December Scrapbook Layouts Nos. 8&9

Hello Everyone

I hope you are well and have had a good weekend. Around here it's been really quiet with not much going on now that the rules have been tightened again to cope with the new variant of Covid. It's such a shame for everyone, especially if their festivities have been cancelled as a result.

Happily for me, I was able to take myself to my craftroom whenever I had a bit of free time and work on pages for my winter album. In fact, I did really well on Sunday and completed these two layouts. 

No.8 - Merry Christmas

The photo is an old one, taken in 2007, of my two youngest grandchildren. They were such a cute pair, they adored each other and were inseparable back then. They are still quite close now they're grown up but no longer inseparable. 

I've added red machine stitching to this page and the bells, stars and poinsettias were fussy cut from a pack of papers that were included in an issue of a now defunct scrapbooking magazine. 

No.9 - Holiday Cheer

Another old photo here. This time from Christmas 2002. It's a rare shot of me with a glass in my hand. Not alcohol, but non-alcoholic mulled wine. We'd just left England and moved up to Scotland to live and I was celebrating getting the tree up and decorated. Moving home just days before Christmas is not to be recommended. 

The die-cut hexagons took time to prepare and I think I could have made a better job of keeping them straight. Too late and I won't be changing it now.

Most of the materials are, like the photos, old but still good. The exceptions are the base papers on both layouts. They are:

Merry Christmas

- 'Holly Jolly' from Photoplay's Tulla & Norbert's Christmas Party collection. 

- 'Tis The Season' from the Holiday Magic collection by Pink Fresh. 

Holiday Cheer

- 'Starry' from 49 and Market's Vintage Ancestry Peace & Joy collection. 

All from Mind the Scrap's December kit. The flairs are from a Christmas set from Dotty About Flair. 

I had a day off yesterday so I'm hoping to do a bit of catching up today. After, that is, domestic duties have been attended to. 

Have a lovely day and stay safe and well. 

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 652

Hello Everyone,

Happy first day of December. This is going to be as quick a post as I can make it because it's going to a be a busy day. 

I'm here to join in with Julia's very popular meme, WOYWW, over on her blog, the Stamping Ground. If you haven't joined in the fun yourself, but would like to, please do. For what to do see here. Julia, and all the deskers, will make you most welcome., I'm sure. 

And, after all that, here's what's on my desk this morning. 

It's not good today. A bit of muddle actually. I'm in the process of sorting through Christmas/Winter stuff to make up a kit for this month's Scrap Backwards challenges. I'm being really ambitious and hoping to scrap a page a day for the whole month! But with my track record it's asking a lot! Under the box there's the sticker sheet that I'm basing the kit on. It's old, one of the main requirements for Scrap Backwards challenges, and it's also very traditional, with lots of red and green in it. The box contains cutfiles, all of which are suitable for December pages. Underneath those two items is the Mind the Scrap kit for December which is too new to include in the kit. And next to that pile is a basket of old Christmas themed embellishments - perfect to include in the kit. In the background is a collection of items that I either hope to use, like the neglected Xyron sticker maker, metallic washi tapes, a huge roll of  cream lacy fabric which I find difficult to find a use for. The items in front of these, in the bowl and piled up by the side are simply frequently used and so essential.

Next is the kitten Silver pic for today. 

No, it's not the wrong way round. The photo was taken as she was looking up at me and planning what naughty thing she could get up to next. Most of her waking hours are spent in doing mischief. Fortunately, like most cats, she sleeps for around sixteen hours a day.

And finally the funnies,

I suspect this is what we have to look forward to this year. 

And maybe this is what we should settle for.

And for those of you who are not cat nuts, something completely different. 

Season's greetings to you all. 

Last week I managed to visit and comment on everyone and I intend to do the same this week though, because I've so much to do, it could take me a few days to get round you all. In the meantime, I wish you all a very happy WOYWW and a great week ahead.

Scrapbook Layouts - 32-34/2021 & St Andrew's Day

Hello Everyone

More scrap pages for the record. All three were made for Shimelle's Half and Half class. 

Distant Cousins

This is my cousin proudly holding her beautiful baby daughter at her christening in 1966. What makes them distant cousins is that the family moved from London to New York shortly after this event. Most of the materials are from Mind the Scrap kits but the black/white check paper is from the Range. 

