WOYWW 108

Another week gone in a haze...and another desk. Just one of the many on Julia's blog. This time, my poor mum has given up her computer desk so that i have a proper chair to sit on and more than a postage stamp to work on, lol!

OK so there is not much on it, apart from a WIP but there is more stash this week than I've had the last couple of months to play with. That pleases me.....I'm sure you all understand why....

Got a couple of cards done this week and a layout. Trying to get all my birthday cards made in advance so that I have a stash ready for what ever happens in the next few months. It is so nice to have finally finished snagging and handed the house keys over to the letting agent. Now I dont have any guilt hanging over me stopping me playing with my stash.

I am ahead of the game in organising myself for the crop on saturday....so i will report back and let you know if i am any more productive or whether I will just chat and procrastinate anyway - Ha!

100 posts!

Wow, I can hardly believe that i actually reached double figures, now I am writing my 100th post!

Todays thought: Do you cut or not?

Reading some of the blogs of my craft buddies, it would appear that unlike me they have no hesitation about cutting into a full 12x12 sheet of patterned paper. And you know what....their pages are all the better for it.

I on the other hand struggle with making that first snip. Ofcourse, once the courage is plucked all bets are off and it doesnt matter if i need a small piece or a bigger section, a circle or a star shape...anything is allowed because it is already cut into.

So how do you go about galvanising for that first snip?

Do you work out the price of the sheet? Does it depreciate with age or does that make it more precious?
Do you balance compromising the full sheet with buying another newer one?

What works for you?

up for a challenge

I am not well known for being organised when it comes to crafting, but reading Julia's post her comment about crops and how her friend has a productive session due to her pre-crop preparation, I figured why not give it a try. Normally I am well impressed if i come away from a crop with a whole page finished. I'm ecstatic if i get a start on a second page!

So next Saturday is Kaledia-krop and I have set myself the challenge of:

1. preparing photos (shouldnt be too difficult as i just had 150 printed off last week)
2. preparing papers (a tad more difficult, I'm a nightmare at matching papers to photos)
3. preparing embellishments (think i might just take my entire stash, which isnt a lot in UK)

Basically, i will try to be as organised as i can be and see how many pages i can produce at the crop. I'll let you know how I get on.

WOYWW 107

I've been MIA for a few weeks, but hopefully back on track now. I did still have a bit of a snoop at all things crafty on Julia's lovely blog to keep my hand in.

This week i have been making a couple of cards and a couple of layouts, but as you can see my stash is limited as is my useable work area.

Oh for my desk in Turkey. I think that is why  i'm not crafting so much. I have a little camping stool to go with the little sidetable, which is not very comfy at 33 weeks preggers, but it is better than kneeling (I'm finding it harder to get up now, lol).

So not much going on other than some stamping and I am still trying to get to grips with my promarkers.

is it cheating?

Do you use premade scrapbook pages?

I bought a few packs from TKMaxx when i came home in April to build up my stash of scrapbooking papers. Whilst choosing i found a couple of packs which were premade and all you had to do was add photos. I bought 3 different packs: 2 summery and 1 easter themed.

My mum loves getting new pages for her albums, and i had gone through a bit of a dry spell so i thought that this would be an easy way of starting again.

I guess it also means that there is at least some variety in the look, as my latter pages all have that same formula look to them.

But, my question is ... is it cheating???

how do all my pages end up looking the same?

Another week passes by in a blur, but Monday seems to be my day to catch up on all things crafty. Probably because i have the house to myself so i feel that i can lounge about and do what i want. 

On UKS this week the blog bits talk about 'clean and simple'.  I do like this style but i have noticed that over the last few months my layouts all sort of look the same, probably because this is the style I default to when inspiration deserts me.

In an attempt to vary my layouts I thought i would have a look at Shimelle's sketch of the week but as i have just printed off 150 photos, none of which are bigger than 4x6, the sketch didnt work for me this time. Not to be defeated though, i read down to her post about her early years album where she takes you through one of her albums which documents her childhood. What I found interesting was that not only were there pages made recently but there were pages from her earlier scrapbooking years. I didnt find the same layout/style/look in any of the pages that she displayed.

I think one of my problems is that i pick up a lovely patterned paper and feel the need to use it as the whole sheet. This ofcourse limits the position and sometimes the number of photos you can use. As i looked back through Shimelle's layouts she seemed to have used plain backgrounds, then blocks of the patterned paper as accents or highlights. Think i might try this approach, and ofcourse use some of her previous sketches as a starting point.

time for a catch up

I can't believe it has been so long since i blogged.

Well, the last couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur...Kerem left for home again last week as Mum returned from her Canadian holiday, there was work and babysitting and trying to clean the house....but now it is back to reality. I am enjoying working part time at Simone's salon. I have even got my head around some of the beauty treatments and products. Although getting used to being back at work has been tiring to say the least. I suppose it might have something to do with starting work in my 3rd trimester!

The scan last week went well. I cant believe that i am 32 weeks now! Kerem and I were in the new Larbert hospital for this scan and on our way out we bumped into one of my cousins. I think the last time we saw each other was at my Dad's funeral....9 years ago. It was nice to get back in touch, and I went round to visit at the weekend and met her kids, who are very grown up now from what i remember.

When we were out at the shops her youngest asked if i was staying for dinner, I said that i wasn't and that i would head home after the shops. Ofcourse, that was a little chat just between the 2 of us. So, when we all got back to the house and she turned to ask if i was going home now I think my cousin almost feinted....aghast that her daughter could be so rude! I thought it was hilarious, but then i was privvy to the first part of the conversation - which i hastily repeated so the wee one wouldnt get into trouble. Lets face it, it was an honest question on her part anyway. I wouldnt have been offended with or without the first part of the conversation.

It is so refreshing to see children's curiosity and honesty.

I am planning on doing a wee bit more babysitting of my youngest nephew this week hopefully, and hoping for more photos. I am hoping to get some crafting done this week, especially because I have a few birthdays coming up and ofcourse the photos need scrapping. Although I checked the local Morrisons, and it is going to be 20p per print. Anyone know of cheaper options?