The Treehouse

Christmas in August...

I know it's been a while - not much scrapping going on in the school holidays! We did however have a sewing day yesterday. Catherine has been learning to patchwork and last week made a lovely little cushion out of some scraps. This week she moved on to make a much bigger cushion and we sewed all day long! I would show a picture but I've not yet been able to tear away these prized creations from her for long enough to take one - she really has made a super job of them :D I finished off this Christmas wallhanging. I did the stitchery bit over the Christmas holidays last year and it's been sitting in my drawer awaiting further attention. I don't think it shows up well on the photo but I added some bling onto the stars and the little flowers. I'm quite pleased with how this has shaped up and at least it's finished in time to be able to hang it up for this year's Christmas :D

It's been a while...

since I blogged! I have layouts from Gibside to upload but haven't scanned them as yet, in the meantime - here's one I did today/last night. About a third of the way through applying that bling I realised it was a somewhat amibitious job to have begun at 11.45pm! I do like the Noteworthy II papers - I liked Noteworthy I until I used it a bit too much and got sick of it, this second release though I like even more.
I have so many little projects on the go but decided to take a break and do a 12x12 for a change. I am working on Shimelle's My Freedom class but actually need to take some more photos and print them out so I can construct something and stop just thinking about it, lol!

what...no chipboard :o

after waxing lyrical about my hefty use of chipboard...here is a layout with none at all, lol! (unless you count those AC letters!) Matthew insisted that these photos be done next and that I please use the cricket ball brad. So...like a good Mum, I have obliged :)

Pagemaps book...

Helen brought along the new Pagemaps book to our crop yesterday - what a lovely book! I've used Pagemaps for ages and ages, always print off the monthly sketches for times when I need a bit of inspiration and I have to say they've done a great job with the book. I did have it in my basket on Amazon several times but kept taking it out as it wasn't actually in stock and I wanted the other books in the basket...now! A little visit to Amazon is on the cards today I think :)
I did make use of one of the sketches in Helen's copy to make this layout. In fact - that Heidi Grace paper on the layout (love that!) well that came from Helen as well, back in November when we were on our weekend away and she had a mega sale, lol! As you can see, i am carrying on with my chipboard challenge and now (I knew this would happen) I've developed quite a 'thing' for it and have purchased a few new bits...tree with a bird in, very fancy tree and a shield type thingy (thought that would be handy for boy pages). ooh and there is a heart with flowers on it too. All very lovely and the designs are really intricate. The little tiny birdies on the journalling circle are from a Hero Arts set, a tiny set that comes with a few jewels as well. Whipped out my sewing machine when I got home to stitch around the edges of the layout and the circle, don't think it shows up too well on the scan around the edges but it is there.
Matthew took that photo of me - he was having a phase of photography, he photo'd me sprawled on the settee reading various books, my feet, his feet, Dad's feet, the cat's feet etc. Catherine was lucky she was out, lol!

mmm, chipboard + glossy accents...

what a difference it makes! I am on a 'use up all this chipboard' spree still. I usually resist the constant urge to put glossy accents on it because it uses such a lot up - well, no more resisting because I have reminded myself how much I love the effect tonight! I coloured those chipboard leaves with my new chalk inks (had to get some as my others were all used up! and I went for the Versamagic - I am most pleased with them) and then I took some leaf stamps and overstamped some details onto them and then did the glossy bit...I really am very pleased with them indeedy. These papers - they are the MM Noteworthy II of which I spoke a while ago, they're gorgeous, even nicer than Noteworthy I imho.
Anyway, here is my gorgeous boy searching for conkers and acorns in the woods, it really is a bit of a tradition thing. How on earth dh managed to snap him so still and peaceful I do not know as he is truly never still! Gorgeous photo - I could scrap it quite a few times :o Was going to write a heap load of journalling on there but...it's going on the back this time :)

Cricket Whites...