Fabulous Fifties Fashion

The photos on this page were from an exhibition held at the Lanark visitor Centre. I've scrapped some photos from the exhibition before but I thought these went particularly well with the  papers I chose for the background of this layout. The embossed green cardstock, origin unknown, has been saved in my stash forever and the floral patterned paper is another that came in a Mind the Scrap kit. The clusters of circles were punched out with the only two Stampin' Up circle punches I own. I was very pleased to use a couple of fabric covered brads from Docrafts on this layout, at last.

Leave a Legacy

And this last is the saddest page made in all my 20 plus years of scrapping. I took this photo of my brother just a few weeks before he died of cancer when he was still alert and able to enjoy visits from family. The top photo is of his wife and oldest son who wouldn't appreciate their photos being splashed about the internet. All the materials used are from ancient stash, origin unknown though some definitely came from a local shop that is now closed. 

Tomorrow is, of course, December 1st and I plan to join in with Lisa Sikorski's December Sketch-a-Thon. If your intending to record all/some of the days before Christmas you might like to join in, details can be found on her Facebook site, Scrap A Sketch. It looks like fun - I do like a sketch to get me started. 

And finally before I go, 

Happy St Andrew's Day to all Scots around the world. Enjoy your supper of  haggis, mashed potato and neeps (aka turnip/swede depending which country you're in) 

Have a great day.

Scrapbook Layouts - 29-31/2021

Hello Everyone

I'm back to share more layouts made around May this year when I was taking Shimelle's Half and Half class. Consequently, all three pages have backgrounds made up of two halved sheets of 12x12 paper. 

29. For Sewing

This page records both of my sewing machines and so the paper and embellishments used are appropriately from a collection that is sewing and craft related - Simple Stories, Hey Crafty Girl, 'Makers Gonna Make' and the multicolooured thickers for the title are American Crafts 'Journey'.

30. Pampered Pooch

Again, for this page I've used patterned papers and embellishments that are related to the photo of Mylo the Chocolate Labrador looking very sorry for himself after a shampoo and rinse. Papers from two collections - Echo Park, Meow and Mind the Scrap's kit for May 2021 and thickers for title are 'Holly'from American Crafts. The dog and paw embellishments were cut with Dovecraft's dies. 

31. Life is Better with a Cat

Celebrating the arrival of the newest member of our family, Silver the kitten, born on 13 March 2021, The photos were taken throughout her first week with us when she was just 8 weeks old. The papers are from Mind the Scraps kit for May 2021, the title is a Peartree Cutfile and the kitten stickers from the Echo Park Meow collection. 

And that's it from me today. Short and sweet but will be back with three more layouts very soon.

Take care everyone and stay safe.

Scrapbook Layouts - 26-28 & 16/2021

Evening Everyone,

I hope you have all had a great weekend a lovely Sunday. 

27. Moments Remembered

I spent much of Saturday clearing our bedroom so a flat pack wardrobe could be made up. For me. Up till now we've shared the built-in wardrobe but I'm being squeezed out. Can you believe it,  my husband has more clothes than me!  Today, I've moved my clothes into the new wardrobe. I'm delighted. He's delighted. 

28. Wee Dreamer

After all that, there's not been much time for scrapping but I did grab an hour or so before dinner and was able to complete a page. But that's not what I'm sharing in this post. Instead, I've gone back to the three layouts made in April this year. 

16. Hygge Season 2020

Numbers 27 & 28 were made with supplies included in kits from Mind The Scrap. Number 29 uses materials from one of my favourite collections, Simple Stories, Cozy Days, and it was made following Shimelle's Half and Half class. 

I'm putting together an album which is all about my childhood, just for me, and that's where the first layout will be filed.  The photo is of the shop where my two brothers and I spent our pocket money on sweets every Saturday. I found it so difficult to choose which sweets I loved best. The front of the shop  was also where the mobile library parked  every Thursday. Choosing books from there was almost as difficult as choosing sweets. 

The photo in the second layout is of my gorgeous grandson. Callum is autistic and finds loud noises hard to tolerate, hence the headphones. I think this photo of him wearing them is simply beautiful. 

In the last layout I've used a photo of a vase of Autumn foliage and berries because they herald the onset of winter that's just around the corner. Here in Scotland winter comes sooner rather than later and when it does, we do what the Danes do, we hunker down, stay cosy and count the days to Spring. 

