30 minute Thursdays...personalised keychain...

Hi all...its Thursday again...so time for another 30 minute project...this week i've created a personalised keychain with a photo of my hubby on it. Of course, you're unlikely to want my hubby on your keychain...so feel free to add photos of your children, pets or favourite flowers...whatever you love!

Materials:

1 large Tim Holtz facet and the jump rings you get in the pack

Glossy Accents

2 charms of your choosing

alcohol inks

Stickles

a scrap of ribbon

a keychain

a scrap of pp

a photo

The first step is to adhere your pp to your facet using a smoosh of Glossy Accents. Move the facet around a bit {wiggle it} to spread the glue and allow it to dry for about 30 seconds. Cut carefully around the facet.

Next, adhere your photo to the reverse of the pp just as before, wiggling the facet for good adhesion...and allow to dry. Trim as before and using a pokey tool, remake the hole all the way through so you can attach the jump ring.

Using the jump rings in the pace of facets, make a simple chain of 5 rings with the keychain on one end and the facet on the other. Take your charms and colour them by dabbing with alcohol inks and when dry {again about a minute unless you've totally soaked them!} add a dab of glitter glue with your finger for some subtle sparkle. Leave this to dry, then using two more jump rings attach the two charms to the chain.

The final step is to simply tie on a piece of co~ordinating ribbon and attach keys!

And there you have it...a simple but personalised keychain perfect for a gift or as in my case, just for yourself...because *you're worth it* muahahahahaha

caption competition! :)

a little bit of fun for the week ahead...and a fun prize too :)

firstly a LO...this week i've been trying to finally scrap the photos from my hen~do...my lovely sister took it upon herself to organize a fun hippy themed fancy dress party for me which was a hoot...although i think i might have been the most enthusiastic about the dressing up part!! lol

i've used a sketch for this photo of me {a rarity in that i actually like this photo of me} and its from the fabulous Pencillines sketch site...check it out here. The sketch is actually for their design team search...and i haven't applied...but i liked the sketch so i've used it anyway!

with the hippy theme, it was important to include a serious amount of flower power on the page...and i really like to mix and match styles so...i've included printed flowers with brads for middles...

i also created my own hippy daisies by die cutting some orange leather i had from a sofa swatch and filling the middles with enamel accents and micro beads...and drawing on some simple stems with a white pen...

and i finished my trio of different floral embellishments with a layered flower created from a felt shape overlayed with a fabric on and a cordroy brad...i love how all the flowers work together...and i hope you do too!

now...on to the fun caption competition...one of the reasons i've struggled so much to scrap this event is because everytime i get the photos out...i get the giggles and get lost in the memories of this fun evening...there are so many funny/silly/amusing photos but i've chosen this one for you all to write an amusing caption to:

please leave your caption and your details in the comments to this post...and next week i will pick a winner who will get a prize {related to what is actually happening in this photo!}

so...i leave you to ponder and amuse yourselves with thinking of a caption that sums up what might be happening here?? you don't have to get the answer right...i'll pick the one that makes me and his Nibs giggle the most!

enjoy...but keep it clean please!! ;)

its a girl...

...can you spot the newest addition to our Christmas family portrait? a cute pink sock monkey girl with a bow in her *hair* :0) this is one of our cute traditions...to send overseas or long distance friends and family a silly snapshop in with the Christmas cards...and as you can see...his Nibs has already started turning our little lounge into santa's sparkly grotto!!

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...

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!

Love your pictures, Love your pages...

...sounds ideal, right? so i had to join in with Shimelle's latest class...to get my scrapping mojo back on form...and to get my camera out of its drawer!! today's assignment was to experiment with photographing flowers...and these are a few shots from my yard today:

i love the allium seedheads once the flowers have gone...

...and its kind of a shame that so many of the leaves on my Japanese Maple have shrivelled up in the heat...but i actually think they look cool here!

