Holidays!

Hee hee, I hadn't even realised that it has been 4 weeks since I last put up a blog post!  We have been away on holiday to visit my best friend for a while and then we had family staying over and we have been tiling our bathroom, which is looking fantastic but what a long process!  Apparently it was made longer because of the fact that I wanted the tiling done in a brickwork pattern instead of the standard tiling pattern and that involved more cuts!  It was also the first time my hubby had done tiling so it was pretty cruel to do that to him but he is always good at all DIY so I knew he could handle it! :)

Anyway here are a few photos from the hundreds I took on our holiday!  First off I just have to show you a photo of the view we had from our bedroom window.  My friend lives out in the countryside and it is just so wonderful and peaceful there!  She has a lovely big garden where the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves and then a lake with ducks at the bottom of her garden to feed!.  The quiet was just wonderful and I loved waking up to the sheep noises in the nearby field,  I think we neeeeeeed to move to the country! ;)

Of course we had to go down to the beach, even though it did get a bit nippy, poor Kieran even had to wear my jumper after he went swimming!

This is me and my best friend Megan, I was thinking about it the other day and realised that we have been friends for over 20 years now!

These photos were from Drusillas which the kids just loved!

Christopher has not stopped moaning that he wants to go back and we must all go and live at Megans lol!

You would think seeing as I haven't done a blog post for so long that I would have loads of layouts to put up but nope I have had hardly any time for scrapbooking and what I have done is either for magazines or the Bo Bunny blog so I can't share them yet lol.  The only thing I can put up is this layout for my Sketch and scrap group, I am not too sure where the sketch was from this month.

I think this is one of the fastest layouts I have ever done as I only had a couple of hours to do it (I even had to photograph it at night!) and it normally takes me ages to do a layout!  It was really hard for me to do it that quick as no matter how simple my layouts are I usually mull over everything for ages but it was also kind of freeing.  I don't think I could do that too often though as throwing a layout together is really hard on my nerves lol.  I used Bo Bunny Mama-razi which is just perfect for these photos :)

I just love the black tape above the buttons that I got in a kit from The Scraproom ages ago but I have no idea who makes it, if anyone else knows please let me know! :)

Bo Bunny is spotlighting design team members this month and doing a get to know each design team member, they are also giving away a prize each day so don't forget to pop over there to meet the design team (they are really the most awesome group of really lovely and talented ladies!) and your chance to win some yummy Bo Bunny prizes. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Step it up!

Bo Bunny has started a new feature on their blog called Step it Up!  There have been a few requests for simple layouts so they decided to take it a step further and start with a simple layout and then add a couple of extra steps to show how you can take your layout to the next level.  I was on this assignment this month and really enjoyed doing it!  I will admit it was actually quite hard because you have to kind of plan ahead for what you are going to do but can't do the things to see what they will look like as you have to get photos of the simpler versions first (and the fact that we had endless rain for 4 days that was making it really hard to get a good photo didn't help either lol).  So this is my take....

I chose to use the beautiful summery Barefoot & Bliss (well I have to get my sunshine somewhere right!) and this is my 'simple' version

My second version has been spiced up a little by distressing the edges of the outer papers, inking some edges, adding a couple of extra layers under the main photo, adding some ribbon which always adds texture and painting my title.  It may not show up that clearly in the photo but I painted the title blue to match the papers, added a layer of crackle paint and then added a layer of white paint to achieve the cracked wood effect, a perfect effect for beachy type layouts!

 

For my final version I took another sheet of the background paper and cut the flowers out and then layered them on top of the background sheet with foam dots to give some dimension as well as adding a few extra flowers.  I did the same thing with the dot strip under the two smaller photos and added a photo corner and some buttons under the main photo.  Lastly I highlighted the sun by adding a ring of stitching and a ring of bling!

 

And a few close ups...

 

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Patterned Paper: Beach Bag, Bubbles, Dot and Cut Out/Barefoot & Bliss
Cardstock: Double Dot in Slate Dot
Noteworthy: Barefoot & Bliss
Jewels: Barefoot & Bliss
Alphabet: Chunky Chips Chipboard Alpha in Chiffon
Buttons: Ad Lib; Bo Bunny
6" Paper Pad: Barefoot & Bliss
Ribbon: 3/8" Double Dot Ribbon in Buttercup

Well you may notice that I copied and pasted most of that write up off the Bo Bunny blog but as I was the one who did the original post anyway I figured that is not being toooo lazy ;)  

Thanks for visiting and I hope everyone has a fantastic week that just flies by to bring the weekend as fast as possible! :)

