Universal Studios, Basic Grey & Scenic Route.

Here are some of the pages I have created for the album of our visit to California back in April. I have had great fun making these, most of them I made while at Debden with the Blossom Babes (UKS social group).

This is the title page for this section of my Hollywood Holiday Album. I used Basic Grey Granola papers and element stickers.



'Wisteria Lane' is a DLO created using Basic Grey's new Wisteria papers and lots of Bazzill card stock. I was fascinated by all these colourful houses and wanted to create a LO with them all, Page Maps provided the prefect sketch too. I painted the dragonflies with H2Os, the chipboard letters were painted with acrylic paint, then stamped over with BG swirly stamps. This LO was accepted for the BG gallery.

'Water World' was created with Marrakech Basic Grey papers, the colours were just perfect for the water and all the rusty metal work. I added some metallic fablon, ghost letters treated with alcohol inks, and some silver thickers letter stickers from American Crafts.


'The Simpson's Ride' - The family popped out to pose with the girls just as we were walking by. Here Homer is messing up Lisa's hair! Using the Cricut for the lettering I tried to recreate the sign for the ride. I used lots of Bazzill card stock and Scenic Route patterned papers. We all enjoyed this new ride.



'Dora The Explorer' - I just loved this picture of my little (big 17 year old) girl with this big (little) girl Dora. The colours are lovely and just perfect for these Scenic Route papers.


More Scenic Route and this time 'Shrek', seen here with Catherine and her friends Maria and Lisa. We were so lucky that despite being the weekend before Easter, the park was not too busy and we could get some good shots.


For the 'Mystery Machine' I used Scenic Route papers from a variety of different lines. I cut the lettering on the Cricut and the design was based on a page map sketch for April '09

Thanks for taking a peek.

Busy Day

No craft work today, but been busy. Drove home from Suffolk this morning and went to the optician with Emily who is making the change from glasses to contact lenses. We have had a house full of teenagers, mostly boys all afternoon and evening, as they held a Dungeons and Dragons session here. They are all in the garden now having enjoyed a meal together. Chris and Emily are playing the guitar. Alan went away East Coast sailing with his friend Richard for a week. I took him to Erith YC this afternoon so they could start their holiday. Catherine has spent the day at Thorpe park with friends, so I am expecting her back home soon.


I have been scanning some old family pictures my sister lent me. Should be good for some future scrapping.


This is a photo of my sister's boys taken about 1993.


Here I am all gappy! On the beach at Seaview, Isle of Wight, with my sister, about 1967. Wearing the dreaded knitted swim suits our Gran made for us, useless garments as they stretched when wet and hung from us and were very uncomfortable!!


Here we are at home looking very smart in our Guide uniforms about 1974'ish.

May get some time to scrap tomorrow.

Leaving Home

Here is a page I made today with another of my wedding photographs. I love the scrapping style of Gabrelle Pollacco, especially her distressed look. I like the lace and ribbons and her deep tear and corset stitching technique. I have used a lot of her ideas in this page. The photo shows me with Dad leaving for the church on my wedding day. In fact I had left home some six years earlier to start my nurse training, but returned to the family home for many weekends and holidays. This lovely Edwardian, red brick villa, was my home from birth.

I used Basic Grey Perhaps papers, with Mellow letter stickers for the page. I made the card with scraps of Perhaps papers and a tag.

Last night I also made two cards for my nephews birthdays using Paper Nation 3D Decoupage Papers.

Safe and Sound

I love Angie's 'The Money Bottle' layout class on the Scrap Paper Scissors Blog, and so a visit to Papermaze on Tuesday and a little shopping for papers and I was off!

I loved the colour combinations of the My Mind's Eye Bloom and Grow Papers, especially the way Angie had set them against the Kraft Bazzill. The white stitching really defined the shapes of the papers well too. I rotated the layout as I had a landscape photo. I had two pictures which are similar but different, I did not want to make a double LO, but wanted to include them both. So I mounted the larger photo onto a piece of 'Little Blossom' Paper, scoring a flap to one side to make a hinge. I added a tab from the die cut sheet to lift the top photo away enabling the second photo to be viewed. I had already started scrapping these pictures a while ago and the idea I had was not working. I did not include as much stitching on my layout as I needed to be able to open the photograph out. Thanks for the inspiration Angie.

Why the title 'Safe and Sound'? This photo was taken during WWII when my mother was evacuated. The journalling is under the flap and reads:
First photo shows a couple of friends (? relations of Charles) at the back ? who. L to R Pat (mum's cousin), Winifred (Mum's Mum), Mary (Mum) with kitten, and Auntie Gladys. The second photo shows Uncle Charles at the back.
Mum said: "Taken at Lambourne when I went there during the doodlebug raids about 1944. Kittens Smokey and Darky. My Mum (Winifred), would have been about 44 years old and her sister Gladys younger." Mary

Grandad Banks - Old Photos

Here is a layout of my grandfather Charles Edward Maddison Banks working in Smithfield meat market as a Porter. Sorting through some old photographs we found several more of my grandfather which I may scrap sometimelater. He was born on 13th September 1897 and died on Christmas day 1961. I never got to know grandad as I was only 19 months old when he died. He had served in the first World War and suffered the rest of his life as a result of mustard gassing. For the page I used Basic Grey Ambrosia papers and letter stickers with some American Craft Thickers silver letters.

