ALL ABOARD

I've been inspired by two challenges today for my scrapbook page - the first is Inspired By who gave us this great image :



The second is a sketch I found at Sketches In Thyme 

Inspired by the imagery of Inspired By I chose to make my photos black and white and they fit with the whole era of this page as we were actually on an old Steam Train - it runs evenings as a Real Ale train and my hubby loves both - real ale and steam trains so it was a perfect birthday present for him a few years ago.  He would much rather have been driving the train but I'm not sure that's allowed!

I've used papers from Kaisercraft here and laso some old BoBunny pieces I had in my stash.  The tickets were hand made and the rub on is an old one I had also in my stash.


 

CELEBRATION!

I don't know about you but a lot of the cards I make never really ever get sent - some go as RAK's on my Joy of Sets page - some are for family members, but today's card has a real purpose. My dearest neice has just had her first baby at age 39.  Not an easy birth sadly but mum and baby are now doing well - she is my sister's daughter and I lost my sister in 1999 so she is very precious and it's so lovely that she now has a daughter of her own.

I chose to use Stampin' Up's Bookcase Builder for my card - I'm always surprised that this little set didn't get the love I think it deserved.  I think it's retiring now also but I will keep hold of it as I think it is great for lots of occasions.

I followed the brief from Fab Friday for my colours for the card and have used Powder Pink, Melon Mambo and Flirty Flamingo. Flirty Flamingo was never one of my favourite colours and I only have it in marker pen but it works well for inking up the little stamps in this set.




I've used Powder Pink cardstock as my base and for the scallop circle around the stitched framelit circle.  This was first embossed with the retired hearts embossing folder.  The ribbon is Powder Pink shimmer ribbon.

 

MEMORIES

Searching back through old photos can give you a big jolt of nostalgia - how quickly the years ago.  I recently found this old photo of my daughter and her horse Figaro.  This picture was taken on a beach in Texas - we lived there for nearly three years and bought Figaro when we were there - Emma was aged 12.  She is now 27 and still has this horse - we brought him back to the UK with us when we returned -he has been her rock, her soulmate, her best friend.

I love this picture of the two of them on the beach - barefoot, bareback and just loving life.

I used the gorgeous papers from Kaisercraft Beach Shack for this layout.  Emma is a child of the sea, being a Pisces, and this all suits her down tot he ground.  It also ties in with The Studio Challenges Tic Tac Toe challenge and I used the middle line of Animal, Blue Brads for my inspiration for this layout.  



 

SIMPLE BUTTERFLIES

A card from me today for the colour Inkspiration challenge over on Facebook - #C134  which gave us this image as inspiration and the choice of colours.  Addicted to Stamps has a Clean and Simple challenge so I'm adding this into their challenge also.







I'm also adding this into the Allsorts Challenge who are asking for Insects, Bugs, Bees and Butterflies.  Bees and Butteflies are about the only insects/bugs I can do lol!  I was lucky enough to win one of the Allsorts Challenge a few weeks ago and my prize was a fabulous voucher for Stamp Addicts.  I received some lovely stamps which I've yet to ink up but they will be being shown soon.


My Pool Party ink is very dry - quite a few of the new colours I got last year went dry really quickly and yet I have SU inks over 10 years old that are still in good condition.  Sometimes different isn't better!  

I've used grey cardstock for my background and a piece of DSP from the Coffee Suite as the backing paper as it has that gorgeous pool party colour.  I've used Kinda Eclectic stamp set and the sentiment from Beautiful You.  The butterflies were simply inked in the three colours and punched out with a retired butterfly punch  A touch of the gorgeous pool party satin ribbon finishes off the card.

Thank you for stopping by.



 

MR & MRS - 1985

33 years ago in September hubby and I said I do - and we still do!  The challenge over at Inspired By is 




and it inspired me to do another scrapbook page.  I happened to be going through some old photos on the computer and this one popped up - I'd obviously scanned it in sometime earlier as, when we were married, there was no such thing as digital photography.

I've used some more Kaisercraft papers for this layout - I think I may need to go and search out some new papers - this was from a Kit from Charmed Crafts and Cards an online shop Ive found and this was their monthly kit back in January and luckily they still had some left.  I've added a couple of sentiment stamps from Stampin Up and the flowers and butterflies are SU thinlets and punches.


 

GONE FISHING

It's always a good idea when a partner has a hobby also -my hubby's is fly fishing and, probably in the grand scheme of things - it's probably more expensive than my crafting hobby.  So when he can go off for the day on a Bank Holiday weekend fishing I can order yummy crafting goodies to assuage his guilt lol!

In honour of his love of fishing I decided he needed a page of his own - I was inspired by Rochelle Spears and her layout and challenge 

I've used some of the lovely Kaisercraft papers again - this one is Memory Lane and some Stampin Up additions from Jar of Love stamp set and matching framelits.  There is also the little chair and drink from the SU Seasonal Thinlets set.  The little envelope in the top left hand corner hides my tag of journalling.  I do like my pages to tell a story rather than just be pictures.

And as hubby is off fishing again today - I'm on to my next layout !!! 



