UKS December Week 2 Challenge

In between rushing around making my Christmas cards I managed to do the weekly challenge on UK Scrappers. I used one of the sketches provided, coil colours and new stash.  The papers are Teresa Collins Now and Then from my latest Quirky Kit.  I love them and might need to invest in more of them after Christmas. Photos are of DD Fiona ages six out sledging with her brother.  Shes 19 now so as you can see Im still playing catch up with the Mountains of photos lol

Altered Sardine Tin Swap

After seeing a lovely altered sardine  tin on pinterest I decided to host my very first swap over on UK Scrappers!

Much fun was had by us all.making tins to our swapees theme.  Mine is now winging its way to Lou so I really hope she likes it.  Her theme was Frost so after cleaning out my tin i covered it with snow made from a mixture of gesso, White utee crystals and glossy accents as featured in Sctap 365.  The background bad some dylusions ink sprayed and stopped on it with.chipnoard stars and stickles.  The snowman Was covered in platinum utee and then a script stamp was stamped in to it.  I finished it off with a banner with Brrrr on it and a few more snowflakes covered in utee.

I had a lot of fun doing this one and might host another one in the New Year.

Mojo 3 Cj

Im just embarking on the 3rd round of the Mojo Busters cj with a great group of crafters on UKS.  Most of us have been together as a group for about 2 years now and for the third round we have a couple of.New faces joining us but most of us know them from other swaps ob UKS.

My subject this time is Song lyrics and my cj has been received by Sian and Im looking forward to sewing what she does

Heres a few pics for you

September Week 2 Challenge

This week our crop has taken a turn at setting the weekly challenge.

First up Donna chose this fab if rather challenging sketch

The other criteria were to use chipboard, sew on the layout (either real or faux) and to use washi tape or ribbon.  These days it would be more of a challenge for me not to use sewing on a layout as I love doing it and it seems to sneak on to almost every layout I do.

Here is my example.  I used Echo Park Note to Self papers which I love, I have now used most of my collection pack.  The photos were taken in Barter Books in Alnwick when I was there in July.  I absolutely love spending time there and go as often as I can when I am down in the north east.  Its an utter treasure trove of a place.  The title came from a review someone had done on the internet and I thought it very apt.

I used two of the buttons from the pack I ordered from Stash Panche run by Morag Cutts, you can check out her etsy shop or they are now available from Angel Crafts and Merly Impressions.  I thought these were the pefect finishing touch and will be ordering more soon.

Secret Swappers Collage Swap

Just realised I had forgotten to blog my pieces for Leanies Collage Swap.  There is 12 of us taking part and we were all given a colour and a theme and had to make 12 pieces in four differenti sizes.  I had scarlet and hearts.  Heres my pieces. I cant wait to get all the different ones back and see what they look like all put together.  Im sure it will make a fab piece of art for my craft room wall.

August Wk 1 Challenge

Hello there, in between a mad flurry of tidying and cleaning I took a little time to scrap these pics of Fiona posing in her new specs.  I got my brand new Quirky kit last week and although I am desperate to use it thought Is try and finish off the last One first.  I just love the colourway of the Lilly Bee buttercup papers.  As ever these days I couldnt resist a wee bit of sewing so I drew round a button in pencil, pricked out the holes and sewed.  I just love the texture it adds to your layout

July week 5 challenge

Scrapdolly set the challenge on UKS this week and it was to scraplift a layout from her gallery. With all of her lovely layouts I was spoiled for choice.  Im blogging from my phone and cant seem to link to her layout at the moment.  I chose this photo of my son Fraser modelling his New suit he got for Emmas grad ball. 

