Heidi page

and once again, I am so late in doing this page! We were given the art challenge three weeks ago and have only just managed to think about pulling out some photos and putting the layout together!



Once I have decided to sit down and do it, it always comes together really quickly but I suppose am the ultimate procrastinator.



Anyway, we had to find 4 "fun" photos and 4 patterned papers so that 4 mini 6x6 layouts were made and then put together to make the whole. I am pleased with the end result but I am not sure if I would want to make the effort of making the four mini layout when one sheet of 12x12 is such a nice large canvas. However, its a really good way of using multiple papers and several photos so I guess it is an idea to add to the arsenal.



Of course, green just jumped out at me (like it does right now) but it was nice to bring in some more bluey greens to coordinate and I am really happy with the way the colours came together. Even the fact that the orange focused photo jumps out at you doesn't bother me, I like the flash of bright!



I then made more of an effort than before to decorate the calendar page and thought that the result of using all the same papers was really pretty. All in all, satisfied!

And to finish

I managed to get another two layouts and some embellishments out of the kit I have been working on recently. There is hardly anything left - just a few tiny scraps, two strips of the cardboard edging, three journalling spots and some of the letters. I totally messed up the rub ons which is a shame - I only managed to use a couple and ruined the rest. But I am very pleased with myself that the only things I added into the kit were two sheets of cardboard and some stickles glue. So to recap, I made 7 layouts, a mini album and 6 embellishments with some letters and chipboard left - all for around £25. Is that good? Sounds good value to me and it really means that with some imagination, a subscriber to the kit does not need to add any of their own stash to produce an array of layouts and products. I still think that that the idea of a smaller kit also on offer might be a good idea for those who do not want to put all or a large proportion of their monthly budget in one place - not that I am suggesting that £25 is anywhere near the figure that I spend!!!


And with no more ado, here are the last items:

Here are the small embellishments I made ready to adhere to anything the colours match to:And this is what I am left with!

And one more...

I managed to get another full layout from the kit I have been working on:

Not a brilliant photo but the light is so peculiar right now - too bright or too dark - bit tricky.

Anyway, that was the last two full sheets of paper - one as the back ground and one for the circle and partial circle so the rest of the scraps etc can be made into tags or a card maybe and then the other bits and pieces will go into my scraps and embellishment box. So a total of 5 pages and a complete mini book with nothing but some basic chipboard added into the mix. It was fun to stretch myself like that and now feel up to tackling the other pizza boxes I have lying around!

Busy scrapping

On Friday I didn't have so much work to do and Ralph had said he was working late so I thought I would take the opportunity to work through some stash and really see how long it takes me or how quickly I can make something, how creative I can be, how I can look at product and see other items coming out of it and also, how much stuff really comes in one of our Modern Scrapbooking kits. They always seem to be so big and I have been thinking if it would be better to have less stuff in each kit which gives you the possibility for multiple kits or just more stash buying. I have not really come to any conclusion yet and I have to admit that I simply love the fact that the kit arrives and there is so much in it! Lib reckons there must be enough for at least 8 layouts and I would say that is really not far off. So far, I have managed 4 layouts and a mini book consisting of 8 6x6 pages and the only thing I have added to the kit from my own product is the chipboard for the mini book pages. I was determined to try and make do with what was in the kit and really see how it works. I have to admit to being really pleased with the results.

Here are the layouts:

And this is my mini album and yes, it's all about me!

July

is already approaching the halfway mark and I still have not taken my photos for this month! I think I will just take some general ones and come back to a theme in August but if anyone has any ideas, they will be gratefully received.

With Ralph back in town, I have not had so much time to scrap and then we had a lazy weekend, but I did just manage to complete this layout below using one of my favourite recent photos of Ted. Not a layout for any particular reason, just listing a few of my favourite things about our little family star and using some of my wonderful Chatterbox papers - (& in response to a Chatterblog challenge.) I find that if I use a challenge as a jumping off point, it gets me moving and forces me to just pick up some much loved product and a few photos and get on with it rather than sitting here thinking about which photo or which products to use. I think that Lib and I will have to get our challenges up and running once more. It really motivates me to action!

Not a lot else happening my end - what about you?

and yet another Heidi project!

This was a Heidi project from April in our "A Year To Remember" class and I kind of held it in the back of my mind, determined that I would find the time and reason to do it sooner or later! I have gradually worked through almost all of her projects now and am quite chuffed with myself for doing so. And when inspiration hit to make this item for Isabella, I was so happy.


The magnet board was a lot more fun than I thought it would be to make and I am delighted with the results! I made it for my Isabella's christening present and as it was too big to fit into my suitcase to take back to the UK with me, I had to print off a photo of it for Lib and she will collect it when she is here later in the month! I put the magnets into the small heart shaped gift box I had made as a clue (which neither Jon nor Lib got!) and took that with me but I still have the magnet board here waiting to be collected. It is so lovely and the paper is so gorgeous (BasicGrey of course - Lilykate range) that I think Lib will have to prise it out of my hands. (only joking!)

I really think I will need to get another one to make up for myself - maybe to put in my workroom - in shades of pink.... will have to mull that one over. In the meantime....

I still haven't done anything for July photo of the day.... maybe tomorrow ...

Photos for June and a confession...

I completed my month of photos without any problems in June but since then, I have FAILED!!!! I have not taken any photos all week (although I took some on the 1st because I was home for my Isabella's christening) and have not even decided on a theme for July - BAD GIRL!

But as a starting point, here are my Recklinghausen photos for 25th to 30th June:

Monday 25th June

The market square again. We often have small town festivals and this weekend was a wine festival. I love that our town does this - really helps to produce a community feeling and it is always fun to go down and have a crepe or some bratwurst!

Tuesday 26th June

This is our building. We live on the very top floor - those little windows at the top are our flat! I think it is so amusing that we live over a hobby shop. They have recently started to stock a few scrapbooking supplies (it's quite new here in Germany) and Ralph always laughs that I have WAY more stock that they do! But it's quite useful for glue or peripheral products such as mod podge etc. I had not discovered scrapbooking when we first moved into the flat so I think it is quite funny now when I think about how this hobby has taken over my life and there I am living over a hobby shop!

Wednesday 27th June

This is the Engelsburg hotel around the corner from us. It was built in 1701 and isn't it beautiful?

Thursday 28th June

And this is also the Engelsburg - it is built around a central courtyard. However, it is really great that they have incorporated one of the two remaining town wall watchtowers into the building - you can see the round roof here. They have since turned it into a great hotel suite with a bathroom on one floor, a bedroom on the next and then a sitting room on the next all connected by a fantastic old spiral staircase and wooden beams etc. The rooms are of course, all round and the small, narrow windows show that the depth of the walls are really thick - we stayed there one night and it was such a fun experience!

Friday 29th June

Ok, so this photo was not actually taken in June (hence the leafless tree!) but I wanted to include this photo of the medieval tower from the old town wall mentioned in my previous day's photo.

Saturday 30th June

This is the Gastkirche (Visitor's church) which is really just around the corner from us - on a Sunday morning during the summer, we can hear them singing through their open window. It began life as a poor house(until 1366) back in the 14th Century and is just such a pretty, small church. I imagine it must be very beautiful inside.