#PinkHairDontCare (Who Needs A Cameo Anyway?)

Hi all,

A new layout and video to share today, trying something a little different!

(I have pink hair now.... eee! :D)

For this I used the We R Memory Keepers Urban Chic paper pad and the July/August embellishment kit from Crafty Templates. The backing paper is by My Mind's Eye Jubilee (and that is where the text comes from too)

You might be wondering about that title.

Well, I didn't fancy using Thickers and I don't have a Silhouette Cameo so I tried something using the scanner and Photoshop (but you can use any image editing software I think). Intrigued? Then watch this!

Think the title worked out quite well! I fussy cut around it, stuck it down and outlined the edge with my silver Sharpie. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xxx

Flamingo Tote Bag!

Hi all,

Something a little different today.

You know I'm obsessed with flamingos, right?

I bought a pack of plain tote bags earlier in the year to make a Star Wars bag for Nathan...
Well I used another for me... (like my hair? :D)

I'm normally the one behind the camera so I felt a bit awkward but my mum kept making me laugh taking the pictures....!

Here's a close up of the bag. I used mostly docrafts fabric paints but I did order a white pearl fabric paint too to make the pink a little lighter in places.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Hello, Handsome! Scrapbook Layout

Hi all,

A layout to share today using the July/August embellishment kit from Quirky Kits
I love the kit this time, there's lots of different elements to choose from. My favourite thing is the pink Nuvo Crystal Drops I ordered from the subscriber extras shop. I used it to outline my title (little messy but I still <3 it) and add dots on the page.

I took the picture of Nathan in York on my birthday, he said he owed me a picture, so I took the opportunity... 

The background, backing to the picture and little houses are all from Pink Paislee 'Take Me Away'.

I feel like this layout is a bit messy for my liking but... bit late to change it! 

Here's a close up of the crystal drops.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

DIY Scrapbook Kit!

Hi all

A new layout and video to share today.

I have been thinking of a way to make it easier to use those paper pads that don't come with matching embellishments rather than just making projects made entirely with those papers.

So I looked at making my own kit. Here's a video I made showing what I included in the kit and how I put it together.

Here's the layout I made, I might make some more too as I love the kit so much.

Ignore my atrocious journalling - now you know why I hate it! Being left handed I always end up 'stamping' what I've written across the page and then suddenly my writing just changes angle for no reason...

Anyway... my favourite thing about this layout is the foiled elements...

Last thing now I've grabbed your attention:

My friend Katie has set up a new sketch challenge and we are looking for some people to join us on the design team. To find out more head over to Katie's blog now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Life In A Snapshot DT Call

Hey gang,

My friend Katie has set up a new sketch challenge and we are looking for some people to join us on the design team.

To find out more, head over to Katie's blog now!

Emily xx

Love Always Scrapbook Layout

Hi all,

A new layout to share today.

Lately I've been using a lot of things I was sent through winning competitions etc. Not necessarily things I would have chosen myself but I enjoyed using them nonetheless. But sometimes, you have to treat yo'self and order some things you absolutely adore. I was browsing the Hey Little Magpie site last week and I placed an order. One of the collections I ordered from was the Love Always collection by Cocoa Vanilla Studio. They are my favourite scrapbooking brand and this collection is stunning. I got a cut apart sheet, a pack of die cut ephemera, a pack of little bits and bobs like buttons, sequins, bows, and then a cardstock sticker sheet.

I came up with this, using a selfie Nathan and I took at a posh family dinner last weekend.

I'm sure you're wondering...

Where the hell did she get that background?!

Well let me tell you... I painted it. 

I was just browsing on Facebook and I saw someone had done an art journal page with these huge flowers... so I had a go in my Moleskine and came up with this. I've learnt to always have a practise before doing something on a sheet of 12x12", I get so mad if I ruin a sheet! I scribbled purple gelato onto an acrylic block and picked it up with a wet brush and painted it, then drew in the middle with some pink gelato and went over the top with brush marker and my silver Sharpie. 

Great! I was so happy with how it turned out, so then I got a sheet of 12x12" and drew out the flowers properly. As you may know I'm a perfectionist so out came the compass and I drew circles where I wanted the flowers to be so the petals were even. In those areas I used the packaging technique with an aqua gelato (scribble onto packaging, use a wet brush). Once it dried I tried what I had done before with the purple and pink gelatos. 

You know what?

I absolutely hated it. (The aqua colour showed through the pink and purple and it was a mess! Even after going around it with my brush marker.)

So much so that I shut the door on it for the night, annoyed that I'd wasted a lovely smooth sheet of quality cardstock. 

