Sketch-y Friday at Scrapmuch? - Hello Handsome

Good morning!

Here I am again trying to dust off my lonely little blog and bring you this weeks post for Sketch-y Friday over at Scrapmuch?

My new job is keeping me pretty busy, so definitely not much time (or energy!) for crafting.  Toss in a little March break (trying to keep the kiddo's happy/busy/exhausted) activity and I've got no chance really.

Once I got started on this page though, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was just surprised how long it took me to complete.  For a relatively simple looking layout, this one took forever, probably because of my constant need to add more elements to the background!

Anyhow, enough chit chat, let's get down to business.

Hello Handsome

Awwwww isn't he cute, that handsome chappie in the photo there?

My hubby aged approximately 5 or 6 I'm guessing.  My girls had a little trouble recognizing him, probably due to all that hair that they're not used to seeing!

Before we move on, here is this weeks wonderful Sketch provided by the ever talented Laura Whitaker.

OK, so that background I was talking about......

The Sketch inspired me to start randomly punching holes from my paper, but one size of hole punch wasn't enough...........no we had to go with 5 just to make sure it looked totally random!

I inked the edge then added a few different sizes of metal gears. After reviewing again, I decided we needed more holes (of course!) and started to add eyelets in various sizes and metals.

It was at this point I decided 'no more.....time to move on or it will never get finished"!

There's the usual bunch of layers around the photograph.....

and a nice little group of grunged/vintage elements at the bottom - chipboard from Creative Embellishments (love their products!), vintage film strip and a heart charm by Tim Holtz.

Finally, the title started with a pre-made metal word from Jillibean Soup.

It was originally silver coloured but I decided that looked far too clean and polished, so I set to work with a brown Copic marker and ended up with old Copper wiring - perfect!
The second part of the title was cut using my Silhouette and Kraft cardstock.

So that just about covers everything, except for the part where you now head to your craft room to create something spectacular using this weeks Sketch, then link up over on the Scrapmuch? blog to be in with a chance of winning a prize.......yes?

Phew, glad we got that sorted!

Don't forget to check out a little more inspiration provided for you by the rest of the Scrapmuch? Team, whilst you're there.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.....I'll be working (surprise, surprise!) but I'll be seeing you again next week.

Take care out there,
Jayne.x.

Love This Face

Good morning.

Off to work for me today so I finally remembered to schedule a blog post!

Today's page is the second and final from my recent Two Scrapbook Friends DT Kit, using the Hugs and Kisses collection by Simple Stories.

This is a sweet little mini collection perfect for those valentine, love inspired or general girlie pages.

I paired this time around with Kraft cardstock......who can resist a little Kraft here and there?

Love This Face

So you can see that the whole page centers around the background die cut......and the gorgeous little girl in the center there of course!

The 'heart' background is a 4"x6" overlay in the Silhouette store called Doodle Hearts which I stretched to approximately 8"x12".  I then randomly filled some of the hearts with patterned paper.

The bottom section of the background is letters I 'welded' to the overlay to form part of the title.  This is what I love about the Silhouette.....the possibilities are endless!

I decided not to glue these down and left them hanging as I like the shadow they create in this tone on tone area.

As always with collections from Simple Stories, there are co-ordinating stickers so I made use of a few of them starting with the word 'Love' for the title.

This was actually the inspiration for the whole page!

Finally, more stickers and layers to embellish the photograph, and a little messy thread to finish things off.

That's about all from me for today, but you can grab this collection for yourself either at the online store or in person at Two Scrapbook Friends.

Have a great day and I hope to be back Thursday with another page for ya.

Till then,
Jayne.x.

Sketch-y Friday at Scrapmuch? - Oh Charlie!

Good morning.

I realize I've been a pretty bad blogger the last week or two so please forgive me.  I changed jobs a few weeks ago and I'm still trying to get into the new routine.  Unfortunately crafty time always seems to suffer.

Hopefully things will settle down soon and I can get back to it.

