Thursday 29 February 2024

February Pages

Time for my round-up of this month's pages. I started February with the intention of completing my 2023 annual album, but I had to edit and order another batch of photos first. That lead to me tackling the backlog in my 'Parkrun Continued' album while I waited for the prints to arrive. This album is 8x8 which gave me a quandary for page numbering this year. Should they count as whole pages when they are less work than their 12x12 brethren? I decided to count them as half-pages as their total surface area is 64 square inches while a 12x12 page is 144 square inches; less than half the surface area but they still need all the elements to be a finished page. Six parkrun pages later, and half-way through the month, I picked up the 2023 pages again (but still  haven't quite finished the album).

12. Walking with The Snowman
Technically this was from the first weekend of 2024, but it's probably going in the 2023 album as it feels like it belongs with Christmas 2023.


Supplies: Cardstock - Papermania; Paper - Vicki Boutin Color Study, Pebbles Merry Merry; Letters - Doodlebug, EK Success; Wood Veneer Stars - Studio Calico; Paper Tape & Enamel Dots - Unknown

12.5 V25
My first February DT page for Twilight Crafts, using their Triangle Arrows Background cut-file to mark the 25th time we volunteered at our home parkrun.


Supplies: Cardstock - DCWV; Paper - 7 Dots Studio Illumination; Letters - American Crafts; Enamel Shapes - My Mind's Eye; Cut-File - Twilight Crafts

13. North Yorkshire Water Park
A spot of parkrun tourism, made using scraps.


Supplies: Cardstock - DCWV; Paper - My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus; Letters - EK Success; Enamel Heart - Marianne Designs

13.5 Parke
Following a challenge in the Snap Scrap Repeat Facebook page to use a black background, mixed media, yellow, patterned paper and a heart.


Supplies: Paper - Craft Sensations Chalkboard, Make & Create Moments; Label Sticker - Tim Holtz; Journal Card & Washi Tape - Unknown; Enamel Heart - Marianne Designs

14. Killerton
More parkrun tourism and more scraps, using the February sketch from For the Love of Pretty Paper.


Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill, Papermania; Paper - K & Co Studio K; Letters - October Afternoon; Gems - TPC Studio; Puffy Stickers - Unknown

14.5 We're Back!
Going back to 2021 and the first parkrun after Covid restrictions were lifted, with a tic-tac-toe challenge from Snap Scrap Repeat where I chose arrows, rainbow and green.


Supplies: Paper - Unknown Stripe; Numbers - Fancy Pants; Letters - Simple Stories; Border Sticker - Ruby Rock-It; Rainbow Die-Cut - Heidi Swapp

15. Milestones and Tourism
This is the opening page of my 'Parkrun Continued' album and uses the Bike and Tree cut-file (without the bike) from Twilight Crafts as the tree is a lot like the one in the parkrun logo.


Supplies: White Cardstock; Paper - Simple Stories, Unknown Green; Cut-File - Twilight Crafts

16. Slices of the Southern Upland Way
Documenting my husband's 6 day walk on one of Scotland's Great Trails.


Supplies: Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Good Times, Pinkfresh Studio Happy Holidays, Jen Hadfield Warm & Cozy, Maggie Holmes Chasing Dreams; Letters - October Afternoon; Word Sticker - Studio Calico; Enamel Dots - Carta Bella, My Mind's Eye 

17. Cruise Scandinavia
A summary page for our summer holiday (which has its own album too). This was my second DT page of the month for Twilight Crafts, using their Covid Memes Polaroid cut-file with the wording removed.


Supplies: White Cardstock; Paper - Studio Calico Heyday, Amy Tangerine Stay Sweet; Letters - American Crafts; Stickers - Tim Holtz, Studio Calico; Unknown Washi Tape; Pearls - Mark Richards; Cut-File - Twilight Crafts

18. & 19. South West Coast Path 11
A double page for the final instalment of my husband and father-in-law walking the 630 miles of the SWCP (which they started in 2008). 


Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill, DCWV; Paper - Craft Creations, Flair Design; Letters - American Crafts, Glitz Design; Phrase Stickers - Tim Holtz; Pearls - Artoz; Enamel Dots - Freckled Fawn, My Mind's Eye, Carta Bella

I've also made a couple of cards, both based on this month's card sketch from Stick It Down,


and finally, a cute little box which I made following a video by Helen Ding for Hey Little Magpie.



Disclosure - I receive digital cut-files free of charge from Twilight Crafts as part of my DT role. All other supplies are my own.