To date I've completed just over 60 pages this year. Nothing like the 200 I'd hoped for but then that was probably totally unrealistic. Not to worry. I plan to share with you, and so probably bore you to death, all the remaining pages from No. 29 onwards, in batches of three, until I'm caught up. 

In the meantime, I wish you a very goodnight. I'm off to bed. 

Edit Note: I've just discovered that what I thought was Number 29 is, in fact, Number 16 and has appeared in this blog sometime before. That's what happens when I try to blog from my mobile phone!

Bye for now,

Elizabeth

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 636

Hello Everyone,

Miracle of miracles, I'm finding time to join in with What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, Julia's weekly get-together of crafty people. 

This shot was taken last night, just as I'd finished the layout and was off to bed. What a mess. You wouldn't think that the desk was very tidy before I started putting the layout together, but it was. The problem is, I pull out and rehearse so many papers, inks, stickers, embellishments, etc., before I settle on what goes well with what. And the rejects just pile up. Chaos!

This is the finished page. The photos are of my daughter's first day out of hospital. After weeks in the prem unit she was considered well enough to come home. She weighed a tiny 5lbs 5ozs and was no bigger than a doll. She turned 50 last week! 

Materials used were: base patterned paper from P13s Sugar & Spice O2; other patterned papers from Bella BLVD's My Candy Girl Collection, 'Bubble Beauty' and Cocoa Vanilla's Happiness Collection, 'Expressive'. The cutfile is from Peartree Cutfiles. Stencil from Clarity Stencils. Inks are Heidi Swapp Color Shine in 'Hot Pink' and 'Sweet Mint' and Tim Holtz Distress Ink in 'Picked Raspberry'. Stickers from Simple Stories I Am collection, Tim Holtz Idea-ology 'Chitchat'; Vicki Boutin Sticker book and sequins both from MTS Kits. 

Sequins! More sequins than I am likely to use in my lifetime! But aren't they pretty? In the interests of enabling they are from Craft Medley Creative Essentials, purchased in a mixed media kit from Mind The Scrap. They look good enough to eat. Note to self: keep away from the kitten. 

And talking of the kitten:

Up to mischief, as usual, trying to snatch Alan's yarn and needles. 

And finally, a funny:

And that's me again for this week. I will, as usual, try to visit everyone but I can't make any promises. My playtime is somewhat limited these days but I'll do my best. 

Have a great WOYWW and a wonderful week. 

WOYWW Week 634

Hello Everyone,

Well, it's been an age since I felt I could participate in Julia's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday and be able to leave comments too. Now that I'm my hubby's full-time carer, time is scarce but I've managed to carve out some craft time this week. 

And look what's on my desk. Another reason why scrapping has become a very slow process. Silver can't resist moving pictures, especially any that feature fingers, and inevitably these are in most craft process demos on YouTube. I did finally complete the page she's sitting on this afternoon. 

I made this for the Summer Challenge at Mind The Scrap over on Facebook. It's made from a combination of leftover scraps, a patterned paper, a Vicki Bouton Hexagon stencil and white puffy alpha stickers from various MTS kits. All other materials, except the bee, from old stash.

The bee is from one of Bramble Fox's lovely collections, so nice I simply could not resist. There goes the spending freeze I've been on for ages. The others are cameras - I always think that you can't have too many camera embellishments - and seagulls. Living in a seaside town seagulls are a fact of life. They are also noisy, dirty and downright dangerous during the breeding season but a sea themed page wouldn't be right without them. 

That's me done. It's good to be back and I will do my best to comment where I can even if it takes me all week. 

Scrap Page 21/2021

 Hello Everyone

Many thanks for visiting today and for all the lovely comments. Your continued support is much appreciated. I hope all is well with you wherever you are.

This page, from early March, was made almost entirely with scraps leftover from the MTS February kit.  The flower embellishments were fussy cut from packaging. The little camera is from a Nicole Jones 911 digital file. The photo is one of the few ever taken of me with my brothers and sisters together and dates back to May 1967 when we were all so very young. 

That's it from me today.

Take care.

Scrap Page 20/2021

 Hello Everyone

Many thanks for visiting today and for all the lovely comments. Your continued support is much appreciated. I hope all is well with you wherever you are.