...anyone who knows me...will be aware of my obsession for lobelia...i just love it...and add it to almost every pot i can! ;0)

...and finally...i love this woodland Hydrangea...it is supposed to be all mottled like that...it grows in the shadier parts of the woodland...so its right at home in my concrete jungle!

sadly it wasn't sunny today...or i might have got some better results...but i think the exercise was worth doing...just remind me of that next time the sun comes out, eh? ;0)

is there anyone still out there..?

hi gang...apologies for the long and unexplained absence...boy did i miss you ;0) not to mention my lovely craftroom...but the good news is i'm back...and totally fired up to get crafting and scrapping again :0)

for the curious amongst you, you might like to know that life has been a little bit hard on me and mine for the last year really and i was totally in need of some time with my Mum to get a little bit looked after...a little bit indulged...and thoroughly put things back into perspective! nobody does that like a mum, right? :0)

****THANKS MUM...I LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH...YOU ARE SIMPLY THE BEST****
{in fact you are so awesome, i know you won't mind me sharing this terrible picture of us both!! lol}

nothing restores the soul like a week at home...but being as mum is moving in a couple of weeks time to live really near me {hallelujah!}...this will have been my last trip to the bungalow we shared...and i will really miss it...i love what she's done to the house...but at the moment...i think the garden is just as beautiful as she is :0) just look at that lavendar border!

and who would not want to sit by that secret pond and contemplate the World around them?she made that wall/bench you know...you see...she is talented in so many ways...shame she can't take it with her really!!

and to top off a perfectly restorative break...we had a lovely day at the seaside too...with an ice~cream of course...because its rude not too at the beach, right? ;0)

so...enough of my waffle about my lovely break...huge thanks to all my family...especially Meg who did all the driving...and on to some crafting! i'm starting a class with Shimelle today...so i'll be back to share all the details about that asap!!

happy day all around...and thanks as always for dropping by! xx

ask as you shall receive...

...i don't normally do this...but yesterday Rosie asked me why i don't share my desk with Julia and all her friends...so i thought...this week, in honour of Rosie {and because i'll pretty much do anything she asks me!} here is the Waterhouse Workspace in all its glory:

as you can see the photo was taken just as i'd finished this LO, a photo of my MIL having the giggle with her 2 brothers....and in case you were wondering...his Nibs really likes this one ;0)

i don't know who made the pp's {K&Co, maybe?} as they were a gift from my lovely friend Ruth...and just perfect for this photo as they match the decor in the livingroom!

i've made ribbon petals to extend the size of the gorgeous Prima flower....and i used plaid to help keep the design classic rather than girly...and added a border of mismatched buttons in toning shades around the photograph, stitched with dark green floss to tie them in with the background pp. the rubon saying, the little flowery border and the journalling block are from a set which i think is Cloud 9...one of my favourites...so i've been saving them for *special* pages.

i've sewn around the journalling block too...and made tails for it, with ribbons by Basic Grey, and added brads to the flower centres. apart from that i've added chipboard letters that i think i got in the Poundshop!

so there you have it...the creative chaos i like to call *my space*...i hope it doesn't scare you away! lol

they might be a bunch of loonies...

but they are *my* bunch of loonies...and i wouldn't swap a one of them!

this is my LO for Scrapdolly aka Karen's 5th prompt to scrap your family...this is my husband...my sister and my BIL...my top 3 favourite people in the whole world...{equal third that is with my mum...my granny...various aunties...and quite a few friends!!! } but these are the ones that make me feel at home...that let me be me...and don't seem in the least bit fazed when i'm having an *off* day...love you guys! xxx

the details are...a gorgeous rubon which i think was Rhonna Farrer...and i've layered 2 layers of glossy accents over the top of the letters for prominence...a chipboard *f* which i've inked, stamped with a tim holtz stamp and then also double glossied {there i go again making up my own words!} i didn't have an inkpad in the colour i wanted...so i inked in blue and stamped in black to give a sort of navy blue effect...quite pleased with myself for thinking of that! ;0)

i don't know if anyone has spotted this...but i decided to make this album all *quick* pages...and entirely from scraps of stash...no new pieces of cardstock or pp for me in this album! lol i'm generally a super slow scrapper and i think i often spend too much time wanting it to be *just right*...i'm trying to let go of that in these pages and be a lot more spontaneous and use what is to hand...the pages are a bit *scruffier* for it...but so far i'm liking them...what do you think? i'd love to hear if anyone had noticed a difference!!!

