ArtyFartyAnnie

Hi there bloggy peeps, There are three new Case Files for April over at CSI - you have until the end of the month to submit your entries and there are loads of prizes to be won. Here's Case File #278 - You can either draw your own inspiration from the Scene, or if you go to the reveal post over at the CSI blog, you'll find lots of clues to help you and you can check out all the DT pages.  Here's how I cracked this case - This page is all about a very happy day at Ally Pally with my friend Trina - here we're taking a break to refuel and showing off some of the goodies we treated ourselves to :o) I followed the traditional clues, because that's what I love to do - Scheme: all the colours are there, plus a couple extras sprinkled in. Evidence: solid cardstock, sunglasses, google eyes, clouds. Testimony: I was going to do a bullet-pointed list, but it all got too busy so I wrote it around the edges of the page instead. It was fun pi...

Hello my friends, The mid-month reveal has just gone up over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration - check it out for all the details and loads of inspiration. There are three Case Files to solve each month and you have until Sunday 31st of March to submit your entries and be in with a chance of winning one of the fab prizes. Here is Case File #276, full of colour and fun elements ... You can either pull your own inspiration from the Scene, or you can scroll to the bottom of the reveal post to find all the traditional clues. Keep an eye on the FaceBook page  for daily ideas and inspiration. Here's how I solved this case, using the traditional clues because that's what I enjoy doing ... Scheme : most of the colours are there, but I substituted black for the navy and threw in some pink. Evidence : hearts, clouds, sun, string, die cuts. Testimony : inspiration words spirit, fashionable, adorable - my brief journalling is handwritten around the edge of t...

HI everyone, The March Case Files have been released over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration . There are three altogether, you can do any or all of them, and you have a whole month to submit your entries via the CSI Facebook group to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes on offer. Here's Case File #275 - You can choose to draw your own inspiration from the Scene, or you can follow the clues which Debbi has found to inspire us. Scroll to the bottom of the reveal post on the CSI blog to see all the DT pages and find all the clues, or go to the Facebook group, where you'll find an individual album for each Case File - this is where you'll find all the clues and it's also the place to share your finished page. Here's how I solved Case File #275 - The handpainted style and zingy colours in the Scene really appealed to me and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to scrap a funny story. I tried to capture the feel of a ...

Hello Bloggy Friends, You know how it is when you're looking forward to something for SO long and then it whizzes by and in the blink of an eye it's all over? That happened to me last weekend when my good friend Trina and I went off on a GoGoGetaway - two whole days of scrapbooking classes just flashed past. As always, we came home with loads of goodies and kit leftovers and mine are still unpacked - here they are sitting on my workdesk ... We got to take the handy carry case home with all our kit leftovers and UFOs inside, as well as the very very cute bamboo reusable coffee cup which I love, and some chocolates for doing the feedback form. I was also very lucky to win the challenge - the prize was a pack of Lawn Fawn goodies which are spread over the top of the storage case in the photo. The challenge was to make a page inspired by a sketch - I made mine a week ahead but forgot to bring it with me, so had to ask DH to take a photo and send it to me so that I coul...

HI everyone, The February Case Files have been released over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration - you can find all the details and check out pages made by the CSI detectives and guest designers over at the CSI blog, plus daily inspiration and ideas on the CSI Facebook page. There are LOADS of fab prizes to be won, three different Case Files to choose from and you have until the end of the month, so why not give it go? You can now enter by sharing your pages on the CSI Facebook group so it's easy for everyone to join in. Here's Case File #272 ... You can either draw your own inspiration from the image, or you can follow the traditional clues which you can find if you scroll to the bottom of the February Case Files blog post. I always enjoy following the clues so that's how I solved this case ... I love this happy photo of me and my mate Maggie taken in Cornwall in around 2007. We were gin connoisseurs long before it became fashionable as it is today...

Hello Bloggy Friends, CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration is turning 7 years old this month and there are some exciting changes afoot - read all about it on the CSI blog , where you'll also find all the CSI Detectives pages to inspire you. The CSI Scrapbook Challenge FB page will now be the place where you can find all the clues you need to solve each Case File and where you can post your pages to be in with a chance of winning one of the fab prizes on offer each month. Here's the first Case File for January - If, like me, you like to follow the traditional clues, you'll find them in the first comment in the album for this Case File  on the FB page. If not, just pull your own inspiration from the Scene above.  Here's how I solved this case - This is my little step-granddaughter Macy, just after losing her first baby tooth.  I used LOADS of the traditional clues for this one - Evidence : polka dots, floral pattern, chevron, stripes, banner...

Hello Bloggy Friends, It's time to reveal the latest Case File #267 over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration and you have until the end of the month to have a go at cracking this case yourself to be in with a chance to win one of the smashing prizes on offer. Hop over to the CSI blog post to find all the clues you need to solve this case and be inspired by all the other CSI Detectives' pages. There is a definite festive feel to this month's Case Files, but I chose to go in a different direction with this one and scrap a picture of Yours Truly and my good friend Trina on one of our crafting jollies this year ... It looks a bit flat in this photo, but in fact this page is quite three-dimensional, with the outer frame raised off the page and embellishments tucked in and around all the layers. The background of the photo was very busy, with an area of very lurid green and some people I don't know, so I cut us out and backed us with a softer green which...

