Jubilant at the Jubilee...

We don't let a bit of torrential rain and freezing weather spoil our days...so here is Granny and two of my Aunts sporting the Jubilee headgear I made them and enjoying the Great British outdoors!! lol  Pretty game to sit there for hours at 93, huh?? *Go Granny*

Actually, I think they came for the quiche and the pavlova as much as the Queen... ;0)

An unseasonal LO...Christmas at Berko!!

Hi everyone...its beautifully sunny here and so hot you could fry eggs on the pavement...so i thought i'd scrap a very unseasonal photo and immerse myself in cooler times. ;0)

I only allowed myself to use papers and cardstock from my scraps pile...and i even created the background pp with a scrap, some Versamark ink, a few mica powders and my hand carved damask stamp...did you spot it?
{To see the LO more clearly just click on it and it will pop up big enough for you to see all the details :0) }

The embellishments all came from the tray on my desk where I keep leftovers from other projects.  The paper flowers are both dipped into UTEE after being coated in Brilliance ink, and the wire flower is held in place by a cute brad that was also in my tray.

I stamped the journalling block using an ancient stamp and rounded the corners to match the tag i've used (upside down) on the top left.

Its another case of, not feeling great so throw it all at the page and see what happens...but i'm quite liking how it came out! :0)  And how can you fail to love the cheeky look on my BIL's face!!

I do hope you are managing to keep cool...and not get burned...but taking the opportunity to have an ice~cream or two!

a very Merry Christmas LO...

a little light~hearted scrapping today...and a LO that took hardly any time or supplies...but that makes me smile when i look at it!

the pp are so pretty that i didn't feel it needed much more, so i simply die~cut an extra bauble onto which i did my journalling and added it with foam above Will's picture...to let you know that these pics were actually taken at 11am in the morning!!

i doodled frames around each of the photos and the Merry Christmas title to make them *co~ordinate* and added a little glitter to the bauble at the bottom.


is it too minimal do you think?

a LO that makes me smile...

a super quick LO today...using a sketch by Lisa Day from her 28 days of sketches class over on BPC...i love having a sketch when i'm in a hurry...and i love that i managed to scrap all these cute photos that have been collecting in my *not used* pile for a while all in one go! :)

it may not suprise you to know that this is sketch one...and she's already onto sketch three...but hey ho...i knew i wouldn't do them all ;) how many do you think i'll get done next week??? huh? lol

our very own pearly queen :)

...well if you ever need an excuse to treat your mum as a Queen for the day...Mothers' Day is it, right...so that is exactly what we tried to do on Sunday...we had a super lunch with all sorts of goodies from the local farm shop...and a few family favourites from our past...including the first *recipe* i ever made up, aged 7, and to this day referred to as *oeufi ali's* lol notice the everlasting bouquet i made on the table? and as a little extra treat...here is a close~up of the pearl and golden swarovsky crystal bracelet i made her...hubby made her matching earrings too...but the camera battery had died by the time i got this far...so i haven't got any photos of the earrings...or of Mum!!! oooops!

i hope you all had a super Mothers' Day too...and big hugs to all of you out there who don't have Mum's in your lives...this is only the second without my darling MIL and hubby was super brave and joined in with spoiling my Mum despite his sadness. *very proud of him for that*

She Art week 2

so its week 2 of Christy's She Art Workshop...and the challenge this week was to tackle creating background scenes...all i'll say is...i had a go!!! lol


i was delighted with my decision to add a large balloon...and i think the pp worked really well with paint for the trees...

i struggled big time with the sky...and i still don't like it...but i really do like how the clouds turned out after had the idea to smoosh them with Liquid Applique :) realy fluffy clouds!

perspective has never been my strongest point...but i tried to create a flower meadow disappearing off into the distance...i tried!

my favourite bit of this canvas has to be the girl...i love how she turned out...and the fact that my mum even recognised her!!! :)

i'm still not sure about where to go with the faces on these girls...last week, no face...this week a basic face...next week i might go wild and paint a whole face...who knows??

however shocking your knitting...

...when your 92 year old Granny asks you to make her a knitted cover for her hottie for Christmas...you have to have a go, right? so...here is my slightly feeble attempt...but i know she'll love snuggling up to it...and i did make it with a velcro fastening to be kind to her slightly wonky fingers :0)




on the slightly more successful side of things...i've made another bag for a gift...this time a handbag shopper in a pouch...for those times when you pop out and unexpectedly just have to buy a fabulous pair of shoes...or a loaf of bread :0)

the pouch is simply created by cutting an envelope shape from a soft leather off cut, and stitching the two sides, the fastening is created with velcro...and a fabulous grommet adds a decorative detail...easy!



...when the pouch is opened...it reveals a beautiful light weight shopping bag, made from a gorgeous silky scarf i found in our local charity shop...so you're doing everyone a favour here, right? ;0)

...i just thought this scarf was too beautiful not to show you the whole thing!! notice how its creased...i've ironed the folds into the fabric, so that it is easy to pop back in the pouch when its not being used...

i'd love to hear if you like this idea? would this be the sort of gift you'd like to receive?

a little bit of cyber cropping...

i've not been up to much scrapping for the longest while now...so i thought i'd have a go at a couple of the classes in this weekend's Christmas scrappy cyber crop over on UKS....

this first class was by Angie:


...who could resist this super cute photo????



