Golborne January Crop...

I know... you wait for a post, and then two come along at once!

Just to let people know that there is a Golborne Crop scheduled for 24th January - full details are here, so please click on, book your place, and we'll see you there :)

Leanne x

My first DT Job (ish)...

Well, today I have a nice happy smile on my place as I've been given a chance to join the Crafty Swappers Weekly Challenge DT!

I know its not for a manufacturer, or shop, but I'm still looking forward to showcasing my wares and really hope that some of my work will inspire people to find a little more time to fit some crafting in - the thread is here, so why not come along and take part?

I've also applied to some other DTs in the last few weeks, but don't know if anything will come of them as I don't have many samples to show off; until recently I didn't have any reason to save pictures of work before I gifted it.

Now's the part where I get nervous as they don't like my work... oo-er... So please wish me luck!

Leanne x

Crafty crochet...

Ta da! My first ever attempts at crochet flowers!I started with the white ones on Tuesday night, with the leftover babywool from making a baby blanket, and have to admit that I got in a few knots at first, but it sort of worked out in the end, even though I was making it up as I went along!

Yesterday I went out to find some bargainous balls of wool and cotton, and a larger hook (hence the BIG blue flower at the bottom!) and decided that I'd try and do a full bloom with leaves and all - I have to say I'm really pleased with the result, especially after not crocheting for a while, and I've kept it tidy on the back too!

Anyway, now I've finally fixed this post (!) I'm off to make some more, and would love nay comments that you have - good or bad - to help me along.

Thank you for looking!

Leanne x

I love candy... BLOG CANDY, that is!

Sorry I've not posted recently - so how about I let you in on a BIG BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY to make it up to you?

Head on over to Karen's blog to see how you can win all this stash:

I hope that once I get settled into blogging regularly I'll be able to offer tutorials, competitions and blog candy giveaways of my own; in the meantime, I hope you like the link.

Good luck!

Leanne x

I won! I won! I won!

I won the Indigo Mill Sponsors Challenge with my Hanging Around LO (click here for the original post) on UK Scrappers!

My goodies arrived in a big brown envelope with 'WINNER' drawn on it in black marker, so even the postie was intrigued - he even suggested I get a 12" letterbox once I explained why he's having to deliver so many more packets and parcels recently!

For my prize, I received a packet of We R Memory Keepers Designer Gromlets and one of the FoilGlitterFlock Adhesive Rub-on Kits (WRMK again!) - two products I've been wanting to try out for a while, so thank you again to the judges and everyone at Indigo Mill xxxx

The rub-ons are the 'Explorer' theme, so they co-ordinate perfectly with the Cosmo Cricket QVC TSV on a while ago, which I'm using to create a set of scrapbooks for my BIL commemorating his travels around the world with his girlfriend; I've also used the opportunity to impress upon my DH how much I NEED a BigBite now that these lovely gromlets will go to waste otherwise! (He swears he has some tools in the garage that could do the job, but I'm determined)

And, to anyone who's wondering: don't worry, the ellipses will be back :)

Leanne x

And so to blog...

I'm sorry that I haven't posted a great deal recently, but I've been as busy as a crafter can be!

I'm working on a couple of projects at the moment, a new blog design, plus a few new crafting ideas - and I can't wait to share them all with you!

Because I know that things can get a little fraught in the season of goodwill, so I've come up with a fabulous remedy called 'Crafter's Calm':

Ingredients: Your favourite tipple (tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or something a little stronger!), a few lengths of ribbons, some textured cardstock, a ball of wool, some paints, glittered card, a handful of embellishments, and some luxurious fabric.

Method: Combine all of the above and decoratively arrange on a suitable surface (mine's the kitchen table).  Sit back and sip your drink with one hand, whilst stroking your stash with the other...

Result: One relaxed crafter!

Enjoy, and I promise I'll be back soon ;)

Leanne x

Au Revoir...

Hope that your Monday wasn't too taxing :)

Here's my latest LO - a response to the UKS November Week 1 Challenge from the Bijoux Belles - thank you ladies!

They set a challenge to produce a french-themed LO, using a french title, red white and blue, the sketch provided, and - naturellement! - some bling!

On a personal level its a rather bittersweet LO, as its of the only family holiday we had. My parents separated 3 years before this, but felt it was important for them to both be there as we visited Disneyland Paris (which I've saved for a separate LO) and spent the next day in Paris itself.  What also isn't evident from the photos is that I was either on crutches or in a wheelchair for the whole trip, after cracking my hip ice-skating in Swansea (so glamorous, lol)

All comments are appreciated, I'd love to hear what you think!