Wednesday 31 January 2024

January Pages

Well, I was stopping blogging, but I've decided on a monthly round-up post to record what I've made, all in one place and I'll be numbering the pages through the year to keep track of the total (counting doubles as two pages). Starting from the beginning of January, these all belong in my annual album for 2023:

1. Chartwell
Churchill's home in Kent


Supplies: Cardstock - The Craft Place; Paper Heidi Swapp Hello Today; Letters - Crate Paper; Enamel Dots - AC/Obed Marshall

2. A Flying Visit
A visit from my cousin who lives in the US, using a sketch from Stick It Down


Supplies: Glitter Cardstock - DCWV; Paper - Basic Grey, Craft ID Travel the World AC/Vicki Boutin Fernwood; Letters - American Crafts; Journal Card - Heidi Swapp; Stickers - Fancy Pants, American Crafts; Enamel Dots - Simple Stories, Ebay

3. Christmas Parkrun
DT page for Twilight Crafts using the Large Star in Sections Cut-File


Supplies: Cardstock - Craft Sensations; Paper - Simple Stories Very Merry, Fancy Pants Merry Little Christmas; Letters - Simple Stories; Stickers - American Crafts, Simple Stories; Enamel Dots - Simple Stories; Thread - DMC; Washi Tape - Little B; Cut-file - Twilight Crafts

4. & 5. Explore Antwerp
A weekend cruise to Antwerp for the Christmas markets, using another sketch from Stick It Down.


Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill, American Crafts, DCWV, The Craft Place; Paper - 49 & Market Vintage Artistry Butter, 49 & Market Vintage Artistry Anywhere; Letters - October Afternoon; Die-Cuts - 49 & Market; Stickers - Fancy Pants, Freckled Fawn; Enamel Dots - Eyelet Outlet, Hey Little Magpie

6. Beatrix's Christening
I finally used up a 'starting point' page that I made back in 2018.


Supplies: Cardstock - American Crafts; Paper - Pebbles New Addition, AC Dear Lizzy Neapolitan; Letters - MAMBI; Stickers - Crate Paper/Maggie Holmes; Enamel Heart - Freckled Fawn

7. Ladies Who Lunch
I used the back of my Antwerp page because the pattern was too pretty to lose, and 49 & Market papers are thick enough for it to work.


Supplies: Paper - 49 and Market Vintage Artistry Butter; Letters - Tim Holtz; Ephemera - 49 and Market; Word Stickers - Tim Holtz; Washi - 49 and Market; Enamel Dots - 49 and Market

8. Summer Fun
Completing another 'starting point' page with photos from a summer barbecue.


Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill, DCWV; Paper - AC Shimelle Sparkle City; Letters - American Crafts; Washi Tapes - AC Shimelle Sparkle City; Stickers - AC Shimelle Sparkle City

9. & 10. Morph in the City
Thirty-one photos on a double page for Morph's Epic Art Adventure, a sculpture trail in London.


Supplies: Paper - DCWV Romantic Life; Letters - American Crafts; Stickers - AC Paige Evans #Stickerbook; Die-Cut - 49 and Market 

11. Endurance
Recording my husband's epic 50km walking challenge using a sketch from Scrap a Sketch.


Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill; Paper - Photoplay Paper Boarding Pass; Letters - American Crafts; Stickers - Photoplay Paper; Enamel Shapes - My Mind's Eye

Disclosure - I receive digital cut-files free of charge from Twilight Crafts as part of my DT role. All other supplies are my own.

Sunday 31 December 2023

Au Revoir

This is the post I wrote at the start of the year:

"Things have been a bit quiet around here recently, with tumbleweed blowing across the blog. I lost my crafting mojo for a while and even when I did make anything I really couldn't be bothered with photographing it and blogging it. I even considered giving up entirely. However, new year and new focus. I have been scrapbooking and I feel  that if I stop blogging I might regret it later, but I am unlikely to regret carrying on, at least for the time being. 

I'm not promising regular posts again, but I do have a few ready and lined up from what I have made and not shared in the last month or so. I am also still creating for Twilight Crafts so you will see projects for them too.

Away from crafting, I want to continue with my local project of walking in all the grid squares in Thurrock (I have a walk blog post coming up) and further afield I need to complete the Capital Ring. I'd reached Wembley in March 2020, just before the world closed down, and I'm ready to go back. To be honest, I just want that walk over and done with as it's been underwhelming and I have another long distance walk planned for afterwards."