Hi there, There has been so much going on and not much time to blog about it, but here's a page I made for the November GoGo Getaway challenge. This month, Madie created a colour board to inspire us ... The colours reminded me of one of those bright, crisp, sunshiney autumn/winter days. I pulled out lots of scraps of patterned paper, cut them into triangles and created a chevron pattern with them. I saw this idea on Paige Evans' YouTube channel - it was a very relaxing process, used up scraps, and I loved the quilt effect, so it was win-win-win! The patchworked piece was mounted onto black cardstock, then on to a drippy splatty background I created using coordinating inks. The photo shows my husband and my son and was taken during a happy family gathering around this time last year - at the same time as the one in my previous post, so I think they will look good together in my album.  Thanks for checking out my blog today, hopefully things will calm do...

Hello everyone, It's a lovely sunshiney autumnal day again here in my part of the UK, hope you're having a lovely day wherever you are in the world :o) There hasn't been much spare time or energy for blogging around here just lately, but I do have a new challenge to share with you - Case File #266 from CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration . It's full of fun elements and gorgeous colour, perfect for this time of year ... If you scroll to the bottom of the CSI reveal, you'll find all the clues you need to solve this Case - or you can just pull your own inspiration from this colourful Scene. I really enjoy following the Clues, so that's how I cracked this Case. I thought this would be the ideal opportunity to scrap a picture from around this time last year, showing my Uncle Ian and his wife Sally in their beautiful cosy cottage. I always love spending time with them and we can always be sure of a warm welcome. In the summer, we sit in the garden enjoying ...

Hello lovely peeps, I haven't been able to blog so much recently, but today I have a new CSI Case File to show you. This month over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration , we're celebrating Home Sweet Home, which is perfect now that the chilly weather is finally beginning to bite here in the UK. I love the colours in the Scene which Debbi has found for us to investigate this time ... Nip over to the CSI blog to check out the full reveal and find all the clues you need to solve this case, or draw your own inspiration from the image to create a scrapbook page. You have until the end of the month to link up and be in with a chance to win one of the brilliant prizes on offer.  Here's how I cracked the case ... It was really tricky to get a good photo as the light was really dull when I finished making this page, but hopefully you will get the gist!! This photo shows my great-niece Leila, who has such a sweet nature and always a smile on her face. As al...

Hello Arty-Farty friends in Blogland, It's time to reveal the latest Case File #264 which came out yesterday over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration . I LOVE the unusual inspiration image which the lovely Debbi Tehrani has found for us to investigate ... As you can see, Debbi has pulled a gorgeous colour palette from the Scene - you can choose to use any or all of the colours as you wish.  If you hop over to CSI and check out the full Case File, you'll find clues which you can follow if you wish, or if you prefer, you can take your own ideas from the Scene. I really enjoy following the clues, so that's what I did. Here's how I cracked this Case ... This page shows my good friend Trina and Yours Truly, all excited as we've just arrived for last year's Go Go Getaway scrapbook retreat. We're off on another one in a couple of weeks, so it was fun to scrap this now. Scheme : All the colours are there, plus some black and dark grey.  Ev...

Hello me again, This month over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration we are very excited to be collaborating with Page Maps . I always enjoy working with Becky's brilliant sketches and really loved the sketch which I was allocated ... If you have read my previous blog post, you'll already know that somehow I managed to completely miss the point and made two separate pages - one for the CSI Case File and another for Page Maps. I was so chuffed that I had got both done ready for the October 1st reveal, and the penny didn't drop until I saw the pages being uploaded by other DT members and noticed that they had combined the two challenges ... which is, of course the WHOLE POINT!! How could I have missed that?! :o) Here's the page I made using this fab sketch ... This layout is all about how much fun we had spotting all the beautiful owls on a recent stay in Bath with some of my BFFs. The three smaller pics are little accordion books which open up to show lot...

Hello there, The first Case File for October has just been released over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration and as you can see, we are celebrating Autumn with this beautiful inspiration image ... Check out the post over at the CSI Blog for the full Case File with all the clues you need to solve this Case. Here's how I cracked it ... A few weeks ago I stayed in the beautiful Bath for a few days with some very good friends of mine. One of the many things we enjoyed was finding all the wonderful Owls which were dotted all over the city.  You don't have to follow all the clues to enter this challenge - you can choose to draw your own inspiration from the image, or just pick whichever of the clues appeal to you - but I always love to follow the clues, so here's what I did ... Scheme: the colours are all there. Evidence: woodgrain paper, flowers/leaves, twine, frames, text print, wood veneer, grid design, distressing. Testimony: my journalling is in ...

