July 2019 - Counterfeit Kit Challenge - Challenge #2

Welcome to my somewhat neglected blog these days.

Today I'm sharing my take on the sketch Tina challenged us with.

I think you all know how much I love sketches and this two photo template was really appealing. I assumed that the photos were 6x4 and therefore, I'm not sure my page has the same proportions as the original, but other than that, I stayed pretty true to the design.

The double photo design was perfect to record a then and now version of me on this anniversary page for moving to Germany. How can it be 18 years already? It feels like yesterday even on days when I think about all the ups and down and changes we've gone through - enough to last a lifetime or two!

The photo on the left was taken at the leaving "do" I had when I left my job in Cambridge to make the big move, and the photo on the right is from just a few weeks ago when we were visiting a fabulous Baroque/Rococo Schloss in southern Germany.  I'm not sure I'm the same person as I was back then - yes, of course, a "bit" older these days - but I feel as if I'm totally different.

Anyway, this challenge gave me the chance to write a few lines about the topic and I'm happy to have been given the nudge to make it so close to the event.

I interpreted the line of stitching and flower element along the top as an extension of my title and a few gems.

The flowers on the edge of the page have changed into a flair, some gems and a little fussy cutting from the Shimelle word paper. I just picked out a handful of phrases that loosely fitted the topic of the page.

And again, the element on this side of the page transformed into another flair, some more dots and a few more phrases.

The places on the top of the photos were a final idea so that I don't forget to notice how the places affected the person in the photo!

Here's to the next 18 years. I wonder what that time will bring?

I hope you'll check out the others and how they've interpreted the sketch for themselves? You can find them all over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog here and don't forget to share if you make a page using this sketch - we love to see you using your kits!

You can use our Monthly Link-up page, post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using#counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcjuly2019).

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - A Perfect Day!

I've been busy this evening and once again, it's late - hence the less than perfect photos.

But I decided I wanted to have a go at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge prompt #1 which is all about recording what a perfect day means to me. You can find the details of the prompt as well as the examples by other MF's over on the CKC blog here.

But I had only made a page kit for my mini kit example (see here for details) so there was definitely not enough there for a whole page. So I took the few scraps and elements I'd used for that original kit and then added in a few more items inspired by the original Gossamer Blue kit (find out details about our inspiration kit in this blog post here) to make up another mini page kit. You can see the supplies I brought together below.

You can see that I added a sheet of my Echo Park paper wit heart constellations in navy and a sheet of yellow toned paper which also seemed to match the original GB kit. But the remainder of the kit is pretty much what I had left over.

Here is my page which will be the accompanying page to a pocket page where I will feature small square shots of all the sights we saw in this pretty little German town of Alzey.

This is really what I consider to be a pretty perfect day for me. Just hanging out, wandering along the streets of a pretty old town, catching a few sights, stopping for a beer or a coffee and just being together.  Once again, I've needed to protect the modesty of my internet shy DH.

Those puffy elements! Oh my! I love them.

I did add in some word strips to my mini kit by Pinkfresh Studio - they seemed to fit nicely here.

Head over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog for more examples of perfect days.

And don't forget to come on over to our Facebook Counterfeit Kit Challenge Community here and share your inspired kits and projects. It would be fabulous to see you there. The more the merrier!

16 loves {December 2016}

Welcome to the next in the series {16 loves} for 2016.

For the last few years, I've been sharing my loves each month - a little bit of everything that has caught my eye or been enjoyed over the last month. So, a new year and new inspiration. I hope you will come back each month to see if there is anything in my list to inspire you. 

To see what's inspired me in the past, click to find all my {13 loves}, my {14 loves}, my {15 loves} and my {16 loves}.

I hope there's something in here to inspire you or maybe just make you smile.