This page, like the last one posted, was created way back in February. The layout is based on a beautiful Pear Tree Cutfile, simply backed by a very pink Cupid & Co paper, and one of my favourite photos of my youngest grandchild, Shari-Ann. She was just one year old at the time. Hard to believe she will be eighteen in a couple of weeks. Sigh. 

The Cupid & Co papers were in MTS February Scrap kit and embellishments from old stash. 

That's it from me today.

Take care.

Scrap Pages 16, 17 & 18/2021 - International Scrapbooking Weekend

Hello Everyone,

Welcome again to my blog and thanks for dropping in.  This is not just a post celebrating International Scrapbooking Weekend - yes, 1st of May was officially International Scrapbooking Day but, of course, the fun stretched over the entire weekend - but the pages I'm sharing today are the first of those I've created with the help of Shimelle's new online class, Half and Half .

Hygge Season 2020

I can't get away from how Covid has, over the last year, quite dramatically changed our life. Normally, we would have spent much of autumn outdoors visiting our favourite places and enjoying the last of the warmer days before winter set in but not in 2020. This page is my way of recording how very different it all was. That life was all about staying in, being cosy and keeping myself busy with books and hobbies. The papers and stickers used are mainly from Photoplay's 'Heart & Home' and 'The New Normal' collections. I used American Crafts' thickers 'Grove' and 'Sorbet' for the title. 

Settling Into the New Patch

My page for Shimelle's second class feature photos taken of our late cat, Bonnie, as, when we moved into our new home, she got to know her new prowling ground. I enjoyed making this page - it brought back happy memories and I got to use some very old (2015) papers from Echo Park's 'Meow' collection as well as some from a newer collection, 'Playful Pets'. The title is made up from some very old (2012) Pebbles thickers, 'ABC', the black American Crafts' 'Sorbet' and red stickers from Echo Park's 'Meow' collection. Many of the embellishments are from the same collections but a few are from old stash.

Best Foot Forward 

And my favourite layout from the weekend. It features photos of my gorgeous little great-grandaughter Lacie setting out on her first day at primary school. I just love everything about this page from the  beautiful striped paper - Dear Lizzy Stay Colorful 'Awesome Possum', the water colouring with Vicki Boutin powdered pigments, the stamping with  Amy Tangerine's 'Brave & Bold' stamp set, to the title made up from a combination of  Pink Fresh's 'Noteworthy' puffy stickers and American Crafts' sparkly black 'Tuxedos & Tiaras' thickers.

I do struggle to find time to scrap at the moment so I'm delighted to be keeping up, more or less, with Shimelle's class. I enjoy watching her videos and being inspired to step out of my comfort zone and do something different. Apart from anything else, it brings variety to the contents of my scrapbook albums and that is no bad thing. 

Hopefully, I'll be back again soon with a few more pages, just for the record.

In the meantime, I hope you are all well, you've had a great Bank Holiday weekend, and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.

Scrap Pages 06 & 07/2021 - Patched and Mended & Forever Missed

Afternoon Everyone,

Scrapbooking, or I should say posting about it - has taken a back seat recently but I'm still intent on creating at least 200 pages this year. And so far the count is up to 21 - those of you on Instagram may have seen them already but for the record here's Nos. 6 & 7.

Patched and Mended

This layout was prompted by Mind The Scrap's Make Do and Mend January cybercrop, hence the photo of the elbow patch made from recycled denim that I sewed on to a much worn but much loved sweater. The papers are from Photoplay's Heart & Home collection and the embellishment are mostly from the huge stash I've accumulated here in the craftroom. 

Forever Missed

This page is a tribute to my late brother Douglas. I particularly love this photo of him which was taken a year or two before he died, when he was still in relative good health. The papers used to mat the photo are the leftover scraps from a 2020 Mind the Scrap kit. I used a very old black liquid watercolour - Aquatint ink - from Spectrum Noir to paint the stripes. Also for some of the spatters as well as Heidi Swapp's Color Shine Gold. The embellishments are all from stash including the die-cut butterflies and the giant black and gold sequins made with the WRMK sequin punch, a fairly recent acquisition. One of Douglas's interests was beekeeping hence the tiny stamped bees. 

That's it for today. I have a poorly husband that needs TLC and a chicken pot au feu in the slow cooker that needs to be watched. 

Take care and stay safe. 

Scrap Pages 04 & 05/2021 - Ebony & We Are Family

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for stopping by. I'm back with two more scrap pages. 

