Wednesday Wonderland #17

We are "Tying Ribbons Round the Christmas Tree" over at Jingle Belles this week (and now I have THAT song going round my head - showing my age) with a prompt to ... yes, you guessed it ... use ribbon on your cards.

I went simple this week, allowing the gorgeous white satin ribbon to do ALL the work for me. (Have you noticed how often I tell you that - I am such a lazy crafter ha ha!)

I used non-Christmas papers as I had been busy making layouts from a wonderful new kit from Scrapabilly (kit here) and just thought that the polka dots were so pretty that it would be lovely against the pure white ribbon.

I really must track a few hundred metres more of this luscious ribbon - it is always the perfect addition to any card and I love how soft it is. Ties a great bow.

I've been promising some kit news on the blog and I will try to get to that this weekend.

However, I'm not promising as we have more visitors arriving tomorrow :-) so expect baby based layouts for the next X months with all the photos I hope to get of my newest niece. Busy times.

June Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit reveal blog hop

Welcome to June! Welcome to the June Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit reveal blog hop! Just... welcome.

If you've landed here from the ever inspirational Jennifer then you will no doubt be full of wonder and amazement so I hope I can keep you feeling that way! Ha ha.

If you are here direct, then you should make sure you don't miss out on anyone on the hop and pop back to the Counterfeit blog (here) to start at the beginning. I really recommend you checking out the whole hop this time around as this amazing team of fellow forgers will undergo some changes at the end of the month and this is the last time some of the incredible talent will be sharing on the hop.

Another piece of news before I start to introduce my kit this month is to let you know that Little Blue Button Stamps will be the proud Counterfeit sponsor this month and there will be a combined blog hop with their team and ours on 12th June that is sure to be a lot of fun.

And now on to the kit which is, after all, the main reason for your visit - or so I'm guessing.

This month, we were given four possible kits to be inspired by over at Scraptastic! All four of their May kits are just wonderful and even though they are sold out, I am sure you will be inspired by the hop to try making your own.

I settled on the Destination Unknown add on kit which seemed a good contrast to the kits I have made over the last few months. And this is a smaller one than usual because I still have 5 partial kits sitting on my shelf waiting to be used up.

Destination Unknown at Scraptastic!

I managed about half the daily layouts for May's LayOutADay (LOAD) challenge and all but one used one or other of my kits. I know they are all seriously depleted, but more than enough still in the box for me to think about keeping them going a bit longer. But my June kit will add some welcome difference to colours and papers with its character.

Which brings me to present to you... "Personality".

I've had both my (much) younger brothers staying with me over the last ten days and just before they walked out of the door to catch their flight this evening, I asked them to look at my kit and suggest a one-word name. There were some good suggestions which will no doubt see the light of day in coming months, but baby brother 1 suggested this name because of the words on the Simple Stories paper and die-cuts that just seemed to give the selection a real personality. Done!

Whoops - forgot to add the name onto the photo! Anyway, I proudly present: Personality

I was lucky enough to have one or two of the papers in my recently purchased stash so I did what I never do and broke open the collection packs to fish them out and form the basis of my kit. (American Crafts Dear Lizzy and Amy Tan)

From there I added in a few (MME, Teresa Collins) that filled in the gaps more or less with the other papers and added in a cut apart sheet from Simple Stories as well as one from MME. All of the papers are double sided so this will give me more flexibility if all that red/pink gets too much (yeah right!). The sheet of alphas from BasicGrey matched the inspiration kit so in that went too

Next up were some tags, some flairs (Simple Stories), some die cut words (Simple Stories), some die cut shapes (Pink Paisley) as well as a few journalling cards from MME.

Instead of the coloured twine, I added in some MME washi tapes in the same colours plus an extra one - just because.

The inspiration kit had white and red sequins which were not in my stash so gold and aqua will substitute nicely.

Knowing that the large alpha would not be enough, I also added in cool grey and warm yellow Mini Market stickers from October Afternoon which will be perfect as a smaller contrast to the big, funky BG letters.

