You: Smile!

I love taking photos of people taking photos. I don't know why. I just find it very funny somehow. Makes me giggle. LOL! I have a big pile of them. If you indeed can have "piles of photos" when you're talking digital..? And here's one such photo. I used it to make a layout as part of my Make The Moment Last Design Team work.

We were sent a yummy box of Fancy Pants supplies teamed with some Bazzill cardstock etc. A few American Crafts Thickers and some stamps added to that, and the layout was complete. :)

Digi: In Deep

I did it. I made my mind up and decided to sign up for the next diital class by Jessica Sprague. I have already taken the "Up and Running" (beginner) and "Now We're Rockin'" (intermediate) digital scrapbooking classes and enjoyed them a lot. So when the registration opened for the advanced class I really couldn't resist. I'm doing "Digi: In Deep" which starts tomorrow and I can't wait :)

I know she's just announced an even more advanced class for October...so I'll see about that one when the time comes LOL! Apparently that will be the first time it's run. We'll see, we'll see...

Loving Music...

I had this great digital kit from SSD which I wanted to make something really summery with... Only I couldn't think of what to do. Later in the day I remembered that I'd really wished I had a compilation CD full of summer music earlier in the week. An idea started to form in my head. Why not make my own? And maybe designs some sort of (cheesy!) cover for it with the kit...?

So I set about digging around for any summer songs that I had. At first I struggled to find some, but once I got going I found so many that I had to leave some out. LOL! Anyway, here's my very own compilation CD, full of summer songs, using "Popsicle Paradise" By Heather Roselli and Sara Amarie:

New On-Line Class...

My latest step-by-step on-line layout class is now on-line. You can find it here at A Trip Down Memory Lane.

It's totally free to take, so please visit if you have a spare moment. Thank you :)

I'm using some yummy papers from the Noteworthy collection by Making Memories and some of the new glitter Thickers by American Crafts (looove these!).

Scrap Your Day...

Yesterday was "Scrap Your Day"-day. So that's what I did. Well I didn't scrapbook it yet, but I had the camera with me and took photos. "Scrap Your Day" is a year long project started by Shimelle in April this year. You keep your camera with you and document your day every month on the 25th. Then you scrapbook your photos in your dedicated album. A way to see what changes and what stays the same during the year. I'm really looking forward to seeing my finished album...seeing the changes and looking back on the past year.

I ended up taking 51 photos yesterday. This is a little peek into my day...

Germany & Scrapping...

Before I write about something else ---> have you remembered Scrap Your Day today? Get those cameras out :)

We've been on a great little 3 day trip to Germany with my parents this week. To the former "East Germany". Sassnitz, Stralsund and Rostock. Had a great time! :) It was a bit rainy on the first day...but since we spent some of the time on the ferry it didn't matter too much. The rest of the time was nice and sunny. Lots of walking, eating nice food, enjoying the scenery... Just great :)

(Sorry - totally unedited photos)

Off to the beach again after lunch as it's another great summer day here. Will try to remember the camera for Scrap Your Day too :)

The Summer Is Here...

Yay! I think the summer is really here. The shorts are on, the sun is shining and the sky is super blue. They have said on the weather report that the nice weather is supposed to last too :)

Going to make some lunch soon (pasta pesto) and then we're off to the beach. The first beach day of the year. Can't wait!! :)

Oh and I nearly forgot to post this layout. It's a digital layout. Robin at Sweet Shoppe Designs got sent the new kit for DAM magazine and asked if anyone would link to have a play with it. Nancy would then pick a few layouts to go in the magazine. I wasn't even sure that I liked what I did but it got picked anyway. My first published digital layout - I didn't see that coming at all.

Happy Day...

...onto a layout I did for the Make The Moment Last Design Team. We were sent a box of yummy Fancy Pants goodies (who can't resist Fancy Pants?) and I decided to team it up with some aqua/turquoise to work better with my photos.

The background paper is by Fancy Pants, the bracket paper by Making Memories and the scalloped border by Bazzill. I used some fake stitching rub-ons by Daisy D, Making Memories flower, Fancy Pants button, American Crafts letters and Autumn Leaves stamps.

Lots Of Blue Sky And Sunshine...