poor Matthew, I've had this layout sitting on my desk since Sunday - waiting, waiting, waiting for me to have some wonderful embellishment idea. There is a definite lack of boy type embellishments on the market and boy type embellishment ideas are definitely lacking in my brain :o Poor boy - no wonder there are not so many layouts in his album as in Catherine's - how shocking is that? We know it to be true as he sat and counted up one day how many he had and let's just say - I am lagging behind somewhat. I could claim Catherine's elder status as being the reason however, I know this to be a poor excuse as by the time I began scrapping - they were both running around! Anyhow, here is my handsome cricketer in his beloved cricket whites. Paper is We R Memory Keepers I think, font for Cricket is QK Starlight. I love the chipboard stars and sadly that is my last one I think and as they were a gift I have no idea who makes them. That little sticker with the bails and cricket ball...I pinched it out of Matthew's scoring book !!!

rain stopped play...

outside, but not indoors! Just about all of today's plans have been done for by the rain. So, what do you do on a rainy day ? Well, craft of course :D Catherine has finished off her slippers that she brought home from school, Matthew has watched Sponge Bob music on U-Tube and I've scrapped...John went for a quick cycle in defiance of the wet and got drenched :o

I used a sheet of some very pretty Luxe Designs paper cut up into strips and you know, the scan doesn't show its prettiness off at all - there is sparkle and shine on there. I made a little investment into some Petaloo flowers this week and very nice they are too :D This was last year's crop weekend away and a very smashing time we had too - don't think we actually managed to get out of pyjamas on the Saturday as we were so busy scrapping and laughing, lol! Some inspiration for this layout from Triple the Sketch -  a very nice blog, go check it out.

Almost finished the school photos...

I have the First Holy Communion pictures left to do and then Catherine's leaving photo - which I don't have yet. That will be the last photo of her primary school years for me to scrap :o (am a bit sad about that) We have spent a lovely afternoon girly crafting while the boys did boy stuff (bikes and football!). Catherine has fallen in love with the new Sweet Ebony stamps from Funky Kits and has made some pics to hang on her bedroom wall this afternoon while I scrapped.

All of the papers are from October Afternoon - lovely collection of papers/stamps and rubons. I'm looking forward to their next release although, there is quite a bit left of these papers still. I had use of Karen's threading water punch at the last crop and punched around the edges of a piece of pp which I've cut up to use bits of on both of these layouts. Hopefully, my own threading water punch is wending its way across the Ocean as I type and will arrive in my letterbox very soon :)

Both of these layouts were inspired by the lovely Artbase layouts on the UKS homepage this week.

 

Tick Tock...

here's a clock! I bought this at the Bolton show and was determined it wasn't going to sit, undecorated in a cupboard. I have a bit of a 'thing' for clocks and watches. My original plan was to set to work with paint and stamps and such however, that birdie paper by Stemma was calling to me - I just love it! So, no wonderful piece of arty playing but a very pretty birdie house instead :) The little circles for the numbers I cut with a nestability and then bejewelled the numbers onto them. The smoke coming out of the chimney is a Bubbly Funk chipboard shape. So tempted to decorate a chipboard bird and put him sitting on the roof but I'm resisting for now!

Oh - do you see what the clock is sitting upon ? My incomplete printer's drawer :o I'm still collecting ephemera for it - it's theme is...birds, lol!

We're off to see the new Indiana Jones film today, something about crystal skulls! I'm a bit sleepy after 3 days of gardening so it may be necessary to have an extra shot in my Starbucks to keep me awake :o

11th birthday

Catherine is 11 today :o that went by so quickly. high school in September and on top of everything else - she is almost as tall as I am!
Here she is on her actual birth day...it's a long time since I made that layout as well, lol! 











She was up early, very excited to open her presents and cards this morning. I made her a card using Magnolias - her favourite 'little people' stamps! I spent a long and enjoyable time making it yesterday morning (the scan is wonky, not the card!) The little sentiment stamp is from Stamps Away and fits nicely into a small nestability circle. Also managed to master the use of a border punch - you wouldn't think that would cause such difficulty but this is the first time I've managed to do it without bodging up! Lots of pink bling as welll and the layout of the card is a lift from Marlene who makes such lovely cards.

It's been a while since I made a card and I've noticed there are even more sketch and challenge blogs now than a couple of months ago which is great - I've bookmarked several and intend to have a little cardmaking session once a week.