Watercolour Love!

The last page, with the watercolour card gave me an idea for this layout.
It's our second time to Shearbarn Park in Hastings. It sits right on top of a huge hill (very steep) and is surrounded by a big country park. You can see the sea and beach (shingles) from up there and it really is a pretty and peaceful park (except when the Lucas family is there ;) and my two noisy monkeys).
The green is just perfect for the background to portray the greenery around bur the watercolour 😍 oh my!
I used a sheet of thick watercolour paper and used the past card as inspiration. I soaked the paper with water and let it saturate it. I then added my colours. I started with red and worked up. It's magical seeing it spread out! You could use sprays (with a brush), inks (such as distress inks) or watercolour paints... any would work well.
I think the blue matching the sky in the photograph is just perfect. I half backed the photograph with a 6x4 websters pages card and used the today poking out at the bottom.
I used a white pen for my journal long and stamped my title with some mini stars in a diagonal and spotted some sequins too that complimented the colours I'd used.
I want to do some more watercolour layouts now. I loved the unpredictable but prettiness of it!

I've also been doing this! My 12x12 layouts are lovely highlights to my project life. My project life layouts are just the small and ordinary details of our days, weeks and year.
So far this year I've not journo'd or embellished any of it BUT I know I will. It's not about being up to date. It's about enjoying life!
The photos are there. It will get done.

Oh hi. Squidgey dog face.

These cards are perfect for a page without using a whole sheet (although we probably have enough scrapbook paper to wallpaper our houses inside and out) -what a pretty thought!)
I used a lot of brown inks sprayed and brushed to give some texture to the back cardstock and the stamped a few times too.
I love the water coloured effect websters pages card - so pretty and it gave me an idea for another layout!

#LoveThis

Ben will probably cringe in years to come looking back at this. But this was him and one of the twins... Lily walking into school holding hands. Theat term of her being there. Ben really has always been a ladies man!
I love this ombre effect woodgrain paper (Websters Pages) with the small title card (totally not just for pocket scrapbooking).
Along with the tiny title stickers they make and a 3x4 card cut in two. The picture says it all...

For the love of lemons!

 Emily loves lemons. In fact anything sour,  the more so the better!
This lovely bokeh style paper is from Websters Pages, along with small paper squares that make a collaged line across the page. I then searched through my embellies to fill it up with texture and variety, I love paper but sometimes you just need a little more!
There's puffy stickers, acetate pieces, enamel dots, and stickers. All from different ranges which proves how use able these papers are!

You are loved.

 This is my second layout from the Websters Pages - Growing up girl paper kit (see previous post for what the kit contains).

This is the next layout to be added into my year album, documenting my families life through the year, alongside my project life layouts.

Documenting year on year can seem like an enormous task but really it's not. It is as difficult as you want to make it! It is a lovely project to look back on year on year and see what has changed or stayed the same!

Documenting the everyday is so important. If I look back at photographs of the past, I like looking at the details. The story behind the story. I like seeing how things have changed. How things are the same. I love the everyday.

I joined this range with some stickers from my stash and flairs, joined with some cord I had on my desk. Because the colours are muted, the range is easily combined with other ranges.

I stamped on the map print too in a pale grey ink that worked well with the vintagey paper feel.

The map print was ideal for the subject too... sending selfies to one of my besties in Australia!

Hello...!

Things that have happened lately.

Happy mothers day mum. One day early but I came. Since the events of last June the feelings I have for mum have changed. I am not sure if that's fair but it's how I feel right now. 

Maybe it's helped. I feel I have let go. I no longer need her back now. Not to say I wouldn't like that... but I don't need it. It's taken 13 years. 13 years. That's a long time. 

And then I love this. Scandal. Huck. Oh my. Hubba hubba.

And I've been contending with the worlds messiest desk for weeks now....

You & Me

Here is my first make for the Jones Crafts Design team! I got chosen to work with Websters Pages which is okay by me..... I love them! 

As you know I am an avid project lifer but can't do everything so my project life album is mixed with 12 x 12 layouts of important things I feel warrant a large layout. 

My project life album is usually mixed cards, I don't worry so much about using one range for a whole album... how could you do that?!! And I don't care about the mix match of page protectors/rounded or square corners etc... I just care about the memories! 

