WOYWW Week 899/119 - Scrapbooking Supplies

Hello Everyone

Happy What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday. I hope you've had a lovely week whatever you've been doing, and whatever the weather you've been enduring. Up here in my corner of Scotland it's been cooler but dry forcing me to get the watering can out again. It could be worse. Heavens, it has been worse, so I'm not complaining!

On my desk today a pile of photos. Just a fraction of my entire collection. It's only too evident that I am never going to scrap them all. But, I will do my best. For me it's the photos that come first when it comes to what I need for scrapbooking. That being said, the supplies used in making pages are many and varied. I know I go on about being on a spending freeze because of how much stash I have already but the requirements for scrapbooking are many and varied. For those who are not scrappers, but who might want to give it a go one day, here is a glimpse of just some of what I use in the making of pages.

Cardstock in various colours. Great for backing photos and layouts. Not absolutely essential as a starter, many of the plainer patterned papers make good starting points too.   

Patterned paper. I'd say this is absolutely essential. It can be bought loose or in themed packs. Often the packs contain other supplies, e.g. sheets of stickers, journaling elements, labels, etc.  The sheets can be single or double-sided. I prefer double-sided as it gives more choice. 

Letters, often referred to as 'alphas', and word stickers for creating titles. There are other supplies not shown in this photo - die-cut sets, stamp sets and even ready-made acrylic words to name a few.  

Sticker sheets and books used to create embellishment clusters. Oh, there are so many available to the avid scrapper like me. I'd say they are the sweeties of the scrapping world and just as hard to resist!!!

Die-cuts. Almost as hard to resist as stickers. These can be purchased ready-made in packs or they may be cut out using dies with a die-cutting machine. Alternatively, they can be fussy-cut from pretty patterned papers or downloaded printables that are specifically designed for cutting out. 

And last, but not least, the finishing touches. What some scrapbookers refer to as 'confetti'. For example: enamel dots, rhinestones, pearls, stencils, inks, washi tapes, punches, dies, stamps, Nuvo drops, wooden embellishments. Pens! I've almost forgotten the pens that are essential for journaling.

It's a lot for anyone contemplating becoming a scrapbooker. Be warned! As I know only too well, supplies have a way of multiplying! 

However, it's worth it to be able to create layouts like this one. Another first of the monthly pages for my 2023 album. This time for the month of March. The photos are a wee selection of those taken on walks and a trip to Glasgow during the month. Of course Silver had a starring role. 

She's been busy distracting me from finishing this post this morning. She wants to play.

How can I resist!

And finally a few funnies that I think are appropriate for today.

It's another long post today so if you have got this far this week give yourself another pat on the back. Next week is the big 900 and I'm so looking forward to seeing all your 00 memories. Such fun!  As usual, if you don't already do so, I urge you to join in with WOYWW. You can do this by clicking on this link, Sarah's Craft Shed, where you will be made most welcome.

Take care and have a fabulous week.

Elizabeth

December Scrapbook Layout No.7

Hello Everyone,

Another day nearer Christmas and another page for the record. 

This one has a photo of our beach taken in one of the few dry days we had in December 2019. The kind of day that, after days of being stuck indoors, makes a walk along the promenade so refreshing. 

Materials:

- Plain white cardstock, Mind The Scrap.

- 'Starry Night' stencil, The Dusty Attic.

- Tim Holtz distress ink, 'Iced Spruce'.

- Patterned paper pad, The Works Make & Create Contemporary Christmas 'Happy Holidays' collection; 'Reach for the Stars' from the Bella BLVD To The Moon collection; scraps of papers left over from previous pages. 

- Cutfile from Peartree Cutfile Designs.

- Snowman fussy cut from a other leftover. 

- The number 7 stamped from an old woodmounted set, origin unknown.

- Shapes: stars die-cut from silver card; circles punched from paper from the same pad as used to make banners. 

- Dies from Docraft's 'Stars' nesting die set.

This layout owes a lot to yet another of Lisa Sikorski's sketches. I think I was lucky to find papers that so matched the photo. It made putting the page together a pleasure. 

Hopefully I'll be back soon with yet another page in this winter album series of posts. 

Take care and stay cosy. 

Bye for now,

Elizabeth

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 653

Hello Everyone,

The days seem to be flying by now we are in December. I suppose it's because we're on the run up to Christmas and there's so much to do. But, hopefully, there's still time to join Julia over on the Stamping Ground for this week's WOYWW. 

My desk yesterday teatime after finishing the fifth page for this year's winter album. I used the stamp set for the number five, stamped with the green ink pad in the background beside the Brushos used to create the messy background. There's also a few bits and bobs but really it doesn't look too bad. But don't believe it ... there's more.

Yes, this is the hideous mess deliberately avoided when I took the first pic. And they say the camera doesn't lie! I could liken that pile at the back to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The pic lying on top of the front pile is ready to be scrapped next. First, a tidy up is in order. 

Now it's time for the kitten.

She's having a lazy morning. Could be because it's raining out. 

And now the funnies. 

Have a wonderful WOYWW everyone and a very good week too. 

Christmas Card Club Challenge - Anything Goes

Hello Everyone,

You might notice this blog is looking a bit different this week. I've brought back a  festive header from a previous year. I'd like to say it's because I'm getting into the spirit of the season but it's just not so - well, not yet! 

And here we are at the last Christmas Card Club Challenge of the year - sad or what? Especially sad for me because I'm way behind on the card count this year. Must try better next year. 

