encouraging them to get their heads into their books!
I have, however, found a little time to make a sweet little mini book, it's a gift so not sure I can show it yet!
And today? Well... Richard only went and jumped out of an aeroplane! He's now back on Terra Firma, safe and sound - what a brave man!!!

A 7 Gypsies haul, and something I've been waiting for FOREVER!

Good morning Bloggerland, just wanted to share a fantastic deal that I got my hands on this week. I love to alter things - papercraft away from the page, so when I saw the prices of some of the 7 Gypsies hardware at It's Crafting Time I just couldn't resist! Here's what I got

Two sets of naked folders, medium and large, two journal clips to create my own clipboards (no more messing around trying to get paper under a clip set in stone!) Two pots of tiny paper fasteners, some photo folders, and the cutest vintage apothecary stickers ever! I'm not comfortable unless I know that I have some bits and pieces to alter if I get the urge... think I'm set now!
But the MOST exciting thing that I have to share is my new gadget - the Distrezz-It-All by Zutter. I've been waiting for this little machine to be made for the European market since it came out in the US well over a year ago... and here it is!

So, this little thing of wonder is going to save me sooo much time. I adore the look of distressed edges in my mini books, in-fact on virtually anything with a straight edge, and have been known to get cramp in my hand working away with my little Tim Holtz distressing tool! Now, I can shabby up an entire book of pages in less than 5 minutes... as you can see on this Tesco's notebook... and the best thing? Take a few pages, for a mini album for instance, distrezz them, and suddenly your insignificant little pile of pages take on a glorious depth that belie their number entirely! At £35, it's not the cheapest thing, but I have to say, this is one little tool that will not be leaving my desk. And the little notebook? As I said - Tesco's cheapo. I've used some of the beautiful stamps from Crafty Individuals to decorate the front - a vintage ad (CI-148), and a new set, consisting of the sweetest dressform, some bodices, and another little ad (CI-306). Follow the link to the left of this post if you want to take a look at what they have! xxx

A Lovely afternoon and a little surprise...

My neighbour Sue is one of the kindest people I know. She has a friend, Val, that is always doing something for someone else, and she wanted to do something for HER. So, a few weeks ago, she arranged an afternoon session for the two of them with me, to learn how to scrapbook. She had asked Val's husband for some of Val's favourite photo's in advance, so it really was a surprise for Val!

They did absolutely fantastically!!! Neither had ever experimented with paper crafting before, but they both took to it like ducks to water, and had (I HOPE!) a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon!

Here's the layout that I helped them to re-create with their own photos...

I wanted them to have a little taste of everything, so we did some masking (the floral pattern to the right of the photo), some rubber stamping and fussy cutting (the 'just lovely' label, two quotes, postage marks and doily images), some die cutting and inking (the chipboard flowers), some paper punching (the border at the bottom of the photo), working with acetate ( the butterflies), and some general design techniques, like the positioning of the title to the top left and bottom right side of the photo. I did sneak a little shop bought notecard from Prima in there - to journal on, but hey, those beautiful things just have to be used don't they?!

And my lovely surprise? I got a package of my five favourite stamps from Crafty Individuals today! So look out for some rather nice crafty bits and pieces over the next few weeks right here with some rather special stamps on them... xxx

OK - From this....

....

... To this!

It's a memo note holder - bought from the £ shop a loooong time ago! I've used the new 7 Gypsies Lille 6x6 paper pad, Red Pepper paint dauber, a Daisy D index tab, a Tim Holtz corked vial, filled with Glossy Accents and black Distress Ink (I hope it sets!) a few stamped images and some ephemera from my stash - all, of course grunged up with a little Frayed Burlap Distress Ink! Oh, and though you can't see them, there are four Tim Holtz Hitch Fasteners on the bottom, acting as little feet - cute!

I'm really pleased with it... it's young and funky (I think!), so hopefully they will like it too! The best thing is, that as I was altering this, I realized that you could change the theme for anyone's taste - so get down to your local £ shop - quick! xxx