Ebony

I've gone back in time again, but not quite so far as with the last page here. The photos in this page only go back two years when Ebony was just a puppy. An adorable one at that. She's still a lovely very lovable and friendly dog now, one that would happily like you to death should you ever have the pleasure of meeting her. 

Materials used: tartan paper form a Carta Bella collection and the paw printed one from Stampin' Up. As is becoming usual the embellishment clusters are made up from my ancient stash - sources long forgotten. Punches used: a corner rounder and two small circle punches (1" & 1.25").

We are Family

And yet another old photo - 2013. This time one of my son-in-law and the two youngest of my grandchildren out on a bike ride to Portencross, a hamlet near Farland Head on North Ayrshire's coast. Not seen, because someone had to take the photo, is my daughter. ... isn't it always the case that the photographer is the one never seen. 
 

Materials used: the patterned papers are leftovers from an old Mind The Scrap kit and the title banner is years old - from an old autumnal collection, I think. the embellishments are a mix of new, also from a MTS kit, and ancient. The pink view finders are available as a digital file from NicoleJones911. 

I wish I could give more details about much of the materials used but my memory does not serve me well. Although, I'm still treating myself to paper and mixed media kits - there's a limit to self-sacrifice even for me - I have, for the time being, decided that there will be no more purchases of embellishments, thickers and stickers. Not until a serious dent has been made into the ridiculous amount that is taking up valuable space in my craft room! 

I trust you are having a good day - it's Friday, usually, and still surely, a reason to smile - and I wish you all a lovely weekend.

Take care and stay safe. 

Scrap Page 02/2021 - Snow Today

 Hello Everyone, 

Thanks for stopping by. Wherever you are I hope you are having a good day. It's not too bad here - the sun's out, it's dry, but it's still very frosty. Spring doesn't seem so far away now so I've given this blog a new, brighter, cheerier header - hopefully a sign of better days to come!

My craft space hasn't seen a lot of action recently but I did manage to make this scrap page using a Spoonful of Scraps challenge from December, #3, for inspiration. 

For this page I've left the Christmas pics behind, I said I would in this post and I have, and moved on to January, winter and the garden. We don't get a lot of snow here on the west coast of Scotland ... it's being so near the sea ... so when we do you might spot me doing a little celebratory dance. Of course, I have to take a pic for the record too. This one is dated 29 Jan 2019. 

Materials used: papers - 'Flannel' from the Heart & Home Collection from PhotoPlay (background), 'Merry Everything' from Pinkfresh's Oh What Fun collection and 'Sweet December' from Crate Paper's Hey Santa collection, and Heidi Swapp's Make Pretty Stuff 'Today' paper for the title. Other materials used - Winsor & Newton's blue watercolour, and sticker embellishments from the earlier mentioned PhotoPlay Collection. All other embellishments, title letters, etc., are from old stash, including enamel dots

That's it from me today. I'm making no promises but I'm hoping to be back tomorrow for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday. It's a plan. 

In the meantime, I hope you are all well and wish you happy crafting.

The First Post of the Year - Daybreak Photo & Scrap Page 01/2021

Hello Everyone,

We're in a new year and hopefully things are going to improve for us all. Time will tell but I certainly felt a bit more positive today, probably because the sky at daybreak was this beautiful. 

It has been a cool, crisp winter day too so I managed to get out for a short, very short, walk - the first for many weeks. There's nothing like a bit of fresh air to make me feel cheery. 

And here's the first scrap page of the year too. The theme of this layout is how early signs of Christmas appear in our shops each year - it seems it gets earlier every year. The photos on this page were taken in November 2012 but I spotted festive fare on the shelves in our local supermarket as early as September in 2020. By my reckoning that means it's only 9 months to next Christmas! 

All papers are from the December kit from Mind The Scrap and the embellishments are from old stash. The layout is from a Scrapbook Page Maps sketch by Becky Fleck and the idea for the page is from the Festive Flavours Event, #1, at A Spoonful of Scraps - a Facebook challenge site.

I think that's me done with Christmas pages for now. I'll be looking at scrapping winter themed photos - I'm looking forward to using quite a different colour palette - cool blues, whites and silvers instead of all those reds, greens and golds. 

That's it from me today. I'll be back again tomorrow with the first of my cards for the Christmas Card  Club Challenge tomorrow. 

In the meantime, I hope you are all well and happy crafting.