Exciting news and sneak peek

If you have stopped by my blog over the last couple of days you may have noticed a new button on the top right of my page ??

I am excited to share with you that I am part of Craft Blogging Central 's Design Team !!! I still haven't stopped smiling yet... I am part of a lovely team and I am looking forward to getting to know the other ladies too..

Our first challenge is coming up this Thursday August 1st until August 28th the challenge is " Anything Goes" , we would love for YOU to join us too !!

Here is a sneak peek of my project

 

You can join the Facebook group here or visit the blog and meet the other DTs here ;)

Looking forward to seeing what you create !

 

Sunday Inspiration .....

A super late post today... But I have good reason ;) I went on a day craft class.. I learnt so many new techniques, I will post some photos later this week ..

But for now here is what's inspiring me this week ...

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How pretty are these resin frames ??

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I really love these pillows , the tutorial is easy to follow too ;)

 

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I have yet again been moving my craft room around, to try and make most of the space available... I love this layout and the colours not to mention the cute storage, this link shows you how to make the flower tree..

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This yummy cake is Gluten FREE !!! Yay I must make this ;)

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What's inspiring you this week ??

 

Sketchbook 365 Challenge layout

Scrap365 is my favourite magazine , I have been wanting to take part in one of their sketchbook 365 challenges for a while..

So here is my entry for the August Sketch Challenge, which closes August 8th , so you still have time to enter too!!

Here is the sketch.

I personally love this layout..

Here is my interpretation...

I used mostly this months Studio Calico scrapbook kit (my favourite so far)..

I wanted to the colours to reflect the photo, so pink from my baby girl and the yellow/gold of the Egyptian sand..

These cork Thickers were also part of the kit and match the theme beautifully.

I included a doilie and a glassine bag.

There are some really great layouts inspired by this sketch too..

Good luck if you enter too

 

This week I am ......

 

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Seeing .....

More of my garden as I try to create the space I want! And this book ;) really hoping to finish this book and start my own project.

 

Hearing .....

A mixture of laughter and screaming as my play, as well as the smurfs movie.

 

Smelling .....

Fresh fruit, strawberries and watermelon is a hit in our house at the moment.

 

Tasting .....

Fruit and drinking vimto (my absolute favourite drink) with ice ;)

 

Feeling .....

Laundry ! But loving the new fabric softner, hoping to be feeling paper later as I work on a few new projects !

 

 

How about you, how's your week ??

 

Our End of Year Thank you gifts..

School is officially out !!

Today is the first day if the summer holidays and can you believe after 2 weeks of glorious weather it's raining ? Typical .

So just a quick post to share with you our end of year teacher gifts.

 

 

 

After taking these photos I realised I should have taken one before wrapping them up, but the girls were so excited putting them together I forgot..

I bought the popcorn boxes from eBay and filled it with , pen, pencil, rubber, notepad, chocolate, hot chocolate and some fruit sweets..

I also included a packet of microwaveable popcorn, but the packet was to big to fit inside so we attached it to the back along with a handmade card, with the "thanks for making me a star" printable..

Everything was gift wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon.

You can find the printable here...

 

 

Sunday Inspiration ...

Happy Sunday,

I had the urge to have a huge spring clean today :/ and as I am sat enjoying a calm moment, I realise I could really do with a long hot soak in the bath to help ease my aches and pains ....

So here is what's inspiring me this week.

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Today's cleaning, included a major tidy up of my garden, plants were removed, rose bushes cut down and just general clean up.. My idea is to have planters rather than actual planting? I love these containers this is look I would love to achieve.

 

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How cute are these ?? I love the style. Makes me want to sew more :/

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Loving this style and colour combination !

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Tomorrow is the last day of the school year !! I cannot believe another year is over !!

In between cleaning and gardening my and the girls made 6 "thank you" teacher gifts, they came out pretty cute ! The girls are excited to take them tomorrow ...

 

What's been inspiring you lately ??

 

End of year Teacher Gift ideas....

It's almost that time again, another school year over .

Saying goodbye to the those familiar faces that we have come to know for the past year, those faces that have inspired our children, guided them with knowledge, understanding and growth..

It's kind of bittersweet..

So to say thank you to those faces a.k.a teachers ;) I always try to make a gift that's homemade, last year I bought mugs and filled them with treats and then gift wrapped them...

This year, well you will have to wait and see ;)

But I thought I would share some gift ideas to get you inspired...

 

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I have to admit I have a "thing" for cactus at the moment, but I think that this would make a great gift, love the tag which is available to pink via the link above :)

 

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I am sure most teachers could do with a coffee at some point during the day ? This would be perfect.

 

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Cute idea, great packaging and gifts inside.

 

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Fun and practical!

 

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I think this is such a fun idea...

 

What are you giving as thank you gifts this year ??

 

Sunday Inspiration .....

Happy Sunday :)

If I was to describe this week in one word, I would say Hot!

Not much time for creating this past week either :( but hoping to change that this week !

So here is some inspiration to get us going for the week ahead ....

