Farewell 2011 . . . .

Well its the end of the year . . . finally!  I for one am glad to see the back of 2011. It hasn’t been the best of years for me for one reason or another . . . but thats life I suppose, we have to take the ups and downs , the rough with the smooth. Here’s hoping that 2012 is going to be a better year for us all.

No scrapping has been done over the  holiday period apart from my Sketch & Scap LO which I can’t upload yet but I have been crafty – what do you think of my altered magic tape dispenser ?  DH thinks it was a step too far . . .lol  he thinks I am obsessed with pretty paper and I dont know for the life of me how he came to that conclusion!

This time last year I was searching the internet for various projects to do / take part in during 2011 and I chose a few to play along with. I failed to keep up with them all!  So disappointing really . . .   some of them I just got bored with, others I fell behind on and then lost the will to play catch-up, so this time around I am not committing myself to any projects. No goals, no deadlines, no worries!  2012 is set to be a busy year for us so I thought I would just go with the flow and do what I can when I can and just enjoy my crafting.I do intend to keep a record of 2012 in the mini album I made and have promised myself to take more photo’s but other than that I have made no commitments.

So all that is left to say is . . .
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE,
MAY IT BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY FOR US ALL

XXX

Photo Finish! Week 2

I am so far behind with this class!!  Nothing new I suppose . . .   the good thing about the classes at Big Picture though is you can jump in and out as time permits which is perfect for me.

The class for week 2 was amazing!  I’ve seen many photo’s with a ‘pop’ of colour on and B&W pic and never quite managed to achieve a clear result – until now. I suppose its like anything really, its easy when you know how.

So here are a couple of photo’s I played with for this class. First we had to convert to B&W then decide on the ‘pop’ of colour we wanted to keep:

Joe dressed up for his formal back in October

Love this one. I took this pic of a thistle while on holiday in Scotland back in June.

The course is now in its fourth and final week but I still have the week 3 assignment to do first!

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs
Dee
xx

Websters Pages and Dusty Attic . . .

After getting some Websters Pages products in one of my MCS kits recently I have become addicted. The same kit also introduced to me Dusty Attic chipboard products.

Here a 2 LO’s I have done with the All About Me range from Websters Pages.

Formal Wear

Joe all dressed up for his Formal (school prom – here in Ireland it is called a Formal instead) hence the title which I thought fitting giving the clothes he is wearing too.

The ornate swirly on the bottom of the page is by Dusty Attic. It actually came as one whole piece but was configured differently so I cut it and repositioned it how I wanted it. I coloured and embossed it to match the papers.

I used this sketch from the Dusty Attic forum:

This second LO was done for the Dec week 1 challenge on UKS.

I love Your Smile

The criteria here was to use the sketch provided, stamping and dimension. I used a rubber stamp which complimented the images on the green WP paper to create the white / blue background. I also stamped the blooms onto WP paper and arranged them to give the LO dimension.

I think I will be doing  many LO’s with products from both of these manufacturers during 2012!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs
Dee
xx

Flood Fun

The weekly challenge on  UKS this week incorporated this sketch along with the criteria of using only scraps and 2 photos.

I had 2 photo’s ready and waiting to be scrapped so that was easy, the sketch is pretty much OK too and its always great to use up some of those scraps so all in all a pretty good challenge.

Here is what I came up with:

My crazy son Joe making the most of the flood waters from last years flooding. Everyone else was worried and stressed out by the rising waters but not Joe. He saw the newly flooded back yard as a play zone.  And as you can probably tell from the photo’s he is not a little boy . . . .   more like a big kid!

These were the  biggest pieces of scraps I could find in the colours I wanted to match the photo. As I didn’t have a piece big enough for the main background I drew it on with a marker instead to give the same effect.

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs
Dee
xx

Happy Faces

The 3rd and final sketch on the My Creative Sketches blog is up and running and this is my take on the sketch. I really liked this sketch just the way it was so I haven’t changed things much at all.