But in the morning I tried something different. White and a little crimson acrylic paint, and then stripes of pure white down each petal. I love the colour and it looked pretty with the black brush marker. I spattered the centre of each with spray ink.

Once the paint dried I added some sequins, from the 'Life Is Beautiful' collection also by Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Quirky Kit Unboxing - July/August 2016 Embellishment Kit

Hi all,



Another unboxing video today, it feels like I don't get anything new for ages and then everything comes at once!







Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Hey Little Magpie Haul - Unboxing - August 2016

Hi all,

I treated myself this week with my birthday money and placed an order from Hey Little Magpie.

Here's my unboxing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

BioParc layout feat. May/June Quirky Kit & packaging technique

Hi all,

A new layout to share today using more of the May/June Quirky Kit embellishment kit. I feel like I've really neglected this kit, I'm not sure why because I love it!

So, I made a new layout I've been meaning to make for a while, using pictures I took at the BioParc in Fuengirola, Spain. I got some great shots are there weren't any cages.

The papers here are Maggie Holmes 'Shine' (I used some bits of the cover behind the frames which are Simple Stories Carpe Diem)

I finally got to use the packaging technique here.
If you don't know what that is, it's where you get some plastic packaging, scribble on it with a gelato, drop ink or watercolour on it, add water and then press the plastic to the paper. Here I used a gelato and some Smooch accent inks mixed with water. The inks, pink and yellow, show up better and I'm glad because I picked them up really cheap from a garden centre years ago and have hardly used them.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily xx

Birthday Dinos Pop Up Cards!

Hi all,

You know, the Birthday Dinos paper pack by StickerKitten is so lovely that I went back and made a few more projects with it.
The first is a pop up card.

Here's a video showing how to make it. 

Next I have a card with a difference...

Normal card, right?

Wrong! Surprise! 

(I had such fun making that one, I followed a tutorial I found here)

Aaaand finally, I was thinking about the theme of birthdays and I made this little invite that could be used for a kids' party. I would have loved these when I was little!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Vintage Floral Makes!

Hi all,

Some more makes to share today using products I was kindly sent by The Works.

This first one is my favourite, using the shabby chic cardstock patterns pad, a die cut butterfly and some bits left over from the MDF heart I decorated in a previous post.
Half the papers in the pads are glittery and the other half are embossed.

The next one is a scrapbook layout using another of the cardstock patterns pads, this one is a floral pad with lots of pinks and blues. I chose this picture I took in York at the Treasurer's House near the minster, the back gate was open so we snuck into the garden...! 

The papers are super high quality, they didn't buckle when I added the ink spatters on the layout.

And finally a hexagon box painted with Distress Paint and decorated with more of the shabby chic papers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Using Up Old Stash!

Hi all,

Been sort of out of action this week - my right ear is playing up so I can't hear well, or hear myself properly to record videos, or go out as it's so disorienting! But I have a doctor's appointment later this morning so fingers crossed it just needs flushing out and it's nothing worse. I have made a few things this week though, just waiting on decent weather to get some pictures taken. Anyway...

If you're anything like me you've probably got some collections laying around from years ago that you never use because you don't like the theme or the style but you can't sell/give them away because they're just odds and ends... But you have to use up old stuff to make space for (and justify buying) new stash!

So, I picked out a box of die cut toppers from my shelf. This box had, Papermania Sew Lovely, Vintage Notes, Craft Collection as well as another haberdashery collection that came with a magazine years ago and some other bits and bobs. I challenged myself to use up as much as I could.

This first card uses up pretty much all of the haberdashery bits I had. I did make another but I'm saving it for another blog post, but this is my favourite anyway.
To start with I just picked out the large mannequin die cuts and just added more and more until I found a layout I liked. Then I had to take it all off again to stick it down! I adore this card, it's got so much going on and I loved making it.

Then I made a layout with Papermania Vintage Notes. This collection was always a bit pale for me... but I had the bits left and I used every one. 

It's an 8x8" layout and I used a picture of Nathan and I in Newcastle a few years ago, our friend Sam took the picture and they told Nathan to look into my eyes, and his expression looked so funny and I burst out laughing... Thankfully his hat has since gone to the charity shop! 

Thanks for stopping by! Why not challenge yourself to use up some old bits too?

Emily xx

Tutorial Tuesday - Shabby Chic Heart Frame by The Works

Hi all,

I was kindly sent some products to blog about from The Works.
I have a new video to share today showing how I decorated this frame - I feel like decoupage can be intimidating when faced with a bare object and a pack of paper so here I show you how easy it is to make a beautiful home decor piece like this.

Stay tuned as I have a few more makes to share soon featuring more products from The Works.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xxx

Best Day Ever! Layout Using Spray Inks

Hi all,

A new layout to share today using spray inks on the background.