 

MOSAICS

I adore mosaics - I have a mosaic table in my garden and have often fancied actually doing my own with the tiles but I've never got round to it. My son is an archaeologist and I always nag him to see if he's discovered a roman mosaic on his travels - but sadly not yet.  I used to volunteer at our local Iron Age Museum and there is a fabulous mosaic that was discovered not far from where I live depicting Mars the Roman god of war - it was discovered on the floor of a house about 5 miles away from where I live - it is over 2,000 years old.  An amazing piece of art and can't you just imagine ancient peoples sitting there patiently putting each piece in place.



The challenge over at As You See It is Mosaics.  My mosaic card is no-where near as detailed or fiddly.  I've used SU's Birthday Blooms which has been coloured in with Watercolour Pencils layered onto a black and grey background.

BRACKEN BOY

Seven years ago we rescued a very scared little English Springer Spaniel - then aged 18 months. He was to be a companion dog for our Welsh Springer Tegan- she was only two but we had just lost our old girl and our pup did not like other pups so we thought an older rescue dog might be better.  And as a mixed English/Welsh household we knew the two countries could live happily side by side lol!  And so it proved to be - they have been the best of friends and never a cross word between them.  He is a gentle soul and although manic in true Springer style he has come on in leaps and bounds - quite literally.  When we first got him he hated water now we can't keep him out of rivers.  He loves to play and although he still has issues such as loud noises, bangs, anything that looks like a stick which make him run a mile he's a great dog.  That's the trouble with rescues - you don't know their history and they can't tell you why they are fearful.

So in recognition of Bracken I've done a page layout for him following the sketch at Stick It Down.

I've kept the colours monochrome as much as possible in keeping with his own colour of brown and white.  I've used some of the gorgeous papers from Kaisercraft from their Lake House collection.  The scrabble words are from an old set I found in my cupboard as are the chipboard words.  It's amazing what you can find back there!

The dots and the hearts have been inked in old SU Going Gray Ink and stamps from Painter's Palette and Jar of Love.



 

CARDS IN ENVY - FEELING SKETCHY

My card today is for the above challenge Cards In Envy who asked us to choose a favourite sketch -  I must admit I'm kind of new to the whole sketch idea - apart from the challenges that ask for them I rarely look at sketches to follow!  Seems I've been missing a trick as I've now found them for scrapbooking layouts also  All those hours scratching my head trying to think of something and all I needed to do was go on Pinterest - in the words of the immortal Homer Simpson - Doh!

I found this sketch which actually fitted the card I had just done - I think I've really done that the wrong way round but hey - it worked!

I've used a lovely new set for me from Penny Black with some really lovely flowers stamps on it - my stash was actually short of flowers and I just couldn't find exactly what I was looking for until I saw this set.  I think it was called Enjoy.  I used the little daisy stamp and used some SU marker pens to colour it in - the background was sponged in Pear Pizzazz and the outer layer of the oval sponged in Tangerine Tango - with its matching ribbon - this is the last of this bit of ribbon I have and I'm gong to miss it.  The flower was one I had in my stash and I inked it in the same Tangerine Tango and added a brad - #bringbradsback!

 

SNOW DAY

Just as we thought spring was on its way in the UK we got hit with winter and lots of snow.  I chose this theme and my photos of my son, hubby and the dogs as we enjoyed the snow.  As you can see the dogs had a fabulous time.

My layout was inspired by the Let's Get Sketchy challenge blog and their sketch 





My background paper was one that I had in my stash - I've added some DSP from Stampin Up and some stamps from Project Life Remember This.  The snowflakes have been cut out with the Seasonal Thinlets.

 

MEMORIES OF SKOPOLOS, GREECE - MAMMA MIA!

Those of you who know and love the film Mamma Mia will understand my reference in the title - for those who don't last year hubby son and I went to Skopolos the Greek Island where Mamma Mia no 1 was filmed.  I adore Greece - we've been going there on holiday since 1984 and no-where compares to it. 

Hubby and I always wanted to retire there but sadly I don't think that's ever going to happen - for one thing how could we choose just one beautiful Island over another though, if we were pressed, our favourite is Paxos.

Today though I have done a layout on Skopolos.  The beauty of not being with SU anymore means that a whole world of products has opened up and I've just found Kaisercraft.  I adore these papers and although at the moment I only have two packs to my name I'm loving them.  So I was delighted to find they actually have a challenge blog and this month's challenge is a sketch. Click Here to be taken to their blog.




Wow - just Wow - so much in here to challenge me.  And as they ask you to use at least 80% of their products I was a bit limited but I did my best.

I've used two Kaisercraft packs here - the first one is the absolutely gorgeous Memory Lane pack with those beautiful mint colours.  The second one is The Lake House collection.  I've added some of their Alphabet stickers too in Natural and a star stamp and some stars from my collection.  Safe to say I think I need more stuff!  


 

SCRAPBOOK PAGE

Challenging myself with the very detailed CSI scrapbook challenge blog - at first look this challenge seems so daunting





but luckily they do break it down for you and give you ideas to hone in on - I can get overwhelmed sometimes with so much to work from.  I decided to focus on the book but in a slightly tenuous link.

