SMASHing!!!

Hello All!

As it was K & Co's Smash Book's that sort of pointed me in the direction of Project Life & Snap Studios (as I liked the freedom and the creativity you have with the Smash Book, which brought back many good childhood/teen memories of creating collage type books)  I thought I would share a few of the pages I created in my Smash Book over the last year or so.

I chose the Doodle Red SMASH Folio, mainly because red is one of my favourite colours and also because the illustrations just seemed to resound with me.  When I received it I couldn't wait to Smash!!

This is the cover, which I have not altered in anyway, as I wanted to maintain its simplicity.

The inside cover.  (Left page) I liked the vellum page that was immediately inside the front cover but I was torn (no pun intended) between leaving it there in its beautiful pristineness or taking it out and using it in the book.  Sooo, I decided to tape it inside the front cover with some Washi tape and add a few banners and tags from the Smashpad Word of Mouth pad, Blank Pad and 2 of us.   (Right page) I have also been a big of fan of postcards since I can remember and used to randomly pick them up whenever and wherever I was.  I remember ages ago, when I lived in LA, some companies would use them as a form of advertising and you could find them in a postcard caddy in restaurants, bars and book stores.  I used to love picking these up.  These were two that I had picked up locally, the top was for a shower curtain and the bottom one was from a company that I had ordered three little blue ceramic starfish from for my nautical bathroom theme.

The first page.  I so loved the little quote there by the moustached groundhog (?) that I didn't want to cover it up and just left it as is.  (Although, if that is a groundhog, I'm not sure how a groundhog can be bigger than a bear, as the little fella next to him, on his left, clearly is).  On the left page is another postcard from a shop I ABSOLUTELY love called Daisy Park.  They are an adorable online store here in the UK that sells must have shabby chic gifts, furniture and decorative home accessories.  You can check them out here, if you like: http://www.daisypark.co.uk/

Next is the "I am" page which I have started on but haven't fully completed yet. I think because I find this page somewhat precious so want to get it right, if that makes sense and doesn't sound bonkers.

The next two pages that I Smashed were pure collage and so fun to do.  Just cutting and pasting, cutting and pasting, until it felt right.  A really fun way to just release some creative energy.

 The next two pages were the splendiferous pages!  As they were already green I thought they would be well suitable to document a country (dog)walk we had taken with some friends of ours in Cookham to the Bounty.  (The Walk in Cookham stickers and the photo strip were something that I have been hoarding for years so couldn't even tell you who they are by.  The "Fabulous" flag is again from Smashpad and the Rendezvous button is Flair by American Crafts.  The "Yadda Yadda Yadda" stamp was sent to me by a friend so not sure on the brand. Makes me laugh though because it always reminds of that episode of Seinfeld.)

The next page was just very simple.  I looked the colours in this ad and as well the style of the girl in it, very retro, has a 40's-ish feel, which I like, so pasted this pic on the green page to tie in with her top.

Can't have a Smash book without a page on Washi tape!  Love polka dots and thought it would match nicely with the Puffy Alpha (polka dot letters I have in my stash) from Making Memories.

Just a page on how I like capturing my life in pictures.  There are a lot of small old churches dotted about, throughout the countryside here in the UK.  I like to go and take pictures of them, preferably in black and white, as it automatically gives them that sort of spooky feel. This is just the door of one of the churches here in White Waltham.  As for the die-cut camera, this is something that has been in my stash for quite some time.

These two pages I find quite funny as I was Smash(ing) about Smashing! Showing some of my favourite pages.  

As Simon and I enjoy our films, we often frequent a place near us called Norden Farm Centre for the Arts. A brilliant place really, like a local community art centre-they have a lovely café, art exhibits, different types of classes, live theatre and also a selection of films.  Most are typically not the mainstream films you would get in the cinema but independent or foreign films, which have been some of our favourites.  I had recently been reading a book called "Sarah's Key" which I found very compelling and deeply sad so when I saw the film was playing at Norden Farm I suggested we go.  The film was very moving and represented the book well. Not only was this one of the best books I have read in a very long time, but also one of the best films I have seen too. I included the ticket stubs from the cinema, their film brochure and the description of the film from that brochure plus an old style movie projector that I had cut out from a pad of K & Co. Cut N Paste Designer Paper.

I'm not sure how many of you may have heard about Graze but it's a brilliant concept.  Go to www.graze.com/uk.  As they say its "nature delivered".  They have a range of over one hundred tasty snacks (with healthy benefits), including nuts, dried fruit, dips, olives and seeds, as well as some well-deserved flapjacks, cakes, popcorn and natural treats.  You log-on to their website and sign-up, then browse through their products and rate which ones you think you would like.  Then you give them your payment details, they will bill you a few days in advance of each delivery and then send you one box a week, on the day you designate.  Quite a handy way to get healthy snacks on the go and you get a bit of excitement in not knowing what's coming through the door until you arrive home that evening.  I was turned onto this by a girl at work and as I was quite taken with them I decided to create a page based on this.  On the left page I cut out the inside of the top of the delivery box and on the right page I then took the section part of the box that the punnets come in and put this on the page, using (3) of the windows to document the snacks, like they come in the box, and then used the last window for the journaling.

                         

This page is my homage to Iced Tea.  I have been in this country over 7 years and one thing I still miss most is Iced Tea, especially during the summer months.  I used to ask for it everywhere we went (Brits could never understand why I wanted to put ice in my tea) just in case I happened upon somewhere that had it (as I used to find it in the strangest places - once at a small café in a shopping centre in Bath, which wasn't even an American restaurant). I was pleased as punch one evening when we stopped at the local Esso Express station on the way home (for you American's, this is sort of like an AM/PM).  We walked in to pick up a few bits after getting our petrol and I was so surprised to see that the Costa Coffee kiosk in there was now selling Iced Tea.  I was over the moon!!!

 And my final page to share is one about Acupuncture titled "Believe".  I have recently been suffering from some physical ailments and have been for some time. A friend who has had similar problems swears by it and said that it has changed her life.  I wouldn't really consider myself a believer or a non-believer, having never tried it before, but I do consider myself an open minded person so thought what did I have to lose!  (And hopefully that it wouldn't be too painful as I am not a big fan of needles!!  My doctor still has to distract me with a red lollipop whenever he wants to give me a shot or take blood). 

As a footnote, I have to say I am now a firm believer as it has indeed alleviated a lot of my symptoms.  Obviously like any applied therapy, it won't fix everything in one or two sessions, so I will have to continue to go in order to truly reap the benefits .

Well thanks for looking at my Smash pages and hopefully you found them very smashing indeed!