SBM

I was delighted to be asked by the Scrapbook Magazine to do an article on journaling a few months ago. And the issue with the article is finally in the shops ... I just picked up my copy in Easons today. I'm really excited as it's my first proper article :) I'm also inside the front cover in the 'Meet the Team' section. Here are a couple of los from the mag ...

look what I got ...

... the week before last I got all my projects back from the scrapbook apprentice competition. It was a nice full box and all the los should practically fill an album! Just in case you didn't know, the winner of the competition was Melanie, so well done to Melanie who did lots of lovely work. I actually found out that I hadn't won back in August but we weren't allowed to say anything until it was officially announced. I was a little bit disappointed at the time (of course it would have been nice to win :) but things have a funny way of working out for the best sometimes as it was just a few days later that I found out I was expecting a baby!


I still can't seem to get my head around doing much scrapping but I did make a start on my Christmas cards. I used BG Eskimo Kisses which is very cute but I don't think I like it as much as Figgy Pudding from a year or two ago!

chopping and changing ...

Not a whole lot of crafting going on here! I still haven't really got back in the flow. I started this lo the other day ... moved things around ... cut things up, but it just wasn't working. So I left it for a while and then came back with a fresh perspective ... made a few more changes, moved some more things around until finally I had a page I was happy with! I live such a complicated life :) The photo is of Dec with Oisin on his first day of first class and it's one of my favourites. Not that I'm biased or anything ... but I have such handsome boys :)

progress ...

at last!! I finally got around to a few crafty projects this week! I did two exploding box albums which I'll probably give as Christmas presents, though only one is completely finished. The green one was done using BG Lemonade and the red using BG June Bug. The photos below don't really do them justice as they look a lot nicer IRL. Oisin thought they were really cool so we made another one for him which he decorated and gave as a present to Daddy :) We had great fun making it and Oisin told me I was a fantastical artist :) He really makes me laugh sometimes!
And I even got a lo done. This one was done with a Studio Calico kit I treated myself to this month. I had to stop my sub quite a while back as I just wasn't getting to use the kits while I was busy with other projects. I really really love those corrugated letters by Jillibean soup.

scrap at singing

I'm so glad X Factor is back! I'm a self confessed addict but isn't everyone?? And oh how I wish I could sing. And I guess I really mean ... sing well :) I love to sing and am always singing along to the radio in the car, with my ipod in the house and while I scrap. But alas it's probably not a very pleasant experience for anyone within earshot! I'm also really enjoying the Apprentice and I'm so glad they decided to do an Irish version.
I just wanted to say thank you too for all the good wishes on my last post. I'm hoping the nausea and tiredness will pass soon so my scrapping mojo will reappear. I'm also looking forward to starting my Christmas craftiness soon and ordered my BG Eskimo Kisses today. (oooohhhhh it's lovely:) So as I still haven't got to do any new los I thought I'd leave you with a couple of pages that I haven't posted here before, that were in some of the recent(ish) DoCrafts magazines.

Excuses, excuses

You may have noticed that there has been a distinct lack of new los (as well as very few blog posts!) from me over the last while (other than a couple of projects I can't share yet), but I have a really, really good excuse ...
see ...!!

coughs and weddings ...

So the first week of September didn't go exactly according to plan! My poor little Ois had a bit of a cough and a cold and missed most of his first week of school. He didn't seem too upset about it but he was getting a bit bored. He was in an arty mood though and wanted to do lots of scrapbooking so I did get a couple of los done for a little something I'm working on.
I was at a wedding on Saturday and it was just a beautiful day. The service was lovely, the bride (my cousin) was beautiful and the weather was glorious. After the church we headed to the Glenview Hotel in Wicklow. At the hotel there was a wonderful little outdoor reception with the most magnificent cupcakes, and a very talented guy playing his guitar and singing. All this with the most amazing view of the Wicklow mountains bathed in sunlight for a backdrop. Later we all enjoyed a gorgeous dinner and it was great to see so many (of our very large) family all together!
Here's a little lo that I did for the stitching challenge for sa.... love that big smile :)

And so ...

