The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

A sent me this beautiful picture of Baby Z at home on her playmat, so I couldn't resist scrapping it for her. Obviously, she has a real face and not a blurry circle! I used the Compassion kit from Shabby Princess - it's so versatile, but I wanted this LO to be really simple. A sent me an email detailing the whole of Baby Z's little life so far and boy, what a story! I was in floods reading it. I really can't wait to get a free weekend to go see them, but may not be till March now.

Went to see another friend P last week. She too is having problems conceiving. It's just so strange that I have at least 5 friends trying for a family and having various problems of one type or another. Perhaps it's an age thing? I dunno... P has a lovely rabbit called Mopsey, who just lollops about her apartment. She's a lone bun, so quite affectionate with hoomans. Except me. Last time I went, Mops decided she'd quite like a little nibble on my leg and finger. P was mortified - she never bites! This week, Mops was back to her cuddly bunny self. For a while. Lulled me into a false sense of security. Bit of a nibble on my jacket - ok, that's quite a normal bunny thing to do to strangers. Suddenly, there's a couple of pounds of fur flying across my face and latching on to my inner arm!! No blood was drawn, but I've had a helluva bruise all week! Mopsey was banished to the kitchen in disgrace... We can only assume her change in character is down to the scent of my two on me. Weird!

Here's a couple more digis I've done using the lush and, amazingly, free kit from Katie and Kirsty.


This one used this week's Pencil Lines sketch.

The one on the right was an attempt at a technique whereby you blur part of the photo to provide a panel for your journalling. Journalling isn't something I do a lot of on my LOs, but I love this one and think it fits really well.

Really need to take some new photos - all my LOs feature either me or D!

Black Metallic

It's Dare day! This week, Saffa wants us to make a card featuring something metallic, be it hardware, inks or pens, paper or card or whatever you can find!

Not had a lot of time again, but I was asked to make a 40th birthday card, so this is what I came up with. Using black as my base, I cut out the 'happy birthday' using the Craft Robo and Journaling Hand font. I then put a piece of silver mirror card behind it. I made a ribbon slider with the Robo, cutting out '40' and again putting silver card behind. I tore the edge from a piece of Basic Gray Gypsy paper (ouch!) and added it to the card, then threaded some pale pink grosgrain ribbon through the slider and stuck it down. A few diamantes added with the Kandi Kane finished it off. It's difficult to show in a photo, but it looked pretty good in real life, honest!

As ever, the other girls have made some stunning cards, so please go take a squizz at the blog and join in when you can!

Father Of Mine

I'm having reet good fun at this digi lark. Still haven't tried anything adventurous and there's loads of tutorials I need to look at, but I think I could get addicted to buying kits and elements! The layout on the left is the old 70s pic of my Dad and me and I used the Compassion kit from Shabby Princess. It has some fab bright papers and not one but two alphas, which are both scrummy.

The LO on the right uses a picture I've wanted to scrap for absolutely ages and just never got round to. Whenever we go camping, J barely leaves 30 seconds to let his dinner go down before he's asking to go and play. This photo captures the moment he was told to wait for a few minutes... Check out the mood! I used the Urban Kiwi freebie kit, also from Shabby Princess. The stamped alpha is from Designer Digitals. I like how simple this one looks - I managed to restrain myself on the elements!

It's so much easier digi scrapping as it's really simple to just pick a photo and change it to suit as you go along, rather than hunting one out, or finding one, printing it, then discovering you needed it smaller/larger/black and white. I'm glad I've got an external hard drive to store all my new stash on, as well as the layouts, but now I need lots more photos! We lost loads when our pc crashed a couple of years ago and I'm gutted. I was hoping to be able to start taking some with my new camera, but the online store my Dad ordered it from kindly took his order and payment before telling us it was out of stock, so I'm on the hunt for another good deal now. Grrrr!

End Of A Century

100 posts!! Not bad for a not-so-regular blogger I guess. I am trying to blog more regularly, but sometimes I just don't have anything interesting to say. Perhaps I should just find a joke or inspiring quote for those days. Trouble is, I then have to find a relevant 90s song title to go with the post and it takes about an hour just to come up with a teeny post then! I'm not sure I like the 90s titles - I mean, the 90s was my era musically, but when you look at a list of titles from the decade, they're all a bit, well, weird! Anyway, I'm rambling...

It was Dare day yesterday. Fabulous Rhi dared us to make a card using an aperture. I had all these grand plans about using my Robo to do something fancy, but, in the end, I didn't have a lot of time and went for one of the most boring ideas ever! However, I think it actually looks quite simple and elegant, so I guess it's not too bad. Some of the other girls on the design team have used their Robos to come up with some beautiful cards, so I couldn't hope to compete really. Do go and check out all the cards on the blog and have a go!

