Clean and Simple

After being undecided about whether to sign up for Cathy's latest class over at Big Picture Classes, a money off code in my emails this morning tipped the balance and I signed up. This afternoon I went through the course work and this evening I put the layout together. As I knew Cathy's instructions are clear and easy to follow. I had a couple of hiccups but after leaving a comment on the message board, she got back to me really quickly and I was back on track.

This is the first layout I've made in a very long time - it was fun to be scrapbooking again and I'm looking forward to seeing what else I learn from this class.

Have any of you signed up for this class too?

xx

Thanks Simple Aussie Girls :)

After seeing this post on Simple Aussie Girls website this weekend, I knew I wanted to scraplift it to use these photos :).  As you can see, I didn't have room for a title at the bottom (I guess my photos are a bit bigger) so I added one to the main photo.  I like the way it turned out and it's another layout completed :)

xx

Licking the Spoon

I loved these photos from when we made cupcakes last week and wanted to record them on a layout. So, over the weekend I continued playing around with what I had and finally finished on Sunday night.

I knew there were a few photos I wanted to use so I designed a photo collage template in Photoshop Elements 9 with a 4x6 photo as the main photo and three little 2x2 photos to the side. However, when I printed it out I felt it neded something to divide the photos. I played around on my Silhouette Cameo (which I was lucky enough to get for Christmas) and managed to come up with this frame to go over the photos which, I think, finishes them off.  The title was also cut on the Silhouette using one of the fonts I have on my computer and the tab, little heart and spoon were shapes downloaded from the Silhouette shop (though I did add the inner oval on the spoon). 

This page is a little out of my comfort zone because I usually keep things very simple with plain cardstock, maybe a little patterned paper and a title. So adding ribbon and embellishments (if you can call them that) is different for me.  It's got the photos scrapped though and that was what I wanted :)

xx

20:365(+1)

Working on a scrapbook page - more to come next week (because it's not finished yet lol!)
xx

Project Life Week 1

I started Project Life last year in May but didn't get very far with it :o(    However, I've decided to start again this year and, so far, it's good.  I'm not sure that I'll post every week as most of my photos will have been on the blog already but for now I'm happy that I've got the first week done and the second week has the photos to date already in.  I'd love to be able to keep this up all year and finally have a year documented.  Wish me luck ;o)

I know there will be a lot of photos of Alice in this album as she's a big part of my life at the moment seeing as she's here three days a week. It'll be fun for her to be able to look back at it when she's a bit older and see what we did. 

I'm using the Clementine kit at the moment - I downloaded it from Jessica Sprague.com and have printed and cut out what I wanted to use so far.  I may continue this way or see if I can order the journalling cards on Amazon next month when they are supposed to be available. 

xx

December album

Today I started putting together an album for December. I'm still not 100% sure how I'm playing it this year but just getting it finished would be good!  I've decided to keep it small and simple using a 6 x 6 American Crafts album and keeping the template the same, though the page with the photos can be turned for either portrait or landscape shots.

This gives an idea of what the finished pages will look like.
xx

Halloween layout

I wanted to make sure I recorded Alice's first Halloween so made this layout quickly today.

xx

PS. I know from a distance the patterned paper looks a bit like a cow print but it's actually little ghosts saying Boo!

Don't faint ...

I've actually completed a layout this morning!! Last night I was looking at Amy's page on Simple Aussie Girls and thought it was really time I tried to do some more layouts for Alice's album.  This morning I chose a couple of photos, matched the cardstock with the shoes and this is the result.  Unfortunately I can't get the colour to show as it is in real life, which is more of a raspberry pink, but you get the idea anyway.  As usual it's a very simple layout, which is what I like.
xx

As I said yesterday ...

I did say yesterday that I thought these photos might end up on a scrapbook page :)  Last night they were sitting on my desk just asking to be put on paper. This layout only took me 10 - 15 minutes as I had an idea of what I'd like to do with them already. The Bo Bunny Powder Blue Dot paper reminds me of the blue dotted material in Alice's quilt and the black lettering/typing ties in with the black on the rattle and book (letter stickers were Basic Grey Urban Prairie). As for the bumble bee, it was cute and the stripes tied iin with the rattle once again (also from Basic Grey Urban Prairie). 

Journalling reads : You are so cute at the moment we all just want to cuddle and kiss you! You're sitting on your own and today, when we put youon your tummy, you managed to go up on all fours. I wonder how long it'll be before you're crawling. One thing that hasn't changed recently is the fact that you put anything and everything in your mouth, especially the things we'd rather you didn't! Love you gorgeous girl xxx
Age: 2 days shy of 7 months :)        16/06/2011

Amy's template

While catching up on blog reading yesterday, I saw Amy's post asking who wanted to join in in scrapbooking the present, this week, no matter how trivial. Although mine isn't a story about something that happened, it is about Alice now and what she's doing.

First page I've scrapped in a while - thank you Amy for getting me scrapping again :)
xx
PS Looking at this on the blog everything looks crooked but it's not IRL :( 

Another little milestone and a layout

This morning, as Claire was going to have breakfast, we decided to try sitting Alice in her highchair and see how she got on.

