And now, I have an even bigger shopping list.....

...and this is why!

Now, it's not often I watch QVC, honest, it really isn't, but I spotted a note on Dyan's blog about Sir Tim being on. So I popped and had a look and noticed the "thing of the day" (see I'm not even sure what they call it) was a bucket full of goodies with his new book. So, as one of no doubt hundreds, I ordered it and it came today.

The book came with a mini mister, a pot of perfect pearls, a distress ink pad, rock candy crackle paint and stickles, a blending tool with two pads (as seen in most stores) and two small bottles - one of glossy accents (of which you can never have enough) and one sepia accents. All this for £25 - plus p&p but even so it made it worth while.

Flicking through the books I've seen and tried a number of the techniques, most on his blog but I love just having it to hand for inspiration. The main inspiration at the moment is to spend money (not so good). On the flip side I have tons of Tim's products, such as the fragments, which I had forgotten I'd got until I looked in the book. So I feel inspired to use some on my father-in-laws birthday card, or just play and keep somewhere to look at.

That's it from me for now. We're in the middle of a snow storm here with big fat juicy flakes. Chris is "down south" today so I do hope it doesn't cock up the trains. Either way I fancy a snuggle in front of the fire with the kids and my new book, maybe even a cup of hot chocolate.

Stay warm and thanks for stopping by!

Just a quick sneak...

There just aren't enough hours in the day at the moment. I know that's a common compliant, but it's not one I often come out with, so here I am with a very quick post to share some sneak peeks of my designs using the upcoming March kit from SBK Club.

As always, thanks for looking!

Half term and a cold day...

It's been a while since I've shared any photo's with you so I thought it really was about I did. Today we had our second ever visit to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. It was bitter cold and I thought I wasn't going to get any photo's at all. Primarily because my hands turned to ice if I took my gloves off, but also because it was so busy when we got there and having 2 and 4 year old with us we went round to cries of "lets see something else..."

They have recently rescued a pride of 13 lions from a Romanian Zoo, but they are still in quarantine. You can't see them, but we did hear them. A lions roar certainly lets you know it's not a timid animal. The park is currently constructing an area for them and I think we'll be visiting again to see them. I have a thing about big cats, I like little one's as well mind.

Some Scrappy News

I have been lucky enough to be invited to join the design team for the Scrapbook Kit Club for six months. Whats more, I now have a box of kits to play with that contain some scrummy stash, including the current kit which you can see the DT layouts for here.

Wish me luck and I hope to be back soon with creations.

Right then...

Here, finally are those ATC's I promised I'd share with you. I thought I'd 'better do it now as it being half term this week I'll probably be nodding off by the time the kids are in bed. Having said that I'll probably find time to play Vampire Wars on Facebook! My current obsession which I'm finding is great for stress relief. Relief I need after having this blooming awful cold for just over four weeks now. I must have had two together, it can't just be one cold. Either way I getting more than a bit fed up with it and beating up a few vampires helps.

I digress, here are those ATC's. Hope you like them.

I've started....

I now have a small pile of pages with backgrounds prepared for my art journal and some I'm leaving with just a coat of gesso so that I can just make it up on the spot. Over time I'll make some more pages as I have a desire to get all sticky and love the process of making them. I love the feel of multi medium on my fingers, real hands on creating...oh loveliness, and the smell...awwww. If you haven't already - go sniff some!

So far I have finished two pages in my journal, and I'm wondering how it's going to progress as they are very different styles.

This is the first page. Can you tell I was in a slightly dark mood when I did it? Hmmmm... I was tired and just felt the need to sit down and take a break from everything, and that's what the journaling tells you.

This second page I was in a mood to get the multi medium and make a pretty page. Lots of playing with paint, stamps, gold pens (not the norm for me) images and pencils.

I loved the end result so much I made a set of ATC's in the same way. Question is do I want to swap them? Maybe, but not just yet. I'll be back later to share those with you as blogger is taking far too long to upload photo's today and I am losing the will...

mini monsters....

The BIA is out and the pogo printer is winking at you. You then discover an almost forgotten kit, in to this case Indigo Mill's Monster Mash kit from October '09 . Put it together and what do you get? In my case a 2x4 inch mini book of my little monsters.

The size of the book was dictated by the covers as they were made from off cuts from the travel journal I made last week. Waste not want not! Makes it an idea size for all those off cuts of paper piling up.

I've only added photo's to one side of the pages, and the book will happily stand up so you can always have those adorable monster faces looking at you while you work. The other sides have all been decorated using the monstrosity cardstock stickers.

Thanks for looking!

Me time....

This year I will be "celebrating" my 40th with a trip to New York without the kids. Each year Chris and I take a kid free break, but this year it will be for my birthday and to a place of my choosing. We went a couple of years ago and we have a rule of not going to the same place twice, but I loved it and there are still things I want to see. I also don't want to be dealing with turning 40 and have language problems. So, New York it is! Yay!!! I can taste the breakfast already....drool.

With this trip in mind, I've made myself a little travel journal to take with me based on the Julie Kirk's (Nabview) 3-in-1 mini book tutorial which you can find here.

I love the pocket idea so have used that for vertical and horizontal pockets to slip receipts and tickets in while we are away. I usually use a hotel envelope to bring things like that home, and then they stay in the envelope. This time they will have a home from the start.