 

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Lets just say I have got through a lot of ice pops this week! But the idea of making fruit ice pop's sounds even better ;)

 

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Prima flowers , I really love these and can not wait to recieve my order to use on some projects...

Here is another page from my happy little moments book, loving the colour scheme and the layering...

 

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I came across this pin on Pinterest :) and I love the storage idea... How cute does everything look ??

 

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Seriously loving this quote ;)

So what's inspiring you ??

 

Current projects (WIP's)

I thought it would be fun today to share with you a few of my current projects that are on my desk..

Here is my "Happy Little Moments" book this is a class I am currently taking over at Studio Calico.

The blue basket that you see has all the papers, embelishments, thickers etc.. I try really hard to put everything back into it once I have finished. Once I have finished this book the basket will be emptied and used for another project..

This project isn't even started yet, but I have everything together to start!

This is an Amy Tangerine "hello" day book, which I want to create a mini album of our holiday to Egypt in, so as you can see I have a couple of postcards, recipes, hotel band and other memorabilia to include..

I have already chosen some papers, journaling cards, thickers ect to include into the album .. Everything is kept inside the white basket.

Last is this beautiful card which needs finishing.

The butterflies need colour adding, cutting and gluing. The the card need assembling..

 

I hope that you have enjoyed having a look at my current projects..

Happy crafting x

 

Sunday inspiration ...

This post is a little later (ok a lot ) than planned, but better late than never than planed ...

We have been having some lovely weather this weekend and I wanted to make the most of it, who's knows when we will have nice weather again ?

So here is what's inspiring me this week....

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After moving some furnature around I have an empty shelve and I am thinking that maybe a mini cactus arrangement would be perfect ??

 

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How yummy do these look ?? DefinatleyI on my to do list for the summer holidays ;)

 

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I love making paper flowers, they are a great way to use up paper scraps and make great embelishments for your projects too ..

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Definatley words to live by !

Yay! I finally found time to create today !! Here is a sneak peek into my Happy little moments boom :) which is part of a Studio Calico class I am taking !

So what's inspiring you ??

 

Happy crafting

 

Use your words DT Call

I came across the awesome opportunity, which I am trying out for and maybe you should too ??

 

We are a new challenge blog dedicated to getting those photos scrapped. The way we will work is to have monthly challenges centered on one word. The challenge word will be given to you well in advance and you are to create your layout around this word. To help us get off the ground and running we are going to need a Design Team so we are holding our very first Design Team call. I am looking for about 6 talented committed scrapbookers to provide one a month for our challenges. Design team members can be traditional or digital scrappers. The term will run for a 3 month period from July 1^st to October 1^st, 2013. Challenges will be provided to you well in advance. Challenges will post on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Why apply for our team?

• To be inspired and to inspire others
• To be on the ground floor of an up and coming blog
• You will be a part of an amazing group of women and develop lifelong friendships with women from all over the world.
• Your work will be featured on Facebook and Pinterest.

What is expected of our Design Team?

• Complete 2 projects per month (you will be given challenges at least a month in advance).
• Comment on participants entries (THIS IS A MUST!). Any team member not adhering to this rule will be promptly removed from the team so please make sure you can do this before applying.
• Commit to a 3 month term (Beginning of July to the beginning of October)
• Keep an active blog that is updated frequently
• Post our challenge and your project on your blog on reveal day and link back to the Use Your Words blog.

How to apply:

• Leave a comment below indicating you would like to apply
• Tell me a little bit about yourself to include your style and whether or not you are on any other design teams. (no previous DT experience required)
• Provide links to your blog and any online galleries.
• Include 3 projects that best represent your style.
• Place our DT call on your blog to help get the word out.
• You MUST have a Facebook account as we will have a private DT group on Facebook
• Become a Use Your Words follower

We are accepting applications through July 7th New design team members will be notified by July 8th. This is an open call, what that means is, I have the right to close this call at any time if I feel all the positions have been filled. The first reveal will be July 15th. Please email your applications touseyourwordschallengeblog@gmail.com. Place DT call in your subject line. Thanks!

International members are welcome to apply!

Digital scrappers are welcome to apply!

Good luck ;)

Happy crafting

More than just a piece of art ....

This is a post I have been waiting to share with you, ever since I purchased this original !! Artwork in Egypt !

Beautiful, right ??

I finally got round to hanging the canvas last night ;)

This beautiful artwork was hand painted by the super talented Ibrahim, who was based at the hotel we stayed in ...

This is my family, all 6 of us and the beach, pier and the lovely beach seats..

This painting, is more than just painting for me, every time I look at it, it takes me back, the heartfelt memories, the sun, the laughs, the togetherness... It represents the beauty of Egypt..

It's a constant source of inspiration.. I was so inspired how people made a living from their creativity, jewellery making, art in sand, painting and so on ..

One of my favourite things to was was to admire Ibrahim's art work the next morning.. And watching him paint was something else ..

I am so glad I made the decision to invest in one of his paintings, it was carried with love, through hand luggage all the way home.. The loving memories it reminds me of is worth every penny !

Here it is hanging proudly in my living room