L.O.V.E || Scrapbook Layout || We R Memory Keepers 'Urban Chic'

Hi all!

Funny time of year. Still waiting on the new collections to come out from every single company there is so in the meantime I've been catching up on my 2016 scrapbook and using up some things I bought at the end of last year.

We spent Christmas in Liverpool and I have made a layout using a picture I took of the huge Christmas tree at Liverpool ONE.

I mostly used We R Memory Keepers 'Urban Chic' on this layout, it's one of my favourite collections from last year - so bright and funky.

The title is die cut and I used Nuvo Crystal Drops on them to look like they are lit up.

Thanks for reading!

Emily xx

'Strike A Pose' Scrapbook Layout

Hi all,

So I'm still trying to finish off my 2016 scrapbook. I've been holding off because I'm a magpie and I'm waiting for all the new goodies to come out at Creativation (big trade show in Phoenix, AZ where anyone who's anyone in the crafting world is currently at and of whom I am currently extremely envious).

Anyhow, here's a layout I made using some bits I got at the end of last year - there's We R Memory Keepers 'Urban Chic', Pink Paislee 'Moonstruck' and Cocoa Vanilla 'Love Always' on here. 

The picture was taken on Christmas Day during lunch, we were being silly, pouting for the camera in our posh party hats.

I really enjoyed making this layout, my mojo took a hike over xmas and then I've had lots of projects to make for Trimcraft so it was nice to try and get back into scrapping.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily xx

'Let The Light Of The Season Shine In Your Heart' || Scrapbook Layout || Pinkfresh Studio 'Oh Joy!'

Hi all,

I have a festive layout to share today using the 'Oh Joy' collection from Pinkfresh Studio. 

 This picture was taken on Christmas Day just before we had our Christmas lunch. Nathan and I went to Liverpool for Christmas with his parents and it was a lot of fun. We stayed at the Pullman hotel and it was very posh. Like, iPad in the room posh. 

I was desperate to use the acetate cut apart sheet from the collection so I used it on this layout along with some gold sparkly washi tape I picked up for a grand total of fifteen pence for a pack of two from the 'cheap rack' in Sainsburys.

On the background I simply used Nuvo embellishment mousse through a DecoArt stencil. 

The little snowflakes are from docrafts and I covered them in white glitter. 

The flair are from Fancy Pants 'Merry & Bright'.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Carnaby Street Scrapbook Layout || First Edition 'Black Out'

Hi all,

First things first - Happy New Year! I stayed up to see the new year in and then went straight to bed. 22 going on 102...! 

Anyway, here is the first project I have made using the new First Edition 'Black Out' paper pads.

The picture is one my parents took on our recent trip to London. We never got to Carnaby Street but they did and the Christmas lights looked amazing and I had to make a page using this photo. 

To find out how I made this layout, head over to my Trimcraft gallery (LINK)

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Merry Christmas

Hi everyone,

A final Christmas card to share and this one is for all my lovely followers...! 

As you read this I'll probably be on the way to Liverpool. Nathan walked in one day and told me that his parents are going to Liverpool for Christmas and that we are welcome to tag along. I had a think, and then I asked his mum about it one morning and she made it sound really exciting, so it was very hard to say no to. I know Nathan would prefer that too, and we did spend Christmas with my family last year. Very excited! 

I've planned this as my last post before Christmas, so wherever you are and however you are spending Christmas, have a fabulous time!

Emily xx

See Amid The Winter's Snow

Hi all,

A layout to share today using kraft card and an old picture...
I've a new obsession with scrapping old pictures from when my parents were young. I love hearing the stories behind the pictures.
I was looking for a wintery picture with a cold feel to it and I found this one, taken when my dad was young, on a 110 format camera, Vivitar Tele 835AW, he tells me. (I need one!) It was taken on Christmas Day and then snow was so bad the road to New Holland for Christmas dinner was impassable.

Here's the original picture, I love it. The photocopy never did it justice but you can see how wonderful the colours are in the original. 

Anywho, if you want to find out more about how I made this layout then it's up on my Trimcraft gallery. (LINK) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

'Oh Deer!' Christmas Scrapbook Layout

Hello, lovely followers!