... the end is near! The end of the summer holidays that is ... and I can hardly believe it. I still feel like I'm waiting for the summer to begin, for those clouds to disappear and for the sun to become a constant fixture in the sky. But alas, the weather has been pretty rubbish ... but we still managed to get out and about and I think Oisin had a pretty good break. We even made it to the zoo yesterday :)
With Oisin heading back to school next week I'm hoping to get a bit more scrapping (and blogging) done. I got a grand total of two los done over the summer ... this being the second ...


This was Oisin having fun on the kids go karts in Trabolgon in July. I used the lovely bright Lime Rickey papers from BG.
The new issue of the DoCrafts Creativity mag is also out now and we were pretty lucky to have a few pieces in there. I have a page of Christmassy stuff in the Quick Makes section, a lo in the 'Christmas Past' article (I do not love that lo ... though I do like the photo!) and the other lo from the space challenge (and a card) in the scrapbook apprentice section. (The other one was the birdhouse lo on the CLBlog). Here's a glimpse at some of those ...

the wonderful world of ...

IKEA!! That's where I went yesterday and it was fab :) It was my first trip to the Dublin store and I couldn't believe how busy it was! Think I'll wait for a quieter time to visit again though!
I still haven't got around to doing any new los but I am getting lots of reading done! I finished New Moon when we were on holidays in Cork and I have to say that I really liked it ... more than Twilight. I'm not sure why though ... it's totally not my usual kind of book. I'm not a big fan of love stories (or vampires and were-wolves for that matter!) but I got completely engrossed and am now about half way through Eclipse. I also read Michael J. Fox's new book, Always looking Up (while I was waiting for my sister to finish Eclipse :) He has Parkinsons disease but the man is so unbelievably positive, proactive and upbeat it's inspiring.
Thought I'd share a lo that didn't end up getting posted for sa (first lo). This one was for the ribbon challenge. I liked it so much that I ended up buying some more of the Doodlebug paper (and I don't know if I've ever bought any DB before!) and did a similar version (second lo) as a present for my sisters birthday (as that's my niece in the photo). I mounted it on a canvas so she could hang it on the wall.




I also just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who voted for me in the scrapbook apprentice competition. I'm delighted to have made it to the final :) There will be no more public votes but you can see all the finalists in the September issue of Creativity. Unfortunately my los and cards didn't turn out so great for the mag ... think I'm just way too slow to do work I'd be happy with in a day and a half :( Oh well ... at least I was pretty happy with all my other work in the other rounds. Have a great weekend!!

been busy...

but not with anything crafty!! We spent most of last week in the fabulous Castlemartyr hotel in Cork for a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday. The weather was mostly good ... pretty sunny between the torrential downpours! We got to visit Some of Decs family, spent a day at Trabolgan (where we had a hard time getting Ois away from the kiddies go-karts), went to Ballymaloe for a scone and a hot chocolate (yum), swam in the pool, and got to visit Cork Art Supplies (well that one was just for me :) ... and even got to do a little relaxing.
The lo below is the sum of my craftiness for the last few weeks. I thought of doing it when I heard the Baz Luhrman song, Sunscreen, for the first time in ages on the radio ... and the words really rang true. Obviously, it's an old photo of me!

All done ...

Well all the work is now completed for the scrapbook apprentice ... the last los and cards for the mag were sent in last week, and a card commission, also for the mag, was again completed in super quick time ... I got my package on Monday morning and was done by dinner time that evening! It felt quite strange to be doing Christmas cards in July!
Ois and I went to see Ice Age 3 the other day, and I haven't laughed so much in ages. It was soooo funny!! I'm such a sucker for a good kids movie :)
I also finished Twilight last week and was a little disappointed. Bella was just a little too gushing for me ... I actually preferred the movie (and I don't think I've ever said that before!) But I still think I'll give New Moon a read ... just to see what happens!
The lo below is another from the class with Celine Navarro. We used lots of masking tape for added dimension and painted over it with some acrylic paint.

