Daring Cardmakers

Ooh, it's been a while, hasn't it? ;-(  Sometimes life & work just gets right in the way of what you really want / love to do.

Well, I did make this card in plenty of time but only got round to photographing it today so I'll upload it (late) to take part in last week's Daring Cardmakers challenge..... It's all about me!

This week it's Asia here and I would like you to make a card for... yourself! Use your special papers (the ones that you stash away for Queen's birthday and you know you won't use them anyway, because they're too pretty), your favourite stamps and embellishments. Make a card that will stay with you and write inside something that has a meaning to you, that gives you power and energy. Make a card, that you've never got.


Well, I made this card but NOT for me.  It's for someone who is a really lovely lady who has a lot on her plate and I guess needs time in her craft room to grab a little R&R in her daily life.  Can't say who it's for as I've not posted it out yet. But I do hope she likes it when she gets it.

Materials used:
Black cardstock - Luggage label - lace - Thickers & BasicGrey alpas - ribbon - Stickles glitter glue - Prima flowers - DelishDesigns journalling spot - chipboard rectangle - QuickQuotes inkpad

Retro toy - do you remember having one too?

Will has this retro T-Shirt that's orange with a familiar smiley face on it, so when I saw this little fella in John Lewis before Christmas, I couldn't help but buy it for him as a stocking filler from the kids.

You know what it's like.... you're just about to press the shutter and the old bugger bounces out of the frame!

So obviously I had to take another of him sitting still and posing properly for a piccie.

This young lady was desperate to have a go, but as she's so little, it was a bit of a challenge getting on it without it rolling away from her.

Ok, now for a warning....  if you have a muffin top DO NOT pose on a space hopper as it really is NOT a flattering look!

Unfortunately we don't have a picture of Jacob on it for two reasons;
1) He was being his typical teenage hermit self and was ensconced in his bedroom on his XBox.
2) Freya took it out to play in the street and got a puncture!

The puncture was repaired with a leech and seemed to be holding, until.... she bounced on it again the next day and the bloody thing split!  Well, that was £15 well spent don't you think?  It was advertised for being strong enough for adults yet a tiny slip of a 10 year old burst it!

I'd also bought him a 'stress ball' in the shape of a space hopper in the same bright orange but that had a split when he took it out of the packaging on Christmas day!  Obviously not destined for retro fun in this household eh?

Scrapbook page

Kirsty Wiseman runs a Facebook online Cyber Crop page which she used to host via Ustream weekly.  She's set a sketch and a recipe to follow and we'd crop along to her chitter-chatter while we scrapped for 2 hours between typing little notes, quips and giggles in a live chat.

With Christmas and other things that Kirsty's been busy with, she's not had the chance recently to lead the group, so I hijacked it this week with a sketch and recipe.

I wanted to see the following in my recipe:


White background.
Square photograph.
2 different patterned papers.
Chipboard embellishment.
Sentiment and handwritten journalling.
3 brads or buttons.



I chose one of my wedding photos from way back when I was young (20 years old) and slim (size 8).

My chipboard was in the form of some Cosmo Cricket Blackboard and my numbers from Thickers.  The cream ribbon was almost the same colour as my dress which I gathered and ruffled one side while leaving the other end smooth.  This was simply stapled to my page.  I chose a black flower and black numbers and flower accents to contrast with the white background.  I also double matted my photograph onto white and then black.  I chose subtle papers from Prima's Shabby Chic Collection (thanks Steph!) and picked accent colours up from that for my crochet flower and paint streaks. I also used a patterned paper tag from DeLish Designs.  I don't do white space, hence there's not too much here but I did try and keep it to a minimum while still making it lush!

Scrapbook Magazine

Remember this post from November?

Well these two layouts of my daughter have been published on page 12 in issue 52 of Scrapbook Magazine that's on sale now.

I'm really proud to see my work in print and to feature a gorgeous little model that is my beautiful daughter is an added bonus!

The papers were really lovely that were the freebie with issue 50 of the mag and re-delivered my long lost mojo to me when scrapping times were barren.

My copy of the new mag arrived today and it's got some more lovely papers with it, so I may just be creating again!  Go me!!!!!!!

Happy New Year 2011

We hope that 2011 brings you health, happiness, family and friendship.

From Will, Jacob, Freya & myself to you all.

xxx

My son's been promoted!

Some of you may know that my son is in the Air Cadets.  He's been a cadet for just over a year now; joining up the day after his 14th birthday in 2009.

We had his Presentation Evening just before Christmas and he's now been promoted to Corporal.  We were all so proud of him.  Both his grandparents, my sister and brother-in-law as well as our best friends were there with Will, Freya and myself to see him accept his stripes.

Those that know us will also know that we never let the kids have time off school either.  Jacob had been incredibly poorly that week (we've never, in his 15 years seen him so unwell; it was very nearly a trip to the doctors because of his very high temperature!) and he had missed his last day of school before Christmas that day, but point blank refused to miss his Presentation Evening.  He still looked unwell but was determined to take part.

He managed to get through his Continuity Drill but then as they were formed up afterwards he had to be taken out to sit down in the foyer where it was cooler, as he was about to pass out.  He really did look poorly and we ended up outside with him resulting in him missing his first presentation of his Leading Cadet qualification.

Although he started to recover from feeling faint, he still looked unwell and was unable to rejoin his fellow cadets at the front of the hall for the rest of the evening.

He did however, manage to collect his trophy which he was awarded for obtaining the best exam results of the year (he gained a Distinction in his 3 exams to become Leading cadet).  The news of this actually came from RAF Wittering through to his Commanding Officer and he was told on his birthday this year - what a present eh?

When given the opportunity to go and collect his stripes leading to his promotion, the beret was back on again and he managed to march with full pride up to the front of the hall to receive it. (Sorry the photo was blurred, he couldn't march up there quick enough to fetch them!)

Jacob, we are all so incredibly proud of your achievements and continued dedication to your Air Cadet Squadron and fellow Cadets.

Congratulations Corporal Guthrie!

xxxx