Then I was happy to remember I had the Prima clips and added the tags as well as the cameras.

The flairs from Simple Stories are so new I just picked them up on Wednesday and was happy to see that they matched the papers I've selected.

I don't have a Cameo and can't get to grips with my Cricut like some of you experts out there so the die cut negatives from Simple Stories were perfect for the inspiration kit die cut exclusives.

And lastly, instead of the Jenni Bowlin feathers (I should make some again this month), I added in some pins.

I will add in cardstock (and other basics such as ink and neutral twine) as I go. I am using less and less coloured backgrounds so it seems silly to take a photo of 5 sheets of white and two of kraft! I'm sure you can imagine that and you never know, a few sheets of colour might sneak in there from time to time.

I am already ♥ in love ♥ with my kit and can't wait to get stuck in. It's totally different to more recent creations as it consists of ONLY new stuff (apart from the three tags and pins) so it feels fresh and inviting.

I have more news to share on the topic of kits but I'll save that to tomorrow. All I will let on right now is that it has something to do with the amazing online (and real, live, touch the paper) shop Scrapabilly which is where I picked up 95% of the products in this months Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit.

Now off you go to say hello to Lynette who has no doubt, once again won the award for the most amazing kit presentation - evah! Have fun over there, I know I will. And don't forget to say hi and let me know you were here - it's always lovely to hear from you.

Here is the full blog hop list in case you get lost along the way:

Guest Designer: Sherri http://sherrithompson.blogspot.com/

Andrea http://snappingmonsters.blogspot.com/

Angela http://colestoucan.blogspot.co.uk/

Jemma http://just-jimjams.blogspot.com/

Jennifer http://jennifergracecreates.com  

Lisa H. http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/ ß-you are here

Lynnette http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/ ß-go here next!

Milissa http://millermall.blogspot.com/

Wednesday Wonderland #16

Welcome again to my weekly attempt at card making!

Personally, I don't think I have the patience for it and this week was no exception - rushing to get these done and off my to do list (sounds worse than it is really!), and the end result? Well.... ok. 

This week over at Jingle Belles, we've been challenged to get ribbons down on our cards.

I have a lot of ribbons that I rarely use to be honest, and had a vision of a design that would use a lot up at once. Hardly scratching the surface of the metres I have but at least it's a start.

So I'll give the Jingle Belles prompt "Tie a Holiday Ribbon Around the Christmas Tree" another go next week to see if I can come up with something that makes me happier.

But in the meantime, Happy Wednesday everyone and I'm about to hit my half way mark for my card pile - how's yours coming along? ;-)

May Counterfeit Kit Challenge member blog hop

Hi again for this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge member blog hop

If you are here via Molly's blog, you are on the right track, but if you've dropped in here direct, you might want to pop back to the beginning of the hop (here) so you don't miss out on anything.

This time, we have been challenged to use masks - make your own or use one you have, just use a masking technique on your project.

I'm not a big masker but I have a few faves. There's a few vintage ones from Heidi Swapp that I whip out to use from time to time and more recently, a couple from Studio Calico which are smaller but right on trend.

I have to confess to not using my May Counterfeit kit but rather went back to my bright and colourful January kit, Renew, as I wanted to layer up some embellies into a cluster and I knew that I had a whole pile of cluster goodness in that kit!

In real life, the grey misting is not quite as full-on as it looks in this photo but I do love how that came out. The vellum on top of the bright papers sprinkled with white mist really worked to tone it all down so that the brighter, 1970s photo could shine.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you leave a comment to let me know you were here and how you intend to use a mask on your layout. Now, off you go to see Candace's creation! She will be sure to wow you with what she made. Check her out here.

Check out the list below if you get lost along the way because I really recommend you visiting everyone on the blog hop today! So much inspiration.

Don't forget that every link on the Mr Linky page gives you eligibility for a prize from Little Blue Button Stamps (NSD sponsor) this month.

And... also that the Design Team call is still open for applications until the end of the month!

Come on over.

