In Japan!

Hello friends

It's New Year's Eve!!

Today sharing with you an article from Love My Memories scrapbook magazine

from Japan! The article is Scrapbooking Around the World and I was invited to

submit a scrapbook page - yes, I was a bit chuffed :)

The magazine has now been published so I can share the pictures with you.

 My page is top left corner and yes, features Bella!

Also a photo of my shop so nice memories. 

And this is what it says....

"Originally scrapbooking in the UK was known as just cutting out magazine articles, pictures and sticking them down, no embellishments as such, just perhaps a title and a tiny bit of journaling.  In the 70’s and 80’s most teenagers kept scrapbooks of their favourite pop stars/actors. Scrapbooking in the UK arrived quite a long time after it became huge in the US. Thankfully through the introduction of many craft stores/websites and groups scrapbooking it began to become popular.  Scrapbooking kits are popular in the UK, subscribing to certain websites and receive their monthly kits along with a leaflet of inspirational projects. Most layouts still keep the photo very much the focal image.  Flowers are huge here!  Whether they be die cut, silk, ribbon.”

I need to thank Margie Higuchi who designs for both Spellbinders and Scrapbook Adhesives

by 3L for translating the article.

The layout was one I made some time ago and features mainly tags as the design.

It's one of my real favourites.

Pat mentioned that the cartoon on yesterday's blog post would make a great stamp, much
like one I posted before.  I agree Pat it would look good.
I have a few friends that have gone into the world of stamp creating -
I have to admit it is not a path I'm keen to take, it is extremely competitive
and I'm a die cutting person at heart.

Also Lesley asked where I get my tags - they are available here.

And now without further ado....I am wishing you all an amazing, creative, 

happy and healthy New Year!

Stop by tomorrow - there is an amazing blog hop with tons (yes tons!)

of giveaways.

Tuesday Tip/Technique

Hello friends

Back in the swing of things now after my little break over Christmas,

I truly enjoyed spending time with the boys and my family  - watched so much TV!

Finally watched Frozen - so now humming those songs continuously.

Absolutely loved Agatha Raisin, That Day We Sang, Miranda,

Downton Abbey (of course!) - so a bit goggled eyed and gained a pound or two!

Now to the important stuff ...yes, Tuesday Tip/Technique!
How about using just a section of your die to shape tags?
I love tags but it is nice to add interesting shape to them.
Slide your tag into the die template as shown below.
This is Labels Three.

Good idea to use removable tape and fix it down onto your cutting mat. 

I run it partially through the Grand Calibur to cut/emboss the top area,

otherwise you do get an impression of the bottom section of the die, 

no problem if you are covering it up though. 

 A tag with a nice shaped bottom!

 For this kraft tag I've used Labels Twenty Eight.
It would also look great with the decorative labels.

 It's a nice idea to mirror the shape with a smaller die cut.

 And then you can start decorating, I've used Sprigs and Pretty Petals D.
The papers are Basic Grey - 25th and Pine, Christmas papers still left on my craft table!

 Some close up pics.

A simple but effective idea, not just limited to tags either, shape your cards too.

Take care friends - I'm back tomorrow.

Christmas Roundup

Hello friends

Just a quick post to say I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Did Santa bring you any craft items?

I had a wonderful time, seeing my family and generally over indulging.

Here are an assortment of photos ....

the Boxing Day table.

 My nephew James getting a warm welcome from Bella!

 Elliott photo bombing the tree - those huge gaps in the branches and wayward lights are

due to two kittens living in the tree for the last fortnight!

 Mitchell in his new dinosaur onesie which is also of great interest to Bella.

Indoor sparklers...

 never too old for these!

My gift from Mum and Dad - a Cath Kidston Gromit - so pleased with this.

 Bella sporting one of her gifts - not so impressed!

I'm back soon friends, in between wishing you lots of happiness,

lots of turkey leftovers and one more Quality Street really doesn't make that much difference!

Take care friends.

Tuesday Tip/Technique

Hello friends

This week's TTT is about looking at dies in different ways.

For example let's take a look at hearts - Classic Scalloped Hearts.

