Saturday 30 May 2015

Little Monkey

I'm sharing a page for another of Sketch-n-Scrap's Birthday Bash challenges today. It's their third birthday, so all the challenges are linked to the number three. Design Team member Leah gave us a sketch and asked us to use three Project Life cards on a layout.

From the sketch, the obvious thing to do seemed to be to line up three cards and a small photo across the page, but I soon realised that three 3x4 cards and a 3x4 photo are the same total width as the 12" page and wouldn't quite fit. I had a re-think, and decided to use a larger photo and run two of the cards off the sides of the page.



Supplies
Paper - Glitz Design Finnley, Crate Paper The Pier, Crate Paper DIY Shop, Crate Paper Random
Cards - Project Life Summer Mini Kit
Letters - American Crafts
Word Stickers - Tim Holtz Idea-ology
Washi Tape - American Crafts
Ink - Ranger

Supplies
Big Shot & Sizzix Stars Die

Thursday 28 May 2015

71° 10' 21''

Sketch-n-Scrap have been celebrating their third birthday with a month of challenges. I did a few of the cards last weekend, and I've finally managed to tackle one of the layout challenges. I hope to do a few more, and luckily the later challenges are open past the end of the month.

I chose to start with Kerry's challenge, which is all about the number three. She asked us to use triangles, and three of anything else we used (three photos, three paper, three buttons etc). She gave us a sketch too, but that was optional, and in the end I used the 1 May sketch from Stuck?! Sketches instead.

I've been trying to bring my 2015 album up-to-date and also to finish off my 2014 album, but I didn't have any trios of photos left for those, and went back to 2013 (another unfinished album) and our cruise to Norway. I'm doing a full album for the trip, but I also want one page from each port of call for my main 2013 album. These photos are from the North Cape, which lies at 71° 10' 21'' North, and claims to be the most northerly point in mainland Europe. Thanks to Daphne at Scrapbooking Insanity for the title idea; she used the coordinates of a lighthouse on a page a few weeks ago.



I've already made two pages for this section of my album (On Top of the World and Island Escape) so I referred to them for consistency as I want all these pages to be on kraft cardstock and to have similar colour schemes.

The sets of three that I used for Kerry's challenge are: three photos, three patterned papers, three circles of stitching, three numbers in my title, three strips of washi tape, three punched circles, three pieces of border sticker, three flowers, date stamped three times, three columns of journalling, and three sets of three rows of triangles.

I don't have a triangles stencil, but I do have a pair of dies that cut a little row of linked triangles, and I decided to use the inner part to cut my own. This was more successful than I ever imagined, and I will use it again.

Top - Dies; Bottom - Die Cut
Stencil with three Cuts
Supplies
Cardstock - Papermania
Paper - K&Company Hannah, Simple Stories Awesome, Simple Stories Take a Hike
Numbers - American Crafts
Letters - Basic Grey
Stickers - Bo Bunny, Echo Park
Washi Tape - American Crafts
Flowers - Great Expressions
Ink - Ranger

Tools
Big Shot & Little B Arrows Dies
Sewing Machine
Woodware Scalloped Circle Punch

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Five Cards for a Birthday Bash

Sketch-n-Scrap are celebrating their third birthday this month. I've been following them for more than two years, and took part in their first birthday celebrations, so I wanted to join in again this year.

Their Third Birthday Bash is a month of challenges, some are on the main blog but most of them are hosted by the individual design team members. I do want to do some of the layout challenges, but I've started off with some cards. June is a month full of birthdays here, 9 of them, so I want to get ahead while I can.

Marie-Christine's first challenge was to use this sketch with a red, blue and yellow colour scheme. I found a chevron paper with all three colours, and used that as the base of my card, with a panel of yellow paper, red washi tape and a blue stamped sentiment. I finished off with a spattering of gold mist and a couple of red star gems.


Lisa's first challenge was to make a card using three colours and three punches. A quick look at my punches turned up two sizes of star punch and my trusty scalloped circle punch as the best ones to work with. I originally intended to make a grid, with the small stars layered on the circles, but it really wasn't working out. The shapes seemed to want to form themselves into a circle, so I stamped a circular sentiment and arranged them around it. I'm rather pleased with this one, and may make another in a different trio of colours.




Susan's second challenge was a sketch, with a twist of using three identical embellishments. I went a bit wrong here, as I originally intended to use three stars on my card but, by the time I got to that part, I'd forgotten and I used one large star with a scattering of smaller ones. Thus my 'three of something' are the row of gems on the sentiment banner.


I also did Susan's third challenge, another sketch, with a twist of using three flowers this time. She gave us a layout sketch, but we could use it for a card too. I made a background of die-cut floral hexagons and used a tag in place of the photo in the sketch. I stamped some foliage on the tag and added my three flowers to it.