Today though, it's Friday and time for a brand new Sketch over on the Scrapmuch? blog together with a little inspiration from Team B.

Here's my effort this week:

Oh Charlie!

I do seem to be scrapping the dog quite a lot these days as I have more photo's of him than anyone! (be warned......there are more to come!)

Here's Laura's awesome sketch for you to take a peek at:

As you can see I stuck to it fairly religiously this time around.

I used a die cut from the Silhouette Store for the background panel and title, and outlined with some doodled lines.

I layered a Polaroid style frame over the photograph which I've hoarded in my stash forever, and added some chipboard and scattered enamel dots (one of my new faves - just as well really seen as I bought a job lot of them!) .

Considering the whole theme of this page ie. the dog destroying every toy he has ever been given within a matter of minutes, I love the fact that in this shot he's licking his lips with anticipation!

Finally, I had to get a little flair in there and a few handmade metal ringed tags - the best ever $2 yard sale purchase as I've used at least a dozen already, and still many more to go!

That just about covers things from me, except of course to mention that you should immediately head over to the Scrapmuch? blog to check out some inspiration from the rest of the team, then  join in with this weeks challenge yourself.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you next week,
Jayne.x.

Inspiration Elevator - New

Good morning, it happens to be the 15th of the month which means it's time for a little........

Our main purpose here at IE is to challenge ourselves, each other and YOU to take the creative process to the next level;  to inspire growth and change in our scrapbooking beyond our usual boundaries.
You can see all of Inspiration Elevator's previous challenges on Facebook .

 This month's challenge is issued by the creative and prolific Lisa Spiegel, a scrapbooker from California who works hard to keep her pages focused on the photos and the story. Here it is in her own words:

" January is a month where we make resolutions, start fresh and have a new outlook towards many things. Our scrapping is the same way! We start new albums, pick "one little word" for new focus and even try new techniques. My challenge this month is to use the word "new" to inspire your page. Try to move beyond new products (although that is fun!) and scrap about something "new" you're committed to (maybe a new diet?), "new" to you experience and while you're at it, use a "new to you" technique. Something you've NEVER tried before this page. Tell us how it goes in your blog post!!"

So.....New huh?

So far I'm slightly unsure of 2015 as there seems to be a little too much 'new' in one form or another!  Makes me realize that I am not overly keen on change.....good or bad......makes me nervous!

For my page this month I decided to play it safe in a way.  I dealt with the obvious instead of delving too deep.......yes, burying my head in the sand but I just wanted to use my scrapping for the therapy it quite often is.  A lighthearted opportunity to let myself go with whatever creative flow I get caught up in.

That said, my 'New' is a 'Do' I'm guessing I will need to explain but my page will do most of that for me!)

A New Do

See.....I told you - nothing deep here, just a new hairstyle for 2015!

My title got me to thinking though, after I'd already got it down on the page, when it's too late to change of course!

I'm not sure the term 'a new do' is commonly used here in North America?  I tried to test out the theory on my daughters, them being born and raised here in Canada, to check if they knew what the heck I meant and they said "Of course.....we listen to you all day".  Hmmm.... I'm not quite sure they are considered a 'controled' experiment!

So just to make things clear - the term 'do' is used pretty commonly in the UK(as far as I'm aware) to refer to your hairstyle (hairdo!) and is quite often shortened to 'do'!

Of course I could be way off and this might only be used by those such as myself from The Midlands or Black Country to be precise......we can be a funny bunch!

On with some deets:

I did try to include a few more 'New' elements, those being my paper collection to start.....fancy that......me buying more paper! Lol

This line is from Pink Paislee's Bella Rouge line.

I also tried a 'new to me' technique for the title (can't believe I haven't tried this before......so not with it!) and cut directly into my background, then layered a co-ordinating paper behind.

A hand-drawn outline helped give a little more definition.

My journalling is written onto vellum (using my Silhouette) - something I love but don't do enough of.

Another 'New' is the style of the page.  I went uber clean and simple for this one - not my usual thing but I actually like it.

