Candy Shoppe Designs Pre-Opening Challenge

Afternoon all,

I've had a wonderful afternoon getting my teeth stuck into a layout. It was so nice to scrapbook again since I've been making cards lately. The layout I've completed is for a new blog debuting on September 1st called Candy Shoppe Designs. Its an awesome looking site. You can check it out here if you like.

Anyway, for this pre-opening Challenge called "From this day forward..." we were given a sketch and were told to create a layout, card or other creation. We were told we had to use some old (6 months or more), something new, something borrowed (i.e. the sketch), and something blue. Here's my take on the Challenge.....

My ingredients are as follows:

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics (Oceanside Collection)

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Recess Collection)

Embellishments: "sun" letter stickers by American Crafts, Flower by Prima, "Precious" rubon by Creative Imaginations, "Missons of Mischief" tab by 7Gypsies, "& Sandcastles" stamps by Banana Frog, "or not" letters by Sizzix (Neon mini alphabet).

Pen: Zig writer

Other: Unknown

Short Description:

These pictures were taken on our last trip back to Australia (where I'm originally from). Ethan had such a great time playing on the beach and took it upon himself to destroy a long line of sandcastles hence the title "Sun & Sandcastles - Or Not." One minute these standcastles were there and the next they were gone with Ethan standing victorious on top of them all.

I had such fun doing this layout. Thanks for looking. Have a great day everyone. X X

365 Cards ~ Day 120 ~ Super Sketchy Sunday

Morning all,

I've spent all morning sorting out my ribbon collection after Trace drove me to the stationers to get some book rings. I'm amazed at how much ribbon I actually have and I'm sure I've still got more to find as I continue to sort through my stash.

Nevertheless I've managed to squeeze in some crafty time and thought I'd have a go at the weekly sketch on 365 Cards. Here was my take on it.....

Cardstock is Bazzill, patterned paper is K&Co and the rubon is Creative Imaginations. The flowers were cut from the same paper range. I'm going to try and tackle todays challenge but we'll see if we get there because it's got me stumped at the moment. Why not go over and check it out. Any ideas would be gratefully received. LOL

Thanks for looking. Take care everyone and I'll chat soon....

Really appreciate all that I have....

Evening all,

Today I actually thought about all the things I have to be grateful for. I also realised that I can honestly say that I have never been as happy with my life as I am now. I think back to some moment in my past and I can say that, personally, the moments in my past do not even come close to how happy I am in my life now.

Now, I realise that there are hassles that everyone has. We are in a recession and a lot of people have money worries (including me) and the day-to-day things that bog us down. But, I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the feeling you have about yourself and your place in the world. I appreciate all that I have and am confortable in my own skin which is something I've never been able to say before. For the first time I can say I wouldn't change a thing.

Anyway, It's going to be a short post for today. We've had friends round for a BBQ and a few drinks and now that it's all over and I've sat down I realise I'm shattered! LOL

So I hope everyone had a good day and I'll catch up tomorrow (hopefully with some crafty time to report.) Take care everyone.....

365 Cards Challenge ~ Day 114 - Lovin' Lavender

Hi everyone,

It's amazing how the creative path leads you where it wants to. I was all set to do todays challenge on 365 cards (Day 118 ~ I've been framed) and had started preping my stash but them my creative side took over and I've ended up doing Day 114 ~ Lovin' Lavender instead! Quite a simple card but one I really enjoyed doing....

Cardstock is Bazzil, the flowers are from a piece of K&Co Amy Butler Paper, the white rub-ons and Cherish Sticker are Making Memories and the gems are from my sewing box. Thanks for looking. Chat soon....

Still trying to sort stash....

Morning all,

After my little bit of crafty time yesterday I am itching to get going on some more. I have ideas buzzing round my head and have to keep stopping to jot them down. However, I still have the massive job of going through my stash to sort it all out.

Its been so long since I did anything properly crafty and my organisational skills have gone somewhat. Moving into a new, smaller house didn't help much either. I now have less room to craft and considering I felt I didn't have enough room in the old house, I really need to get on top of my stash and make sure I can find everything. If anyone has any tips out there I'd be most grateful.

That said, I am hoping to get started on another card this afternoon. I have a fantastic idea that I've been hoping to try for ages. Just hope it works out the way I plan. If I do manage to get it finished I'll be sure to post it on here. But in the meantime I'll be up to my elbows in stash (which I'm sure a lot of you would love) trying to find a place for everything and everything in its place. Wish me luck? LOL

Have a good day everyone and I'll chat soon.....

At last some crafty time..... Day 115 Challenge at 365 Cards

I could resist no longer. I have been itching to craft for days but have put it off because I felt as if I had other "houseworky" things to do. But no more! I am putting my foot down and could not wait a minute longer. LOL

I absolutely loved the challenge set on 365 cards. I've only ever done paper piecing once before but after finding a free template here I couldn't wait to get started. Here's my card....

I thought since its nearly the end of the school year over here in the UK that a teachers card would be a good place to start. A huge thank you to about.com and Jennifer Schmidt for the pattern. Thanks for checking it out.

Decided to switch to blogger....

After a long thought about what I want from a blog program I've decided to switch to Blogger for my blog. Although I did like the program I was using, it was just too complicated and I didn't have the time to sit down and learn about html code, installing and configuring plugins and all the other things I would have had to learn to get my blog looking like I wanted it to.

So it's back to the drawing board to see if I can get what I want from a blog program. Bear with me and my fickle mind. LOL