Two Kits Down

Not only did I managed to finish the kit that Maddie chose the other day, I also got another one finished....very satisfying!

In the Glitz, Love Nest kit there was one whole sheet of patterned paper, one sheet of cardstock and a few leftover bits of paper and embellishments.  I managed to get two layouts out of it!

The first one uses a picture of Maddie being a bridesmaid, I think it was all too much for her :)

I only had relatively small bits of paper to work with so made some flowers:

And I jazzed up some Thickers (I saw this when I was blog hopping and can't remember where so, unfortunately, can't give credit):

I can't show you all of the other layout I did as it's for a sketch group I'm in and the big reveal isn't until next week, I'll show you a sneak though :)

The next kit chosen by Maddie is from Gotta Craft and it's Lime Twist:

I've only used a little bit of this kit so I've got my work cut out for me if I want to get it used up by next week!
I've been having a lovely, lazy weekend so far and this evening I'm off to see Paul for a few days....I'm so excited :)

Hope you're having a good weekend
Jo xx

Kits

Okay, the other day I said I had a plan for using up my kits and here it is:

Everywhere I look there are kits, I subscribe to Gotta Craft and Sarah's Cards:

So I get two big kits everyone month and on top of that two smaller kits every month from my crop, also available at Gotta Craft.

Even after taking a few photos of kits today I realised I still had even more dotted about the house and some still in my tote bag!

Now this really isn't a brag post about how many kits I've got, we've all got them tucked away somewhere.  This is a post about my plan to get them used.  First I need the help of my beautiful assistant:

 I asked Maddie to pick a kit from the selection laid out:

After much eye rolling she selected this kit:

From Gotta Craft in February.  The papers are Glitz, Love Nest and it is a kit that I have actually cut into already!

So now I'm going to sort out some photos to go with the kit.  I normally do it the other way round but I've challenged myself to use this kit and it will be so much easier to look through albums to find the perfect photos.  I won't be moving on to my next kit until I can't get any more out of this one, I might even make some cards.

I'm going to try and use this kit up by the end of the weekend and telling you all about it will mean I have to get it done.  Next week I'll show you the layouts I've made from this kit and show you next week's kit selected by my beautiful assistant.

If you want to join in then link me to your blog and we'll encourage each other :)

In other news, I've got first aid training tomorrow. When my brother passed his course he made everyone call him Doctor!

Hope your week is going well

Jo

We Got Cows!

Back in July 2001 we went on our first camping trip.  In the early evening, when the sun was setting, Maddie got ready for bed, she was so excited about staying in a tent for the first time.  We were outside watching the sun setting when some cows in the next field wandered over to see her.  I love the look on her face, it shows her excitement, her amazement at the size of the cows and hope that the fence is strong enough to keep them away!

When I saw the Sketch Challenge on Shimelle's site I knew that I had to use this photo because I knew there was a lot of journalling:

The title comes from one of our my favourite films, Twister, and we both find the line "we got cows" so funny :)

I used My Minds Eye, Stella & Rose papers that came with the May Sarah's Cards Kit...May!!!  I have a plan to use my old kits and I'll share that plan soon.

Yesterday I did get to spend the day in London with Paul.  We had such a lovely time, got absolutely soaked and before I knew it I was on the train home :(  Never mind, I have a week off work soon and I'm hoping to see lots of him then.

Must dash, meant to be at my mum's for dinner in 9 minutes and still not showered!

Hope your weekend has been good
Jo xx

Colourful

I went along to my lovely crop last night and managed another of Shimelle's challenges.  This one is the Colour Story Challenge and the prompt was to create a layout using red, white and aqua.  Now all my stash is so well organised...not! So I wasn't sure if I even had any red or aqua then I found an old crop kit from Gotta Craft lurking in my tote bag. The papers were from Lily Bee Seize the Day range and I thought "that'll ding, dang, do for me" :)

Now I didn't get home until gone 10pm, far too late to take a decent photo so I set my alarm extra early.  The resulting pictures look no better than if they were taken in the dark, at midnight, but they are red, white and aqua:

Now, although she loved the ride, Maddie doesn't look very happy in this picture:

And, funnily enough, when she turned 17 at the end of June she decided she didn't ever want to learn to drive!

At last it is Friday and I'm hoping the weekend will be great.  Paul is working this weekend but we're both keeping our fingers crossed that his coach trip to London tomorrow will keep him there for the day so I can go and see him, not seeing him for a month has been tough :(

Hope you have a fantastic day
Jo xx

Half & Half

I managed to complete another challenge from Shimelle's online crop!  It was 10pm and I wasn't sure if I could do another layout at that time of night but then Shimelle acted as my cheerleader, with high kicks I might add, and I did it :)

The Half Page Challenge was exactly what it said on the tin, scrap half a page.  Now I'm a positive thinking, glass half full kind of gal so that exactly what my layout is.  There's no empty to it, it's half full :)

When I'd finished it I wasn't sure that I liked it, I'd tried different things (like you have to) and went to bed feeling a bit unsure.  When I saw it in the cold light of day, I loved it :)

I used Sassafras Indie Girl papers and stickers and that was the part I wasn't sure of.  I love white space on a layout but I don't often use stickers.