No scrapping today but lots of blue sky and sunshine! Yay! Loving it... :)

Emelie - you asked about the cupcakes that I used for the card in this post. They are from a digital kit called "Yummy Yummy In My Tummy" by Lauren Grier, hang on a second and I will get you a direct link for the kit...

*goes off to hunt*

These are the ones - I just printed them in the right size that I needed and used them for my card :)

Continuing The Card Theme...

Yesterday I wrote about how I love making/sending/receiving "general" cards. Just to send someone a little note just because. No special occasion or anniversary etc. Just because. Because you're thinking of them or because you want to send a little message. It's much more likely to put a smile on someone's face rather than a standard plain note.

[Supplies: "Squiggle It" by Robin Carlton & Christy Lyle (SSD)]

Sweet Shoppe Fun...

I love going to the Sweet Shoppe (and for those of you who don't know - no we're not talking candy here...only scrapping candy...and that's not a bad type of candy, is it?). So many yummy goodies to pick from :)

I've been playing with some stuff from SSD and came up with this card:

[Supplies: "Black Bluesberry" by Christy Lyle, "Yummy Letters Brights" by Misty Cato
...both from SSD]

When you think of greeting cards in general it's easy to focus on the typical birthday and Christmas cards etc. But I also love to make some more "general" cards. I find cards with a simple "Hello" or "Smile" very handy to have ready for the times when you just want to send people a little note. Much more cheerful than a plain piece of paper :)

Thinking About Taking It Further...

If you're a regular reader of my blog you will probably know that I'd never done digital scrapping before May this year. Then I took a beginner and an intermediate on-line class by Jessica Sprague. And I totally loved it. I have learnt so much, practised lots as I went along and just generally enjoyed it so much :)

And now she's running an advanced class that starts very soon. I'm sooo tempted to sign up.

I know it's been less than three months which feels rather unbelievable to me. And I have gone from making this layout...

(which was the very first class layout for the beginner's course and all the background work etc was already pre-done...we just added out photo and a few embellishments)

...to totally being able to make my own layouts. It's been the best experience :)

So I think I just just sign up for the "advanced" class too... ;)

My "Travel" Pages...

I really enjoyed the travel pages for the class. I have always loved travelling so it was a very "happy" subject. What was a little trickier was to think of a few photos that actually symbolizes the word "travelling" in a good way...

After some hunting in my photo library, I found a random photo that I took through the car window on the motorway one day and on from the deck of a ferry. Then I remembered about the photo that I have always loved which I took from a plane window. Lots of white fluffy clouds looking like a land of cotton. You can't even tell it's taken through a window. And then I finished it off by taking a photo of passports and some foreign currency.

Wednesday Fun...

Looks like it could be a half decent day here today. It's quite windy but at least a little bit of sunshine every now and then :)

Lillibean - you left me a message on a previous post. If you see this, please leave me your e-mail address in the comments section and I will get back to you. You left me no way of contacting you.

The class by Shimelle is going well. Lots of photo taking and journaling to do in the first half of the week. At first, when you get the prompts, you can sometimes feel a bit stuck and have no idea how to approach the subject. But if you read it through in the morning you kinda find that the subject stays on your mind and a few hours later you normally find yourself with a few good ideas :)

[Supplies: "Unwind" by Heather Roselli, "Yummy Yummy In My Tummy" by Lauren Grier,
"Yummy Letters Brights" by Misty Cato (all from SSD)]

Okay, lots to do - I'd better go...

Lots To Blog About...

Right, I'm going to go straight to the comments as I have lots to blog about/reply to today LOL! By the way - thanks for taking the time to post comments, I love reading them and I try my best to reply to them if/when I can :) They are really appreciated.

First of all I want to pass on a big 'thank you' to Diane who gave me this award. Thank you very much - I feel very honoured that you have picked me :)

Then Rhona you wanted to know about the minibook and what it was about. As I said in my previous post, it was a kit I bought from Shimelle. I believe she used hers to scrap "spring '08". I was tempted to go with the same subject but instead I decided to use it to scrap our day out at Alton Towers in June :)

Sharon - thank you for the comments you left on the Jessica Sprague digital scrapping courses. Cindy had asked my opinion on them and I could only give my opinion from a total beginner's point of view. So this was really interesting to read. :) Cindy, if you see this, please check out Sharon's comment left on yesterday's post.