Round 8 and class layout

Firstly, a big thank you again to everyone who voted for me in the last round of the scrapbook apprentice. It's getting close to the end now with only four people left! Round 8 has now gone live over on the Creativity Life blog so head on over if you would like to see this months projects and you might even think of voting for me if you like what I did. I really like how that birdhouse lo and LOVE card turned out! The projects for the next round (if I get through this one) are going to be in the next issue of Creativity and needed to be completed in a very short time ... I got my pack on Monday and they had to be ready to post this morning!!! After a late night of crafting last night I managed to get it done on time ... quite a feat for a sloooooow scrapper like me :)
I wanted to post one of the los I started at the class with Celine Navarro. For this lo we learned how to do photo scratching ... I'm not sure if it's something I'd do again but it made for an interesting page!

I love summer

It finally feels like summer is here now that Oisin has finished school! And the weather hasn't been too bad for the last week either ... which means a lack of crafty projects to share as it's been too nice outside :) The next issue of doCrafts Creativity magazine is out (the Creativity and Creativity Life magazines are now combined into one mag) and has a few los from the scrapbook apprentices that we did for the stamping challenge ...


Mine is a wedding lo and it's only the second wedding lo I've done! Tut, tut.
It's my lovely Mams birthday today and I made her some birthday blooms similar to the ones I did for the current round of SA. Happy birthday Mam :)

mega scrap, sneaks and Oasis!!

Firstly ... Oasis?? So Oasis played in Slane on Saturday and although I didn't get to go, it did remind me of the last time I saw them ... fourteen years ago in Slane when they supported REM. I feel so old!!!! Declan was playing some Oasis in the car over the weekend for Oisin and now he's singing 'Whats the story Morning Glory' all the time (or as he sometimes changes the words a bit ... 'Whats the problem morning glory'! It doesn't have quite the same ring to it :)
I had a fantastic day on Saturday at the mid summer Mega Scrap with Celine Navarro. I got to try lots of things I had never done, or seen before ... lots of paint (which I'm usually afraid of!), gesso (which I had never heard of before, never mind used!), photo scratching and more. We painted on masking tape, newspaper, painted with our fingers, created a lo on a canvas ... It was so much fun. I didn't get anything finished but I'll post up some pics when I do. It was so nice to see so many people there too ... hi to Simone who I got to sit beside for the day, and hi to Joanne who I met at my first CraftEire and hadn't seen since and all the other lovely ladies :)
I have a few sneaks for the next round of Scrapbook Apprentice where we got to use the lovely Tiffany range from We R Memory Keepers. Hopefully you'll get to see them in full on the CLblog if I make it through the current round :)

books, cards and movies ...

So I actually managed to finish another book! The Appeal by John Grisham was a bit of a disappointment though. There were too many characters, leaving it difficult to keep track of everyone, the story was too complicated and the ending was terrible! Over the years I have read about 17 of his other books and enjoyed those so I was surprised at this :( Not one to leave a book unfinished though, I had to see it to the end. But today I picked up Twilight, and my hopes are high for this one. I finally got around to watching Twilight the movie about two weeks ago and was surprised how much I liked it. I also went to see Star Trek at the weekend and loved it!!!
As for crafting ... I've been working on some cards ... Fathers Days cards, birthdays cards, teacher cards etc. So I thought I'd post one of my older los which I did early last year. Even though it's a pretty simple page it has always been one of my favourites ... maybe it's that BG Archaic paper!

Back to the books

Over the sunny bank holiday weekend I actually managed to read a book! In the old days (as Osin would say) I used to read mountains of books ... I loved reading, but since I started scrapbooking I have hardly read any! (I have read lots of scrapbooking magazines though!) So while the weather was unusually sunny, I dug out a book I had been wanting to read for ages and read in the sun. (I'd highly recommend Harlan Coben books by the way :)
Before I was distracted by sunshine and books I did get this lo done though ... more Lime Rickey and more stitching. When I showed it to Oisin, he wasn't impressed saying ..."but I don't even like chickens!" I tried to explain that it probably wasn't a chicken and it was just for decoration anyway, but he was having none of it!