Finally, I used one of Sketch-n-Scrap's regular monthly sketches - Card Sketch #50 - for this card. I need more male cards than female cards, so I swapped out the flower and butterfly for two sizes of star. The larger one is chipboard which I covered in patterned paper; the smaller one is made of five punched stars, layered up and glued together to give it some dimension. I finished off with more gold mist and a doodled border.


Supplies
Card 1
Paper - My Mind's Eye Bright 6x6 Pad
Stars - from Stash
Washi Tape - Trimcraft
Ink & Mist - Docrafts
Whispers 'Happy Birthday' Stamp

Card 2
Paper - My Mind's Eye Bright 6x6 Pad
Ink - Ranger
Woodward Scalloped Circle Punch
Woodware Tiny Star Punch
Hobbycraft Star Punch
Hobbycraft 'Birthday Wishes' Stamp

Card 3
Paper - Paper Cellar 
Mist - Maya Road
Washi Tape & Gems - Papermania
Sentiment Sticker - Starform
Ink - Ranger
Sequins - Pretty Little Studio
Star - Paperchase

Card 4
Paper - K&Company, KaiserCraft
Ink - Papermania, Ranger
Sentiment Sticker - Gold Label
Twine - from Stash
Gems - Forever in Time
X-Cut Hexagon Die
Craft Creative Tiny Flower Punch
Imaginisce 'Tree' Stamp

Card 5
Paper - Paper Cellar
Washi Tape - Papermania
Chipboard Star - Maya Road?
Ink & Mist - Docrafts
Hobbycraft Star Punch


Sunday 24 May 2015

Paddington in Paddington

When I spotted this sketch from My Scraps and More, I immediately saw it as an eight-photo sketch, even though some of the squares are marked 'Title'.

I had a set of eight photos ready to scrap, from The Paddington Trail in London last December. The city was host to 50 statues of Paddington Bear to tie in with the film release, and these eight were in and around Paddington itself.

Since Paddington Bear is basically a book character, I wanted to use bookprint paper for my background, and had a piece in my latest Quirky Kit. I used blue cardstock (in the closest shade I had to Paddington's duffle coat) to mat the photos, and also to mat the whole page. My pictures are a different size from those in the sketch, so I moved them around the page before settling on using four columns. 



There was a yellow pattern already on the edges of the bookprint paper, so I used yellow as an accent colour on my page. I also spread a little white acrylic paint on the paper to tone down the print, and give me a place for my journalling.

Supplies
Cardstock - Bazzill
Paper - Bo Bunny Sweet Life, Crate Paper DIY Shop
Letters - American Crafts, Lily Bee
Washi Tape - Unknown
Word Stickers - Tim Holtz
Wood Veneer - Studio Calico
Enamel Dots - Studio Calico

Tools
Big Shot & Little B Chevrons Die

Friday 22 May 2015

May Your Days Be Merry & Bright

When I was clearing out some old emails recently, I came across a photo that my Dad sent me last December, one of my Nan at the Christmas party in her nursing home. I'd completely forgotten about it, and printed it off straight away so that I didn't lose it. Now it's lurked on my desk for a couple of weeks, and I really needed to scrap it before it gets mislaid or damaged. 

I have a few collections of Christmas papers and I decided on a traditional red and green page, using this month's sketch from Susan at Me & Mine.

The sentiment sticker that serves as my title is from Glitz Design, and I chose it as I do wish for my Nan's days to be "Merry and Bright". She's 93 and has dementia, so we just want her to enjoy what time remains to her.



(Looking at this, I've realised that I forgot the journalling before I took the photo, but I have done it now.)

Supplies
Paper - Echo Park Christmas Dots & Stripes, Pebbles Welcome Christmas
Stickers - Echo Park, Pebbles, Glitz Design Hello December
Gems - Pebbles
Ink - Docrafts

Tools
Fiskars Apron Lace Border Punch

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Arlington Court

After a brief wander through the archives for National Scrapbooking Day, I'm back to 2015 photos. I'd like to get this year up-to-date but I'm also feeling the pull of other projects-in-progress.


While we were in Devon at Easter, we visited the National Trust property of Arlington Court near Barnstaple. I had sufficient photos that I needed a double page, so turned to this month's double page sketch from Stick It Down.

On this occasion it was more of a starting point than an exact representation. I flipped the sketch from left to right, and played with the sizes and positions of the photos, though the total number remained the same. The biggest change though, was to use hexagons instead of circles on the edges of the page. I made a mosaic of three sizes of hexagon in patterned paper, then layered vellum hexagons with my journalling over them. I completed the page with mistable fabric/chipboard hexagons which I inked to match my background paper.



Supplies
Paper - 7 Dots Studio Illumination
Vellum - The Works
Washi Tape - from Stash
Hexagons - Studio Calico Mistables
Ink - Docrafts

Tools
Big Shot
Sizzix Wallflower Alphabet Dies
X-Cut Hexagon Dies


Monday 18 May 2015

Jubilee Greenway - Hungerford Bridge to Westminster

Today I'm recounting the second part of my walk from Tower Bridge to Westminster on Tuesday 10 March. The first part of the walk is here.