Embellishments consist of four things......

a feather tied with jute, a vellum tag, a few enamel dots and a sparse scattering of brads.

I could get used to this if it wasn't for the fact of not making any dent whatsoever in your stash!

(For those that don't realise.....making a dent in your stash means the ability to buy more stash!)

Finally, my background has a mixture of punched circles, stitched lines and doodled pencil drawing.

That's about all from me but we encourage you to check out each designer's creation this month: here's a complete list of this month's participating designers!
  

Lisa Spiegel

Ann Jobes 

Jayne Morgan - that's me!

Wendy Robinson

Lisa Moen

Why not give the challenge a try yourself? Then pop by our Facebook page and share with us what you created!

Have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow.....time to catch up from my slack week of blogging,
Jayne.x.

Sketch-y Friday at Scrapmuch? - (Wo)Mans Best Friend

Hi there, it is definitely Friday which means it's time for a beautiful new Sketch, and a wee bit of inspiration over on the Scrapmuch? blog.

Team B is up so time for me to get myself in gear.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with this page, maybe because it has pictures of my favourite furry guy on there!

(Wo)Man's Best Friend.

On our camping adventure last Summer, we happened upon a steam train so we took a little excursion seen as doggies were allowed.  Charlie of course spent most of his time with his head out of the carriage window.

Much fun!

Maybe we should all take a hint from our four legged friends.......enjoy life's simple pleasures!

Here is this weeks super Sketch:

So for my interpretation I changed up the vertical panel a little by using a sort of square patchwork instead.

If you really want the look of stitching on your page but really can't be bothered to either crank up the sewing machine or tackle things by hand (like a certain person!)I have a little tip for ya.

Distress the edges a little of whatever you're intending (not!) to sew, then actually pierce the sew lines before doodling a faux stitch with whatever colour you like.  It definitely takes a little more time than just regular faux stitching, but also not as long as the real deal.

The outcome is far more realistic and it's not quite so obvious that you've cheated (even though you have technically cheated!).

I love this background paper - perfect for anything really, so I had to go and mess it up a little with some random splatters from a bottle of white Mister Huey's.

You might also notice some of my faves on there......wood, metal, my homemade enamel dots (melted Hama beads)and of course layers.

I randomly punched a couple of half circles into one border strip which made the perfect slot for another fave - a little flair!

Papers are from MME Now and Then.

Well that's all from me but we'd love for you to play along with this weeks Sketch - just link up over on the Scrapmuch? blog and you could be in with a chance of winning!

Have a great weekend, keep warm and I'll see you next week,
Jayne.x.

Oh Holy Night

After walking the dog last night I am seriously considering hibernating for the next couple of months if these FREEZING temperatures persist!  Either that or he's going to have to learn to walk himself.

Thankfully I don't have go to work, which means I don't plan on leaving the house for the next 2 days, so fingers crossed it may have warmed up slightly by the time I next venture out.

Good thing is I get to play.......scrap, blog, etc.

Today I'm finishing up with my second page from a recent Two Scrapbook Friends DT Kit, using the Tinsel & Company collection by Teresa Collins. (You can check out the first here).

I loved using this line and from one that is NOT a Christmas scrapper, that's praise indeed!

Oh Holy Night.

Lots of the usual layers on here starting with a cut background using the Silhouette brand chipboard, and ending with a cute little peek-a-boo folded corner.

I made use of lots of stickers and the lovely brads that come along with this line too.

So there we have the first one into the book for 2015!

Well maybe not quite as technically it's sitting in the store right now but you know what I mean.......still lot's more to go.

I'll be back tomorrow as it's time for a Sketch-y Friday over at Scrapmuch?

See you then,
Jayne.x.

Happy 2015!

A very Happy New Year to you!

I realise I've been a little absent the last week or two but unfortunately it's par for the course at this time of year..........working retail during the busiest shopping period usually means not a lot of time for anything else!