The layout shows how happy Maddie was when she finally got a female cousin, a little girl for her to love, cuddle and play with.  I love the look on her face when she was finally allowed to hold Elsie all by herself :)

I'm wondering if I can manage any more challenges, really wish work didn't keep getting in the way of fun things :)

Hope your week is going well
Jo xx

Go Retro

I'm on a roll and I managed another layout from one of the challenges Shimelle set at the weekend.  This time it's Let's Go Retro.  I found a great picture of me, aged about 10, playing in the park near my aunt's house:

Check out those threads, lovely waistcoat and sandals with SOCKS!

I used the new Blissful papers from Authentique that were in this month's Gotta Craft kit.  These papers are amazing, you can cut them, tear them, paint them, I really think they will withstand any amount of battering and still look great:

 It was another challenge that I really enjoyed and I could probably use this layout for the Signature Accent Challenge, because it's very rare for me to have a layout without something hand cut on it.

Totally changing the subject now, some of you know I have the cutest, loveliest dog in the world, Alfie.  Some of you may not know that I rescued Alfie because he was a victim of abuse.  He had been locked in a room with no food and water and was totally infested with fleas and mites :(

He was at the rescue centre for 3 months before I was lucky enough to find him. He was so well cared for in those 3 months but still very, very underweight :(

Anyway, I've had him for 2 years now and loved every minute. The point of my story is.......the RSPCA called me today and asked if they can do a photo shoot with Alfie to use as part of a campaign.  Of course they can use him because my boy is the most handsome dog in all the world:

And every time I look at him my heart melts :)

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

I Love to Cut Paper

The next challenge on Shimelle's blog was right up my street, Chop Your Paper! I have always loved cutting paper up, before Thickers came along I used to hand cut almost all of my titles.  Life may be too short for doing things like that but I always found it therapeutic.  Now that I have my Thickers I'm always looking for papers that have elements that are just begging to be cut out.

At the crop on Saturday, where we're lucky enough to have the Gotta Craft shop, I bought this sheet of Echo Park - Happy Days paper:

 Shimelle's challenge was to do a layout, including embellishments, out of one sheet of paper.  The Echo Park was perfect and here's the layout I came up with:

I had so much fun cutting and punching and knowing that I didn't have to go off searching for the perfect embellishment.

Plenty of value in that one sheet of paper!

Next up is the Go Retro challenge and I have found the perfect picture of me, aged ten to scrap :)

Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow with another finished layout!
Jo x

Starting Point

This weekend there was an online crop over at Shimelle's blog.  I love online crops, the inspiration is fantastic and you don't have to rush to get things done because the prompts are always there.  If you want to have a go at the challenges and be in with the chance to win a prize then you have until Sunday 21st August to get your cards or layouts done.

The first challenge I looked at was great for getting the mojo going.  You just needed to start with a base and work your way up from there.  I picked some papers I liked, cut them, stuck them down and then went in search of a photo and some embellishments:

I used the My Mind's Eye, Lime Twist papers that were part of a recent Gotta Craft Kit.  The papers and embellishments in the kit were perfect for this picture of Maddie looking through her Zippos Circus programme.

And I found the layout came together really quickly because I'd already had my 'starting point' cut and stuck :)

The next challenge I'm hoping to do it the Chop Your Paper challenge, just need to find that perfect one sheet.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Another Week Over

I wish the weekends didn't go so quickly, there is so much I want to do but the time flies by.  This week was another busy one at work and lots of problems caused by the awful riots that were happening in the area, I really feel for all the people that were affected.

Yesterday I spent a day at my local crop and I had such a great time.  I turned up an hour late because I overslept, unheard of for me!  I did manage a couple of layouts, along with a couple of cupcakes and a couple of brownies :)

I did this layout for the weekly challenge on UKScrappers.  There was a sketch to follow, and I love sketches. We had to use a group of photos or a photo of a group of people, H in the title and a star.  I knew straight away what photo I had to use:

This is a photo of the best group I know, my family.  From left to right is my brother Jon, my sister Jessica, my dad John, my brother Jamie, me, my mum Joan and my sister Jemma.  Yep, all Js!  The photo was taken on my wedding day 16 years ago and here's the rest of the layout:

I have to say that this has become one of my favourite layouts.

Today I'm heading over to Shimelle's to join in her online cropping weekend.

Here's to a productive day for everyone!
Jo x

Treading Water

That's how this week has felt.  Every day at work I feel like I've been treading water and only just managing to keep my head above it.  Never mind, the weekend arrived quicker than expected and I had no plans.  It has been great to have the time just to sit and scrap, yes I have missed Paul but he's on his way to Scotland for the Military Tattoo and I'm hoping he'll bring me back a bit of shortbread :)

So here's what I've been scrapping this weekend.  First up is the Weekly Challenge over at UKScrappers.  The challenge was to scrap a different size than usual and I have to admit that was way out of my comfort zone, I loved it though.  We also had to use pink or blue, journalling and old stash:

I love this picture of Maddie taken outside a restaurant almost at the foot of Portland Bill.

Inspired by Sian I got my Slice out and was delighted to find a flower on one of the cards that matched the printed flowers on the paper perfectly.

The second layout I did was for the House Challenge on UKS.  There was a sketch to follow and we had to use mixed alphabets and fonts:

Another great picture of Maddie on the same holiday in Weymouth.  I used the papers from July's Gotta Craft kit.

And I raided my vast selection of Thickers for the title.

I've asked Maddie to go through the photo albums to pick my next picture to scrap, so far she is refusing!  Never mind, I might try and find one of her pulling a funny face and scrap that just to annoy her :)

I hope you've all had a great weekend.
Jo xx