Snowing...Again...

We've had snow now for about a week and a half. Very unusual for the UK. And just as it was starting to melt I look out through the window about 30 mins ago and see what can only be described as a snowstorm LOL! It's calmed down a bit now but it's still snowing and the sky has that typical look of snow.

Today I'm playing with this:

...and this:

I'm at the stage where I'm waiting for some glitter to dry before I can continue so I thought I might as well take the time to blog. I'm making some birthday cards for my sister and brother. Hopefully I'll get the time to finish them pretty quickly so I can put photos on here either tomorrow or the day after...

And talking about taking photos...I always struggle with light and shadows when I try to take photos of cards and layouts. I always get some weird light somewhere and have been pondering getting one of those mini "portable studios" for well over a year now. Yesterday I decided to go for it:


It's only really small...and I'm not even sure if it will really work for layouts, but there's only one way to find out. Also it's really cool as you can change the backdrop to four different colours:I'm really excited and can't wait for it to turn up so I can have a play with it. If I'm lucky it might be here already tomorrow :)

Journal Pages...

Not got too much to report today...

I must have done something stupid to my knee, though what I have no idea as it was like that when I woke up. Hurts when I walk. The stairs are a nightmare. Oh well, hopefully it will go soon. In the meantime I'm not moving around too much.

Above is the next few pages from my Christmas journal. Mainly photos this time with a little bit of journaling.

I'm considering taking Shimelle's new class "Here, There and Everywhere". Nearly decided to do it, but not quite... Anyone else doing it?

Feeling a bit annoyed with my knee so not in the best of moods today LOL!

Monday...

(...well sometimes it's hard to come up with a title!)

Marja you asked about what we got from IKEA... Nothing fun in terms of stash storage I'm afraid LOL! We bought a new TV last week and needed a new TV bench (the old one was kinda part of/connected to the old TV so it was not something we could re-use). We've been meaning to buy a new TV now for nearly a year but been stuck because of the TV bench. No shop had what we needed. (We needed quite a few slots as we wanted to get rid of the stereo bench and put that there too, plus the Sky box, the DVD recorder and various game consoles...you get the picture).

Anyway we finally found one in IKEA and spent the afternoon building that and connecting everything back up. It also involved moving other furniture (emptying bookshelves, moving them and then putting everything back etc) so it was a whole day's job...and it's not even quite finished yet.

(Layout done for Cathy Zielske's BPS class)

Today I'm doing some sorting and organising in my craft room. I'm also considering getting rid of a drawer unit that doesn't really work so well for me so I might do some investigation on-line and see if I can find something that would be more useful in it's place.

Busy...

...building IKEA furniture. Will be back tomorrow :)

Great Post Day...

Oooh the postman brought me so many goodies today. The stamps that I ordered (finally!) and the embossing folders that I ordered yesterday (wow that was quick!) So I'm really happy with that. Now I just need to find some time to play with them :)

Snow is still heavy on the ground here...has been basically a week now. And the temperature shows no signs of going up so I guess it's staying a little longer...

Leaving you with another entry from my Christmas journal:

Valentine Yummies...

Thanks to those of you who shared your opinions on the Cuttlebug folders. I ordered 4 of the ones I posted about here. I still couldn't quite decide whether I liked the heart folder or not so I didn't bother with that one. My stamps still haven't turned up and we've had the post for today...oh well...

Before I forget I want to say thank you to "my5bratz" who gave me this award for sharing craft ideas:

It's the first Friday of the month which means it's BYOC time at the Lilypad and lots and lots of new kits. This time I was responsible for the blog post, so if you have a few minutes to spare please take a look here.

I always like to share my favourites and each time it's just as hard to pick. This month I'm picking two kits. One by Kate Hadfield and one by Amy Wolff:

Aren't they just so cute, sweet and useful? Love them :)

And finally here's a digital layout from me using lots of the different BYOC kits:

Stash...

What do you want right now stash-wise? :) I'm kinda waiting for the CHA stuff to turn up in the shops. I have my eye on the new Ali Edwards' "Family Circle" stamp set, I'm also looking forward to Sassafras, October Afternoon, Heidi Grace etc. I haven't bought anything new since before Christmas, but I kinda fell for these Hero Arts stamps the other day which I hope will arrive tomorrow if I'm lucky:

Also I have been looking at Cuttlebug embossing folders. And drooling! LOL! Shame they did not bring out any new ones for this CHA, but I guess there's still a good current selection. These are the ones which I'm really wanting at the moment. Though I'm not too sure about the heart one...?