Can't complain though.  I have a day off today so I'm going to make the most of it and wish you all (again!) a very happy and healthy new year.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too.  We sure did in the Morgan house if not a little quiet, and perhaps could have been a little healthier but never the less everyone was happy and well blessed by the man in the red suit.

Mommy came out of it particularly well.........a new Canon Selphy to print those scrappy pics and a gift certificate to one of my favourite local scrapbook stores amongst other things..........ahhhhhhh I have taught them well! Lol.

The whole family also had a treat in the form of a new PC, so hopefully you will be saved from hearing me grumble about unreliable technology in the near future.

I do have a number of pages I could be posting today but I figured I'd save those for another day and instead I would do a mini recap of 2014 by posting my fave Top 10 layouts.

I've meant to do this every year since I started my blog (back in 2010!) but never seemed to get around to it so the wait is over!

It was a tricky decision I tell ya.......some pages jump out at me as faves for one reason or another.  Others, I really do dislike!  Thankfully I did wind up with more in the 'like' pile and had to weed out a few to get down to 10.  So here they are and whether you agree or disagree, the author's decision is final!

Top 10 of 2014.

Puppy Love

Attitude

Hello Specs

It's Only Rock n' Roll

Hello Disney

Shine

Fun In The City

A Winter's Tale

Good Day Sunshine

Laugh

There you have it - a whole year summed up in 10 layouts.

Here's to 2015 and another creative year of scrappy goodness.  I wish you all the best in health and happiness, and may you carve out as much crafting time as possible.

I'll be back here soon so much love and hugs,
Jayne.x.

Inspiration Elevator - Christmas Past.

It's the 15th of the month folks which means it's time for a little Inspiration Elevator!

Our main purpose here at IE is to challenge ourselves, each other and YOU to take the creative process to the next level;  to inspire growth and change in our scrapbooking beyond our usual boundaries.
You can see all of Inspiration Elevator's previous challenges on Facebook .

 This month's challenge is issued by the creative Lisa Moen. Lisa is a busy scrapbooker who takes on every creative challenge with gusto; she works layering and clustering beautifully. This month she has a seasonal challenge for us. Here it is in her own words:

" Scrap A Christmas Past.
We all have them- one Christmas that sticks out more in our minds than others. Maybe it was when you were a child or maybe it was more recent. Maybe it was a gift you received that makes it memorable. Maybe a special visitor? Create a page, with or without photos and tell us the story behind that Christmas.."

OK so this challenge was actually a little tricky for me as anyone who knows me is fully aware of the fact that I'm not a happy Christmas scrapper!

Anything with a theme, I tend to steer well clear of and unfortunately this includes festive pages.......I know - what kind of a scrapbooker am I?!

I did create one 'Christmas Day' page quite a number of years back and included 6 years on one page! Lol

So for today's project I had to root back through bunches of old photo's till I found one which triggered a little something in me.

Christmas to me has always been about Family, and although I now live 3000 miles away from the majority of mine, it's the memories of those Christmas lunches shared with parents/Grandparents/siblings that I hold dear and miss so very much.

Unfortunately I don't have a photograph of one of those family gatherings, but I do have one which kind of changed my Christmas perspective.

One which commemorates the start of our own little family Christmas, marked by the birth of my first born.

Blessed.

I realize it's quite ironic that this photo shows my daughter surrounded by a huge pile of gifts (what can I say.....first Grandchild on both sides = spoilt rotten!) because that's not at all what this page is about.

It's about a new beginning.  New memories.  New/Old traditions, and although I would jump on a plane in a minute to experience one more Family gathering (if only finances would allow Christmas airfares!), I cherish these new family memories which will become our legacy.  They say you don't appreciate the joy of Christmas until you have children and I guess this is true.  I certainly hope I get to experience one of those Christmas lunches where I'm a Grandparent surrounded by those I hold near and dear.

On with the deets.

