ArtyFartyAnnie

The colours in this week's Case File #65 over at CSI are so fun and summery, they make you feel happy just to look at them - check it out (click on the image to enlarge so you can read it) CSI stands for " Color, Stories, Inspiration " and telling your story is probably the most important part. This month's Case Files have had me doing some serious soul-searching and scrapping about myself (which is not something I do very often). Debbi Tehrani (CSI Mastermind) finds a new Scene to investigate each week, and from this image she draws inspiration for the colours, design elements and journaling prompts. To solve the Case, you must use the following Clues all the colours in the Scheme at least two pieces of Evidence at least one item of Testimony You can also download the CSI Coordinates to help you - these are fabulous printable elements, journaling spots and patterned papers which are designer by the talented Michele Singh - and they're all archi...

This month Leonora from Crafty Templates has been encouraging us to have a go at home made chalkboard effects - check out her brilliant ideas on UKScrappers and this layout on the Quirky Kits blog . I was inspired to have a go myself and see what I could come up with and I was so chuffed with the results that I've done a Tiny Tutorial. It's so easy to make these fab little chalkboard accents ... If you fancy having a go, you will need the following items ... scrap black card Versamark watermark pen (or other colourless ink or glue pen) white embossing powder (I used Stampin'Up!) small paintbrush heat gun foam tape or dots strip of recycled packaging  pair of scissors (which didn't make it for the photo shoot) chalk inks (optional) Step One ... ... draw a shape on the black card with your watermark pen - simple images work best and a pen with a broad tip gives a good chalky effect. Step Two ... ... sprinkle embossing powder gener...

My DH is very tolerant of the many hours I spend in my workroom and he's always very supportive. Usually he just leaves me to it - hoovering around me, making "ooohs" and "aaahs" as appropriate and reassuring me when necessary that everything I make isn't rubbish (you know the kind of thing) - but this week he decided to join in and LOOK what he made! He used a rawlplug as the body, craft wire for legs and antennae, a scrap of gauze stiffened with Mod Podge for the wings and tiny dots of black enamel for the eyes - genius! What he doesn't yet know is that this is just the first of many .... :o)

Today I have been having lots of fun with Case File #64 over at CSI . Most scrappers are probably the same as me - we don't scrap about ourselves that much - but this one really got me thinking about my relationship with myself. Here's the Case File (click on the image to enlarge so you can read it!) Wow! Debbi did it again didn't she? CSI stands for Colour, Stories, Inspiration and this definitely has all three covered. The Scene is an inspirational image from which Debbi pulls the Scheme, the Evidence and the Testimony.  There is also a set of CSI Coordinates designed by Michele Singh to help CSI members solve the case - these are printable pp, journaling spots and images and they're brilliant! To solve the Case, you must use All 5 colours in the Scheme At least 2 items of Evidence At least 1 piece of Testimony Here's my solution, with a school photo of me at about seven years old. The Scheme : used all 5 colours (although the photo doesn...

Case File #63 over at CSI was full of beautiful colours and vintage style. Debbi Tehrani came up with an inspirational image yet again, along with some brilliant creative prompts to get us all going - I really don't know how she does it every week! Here's the Case File (click on image to enlarge) There is also another genius set of CSI Coordinates from Michele Singh - these are printable elements and pp which you can download and use to help solve the case and there is a whole library of them which CSI members can access - check them out for yourself, you'll be impressed I promise! Although I love these soft vintage colours and the designer pages in the gallery were amazing, I always struggle to work with them for some reason. I was so NOT happy with my page that I nearly didn't upload it at all, but I'm glad I did because I've made the Watch List - very surprised and well chuffed as you can imagine! Here it is I've used some more of the beautiful ...

wooHOO!!! How chuffed am I?! If you have your copy of Scrapbook Magazine handy, open it to page 16 and you will see what I'm so excited about - I've been bursting with it since before Christmas, when Lindsey Hopkins , the Editor, emailed me to ask if I would be interested in being featured in the magazine - well as you can imagine, I took about two seconds flat to think about it! I had to come up with four pages for the article and the hardest thing was deciding on which photos to scrap - of course they had to include my boys, my Mum, my Dad and my DH. Once I got started I had SO much fun! I mostly used the goodies I won for runner-up SBM Scrapbooker of the Year (see previous post for details). Here are the results ... Sweet Dreams - my little angels! Sunshine of your Smile - my Mum and Auntie Maureen and their tiny 18" waists! Snap Happy - me and my Dad at my wedding summer 2011 my DH - last but definitely not least! I am SO thrilled...

Last Saturday was the second gathering of the King's Head Crafters - another perfect day! Seven like-minded people coming together to trash the meeting room of a lovely local pub ... we scrapped a bit, chatted, scrapped some more, drank coffee, scrapped again, had lunch, scrapped, drank wine, scrapped, tidied up, drank some more wine ... bliss! Here are some pics of everyone (except me of course) Rosie and Trina Julie and Karen Kate and Amanda It didn't stay this tidy for very long! I nearly made two layouts, which is good going for me - I had to finish them off at home This one's for the March challenge over at Scrapology This one's for the March Simple Recipe challenge at UKScrappers Here's to the next time! :o)