Jemma http://just-jimjams.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Dawn         http://www.dawnsscrapbookcottage.blogspot.com/

Lesley http://ohblogitifyoucantbeatthem.blogspot.co.uk/
Maggie http://maggiebscrapblog.blogspot.fr/
Milissa http://millermall.blogspot.com
Julie H http://spendlesscraftmore.blogspot.com.au
Molly         http://www.42shadesofpink.com/index.html
Lisa H http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com
Candace http://usthreebythesea.blogspot.co.uk/
Sherrie http://sherriesmuddlepuddle.blogspot.ca/

Wednesday Wonderland #15

Oh dear! I've missed two weeks of Jingle Belles :-( and my weekly posting lost its rhythm.

But not to let this get me down, I've at least created a couple of cards tonight and in fact, there are two cards I made for the last prompt too but didn't post. Therefore, on average, I'm still more than one a week so it's not all bad ;-)

One thing I noticed though is that I really need to make cards regularly to keep the inspiration and the card-making muscles flexed. I'm not in love with the two from tonight, but two cards made and on the pile are still two cards made and on the pile!

First off then, here are two extra cards for Jingle Belles prompt #9 "Flying Home For Christmas".

I made them at a crop I was at but just couldn't get them posted in time but was pleased with the simplicity of featuring this gorgeous paper from MME. I'm always happy when the paper does the work for me!

And now onto the latest prompt "Merry & Bright" which feature, yes you've guessed it, bright colours.

So there you have it, still Jingling, if a little late.

Maybe I'll share a picture of my happy pile of cards next week - just to make you jealous LOL!

13 loves {May 2013}

Here I am again with my list of what I'm loving right now as part of Pam's 13 loves series.

1.

Pinterest find (here)

Considering I am someone who doesn't have nice fingers (I'm a nibbler) or nails, I fall in love with a lot of nail varnishes. This rose gold is one for the summer that's on my wish list.

2.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge (here)

I've been playing along with LOAD513 this month and thank heavens for my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kits. Love that I have a pile of ready made mix and match products that are ready to go whenever I want to scrap. The Counterfeit Kit Challenge is an awesome idea and I'm thrilled to be part of the team. It makes me happy.

3.

Pinterest find (here)

Another bag that caught my eye - as if I need another bag. Ha ha!

4.

iTunes (here)

Downloaded this recently and love it. I don't buy a lot of music but when I do, I listen to it over and over again.

5.

Pinterest find (here)

I am determined to use my sewing machine on more than just paper. This inspiration found on Pinterest might be the push I need. I would love to wear this skirt.

6.

Asparagus season is here - at last. Which means to eat as much of the stuff as you can before the season is over. Scrummy. 

7.

Pinterest find (here)

Still on the lookout for colour combinations. Possibly a bit too much colour for us but I do love it.

8.

Visitors from home means sightseeing around the corner of Germany I call home. I've been to this mining museum about 6 times and yet, I still love it and find it so interesting to see the history of something so important to the history of the area. Helps to have a silly photo.

9.  

Pinterst find (here)

Did someone see me directly before writing this??

10.

Another sign of warmer weather is the beginning of the summer cocktail season.  Looking forward to finding out what the cocktail of 2013 will be.

11.

Jamie Warren at BasicGrey (here)

*sigh* This is just such a gorgeous page. I need to lift this.

12. 

Amanda Catherine Des Esty shop (here)

Always on the lookout for cool and pretty gifts. These will be on order before long.

13.

A happy new trolly full of happy new products. More of my favourite shopping location next month :-)

13 loves is a series started off by my inspirational best friend Pam over at Daily Pamage. I'm sure she had a more eventful month than me so be sure to pop by and see what delights she has to offer.

Lots going on over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog!

Just popping in this Monday morning (Whitsun Bank Holiday Monday here in Germany! Yippee for days off) to give you a couple of updates.

First off, I just want to remind you about the Design Team call over at the Counterfeit blog. The call is open until the end of the month and we want to hear from you - yes, you talented kit makers!

