Lurve

Well this scrapbook page came about after an evening class online at Loobis.I used a big heart as a mask and stamped a few words and images over it. I should have done more it would have looked more effective but never mind. The inked hearts all have glossy accents on them but it doesnt really show up. The photo was taken directly after Dave proposed on a Mexican beach, it was really romantic. After I said yes we naturally headed straight for the bar.

And this is from another scrapbook class - I used a circle punch and folded them inwards to create this effect, and the photo is from 2020 Devon. I have journalled on the back of the page.

Cards for all Occasions

I really love this Tim Holtz wildflower die set and it doesn't need an awful lot of effort to make it look good. I just cut it in black card and stuck it on some nice background paper so I now have a few cards in the bag for last minute. I also did a few notelets, some of which I sent to Ruth, Kate, James & Jean when I sent Beckys letterbox bakes as a little cheer up gift.

I also had a go at colouring the flowers with inks after watching a process video, and obviously having to purchase quite a few of the distress inks pads from Loobi Crafts . The one with congratulations is for Deb & Mark on their retirement.

The new home card was made by fussy cutting the houses from scrapbook paper (I did a layout using this method a while ago). It was to be for Jane but she's not moving now.

For Valentines Day I used some very old papers to make Daves card. Its very much in my old style from years ago with a little heart charm hanging from a wire and the fibres added.

Finally, Dave got me a subscription to Card Making & Papercraft Magazine for Christmas and these cards are made from the freebies supplied. You get much more than you used to. I'm not thrilled with the herbs card - not really sure when I'll be using it again and but the cherry blossom die and stamp are really lovely, I got my old Copic markers out and they are still great - plenty of juice in them, and luckily i had a couple of pinks. I looked to see if they had come down in price but um, no - in fact they are eye wateringly expensive. Anyway, I thought this one would do for Tricias birthday as she goes for these colours. I've not made a great job of photographing it -I have added glitter to the flowers and its all very pretty, also the pink paper is glittered.

Just to say, I dont like the green background on my blog but I'm unsure how to change it without losing my banner picture of the beach - St Lucia last February we were so lucky to get that one in before the world went mad. I will have a look at other peoples blogs and see. At the moment this Blog is just for myself I am not expecting any traffic here but I just want to record my crafty makes somewhere online. Maybe later on I'll be able to devote more time to it and join in challenges and stuff like I used to 10 years ago. I also started reading again over lockdown. I mean reading quite a bit like 4 books a month which is a lot for me. I belong to a couple of online book groups - the Radio 2 club and also the Clare Mackintosh one both on FB. I spend ages reading reviews and looking on Goodreads and at the moment I'm reading The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley about lonliness, but it is a lovely book so far as the characters learn to reach out and find fulfillment. The other thing I do is Nordic Walking - in 'normal times' I walk with a local group on Monday and Friday mornings so what with working Tuesday-Thursday I dont have so much time to craft as I'd like. Just justifying to myself why I still have about a million photos to scrap and the pile gets higher.

These 2 pages record the short break I had in Barcelona. I flew by myself from Luton - bit of an experience with a rowdy stag group on board swigging lagers at 9.30am and I also had a whole cup of coffee tipped over me by the passenger next to me. Still, my fault for wearing white jeans I suppose. I stayed with Moira at her friends appartment, luckily I had the address because my phone stopped working as soon as we landed. However I did have a wonderful time and I will never forget the Gaudi House and the open top bus route and strolling down Les Rambles. The papers are from a meditranean set I got from here and I did some journalling under the picture with all the cocktails. The tiny square are all scuffed at the edges - it took a while but I like the effect.

This layout is pretty simple and not the most exciting, but I wanted to document the lockdown so that we will remember how it was in years to come. I look back and it wasnt so bad at first. We did have fabulous weather for most of the summer so going out for a walk, having a few people round to the garden (when it was allowed) and just staying home was not too bad at all. From about November onwards it got more difficult and I'll be doing more layouts on that theme at some point. I have made a couple of photo books too so we dont forget. The cutfile is from Peartree cutfiles and I used my Selphy to print the small photos.

This photo of James was taken when he was about 8 or 9 - he did Karate for a year or so at Guildford Spectrum. It makes me laugh when I look at the wall behind him - we were so into decorating with bright colours and I knew I could find the perfect papers to match from Echo Park Pirate collection I think. The Chevrons were made from one of Lisas online scrapbook workshops which I do every Tuesday evening and has helped to save my sanity during lockdown.

This scrapbook page records our trip to the Royal Albert Hall to see a brilliant concert including Land of Hope and Glory and many other rousing tunes. The previous year we had been on a trip behind the scenes and learned about the history of the RAH, and while we were walking round, we heard the Orchestra rehearsing for a concert. Soon after that we booked this performance and we weren't dissapointed. We had front row seats in one of the balconies and it was all perfect. I made a pocket so I could keep the leaflet, and found some bright papers as the photos came out so dark