Have Your Cake and Eat it too!!

Hello All!

Today I am trying the new Simple Stories Insta-squares page protectors.  I have an Instagram account so I do take a few Insta-pictures but I don't always use them in my layouts on a regular basis.  However, I did see these page protectors used in an album on another blog (sorry, can't remember who - more than likely it was probably Kristine Davidson I'm guessing) and I liked that it gave the album another dimension so I thought I would order some, see what I could create.   
 

I am using them for a layout to document a lunch date that I have with my friend Sarah.  Typically we meet once a month but recently, due to a few things going on in her life and mine, it hasn't been as regular as it used to be. I do enjoy my lunches with her as she always manages to put me in a better place once I have spent the afternoon with her so I do miss the time together but as we all know, sometimes life can get in the way!  She is trying to focus on the moment at finishing her curriculum to become a Yoga instructor so I can understand the pressure and need to take time to do this, as I remember what my college days were like (although just between me and you that was a LONG time ago).  
 


For this layout I wanted to use brown as a primary colour to tie in with the chocolate cake - something that is irresistible to me!!  My cryptonite!  Ashamedly I will do just about anything for chocolate cake. I am the epitome of that pin on Pinterest that shows the first picture of a really fit girl with the quote "I'm so doing this" and then the second picture of a baby with cake all over it's face with the quote "did someone says cake?".



 As pink is my go to colour, and I think pink and brown go so well together, pink was the secondary colour I chose for this layout.  Plus I wanted the layout to have a fun element, brighten it up and I also wanted to do a bit of layering with the primary photo as I had a few pink scraps I wanted to try and use up.  I recently purchased some chipboard letters by Basic Grey called Grand Bazaar, that are brown and pink, so thought these would be perfect for this layout, and they were!  They worked so well with the colour scheme.
 
 
You may be wondering why there are just pictures of cake and none of Sarah if I had a lunch date with her.  Some of my friends don't mind being included in the blog but some, like Sarah, would prefer not to be so I respect that and keep the pictures of her and I private as asked.
 
After creating the layout with mostly pink and brown I thought it could use a few highlights so decided to add a bit of gold, as it goes really well with pink and mostly just about anything! Thought it was the perfect final touch. 



The final double page layout

SUPPLIES | For the left page:
The brown background paper is Bazzill. For the various pink paper behind the cake photo - one is Echo Park "Dots & Stripes" (bottom) and one is called Garden Party by Pebbles (top). As for the pink polka dot paper in the middle, not sure as this was a scrap. The pink tag, split in half behind the photo is by American Crafts, very old. The "sweetie" tag down the left hand side of the photo is actually the top of a Bingo card by Simple Stories. The pink tab with "Have Your" on it is the top part of a PL card and the lettering are by Simple Stories Typeset. The wood veneer (painted pink) is by Studio Calico and the gold glitter dot is by Twine & Ink. The "delight" Dymo style tape is Marcella by Kay, the stripe below that is Echo Park, the stripe below that is washi tape stuck to white cardstock (don't know the brand) and the tag below that is from a PL card that was cut up. The "Love This" chevron bubble next to the cake photo is by Mambi Sticks and the gold label at the bottom is Studio Calico as is the gold arrows.  
For the right page: The background paper is old Daisy D's. The letters spelling out "Lunch" are Basic Grey called Grand Bazaar. The wood veneer love hearts are Studio Calico. The "with" letters are Simple Stories Typeset and the letters spelling out "Sarah" are by Bella Blvd called Playdate. 

Thanks for dropping by to have a look!
Christine   : )

Was wondering, for those who have visited my blog before, do I focus too much on the personal side of the story? Too much on the scrapbooking process? Or not enough of both?  Neither? Do let me know. Your comments would be welcome!

Hole in One (nearly)

First my disclaimer for the quality of these horrible photos: I tried taking these pictures a few times, at different times of the day and in different places in the house but these are the best shots that I could get.  I can't believe that it is already that time of year in the UK where you can't get decent light in the house for the purpose of taking photos. It's not even officially Fall, or as they say here, Autumn.  Fall to the Brits is something you do when you trip, not a season (as it is to us in the US)!

This layout is to document the great shot that Simon made one day while out on the golf course.  He was so pleased with himself that he took a picture of the shot and sent it to me via text.  I literally laughed out loud when I looked at the text message and was genuinely well pleased for him. It was a great shot indeed. Only sorry I wasn't there to see it!

At first with this layout I struggled with the background paper, I tried so many different variations and different brands, trying to find the right fit.  I tried so many patterns, thinking I just hadn't found the right one yet or the one with the right colours, but that wasn't it.  Then I thought, well, maybe patterned paper isn't the way to go and I should just go with a coloured cardstock but that didn't work either.