Off to cook tea now,

Leanne x

Hanging Around...

Here's my latest LO - inspired by the latest Indigo Mill UKS Challenge - 'no glue' - I knew I had the perfect photo to complement the theme, and a lovely metal alpha that I'd never gotten around to using and which came in very handy.

This is DS1 all over; we joke about DH taking 'long cuts' (he'd rather go the long way and take 10 mins than sit in traffic for 5!) but if ever there was an awkward path, indeterminate route, or just a chance to deviate from the norm in ANY way, DS1 would find it, no question - and if there isn't such a way he'd make one!

I was working on the second lacing method, but have been distracted by the weekly challenge and making the memorial butterflies in this post, so will hopefully get it on here soon.

Here's to a great week for everyone!

Leanne x

Moving pictures...

Will it do images on the move too, I wonder?

On the road again...

Just checking that my mobile blogger works!
Leanne x ~ Sent from iPhone

Beyond Measure...

My first November LO, completed at the North West Warrington Crop last Sunday.

This portrait was taken at nursery a good few months back, an I felt that it was too clinical for kids, and was crying out to be all dirty around the edges - like a real child!

The card is Bazzill Dotted Swiss, and the net circle was a scrap I've been trying to use up for a long time when I realised it echoed the dotty pattern! The colours were chosen to echo the clothing my two angels were wearing, and the journalling reflects what I see in their eyes when I look at this photograph.

All comments appreciated, thank you for taking the time :)

Leanne x

The Butterfly Effect...

Morning all - I've just read a very touching blog entry and wanted to help spread the news amongst the crafting community; 1,500,000 children died during the Holocaust and, in an effort to remember them, Holocaust Museum Houston is looking to collect 1.5 million handmade butterflies (more details on their website, here).

Whether you're a cardmaker, scrapper, or any other form of arty or crafty sort, please take the time to join in with this if you can - Dan99 has even put together templates for print and die-cutting systems, whoch you can download free from his blog.

If you're not sure about sending off your entries, check out this thread on UKS, where a discussion was recently underway about a centralised mailing plan.

Love and blessings for all angels who got their wings early,

Leanne x

The start of something beautiful...

So... resolved to actually using this blog, seeing how the URL is paid for and all!

I'm actually quite excited as I'm about to order some new products, including felt borders, the new Tim Holtz Stickles with a 'matt' finish, and what I feel is going to be the next big thing in scrapbooking - lacing.

Inspired by the latest Indigo Mill UKS Challenge - 'no glue' - I think that lacing is the way forward, both in terms of texture and ways to attach embellishments and photographs to the base page.

I've been busy on two different ways of doing this, and will be posting the results by Saturday night at the latest, so check back if you want to see what I've been up to!

Leanne x

Taking a Trip... for a Treat!

Fancy going on a crafting journey?

Check this out - you will be amazed by the talent you find there :)

Note: Don't view with a 7yr old like I did (Mu-u-um, can you do one for us like that...?)

Happy Halloween!

Leanne x

Blog Candy Giveaways!

Just wanted to let you know about the two giveaways below:

Purely Stamping

Edna's Place

Check out the blogs too for great inspiration!

Leanne x

Hello!

Ok, so I attended my first crop today, which went well (thanks to everyone at the North West Warrington Crop xx)

Despite ending up being an hour late and forgetting one tote... oh, and the fact that I had brought no photos because I've broken both of my printers... so yeah, it went very well, lol

I managed to complete the class project (a 3 year Christmas planner, thank you Rebecca for the kit) and spend some time personalising it so that I didn't spend most of the time scrapping photos from memory and looking like a crazy lady!

I also won the raffle (yay for beginner's luck!) And have set about one of said 'photos from memory' pages, and altering the cigar tin to produce an accordion book... will post photos when finished.

So here you go, first pics of the fruits of my labour - this week's planner, and last week's photoframe (kit by Lianne - I wasn't in attendance but popped along for a visit and to make some purchases, and they had a spare!):

  

Finally, I've uploaded the new team logo - go Craftaholics! - so have changed my header to match, and will be submitting projects and LOs for lots of points soon - again, depending on the printer scenario as it is also my scanner :(

Leanne x