will you marry me? {a LO not a proposal!}

indeed i would...and did...and i have to say i love this man more and more everyday...he is currently in the kitchen stuffing me a pepper and beating some chicken into submission...but a man needs an aggressive outlet when he has to put up with me everyday!! lol

i've completed this LO {finally} in response to this week's challenge on UKS...which required the use of bling *tick*...pink *tick*...and old stash *tick*...so i'm claiming full points for my team...which should make the team leader happy!

i've used bling over the top of a rubon butterfly to accentuate the body and add a little more pink...as if that pp wasn't pink enough already! i love adding to embellishments...its just another way to make them *mine*...i've also added pink gems to the centres of the flowers and outlined them in black to make them *pop* off the page...

i've used a black pen to fill in the scroll work to make it more prominent...and added prima flowers with red buttons and pink gems to their centres...don't be afraid to mix red and pink...the effect can be really cool and striking...or quite subtle...just keep the intensity of the colours similar...and there you have it!

and this is my favourite part of the page {apart from the photo of course!}...i've layered rubons over the pp, added a chipboard button which i've inked around the edges...attached a red heart shape...and topped all that off with a rubon flower and another pink gem!

****hint****

when adding rubons to surfaces like this which are not flat...i like to rub on the flat section first and use my fingers to smooth the rest of the image around the sides...it takes a bit of practice...but its easy when you know how!

ok...so i'm 3 years late with this LO...but better late than never, eh? you never know...i might even get around to doing the wedding album as some point!! lol

thanks for stopping by...love to hear your comments as usual...and have a great day!

mirror, mirror...

...on the carport floor...who's the fairest of them all? ;0)

a super quickie today...based on a class Dyan taught but i didn't get to do at the retreat a while back...as usual...i've changed it by painting the frame and distressing it...replaced all the papers with BG & other scraps...added a key, some Tim Holtz flowers...a wooden tag...a bit of ribbon...a frame cut from leather...a rusty old key...a photo of my DH...and some metal words which i've alcohol inked to tone...and a couple of stamps...not to metion changing the colour scheme and the theme which was originally Christmas!

apart from all that its exactly the same!! thanks Dyan!

just in case you're wondering...the reason i've made all these changes...is that i intend to use this as part of the *art installation* i'm working on for my lounge {oooooh get me!!} lol

busy...busy...like a little buzzing bee!

ta daaaaa...I have completed Scrapdolly's second prompt of the year...this one was all about our *aims* for the coming year...i intend to spend this year focussing on and achieving some of my goals...and not letting the usual things limit me {wherever possible}...so here is what i've created:

i've used no pp's for this page...just lots of stamps and inks and mica powders...and pretty much every kind of embellishment i adore! in contrast to last weeks' subdued colours and content...this is a super bright, breezy and busy, busy page...i've used one of my wedding photos because that was a day when i didn't let anything hold me back...i certainly went for it that day!

these little gift boxes are my way of giving some of the enamel effect flowers to my loved ones as little presents...if i love you...one may well be coming your way soon!! ;0) i think they look super cute!

next we have another project from Style School...although again...its a bit tricky to recognise it as such...the original was a wire hanger wrapped in wool with polariods trimmed with ribbon clipped to bits of wool dangling and a pom pom...

mine is another of my wedding photos {seem to be feeling quite loved up atm!!} and two pics from the honeymoon...i've acutally been planning this in my head for some time...the hanger is a sumptuous gold silk covered one that came with my *wedding night nightie*... the ribbons are recycled from the table decorations at the reception and the lace is left over from the album i did of my sister & BIL's wedding...