I have done lots of Scrapbooks as presents for family members and one especially for my daughter for her 21st 6 years ago and it is updated regularly.  When my son was 21 and I asked him would he like one he said typically " no not really mum!" Gutted!!!  However, that's not going to stop me doing pages which one day could be put in an album and given to him when he's older and appreciates these things more.  He's an archaeologist - he should appreciate history!  So my page celebrates his Graduation as an Archaeologist.  There were many books that he had to read in order to get his Degree so that is my tenuous link.

I've also chosen some lovely striped paper that I had in my stash and I've used some antique tag for some of the journalling.  I've kept the colours in line with the stripes and added elements which to me shout history. 

 

LILAC IN THE SPRING

I love Lilac and a few years ago I planted one in my garden and now it's full of gorgeously scented purple blooms. It was also one of my dear mum's favourite flowers and I remember lilac trees in the garden when I was growing up.  I'm not the only one who seems to like it either as lately I've found three of my four pets sitting near these lovely scented flowers so I decided to do a scrapbook page.

I adore the lovely soft mint colours of this paper from Kaisercraft from their Memory Lane collection and it shows off the lovely purples of the lilac.  The sentiments come from SU Colourful Seasons and I've used the leaf stamp from Kinda Eclectic on the Title background and on the tag. Both were inked and sponged with SU Crumb Cake and Pool Party and the ribbon is Pool Party shimmer.  The butterflies were some I had already in my stash.

I'm adding this one into the 13arts challenge #66 which has given us a mood board of lovely pastel colours and I've used the soft greens and the butterflies as my inspiration.





I'm also adding this into the Rubber Buggy challenge for their feminine/mom's challenge as these flowers remind me of my mum who I lost 8 years ago this month.




 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #CC290 COLOUR CHALLENGE

Look at these gorgeous colours we got to play with over at Hand Stamped Sentiments this week 




My card uses Marina Mist for the background and for the dots from Painter's Palette.  I've also used the ink stamp from the same set but I've stamped it off in the Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive just to give it a softer background look.  The feathers have been inked in the same colours and cut out.  The ribbons are Old Olive Mini Chevron and Rich Razzleberry Stitched Edge layered on top of each other.  A few little glitter dots finish off the card.

Do check out what my fellow Design Team members have done this week and join in with us - we love to see your creations.


 

FAREWELL PAINTER'S PALETTE

I think I'm right in saying Painter's Palette is on the retirement list - I quite like this set luckily I can still make use of it as I don't have to stop using retired products on my blog.  I'm home feeling sorry for myself with a bad back at the moment - hurts to walk but not sit and craft lol!  Well it does but I'm battling through the pain and here are three posts in one day.

This card is for the CAS colours and Sketches challenge which this week is the colour challenge of the following:




Don't these go lovely together?  I decided to have another play with Painter's Palette cause it hasn't come out in a while.  I've just used the background paint swipes and the dots.  The banner is from Birthday Banners thinlets and the sentiments are non SU.  The flower was one in my stash and I've sponged it with So Saffron and a touch of Pear Pizzazz and cut out two leaves from Colour Seasons thinlets.  I've layered it all onto Pacific Point.

 

INSPIRED BY - FLORAL CLUSTERS AND WOOD

The imagery over at Inspired By never ceases to inspire me - I'm sure that is Laurel's intention and it certainly works.  Her gorgeous image for this week's challenge of Floral Clusters is as below:





The challenge at TGIF this week is Wood.



I decided to do a U fold card and have my flowers on the outside panels of the card.  I started off with SU Very Vanilla and some of their Wood Textures DSP for the panels and some of the Delightful Daisy DSP for the background. 

I'm nearly down to just scraps of all my SU DSP now!!  I used a scrap of some of the Falling in Love DSP for the flowers which were cut out with the Colourful Seasons thinlets.  I sponged round the edges with some retired SU Regal Rose ink and added some non SU pink pearls.  The stem and the leaves were also cut out with the thinlets.  The inside panels was sponged on the edges with Tim Holtz Bundled Sage and the sentiment inked in Tim  Holtz Tattered Rose and another flower added to the bottom.

I love how this card turned out - it's very pretty in real life and looks like my clematis climbing up my pergola in the garden.




 

MOTHER'S LOVE

Mother's are everywhere at the moment especially with it being Mother's Day recently in the US and possibly Australia too? Mother's Day in the UK is always in March.  For me it's always a difficult day cause I lost my darling mum 8 years ago this month.  She actually died two days after my birthday  - I know in her heart she hung on cause she didn't want to die on my birthday- my sister had died on my son's birthday and it always makes it even more poignant. 

Anyway enough of my sad musings, my card for Case This Sketch is a mum's card of sorts - and one hopefully most of us can relate to the sentiment.

I've used the very versatile little set of stamps from Rural Springtime again.  I was inspired by my card by Donna Mikasa's card on the DT and her little bear.

Here's the sketch for the challenge 



Here's my take on the sketch - I even got a chance to use some more of the hardware from SU's Hodgepodge kit from years ago.

I'm also adding this into Addicted to CAS #136 whose theme is Mom/Mum