Noteworthy

My latest assignment for Bo Bunny was to focus on Noteworthy.  I have always loved the Noteworthy pads that Bo Bunny make but I am finding the new packs of Noteworthy so versatile!  I used the Liberty line for my layout :)

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Liberty, Freedom, Dot, Sparkler/Liberty
Die Cuts: Liberty Noteworthy
Stamps: Liberty Clear Stamps
Jewels: Liberty Jewels

American Crafts Glitter Thickers - Lax White

Raffia

Martha Stewart PATP Combo Rings

EK Success Slim Edger Punch Bracket

Well it is that time of year again, the end of the school year and the beginning of the wonderfully long summer holidays!  I have always loved school holidays because I get to have my kids home more (although not so much now that they are getting older) but also for that extra half an hour in bed and the not having to have the mad rush in the mornings whilst fighting with the kids to get ready!  

My eldest who will be going to high school next year (that one still hasn't sunk in!) has already broken up a week early as his school is merging with another one next year and they need time to move everything over, so I had to get his teacher gifts ready early.  I usually make things for the teachers but due to some things I read recently and due to my total lack of time at the moment I decided to just play it safe and did 2 small bottles of wine (one red and one white) and a little box of chocolates.  I also made these super quick cards (in the morning before school!), which I actually really like.  I always like really clean simple cards like these :)

 

I actually got a thank you card from one of the teachers too for the gifts and a letter I had written her.  I thought that was really lovely as I have only had 2 teachers say thank you over the years and 2 teaching assistants, one of which my youngest had for 3 years in a row (she even asked me for recipes!).  So then I felt bad that I hadn't put more effort in this time lo, oh well, at least I wrote her a nice letter saying thank you for all she had done!

Thanks for visiting! :)

Previews and some Bounce!!

First up I have another layout for my sketch and scrap group done using this sketch from page maps.

I am not 100% happy with the layout, you know when something just doesn't feel right!  But I was working with a deadline and I haven't had the time since to try and change it a bit so for the moment it is just being left as it is. which is hard for me as I can be a bit OCD with some things lol :)

 

You may have noticed I have been having lots of fun with my mists and liquid pearls lately!  I may even be going a bit overboard but they are sooo much fun, I really neeeeeeed some more!

And most excitingly...have you seen the previews of the new Bo Bunny lines yet?!!  Bo Bunny started showing previews on Wednesday starting with one of my favourites of the new lines Forever Fall!  I am going to add a couple of papers from each line as papers are my weakness (and it makes it easier when I don't have to choose which of all the yummy product to choose) but you can see the full lines and leave a comment for a chance to win one of them on the Bo Bunny Blog. 

Which is your favourite of the new lines?  I can't decide between Forever Fall for the gorgeous colours and whimsical feel or Welcome Home for one of my favourite colour combinations, the beautiful images and just because it is home and family based!   Nope just can't do it, I love them all!!!!   The best part is there are still two more lines to preview!  Be still my heart I seriously can't wait to start playing with all this lusciousness, Bo Bunny have outdone themselves again! :)


Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a great week!

Trinkets!

Hi everyone!

Today's layout is focusing on Bo Bunny's gorgeous Trinkets!  These were such a beautiful addition to Bo Bunny's collections and are so fun to work with!  There are so many uses for them and you can see a few on the Bo Bunny blog.  I decided to do a layout using Vicki-B and have used four of the Vicki-B trinkets on it!

The journaling is hidden behind one of the photos and is just about how my Mom loves taking photos and me and my elder sister both hate having our photos taken!  So every time my Mom tries to take photos of us together we are always pulling faces and acting silly so it is not very often that she manages to get a photo of both of us smiling properly at the same time! (with these photos I think we were feeling sorry for her as I was about to return to the UK from our holiday to SA to visit them)  My poor Mommy!  Luckily for her, my younger sister has a really soft heart and is way more accommodating than her unruly older kids ;)

 

For the trim under the photos I wanted the top to be straight and the bottom gathered.  To do this I put a strip of double sided running below the photos and then stuck the top of the Vicki-B trim along it.  I then folded the fabric up neatly and poked two holes, one through the double sided tape and one a bit lower so I could use a large stitch to hold the fabric up.

I then stuck a piece of double sided tape under the 'hanging' part of the trim and then just manipulated the folds to sit how I wanted them and pushed them down onto the tape so they stay in place.

