To Travel Is To Live - A Scrapbook Layout

Hello Everyone,

The third layout using another of the homemade kits I put together last year. After sorting through our massive photo collection and filing them into albums that only had spaces for photos that are 6x4, or smaller, in size left me with a pile of and panoramic and oversized photos needing a home. The photo on the layout is one of them ... it's of my husband, taken in Southern Ireland in 1999. It shows the mist rising up from the hills on a perfect Irish morning.

The base of this layout is a fabulous Webster's Pages paper showing fluffy white clouds on a beautiful blue sky. I've been stroking this paper for a very long time - two years at least - but it proved to be a difficult paper to use on a layout. Until, that is, I found this photo. The sky is not an exact match but I think it's near enough for me to get away with it. 

So here's a list of supplies used.

Base Paper - 'Journey Begins' from Webster's Pages Our Travels collection
Papers used for layering the photo and making embellishments - all from Simple Stories You Are Here collection (2016)
Stickers - Bo Bunny - the wavy multi-coloured strip below the photo; Simple Stories You Are Here 'Expressions' Stickers; Webster's Pages 'Sprinkled With Love'
Alphas - turquoise letters from Simple Stories Snap! Studio Brights; pale orange from previously mentioned 'Expressions' sticker sheet
Ink used to edge everything - Tim Holtz Distress Ink Weathered Wood 
Punches used to cut the three circles in each of the three embellishment clusters - Stampin' Up 1¼" & 1" circles
Enamel dots - Simple Stories So Fancy; Echo Park Petticoats & Pinstripes; Docrafts Papermania  Orange Neon Gems

The flower motif and the orange camera were fussy cut out from journaling cards in the Simple Stories collection and the small camera was cut from a Project Life card

The title is a quote from Hans Christian Anderson and the 'I haven't been everywhere ...', which was already printed on one of the Simple Stories papers, is from Susan Sontag.

I'm undecided what to do next. Should I make another layout or should I get my sewing machine out, or should I make a Valentine's card for a certain someone tomorrow ... oops! I think I've just answered my own question!

Sunday Snippets - A Beery Male Card

Hello Fellow Snippeteers,

And welcome, too, to my new followers - hope you enjoy my crafty prattlings!

I'm still on 'clean up craftroom' duty but took a little time out to make this quick and simple to make card for my Grandson's birthday.

It's his 29th. I don't know how it's happened but the last 29 years have passed in a flash and he's gone from cute baby to a daddy himself in the blink of an eye. One of his passions is playing pool - I'm told he's not half bad at it too - and because that usually entails the partaking of a pint or two I thought this topper was quite appropriate.

Supplies used:

- a white A6 card blank from Docrafts Papermania

- snippets of Kraft and brown card trimmed to size for matting and layering

- Kanban male themed topper and greeting

I did say it was simple to make, didn't I?

It's a snippet card so I'm off to check in to Pixie's Snippet Playground and catch up with what Di and Parsnip are up to today.

Before I go, I'm sitting here looking at the most gorgeous golden/red sunset.

The real thing is so much better then this photo but it is the best I can do with the camera I have. Still, I hope it gives you some idea of just how lucky we are living on the west coast of Scotland ... we get the pick of the skies!  That's a telephone wire right in front of my window. Birds congregate there periodically during the day, twittering, tweeting, gossiping and bickering and I have a front row seat to it all. 

Right, that's it for today. I wish you all a very good evening, or morning, depending on where you are. 

A Snippet Card

Morning Everyone,

Here's a close up of the card that was lying on top of my keyboard in yesterday's WOYWW post.

The topper was made entirely of bits and bobs from stash, including a recycled hedgehog image fussy cut from a card received one birthday. I thought it far too cute to toss.The white die-cut oval was a gift from a friend - also received a couple of years ago. The purple spot patterned paper is from the Heather Paper Pack by Docrafts Papermania from 2010. I can't believe how old some of my stash is which is why I'm trying to use it all up before I even think of buying new! The ribbon and lace came out of a box of snippets and the textured green card the topper is matted on to is also a snippet, albeit a largish one, again from Docrafts.

I've deliberately not added a greeting. That can be added later when I've decided on the occasion and the recipient.

It's been a while but, having used those snippets, I'm submitting this card to Pixie's Snippets Playground.

I'm sitting here surrounded by boxes containing card scraps, old paper pads - mostly 6"x 6" - and ribbon and lace snippets. There's also a shoe box filled with all sorts of images and inked pieces (UFOs) that I'm sure would make lovely card toppers. The plan is to bottom these boxes, or at least make quite a dent on the contents, before they are tidied away again.

First, I think I need a cuppa!

Hope you all have a lovely crafty day .