Papers are from a fabulous new festive DT Kit I was generously gifted by Two Scrapbook Friends......'Tinsel and Company' from Teresa Collins.  This collection is everything I look for in a Christmas collection.......if only I scrapped those kind of pages more often!  It's the perfect mix of 'modern' patterns paired with luxurious 'gold' elements.  I still have one more page to complete for the store, but find myself torn between jumping right in there and not wanting to cut into a sheet of patterned paper - it's so pretty!

Most of the inspiration for this page began with the gorgeous 'wreath' cut file I snagged from the Silhouette store......love it!

Lots of layers too of course but I continued the traditional theme by hanging the ribbon behind.

The title was cut from a sheet of glittered cardstock, again using my Silhouette.

There's an abundance of awesome stickers and brads included in this collection so I made use of most of them by either laying flat or 'popped with foam dots.

I'm not sure if you can tell but there are also wooden stars coloured with gold or silver marker, resting in the background clusters too.

That's about all from me but we encourage you to check out each designer's creation for Inspiration Elevator this month: here's a complete list of this month's participating designers!  

Lisa Moen

Ann Jobes

             Jayne Morgan - that's me!

Wendy Robinson

Katherine Sutton

Why not give the challenge a try yourself? Then pop by our Facebook page and share with us what you created!

Have a great day and I'll be seeing you again later this week.

Take care,
Jayne.x.

Joy

It seems only fitting that I should share a Christmas layout on here today in the midst of our Winter Wonderland out there.

This page is another I seemed to have missed blogging, and was the second I created using my Two Scrapbook Friends DT kit 'Cozy Christmas' by Simple Stories.  You can check out the first here.

I'll confess (as I seem to do regularly on here!) that I'm not a huge fan of this page.  I loved the first one using this collection so I guess I must have used up my quota of creativity by the time I got to this!

I don't hate it exactly........just (definitely!) not my fave.  I think it has something to do with using a large number of photo's on a single page..........I'm a single (or maybe 2) photo gal at heart.

Joy.

Busy huh?

I'm definitely missing my white space......probably another reason I'm not a fan!

I made lots of use of the die cut collection pack included in the line, some are layered and others 'popped' with foam dots........

I do love that kraft washi I've been hoarding in my stash.  It has random phrases printed on there and space to add your own journalling.

I cut a few Polaroid style frames with my Silhouette and used them to highlight a few of the photographs.

Everything sits on a background of stenciled chicken wire pattern, and finished with randomly scattered enamel dots.

Phew, that's about all for that one and as I'm usually a 'NON' Christmas scrapper, I think that should keep me going for a while!

Have a great weekend........keep warm out there and I'll see you on Monday for a fresh bunch of goodness from Inspiration Elevator.

Take care,
Jayne.x.

Good Day Sunshine!

Aside from the irony of my title as there isn't a glimpse of sunshine to be found out there today (!), I've created my own little piece of sunshine inside as I have a day off......yay!!!!

Time to finally get that Christmas tree finished as the decorations have been lying around half hung since Friday.

First though more important things.......blogging!

I was checking through a bunch of completed scrapbook pages lying on my desk, as I had a feeling I'd probably missed posting one or two here and there.  Sure enough I found one from way back in the Summertime.

I'm not sure why I didn't get around to blogging this one because it happened to be one of my faves at the time.  Papers were from one of my Two Scrapbook Friends DT kits using the 'Truly Scrumptious' collection by The Paper Loft.  This page happens to be the second page I created as the first was posted way back here.

Good Day Sunshine

A beach selfie from our Summer camping trip, wisely positioned to show head and shoulders only! Lol

This page is another example of my present love for embossing powders as there are random doodled circles in the background.

The title was cut using a freebie file for the Silhouette from Kerri Bradford, and there's a bunch of stamping, paint splatters and stenciled molding paste in the background too.

Lots of layering with patterned papers and more cut files here........

And a nice little cluster of embellies to tie in with those on the opposite side of the page.......I was a good girl for using up my flower stash!

I think that's about all so I hope you find your own little piece of sunshine today.

Have a good one and I'll be back again later this week,
Jayne.x.