Butterfly

The theme at Saturday's Challenge is butterfly. Here is my card, which features flower stamps by Elusive Images and a free one from Craft Stamper, paper by DCWV and butterflies stamped on acetate and highlighted with glitter glue.

Cards for milestones

I didn't really fancy of any of the card challenges this week so here are a couple of cards I prepared earlier.
I've taken a liking to using photographs in cards that celebrate milestones: it really personalises them I think. This card, below, is for a friend, Paula. The handmade paper is by Lakeland and the stamp used is by Hero Arts, the flowers painted with Twinkling H2Os and then cut out and mounted.
Recently our student intern left after her year's work experience, and this was the card, right, I created for her.


The background paper is from the Rockstar pad by DCWV; the flowers I decorated with glitter glue and the pink tag in the bottom corner is by K&Co.

The Orange Page

I've been acquiring orange embellishments for a while now but realised I never get the chance to use them because we never wear clothes in complementary colours! Then I found some pictures of me and my mum from 1995 when we went to Challaborough, in South Devon, to see Joyce, my mum's friend for many years. She had just won a prize for her caravan's garden.

Cardstock by Bazzill; patterned paper and large flower by DCWV; paper frill by Doodlebug; transparency by Fancy Pants; journalling spot by Collage Press; letters by Making Memories (rub-ons); paper clip by Making Memories.

The late bird drops the worm (presumably)

Ho hum. Well, I just finished a lay out for Vanessa's challenge at the Scrummy Stash Cafe blog; was about to upload it and realised I am about five hours too late. That'll teach me not to check. Anyway, the challenge was to use a sketch, and it was a nice one (I don't always like sketches) so I used a picture of my niece and nephew with the title "Together." Patterned paper and journalling spot by College Press; chipboard letters by Making Memories. Plus lots of acrylic paint (you should see the state of my hands!).

Here are a few other layouts created recently, just to show I don't just make cards.
I have always loved poppies. Amazingly evocative flowers and how poignant the way they spring up on barren land around battlefields. So I was thrilled to find a poem which does poppies justice. I just had to scrap it. The poem is called Poppies by Attilio Bertolucci. I used the transparent cover of a notepad from Sainsburys, some red velvet ribbon and cut out some poppies from paper by Bo Bunny.
Finally here's what we did on Easter Monday. We walked through Epping Forest - very muddy - to have lunch at The Owl. I've called it "Walk like a Penguin," because when I observed that J didn't have any mud on his jeans, and I did, he said: "Well, it's because you walk like a penguin."

Patterned paper is Two Scoops by Basic Grey; black chipboard letters by Cosmo Cricket with a Holy Cow rub-on used over the top; journalling spot by College Press.

More acrylic paint was used in this layout, celebrating my love of swimming (though I'm not very good and probably don't swim like a penguin). I used Stampin' Up French Flair stamp to create the swirls in the corner. Flower and letters by DCWV; plastic embellishments by Crafts FunFair. Chipboard frame and fun sticker by Anker International.

Strawberry fields

I do enjoy a challenge and with plenty of spare time this weekend, I set about the Caardvarks challenge of home grown: fruit and vegetables.

I used a strawberry Flower Fairies decoupage (it was actually free with Cardmaking & Papercraft a few weeks ago) and added a strawberry in the corner and some glitter. The paper is by DCWV.

I've also been scrapping, and, do you know: I think I've found my style! I've been scrapbooking for around 18 months now but I never felt I'd really hit on "my style." Then I began to move towards using paint, a more abstract feel, and collage. Now, with a few of these under my belt, I think I've found a way of scrapping that suits me and has potential for development. So no more matting of photos. Yippee. I'd like my layouts to be instantly recognizable as my style in the manner of Jane Dean, Kristina Contes, Anne Parry and Shimelle. Not that I'm saying I'm anywhere as good as they are. But we all need something to aspire to.

Splash uses red cardstock (it looks more pink inthe photo), acrylic paint and irridescent medium, chipboard frames and embellishments, torn up paper, plastic seashore embellishments and letters by DCWV. The stamping, bottom left corner, is with my new French Flair stamp by Stampin' Up, embossed in silver. Very impressed with it, it's a huge stamp. Good quality too.

"Dinner party", with the question "when did I start to turn into Hyacinth Bucket?" uses patterned paper by Sandylion, a Sandylion dinner plate sticker, and some tags from Craftime which I inked round the edges. I continued the effect of fairy lights into the title with gelly roll pens.

Story of my life latest

Here are two more layouts from the story of my life. Five down, about 50 to go! As a recap, I'm using all the pictures in B&W and using different colour themes for different stages of my life. Well, that was the theory - I was supposed to use blue for my childhood years - but as you'll see, somehow yellow crept in!

The picture top left was the result of a session in Plymouth with photographer Gerald Prior. It took a long time because my younger brother was such a livewire. We practically had to hold him down in the end. I still remember that dress! I must have been about seven or eight years old. Supplies: paper - unknown. Red ribbon, jewel brads by Dovecraft. Green sparkly letters K&Co.

The picture top right is my official school photo when I was about six years old I reckon. The tragic headline "Can I help you sonny?" was actually said when I was a bit older and we'd gone to a restaurant for lunch (extremely unusual). The waitress asked me what I wanted, sonny. Well, I did have very short hair: I had had it longish but it used to tangle and my dad Stamps was the only one with any patience to brush it gently. So I used to get a razor cut at My Lady Hair Fashions, Colebrook, where my snipper was called (by me) Valerie the Penguin. Well after the disgrace of being mistaken for a boy, I promptly grew it long again.

Supplies: patterned paper and flower, DCWV: envelope (containing lock of my hair from when I was about 12!), K&Co. Journalling note: 7Gypsies. Chipboard letters: K&Co.