Time...

Finally we have some half-decent weather. Which means that finally (!) I can take some photos. I finished my "Time" double layout (wow is it weird to scrap double layouts again LOL!) on Friday, but we have had such dark, rainy weather that it's been impossible to take any photos. Today it's kinda cloudy (but at least light) with the odd bits of sunshine in between ...every now and then.

Anyway, onto my "Time" layout which is the first of 10 double layouts that we're doing for Shimelle's "My Freedom" class.

I bought a kit for the class, so I'm a little unsure about the supplies and the brands. I also added my own Bazzill cardstock and a few other bits to it.

Oh I nearly forgot: Cindy you asked about the digital scrapping courses by Jessica Sprague that I have taken. You asked: "What do you think of the digital classes by Jessica Sprague? Do you think it is worth the money? I've been thinking about them - but didn't know.... " Okay let's see. I have taken two classes now (the beginner and the intermediate one). This is actually going to be tricky to answer as you have to keep in mind that when I signed up for the first class in May, I had done NO digital scrapbooking at all. Nothing. I had no clue where to start. Also I had only started using PSE this year. So for me, I loved them and I don't regret for a moment that I took them. You know, it was the prefect thing to learn everything from scratch? So, if you have some digital scrapping experience already...it would be very hard for me to say "oh yes I definitely recommend it to you" as it could be that you would just do things you already know. Does that make sense? But for a total beginner, I would say that the classes by Jessica Sprague are a fantastic way to start you off digital scrapping. Hope that was of some help :)

I've just got today's promptfrom Shimelle in the last hour so I'm off with a pen and paper to try and work out some ideas. Today is "photography" day and we're dealing with "inspiration" and "aspiration"...

A Quick One...

A quick blog post today. I'm really looking forward to the second week of lessons for the class by Shimelle tomorrow. Also it feels a little strange because today is the last day of the intermediate digital scrapping class which I have been taking by Jessica Sprague. I have really enjoyed it and I'm seriously thinking about signing up for the advanced one, we'll see...

[Supplies: "In The Garden", "Garden Party", "Bejewelled" and "Black Jack" by Fee Jardine,
"Cupcaking" by Eva Kipler, "Candy Grass" by Melissa Bennett & Amanda Rockwell (all above from SSD) "A3" by Amy Martin, Amy Hutchinson & Amy Wolff (The Lilypad) ]

Speed...

Hrm...so I kinda got behind on the blog prompts from Shimelle on Thursday. So here I am on Saturday looking at yesterday's blog prompt. But that's okay. And especially okay since there's no class lessons on a weekend.

Blog prompt: Time - does it go too fast or too slow? How do you deal with time? etc etc

So I'm thinking...time in general definitely go too fast. Like: where has this year gone??? If I'm not careful I might blink and it's Christmas LOL! On the other hand I'm also very stuck on time. I tend to do things by time rather than by feelings (going to bed because it's THAT time, start cooking because it's THAT time etc...you get the picture). It's something that I'm trying to work on (listening more to what my body/head tells me) but of course it's not easy. Habit are habits. And habits are hard to break.

I'm leaving you for today with a layout I did with some of the new goodies that were released at the Lilypad yesterday...

[Supplies: "Scrap Pad Fill The Space" by Amy Martin, "Circle Of Friends" by Kate Hadfield & Lili, "Fill'er Up! With Flowers" by Natalie Braxton]

Mini Book...

Ooops ...so I never got the chance to blog yesterday. The day was just super busy, everything happened at once and there was no time to stop. And I missed yesterday's blog prompt from Shimelle too. As it turned out, it was not the end of the world though (it wouldn't have been anyway...but you know what I mean LOL!) as I wouldn't really have anything to blog about the prompt. Bet that's made you wonder what it was...

Poems...and do you have a favourite one that has affected you in any way etc. That was the prompt and my answer would have been a simple: no. Just for the simple reason that I don't have any poem books and I don't think I have read one since school almost. For no reason whatsoever, it's just not something I come across in daily life and I no-one I know is into poems either. So I just don't really know anything about them and therefore I don't have a favourite one.

