Snowy spring saturday

 

Spring is here - you can see it in that photo, can't you?  No?  Oh well, I'm sure it will turn up sometime soon. 

On a Saturday like this, what's a girl to do?  Get crafty.  It's also my sister's birthday - so I need a card.

I started with a pile of scraps and an idea.  The idea was inspired by the mostly fabric pieces I've seen around, where they're scraps of fabrics, and some machine embroidery.  You know the ones? Have a quick look at The Bloggings of Mrs Bertimus, then nip back here to see my take on this idea.

I made up a patched effect with my scraps of paper, tearing against a ruler, and adding a touch of inking around the edges for definition.  Then added the bird image, he's a Prima stamp - and so sweet - stamped onto a piece of Paper Artsy crackle paper.  Yes, I'm happy with that, turned out pretty much as I'd hoped.  So I made another smaller one using the same scraps.  I think I'll be doing more in this style, and maybe, one day, move onto the fabric version.  It's on my extensive list of crafts to try.

Year Book March

 

Hello there

Here's my March page, all ready to be filled in with my exciting life!  

I went with my current favourite, and importantly, bright and fresh colours.  Getting a bit fed up of the grey outside - come on Spring.  I used the wrinkle free distress method to make my own papers for the days.  And a cutie in a rabbit outfit, ready for easter. 

What if

 

The hokey cokey is what it's all about?  

Birthday card with Spiced Marmalade distress stain and ink on the tag.  Ribbon and trim coloured with  distress stain.  Owl stamp coloured with NeocolorII.  Sentiment computer generated - and found around and about.

Year book

Towards the end of last year, Idecided I wanted to keep what I've decided to call a "Year Book".  I've loved looking at the numerous Project Life's going on around blogland - but, I know that's just not for me.  So, I spent some time thinking about what I wanted to do and cherry picked ideas suited to me.

I love tinkering around with my inks and sprays and paints, and was drawn to Kate Crane's calendar pages (go and have a look, but be sure to come back!). So that has to fit in somewhere with my plan.

And a quick and easy scrapbooking style loosely based on Smash Books - ok, I think I'm just about there with the plan . 

How am I going to pull all of this together?  Found the perfect thing - the Fancy Pants Brag Book, and if you follow that link - it goes to the shop where I bought the book on their opening day.  And if you look closely at the pictures of the shop, the eagle eyed amongst you may just spot little old me browsing the shelves! Claim to fame, or what?

 This book is already divided into twelve sections, at the end of each there are some photo protector pages and also a handy pocket for storing the bits and bobs destined for the book.

So, that's the little intro to my Year Book 2013.  Be sure to come back for the thrills and spills in Sarah's world! And don't be put off by the mention of auditors on my February Calendar page, they should only make a fleeting appearance!  Be more interested in the tantalising mention of crochet blankets.  Then ooh and aah over the pictures of some of the resident animals playing in the snow.

A card with a touch of glitz

 

A birthday card made with papers and embellishments from Glitz Cashmere Dame.  And a stamp I bought second hand - I think it's Magnolia, coloured in with my NeocolorII wax pastels.

 

And sent to my daughter, who's a long way from home at Uni. 

December 2012 Book

Last November, I went on my very first scrapbooking retreat. I had an absolute ball - and came back shattered.

One of the THREE (yes, three) mini book classes on the Saturday was this Christmas or December book. It was taught by Tracey Hudson, using the Authentique "Festive" range of papers. It was taught as a base book, to add your own photos,etc.

 

It was a very busy class -  and I ended up completing the book at home later.  I decided to use it to document my December.  And, although the pages are all numbered one to twenty five, I decided to just think of the numbers as part of the decoration, and not as actual dates - does that make sense?

 

I tried to take plenty of photos - and ordered them all in one go, just after Christmas.

 

Then yesterday, I gathered the photos and "stuff" that I had collected during December, and put my book together.  I'm going to add a bit of typed journalling to it soon, but I wanted to show it sooner rather than later. The tags behind the number 22 and the name tags further up were made by my very talented sister, Helen, who I went on the retreat with. 

 

Do you think she planned that ribbon to match the book? I think so, too.

I've really enjoyed this way of recording December - and may do something similar again.

Christmas Dreams

 

 Christmas has been and gone - another good one, apart from this cold  I now have.  And in this quiet time between Christmas and New Year plenty of crafting and thinking and preparing for the year ahead has been going on.

One of the first things I'm going to try on for size is joining in a challenge.  So, this Christmas card, is being entered into The Octopode Factory Friday Challenge Anything Goes.

 I used Distress Stains on the tag, the white stamping used a Stamping Up ink pad and the Octopode stamp was coloured in using my lovely new Neocolor II colours.

Did you notice the gap between the a and the s in Christmas?  Nope, it wasn't planned - just what happens when you type on a real, honest to goodness typewriter that you thrifted during the year.

See you next year, here's hoping it's a good one!