Obviously, this is late for the last {16 loves} of the year. But I thought it would be great to finish off the 2016 series so that tomorrow, I can kick off the new list for the new year!

one

 We had daily posts up at The Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog during December on the theme of A Counterfeit Kit Challenge Christmas Carol. I loved having a variety of ideas on the blog written by the wonderful Master Forger team. I'm behind on checking out all those yummy ideas but with the amount of Christmas paper and products I have, I'm determined to use some of that inspiration over the next few months.

two

Being a part of the Scrapabilly Advent Swap always puts me under pressure to up my game and produce pretty packages for everyone including elements that they can use for their December albums if they wanted. Overall, I was pleased with the outcome.

three

And this was my bounty that I took home with me at the end of the evening when we swapped all our gifts. It was so lovely to have a gorgeous little gift to open each day. Everything features on a scrapbook page that I made for Simple Scrapper for February so I'll be sharing that soon.

four

We enjoyed a Feuerzangenbowle (flaming mulled wine) with friends which is always cosy, delicious and a great sign of cooler days and longer nights.

five

I woke up on my birthday to blue skies. It certainly doesn't happen every year, but more often than in the past. My spirits were instantly lifted and I set out for an adventure filled day with a smile on my face.

six

I headed down to Cologne for some much-deserved me time which included a gazillion calories at Törtchen Törtchen - a wonderful patisserie. We'd seen it featured on TV and a birthday which was going to be spent alone seemed a perfect excuse to go and check it out. It tasted even better than it looks here.

seven

I wandered around the Christmas market outside the Cologne Cathedral at the end of the day and, as always, marvelled at the beauty of this incredible place. I take photos every time I go and never get bored of this view.

eight

Then started a period where we had three different visitors over the next three weekends - Christmas Markets were visited, I went back to Cologne twice, we ate a lot, chatted all the time and laughed till we cried. First up was my camera-shy mum but we wandered around Cologne and went on a mission to track down the Love Lock that the Chances had left on the Hohenzollernbrücke. And we found it which was such a thrill. 

nine

I created an Advent candle decoration which ended up being my only Christmas decoration and enjoyed lighting the candles each weekend.

ten

Another weekend, another trip over to Cologne to show my delightful scrappy friend Kathy the sights of the city and all of the pretty Christmas Markets. It was such lovely day and as the lights went down it just got prettier and prettier.

eleven

I took Kathy over to meet Sylvia and marvel at the Scrapabilly shop. I love being able to bring different corners of my life together. 

  

twelve

Having Kathy for a long weekend was a good excuse to check out some other markets which I've heard a lot about but never made it to. Raesfeld moated castle market was a success and I'm just so happy that we got the chance to hang out together and that I had the chance to show off my adopted homeland.

thirteen

Somewhere just a few kilometres down the road, but where I'd never actually been, seemed the ideal place to just spend a few minutes watching the sun go down. A perfect end to a perfect day.

fourteen

And then my bestie came along and we just enjoyed hanging out. We didn't really do much except catch up and even though we planned to get some photos, managed a big fail on that. We have a handful but as you can see, not the best. It doesn't matter, this sums up our friendship!

fifteen

Love that Google had this beautiful Arctic banner on this day - it was animated and simply gorgeous. This made me smile.

sixteen

And a favourite layout I made with the December Scrapabilly Kit des Monats featuring a birthday selfie. Always a good time for a little self-reflection. And, excuse me? Constellation paper??? It had my name all over it. I loved making this page. You might still be able to get your hands on one of these kits featuring Pink Paislee "Moonstruck" collection here. But if not, then you can get papers and embellishments in the collection at Scrapabilly here. I'm late sharing my December makes so I'll try to catch up on that soon

I’d love you to share your own {16 loves} lists with me. Why not link up in the comments below?

{16 loves} is a series that will feature on my blog each 16th of the month

16 loves {November 2016}

Welcome to the next in the series {16 loves} for 2016.

For the last few years, I've been sharing my loves each month - a little bit of everything that has caught my eye or been enjoyed over the last month. So, a new year and new inspiration. I hope you will come back each month to see if there is anything in my list to inspire you. 

To see what's inspired me in the past, click to find all my {13 loves}, my {14 loves}, my {15 loves} and my {16 loves}.

I hope there's something in here to inspire you or maybe just make you smile.