And now, at the end of the year:

The blog has gone quiet again, with long periods this year when I didn't post at all. I've always said that I blog for myself as a record of what I've done, and it's a bonus if anyone else reads it. If I'm finding it a chore, then why continue? I might regret stopping, but right now I prefer to put what free time I have towards scrapbooking and memory-keeping rather then blogging, so I'm pressing pause on the blog. It remains to be seen whether or not I press play again at some point in the future.

I'm still on the design team for Twilight Crafts so you may see those projects pop up on their Instagram or blog, or in scrapbooking groups on Facebook.

Away from crafting, I did finish the Capital Ring this year with three (unblogged) walks. There's a chance I will blog these just for my own records, so I have notes if I decide to make a scrapbook or mini-book for it later on. Locally, I haven't done any more grid squares and that may be my focus this year as I should be able to fit short local walks in around work (where we are still chronically understaffed which is having an effect on the rest of my life).

So, for now, it's au revoir! I may be back, but no promises.


Saturday 2 December 2023

Around Town

The town here is Skagen, the most northerly town in Denmark and the second stop on our Scandinavian cruise last summer. I made the sub-title page for Skagen a while back and there will be five more coming up, all 12x12 rather than using any of the divided page protectors that I used for some of the Oslo pages.

Our objective for the day was a walk to the sand spit at the tip of Denmark where the Kattegat and Skaggerak Seas meet, but we walked through the town on the way out and back so I'm starting there.

I printed four pictures for the page - two 3x4 photos of the church and water tower and two 2x3 photos of the houses - and arranged them on a large paper circle.


Supplies
Cardstock - Craft UK, Bazzill
Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Life Right Now, Shimelle Never Grow Up
Letters - Doodlebug
Filmstrip - 49 & Market
Glitter Tape  The Works
Enamel Dots - Pinkfresh Studio, My Mind's Eye
Ink - Ranger
Mist - Mister Huey's

Tools
Big Shot & Spellbinders Circle Die
Woodware Postage Stamp Punch
Woodware Scalloped Circle Punch

Wednesday 29 November 2023

Acting Our Shoe Size

I'm sharing another Twilight Crafts DT page today in the catch-up of recent pages. I used the Numbers Background cut-file with photos of me and my mum on the swings earlier this year. 

I cut the numbers background from kraft cardstock and backed the open parts with patterned papers. I also added strips of the same papers to the top and bottom of the page and ticked in a couple of label stickers wthe the date and location. My title is inspired by the old saying 'Act your age not your shoe size' which I twisted round as we are definitely acting our shoe size here.



Supplies
Cardstock - Bazzill, The Craft Place
Paper - Heidi Swapp Hello Today
Labels - Jen Hadfield
Flower Die-Cuts - Rosie's Studio
Enamel Dots - American Crafts/Obed Marshall
Ink - Ranger

Tools
Silhouette Portrait & Numbers Background Cut-File
Fiskars Bracket Edge Border Punch

Sunday 26 November 2023

Capture the Moments

I've sat on this page for a little while as I wanted to finish sharing all my Oslo pages first. This one is for my 2023 album and is a DT page that I made for Twilight Crafts and Jenny Wren Cut-Files.

I used their Circle of Circles cut in kraft cardstock with two photos of my daughter and papers from both Simple Stories and Vicki Boutin. The photos were taken on a walk we took together at the end of August, probably the last time we will do something like this for some time as she left home in September. The ephemera piece that says 'Capture the moments' made a good title.


Supplies
Cardstock - The Craft Place
Paper - Simple Stories Simple Vintage Lakeside, Vicki Boutin Fernwood
Ephemera - Vicki Boutin
Puffy Stickers - Vicki Boutin
Enamel Dots - Pretty My Page, Simple Stories
Ink - Ranger
Paint - Golden

Tools
Silhouette Portrait & Circle of Circles Cut-File
Hobbycraft Small Star Punch

Disclosure - I received the digital cut-file free of charge from Twilight Crafts. All other supplies are my own.

Thursday 23 November 2023

Akershus Fortress

Last page from Oslo now. We walked back from the town hall and harbour to our ship via Akershus Fortress, a collection of military buildings of all ages surrounding the 14th century fortress.

My page is the back of a divided page with six 4x6 landscape pockets. I filled four of them with photos, two at the top and two at the bottom, with title and journalling in between.


Supplies
Cardstock - Bazzill
Paper - Echo Park Capture Life, Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Out & About
Stickers - 49 & Market
Enamel Dots - Doodlebug, Pinkfresh Studio
Ink - Ranger

Tools
Big Shot & The Works Alphabet Dies
Fiskars Shape Cutter & Circle Template
X-Cut Circle Punch