A Year In My Life Album & In A Vase On Monday

Hello Everyone,

I hope you had a great weekend. It's been a quiet one here but that's okay - quiet gave me the time to make a few more Christmas cards, wrap a few presents, and check my 'to do' list to see what still needs to be done. And it's plenty!!!

One of the projects coming up is to complete an album recording a year in my life ... starting tomorrow, my 69th birthday. Why this particular birthday? Well, for no better reason than I'm saying goodbye to my sixties and I think it's a year that I should record.

This is the album I've chosen - I thought the cover was very appropriate. As you can see it will be a project life style but, as I'm not very good at sticking to anything too prescribed, the papers I'll be using will not be from any particular collection. Instead, I'll be mixing it up by choosing from the huge amount of fabulous paper and cardstock I've been acquiring for years. It won't bother me that the patterns are not current, after all those I have were chosen because I liked them. In fact, it's going to be a very good way of using up stuff I have had for ages.

The list you can see is a note of the week beginnings and endings to keep me right ... I could get very muddled without it. The plan is that each week will take up only one side of a Design A insert (Becky Higgins). I think that will be easier/more manageable than trying to keep it up on a daily basis. It should be fun,both  to make and to look back on when I get to my 79th birthday!!!

I don't plan to join in with Cathy's meme this week because, having a cold, I haven't been out foraging today. However, not to disappoint those of you who pop in to see my In A Vase On Monday I thought  I'd show you this little arrangement put together during the week just gone.

There's eucalyptus, ivy, skimmia berries and two rosebuds, one from 'Simply The Best' and the other 'Hot Chocolate'. Oh, and a cutting from the Christmas tree that grows by the driveway gate. I don't know how long it has been growing there but it must be a lot of years because it it huge - too big to bring indoors!

Time I got back to Christmas card making now.

Take care everyone.

 

Cornwall - Happy Memories In The Making

Hello Everyone,

Before I go on with this post I'd like to just say to the people of Paris, and of France, mes pensées sont avec vous aujourd'hui - my thoughts are with all of you today. I am so shocked and saddened by last night's atrocities.

I've been in my crafty den for much of the week, taking sanctuary while Storm Abigail does her worst! Admittedly, I've made only two cards - no photos yet, the light has been dire, so will share them another time - but I have several scrap layout photos which I can share today.

Twenty years ago, long before I discovered scrapping, and not long after we met, the EM and I took our first holiday together. Needless to say, we took dozens of photos but they've been tucked away in a drawer ever since. The design for this layout is based on Shimelle's Sketch Twenty-Two from 2013 ... I flipped the sketch to accommodate the photo's portrait orientation. Sitting for this particular photo is almost obligatory when visiting Land's End!

As there are so many photos, I've put together two double-sided pocket pages.

I find Project Life photo pocket pages make such a difference the speed with which I am able to get a lot of photos into albums without having to create too many 12" x 12" pages. Don't get me wrong, I love creating lovely 12" x 12"  pages but if I were stick to just that size most of my mahoosive collection of photos would never make it into an album.

Wherever we go, I pick up leaflets and maps from the Tourist Information Centres, bring them home and then just store them away in a box. As they are so much part of our holiday memories thisI've long thought this is not the most ideal way of storing them. However,it occurred to me, a light bulb moment!, that I could create a pocket on the reverse of the 12 x 12 layout in which to store them. I'll be doing this on every holiday layout now.

Materials used:
Papers and Cut Apart Stickers - Echo Park Summer Bliss; Simple Stories Hello Baby; Carta Bella Hello Again
Alphas and Rub Ons - Kaisercraft, Ivory Sticker Sheet and Journey RubOns
Template - Kiwi Lane Sentiments
Enamels - Marianne Green & Orange pack

Take care everyone and stay safe,

Lavender Wishes

Hi Folks

I'm still following through on my decision to use the leftovers up immediately, instead of chucking them on to the snippet mountain to be used some day, never ... so here's a card made from the bits left over from the lavender card and bookmark set posted a couple of days ago. This is definitely one for Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground :)

The topper sheet printed from the Pamela West CD has enough images for two cards - this is the second, layered up on to some snippets of background paper, and simply added to a white scalloped edge card base. A few embellishments for the finishing touch, et voila! we have a card.

Inside and back were decorated with leftovers too.
 
Material used: 

• white scalloped edged base card
• leftover images and papers printed from Pamela West CD
• black ProMarker - run round the edges of the layers to add definition
• Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad and Greeting stamp from a Docrafts set, name unknown
• lilac organza ribbon, purple Vintage Berries card candi from stash 

Weather update - it's been dreadful! Lots of heavy showers and the temperature is definitely a few degrees less than it was.

Garden update - everything is looking a bit sorry for itself after the deluge :(

Project life album update - it's coming along nicely, definitely a speedier option than trying to scrap every photo in my collection. And I like the flexibility of the process, e.g. important documents can be put in page protectors and slipped in close to relevant photos and 12 x 12 scrap pages can be created and also be inserted alongside the photos. It's going to provide a comprehensive family history once it's complete.

Aha! The EM has just brewed so I'm off to have a cuppa. 

Hope you are enjoying better weather wherever you are. Take care and happy crafting,