So here is one layout I worked on with the Websters Pages range - Growing up girl paper kit. It comes with 12 papers and 10 mini cards and 5 file folders.  The papers are beautiful and delicate and quiet vintagey.... not forgetting very floral and girlie!

They were perfect colours to match with these bright stickers and the instagram print I had of Emily and me in the cold! 

Busy. Busy. Busy.

I am not quiet sure how I managed working full time and fitting all this in... okay maybe not so many T.V programmes....! Well, anyway. I have been busy. Life is busy. I have the renovations going on at my dads  MY house. It has literally nothing in it any more. Nothing. It moved really quickly but it has now slowed down and it is stressing me out a little! Waiting on architects, it's no fun. 

I also sold the morris minor, the bikes and trailers are still there. Hopefully next weekend they will be gone....?!! And then all the tools. All the tools! Oh my! Well, it's a job that needs doing. 

So as I have been job hunting, builder managing, car selling... I managed to squeeze in a little making. 

 I made this. Over Christmas we went on the Harry Potter studio tour and this was my favourite bit... the Yule Ball model! It was gorgeous! I used pearlescent embossing paste and a stencil to make a snowy pattern background. It has all sparkly sequins and gems on. I love that photo.

 I also have done this.... I rekindled my love of sewing. Emily brought this with some of her Christmas money. It's a young Ana from frozen.... minus her dress as I made her a little red dress (and cape - not pictured). Emily was astounded. She was super pleased. It was a simple make... we plan on a whole wardrobe for her! Time permitting!

And I found this oldie on my phone. Ahhhh Leanna and Scott's wedding... nearly 2 years ago!!! What a lovely day it was.

When you were little...

I found these old photographs when I was searching on the laptop the other day. I can't believe how little you both looked! They were from our first visit to legoland - which we loved!

I also used this embellie that should of been... I think a garden water feature.

I cut it apart and sanded it down, so it made like a little wooden trophy. Rather like the one in the photographs that Em and Ben were holding onto.

I lastly painted it with paperartsy gold paint (a few thin coats,as it sunk in quiet quickly) and then pop dotted it on.

I love using things in a way they weren't intended for. I would of never used that garden ornament embellie... but chopping it up and changing it made it the perfect addition to this layout!

Beautiful things

I have been making madly. Using up all the goodies I have stored, you know... those things for a 'special' project. Every project is special. Use it. Don't store. Use, enjoy and make pretty things!
I have been working hard to get my 2014 album finished. It's a mixture of Project Life and 12 x 12 LOs. I like the variety. I hope to of finished it this weekend.... No pressure then.... ;)

This baby is now sold. My little inherited 1968 Morris Minor Traveller. My moggy. She really is so beautiful. Simple. She smells old (think a fusty old museum smell) but simply because she has been shut up for 13+ years. Today someone bought her. She should go on Tuesday. I am sad. I cleaned her up today. I wanted to keep her. It's just not sensible. She needs to be loved properly. Driven. Taken care of.

I did this a week or so ago. I like the reminder of A-L-L the tv series that I've watched. (Lots). I like the idea of year on year documenting this type of thing. I think it shows change. It is true documentation about my life, my time, my tastes... just me.
It's one of the reasons I love project life so. The year on year changes. The documentation. The extraordinary ordinary things we do. The yearly changes. The yearly similarities. Life. Our life.

Documenting in any form makes me happy.

A late hello to 2015

Hello 2015.

I hope you're kind to me this year. 2014 was not as quiet as kind as I would of liked but then we don't always get what we need do we?

But 2015, I hold out a lot of hope for you. 2015, you are full of promise, wonder and hope. Life in 2014 changed immeasurably for me. I finished working and still am waiting for another job... I lost my dad. He wasn't a dad. He was just my biological father. Life changed. I faced up to all demons I had in my past. I dealt with it. I moved on.

I inherited a lot of rubbish. I also inherited a lot of good stuff.

I wore a lot of rubber gloves. I used a lot of black bags. I had a few more (okay, maybe a lot more) hairs turn grey.

I still stayed strong in 2014. I got through it.

2014, you did bring some wonderful things though. I grew even closer to my wonderful sister Jill. I found friendships flourished with my nieces and nephew. I realised this time, when my children are small, I can never get back, so cherish it.

2014, you were bad at times but sometimes you were good too.

I do though, hope 2015 just is ever so more lovely, wonderful and special.

2015, I need you to be. I am holding out all hope for you.