You can find out all about the DT call on this blog post here

Being part of the team is a lot of fun and I can guarantee you would have the warmest welcome, so if you are in two minds, go for it! Come along and join in the fun. Get your applications in by May 30th.

Second, each time you link up a May creation on the May Mr Linky (here) you have a chance to win a great prize from the {inter}National Scrapbook Day sponsor Little Blue Button Stamps (check out their site here). All you have to do to win a $20 voucher for the site is link up. Fingers crossed for you!

Then last up, we'll be doing something a bit different over at the CKC blog next month. Come along and find out about the kit reveal as usual on the 1st June but then, we will be joining the team over at Little Blue Button Stamps for a second blog hop on 12th June featuring an exclusive new release digital stamp.

I know there are a few of us who haven't used digital stamps before so it will be fun and interesting to see how we incorporate the image into our paper designs! I know that Angela will blow this challenge out of the water with her incredible digi designs, and in fact, she has kindly given us a whole list of links for digi tutorials from her blog today on the CKC blog - go check it out!

Little Blue Button Stamps had so much fun sponsoring us over NSD weekend that they wanted to join us for a whole month! If you haven't tried a digital stamp or a hybrid element on your paper pages, this is the month to have a go.

Lots going on, so don't forget to join in the fun. And get your DT applications in!

For the love of books

Do you read? I know many of you do. And when you were little, did you read too?

The Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog is asking this question and wanting you to think back to way back when for their latest challenge and to be inspired by favourite children's books.

I started off by making a list of books I could remember and then went on to Amazon and eBay to check out a few that I wasn't exactly sure of the title (promptly making a wish list of vintage books to pick up for myself at some point!) Then I looked for a story, followed by thinking about my reading habits. After browsing through some photos, there were a few that caught my eye.

Sleepovers with my (then) baby sister surrounded by my bookshelves full of much loved favourites.

It all came together from there, trying out a new type of design that I've been seeing a lot around the web. Not altogether sure about it but I love this page all the same - these looks back to the past are some of my very favourite pages.

This page is LO#7 from my May Counterfeit kit, Excursion

I haven't done a 12x18 layout for a long time and it's always perfect for when I have a lot to say

I didn't give any thought to the colours in the photo which most definitely class with the backgrounds. But the white cardstock really neutralises a lot of that

I've used the photos before - at least once if not more. But there's always another way to take the story and was really pleased that my books were in view in both photos.

this was a real trip down memory lane for me and I'm looking forward to getting back to reading once my new reading glasses are ready next week. He he!

What were your favourites as a child? Where will you take this inspiration?

Crime of the Scene Blog Hop

Happy {Inter}National Scrapbook Day {Weekend}!

Don't you just love that we have our very own holiday?!?!

And hopefully you are here because of the Master Forger Blog Hop from the Counterfeit Kit Challenge where we have been celebrating this special day with a CSI theme.

(If you are here direct, why not pop back to the beginning of the hop here. If you are coming to me from Julie, you are heading in the right direction, so enjoy the rest of the hop.)

I haven't played along yet but it looks like a whole lot of fun. So if you want to join in and be in with a chance to enter for the prize draw, courtesy of Little Blue Button Stamps, then you need to head over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog and check out the posts from over the weekend (starting here).

So, how do we fit into theme then? By showing you the scene of the crime, of course! Where we plot and plan our scrapbooking crimes. Our scrap spaces, LOL.

I am so very lucky to have a whole room to myself and all my products that are multiplying far too quickly. It's a nice room at the front of the house and I have big plans. So what I am showing you is not how it's going to be forever. Everything is going to be moved around and I am busy collecting ideas. What you see is how I unpacked it 6 months ago. I unpacked and stashed as a priority and now I'm coming up with plans for how to make it work even better. But having tidied it up for these photos today, I can see just how much potential it has and how lucky I am.

So, here it is! I have cut off the side bit of the room which is where my computer is and piles of papers and mess. Not really nice to look at and part of what will change when I move the room around.  True to so many scrapbookers around the world, I use the Ikea Expedit shelves for the bulk of my storage (here left) and love that the cubicles are perfect for scrapbook papers.