this gold rose is one of the Tim Holtz style grungeboard roses that we made at Dyan's weekend in Harrogate...it was red and grey with doodling on it...but i painted it to make it match the colour scheme in our bedroom...

and these panels were my *genius moment* lol these fabric sections are the swatches for our new headboad...to which i've added a metal frame...some bling...i've sewn on a couple of mother of pearl type buttons from my box...and the little bows are the hanging ribbons from the nightie...the whole thing is then suspendedfrom a length of
yummy velvet ribbon.

i'm really pleased with this one :0) it soo reminds me of our special day...and in case you can't read it...the little tag a the top reads *remember this day always* in my handwriting...

hope you like these projects...i'd love to hear your opinions...and i hope to be back soon with more to share!

Mum's christmas crafting!

i've been staying at my Mum's since Christmas and having a wonderful time teaching her to use her new mp4...no mean feat...but it think we cracked it in the end! lol *so proud of you Mum* xx

those of you who know us will know my Mum is not a scrapper...not a card maker...can't sew on a button let alone make clothes...she basically thinks she has no crafting ability...neither has she the inclination most of the time...but the festive spirit seems to have come over her this year...and i had to share this gorgeous table decoration she made for our Christmas table...isn't it beautiful? and Mum...you see what you can do when you just give it a go!! ;)

i love and miss my family very much living so far away from them all...so i felt totally spoilt having 10 days with Mum...not to mention a family gathering of 18 on boxing day! but when i got home and was reunited with my hubby...i was spoiled all over again opening the lovely crafty gifts my friends has sent me! this is a Christmas that goes on giving lol

this lush collection of goodies was a stocking swap with one of my UKS teamies...Thanks so much Sue...i love it all and will have lots of fun playing with it all...then relaxing in a lovely scented bath...blissful...

i recieved more crafting goodness from several other friends...thankyou Rosie, Ruth, Jaki, Wendy and Paula who sent me a fabby blank calendar to alter! You girls are so good to me :0)

as if all that wasn't enough...i was given these yummy stamps sets...thanks to Julie, Rosie and Ruth...watch out for them in a Craft Stamper near you soon...lol ;)

i have never had so many crafting goodies in one go before and it is such a treat to have some many lovely things to play with...tomorrow i might even share the goodies Katy gave me...she and I do an advent swap so there were 25 little beauties from her...and i think they deserve their own post, don't you?

i hope you all got lots of yummy goodies too...and thankyou so much to all my friends...i love you one and all xxx

now...i'm off stamping!

apologies to my BIL...

he is such a good sport and a cutie to boot...so i couldn't resist turning one of our Christmas photos into the crop class this month...don't worry will...there were only about 25 people there...and none of them laughed ;) *honest*


i just love kinetic cards {ones with moving parts} even as a child i loved to make simple pop-ups...and at Christmas time i like to make something a bit special for my loved ones...something that will get pride of place in their card display...i think these fit the bill!

this first one is a simple swing card...made from one sheet of A4 cardstock, but cut and folded so that the focal point swings as you open and shut the card...enabling you to see both sides...so here is the outside...see Rudolph has a red gem on his nose?

and here is the other side of the panel...my gorgeous BIL pretending to be a raindeer...and he has a gem on his nose too!! lol the rest of the design is simple two-coloured stamping with Autumn Leaves' flourishes...they get everywhere those stamps!!

the second card we made was a window card...which forms a box to allow it to stand unaided...but squashes flat for posting...i think you can see this from the aerial photo :)

you can also see from this photo that it was quite windy out...and the card blew off the table top and onto the mossy floor...denting one corner!! hey ho...luckily the moss was green...so i can disguise it by inking all the edges in green!! *disaster averted*

hope you like these ideas...the ladies at the crop seemed to enjoy them...and the cards they ended up with were fabulous...well done all!

there will be more ideas over the coming days...Christmas card making in earnest now...

hugs

:)