And here is my LO – Happy Faces

You wouldn’t believe how long it took to get the kids to sit still for this photo!  I have lots of outtakes and I really likes some of them so I wanted to scrap the silly photo with the nice one but without the silly pic being too visible so I opted for a flap:

And a few close-ups of the embellies:

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs
Dee
xx

Teddy & Toby–Our Story

Toby ~ October 2010 – September 2011       Teddy ~ October 2010 – October 2011

Most people already know through UKS or my furbaby blog (which I have now closed) that back in September & October I lost 2 of my precious kitties, Teddy & Toby. I was devastated. Many people don’t understand the bond between humans and animals, and they certainly don’t understand me and my love for my furbabys and thats fine, but to me personally it was a very big blow and I still shed many a tear when I think of them.

I had photo’s ready to scrap of both boys as I have a dedicated album just for our furry family but then when they passed away I didn’t have the heart to scrap them, until I saw a challenge on the My Creative Scrapbook forum to create a layout with a hidden pocket. I thought it would be perfect for my photo’s and I could create an ‘In Memory’ style page for the boys using my favourite pics.

This is Teddy & Toby – Our Story

I created the pocket with a gusset as I wanted it to hold quite a thick booklet style insert

This is the booklet insert:

And the reverse side of the booklet with the journaling about their story and the time they spent in our lives. I changed the journaling many times in between a tear or two.

Im really pleased with my finished page, and even more pleased that I  have now scrapped these photo’s and the layout has taken its place in my furbaby album.

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs
Dee
xx

Ship of Dreams

Its Sketch and Scrap time – well it was last week, Im just a bit behind uploading to my blog!

This months sketch was chosen by Jo and had lots of layers to work with which I like:

I wanted to use up the Bo Bunny Etc. papers that I got in a Scraps of Darkness kit and found this photo from back in 2006 when Eugene and I visited The Titanic Experience while we were in Las Vegas. The famous staircase has been replicated and we couldn’t resist a photo opportunity.

One of the papers had these faux postcards printed on them so I decided to cut one out as a mat for the photo then do my journaling on the back.

Since being introduced to the Dusty Attic products in a recent My Creative Scrapbook kit I am hooked. The two ornate corners were embossed with copper to coordinate them with the papers.

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs
Dee
xx

Getting Ready for 2012!

While most people at the moment are preparing for Christmas Im preparing for 2012. Im not a great fan of Christmas and therefore I dont do any Christmas crafting, although I have been know to make the odd Christmas card for a select few!

This time last year I was scanning the internet for projects I could do / follow during 2011 and I found the likes of Project 12 and Photography A-Z both of which I started and then failed miserably at finishing. I was so disappointed in myself for not keeping up with these but life never ever goes the way we think it will and I just didn’t have the time or the heart to complete them.

This year I have decided that for 2012 I am not taking on any projects. I am going to do what I can when I can that way I put no pressure on myself to complete things. That said I do want to record my family’s year somehow and while blog-hopping recently I found this inspirational post from Emily Pitts.

The overall size of her album was too small for what I wanted so I adjusted things slightly to suit and so my finished album measures 6¼” x 6¼”. The paper range I used is Crate Paper Farmhouse which I got in my My Creative Scrapbook kit back in October. Its a fabulous collection and lends itself to so many uses.

I started with some kraft cardstock and a few brown cardstock scraps and made the accordion pages:

This is the front of the accordion insert which I decorated:

Next I made the wrap-around cover. Now for the confession!  I actually stuck the cover on upside down so that the larger flap was on the wrong side  but by the time I realised it was stuck firm and I was not about to try to rectify it! So the cover unfolds from the wrong side – but hey, variety is the spice of life!

Here is the finished front cover. See what I mean about opening the wrong way ?  I still think it looks fabulous though.

A cute little 2012 tag attached to the ribbon with a jump-ring:

Inside on the left hand flap is the quote ‘Don’t forget the little things, they’re the one’s that mean the most’

Another pic of the front of the accordion section:

Each month of the year is allocated a double page. On one page the pocket contains two tags which I will stick snapshots to. On the other page the pocket contains a 5”x5” card which is my ‘Graffiti Wall’ this is where I will record the goings on for that month, things I want to remember (or forget as the case me be!) and stick ephemera to.

I have kept the inside quite plain and simple. I want to be able to record each month quickly and easily without too much need for decoration and embellishment which I have done in previous year’s albums.

And finally the back cover:

So I am all set for 2012 – bring it on!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs
Dee
xx