 I think she liked being higher up and more on a level with the rest of us. She also got to try a little bit of Farley's rusk but,again, we weren't sure if she'd manage it. We were ready to fish it out her mouth if she started choking but when she bit a piece off she seemed to manage because it melts fairly quickly in her mouth. Before long she'll be sitting there with finger foods while we have our meals!

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I was watching Hugh with Alice this morning and it made me remember him at 8 when Emily was a baby. He's always been so good with little ones and he loves playing with Alice so I decided that would be my next layout.

I made up my template so that I could get the journalling in the right place and then printed out the journalling onto my background before sticking on the photos and patterned paper. I used a corner rounder on the paper to finish it off and I like the way it turned out. Now I have another template for future use too.  

xx

Another layout + Alice

Today I was reading Cathy's blog and the layout she had made for Aidan's 15th birthday blog post really caught my eye. The fact that she also gave a free digital template for the layout was a huge bonus and I wanted to use it straight away. My layout is a complete scraplift because I loved the way Cathy's looked.  

I had been wanting to put down my feelings about being involved during Claire's pregnancy and this layout gave me the chance to do just that. In all honesty, I think this is probably the most journalling I've put on any of my scrapbook layouts! I have so many more photos I want to scrap so I can see hybrid layouts could well be the way for me to go as they make things so much quicker.

These photos were taken last night after Craig got home from work. As I was going up stairs Alice kept smiling at me, so I got my camera for a couple of photos.

 This one was taken when she spotted her Mummy coming down the stairs :)

 Group photo - you can tell Craig loves it when I get my camera out ;o)

When Alice was first put in this bouncy chair she looked so little - not so much these days!
Her fingers tend to be in her mouth all the time at the moment and we think we can feel a little tooth cutting it's way through the top gum.

Who could resist this cute little face? :o)

xx

Well, ...

I did warn you that something like this may happen when I cleared my desk a bit ;o)

This weekend I've had the chance to do a bit of scrapbooking.  I decided I wanted to do layouts for Alice's album the traditional way - ie. with photos and paper :o) .  I certainly have enough photos of Alice but rather than trying to choose which ones to use, I've gone for starting at the beginning with her birth day.

The little owl on here was made using a Tando Creative chipboard owl which I then traced round on card and cut out by hand. I then punched circles for the eyes and cut out a triangular beak. It certainly makes me smile when I look at the layout!

The second page had been going to be a stand alone page but once I started playing around with it, it made sense to make this a double layout instead.

Now to decide on the next photos to use!
xx

PS. Although you wouldn't believe it from these photos, the pink of the journalling boxes is the same colour as the pink in the gingham paper!

Don't fall over ;o) ....

Last week I made an explosion book following Deb's tutorial over at Paper Turtle. As soon as I saw it I thought it looked fun and quite quick to make so I was keen to give it a go. I used 12 x 12 sheets of card for mine and once I got my diagonal fold in's right, it all went smoothly.  I haven't added any text to it yet but it's virtually finished and I thought I'd share.

To show a bit more of the detail

 All the papers used were scraps or paper I had in my stash and the photos are from the first three months of Alice's life.

 The first month

 Second month

The third month at the bottom.  I'm considering adding the next three months to the back of the book, so long as it doesn't make it too thick.   Thanks Deb for a great tutorial and for getting me doing some scrapping again :-)

And because I can't post without some photos of Alice, here are a few from the past week.  Alice went into a cot last weekend as her Moses basket was getting too small and she couldn't move in it very well.  After Craig built the cot we lay her in it to see what she thought.

 She loved looking at all the new toys around the cot and at her Humphrey's Corner mobile.

 And she LOVED it when Claire wound the mobile up and it played a tune :-)

Alice also got to sit in her Bumbo for the first time this week. She stayed in it for a little while but I think her head needs to be a bit steadier before she stays in it for any length of time. She's getting so big and now weighs 15 pounds. She's had her second lot of jabs and once she's had the third ones at 16 weeks, Claire'll be able to take her swimming. She loves her bath so I have a feeling she'll love the swimming too.

And a final photo of her (watching TV) sitting on Mummy's lap. I love the lighting in this photo!

Happy Valentine's Day :)
xx

A couple more layouts

Claire and I spent a very enjoyable morning with our friends Helena and Graden today. We went to a local garden centre for breakfast (I refrained from having a cooked breakfast and had toast instead, so I could still point it) and sat chatting for ages. We also popped in to Hobby Craft, which is in grounds of the garden centre. I hadn't intended buying anything but came home with some wool and a baby pattern ;o).

Graden, Helena and Claire

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This afternoon was spent completing a couple more layouts. I used the wonderful template that I won on Amy's blog a little while ago and did hybrid layouts. I love that I can just switch off the writing and borders to print the photos the sizes I need and then turn them on again to print the background page. Thank you Amy, this template has been great!

