I Will Scrap This {the one with the green man}

Jack arrived home from nursery recently armed with a masterpiece! Having been given free reign to paint anything he wanted he painted 'the green man'. At first the nursery teachers weren't sure what he was talking about but once they realised that he had painted a set of traffic lights with the correct colours and in the right order they were very impressed!! Well done little man. Love Mummy x

'The Green Man' by Jack Age 3 1/2

Back to the Magic

I picked up this cute 8x8 Mickey Mouse album while we were on honeymoon in Orlando in 2007. Once home and scrapping, I found 8x8 scrapping wasn't my thing. I just don't work well with this size, I don't know why as I love 4x6, 6x12 and 12x12 so what's up with 8x8? Who knows, but after a few pages I was sold on the idea of giving up gracefully. Recently, I sold the 8x8 album but was left with a stack of lonely pages sitting on my craft desk.

Continuing in the stash busting spirit (and generally clearing my craft desk) I decided to repurpose my pages for some 12x12 living.

I stuck each layout onto a sheet of 12x12 cardstock and added some embellishments. For some reason my original 8x8 pages didn't have many bulky embellies. I have no idea why. I wish I could ask my former scrappy self - why so flat? Did I have an aversion to foam pads perhaps?! I also added some long awaited journalling to each page. Hey younger me - why no journalling?! Now I have some new(ish) layouts for our honeymoon album and more space on my desk.

Where's your smiles for Mummy

Where's your smiles for Mummy is a phrase that Jack has heard a lot. Much to my enjoyment he is currently going through a happy to be photographed stage. I can't lie; never looking at the camera and the inability to stay still for one nano second was not my bag. I'm so pleased we've moved on to this new poser stage. I'm fully prepared that it won't last and I am making the most of it armed and dangerous with my point and shoot. But there was the captive audience stage where he couldn't move (much), didn't comment on his outfits and happily posed all the time (although it's safe to say he didn't have many other options).

Ages ago I made use of a special offer at Truprint for a collage print. I had no idea what I was going to do with my print but I think it was always my intention to chop it up. As a scrapper who relies on online photo printing I am always looking for ways to print in a size other than 4x6 (although I love my 4x6 dont' get me wrong) and this seemed like a great idea. It's really simple to create, just pick your photos and Truprint (or I'm sure any online photo printer) does the rest. 

In the spirit of using existing supplies, and I include my pre-printed photos in this, I thought it was about time I put this collage to good use. Three years sitting in my craft room was not part of my grand master scrapping plan (I just checked my Truprint order history which goes back to early 2010 - this order isn't even there). Time to get scrapping!

Keeping the layout Truprint had already given me all I had to do was cut the photos and stick them down in the same order (losing a column and a little from one of the photos on the left hand side to make this it fit onto a 12x12 sheet but I am sure you can order collages in A4 to get around this. 

I added a couple of strips of papers, a title, embellies and some journalling - a super quick layout with lots and lots of photos to look back on.

Supplies include; kraft cardstock, Bella Blvd. Baby Boy paper, stickers and chipboard, Simple Stories Baby Steps alphas, gems, brads and Thickers.

Rollin Rollin Rollin

When Jack first started to roll, he rolled only to the left. When he reached the sofa he would indicate that he wanted to be taken back to his starting position at the opposite side of the rug. Such a precious memory, I wish I had blogged/scrapped this at the time as we had to do a little detective work (looking back at old photos and video) to remember the details. This makes me sad but makes me even more determind to blog/jot down (scrap!!) the little details and the big milestones as they happen. This is even more important to me with Jack's little brother on his way! How do you scrap with two??? Practically? Will there be time? How do you decide who to scrap?! I'd love to hear your strategies?

This page was inspired by Shimelle's second challenge to mix three or more paper collections on one layout. I have to be honest I NEVER do this. I am a lazy scrapper. I don't want to spend too much time on one page. I don't have (or at least I didn't think I had) time to search through collections upon collections to find papers that match. I simply scrap by collection, adding the odd embellishment from another collection/manufacturer but generally sticking to one range. I was ready to mix it up, to give this challenge a go and I am so pleased that I did.

I think I cheated a little however, as I picked collections that have really quite obvious and similar themes - baby boy and animals.

Supplies include; Bazzill (kraft cardstock), MME Lime Twist Fly a Kit (blue star and grey/brown polka dot papers, red stars transparency), LYB Babysaurus (yellow stripe paper and stickers), Bella Blvd. Baby Boy (yellow cloud paper, star and bodysuit borders stickers and chipboard), LYB Baby Boy Safari (chipboard and journalling spot), Ki Memories Puffies (red flowers) and American Crafts (Thickers). Plus some lace, tulle and decorative pins.

I love the introduction of the red from MME - I would never have thought to add red to the other collections. I am so pleased with the results that I am going to keep these supplies together all mixed up. Here's to mixing it up and blogging/jotting things down more!

what i LOVE about you...

I've really been struggling to scrap this photo of my gorgeous Goddaughters. The colours of their clothes didn't fit with any of the pink girlie collections I had bought to scrap their pages. So the photo has been lying in a drawer for ages unscrapped. Until today...

Insprired by Shimelle's first challenge (Shimelle is hosting an online scrapbooking event this weekend) and armed with Echo Park's Dots and Stripes Metropolitan and Candy Shoppe kits I made this:

Lots of mad colours (in my opinion) that I would have never thought to use together but love the result. I added some buttons, lace, tulle, gems and decorative pins along with some journalling spots for their Mummy to complete. I'm really pleased that I have finally managed to scrap this page and that I am happy with the results.