A Sunday Snippet & Rudolph Day Card

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the weekend so far. We have, for the most part, been enjoying the hot, sunny weather, though today is cooler and overcast. A temporary condition I hope.

As you can imagine, this has meant very little time for crafting, and therefore blogging about it, but I do have a card to share today.

It's made from several snippets, one of which is admittedly quite a sizeable scrap of card, and is Christmas themed so perfect for both Di's Snippet Challenge over on Pixie's Crafty Workshop and ScrappyMo's Rudolph Day Challenge on Scraps of Life by ScrappyMo!

How the card was made:

• I cut a card base from a sheet of American Crafts card in blue. This was easy because all I did was cut a 12" x 12" sheet in half and fold it. Hey presto! One card blank. 
• The snowflake topper was cut using one of the Chinese dies bought from eBay and that scrap of white pearlised cardstock from Papermilldirect.  
• Next, I adhered the die-cut to the base front using liquid glue dotted behind parts of the design that were more solid - a fiddly job but worth the effort.
• The Let It Snow! greeting (Docrafts Penelope & Percy Christmas Greetings stamp set) was made by stamping a snippet of the same pearlised cardstock using a Memento ink pad in Danube Blue. 
• I then matted the greeting on to another piece of the American Crafts cardstock and adhered it to the card front using sticky pads to add dimension.
• Finally, Papermania Aqua Dew Drops provide the finishing touch to all four corners of the card front. 

The snowflake die makes a lovely addition to a card but I did find that once cut this particular cardstock, which is quite heavy at 300gsm, wasn't easy to remove from the die. I should have prepared the die by wiping a tumble drier sheet over it - that might have helped.

That's it for now.  I hope you've had a lovely Sunday.

Sunday Snippet Card

Evening Everyone,

Wishing all my US friends a Happy Mother's Day - I hope you've had a truly wonderful day.

I've made a birthday card to share. I made it entirely from scraps and snippets for Di's fortnightly challenge over at Pixie's Snippets Playground.

Here's how it was made:

• the card base, measuring 5¾" x 4¼"  was made from a scrap, an admittedly large one, of Docrafts Kraft cardstock.
• the topper was constructed using a snippet of lilac Coordinations card, embossed using the Folksy Circle (Sizzix) folder, trimmed to fit the front just leaving a tiny margin of Kraft showing. 
• A die-cut greeting, made with a die purchased from China through Ebay and another snippet, this time white satin finish cardstock, was glued to the centre of the embossed design.
• to finish, the card was decorated with a dragonfly, stamped and die cut, Creative Dies Dragonfly Die & Stamp Set, from the same scrap of white satin finish cardstock and also from a tiny scrap of leftover lilac Coordinations, and three paper roses, from Wild Orchid Crafts - very old stash!

A couple of close ups of the dragonfly. Silicone gel was used to achieve the dimension.

It's not often I can say that a card was made entirely from scraps but this one certainly was.

Happy Crafting,

A little Christmas duo

Evening Folks

Well, it's evening in Scotland and it will be morning somewhere else - perhaps where you are. Wherever that is, I hope you are well.

Today has been a special day for me, as it has been every year of my life. It's the day I remember the fallen  and the heroes of two world wars - especially those in my family. My great-grandfather, who served in WWI - he survived but only just, returning home suffering from the effects of gas inhalation, and my two great-uncles who fought in WWII and, tragically, died. They have never been, nor ever will be, forgotten.

That said, on to what I've been up to in the craft room this afternoon.

It's not a lot - just a wee Christmas tag and matching re-covered notebook set which I thought would make a nice little stocking filler for someone.

The paper is a vintage design from Hot of The Press. I've trimmed each item with ecru cotton lace trim,  chipboard shapes from Docrafts, and poinsettias.

I covered the label, front and back, with the DP, inked the edges with red ink then added the embellishments to the front only.

To cover the notebook, I removed the original cover and used it for a template to cut out the DP, then glued it to the cover - this gives the cover extra strength - before adding the decoration.

List of materials used:
Manila label, size #5 (4¾"x23/8") 
Small memo/note pad - I found these in Asda.
Design paper, Hot of The Press, Christmas Vintage
Chipboard shapes from Docrafts Papermania's Noel collection
Ink, Tim Holtz distress ink, Festive Berries
Ecru cotton lace trim, red/white bakers' twine, Wild Orchid Crafts red poinsettias, gold edged red satin ribbon, red dew drops, tiny red/white alphas - all from stash.

Just a quick share - I'm off to have a cuppa and spend a bit of sofa time watching a film with the EM.

Thanks for popping in. Take care all, keep crafting, and I'll be back, hopefully tomorrow.