This time, they are all experiences I've had this month and in date order too. I hope you'll forgive a little self-indulgence!

one

This one does not offer kisses and cuddles very often. Especially to an auntie she rarely sees. So I was thrilled that my Lilifee wings, wand and sticker book was a suitably good enough present to warrant such a show of affection!

How can it be that she's four already?

two

Yes, I think the wings were a success. She insists on wearing them the whole day we had together looking around Rotterdam when I headed over there to see my sister. What a thrill for me and what a cutie she is.

three

What more can I say - I adore the colours of autumn. Trees like this make my heart sing.

four

I headed down south again for the long 1st November weekend and we stumbled upon this simply gorgeous water tower which has been turned into apartments. Now the really freaky thing is that my baby brother had a German work experience exchange some years ago and stayed down in the city of Worms, working in the architect's office who planned the conversion work. This was long before I'd even heard of the name of the city and I didn't even remember the connection until he reminded me. We kept meaning to find the tower and then one day, took a wrong turn and there it was.

five

I wandered around the Jewish cemetery, Heiliger Sand, early in the morning and discovered the most beautiful light and scenery that I could have imagined. This is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe dating back more than 1,000 years and it felt like stepping back in time. A perfectly wonderful, peaceful start to the day.

six

Somebody won't allow me to take a photo nor to post it, so this one will have to do. I'm not quite sure what has caused the hunchback I appear to have developed but for now, I'm happy with this one.

seven

The palace in Karlsruhe. A great panorama but one that doesn't fit on the blog too easily. Unfortunately, it was heavily bombed in the war and is no longer open as a palace to view, although it now houses the Baden State Museum - something for another time perhaps. But this walk down memory lane for him and a catch up of his history for me was a lovely day out.

eight

The weather is cold enough for a coat and a thick scarf. Yes, this also makes me happy.

nine

I wore my Remembrance Day poppy with pride. As I try to do each year. I was mortified to realise that I'd missed my two minutes of silence at 11am and just made sure I made that time later in the day, on my own, with time to think.

ten

The 1st Essen Light Festival took place and some of the lit up buildings were right in the area where we live which was lovely. All too short at just a week, it was great to see the lights changing and to hear the soft splash of water in the ponds, installed especially for the light festival. A light show to check out again next year for sure.

eleven

My first TNL which is always to be celebrated. Even without the appropriate red cups. Hopefully, they'll soon hit the shops but the red sleeve was a good starting point.

twelve

I miss Bonfire Night in the UK a lot. It's really something I can't copy over here - I think the city might be a bit annoyed if I just built and lit a huge bonfire on the public green outside our flat. So an English Guy Fawkes Night dinner party was the next best thing. It was a great success and beef wellington is now a family favourite.

thirteen

I'm not going to discuss the US election, the result or my feelings about it. But this picture goes a small way in describing those feelings. 

Part of my month of selfies which isn't going so well. There might be half a dozen or so at the end of the month.

fourteen

I was invited to a lovely, girlie, birthday celebration and I broke out my pretty Cadbury purple shoes and matching bag. Forgot the selfie of me with going-out make-up (a rare sight these days) but seemed to remember to take a shot of the shoes. That's the way I'm rolling these days.

fifteen

I'm thrilled to be part of the Scrapabilly Advent Swap again this year. With a limited budget and the fact that I'm just not that crafty at making items for my presents, I tend to cover up the lack of content by going all out on the packaging. I think they turned out well. The ribbon is actually gold and not green as it looks in this photo. Swapping this week. 

sixteen

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Just a couple more days until the Christmas Markets open. With lots of visitors in the next few weeks, I think I'll be going here for poffertjes and a tipple more often. 

I’d love you to share your own {16 loves} lists with me. Why not link up in the comments below?

{16 loves} is a series that will feature on my blog each 16th of the month

Mini-challenge - You've Been Framed

The Counterfeit Kit Challenge site is proving so much fun this month. Maybe it's because it's following on from LOAD last month and I am still on a challenge kick, but I have really loved diving in to the challenges as they come up.

The kit is still going strong and I think I might have one more layout to make with it and then I will break out the bits back into my stash ready for next month.