Left - My parents with my Dad's parents, Charles with my Nan Margaret. Right - Margaret and Charles.

Namesake

This is another LO created using the Mojo Holder for inspiration, this is the challenge for week 103 back in March this year. I have used Basic Grey Urban Prairie Papers, in petticoat, hayfield and patchwork quilt. The shaped paper is Jenni Bowlin's Pink Label. I added gems, ribbon and son Queen and Co felt fusion (that is difficult to get the backing paper off and stuck down where you want it to go!). The sketch and design by Tammy Tutterow are shown below my LO.
The photographs are of my sister Sylvia, in the arms of her Godmother Sylvia at her Christening, St. James' Church, Elmers End, Beckenham 1962.

Tammy's original Sketch and LO:

I made two cards with the same paper range, the first uses some rubons and blossoms The second is an 8x8" Craftwork Cards Card I cut a scalloped and a plain circle with my Stampin' up punches. I added blossoms on 3D foam pads each with a brad through the centre. A small blob of white opal Liquid Pearls was added to each scallop. Happy Birthday greeting was added with a Peel Off and then I drew stitches around the edge of the yellow paper.

Bittersweet

As promised here is my wedding lay out and also the original sketch and lay out by May Marix Marte, for the Mojo Holder Challenge 110. About time I got on with scrapping these photos as we have just celebrated our 25th anniversary!

I used Basic Grey Bittersweet range of papers.






While I was playing with the Bittersweet, I found an old copy of 'Just the Basics' (Vol 6, Issue 1) and had always liked a layout on the front cover by Kelly Goree. So I scraplifted that too using this old photo of my parents. This photo was taken about 1950, Keston Common, with the self timer!

Kelly's original 'She'










I also made these birthday cards.

Scraplift yourself!

Working on a wedding layout tonight of our own wedding, I am not able to scan the LO as away from home. I will take a photo in the better light tomorrow. But for now, on the subject of weddings here is a LO of Heather (Alan's niece) at her wedding, 1st September 2007.

This is a LO I scrap-lifted from myself, as part of a challenge (I think it was from UKS). My original LO was of my mother holding me outside the church at my christening, and many people liked it and scrap-lifted it at the time. I used Basic Grey's beautiful Stella Ruby papers for this LO. the Robo was used for the title.


This is the original LO. Photo taken in September 1960. I used several patterned papers and a lot of blossoms. I used machine stitching up and down the page before attaching the blossoms.

I don't remember the make of papers used here. I hand cut the title for this one. and the little message in the top left corner was printed onto the paper. My mother made both my Christening gown and her own dress.

Marshmalow Madness

I attended a great Craftwork Cards Workshop run by Julie Hickey in Horley, Surrey a few months ago. We made four cards in the class. The first one I changed from birthday and made it into a mother's day card for my Mum. and the tag card I adapted for mother's day for my Godmother.

The wrap round card I added latter stickers to for my friend Anita, and the frame card I sent to my friend Jo.


















I stocked up on more papers and other bits at the workshop and at home I made more similar cards, one for Lisa's 18th (I added pink American Crafts, Thickers numbers for the '18' and made another wrap around card for Jillybeans' birthday.










Then with more of the same paper range, I made these two, both 'Good Luck' cards for people leaving their jobs. One for Hazel and the other for Ruth, who loves cup cakes, (using the build a bun template).

New Basic Grey

Basic Grey is one of my favourite scrapbook paper ranges. I have been looking on the Basic Grey website at the new paper ranges. They are June Bug and Lemonade. It's hard to tell but from the images I think I prefer the Lemonade, as I love the colours, and the June Bug is a mix of lots of bright busy papers. I like the look of the Laser cut shaped papers in each range. I'm sure I will love them both when I see them, time will tell.

Here are some of my favourite layouts using Basic Grey papers.

Secret Garden is a layout I did some years ago using Urban Couture. I used a craft knife to cut the branches and slid the photo underneath. I added a lot of blossoms with brads for centres. For the title I used BG letter stickers for 'Secret' and for 'Garden' I stamped the letters with paint and foam stamps onto more Urban Couture paper. The photograph is of me as a little girl in front of some garden gates at Woolacombe Bay.

Deep in thought is the first lay out I created with the new Marrakech. It is a photograph of Emily taken by Nadine a fellow 'A Level' photography student at school. I love the colours and patterns of these rich papers. I also used BG rubons, and added lots of other rubons, buttons and stickers.

I have made many layouts and cards using this range of papers, I'm sure there will be many more too. I will put some more up here another day.

Basically Black

Really enjoyed using the content of this project of the month kit from Craftwork Cards. I have several birthdays and anniversaries this month, I made up some of the cards from the project kit and others I designed myself.

This was for our silver wedding at the beginning of the month. The next two were for work friends, Adele and Sharon. The other was for a friend from nurse training, Kathy.