As it's the last week before the Christmas break I thought I'd share a festive layout with you. This one uses the Simply Creative 'Jingle Bells' paper pad by Trimcraft.

I made this in November, and I was struggling to find pictures I hadn't used before and then I found these pictures Nathan had taken for me a few years ago when there were some reindeer at the market in town. Perfect for this festive layout.

Step by step instructions are up on my Trimcraft gallery (link)

Thanks for stopping by!
(When this post goes live I'll be in Sheffield presenting a thing to some very unhelpful uni tutors... fingers crossed we'll do ok!)
Emily xx

Spreading Some Christmas Cheer!

Hi all,

Some final Christmas card inspiration to share just in case you've that last few cards left to make.
These cards use the Simply Creative 'Christmas Cheer' paper pad by Trimcraft.

This one used layered papers. I fussy cut along the patterned paper with bells on it and stuck behind tartan print paper. I made a shaker element using vellum and sequins, held together with machine stitching.

This one used inlaid die cutting. Sound complicated? It really isn't. There's a handy tutorial over on my Trimcraft Gallery which should explain it all for you.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily xx

More Penguins & Presents Christmas Cards!

Hi all,

As promised last week, here's more of the Christmas cards I made using the 'Penguins & Presents' papers from StickerKitten.

I actually can't stop making with these papers... they've really helped get my crafty mojo back.

For this first card I used the pale bokeh effect paper (my favourite) as a background and layered up more paper and a tag.
I coloured some plain wooden pegs with my trusty silver Sharpie and added some silver thread around the sentiment (from a chipboard sticker sheet by Trimcraft). I also coloured some wood veneer (also from StickerKitten) and stuck them onto the card.

This one is a bit bigger, with more layered paper. I made a shaker frame for this, covered a plain Trimcraft frame and then making an acetate pocket filled with sequins. I then stuck bokeh effect paper behind this and stuck the whole thing to the card front. To finish I added some silver stars and a wooden penguin (also from StickerKitten). 

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily xx

Penguins & Presents Christmas Cards!

Hi all,

Some Christmas cards to share today using the 'Penguins And Presents' papers from StickerKitten, which Sarah kindly sent me.

I absolutely love working with Sarah's papers, they're so bright and fun and the quality is so good. I'm sharing a couple today and then there's a couple more up next week. 

This first card uses layered paper with some festive buttons. I used some silver thread in the buttons and stuck some behind the sentiment too. I'm not sure where the thread is from (my parents bought me it and a gold one too when they were out somewhere) but it's one of my favourite things in my stash!

This one used more layered papers, but this time I fussy cut some little penguins from one of the paper sheets, and coloured in some of the wood veneer (also from StickerKitten) with Sharpies. Again I used silver thread behind my sentiment. 

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more from this collection next week!

Emily xx

Deck The Halls!

Hello to my lovely followers....!

A few Christmas cards to share today. These all use the Simply Creative 'Deck The Halls' 6x6" paper pad by Trimcraft.

This one is a circular aperture surrounded by die cut and glittery stars. Simple but effective!

This one really encompasses the Nordic designs of the paper pad with a cosy, warm feel.

And finally something with a bit more sparkle.

For step by step instructions, head over to my Trimcraft gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily xx

Twist & Pop Christmas Card

Hi all,

I tried something new this week, using the Christmas paper download from Trimcraft which you can get for free HERE

Looks like a normal card right?

Wrong.

Some of my fellow teamies at Trimcraft spoke of a 'twist and pop' card.
I was intrigued, so I enquired how to make it....
I was directed to this video, which I followed to make the card.

Here's a picture of the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

More Christmas Cards!

Hi all,

Hope the xmas cards aren't getting too much... limiting mine to one blog post a week.

The ones I'm sharing today are made with leftover stash from last year. Mostly docrafts collections and I made a couple cards to try out different techniques - (relatively) CAS and a mixed media one.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily xx

The Christmas Trapeze!

Hi all,

Some Christmas cards to share today.
These two are made using a trapeze fold and you can find out how to do it HERE.

Both also use the Simply Creative 'Deck The Halls' 6x6" paper pad by Trimcraft.