The latest mini-challenge was to use a frame in your work somehow. Frame the photo, frame the journalling, frame an element, use a frame as a main design feature - whatever.

I had my hands on a bright blue sparkly bling frame from MM that came in a kit last year that I wanted to use, but it just didn't inspire me so back it went.

Then I looked at the papers I had in my kit and decided to go for a completely different direction by picking out the darker colours and using my woodgrain (which is BG is actually a dark grey rather than brown) as my main background. The other side of a bright orange was a black and white spot, and I had put in a couple of pieces of BG basics in cream and kraft which looked like it could all work.

But the photos proved a bit tricky for this darker idea. No jolly, kiddie photos or flowers or most general topics would look good based on a nearly black background.

Then I came across some architectural photos I had taken (or maybe Ted had) in Düsseldorf when we took Ted there for him to take pictures and inspiration for an architectural project he was working on for school.

In this part of town there are three totally funky buildings designed by Frank O. Gehry and the metal covered one is just so great that I thought I would use those. Limited journalling, just giving the architect's name and where they are was all it needed.

As for my frame, I tried to get a bit funky myself and create an odd shaped frame to mirror the curves of the building and used it as a base for my title.

I just adore the lines of this building. 

I am really pleased with myself for getting this totally different design out of my kit which is so predominantly full of nature's colours. (I needed to add in the alphas and the ribbon). The challenge really got me thinking and it forced me to do something I wouldn't normally. I love it!

Do you like to be pushed outside the box?


PS. Don't forget to check out my previous post (Help Me Celebrate!) to share what cheers you up and to be entered into my mini-prize draw to celebrate 300 blog posts! It would be lovely to hear from you!

In between

Time to take a breath between events....

Last week saw the 4th Annual Chance Visit to Germany (4 trips in 5 years so not quite annual but near enough) which was fantastic for us - lots of tiny feet (well 6 anyway) filling my flat with plenty of jumping, skipping, bouncing and running (and sand but that is another story). 

It was exhausting just to watch them.

I won't fill this post with all the details after the last four posts which were rather heavy on travel photos but suffice to say, there will be layouts from this 4th trip featuring some of the gorgeous photos we managed to capture along the way.

Here is the only photo we managed to get with all of us together - so rare to get but I will treasure it all the more...

And the good news is that I did actually manage to produce a whole layout while they were here - Libby and I had a mini-crop, just the two of us in my room, while the boys were upstairs playing poker. It was fun. We stroke our stash, looked at recent purchases, had Twilight, New Moon and Pride & Prejudice going in the background and challenged each other to break into the new Scrapagogo August kit and work on the same Page Maps sketch.

Ta daaaaaa

And then, because we thought the guys were going to be much later than they actually were, we started another one which I managed to get finished yesterday

Again, ta daaaaaa

This weekend sees the wedding of my BIL and his sweet fiancée and then next week will bring my mum over for a few days so I am making the most of this calm to try to make another layout or two this evening.

What have you been up to?

All the Fun of the Fair (or Installment 4)

Warning! Photo heavy posts following including excessive use of the Hipstamatic (we've been having lots of fun!)

Now where were we? Ah yes, here...

Another summer tradition is Cranger Kirmes (Cranger fun fair) which is the second largest fun fair in the country - only the infamous Munich Oktoberfest is larger.

We like to go, eat some unhealthy fairground food, have a few rides, stuff ourselves with candy floss (well Ted does, anyway) and people watch. The latter being the most important part of the fair. There are some great sights with Ruhrpott life at it best on show. Those of you who know will understand! Cranger is in deepest, darkest Ruhrgebiet representing the area at its best as well as its (sometimes) worst. It grounds you. It makes you realise where you live. It reminds you of the roots of this area. It reminds you that this is Schalke land. We love it!

This year's Cranger seemed a little more quiet than usual but it was still great and we kept up the traditions like troopers even though we limited ourselves to only three rides (well, I'm not getting any younger...)

And so this concludes the Smith/Hausmann Summer Tour 2010. Thanks for looking!

What did you do this summer?