July Week 4 Challenge

Thought Id better have a go at this one as my points for my.UKS team.have.been abysmal this.month.  it was a nice simple.challenge set by Sarah. Use favourite colour scheme, favourite technique - sewing for me, I seem to have it.on.most layouts these days and thing you couldnt.live.without - well my htc desire . I love it, and as the title says it.gives me the world in my pocket

Grimm.ATC Book Swap

After receiving my gorgeous Alice themed ATC book from Rebecca I just knew I had to join the Grimm one.  i chose The Queen Bee as my theme and after my bee stamp buzzing off and re appearing several times I finally got them done.  I printed out some.of the words from the story and inked over them with distress inks. I stamped the body of the Bee from card, coloured in and Aedes some glossy accents. I then stamped the wings and.legs in vellum and hear embossed. I topped the Bee off with a crown and then finished it.off with a little flower made from Organza and.net layers

Cant wait to get my little book back and on display in my craft room

Scrap-a-sketch - June

My goodness me has it really been six or seven weeks since I updated my blog;. Im quite shocked. For some reason most of May and early June just disappeared in a blur. I am really needing to get up to date with My Photo Fifty album as I havent done May and June yet. I hardly took any photos in May so I dont know how I am going to pad that month out - any ideas welcomed. June will not be a problem as that was the month of the dreaded 50th birthday which remarkably was a real pleasure. Pics etc will follow from that one I think. Im off to stay at Heather's next weekend so I will be cropping with the frozen northerners and intend to catch up on things so hopefully will have more crafty stuff to blog Anyways Scrap-a-sketch came round quickly as per but for once I had my layout done for the monthly reveal. It was Dee's turn to pick the sketch this month and this is what she chose. I loved it and my layout came easily for me Its a photo of Fiona, my daughter with her friend Jade all dolled up for a night out. The papers came from the February Quirky kit - I have more or less used them all up now and I was pleased with the way it turned out although the black and the red hand stitching did take a while

Alice ATC Book Swap

I have joined a group of Very Talented (but crazy) crafters on UKS and Rebecca has organised an Atc swap.  We each have to make 14 atcs using an Alice in Wonderland character. I chose Cheshire Cat and I did get the Octopode Cheshire Cat stamp but he was too big :(  I think I will need to give the digital ones a go

Anyways thanks to Bean Chop Suie as  we like to call Suzie for stamping These out and emailing them to me, so here they are and I just hope they are ok.  I cant wait till they all come back in  their accordian book so I can have them on display

More Layouts from Lochhouse

Hello again. I thought Id show you my next batch of layouts from my long weekeend away. Its amazing really any of us got anything done at all between all the laughing, eating, drinking and generally having a whale of a time which went on but maybe all those things help oil the wheels of creativity. I know that I definately scrap better when I am in amonst my friends and this mob are the best a girl could have. First up is this one which is my Grandparents. I used the gorgeous Websters pages set which Dee gave me in our UKS Team Secret (or not so Secret) Santa.

Lots of fussy cutting and thanks to Dee for donating the pearls to string over the cut out of the mirror. Next up is this one of my daughter Fiona and her pal Laura - I just loved the sticker in with these Note to Self Papers and it suits the photo of them both. I coloured in the roses using a promarker as I didnt have any to match. Note to Self - just buy neutral colours from now on and custom colour as you go.

This one was for the April Week 5 challenge and shows my Mum holding my son Fraser up to get his first look at his baby sister - what an expression - says it all really - Unimpressed - he certainly was. It turned out an absolute riot of colour and very busy - not my usual style but I quite like it

Finally this one is the complete opposite - Listen to your Soul was printed on this gorgous sheet of MME paper qand I felt it suited this photo of the slightly stormy sea taken at Beadnell this Easter. I felt the page didnt need much embellishing so I used a lovely little corner die - courtesy of Heather and doubled up a Rosette cut using my Tim Holtz Die which I layered on top of a small doily courtesy of Donna which I painted pale yellow to match.

Spring Break at Lochhouse

Hello there. Well I am just back after a fab long crafty weekend. Five of us went off to Lochhouse Farm nr Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway and I can tell you a high old time was had by all. Much hysterical laughing, chatting, sipping of wine and eating took place with a bit of crafting thrown in for good measure. I managed a dl cj entry, some ATCs and 8 12 x 12 layouts. Here's the first three

This one used the April CCW kit- Pink Paislee Prairie Hill - I love these papers and might need to invest in some more of them. I took this picture of Beadnell Harbour last summer just as dusk was coming and it just matched the papers so well. Next up is this one of my DD Fiona and her boyfried Gary taken on her 17th Birthday last year - I used papers from my Quirky kit and did some sewing on this one - I am a bit addicted to sewing on layouts at the moment

Finally for now is this one of my son Fraser and his girlfriend Emma taken on a Christmas night out- I love these Echo Park Note to Self papers.