Remember I posted about the minibook kit earlier in the week that I had got from Shimelle (sorry no link as it sold out) and my hunt for the Woodware punches? Well the punches came and I could finish my minibook...

Travelling...

For today's prompt by Shimelle we're going travelling...

Okay let me explain the picture above before you think I have gone completely insane LOL! We're getting lots of little prompts and exercises for this class. Today we got this sheet with empty frames to fill in. The top left one is a Google Maps image of where you live. Even though we have lived here for a few years now, Google Maps/Google Earth still insists on showing our street as a building site (!!) so that's why I put a big question mark in red there :)

The sailing boat symbolises the method of travel that I'd most like to use right now. Though maybe more for lying on the boat relaxing, rather than using it as a method of transport LOL! Head over to the right of the picture above and we were supposed to pick a dream destination for the weekend and Google it to see how much it would cost to go there and back this weekend. Ooops - rather pricey - I think I will just continue to dream :)

Finally we were asked to pick a map of our country, world etc and mark where we have been. I picked a map of Europe and used pink dots to mark the countries I have been to (though I realised I forgot to add two pink dots after I made the pic).

And you know what - our blog prompt for today was to talk about packing in relation to our "travel prompt". To ask our blog readers what their packing list would look like (this would be so interesting to read, please post in the comments above - what do you pack for a trip?) and share our own packing list. Mine's pretty boring I guess. I have travelled quite a lot and learnt to follow the rule "if in doubt - DON'T pack it" LOL! So my packing list would look like this:

* tickets/passport/money
* clothes
* toiletries/make-up
* books
* iPod
* camera
* Nintendo DS

...and that's about it. Now please share with me - what would your packing list look like? :)

Time Travel...

So today's blogging subject was travelling in time - where would you go, what would you do. I know exactly what I would do. I guess the most obvious thing would be to travel backwards or forwards in time. I'm going to be different - I'd like to swap time zone for the day. I would travel to Sweden where my whole family (+ guests) are having a birthday party at my parents' summer house for my little niece which turns 1 today. :)

I can just close my eyes and be there. You lose track of the time and the day. It's the most relaxing place in the world to me. Just by the forest and walking distance from this beach with hardly any people on it:

And from one class to another. I told you about the big double page digital layout class that I was working my way through yesterday. I did end up finishing it very late in the afternoon...

I think my favourite technique of all the things we did (created our own photo mats, playing with overlays and masks etc) was to put the text/words onto the twill strips and then make it blend in so what started off as pure black text is now brown text "printed" onto the twill. Mega cool effect I think :)

Hoping that my album and my punches will turn up today...

Time...And Travel...

This was a surprise. For the "My Freedom" class by Shimelle, which started today, we're not only scrapping and making an album, but we're also getting blogging prompts. :) Even though we don't know most of the class material/schedule etc yet, there are already a few aspects that I'm really liking. The Mon-Fri concept. So nice that it's not everyday...it either gives you a chance to catch up at the weekend or have a little break :)

We're doing photos at the beginning of the week, journaling in the middle and scrapping at the end. Sounds interesting. Can't wait to see how it will work out. We have got a little task to take/sort photos to do with "time" and "travel" today and to get them ready. I'm just uploading to Photobox as I type this :) Also we're posting a chosen "time" photo to our blogs. Mine is this:

[The village clock tower]

What else...erm..uhm..oh yes, thanks so much to those of you who helped me with suggestions of where I could find the punches. I have got some tracked down and on the way to me this morning. :) My mini album will be made soon.

Today is also start of the last week for the Jessica Sprague digital scrapping course. I'm really, really enjoying it. :) Today's lesson is huge! We're doing a digital DOUBLE layout...never done that before. I'm about halfway through as I'm typing this but I'm starting to doubt that I'll get it finished today...we'll see.

Okay off to get my Photobox order sorted...

A Snapshot...

Yep this is what my desk looks like right now. I'm working on a little minibook kit that I bought from Shimelle (it's got nothing to do with the class that starts tomorrow). And I'm sitting here cutting my pages to size. I still need to pick my theme for the album, my photos etc etc. Though I know this will not be finished today. I'm just doing some preparation work. It might not even be finished this week. We'll see. First I need to solve my punch problem.