They are pretty but are they just hearts??

Whenever I receive a new die set I run them through the Grand Calibur with 

a piece of copy paper, the die cuts always look different to the dies 

and it can often spark off a creative idea.

How about clustering the hearts to look like a flower?

You could use the edge of the hearts to create a scalloped border

as detailed here on this memo peg wallet.

This complete project just uses one die set - Scalloped Hearts.

It certainly adds versatility and value to your dies.

Not long now until Santa visits and just in case I do not get the chance to blog  

over the festive period, I want to send out this message to you all....

You are all such wonderful friends and I truly appreciate you stopping by my blog each day.

2015 promises to be a busy creative year and I am really excited about travelling

and hopefully getting the chance to meet lots of you in person.

The most important member of staff donned a Christmas hat too!

Now to the important stuff - time to open the Quality Street and sherry!

Take care friends.

Promised Pics!

Hello friends

A photo heavy blog post today of our trip to London - Elliott overload!  

It was brilliant and we managed to cram quite a lot in.

First stop McDonalds....of course!

We then checked in at our hotel in Kensington, they had organised gifts for 

Elliott and decorated the beds with sweets!

The hotel was perfect, Elliott checking out the lounge area.

We then hit the shops, hats were clearly the order of the day!

 This store is Forbidden Planet - geek paradise!

We then visited Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.

It was beautiful with all the lights but very cold.

 So many stalls and fairground rides, we think we covered most of it.

 Cinnamon pretzels - a real favourite.

Back to the hotel and then next morning a trip to Harrods.

Elliott had never been so it was a real experience.

The food halls are amazing and we brought Mitchell back some goodies and

a treat for my Dad - a Harrods pork pie!

Travelling home....

This time last year Elliott was having daily radiotherapy -

what a difference a year makes.

Take care friends and I hope all your Christmas planning is coming together,

things are a little delayed here...I've written more lists though!

Candy Cane Table Favours

Hello friends

Scheduling this blog post as Elliott and I will be in London.

My festive project for Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L went live yesterday over

on the Crafty Power Blog.

These are so simple to make and look great on your table.

Full step by step instructions can be seen on their blog but you can 

probably see they feature Labels Four.

 The central decoration is made with 3D Foam Stars with a touch of silver and gold glitter.

Please pop over there and take a nose at the tutorial, they are quick to make which is

what we all probably need right now! 

Once we are home from London it is blitzing through the lists of jobs,

one of them is wrapping gifts, I had a plan to wrap each one as I bought it...

well that didn't work!  Speedy wrapping is in order.

Take care friends.

Friday Die Day

Hello friends

It's Friday Die Day and it has to be something Christmassy today!
I'm featuring Snowflake Bliss.

I've used this die on quite a few projects but today something a little different.
There are 4 snowflake dies to this set and they measure:

1: 1 1/8”
2: 1 5/8”
3: 2 3/8”
4: 3¾”
 

This is how they look cut/embossed.

I've chosen dies #1 and #3 (smallest die is always #1)

to create three layered snowflakes and added a gem to the middle.

It was then time to start wrapping Christmas parcels.

I've chosen regular brown parcel paper.

Threaded the three snowflakes onto red/white twine, wrapped around with a bow at the back.

It doesn't take long and it really makes a brown paper package tied with string look

lovely and festive!

Some close up pictures.

So, if you haven't done all your Christmas wrapping (like me!) how about it?

They look pretty good under the tree (if you don't have kittens chewing everything!)

 

Snowflake Bliss is available to purchase here.

Behind the scenes at the Woodland Cabin there is a real flurry of activity,
my new role of Spellbinders UK Ambassador is really taking off and plans for
2015 are well underway. 

I will be touring the country with demos and teaching classes
from Aberdeen to Essex! 
I truly hope to be visiting a town near you. 

First off, in January I'm in Bury St Edmunds - Keep On Crafting.
All the details are here - if any of you live nearby please pop along for a class,
be lovely to meet you.

Lastly, if you are a newsletter subscriber - check your inbox, there's another sale!

Take care friends and have a lovely weekend.