So, for my nice and simple baby card, I used a tall card blank and my square punch to make the aperture. I would have liked it a little lower, but that's punches for you! I cut a square of 'baby' paper (from a Costco pack) and stuck that inside behind the aperture. I then drew stitches around this and around the aperture with a black journaling pen. I cut a Quickutz babygro from blue Bazzill and inked the edges to make it stand out, adding a contrasting pocket in white. Mounted this on 3d foam and stuck it slightly overlapping the aperture at one of those 'jaunty' angles! I then cut a strip of scrap Bazzil, rounded the end and stuck it near the bottom of the card, folding the edge over to the inside. I used Doodlebug 'All Mixed Up' rub-ons to add the baby's name.. and there you have it!

Happy

Today, I are been mostly digi-scrappin'. Well, tonight, anyway. Today I are been mostly changing dirty nappies, but you don't want to hear about that... I couldn't resist this kit from Shabby Princess. I just loved the mix of colours in it and there are some too cute embellies. So, here is my first digi layout...

It's so tempting to want to use all the bits and bobs in the kit as they're all so scrummy, but I guess that really isn't my style and it's not as if they're going anywhere if I don't use them. Actually, they're not going anywhere if I do. That's the beauty of this digi lark. If you use a particular flower or rub-on, it doesn't matter, cos you can use them again and again and again! Hurrah! I'm really getting into this and I get to see more of D too as I'm on the PC in the living room and not hidden away in my craft room. Not that I'm going to be getting rid of my 'real' stash any time soon. Oh, no sir-ee Bob. I mean, these kits and bits are nice to look at, but you can't feel them; can't stroke the ribbons or lay your cheek gently against the paper to feel its texture... Or is that just me?! Now I have so much to learn and I think that that's just it - I love learning new things and having a go. I'll probably have moved on to the next fad in a couple of months. But we'll see....

So, to my word of 2007. I just did a quick Google search for definitions and this is what it came up with:

Create

• make: make or cause to be or to become;
• bring into existence;
• pursue a creative activity; be engaged in a creative activity;
• invest with a new title, office, or rank;
• create by artistic means;
• produce: create or manufacture a man-made product;

At some point I will write this out and put it somewhere I look every day. Probably on my mirror (not vain, just need make-up!) or my PC. Found a couple of nice quotes too, so will probably (digi)scrap these soon too.

Put The Message In The Box

Finally decided on my word for the year, as per the Ali E Aezine. I know it might seem awfully predictable, but I chose it for reasons other than the obvious; maybe I'll go into these a little sometime. So, my word is....

Now I have to catch up and go find the definition in the dictionary and I might look for some inspiring quotes too.

New Age Girl

I've finally gone and done it. This afternoon I've had my very first go at Digi-scrapping and managed to produce the new banner at the top of my bloggy-blog - not bad for a first attempt? Thanks to the fantastic Clare for the instructions on how to change the banner in the new blogger.

I've been putting off doing it digi-style for ages, mainly cos I feel like I'm deserting my real-life stash, and there's nothing like a stroke of some Crate when you're feeling low. However, I was mooching around on UKS, as you do and decided to check out a few links. Before I knew it, I was downloading a kit and alphabet from Peppermint Creative, and using the fabby tutorials from Jen, which I found via a link from Katie, I've had a great time! I used Adobe Photoshop Elements as that's what I'm used to and once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy to do the basics. There's loads of free stuff to download too, so go on, give it a whirl! Might have to try some proper layouts now...

In other news... I spent last night babysitting - the first and, hopefully, last overnighter I'll ever do. Looking after a one year old and a nearly-three year old is usually fine, but having to sleep in the baby's room and him waking up for a good hour in the middle of the night was not. Might have to rethink this having kids malarkey... It was worth the lack of sleep though, as I earned more than enough to add to my Crimble money to buy my new camera! Hurrah! I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ7 on order as we speak (thanks Dad!).

And finally, a Baby Z update: She moved into a room with her Mom yesterday and is hopefully going to be allowed home in the week! How amazing is that? She's such a fighter and truly a little miracle.

Two Steps Behind

Ooh, I'm a norty girl this week! This is the first week since we started that I haven't done my Dare card in time :( I've been struggling with my mojo again, as well as having trouble finding the time. However, I had one of those lightbulb moments this evening and actually got out of my cosy warm bed where I was watching Soapstar Superstar to go and make it.

This week, the very lovely Lythan dared us to raid our wardrobe in search of inspiration for our cards.

I'm ashamed to admit I actually raided my dirty washing pile for this one (oh god, the shame of it!). I can't help it if that's where the inspiration decided to manifest itself! There I am, lying in bed watching telly, when my eye falls upon my favourite pair of pants. Yes, I was inspired by my pants.