More Stuff Using The Lilypad Goodies...

So I'm sitting here hoping that my kit from Shimelle will arrive this morning. Parcel deliveries don't normally come here until mid afternoon at weekdays so if it doesn't arrive today, it means I won't have the kit on time for the class start on Monday. Pleeease postman...

Yesterday I posted about all the new kits at the Lilypad this week. Well, I managed more than a few cards. Kate designed some papers (yes Kate, who normally does doodles) and they are absolutely amazing!! I was just sitting there smiling when I first saw them and knew I had to make a layout with the pink doodle paper that same day. It was just too good not to use LOL!

Mmm...Cake...

I've been working with the yummiest digital kits this week. On the first Friday of the month the designers at the Lilypad all come together for a monthly BYOC (Build Your Own Collab). This month I think has to be my favourite. I just love the colours and the kits have just been...well, amazing!

I think if I had to pick an absolute favourite from the kits it would have to be the fantastic doodle kit by Kate Hadfield. I mean, who can resist those super cute cakes? :)

These are some cards which I made using the new Lilypad goodies for this week:

Kits, Kits And More Kits...

First - thanks to all of you who left comments on where I could find the AC albums yesterday, you're the best :) I should now have a blue 8,5x11 portrait album on the way to me.

And while we're talking stash (and you're all sooo good at finding supplies) - has anyone seen anywhere with BOTH the 2 inch and the 3 inch Woodware Scalloped Circle punches in stock please? I have just spent a very frustrating 30 minutes with my friend Google. I get excited as I find one in stock...only to see the same site is sold out of the other size. Nowhere seem to have both in stock. Very frustrating!! So if anyone has seen them around I'll be soo happy if you would post in the comment section. Thank you :)

Now kits...I signed up for the "My Freedom" class by Shimelle which starts on Monday. So I have my album (well, not here, but at least sorted) and I was determind to use my exisiting stash...that is until Shimelle announced that she was going to have some kits for sale to go with the class too. One look at the previews and I couldn't resist LOL! I was instantly drawn to the middle one. Green...hrm...I wonder why :) Are you taking the class too? Did you buy a kit? Which one did you go for? I'd love to hear :)

And talking about kits, I just received another kit from Shimelle in the post which has made me really eager to start to scrap with it. But this is what I want (need!) those scallop punches for. So it's a bit like ----> aaaah at the moment LOL!

[Supplies: "Me Ro-Bot" by Robin Carlton at Sweet Shoppe Designs (SSD)]

Can't Wait...

...for the "My Freedom" class to start :) But I need to do something about getting an album. Asap. I really love the American Crafts ones...you know the chipboard looking ones with the cloth spine in different colours. Can anyone help with where they sell these AC albums in the UK please? I'm pretty sure I want the 8,5x11 format...maybe portrait...possibly landscape. If you have seen them for sale on-line anywhere - please post a link in the comments. Thank you soooo much :)

Oh and I almost forgot, I was working with the Karissa kit yesterday and I have finished the card too now:

Do you think the summer weather that finally arrived yesterday actually stayed? Oh no...within one hour in the evening the weather went from blue sky, sunshine and 24 degrees to extreme darkness, 16 degrees, and such rain that it even affected our TV picture (which it only does very, very rarely in extreme weather conditions).

Summer...

Today it FINALLY feels like summer! Yay! The weather both in May and June has been...well let's just say it hasn't even FELT like it's summer. Cold, dark, rainy...

Today the sun is out and it's hot, hot, hot... Of course we can never be quite happy though, can we? LOL! Sun and hot weather means my little scrapping room turns into a sauna. It's nearly unbearable to be in my little room. *sigh* Anyway, I'm not going to complain as it's soooo nice to finally see some sun :)

I must show you this kit which I have been playing with today:

It's called "Karissa" by Mindy Terasawa and you can get it at Designer Digitals. I knew I had the perfect photo to go with it so I made a layout straight away this morning. I just love the pretty swirly flourishes in this kit :)

I'm also making a card with the same kit. Though it's not finished yet and I doubt I will get the chance to finish it today, but hopefully by tomorrow I might get the chance to finish it off.