I will Scrap This {the one with the mother's day plant}

My all time favourite Mother's Day present is a plant Jack grew at nursery. I had no idea he had been growing it, it was a lovely surprise to see him running in the front door armed with a Mother's Day gift - he was so proud of himself.

This is Jack last week with his plant and his Easter gift from his Grandma and Grandad - his own gardening set. I am loving this new super posing phase he is 'growing' through. I better make the most of it before he changes his mind!

Easter Baskets

**I promise this is the last post from me today. You'll not hear another peep from me, honest**

I bought a stack of Easter decorations last year in the Easter sale at my local garden centre. I wanted to use the decorations to make some Easter baskets this year. Not one to leave things to the last minute I popped into town on Saturday morning for some wicker baskets and shredded tissue paper. Luckily Clintons had everything I needed.

I added one and half packets of shredded tissue paper to each, creating what Jack calls 'a nice cosy bed' for the contents of my basket. With hindsight they could've probably done with two packets each.

I untied and retied two felt butterfly decorations plus a chick decoration and hung these on the handle of each basket. On the opposite side I added two flower pegs. I tied three peices of ribbon to the handles and untied and retied a felt rabbit or chick (bought in Tesco a few years ago) as well. I added a wooden flower decoration and lots of egg decorations along with some chocolate eggs and hearts to each basket. Once I had decided on my design it didn't take long to make these at all.

P.S. Pop over to the Craft Island blog to see my Easter Basket using paper mache eggs. Remember to check out this months 6x6 competition too.

10 on the Tenth in April

10 Things in April brings you... 10 random things {you may or may not know} I am looking forward to right now:

1. Baby's arrival in August.
2. Watching Jack with his little baby brother.
3. The arrival of my little neice or nephew in October.
4. My birthday this month.
5. Our first trip to Disney World as a family (Grandparents, in-laws, the lot!). Planned for October 2015! 
6. My maternity leave. Spending time with my boys and being a 'proper' Mummy for a little while.
7. A week off work in May.
8. Changing Jack's room into a big boys bedroom complete with midsleeper car themed bed with a tent underneath!
9. Going to bed tonight (Jack is waking up during the night for a pee pee/tissue/Calpol/stairgate check (it must be closed)/general attempt to sleep in our bed) = tired Mummy.
10. Christmas! Our first Christmas as a family of four and our first Christmas dinner at my in-laws with three children.

Every month, we blog ten things on the tenth.  Your ten things can be absolutely anything you feel like sharing.  Pop on over to Shimelle's blog and link to your specific blog post so we can all come read your own list of ten.

P.S.Check out the new competition over on the Craft Island blog. The closing date is Friday 27th April. Here is a cheeky wee 'egg'xample from me.

Country Style Clutter

A little over a year ago I discovered Country Style Clutter. Country Style Clutter is based in Edzell at the foot of the Angus Glens in the North East of Scotland. In the shop you will find hand painted hearts, wall hangings and decorative works of art for your home. Linda is the artist behind the shop front and is one of the loveliest people you could ever meet.

Linda has sent me so many gorgeous items for my home and for my friends and family over the last year or so. I don't think there is a room in my home without a little Country Style Clutter. And if there is, then it's only because I haven't got around to placing my order yet (I'm thinking of the door signs for the bathroom and the downstairs loo). I always think of Linda when a friend gets married or has a baby. I've lost count how many friends and family have Country Style Clutter works of art in their homes. I have sent Country Style Clutter as far as Austraila.

In my recent order Linda popped these little extras in for Jack. How delighted was I? I am going to stick this to Jack's bedroom door in a superstar dressing room fashion.

Jack was delighted with his lovely Easter gingerbread man with his name on! He is gingerbread men daft so much so that we still have a gingerbread man air freshener from Christmas in the car!

This Happy Easter heart is a little something that Linda 'popped' in my order last year. Isn't it the cutest. I have mentioned to Linda that smaller versions of her creations would be welcome additions to my scrapbook pages. Watch this space and hound Linda until she makes some handmade wooden embellishments!!

On the Move

I did it. I made the big move all the way across the landing from craft room to crafty corner. After a big clearout; selling, recycling, donating anything that I was definitely never going to use my crafty supplies been somewhat plundered but I still didn't expect it all to fit into the space we EVENTUALLY found in our bedroom!

My old craft room with my extra large craft desk which was originally bought for a much bigger room plus lots of 'dumping ground stuff'.

My crafty drawers (oo er missus) and shelves plus a multi-gym (as you do) (not mine obviously).

I didn't do anything forward thinking like, measure the space or the new desk. I'd decided on an 4x2 Expedit unit with desk from Ikea and that is what we bought. I'd kinda worked where everything would go in my head but no proper thought or planning had gone into it. So I thought we had nothing better to do than rearrange some furniture and to build my unit and desk. Simples. Ahem. NOTHING fitted. EVERY new idea we had fell foul to me not being able to maneuver myself plus bump though the teeny tiny spaces we were creating between bits of bedroom furniture. After a whole morning of shifting we finally found a solution which by some weird twist of fate actually makes the bedroom look bigger?!?  

 

Before - lots of mess in our bedroom.

Finally someone decides to do some measuring.

 

A Little helper. Jack loves nothing better than mess and furniture building. I hope he is so eager when we change his bedroom furniture to put his nursery furniture into the baby's room.

Ta da!! It's all there every last bit of craft stuff. I'm enjoying it all being within reach and it's all much more visable than before. Now just gotta get crafting!!