There are also pages just for journaling, and some of the "pocket pages" have been turned into extra wide pages for me to witter away on. Other's I've turned the journaling block around to give the book more interest and make you want to handle it. At the moment I'm also considering taking my pogo printer with me as I think a few little photo's in it would be great.




I'm really looking forward to using it and may make another one just because I can!

This one has been make using kraft cardstock for the pages and pockets, bakers twine, basic grey recess papers (yep - I'm using old stash!!), journaling block stamp, inks, a little touch of paint, 7Gypsies tapes & a rub-on and some Tim Holtz bits and pieces. Oh yeah - and I dusted off my BIA to bind it, it's been a while.

As always, thanks for looking!

The early bird...

For once I am way ahead on my GoGo Circle Journal! The theme this time is "Words to live by". All those phrases that you find yourself saying or living by. My chosen saying is "If you can't choose who you are, what are you if not the sum of your choices".

I know that sneak peaks wind some people up, but I don't want to spoil it for the recipient or other circle.

Pages this month have been created using the lovely January kit from scrapagogo. I love the stamp produced for this kit and was lucky enough to get my hands on one as I don't sub to the stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Is that an Art Journal I see before me...?

Not yet, but that's the plan. The first of the three projects I'm inspired to do after attending the Fabby Dabby Weekend.

I was thinking about picking up a cheap book to have a go at making my own after seeing Dyan's, but as I was sat at my desk I clocked a couple of the paper bags that Scrapagogo kits come in, and the light bulb went off! Brightest it's been for a while if the truth be told.

Since then I have been sneaking off to glue, rip, punch holes, gesso, paint and stamp. So far I have three pages and a cover ready to be worked on. I have absolutely no idea yet as to what I'll put on these pages, but I am just so in love with making them at the moment, that that part really doesn't matter just yet. I have no deadline to finish the journal, it will be done when it's done, and probably reworked a lot. I will share some of the pages as I go along.

The photo's don't really do the finish on these pages much justice. I've only used Claudine Hellmuths studio paints and they have a fabulous depth of colour when you have a lot of layers. These have to be my favourite paints yet.

Right I have housework to do, half a dozen more pages at various stages in the process and a canvas to sort out. I may sometime, but I will be back!

I'm a little fairy....

The second weekend in January I was privileged enough to go to one of Dyan Reaveley's (AFTH) Fabby Dabby Weekends, and oh it was exactly that. The weekend starts on the Friday evening, but we still had far too much snow and all I heard was that the A59 between York & Harrogate was far from funny, so I gave them a call at the shop and let them know I wasn't going to make Friday, but hell or high water (or even snow) I would be there Saturday morning!

A few people have now asked me what we got up to, so here finally are some of the projects we worked on. They were a mix of media and techniques, from art journal to collage to beeswax with lots of ink and paints and stained fingers.

Don't get me wrong I loved the GoGoGetaway, but this really recharged my batteries and has sent me hurtling back to my arty side - where it all began so many moons ago. So, a very very big thank you to Dyan - woman you are an inspiration! Now I just need time to do all the things I want to do. Starting with creating an Art journal and making Rosie into a fairy (canvas is primed and ready to go).

What techniques do you use?

Another circle journal posting date is here and this month I have had Jackie's journal -"Techniques". I was looking forward to this one, but then I remembered I just stick and go, or do I? It's funny when you have to think about what you do or how you do your scrapping.

I am haphazard in the way I work (messy I think Chris would call it, if he was being polite..) In the end I've shared a couple of embellishment type techniques, fingers crossed she likes them!

Pogo Monsters

Fed up with the snow yet? I know I am now. It wasn't too bad when Jamie was on school holidays, but now he's back I am not enjoying walking it in with a pushchair, or to be more accurate, half pushing - half dragging a pushchair through it.

I did force the kids into a mini photo shoot on Wednesday though as the school was shut and they seemed up for it. I have printed the shots out on a polaroid pogo - I just love it. No, they are not colour accurate but they are proper polaroid pictures as we remember them. The kids were sat in front of my bed and that's a chocolate colour quilt cover behind them.... you'd never guess would you. I was determined to scrap them quickly and this is what I came up with.

As always, thanks for looking!

52 Walks 2010: week 1

It's the first day back to school after the Christmas holidays and it looks like only the Infants schools are open here. So with Jamie safely deposited at school and Rosie at nursery and with the snow still falling I finally took myself off for a walk to the post office, camera in hand.

My photo's for this first walk are of Burnby Hall Gardens, closed due to the slippery pathways, but with a clear view of the lake from the entrance I took these. The posts you can see are in the lake and mark the various varities in the huge water lily collection, as you can see the lake is frozen over and mainly covered by the snow.

2010...

Ahh, a new year, and look a photo taken today. I felt very guilty about all the birds in the snow and having empty feeders hanging around the garden, but as I only have table food and no bird table, the shed became a substitute and this blackbird has been on and off it all afternoon.

As a failed 2009 365'er *hangs head in shame*, I've decided to join Pam's new project. 52 Walks with my Camera. You can find the UKS thread here and the flickr group here if you fancy joining in. The walk could just be the school run or a pop to the local shop, or it could be a good old hike up a mountain which is why it appeals to me.