...or the chance of a political pun?

...not to mention the chance to use my new Martha Stewart border punch...it looks so pretty triple embossed :0)

This second class was by Linda...



...a good way to use up some of those mismatched letter stickers i have lurking around...and yes...i am truly cross~eyed in this photo!!! lol

if you fancy having a go at these...or any of the other classes or challenges on offer...pop over here!

because you asked so nicely...

i had a few requests this week to see what i'd been creating with my BIA this week...and because you asked so nicely...here it is!
its a notebook for Shimelle's latest class...just somewhere to jot down my thoughts and ideas from her daily prompts...and hopefully one day get them translated onto LO's...but you know me by now...i don't like to rush these things! lol


i made a closure with some wired ribbon, and a ribbon slide i've had for the best part of forever...the ribbon is attached with the red tape i love on the outside of the back of the notebook {it doesn't show like a wet glue would}, but i used wet glue to attach the clip...i didn't want it falling off and getting lost down the back of someone's sofa when i'm out and about...



the title...like the pp i've used...is from an ancient K&Co. kit and i've simply added glossy accents for a little bit more oomph. the pages are all the plain coloured papers i had left over from my card making history...not acid free...but perfect to use up here...i am scribbling all over them anyway...so i didn't want anything too decorative :0)


**********************************************************************************


as a little bit of Halloween fun...i couldn't resist cutting a toothless grin out of this pumpkin to replace Uncle Alan at the dinner table as he couldn't make it this week!! lol he was quieter than normal ;0)


sorry alan...what with you being an orthodontist and all...i just couldn't resist it!!

whizzzz...bang...pop...oooooh!!!

...in case you haven't guessed...i've been to a fireworks show...so you can expect some explosive type scrapping from me later in the week!

the show was actually a fireworks company competition...in the stunning grounds of Eastnor Castle...if you fancy popping along next year...check out all the details here :0) you've not seen a firework show until you've seen one with a Castle in the background!!

and just in case you're wondering...i don't actually drink pints of beer...uuuurrrgh...i was just holding it for a friend!! ;0)

back with another challenge!

so here i am again...with another challenge entry for the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog...and this week's theme is layers...the more the better...and here is what i've created:

using a bingo clipboard as my base, i've layered one sheet of pp, some bazil cardstock and a photo i absolutely love, of my sister and BIL on the way home from a fabulous tennis party {hence the shorts}...see how the light catches the sunflowers...and his pint of beer...and they are all laden with presents :0) love it!




over the photo & mats, i've layered an enormous chipboard flower that i got from Bee Crafty...and coloured with Distress Inks...on top of that is a huge plastic flower that came from a QVC scrapping kit yonks ago...and then on top of that...joy of joys...i have discovered that Nestie dies will cut grungepaper!!! how did i not know this before...now i have a thousand more reasons to play with both these wonderful toys!! the grungepaper is also coloured with distress ink...and layered over two layers of Sizziz die~cuts of branches and leaves...coloured...well...you can probably guess ;0)...and layered again with some purple plastic flowers topped with brads!

on the right hand~side, i've tried to use up all the bits i cut off the die~cuts on the other side...and created a flower from pp dipped in the melt pot to create a thick and super shiny base...then stippled alot of gold perfect pearls in the centre...and sprinkled with black/brown glitter...all was looking dandy until i lost patience waiting for the pearls to dry and tried to brush off excess glitter a little heavy handedly...so i've lost the seed effect in the middle of the flower...bummer...but i guess i'll make another one tomorrow...when i'm over the fact that i cocked up the first time!! lol

so there you have it...to hang it i've cropadiled through the whole thing on both sides and tied a toning ribbon :0)

if you want to play along and make a multi~layered creation too...and maybe win yourself a stamping prize to boot...check out all the details here!

happy today...

i so loved...

scrapping this photo...using this gorgeous pp by Upsy Daisy Designs...i've tried to capture the happy, hot, summer party vibe and the fact that this is a super happy photo...we all need to giggle more, right? ;0)

i'm still on a mission to use up my brad mountain...so i've created another brad border around my photo...this time layered with wiggly lines drawn in both pen and glitter glue...and a smattering of pink rhinestones too...never let it be said that i am a minimalist scrapper! lol
funny thing is...now i've started focusing on brads again...i'm finding a whole new love affair is springing up...and i'm really loving them again...i used to use them like this to anchor a sticker to the page alot...and i think it works really well...do you agree?

i'm also still sticking to scraps and half~used packs of stickers, odd tags and flowers that have been lurking for too long...this corner embellie is made up of 2 stickers {the flourish is cut into 2 pieces so maybe that's 3 stickers?}, 2 odd chipboard shapes from different packs and a round tag which i've inked...as well as a flower with a brad centre and a couple of lengths of trim...not a bad haul for a small corner, huh? ;0)

as always, thanks for dropping by...i do so love to hear your comments and hope you're all having a wonderful day,

alixxx

Oh happy day...