Today's theme is 'Anything Goes' so here's my offering. 

Just the one today but it has an interesting story behind it. I'd just completed a scrap page based on a sketch designed by Lisa Sikorski on her Facebook group, Scrap-a-Sketch, when it occurred to me that with a tweak or two it could provide the base for a card. 

I substituted a topper with a stamped greeting, from Docraft's Penelope & Percy 'Christmas Greetings' set, in cranberry ink for the photo. Matted in navy cardstock. Two lengths of the patterned paper, - the red is 'Blitzen Turtle Doves' from BoBunny's Blitzen Collection and the navy is 'Reach for the Stars' from Bella BLVD's To the Moon collection - made the vertical strips. The small circles were punched from the navy paper and 'Icon Dot Mistletoe' from Making Memories Mistletoe collection - one that's been in my stash since 2009!  The poinsettia is one leftover from the scrap page.

This is the scrap page featuring a photo taken of our frozen birdbath on a very frosty morning. Being so near the seaside, we don't get much snow but it does get cold, very cold, in winter. When we lived in Derbyshire it was claimed that Scotland was at least 6 degrees colder, always, no matter what the time of year it was. How true that is I'm not sure, but it certainly feels true! 

And talking about how cold it is, I hope any of you caught up in the power cuts caused by Storm Arwen are managing to keep warm and safe.

As usual, I encourage you to check out the cards made by the other members of the Christmas Card Club - the are linked on the sidebar to the right. 

Take care everyone and bye for now. 

Elizabeth

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 - 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 650

Hello Everyone,

I've been trying to write this post for Julia's WOYWW all day and been singularly unsuccessful! However, I'm determined to get back into some sort of regular posting, starting today. So here's what's on my desk. 

Just some stuff I've been trying to make pages. As it's November it's been my intention to create as many autumnal pages as possible. I think I've made two, or it could be three. Hardly worthy of an entry into the Guinness Book of Records. But for my record here they are.

The last one was actually started in February 2017! Over four years ago!! And that's got to be some sort of record - a bad one. I just got stuck on how to progress with the layout so it got consigned to the WIP pile ... for four years! And I still haven't written the journaling. Shameful really. 

And now, the kitten. 

She's into everything now and I'll swear she's determined to climb every tree in the garden. 

And finally the funnies, all based on Silver's endearing little ways:

Whew! That's me done. Now I'm off to see what Julia and all the lovely deskers had in their desks today. 

Take care everyone,

Bye for now

Elizabeth

What's In Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 644

Hello Everyone,

It's been a few weeks since I've joined in with you all over at Julia's WOYWW - again! I hate missing any week but, as often as not, I can't make it in time. So, I think it's something of a win for me if, like this evening, late as it is, I get to join in the fun. 

And here's what's on my desk today. Time to craft, like blogging, is also very limited but I've not lost the need to create when there's a few minutes to spare so, perhaps foolishly, I've signed myself up for Youtuber Nicole Jones 911's latest Scrap-A-Thon class. This involves a challenge to create a scrap page a day for the entire month of October. I've completed the first and am working on the second so, no surprise, I'm already behind but there's no pressure to keep up - thank goodness. 

Here's the first of the challenge pages marking our Silver Anniversary this year. The papers and embellishments are mainly from Photoplay's 'Heart & Home' Collection and everything else from stash. 

I've also been invited to join a Facebook group, Scrap Backwards, formed with the intention that we use up old stash, in particular all the sheets of stickers we've amassed over the years. The idea is to create a mini kit - just big enough to make approximately four pages - based on the colours in the chosen sticker sheet. Here's the first kit I've put together.

The sticker sheet, Simple Stories 'You Are Here',from 2016 has been little used since purchase - mainly because we've never been anywhere tropical. However, I've been persuaded more recently that it's okay to use embellishments out of context. And proving, as if proof were needed, I'm a paper hoarder one of the patterned papers chosen is dated 2005! 

One of the reasons I'm so late to the party today is because of this little kitten. We had to take Silver to the vet for a pre-op check-up. She's scheduled to be neutered next Tuesday. 

That's her recovering from the trauma of the car trip to and fro - she hates being stuck in a carrier and cries all the way. 

That's it from me this week. Looking forward to checking out your desks this evening, or more probably over the next few days.

Have a lovely creative week and take care everyone. 

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 637

Hello Everyone

Happy Wednesday and happy WOYWW too. Goodness! I'm tickled pink to be here for the second week in a row, joining in with the weekly meme that is Julia's brilliant brainchild, What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, giving us the chance to snoop around so many crafty desks. 

Here's what's on my desk this morning.

Not much different from last week. Just a bit less chaotic. What can I say? I'm a messy crafter. It takes a lot of sorting through sheets and scraps of patterned paper when you're as indecisive as me. So, for me, this is a tolerable and essential mess. 

And here's the pic of the kitten at the gateway to what I am sure is her idea of paradise. All those goodies to whet her feline curiosity. It's not obvious in this shot but she has just pinched a make-up sponge, used for inking, to play with. She tossed it around like it was a mouse ... all good practice for our trainee mouser. 

And finally, a few of the funnies I've spotted this week, predictably cat themed.

All so true. As I'm writing this post, there's a very comfy looking kitten sleeping on my lap! 

I did visit as many desks as I could last week but, as is almost certain at the moment, I did run out of time. I hope to do better this week. Many thanks for all the lovely comments received. They are all much appreciated. 

Take care,

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.