Hello Scrappy Friends, There's a new Case File #262 over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration and you have until the end of September to solve it and be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes on offer. Here's a quick look at the Case File ... For full details and loads of inspiration, check out this post on the CSI Blog . You can choose to follow all the clues, or just pull your own inspiration from the Scene. Here's a closer look ... Personally, I really enjoy following the clues, so that's what I did. Here's how I cracked the Case ... Scheme : all the colours are included, and I threw in a splash of the aqua blue. Evidence : stripes, dots, insects, swirls, Perfect Pearl drops, hearts, flowers, leaves, layered/dimensional stickers, bow, buttons. Testimony : I wrote my journaling in cursive around the edge of the page.  It's all about how much I love pictures like this one of my little Step Granddaughter Macy - t...

Hello my crafty friends, The challenge for August over at GoGoGetaway was to use washi on a scrapbook page. I decided to make a page about one of my step-grandsons, Bailey, using up lots of scraps of older papers and throwing in some glittery denim blue washi to add a bit of non-girly twinkle ... The design was inspired by the top photo, where Bailey is peeking through a round window - I just echoed the circle-inside-a-square theme throughout the grid, layering up squares of paper scraps with die cut circles and frames and then adding lots of word stickers to finish it off. By sticking the washi onto card stock, I was able to run it through my diecutting machine. I also added tape around the edge to frame the page. There will be a new challenge at GoGo on the 1st of the month - pop over to their blog or FB page to check it out and find loads of inspiration. Thanks for popping in today, see you again soon! Love Annie xxx

Hi there, There's a new Case File just opened over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration and we have another beautiful Scene to investigate ... Pop over to the CSI blog post and scroll to the bottom to find a full list of clues to follow, or just pull your own ideas from the inspiration image. Check out all the different amazing pages by the rest of the CSI Detectives and Guest Detectives for lots of ideas to get you going. I always enjoy following the clues which Debbi has pulled from the Scene, so that's what I did. Here's how it worked out ... The Scheme: all the colours are there. The Evidence: gold, glitter, twine, floral pattern, people embellishment (hand-cut paper dolls). The Testimony: my journaling is written all around the edge of the page and tells the story of a family day out during a recent holiday to Cornwall. Why not have a go at cracking this case yourself and be in with a chance of winning one of the fab prizes? Check out the ...

Hello! There is a new Case File over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration - it's bright, colourful and perfect for your summer holiday snaps ... I was inspired to create a fun page with a cartoon feel to it, documenting a day out with my family back in May this year. This was our first day in Cornwall for a couple of years and we had all gathered in the park close to where we used to live to have a picnic lunch. The photo is printed in black and white, so that I could add colour with Distress Inks to match the colour scheme for this Case File ... The rules have changed over at CSI this year - you can choose which clues you want to use, or just draw your own inspiration from the Scene. However, I love the traditional clues, so I went Old School again.  Scheme: colours are all there except I left the brighter blue out. Evidence: text pattern, speech bubbles and brush/hand drawn fonts. Testimony: I documented a trip and I put some of my journaling in speec...

Hello! I've just posted my layout for this month's challenge on the GoGoGetaway FB page - talk about just in the nick of time! The challenge was to use paper-piecing, which is something I love to do and a great way to use lots of pretty paper scraps. Here's my page ... I decided to make a pie chart representing everything I love about a scrapbooking weekend - it's not ALL about the actual scrapbooking of course :o) The photograph was taken on the GoGoGetaway weekend in April 2017 and shows from L-R Yours Truly with Trina, Karen and Emma. One of the best things about these retreats is spending time with old friends and making new ones - this was the first time we'd met Karen and Emma, but we became firm friends very quickly and met up several times since then. If you look closely, you can see that I've added lots of stitched details to the floral paper, as well as stitching around all the pieces. This was a technique we learned at the last GoGo event ...

Hello!! The mid-month Case File is open over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration ... I love this illustration with all those hand painted summery elements, and the colour scheme lends itself very well to nautical/beach themed pages or perhaps layouts about your 4th July or Royal Wedding memories.  To crack this case, you can either draw your own ideas from the inspiration image, or pop over to the CSI blog to see the full Case File, with all the clues you need to follow and lots of beautiful pages made by other CSI Detectives.  Here's how I solved the Case ... This is a picture of Yours Truly, taken by my then Fiance on a day trip to Wells-Next-the-Sea in 2011. I went old-fashioned (as usual) and followed the traditional clues - Scheme : All colours are there. Evidence : Nautical element (boat), animal (red octopus), wet medium (paint splatters), something grainy (glittered word). Testimony : my journaling is handwritten along the torn edge...

Hi Everyone, The latest Case File #257 went live yesterday over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration ... I love the combination of pastels, zingy yellow and black/white patterns and there are lots of fun details to pull out of this inspiration image to create a scrapbook page. Hop over to the CSI blog to find all the clues you need and see how the CSI Detectives and Guest Designers cracked this case.  Here's how I did it ... The photo shows my gorgeous niece, Alice, who is ten going on fifteen, very beautiful and growing up so fast, but still a little girl who loves to play. I was so lucky to capture this brief moment during our holiday in Cornwall a few weeks ago.  I used all the colours in the Scheme, from the Evidence I chose several items (leaves, glasses, black/white pattern, stripes) I also pulled out some tiny poms and instead of tiny brads I used enamel dots - I loved the contrast in texture between the fuzzy pompoms and the shiny dots. My jour...