Photo boxes are along the very top, books and papers next down and then eye level and below is where I keep my go to products. I am constantly evolving the ideas of what baskets or boxes to keep my stuff in so it is a bit of a mish-mash with lots of non-matching items. A bit of a work in progress.

The horizontal paper storage in the middle there is where I lovingly store and stroke my BG collection. That needs some work as I struggle to find the papers I know I have. Several cubicles are filled with non-scrapbook stuff and I will be resorting and restoring all my items when I go through my redesign. I have a lot less scrapbook stash than it looks like in this photo - honest!

This is where I stand and scrap. I try to keep it clear and clean but I did tidy it up properly for the photo ;-) Several of the drawers here have scrap stash too. Stamps, inks, punches, themed product. See those clear plastic boxes? That will be where all my layouts are sitting, waiting to be put into albums. I haven't put a layout in an album for about three years and all the old post-bound albums got chucked when we moved. That means about 400-500 layouts waiting to be put into new homes. I think they are safe in these boxes for the meantime, but they need to find another place to live as they take up way too much space here.

I keep some of my most recent purchases in the basket to the left of my table which reminds me to use them. But I have to say that most of my scrapping these days comes directly from my Counterfeit kit each month (I currently have 6 kits on the go which is about 2 too many. Watch this space for LOAD productivity which should use up some of those kits.

I got this in the sale one day and love it right next to me where I scrap. All my glues, foam dots etc are in the bottom basket which is perfect. I love having lots of pretty stuff right at hand so newer stuff goes into that second basket and twines and other bits go into the top.

However, as much as I like the photos above where I have tidied up, this photo is really how it is when I'm scrapping. It's usually in the evening, I have my lights on and the music or podcasts are playing on the computer in the background. It's cosy and I'm happy pottering and playing with pretty product.

And just because at the scene of the crime and it's not unusual to hear a confession or two, I feel the need to share some recent purchases. First off is this super cute Ikea trolley that is really popular among our community right now (mine's wobbly so I need to take it apart and try again!). Something I had to have but am not really sure how I will use it long term. And that top basket? It's full of some new stuff. A lot of new stuff. A huge amount of huge stuff to be honest. I'm leaving it there to remind me to use it up and inspire me to be creative.

What do you think? Can you offer me advice on how to optimise my space and make it pretty but functional at the same time. What colour scheme do you think I should use?

Share your ideas (you never know, I might reward the most inspiring idea or suggestion!) and then carry on hopping to check out the rest of the gang (next stop of the ever delightful Lynette) and hear their confessions!

Did you listen to the Paperclipping Round Table this week? Noelle confessed to loving peeking into people's homes when their front doors are open on Halloween night. This hop reminds me of that. I know scrappers just love to see other scrappers creative spaces. I can't wait to see what the others have and to gather some more ideas!

Here's the full list in case you get lot along the way

Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog: http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.de/
Bethany  http://inspiredscrapper-bethany.blogspot.com/

Guest Designer: Sherrie http://sherriesmuddlepuddle.blogspot.ca

Andrea http://snappingmonsters.blogspot.com/

Angela http://colestoucan.blogspot.co.uk/

Jemma http://just-jimjams.blogspot.com/

Jennifer http://www.jennifergracecreates.com

Julie http://www.hisglorygirl.blogspot.com/

Lisa H. http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/

Lynnette http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/

Milissa http://millermall.blogspot.com/

Rebecca http://howiburb.blogspot.com/

Wednesday Wonderland #14

Quick post for this week's Wednesday Wonderland.

The Jingle Belles prompt this week is "Flying Home for Christmas" and challenges us to feature anything flying.

Being a bit too clever for my own good, I tried to emboss a stamp I have and love but that is never really successful. But who can resist the ultimate Christmas flyers, Santa's magic reindeer?

Anyway, a few scraps and some strategically placed snowflakes which were part of a care parcel I received last year from my über-cute friend Heidi (waves to Canada) and I'm calling it done.

Thanks for stopping by.