...today is the day that my family move in just near us...and i could not be happier!! :0)

in honour of their arrival...and instead of a *new home* card...i've altered them a tin and decorated it with the name of their new home...in the vintage style they love:

i've used a Wild Asparagus kit that i won at our local crop aeons ago...and added in some lace, a little bit of bling and a couple of grungey newspaper roses...it is Rose Villa afterall ;0)

...as with all cake tins...the good bit comes when you take the lid off...lol...i've made their favourite flapjacks and lemon buns...you know you've arrived when you have your first tea~party, right?

ok, i'm off to check the place out...and put the kettle on...bye for now xxx

*wig*~gle it...

i'm back again with a really terrible pun...and really fun LO!! I simply adore these photos of my sister and my little cousin wearing afro wigs at a Fancy Dress Party...by the end of the day...i'm fairly sure that there wasn't any one in the pub who hadn't tried it on! lol


funny thing is...i did this LO about a fortnight ago and its been in my pile of things to *deal with/correct/redo/abandon*...but when i re~looked at it...i like it just as it is! its a bit OTT and a bit bonkers...but i'd say the photos are too...so i'm rolling with it :0)

his Nibs thinks the papers are awful and overpowering...i'd love to hear what you think?


hope you're having a happy, crafty weekend...keep *wig~gling* xxx

ps...i'm trying to play with my blog to get it looking *nicer*...please bear with me...i'm not a natural at all this technical stuff!!

Happy Anniversary...

...to us! *Team Waterhouse* has officially been *united* since the 19th July, 2008...which makes today our 2nd Wedding Anniversary! In honour of this momentous occasion...I've made his Nibs a picture to go on the wall:

...the text is a little *in~joke* referring to his Nibs' fondness of remarking what *tiny little hearts* small birds must have...it is not a reference to his heart...which i have to say...is...**huuuge**
i've stamped the text and covered it in Glossy accents so its nice and shiny...and if you look really closely you can see a row of tiny little {gold} hearts along the bottom of the birdcage :0)
the birdcage and bird, i'm sure you'll recognise as Sir Tim's Sizzix die...the birdcage has been embossed in gold then again in my own powder that is a mix of black, bronze and Walnut distress powders...which gives a lovely textured, grungy look that i adore...like it? the bird has been glittered to within an inch of his lovely life...and given an eye...i don't like these faceless creatures that keep popping up everywhere! lol

the canvas is coloured using distress inks...and is much greener irl...i've been playing with my camera's settings...and have clearly not put them back quite right, yet!

of course...you can't let an anniversary go past without taking the opportunity to make a card...and this one...he loves :0)


...its a swirl of swirly stamps in various colours of distress ink, watermark and gold embossing ink...with various layers of embossing powder, mica powder and a few gems for fun...

the centre of the design is embossed in verdigris powder which gives a lovely rusty old look to the text and the chipboard frame is triple~thick embossed in clear and then stamped into while warm with the gold ink on the swirl stamp...its super chunky and super shiny...so i like it!
the motif at the top is a flattened bottle top with chipboard heart {embossed in red tinsel then clear powder} and sunk into a bed of Sepia Glossy Accents...

so there you have it...how to craft for an Anniversary...now all i need to do is pop off and enjoy it!

introducing *pippi*

remember a while back {5 months ago actually} i mentioned that we had a new member in our family..? well at long last i finally got to meet her! :0)

her name is *pippi* and she is just adorable...but i will have to have a word with her about co~ordinating our outfits with the furniture for future photos!! lol
also, even tho i sometimes use a wheelchair and despite this *photographic evidence* i would like to point out that i do actually have *legs* ;0) but they are not as cute as hers!
*gotta love chubby baby legs, right?*

thanks to everyone who left comments about spelling mistakes, etc. on yesterday's post...it was really interesting to read how you all feel...and i'm confident in my choice to leave the errors...it makes the page more *me*, somehow!

ok, so i'm off to watch a scary movie with his nibs...if *the thing* doesn't get me...i'll be back tomorrow...hopefully having scrapped this photo!

dreams do come true...and a big question..?

i am so, so, so happy that my Mum, my little sister and her cute hubby are all moving to be near us really soon...so i just had to scrap my excitement! i totally feel that this will be a good thing for us all and i want them to come...NOW!!! ;0)

its another page using scraps and left overs, the base cardstock is left over from a DT kit i got as part of Trinkets, Trash & Treasure...does anyone even remember them now? gosh that feels like a long time ago! i've stamped the sub~title and raised it on foam to allow it to stand out a little which is a touch i really like...subtle for me, eh? lol

the dreams title was made from white chip letters swiped with blue chalk ink and then stippled with a navy chalk ink to create a denim look...really pleased with the way that turned out!

and now for the question:

what do you do when you make a spelling or journalling error? as you can see i've mis~spelled a word and crossed it out...and missed a word out completely in the paragraph at the bottom...so what would you do here?

a} start again with a fresh piece of cardstock and be more careful,

or,

b} embrace it as part of the process and a sure sign that i made this page!

i'd love to hear your opinions on this...am i right to leave it as is?