On this layout I used some selfies of Nathan and I that I took on my birthday, we were in York in the Museum Gardens by the ruins and Nathan kept hiding in my hair cause he doesn't like his picture taken. Cutie.

Anyway, to make the background I had some hearts that I had die cut for another layout and so I arranged them on a sheet of white cardstock. When I was happy I used a little blu-tack to hold them in place and then I sprayed the centre of the page with spray inks. I gave it a minute to dry and then removed the hearts.

I did some stitching on this layout, I can't resist the sewing machine any more... I stitched in pink and purple around the page, through some of the heart shapes and through some washi tape in the corners. The hearts that I had used as stencils I kept a few of and I stitched them on too. 

The wood veneer 'best day ever' is coloured with Gelatos. I think the layout looks better without too many embellishments but I did use these bright stickers by Heidi Swapp, they are more 'me' than anything in my stash but they had been in my stash for so long but this was the perfect layout to use them on.

I made this layout for my submission for the Hip Kit Club DT Call... wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily xx

New Stash....!

....and what makes it even better is that I didn't pay a penny! Rather jammy this week.

Hey gang, 

Friday night stash update.

Lately as you may know I've not made anything because I knew I had things being sent to me and I didn't want to start anything and want to use things I was being sent. Now I have the opposite problem as I have a lot of new stash and I'm not sure where to start!

Firstly, I got Project Of The Month from Trimcraft with this card. 

So today the FedEx lorry came down the street (not sure how he got out again, it was a massive truck and this is a culdesac) and handed me a parcel with these lovely goodies inside. This selection makes me super happy, it feels like time was taken to pick things out that co-ordinated and that just warms my heart, the care that was taken to send this to me, there was a really nice handwritten note in the parcel too. Thanks Trimcraft! Super fast getting it to me as well. 

Next, my docrafts prizes arrived on Wednesday, a selection of dies and a 12x12" paper pack (which I didn't know I was getting - nice surprise. I like the paper pack as it'll be great for steampunk makes. 

The dies are really nice, I had a play with the flowers today and although I got fed up with the dies taking 20 times to run through my xpress, they're pretty and I've a lot of ideas for them. I just need a bit more patience!

Aaaand finally some goodies from The Works. I asked if I could be sent some product to blog about and I was kindly sent these goodies. I have started making a video with the decoupaged heart frame and I will finish that tomorrow, with luck it'll be done for 'Tutorial Tuesday'; I'm on with painting one of the boxes too. 

Thanks for stopping. Tomorrow is a craft day,

Emily xx

Scrapped Papercraft Challenge!

Hi all,

Just a quick post -

My ex-Docrafts PDT pals and I have started our own challenge blog.

The first challenge goes live on September 1st and it's all via Facebook.

It's for any type of papercrafts, so if you're a card maker, scrapbooker or anything else and you want some inspiration... anything goes and there's a sketch or a theme or mood board to be inspired by each month.

To find out more and 'like' our page ready for the first challenge to be announced, head over to https://www.facebook.com/scrappedchallenge/ now!

Forever Friends Opulent Layout

Hi all,

A new layout to share today using the Forever Friends Opulent paper pack that came free with Docrafts Creativity mag this month. (The mag and stamps have gone on ebay - I hate teddy bears and the mag has gone way downhill with the new editor, but I digress..)

I do like the papers though, and I wanted to make the effort of using them on something as sometimes things just end up at the bottom of a box unused and it's a shame.

Here's what I made. Yes, the baby is me when I had just turned two, with my parents.

The papers are only 4x4" and so it's a bit more difficult to put together a layout using such small papers. So what I did was choose five of the papers (there's six designs but one is a cut apart) and cut them to 3x4" and then did the same with some gold metallic cardstock.

I added some bits from the My Mind's Eye Market Street collection - the papers and embellishments have a nice gold to them that complimented the Opulent papers.
The wooden sentiment is from The Works and I remembered it existed and added it on a day or so after finishing the layout. I had to rephotograph it with it on but it looks so nice. It's coloured with a metallic Sharpie (I don't shut up about those, do I! haha)

It was a huge pain in the A to do the stitching - the gold thread kept coming apart and disintegrating in the sewing machine but I persevered and I love the effect. I added some thread behind the picture too. Here's a close up

I got some parcels yesterday, one from The Works to blog about and two from Docrafts - some dies and a paper pack that I won in their competitions. Just waiting on my prize from Trimcraft now and then I'm told there's something else too so I'm super excited to get those - when I do I think I'll do a haul update on here. I'm so jammy lately aren't I? Very lucky & grateful! 