Rik Rak Ravers Weekly Challenge on UKS

This week it’s the turn of my team The Rik Rak Ravers to set the weekly challenge on UK Scrappers. The criteria are to use this sketch, which I flipped round.

Scrap a man in your life Use different fonts/alphas Use inking/misting Use Rik Rak Here is my layout

Its an old school photo of my Dad (ringed in red) taken circa 1944 when he attended the John Neilson in Paisley. Im trying to do some layouts of him and his family as he has recently been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia and will be 80 next year and Im hoping that by having an album showing various stages in his life it will help him to remember things Looking forward to seeing all the different takes on this.

A Lovely Crafty Break

Hello there. Im just back from a lovely break in the North East of England. I spent a couple of days with my lovely friend Heather and had a fab day cropping and blethering with Heather, Lesley and Julie. I managed to get caught up on my Photo Fifty pages for March which I will photo and put on the blog when I get a chance. I then had a lovely peaceful couple of days at my Mum and Dads caravan in Beadnell. Despite the dull and chilly weather I got my walks on the beach which were just blissful and peaceful. I love being by the sea and I find it clears out the cobwebs in my head which is just what was needed. I came back to work yesterday but the blow was softened somewhat by the arrival of a parcel from France. It was my matchbox Shrine from Rebecca. It is an utterly beautiful Beach hut hanging on a rope and the photo just doesnt do justice to how lovely it is. When you open the door it reveals a picture of my beloved Beadnell Bay which was just so thoughtful of her. There are also some lovely little shells in there.

It now has pride of place in my room at home. Also in the parcel was a beautiful hand crafted pendant made from Scottish Sea Glass and an altered box full of shells, little bits of driftwood and sea glass. It was all so beautiful and I feel honoured to have received it all

Matchbox Shrine Swap

When I saw this swap which Rebecca put up on UKS I just couldnt resist. I loved the idea of making a little shrine from a small matchbox. As ever though the ideas in my head took a bit of translating into practise and mine didnt turn out as I had initially envisaged it.

My swappee requested a Nostalgic/Vintage theme and I thought immediately of my Kaisercraft 6 xc 6 pad of Sweet Nothings papers which are in lovely soft vintage tones. I decorated the inside with some paper, did some inking, added a little filigree silver edge piece, a lovely little blue cameo which I got from Angela of Angel Crafts at the as I thought this would be lovely on the inside. I made a frame from the front using two nestability dies, added a three d punched butterfly and some little flowers I made from spirals with some stickes on. I inked and scrunched a length of hug snug seam binding to hung it up from and that was it done

I think Karen liked it and I hope she has a wee spot to hang it in. I loved this swap and think I will have a go at making one for myself. I am fortunate enough to know that Rebecca is making mine which is winging its way to me from France at the moment and having seen her sneak peak on UKS I cannot wait to receive my little beach hut shrine. I know exactly where that is going to live.

Mini Screen Swap

I couldnt resist joining in the mini screen swap on UKS when Karen announced it and once I saw Linda E's lovely version in Craft Stamper I knew I definately wanted to join in.

I was a bit stumped at first when I got the theme my swappee wanted which was Oriental as I dont really possess anything which could be described as Oriental. However I saw these lovely black and red Kaisercraft papers and took it from there. I covered the back of the panels with the paper and distressed and inked the edges. I then covered the fronts with red and black cardstock. I found a sheet of Oriental decoupage and set about cutting out the ladies - which was a bit of a trial for my limited cutting skills. A few little trinkets and they were done. Its quite simple but I really hope my swapee likes it

I asked for a Cath Kidston/Shabby Chic style screen for my theme and I received mine from Claire yesterday

I finished the screen off with stamped chinese writing on panels of white card inked at the edges and decorated these little Kaisercraft Chipboard lanterns finishing them off with tassels made from embroidery thread. I just hope the recipient likes it

Rik Rak Ravers Chinese Whispers - The Final Reveal

Well after seven months we have come to the end of my UKS teams Chinese Whispers Challenge.