Round 7

Firstly, thank you to everyone who voted for me in round 6. Round 7 is now up over the the creativity life blog (http://creativitylifemag.blogspot.com/) if you fancy voting!! Challenge 7 was great fun as we got to try doing a few different things to normal. I did 2 los, 2 cards, a picture, 4 ATCs (my first time to try ATCs!), an ATC holder/envelope, a fold up mini album, a box for the mini album, 3 flowers in a 'vase' (these were my favourite and I'll definitely be making more) and a bookmark! Hope you like them :)
I didn't get to do too much crafting over the last couple of weeks but I did do two los with the new Lime Rickey range from BasicGrey. It's bright, bold and fabulous! This is one of the los I did with it which I was really happy with. I had some lovely bright embroidery thread which I used to add some stitching and also added some stickles to emphasize the watery theme. I'm not usually much of a 'stickler' but I thought it worked well here.

a few more ...

sneaks ...

sneaks 'n stuff

How many times do you think a very excited boy can ask "How much longer until my party starts?" I think Oisin may have broken some kind of record on Saturday morning! He was just so excited I thought he was going to burst. Well 1 0'clock finally arrived, and so did all his friends... and they had a ball. I'm still trying to recover from the shock that my baby is now 6 :)
I have quite a few sneaks this time for the next round of Scrapbook Apprentice, so I thought I'd spread them over two posts. Here's the first few...

Rain, rain go away!

It's a grey, rainy day here today and I really do hope things get a bit better for the weekend ... Oisin is having his birthday party here on Saturday and I hope to do some games and things outside. I finished up all my projects for the next round of scrapbook apprentice last week and had great fun this time making some cool stuff that I've never tried before. We had to do one lo and one card and whatever else our little hearts desired :) We had to work with a kit and all I can tell you is that it was purple! When I first saw it, I thought purple ... what am I going to do with purple? But everything turned out really nice and I can't wait to show you some sneak peeks next week. I really hope I get through this round so you can see them in full. I'm still working on my write up though and haven't got to start any other projects yet so I just wanted to share a page I did a good few months ago at one of Laineys crops...

Untitled

After going for a good swim this morning and doing a few extra lengths, I have no energy left to think up a witty/clever/apt title for todays post so it will just have to remain untitled :)
I signed up the other day over with the Scrapbook Store for the Midsummer MegaScrap with Celine Navarro. Sounds like it will be a good day and I'm looking forward to learning some new techniques. Celine was a guest designer with StudioCalico a few months after they started up. Oisin is counting down the days to his birthday party now and I just hope he hasn't got orders in with his friends for presents!
I have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with the lo below. Its one I did sometime last year and I love lots of the individual elements like the papers, the colours, the felt rocket, the title and the memory but it's a bit all over the place. Oh well :)

round 6

As always, it's hard to believe how fast time is whizzing by! Round 6 is now up on the Creativity Life blog and there are only 6 apprentices left! These last few months have gone by so quickly.
I would just like to say a big thank you to anyone who voted for me last month ... thank you :). Challenge 6 was all about stamping so if you would like to have a look (and maybe even vote if you like what I did :), just click here. I was a bit worried when I saw the papers at first as the colours were so muted but I have to say I was very happy with the finished pages and cards ... in fact I think the lo on the blog now might be one of my favourites!
I'll leave you with a lo I mentioned in my last post, done using the scrummy gorgeousness that is BG Marrakech. I really love this photo of Oisin, his eyes look so big and blue. He was going through a phase at the time of saying 'oooooh mamma' and 'oooooooh dada' and was only about 16 months old. He'll be 6 in 17 days ....aaaahhhh!!

all going swimmingly!

Nothing much to report today! I only got two los done last week ... but I did get three swims in! I broke open the BG Marrakech goodies I've been hoarding for a while after seeing a lovely card by Julie and I have to say I just adore those colours. But the lo below (which I'm not sure if I like or not) was done with some Pink Paislee.

Sneaks

Just wanted to post a few sneaks for the next round of Scrapbook Apprentice. The challenge this time was creative stamping and we got some lovely new papers by Jesse Edwards (which aren't in the shops yet!) and some pretty flowery swirly stamps. The colours were much more muted than the bright bold colours we worked with for the last round and looked very pretty and elegant. I had lots of fun rediscovering embossing powder ... which is like sand: it gets everywhere! And I tried chalks for the first time which I really liked. Note to self: stamp more and make more use of the gazillion stamps I own!