I rummaged in my drawers (oh, the humour!) to find scraps of paper or card that pretty much matched the colours and found some different textures, which looks nice. I cut them into equal strips and stapled them together, inked the edges and placed them on a square card blank. I found a scrap of lace and coloured it pink with an inkpad (there's pink lace around the edges of the pants - you can't see it here - you only get a sneaky peek of my smalls!). The greeting is from the Lisa Bearnson TSV kit from QVC a while back - I inked the edges of that and placed it on the lace.

So there you have it! One of the quickest cards I've made in a while and it just came out of nowhere - or out of my pants, if you think about it! Go peep at the blog to see the fantastic cards the other girls have made, including our newest recruit - the fabulously talented Gillian Hamilton! We are so lucky to have Gillian on board - her stuff is amazing and she's my new inspiration.

Thank U

Thank you all so much for keeping Baby Z in your thoughts. Had a text tonight to say she's had the final stage of her op and she's coming off life support, so I'm crossing my fingers even harder. I so wish I could be there to give A a huge squishy cuddle.

Ice Ice Baby

Dare day! This week Lynda has challenged us to make a card the features Bling and Beads! Now, I do love a bit of bling, so I made myself a mini-dare, and that was not to use too much. Whenever I want to add a bit of sparkle to a card, I can be tempted to Kandi-Kane it to death.

For this, I used some gorgeous Crate Papers - inked the edges of the stripy one with distress ink and then used the coloured strip at the bottom of the paper to go across the card - waste not, want not and all that! I used one of the tags and a monogram that come in the set with the papers. I added a few pink seed beads to the monogram and covered it in Anita's 3D gloss, which doesn't show up very well in the pic. I then threaded a few beads onto some pale pink ribbon and added this to the tag. Punched a few flowers from more Crate, added seed beads and 3D gloss. The bling I managed to keep minimal by simply using a flower bead I found in my stash at each end of the green strip, to which I also added a rub-on greeting. I resisted the urge to fire up the Kandi-Kane - go me!!

As ever, there are some beautiful examples over on the blog, so please go and look if you haven't already, then promise me you'll have a go yourself? Every girl needs a bit of bling in her life!

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Thanks for all your comments about baby Z. No news as yet today, but I've got everything crossed she pulls through.

Bittersweet

I never got round to blogging it, but remember my closest friend A who was pregnant? Well, she gave birth early, on 12th December! Got a bit of a shock when I saw the text message her hubby had sent. Baby Z does have Down's Syndrome, but was born a really healthy weight and was out of special care after about a day, just needing some oxygen to help her. I still don't really know the full story of what happened, as A is still in hospital and has no access to email, only texts. She's managed to work out the new phone she had for crimble and sent me couple of pics of Z - she's booootiful!

Anyhoo, I've just had a text to let me know that Z had her full heart repair op today as she was starting to struggle a bit and she's now 'critical but stable' in intensive care. Wow. I have absolutely no idea what they're going through and I hope I never have to know myself. I've never even met Z and I love her so much, so goodness only knows how A and J feel. They wanted this baby soooo much and are so totally in love with her. She has to come through this. She just has to.

New Year's Day

A predictable title for a predictable post, but hey, it's still 80s so it counts! Actually, perhaps I should start on the 90s now....

I have mixed feelings about New Year's Day. There's always such a sense of hope and expectation, yet it's just another day. I don't make resolutions any more, as I was tired of feeling the disappointment when I inevitably let myself down just a few hours/days/weeks in. I do, however, think of a few things I'd like to achieve before the end of the year, but don't set myself huge goals or targets and restrict myself with time limits.

This year, I have one specific thing I'd like to happen, but I'm keeping it secret. Those of you who know me well or have been with me and my blog for a while may be able to guess. I'll let you know if I do it before this time next year. Other than that, I guess I'd like to continue doing well at work and I have the opening of the new nursery to look forward to. I'd like to do lots more scrapping and crafting and I aim to be published somewhere this year! I want to learn better photography and am taking steps already to achieve this. I aim to keep on blogging for as long as people keep reading! I enjoy writing my posts (when I get the time) and find it quite therapeutic, so that can only be a good thing.

I'd like to spend some more quality time with D this year. His shifts and bewildering love of Torquay United FC don't allow us much fun time, but I'll admit I didn't make much effort this year. We used to think nothing of jumping on a train to Devon and wandering around for the day before coming home, but this year I just haven't felt like it. There's always something else I would rather be doing, but when it comes to it I usually end up wasting the day doing not a lot at all. This year I need to unwind a bit, so perhaps I'll say 'yes' when he asks me if I want to come, rather than 'hmmm, not really'. It can be a great excuse to get out and take some more photographs, can't it?

I guess the main thing I'd like for this year is to be happy and healthy - anything else is a bonus. I hope you had a good time last night, whatever you were doing? Here's to 2007!