It has been both great fun and challenging trying to do a layout based on someone elses each month and its exciting now to see the whole sequence of layouts and how they have changed from the beginning to end.

So here is how mine started with a picture of my Mum and Dad, my daughter Fiona and me celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary at their caravan

Then Dee did her take on mine with a beautiful picture of her twins Amy and Tony

Next up was Lisa with a lovely school photo of Tessa featuring on hers

Followed by Julieann's darkly spooky one

Then Debbie's majestic shot of the House used in the TV series Monarch of the Glen

Next up was Lesley's lovely soft vintage style layout of her daughter Jen and her lovely Grand-daughter Abby

Last but by no means least is this lovely layout from Heather featuring fresh colours and her handsome son Mike on his honeymoon in Italy enjoying a coffee

Chinese Whispers - Round 7

Well our team on UKS have now more or less completed our Chinese Whispers challenge. The final reveal will be on 20th March.

This is my last layout which is my version of Dee's original layout

The photo was taken on New Years Day a few years ago before my son Fraser was quite 18 - it turned out he had sampled a couple of bottle of Stella Artois from the fridge when no one was looking and had also given a little bit to poor Spike!! I only twigged when Spike was lying in a contented manner on a chair allowing my cousins small children to pet him without complaint!!

I enjoyed doing this one as I am trying to experiment with little clusters of embellishments which other people seem to do so well and I seem to take ages and still mine look like they have just been thrown down randomly - I am quite happy with this one though

Sketch & Scrap - February

Sketch and Scrap reveal time has come around again. This month it was Ali's turn to put the sketch up and this is the one she chose from Page Maps

I dug out these pictures from Fraser's Primary Seven Leavers Ceilidh which was some oooh 8/9 years ago lol - still playing catch up with old photos. They show him in a kilt for the first time with the smaller pictures showing me, his Dad, Fiona, his sister and both sets of Grandparents. After I had done the layout I realised that without thinking about it it was the first time since my divorce I have been able to scrap a picture with their Dad in it so that means I will probably now be able to plough through the old photos and get them scrapped for their albums. Fraser will be 21 this year so I think this one will go in the album I am going to make him for his birthday.

I used papers from my last Quirky kit as they suited the masculine feel of the photos.

Thinking caps now on for the sketch which Jess has put up for March.

Continuing the Art Journey

I am still very much enjoying following the UKS Art Journey, Im learning all the time and when its finished my Art Journal will be full of techniques for me to use and lessons in what not to do lol.

Here is my page for the layering prompt, I had a lot of fun with this one and am pleased with the result

This one is the result of playing about with the image transfer prompt. Its not finished yet as I want to put some wording on it but havent quite decided what yet.

Looking forward to the next prompt now. I do so love getting inky, painty and messy

EK Crop Challenge

This week on UKS my crop is setting the weekly challenge

This is the sketch we have asked people to use and we have also asked for hand made blossoms, butterflies and stitching on the layout

I have just realised this one might count for an inclusion in the "Month of Sunrays" which Julie Kirk (Nabview) has been running on her fab blog here

Here is mine

I did this one for Laura, who is my daughter Fiona's friend, I gave it to her in a box frame as a present for her 18th birthday. My DD and her friends all love looking through the scrapbooks to see layouts of themselves

Im hoping we get a lot of folks joining in with our challenge

UKS CHUNKY ATC SWAP

I have just taken part in a great swap on UKS run by Chrissie. You started with a block of wood and made a Chunky ATC. Many thanks to Karen and her lovely hubbie Tony for cutting and supplying the wood. My swappee was Viv and she specified a flowers and fairies theme

Here are pics of the ATC I made, I hope she liked it. I certainly enjoyed making it

I specified a beachy theme - no surprise there then for those that know me and Melissa made me this cute little beach hut which now has pride of place on a shelf in my bathroom with some other beachy themed bits.

I cant wait till Chrissy runs this swap again.