Birds

I love to see if I can spot trends and get inspiration through window shopping and their displays...great excuse to get into the high street as well. Quite often I take my camera so I can capture displays that inspire me...see this gorgeous bird cage in a window in Brighton. I'm thinking they have simply made the cage out of wire and then wound lengths of fabric around it. They have then put pretty birds on the perch....now cute would this look in your home!!! ...... now look closely at the photo again, and you'll spot my poor bored daughter in the reflection, doing that "omg mum's taking photos of windows again" look....only spotted this when I downloaded the photos today...did make me laugh!

This layout is therefore perfect to share with you on the theme of birds and bird cages or houses in this case. I simply made a template and then used stripes of pale blue and brown papers to cover. I used a small floral stamp for the bottom border and also in the door of the birdhouse. I then made a small bird out of a really lovely lime green to contrast the paler colours and embellished with a flower and ribbon. Quite a simply layout but just right for a busy photo of mini scrapper turning up to school one day and being treated to an owl on her shoulder...she's obviously not that comfortable, check out the double chin as she tries to move away.

xx

My Vintage Boys

Here is one of the layouts we did for our September Scrap Saturday...where we managed to do 6 layouts in the same session, some of my girls even finishing with photos - it was a busy, yet most enjoyable day!...

I wanted to celebrate scrapbooking journalling cards, as they are a little something that I love and buy often, yet they don't seem to have caught on here as well as I would have thought. They seem so easy to me...beautiful designed by talented artists with perhaps a title or journalling already on them. These ones are from my delish bistro range and are only 10p on my website in the sale. I've simply centred this layout around the journalling cards, and little extra's (postage stamp sticker, high tea seals - both delish), a paper rose and a small crown/flourish stamp. I didn't want to do much else with the actual photos as they were so beautiful all on their own.



In case you are wondering my vintage boys are my dad (top right hand corner) and my Uncle George on the bottom - how cute are they both!

Hope this layout inspires you to dig out old family photos!

x

Painted Mini Album

Sometimes an idea just works...(and sometimes it dosn't)...but when it does especially when I'm up against a tight deadline, it is extremely rewarding. This little painted mini album was one of those "yeah I love it" designs.

Simply cut a 12x12 piece of white cardstock into 3 equal pieces ie; 4x12".
Next fold each piece in half. Take your favourite watercolours and put a little wash of different colours onto both halves on both sides. Try watercolour pencils, watercolour crayons or watercolour paints.

Once dry follow this simple template;
draw a couple of lines around each edge to frame the paint colour. Next stamp favourite stamps onto each page in black ink. You can add other embellishments, ribbon, flowers, brads, glitter dust as you go along. I then choose a navy patterned paper and cut my photo mounts into 3x3" squares and sanded the edges. I placed one on each page so that I know exactly what space I have to play with when I put photos in. For the front page, I simply did a frame stamp and used alphabet stamps for the title. I then got a large bloom, painted the edges and finished with a favourite brad. Hey pesto a cute little album ready to fill with photos...perfect for a week gift album as well as its really cheap and easy to make.

Have fun!
xx

Ssshh...sale has started with 50% off all Delish

Hi blog chicks, thought you should know before anyone else that I've just put all Delish Designs products into a HALF PRICE sale on my website...so make sure you tell all your friends too!

www.thescrapbookcompany.co.uk

I need more room so that I can buy lots more goodies, and thought it was high time that more of you got to enjoy using Delish at delicious prices.

If you are coming to any of my classes, then simply pop a note on the order and I'll make sure that I refund your postage when I hand your parcel over...remember you only pay postage on orders under £20 anyway.

Have fun shopping!

Bird House Sneak Peak

Starting to design for this week's classes, and have finished off a design using a gorgeous bird house template which I've sneak peaked above. I used my favourite method of stripping matching papers (cut about 1") across the bird house and then distressed with nice dark ink. My birdy comes from a metal Christmas decoration that's been sitting in my "things to use" box for ages..think he's kinda neat and can see him being used in this year's Christmas designs.

...hhhm what to design next!

x

Anniversary

WOW we just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary yesterday, I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by and all the wonderful things the last 10 years has brought, no 1 our precious mini scrapper.

So...of course my dining room mantelpiece, which I love to theme and decorate to the occasion/event/craze/idea that we are doing in our home at the time, has changed to gorgeous hot pink flowers and our cards...and yes before you look too closely I cheated and bought a card from WHSmith (but its a cool vintage photography one that I'd love to copy).

We had a lovely supper with mini scrapper, and then as is our tradition got out our wedding album...not scrapped I hasten to add! I then got our wedding memory box and we looked at all the bits I had saved from our wedding weekend and our honeymoon, my tiara, my stockings, the boy's flower, papers bought on the day, menus etc...I then made a collage of these precious bits and took this photo for my 2010 Album - why not put together a collection of favourite things and take some photos - its such fun!

Spending the day in London with my boy tomorrow, which is fabulous. Hope you all have wonderful weekends!

x

Fit for a Wedding!

Have been madly finishing off wedding invitations and place setting cards for a lovely Brighton Bride, and have really enjoyed how they have turned out.

I love making my own paper flowers, and for these ones, I've simply punched two flowers out the same size, and then lightly stamped a big rose over the top. Lightly ink with black around the edges. Stick the 2 together so the petals are overlapping, bling with a little glamour dust, and put a tiny flourish stamp in the middle. How cute are they going to look when you sit down for dinner!

Here's another design with another stamp idea. Definitely worth using for you own dinner parties!...and I'd love to make the flowers are table confetti...remind me that when I need to do hundreds for an event 'cos they take ages!

x

New starts!

Wow my mini scrapper is really growing up as she went off today to her new Middle School, tie and all! Didn't seem too nervous, just excited to see her friends, and ready to start a new adventure of learning...very proud moment when I took pictures this morning, but still can't quite believe its 4 years since the last set of "first day at school" shots...where does time go?

Continued with my new start for September when I went back into the office today, and cleared out lots of files, and made lots of new ones...just the stock room to go and I'll be rearing to get started on Monday.

...only down side to clearing, is sometimes you still don't find what you are looking for...have misplaced two stamps which is really frustrating me, hopefully they are just stuck to a block somewhere..off to continue searching now. Any good ideas for clear stamp storage??? please share as I'm finding that the plastic bags and sheets they give you when you buy them are fine to start with then become really annoying sticking together when you are trying to get the stamp away...so I don't and then I can't find things..arrrgghhh

x