...the question is, should I buy them or not...?

Snölykta...

Meet the next few pages in my Christmas journal. The left side (vellum page) features a photo of my niece and my sister. The right one has some journaling and photos of Christmas preparations.

We got much more snow over night. Yet again, no-one around here can go to work. All the cars are just standing here totally covered in snow. We watched some neighbours bravely attempting to get their car out with shovels for nearly half an hour before giving up this morning. There really is no point in even trying.

You've probably wondered about the title of the post by now. This is a "snölykta" which we made last night (see photo above). This is something that we made a lot when I grew up in Sweden and there was snow. Basically it's a lot of snowballs that you make into a lantern shape, put a tea light candle inside and light. So cosy! I'd be very interested in hearing if this is something that you're familiar with too or if it's a totally Swedish tradition...I really have no idea, so please share if you know this or not? :)

Snow, Snow, Snow...

Yesterday afternoon it started snowing here. Just very small flakes whirling around in the wind. It was not until in the evening when it started settling on the ground. It continued to snow on and off during the evening and night...

These are just some photos from the neighbourhood this morning... It's still snowing more or less all the time and the sky is very grey. I definitely think we have more to come...

It seems like most of England is at a stand still. Roads closed, schools closed, trains cancelled... For me, being from Sweden, this is not very much snow at all. But here it's bad and not something you'd really want to drive in. In Sweden we have special snow tyres (no not the sow chains - this is different) which makes it safer to drive in bad conditions (not that it's ever "safe").

I frequently remember going to school in lots & lots more snow than this. Sometimes it was around -20 degrees and mum would drive us to school. It was so cold that you'd breathe in and your nostrils would stick together because of the cold. We built big (a metre, a metre and a half tall and several metres wide) snow fortresses in the garden and then had huge snowball fights with the neighbour's children. So much fun! So much snow and so cold LOL!

"A Little Tricky" Layout Class...

I designed this class as part of my on-line class work for A Trip Down Memory Lane. Please feel free to use these instructions to make your own layout. You are free to link to this page from any forum etc if you wish. Please do NOT copy this information and/or photos to use for your own classes/forums/webpages without permission.

Supplies needed:
Fancy Pants – Laugh
Fancy Pants – Confetti
Fancy Pants - Jubilate
American Crafts – Thickers – Shoe Box, White Glitter #42882
Basic Grey – Journal Block Stamps #sta-1217
October Afternoon – Photography Stamps

Also needed:
Scraps of white cardstock
Glue (I use Herma removable)
Black journaling pen (Zig Millennium)
Black Slick Writer
Charcoal Chalk Inkpad (optional)
One blue jewel (optional)
Corner rounder

Start by cutting your “Confetti” paper to size. We will be using the blue side as the base for the layout. I scrap in true A4 size, so I cut mine to 29,7x21 centimetres (cm). Please feel free to adapt to another layout size if you prefer.

Pick your photo. I’m using a standard landscape photo.

Cut a piece from the “Jubilate” paper. It should have the same width as your photo (mine’s 15,3 cm) and needs to be 8,5 cm tall. Then cut a piece from the “Laugh” paper, again the width of your photo and this time 8 cm tall. Round the two corners on ONE of the long sides on both pieces of paper. Chalk the edges.

Attach your paper pieces to your background in a long row going down. I started mine 1,5 cm from the top of the layout. First the “Laugh” paper, then your photo and finally the “Jubilate” paper. Outline with a black pen and then draw “fake stitching” around it.

Create your title above the photo. I used a mixture of Thickers chipboard alphabet and journaling by hand.

Now get a piece of scrap paper (anything will do – we’re only making a template) and freehand (or use a ruler!) an arrow. Mine’s 5 cm long. Once you’re happy with your arrow, cut it out and use it as a template to make two identical arrows. Cut one from the “Laugh” paper and one from the “Jubilate” paper. Chalk the edges and put in place using the photo below as a guide.

Stamp the big Basic Grey journaling stamp onto white card, journal, cut out, ink the edges and attach to your layout. Add a blue jewel to the side.

Finish off by adding a stamp and filling in the date.

I hope you enjoyed my class! Wishing you lots of fun creating your own version!