 I think tomorrow the craft room is due a sort out and a clean as I'm crafting between piles of books and boxes and stash!

Right, it's my birthday today (22!) so I'm off to York with Nathan :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Die Cut Cards

Hi all,

A post from my bank of posts today - I have been working on a painted tote bag lately but the weather is too dull to photograph (model) it properly!
With a bit of luck the things I am expecting in the post will come this week so I can get on with some new things.

Today I've some cards to share that I made using the 'Handwritten Celebrate' die set from Sizzix. I saw it used in Papercraft Essentials magazine and I had to have it, so I ordered it from America (because it's cheaper than in the UK, even though it had to be shipped over a huge ocean...)... I have wanted a die set with sentiments such as 'happy birthday' on for a while, they're so much more versatile than pre printed little sentiments on a strip of paper.

Here's what I made:

The first one uses a MDF cut from Things To Alter. The papers and buttons came free with the June issue of docrafts Creativity mag. I spattered the paper with the same paint I mixed to cover the MDF shape. This one is my favourite!

The next uses the flamingo die and downloaded paper (from the aforementioned Papercraft Essentials mag) along with a Sizzix frame die and Xcut embossing folder.

And finally (not sure I like this as much) a card using heart and circle dies. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

(Sort-Of) Happy Monday!

Hi all,

Curled up in my jammies tonight. Today has been a mixed bag.

This morning I went for my first ever run. I bought some trainers yesterday and I forced myself out of the door at 7am and ran up the slip road and back through the village and honestly I was exhausted! I'm not overweight, just a little tubbier than I'd like and to be honest I'd like to get a bit fitter.
Since I got back I've been cold (er than usual) all day and my legs ache (yes, I did warm up before going for the run) and perhaps running is a little much so we have come up with an alternative as my mum wants to get fitter too, so we're going to the park to play badminton a couple times a week.

So I got home and a bit later on I saw that I had won the Trimcraft 'Project Of The Month' for my Paradise Crush tri-fold card. I didn't even realise they had such a competition so it was wonderful to see my project on the page. I was soon asked for my address so send out a prize. Woo! Happy Emmie! Trimcraft seem to send prizes out ASAP which is wonderful. Wish more companies were like that (hint hint, docrafts...)

Lately I've had a ton of ideas but I've been doing a lot of waiting. I won the Docrafts monthly competition last month and I'm still awaiting my prize. They always take forever to send things out and it's annoying because it's some dies, things I actually want and I'm holding off projects until they arrive as I want to use them. I'm waiting on some bits from The Works too (but more on that if and when they arrive!)

Obviously the postman didn't bring me anything today. So because I'm reluctant to start anything new I got halfway through a 1000 piece jigsaw...

My car is currently at the MINI garage, she passed her MOT on Saturday but the air conditioning is broken so they had to order a part which should arrive tomorrow so hopefully I can pick her up tomorrow. But knowing my luck, the postman will bring me things tomorrow when I'm out so I'll have to arrange for them to be redelivered!

Luckily I'm busy Wednesday (cinema, seeing friends) and Thursday (birthday! Woo! day out!) so by the time Friday rolls around I might have some new bits to play with. I'm always grateful for new additions to my stash and even more so when it doesn't cost me a penny!

Bye now, I'm missing the Kardashians...! #addict

Emily xx

Things To Alter Guest Design Team - Steampunk Pirate Layout!

Hi all,

A new make to share today using some of the MDF shapes by Things To Alter.
I was asked to be on the guest team at the last minute and luckily I had some steampunk bits left over so I was able to make this layout and I am so pleased with it!

Here's what I made.

I created the background by using matte medium with a stencil with gears on it. Once it was dry I went over areas of the layout with watercolour - crimson mixed with a little burnt umber. I also used white acrylic paint and a honeycomb stencil. Around the edge of the paper I used a border punch and then tore around it. Finally I went around the edge using the zigzag setting on my sewing machine. 

The crosshatched MDF pieces are just one larger piece cut up and coloured with metallic Sharpies. I coloured the bird like this too.

The accordion flowers are so simple to make, I just took strips of patterned paper and scored at centimetre intervals and then folded them into a concertina and stuck together with hot glue. There is some sturdy card on the back of them to stop them popping up and then an embellishment glued in the centre. With this one I used an MDF steampunk heart I painted gold. 

This layout features a picture of my dear friend Sam dressed as a steampunk pirate at Comic Con last year. Don't they look so incredibly cool! To keep with the pirate theme I searched for a sea-type quote, printed it out, cut up and stuck down with matte medium (no messing about with fiddly tape or glue) and then drew around with a fine liner.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx