As February ends

I have to produce one layout today and I've managed to do a Layout a day for the month of February. Several of the layouts have been works in progress that just needed jounralling or my Scrap your Day calendar that has the paper already adhered and just needs photos and some journalling. However my in progress pile is still very big and I need to continue finishing them.

Everyone has enjoyed doing LOAD and I ahve started a new group to continue the idea at a slightly slower pace and ahve called in LOAW. If you'd like to join in the fun and complete at least a layout a week, join up at Flickr and search for LOAW 2009 to join in the fun.

New Look

Do you like it? It's a free download from House of 3 They even have a detailed tutorial (thank goodness) on how to use it on your blog. I also managed to alter the header.

There is also a housewarming party at the website and some free downloads which are only avauilable this weekend. I'm intrigued by the download with the menu planning checklist which only goes from Monday to Friday - don't people eat at the weekend???

Today is the penultimate day of LOAD and I have just about kept up. Yesterday's was an old class kit that I found whilst tidying my craft room. I used the photos from one of my first layouts that I wasn't happy with. Amazingly I had used a Xyron to stick the photos and they just peeled off the old layout and then stuck to the new one. Just need to do today's layout.

So frustrating

Blogspot has been playing up and I haven't been able to view or post for several days. However that has meant more time for quilting my quilt, which I finished yesterday. Work for the Eisteddfod needs to be in by Saturday and by tomorrow if I want Astra to take it in with the group entries. I have three quilts in this year and the show is at the beginning of March.



Here are a couple of layouts I've finished this week. I've also done about four months in my scrap your day calendar.

Half term fun

M&E enjoyed the afternoon with Fiona yesterday - swimming at the Aquasplash and then playing on the Wii. Why can't the outside of the pool be open at half term, when surely the demand is higher?

Another layout finished at the crop. I had made a journalling block but then mispelt a word so had to start again. Thanks to Liz for the suggestion of a MM journalling block and also for letting me pinch one of hers.

Coincidence

Joanne and I had both pulled the same Pagemaps sketch - mine was for these photos of Saint Maarten and Joanne's were of Jersey live. Same sketch, two completely different layouts.

Marks paper company

My LA friend Ching is on the Design Team for Marks Paper Co and has a giveaway on her blog of some of their new papers. So head to her blog and leave a comment .http://notleftstanding.blogspot.com/

Thank you to everyone who came to the crop today. It was lovely to welcome a new member Emma, who completed two pages of an album for her parents. I completed three layouts including one for my scrap you day calendar. I'm embarassed to say the last month with anything on the calendar is May and even that's not finished. I've taken the photos, but not completed the pages. So I will print out photos next for December and February and do them at the next crop

Wild about you

Crop tomorrow

And more Big Band layouts today. I started this one at the November crop. When I was tidying my room the other day I made a pile of in progress layouts and kits which have been made up ready with photos. So this layout was at the top and only needed a title. The others will be loaded into my crop back for tomorrow.

I borrowed some stamps from Lorraine called "Wild about you". I have made two cards tonight which I'll post tomorrow. E is going to a party tomorrow and the birthday girl is going on safari at Easter and her present is some SA Rands, so these stamps fit in perfectly with the present.

Day 12 of Load

And I'm keeping up. This is another cybercrop layout. My photos are much bigger than those used in the example, but it feels great to use up some old letter stickers and scraps of paper.

Two more layouts

Still keeping up with a layout a day. Matthew was enrolled into the ATC at St Ouen's church on Sunday. They all looked very smart in their uniforms. Ties have to be done with a Windsor knot, eventhough you can't see the tie for the jumper.

I forgot

to post this layout yesterday. I think it will need some adjustment though as the pop dots are too thick for the buttons and the letter stickers don't stick.

And why did I forget, as well as Elizabeth being off school again with a blocked nose, I was playing with my new fancy pants sewing machine. Now if only I could find the little baby quilt I'd made to practise my quilting on. It's here somewhere. I need to ring the shop today (closed mondays) as there are two bits missing that I've spotted.

Off to the gym now as I missed my usual Monday morning workout

ATC

This is a class on Ukscrappers by Taniwha. I got loads of brushes dirty and myself!! Matthew is being sworn into the ATC this afternoon at St Ouen's church. He looks so smart in his uniform. He had his hair cut yesterday as it was getting long over the ears and not regulation length. he's even sewn his own badges on his uniform - 6mm down from the top.

Claire

I'm working through a packet of photos and doing challenges for the My Scrapbook Nook cybercrop where my friend Ching is on the Design Team. I wanted to scrap my only photo of Claire. One of the challenges is to sew a heart which was perfect for the photo. I found the scenic route arrow and went through my tidy stash to find pinks and oranges. Lo and behold a kit came to the surface that Joanne had bought me for my birthday and the fabric paper (called Claire). The only hitch was having no pink E available so I painted it and left it to dry overnight. I stamped the swirls on the letters to make them look more cohesive.

Cybercrop

This is my precrop challenge based on the aqua monochormatic look of the inspiration given. Elizabeth has a sore tummy again today, but fortunately Maria is here this morning until I get back from highlands.

Dilemma

I have had the call with the rescheduled date for the Weakest Link - Thursday, 19 March. I couldn't say yes straight away which is disappointing. I teach on a Friday morning and a 2pm Thursday filming, means flying home on Friday. So I need to consult with my students to see if they are happy to extend the term by a week.

This morning I've done a layout using the first of the Blue Bazaar sketches / challenges. Used a scrap of the black & white paper rather than cutting into a new sheet and more Fastenator bars.

Gran Canaria

Instead of going to quilting today, I stayed in and finished some sewing, pulled this layout together and tidied, dusted and vacuumed in my craft room. I wouldn't say it's tidy, but it's certainly tidier and you can see more of the floor.

The above layout uses some of the Rouge de Garance papers I won a couple of years ago. I split the prize with Joanne as there was two of everything and I still have loads left. The papers are very bold and I find them challenging to use. But when you find the right photos to complement the papers, they don't require much embellishment. I even used some Fastenator bars as they were on the windowsill.

I came across this month long crop Boot Camp bluebazaar.com.au in which the aim is to make 25 layouts, use up stash, try out different techniques and based on themes and sketches given. The sketches are from the pagemaps.com website and I've used several of those used in the Boot Camp before.

Day 3 of Load

Last year I did a Layout a Day with Lain but only did 15 layouts in the month. SO far this is my third. Still loving the threading water punch and the MM journalling spots.

Can't sleep

So here's another layout from photos taken yesterday. No snow here so hoping airport is okay.

Update - staff are having problems getting to Pinewood so I was told not to catch my flight, even though it went on time. So disappointed

Outdoor fun

An old layout which just needed a title and journalling. That's it for today as I need to go and pack!!