I then remembered that I had quite a few pieces of vintage style paper on my shelf and that maybe something in there would work.  I recalled that I had an "old college style sports" paper by K&Co so pulled that out.  I pulled it from the stack, laid it on my craft table, put the picture on it and it seemed to work so perfectly.  The background really made the picture pop.  After that the rest of it was pretty easy to pull together - add the title, a few embellishments and I was done.  Love pages that happen that quickly, once you're going.
I also had an 8 x 8 paper pad from Graphic45 called The Proper Gentleman Collection.  I flipped through this looking for something that would work as a golf embellishment.  I happened upon one piece of paper, called Sporting Aristocrat, that was a collage of many smaller pictures so used the 2 x 2 square of the man playing golf. Thought it worked quite well on the corner of the page.  

The Full Page
SUPPLIES | The background paper is by K&Co which I have had in my stash for years so not sure on the name as it did not have a name strip at the bottom nor on the back. The alphas spelling out Hole and One are by American Crafts called Kitten.  The letters spelling IN are by Echo Park from their original Photo Freedom kit.  The round metal tag is by Making Memories and comes from a "make your own tag" kit.  Rather than inserting paper in this I just inserted a round camera sticker from the Simple Stories DIY Boutique line and then pressed the edge round the metal tag to seal it.   The small Cruden Bay picture is by Graphic45 from the Gentlemen's 8 x 8 pad. And finally the green "play" sticker is by Bella Blvd from their Boy Play line.

This is just a snapshot of the back of the golf page.  Having used a 6 x 8 page protector for the golf layout I needed to put something on the back to finish it off.  As the golf page was the last layout for the month, I didn't have any further pictures to add so instead created some text from one of my favourite works of literature, Pride & Prejudice, to complete the backside of this pocket page.

Thanks for dropping by to have a look and letting me share my layouts with you.

Christine   x   : )

Trying to Exercise More!

Hello my fellow crafters!
I recently was lucky enough to acquire some new scrapbooking supplies through a Facebook destash group.  Suffice it to say I have already put them to good use!

Even before the kit arrived I thought that the colours would tie in well with a layout I wanted to do about my fitness routine lately as the colours in the photo I was using were pink, green and grey.  I have been exercising a lot more recently and thought that it would be fitting to document this as well. Again, sometimes I just don't think about documenting these types of things. 

Due to a general lack of energy attributed to health reasons it has been some time since I have had a regular exercise routine, despite my best intentions.  As well, with bad joints, there are only so many types of exercise that I can take up that won't inflict further "injury" or severe impact on my already defunct bag of bones.

However, due to a bad back (which I gained by being the lucky recipient of a car accident some years ago-someone who was going way too fast who then failed to stop in time, thereby rear ending me putting me in bed for two months) plus a chronic sciatic nerve that can rear it's ugly head at the best of times, it has been advised that I should develop a regular exercise routine, despite all of this.  Geez, reading back over that it sounds like I'm falling apart and I'm only forty...(mumbling) something.


I did enjoy pulling this layout together and already sort of had the layout design in my head, so I thought it would have gone quicker than it did, but I suppose no surprise there.  I liked working with all the bright colours in this kit.  I do typically use bright colours in my layouts but I think I use them more sparingly so this was a bit different for me to have a complete layout like this.  I also liked that this kit had the numbered paper which I thought would work well for a fitness layout.  After adding my embellishments around the page I was looking for something further to add along the left side of the photo so even went so far as to cut the name of the kit from the packaging to use that. 
(See photo below)

And the final result....
SUPPLIES | Blue title letters are by Simple Stories from Vintage Bliss. The blue chipboard camera is Simple Stories. All the paper used is American Crafts from the Everyday kit. The pink polka dot paper is by Echo Park called Dots and Stripes. The blue photo corners are by Bella Blvd from the Playdate line. The pink polka dot washi tape is a sticker by Simple Stories. The September banner at the bottom of the page is by Echo Park and the "remember" sticker below that is Simple Stories Typeset.  The white enamel dot is by Simple Stories from the DIY line.


Thanks for having a look!
Christine
 

A Really Quick One!

Hello!
Just a quick one here, adding a few more "finishing touches".  Created a title page for my first album from 2014 and also worked on the front cover. Long overdue!
Was quite fun, quick and easy!  This post is short as it is mostly pictures.
Cover of the album
Details from the Title Page



And that's all, I did say it was a quick one!
For the supplies, the polka dot paper is old, something I had in my stash for a while so not sure on the brand.  The rest of the supplies used - stickers, embellishments and enamel dots are by Studio Calico, Simple Stories, Bella Blvd, Webster's Pages and American Crafts Thickers.
Thanks for having a look!
Christine  : )

Looking @ Houses

This page actually started out based around the blue alphas spelling out the "Looking" part of the title.  I have had these alphas for quite some time but have NEVER used them.  So today I decided I'm going to create a layout using these letters.