Then lastly of course added the trinkets with some foam dots to finish it off :)

 Supplies:
Vicki B. Trinkets
Vicki B. Stripe
Vicki B. Fabuloso
Vicki B. Wrap
Vicki B. Clear Stamp
Vicki B. Brads
Vicki B. Noteworthy
Vicki B. Jewels
Vicki B. Combo Sticker

Vicki B. 6x6 Paper Pad
Tim Holtz Ideaology regal mini mask
Prima stencils
Tattered Angels Glimmer mist Starfish
Tim Holtz Distress inks - Peeled paint, Walnut stain

Ranger Liquid pearls
Martha Stewart butterfly punch
Kaisercraft Script Clear Stamp

Oh and I have to say I got to see Bo Bunny's new releases the other day and all I can say is WOW they are all totally stunning and you are going to LOVE them!!!!!  So don't forget to keep checking in on the Bo Bunny Blog as there will be some reveals very soon! :)

Rub-ons!

My latest assignment for Bo Bunny was to focus on rub-ons.  I love rub-ons as they are so versatile and can be used on lots of different surfaces so instead of a layout I decided to alter this cute little wooden box I bought from the Range for only £1!  Yup only £1 which I thought was pretty amazing and since I bought this one they have added some different shapes instore too so I will definitely be getting some more of those!

Bo Bunny has sooo many gorgeous rub-ons but as I was going to make a little treasure box for my son who is always collecting all sorts of little "treasures", I decided to use the rub-ons from the Zoology line which are just perfect for him!  I started off by giving the box a couple of coats of everyday emulsion paints from one of those little tester pots.

Once that was done I inked all the edges and corners using Ranger Distress Inks.

I used a sort of Modge Podge ( I make my own using PVA glue, a small amount of water and a few drops of glossy accents) to coat the sides and then added some pieces of the Zoology papers with the glue and then adding another coat over the top and one more once that was dried.  I used the rub-ons on the sides and top of the lid as well as some alphabet stickers and then sealed those all in with the Modge Podge too. I even used some of the Modge Podge on the leaves I cut out to make them more hard wearing too, which is definitely needed with those little fingers!

Lastly I just added a few more embelishments and some pewter liquid pearls around the edges of the lid, and this is the finished box :)

 

I had to add that coin brad because Christopher was just oohing and aahing over them when he saw them!  As I said he just loves "treasures" :)

Well Christopher just loves it and was so excited when he saw his name on it and seeing that happiness over something you have made for someone is always the best feeling in the world! :)

Barefoot and Bliss layout!

Ok I have been totally AWOL again I know but in my defence I have been as sick as a dog for the last week!  I am still not feeling wonderful but am at least on the mend :)  I do have a couple of layouts to share though :)  The first is my first layout using the new Barefoot and Bliss!  This range is just so yummy and warm, it really just makes you want to rush off to the beach and lie in the sun!  Of course I will just have to dream of that because even though it is June it is cold and miserable here today!

 

 

Supplies used:
Barefoot & Bliss Barefoot Splash
Barefoot & Bliss Clear Stamps
Barefoot & Bliss Dimensional Stickers
Barefoot & Bliss Rub-ons
Barefoot & Bliss Layered Chipboard
Barefoot & Bliss Noteworthy
Barefoot & Bliss 6x6 Paper Pad
Double Dot Buttercup Dot
Double Dot Brilliant Blue Dot 

Liquid pearls

 

 

Next is a layout done for the Sketch and Scrap group I belong to and it was my turn to choose the sketch this month and this gorgeous sketch from Page Maps is the one I chose.

 

 

 I used Crate Paper Blue Hill Collection and Prima pearls and bling for this beautiful photo of my Granny when she was young and of course I couldn't resist using butterflies!

 

And just a close up of my skew sewing! (It is sooo not a good idea to sew when your head is floating all over the place! ;)

I went to the MEN arena in Manchester on Wednesday to see Styx, Foreigner and Journey in concert and it was soooo Awesome!!  I have liked Journey for years ever since Paul introduced me to them when we first met 15 years ago but Foreigner and Styx were both fantastic too and their energy is totally amazing when you consider how long they have been going!  I was still pretty ill and had no voice so I couldn't cheer or anything but I clapped and danced and waved my arms, it was so much fun!  Paul has been to a few concerts recently but it has been years since I have been to one, but I will most definitely be going to some more as I loved every minute!  Cd's and radios etc just can't compare to the atmosphere and that thumping that you can feel vibrating through the seats and inside you during a live concert, although it did take about an hour for my hearing to return to normal after the concert! :)

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend that hopefully has better weather than we have had the last few days! :)