I used the template to do a layout of Claire's first scan and decided to keep the same layout for the other two scans as well. In the one above (the second scan), the journalling reads :

"Your second scan was on 06 May 2010, which was also the day to go and vote in the general elections. We voted first and then picked Craig up from home (he had a day off work) and headed to the hospital for your appointment. I don't think Craig was quite sure of what to expect but a big smile came over his face when he saw his little baby on the monitor. It's amazing how much the baby has grown since the first scan three weeks ago. It was so exciting to see it's little body and see the heart beating. It certainly makes it all seem more real now. Love that little baby scan!" The journalling on the layout for the third scan reads:

"Your third and final scan was on 02 July 2010 while Aunty Norma was still here from South Africa. We were so excited to see if we could find out what you are having but, at your appointment, they couldn't see because the feet were in the way. You were sent away to have something sweet to eat and told to do a few star jumps before going back again to see if it had made a difference. It had, you're having a little GIRL!!! So exciting. I know this little girl is going to be loved by everyone and now we can start buying pink things :)

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Yay, for simple layouts - great fun!

xx

And the hybrid layout

I knew I would do it :o). I wanted to put it in my scrapbook and making the hybrid layout was probably as quick to do as having to play around with the digital one and be, more or less, happy with the printed result. This way I'm happy with the end result!

xx

PS The photo is not doing the colours justice - it looks better/brighter in real life.

A layout and some photos

Claire has this week off work and this morning we went shopping - left home at 9am and didn't get home until just after 2pm. We didn't buy loads (though an outfit for Alice did slip into one bag!), Claire finished paying off her baby plan in Mothercare and we stopped for an early lunch at M&S as she was feeling a bit light headed. We chatted about the fact that there are only 10 weeks till her due date, how we can't wait to finally get to meet her and see what this little girl looks like. When we got home I decided to put some of it down in a layout - I chose to do a digital one because they are so much quicker but I have a feeling it might also be made into a paper one as I'm still not happy with printed out digital ones (though I did think I might try printing onto Bazzil card and see if I'm happier with that - I'll let you know!)

The journalling reads :

"It seems incredible that you are already 30 weeks pregnant, only 10 weeks until your due date!

We’re getting to the stage where we can’t wait to see what this little girl is going to look like. Will she be like you or will she be like Craig? What colour hair will she have - blonde, brown or red? Will her eyes be blue, green or brown? When will she arrive - will she be born near her due date, a bit before or will she be late like you, your brother and sister? How much will she weigh? So many questions but we’ll have to wait to find out the answers. One thing is for sure, no matter what she looks like, she is going to be loved by so many people. "

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The papers used in this are from Jessica Sprague - Walk in the Park, Flutter Flutter; Walk in the Park, Waddling Ducks and EP Life is Good Paper Pack 2, Solid - Pink.

The template was one from Cathy Zielske's Design Your Life 2010 class.

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This photo was taken one evening a couple of weeks ago when Jon and I went for an Indian meal at Nizam, our local Indian restaurant. It's in one of the Tudor buildings in East Grinstead's High Street - beautiful leaded windows to the front and inside low ceilings with dark beams. Jon and I first started going there when we came to the UK in 1991 and it's still one of our favourite restaurants and the food has never disappointed. We've also come to learn over the years that there is sometimes a "hot" chef on duty and when he's there the food is always that much spicier. When we came out after our meal, the sun was setting and there was a beautiful glow in the sky. And finally, looking at the Acer in our back garden, we can see that Autumn is on it's way as the leaves have started changing colour already. The mornings and evenings are also that much crisper and I don't tend to leave the back door open as late as I was during the summer. However, when the days are warm I much prefer to sit outside in Autumn and have my lunch than in the Summer when it's that much hotter. So I'm making the most of any warm weather we get. Won't be too long before I don't want to sit out at all! Funny thing is, this year I'm not minding that as much as I thought I would.

A layout!!

Please don't faint, I know it's been a LONG time since I've done any scrapbooking but this evening as I was about to check my emails, this photo of Emily came up on my screensaver. I had forgotten I had it but it is so Emily at the moment and I knew I wanted to do something with it. The layout is a little out of my comfort zone with all the flowers but I'm quite happy with how it's turned out :o)

The journalling reads:

I had forgotten all about this photo until it came up on my screen saver. When I saw it I knew I had to do a layout because this photo is classic you! When I come looking for you I'm likely to find you in your bedroom either reading or on the computer, while listening to music or chatting to friends. This is so YOU at the moment and I love that it's been captured! Photo: 04/2010

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Perhaps it's the cooler weather that has got my creativity going again. Whatever it is, I'm not complaining - it felt good to scrapbook again :o)

xx

Playing with digital

After reading Cathy's blog this morning I checked to see if I had her Monthly templates (which I had) and thought it might be fun to play with digital scrapbooking again. These were the two pages I came up with.

I don't claim to be very good at this and I still think my pages look a bit flat but it was fun to put some photos from this month into the templates and I could possibly see this as something I might like to do and then make a book with them all in once I'd completed a year's worth. Another option might be to use the templates to print out my photos the correct size and use them on paper layouts instead. There are definitely possibilities :)

xx