It didn't take long for an idea to come to me.  Simply because all I have been doing over the past few days was look at houses, something I never really thought about documenting in a layout.  But as it is my current "now" life, I thought why not!  I suppose events like this should be documented as well.
Once I had the idea I was surprised at how quickly this layout came together for me.  I have to say that it seems like ever since I made the decision to stop documenting my life in a PL style format that the creativity and the ideas have just been flowing out of me.  It just feels so much freer now. No expectation to keep up or on top of things.  I can just create what I want when I want but still keep it in a loose monthly format.  It's great though because I just don't feel the pressure of "it's creeping into next week so I really need to get last week done" and so on.  I feel like I have my mojo back! 
  
I really like the new ticket roll by Fancy Pants that I recently purchased from Hey Little Magpie. Was keen to use them in this layout!  I think they add a very fun element to the page for a life event that has been just the opposite of fun.  

For the background paper I wanted paper that was a bit whitewashed, if that's the right word, that sort of looked like the undercoat of a painted wall when you first move into a house before decorating it.  The blue and yellow colour scheme just sort of came together by itself after that. I added a few embellishments and word stickers, wanting it to be quite a full layout. As for the "still" part of the title, I wanted to include this word in the title as it has been over six months now that we have started looking at rental properties but I didn't want the word to be extremely prominent.  So it may look like the colour I picked didn't work well with the background colour but I pretty much wanted it to blend into the page so the title would kind of appear to be simply "Looking at Houses".  I then picked out my journaling label, typed up my journaling in a text box and ran it through my printer.  That's me done! 
SUPPLIES | Background paper by BasicGrey called Out of Print classifieds, this is the B side.  The blue alphas spelling out "Looking" are Simple Stories Vintage Bliss. The yellow letters spelling out "Still" are by Lilybee Designs called Sweet Shoppe.  The letters spelling out "Houses" are Typeset by Simple Stories. The VIP Pass ticket (at the top right) and the Golden Ticket (in the middle on the bottom) are by Fancy Pants called As You Wish Ticket Roll. The cork @ symbol is by Studio Calico. The "Home, Hope & Wishes" Dymo style tape are Life's Journey Black Labels by K&Co, which are super old.  The "oh what fun" and "this again" stickers are by Simple Stories from Daily Grind. The circular #1 sticker are by My Minds Eye, the Kate & Co line called Cambridge Court.  The teeny tiny alphas spelling out "Not!" are by Kaisercraft.  The blue journal tag and the file tag behind the word "Home" are by Simple Stories. The gold chipboard camera is by Studio Calico and the yellow enamel dot in the centre of it is by Twine & Ink.


Thanks for having a look and letting me
share my layout with you all!
Christine x   : )

Adding Some Finishing Touches

Hi!  My name is Christine and I'm a scrapaholic!
 
I think that like most scrappers not only do we have a tendency to hoard (obsess over) things but we also find ourselves feeling the heavy burden of guilt when we fall behind or if you will, don't keep up with projects.  Guilt, obsession, sounds like an addiction, doesn't it?
 
I'll admit I'm just as guilty as the next scrapper that I, let's say "occasionally" don't always manage to finish the things I start.  Great, let's add another positive attribute to the pot - procrastination, oh and easily distracted or should that be short attention span? I can't make up my mind as I'm having trouble focusing here! 
(Created a title page for my 2nd album of 2013)
So we're looking real good here now - obsessive, guiltmonger, procrastinator and extreme lack of attention!  Well, don't they say artists are tortured souls.  Now I'm not so bold to claim that I'm an artist or anything like that, but as my mind tends to wander....
 
(This one just needed the lettering for the title)
Anyhoo, I spent some time this morning catching up or adding a few finishing touches to some of my past Life Documented PL albums for 2013 and 2014.  Just going back through the albums and finishing some of what was missing.  I have to admit it felt good to complete some of these, get a bit of closure.  Isn't that a step in those addicts anonymous programmes?  I'm just saying!  ; )
 

(This one had the 4x4 pics on the left but just needed an insert on the right)
 
 (This one only had the picture and the pink washi tape.  So added a few more details and then added my journaling)
 
(Created a title page for the 2nd album of 2014.  Have to say that I don't really use the wood veneer embellishments for much as I find they just don't seem to go with anything, however they seemed to work for this title page. Probably because the background was wood themed. Weird I know!)
 
 
And as you can see I am still procrastinating as I have yet to add the labels to the actual spine of each album.  Oh well, something to work towards.
 
Wondering how all you deal with not finishing projects or procrastination, or is this a word that does not fit into your vocabulary?  Are you burdened with guilt when you don't?  Or is that also another word that doesn't fit into your vocabulary?
 
Feel free to leave any comments.  Would love to know where you are in your process.
 
Thanks for dropping by!
Christine  x