It's part of my exploration of the Jubilee Greenway, a 60km path around London to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. I started it in January, and I'm actually now one walk away from completing it. I really need to get my blog posts caught up with my progress.

I left you last time as I approached Hungerford Bridge; passing under the bridge brought me to a cornucopia of Jubilee commemorations, all in the aptly named Jubilee Gardens (established for the Silver Jubilee and recently rejuvenated). The Jubilee Greenway shares this section of path with the older (Silver) Jubilee Walkway (they dropped the Silver part of the name in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee) and is marked with a crown on a pole.





Nearby stands the Silver Jubilee Flagpole, a gift from British Columbia.





and there's a sculpture called Jubilee Oracle:


The Royal Air Force memorial stands on the Victoria Embankment, on the opposite side of the river.


I half-crossed Westminster Bridge for a good look at the Millennium Wheel and City Hall



and kept going to capture Boudicca on the far end of the bridge, 



before returning to the south side for the South Bank Lion.



I descended the steps from Westminster Bridge to the Albert Embankment, and spotted a Silver Jubilee Walkway decal that hasn't yet been replaced in the rebranding.



The Houses of Parliament dominate the opposite bank and I took a host of photos of them as I wandered along the riverside path



Back on my side of the river, I came across another memorial, one to the members of the S.O.E., the Special Operations Executive, who took on undercover missions in occupied countries during World War II. The bust is of Violette Szabo who was captured, tortured and executed in 1945.



A little further, and I came to the Millennium Tree (an oak), one of 2000 planted by Lambeth Council.


I crossed the road to Lambeth Palace Library, but I didn't make the detour to the Palace itself, something that I do regret, but something that I shall do on a future outing.



I crossed Lambeth Bridge and entered Victoria Tower Gardens, with a great view of the Victoria Tower ahead of me. It was originally called the King's Tower and was built as a fireproof document store after the previous Houses of Parliament burned down in 1834. It was renamed the Victoria Tower in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. 



I wandered through the gardens, which were swarming with office workers enjoying a sunny lunch break, and passed the Buxton Memorial Fountain. It reminded me of the Burdett-Coutts Fountain that I saw in Victoria Park at the start of this walk (see this post), though this one is older, built in 1834 to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire. 


Onwards I went, past the Houses of Parliament




past the Jewel Tower, part of the old Houses of Parliament that survived the 1834 fire, 

and into the Old Palace Yard, with the next piece of Jubilee paraphernalia, the Golden Jubilee sundial, a present from Parliament to the Queen, designed so that you are the gnomon.



Onwards again, past a statue of George V and the back of Westminster Abbey,




and into Parliament Square. You get a great view of the Clock Tower (now the Elizabeth Tower (since it was renamed for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee)), from Parliament Square.




The square itself is lined with statues of statesmen, but the afternoon sun was in the wrong place for good photos. Most of them were in shadow but I did get David Lloyd-George, British Prime Minister from 1916-1922,



and Abraham Lincoln, US President from 1861 to 1865.



I'll be starting the next section of the walk from here too, so I'll be able to get better photos of the rest of the statues next time out.


For now, I completed my walk with a look at the Supreme Court



and Westminster Abbey.



Next time I'll be walking from Westminster to Paddington. 

Sunday 17 May 2015

Stick It Down - Design Team Call


It's time for a Design Team Call at Stick It Down.

The next term will run from July to December 2015 and Ashley is looking for sketch designers and team members for each of the three Design Teams. Whether you prefer single pages, double pages or cards, there's a team for you.

Check out her original post here for full information on how to apply. 



Saturday 16 May 2015

Let's Go Camping

For the last week or so, I've been sharing the pages I made for National Scrapbooking Day challenges in our Facebook group, For the Love of Pretty Paper; Sharlotte set the final challenge, and she asked us to scrap a photo of friends, or about friendship.

If you thought my last two pages were old memories, I'm going even further back in the archives now. I was actually looking for a different set of photos when I came across this pair from a camping trip with some schoolfriends that we did just before we all went off to university.

I'm combining Sharlotte's challenge with the NSD Sketch from Sketch-n-Scrap. When I first saw this one, I felt that it would be adaptable to just two photos and that's what I did, with my journalling taking the place of the third photo on the right.



Supplies
Paper - Crate Paper Pretty Party, My Mind's Eye Find Your Wings and Fly, plus Scraps
Letters - Jillibean Soup, American Crafts
Stickers - Simple Stories Take a Hike, Echo Park This & That, Anita's Glitterations
Butterflies - Prima
Enamel Dots - Teresa Collins
Brads - Papermania
Washi Tape 
Ink - Docrafts

Tools
Woodware Postage Stamp Punch
Woodware Scalloped Circle Punch