If you want to find out more about how I made these then head over to my Trimcraft gallery.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell CRAFT!

Hellooooo!

Christmas card making is in full swing and I have some cards to share using the Simply Creative Jingle Bells 12x12" paper pad by Trimcraft. The colours in this pad are really vibrant and there's some traditional designs in there too. It reminds me of the really old Christmas decorations I used to put up at my grandma's when I was little.

This one is a simple grid design with stitching and cute character stickers.

This one makes a bauble out of an aperture, surrounded by die cut buttons. 

And something a little more CAS - three snowflakes each topper with a sticker.

If you want to find out more about how I made these projects then head over to my Trimcraft gallery.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

Have a Gypsy Gypsy Christmas!

Hi all,

A Christmas card to share today using the Gypsy Gypsy paper pad by Craft Consortium, plus some of their Christmas decoupage paper.

The stag's head is painted white and covered with glitter. It's an MDF shape from one of last year's xmas collections from docrafts.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily xx

You Light Up My Life - Stitched Layout

Hi all,

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day and Santa brought you what you wanted! I'm now chillin' in the jammies I got in the sales today with a glass of Bailey's.
Here's my latest layout. For our photography project at uni, one aspect was portraits so I wanted to have some interesting lighting going on so I got Nathan to hold some Christmas lights, in the garage with the lights off.
The lightbulb paper from the Heidi Swapp 'September Skies' paper pad was perfect for this layout!

Lately I've been inspired by circular layouts. I always enjoy a bit of stitching too so I got my compass out and drew two circles, one a little smaller than the page and another inside that. I started by stitching around the outer circle in orange but I pulled it out because I didn't like it. Instead I stitched between the circles for part of the way around. I just pierced the paper at points along the outer circle that intersected with the edges on the lightbulbs on the backing paper. I then stitched towards the centre point. For the outside edge I did the same, finishing each stitch 1.5cm from the edge. 

A close up of the title, stamped using the Traditional Alpha stamp set from docrafts. I lined the letters up on the layout before pressing the clear stamp block onto them so they were in perfect alignment with the curve of the circle. 

We're going to the pantomime (Snow White) in Grimsby tomorrow afternoon.

We went every year when we were little, and back in October my cousin said how fun it would be to go again... the next day, my grandma rang to see how many tickets to book...

Also it'll be my first time driving on the motorway... luckily so far my dad has been a good teacher so I can't see there being any problems. I drove to the outlet today with Nathan and it all went fine and we got some things from the Next sale. Super pleased with myself :)

Until next time...!

Emily xx

Christmas Gift Tags

Hi all,

So close to Christmas now and if you're not mega-organised like me and had your presents bought and wrapped in November, there's still a little bit of time to get wrapping. Here's a couple of gift tags that can be put together in 5 minutes.

They are using the Geometric Neon collection by Docrafts, out in January. I had some bits left over from a commission and they went great with the paper straws I cut up to make the tree. 

This second one uses die cut bunting and I've turned them upside down to use as trees. 

Now, I need to get into the Christmas spirit - I passed my driving test yesterday! I've spent the past few months thinking (getting worked up!) about that. Now it's done it's a huge relief and I can be myself again! Hopefully that will include having more creative inspiration. And plenty of trips out to take lots of photographs! 

So, have a very Merry Christmas!

Emily xx

Christmas Mixed Media

Hi all

I wanted to make a mixed media piece that can be displayed at Christmas. I printed small pictures I took of our tree last year and framed them (using the new wooden frames from docrafts, painted gold) to look like hanging decorations.

The background is from a roll of BoBunny paper painted with distress paint and then spattered with ink and watered down acrylic paint.

Until next time....
Emily xx

Christmas Gift Tags!

Hi everyone

Suffering a bit of crafter's block lately...

But today I made some gift tags using my Christmas supplies from docrafts to try and get back into it...

First I die cut some tags from kraft card.
Then I went around each edge with a small amount of PVA glue and sprinkled white glitter and let it dry overnight.

Then I decorated each one.

Now I'm not sure what to do with these... If I actually use them as gift tags they might get thrown away and they're too nice for that!

Anyway, until next time...!
Emily xx