Cathy's Crafting

I have started a new blog, about a specific project I'm working on here. I will probably be posting a fair bit about my scrapbooking and crafty stuff there, so please head over and take a look...

Have finally got organised enough to order a mega set of photos from Tescos and yay can scrap again! Colour cartridge ran out on our printer a couple of weeks ago and the new ones are SO expensive, will have to keep my eye out on ebay for a new one as there's no way we can afford the price of the retail ones at the moment. :(

Anyway here is the first of my new crop of LOs! Based on a sketch from here I used an old scrapagogo kit but I think the die cut paper is MM Paperie. A very cute LO I think and I will use the sketches from The Scrappiest again.

A little bundle arrived from ebay today with this in! Love the fonts on this design card and will be getting my slice out soon to have a play - it's my birthday soon and am also hoping to get a vintage findings card from Jon...

I've been very good this year, trying to use up my old stash and have only bought a few punches and a few bits at the Runways End crop. The only paper I've bought is a Bo Bunny Roughin It collection - we're off camping for our holidays this year and I'm saving that PP for scrapping those trips in 6x6 albums (at least I think, unless I see another size I'd like to try...).

However since I first saw it I've really loved the Crate paper brook collection and this morning I finally succumbed and treated myself to the papers, stickers and chipboard pieces, and somehow this lovely collection (also a bargain) made it's way into my basket too! Can't wait to get working with those...

Am off camping for the rest of the week so no crafting for me, but hopefully a lovely relaxing time with family and friends...

I spent a happy day yesterday at Cove crop - only did 2 LOs and a card but very happy with them both. First this one made with the remnants of an old scrapagogo kit:


It was a scraplift but unfortunately I have deleted the blog post where the original was - if I can find it again will edit to say where it came from... I love the flowers on this...

This was my second:


which I made using a sketch from here. It's the first time I've sewed on a LO for ages but I am pleased with how it's turned out.

Am also cross stitching a present and crocheting a scarf at the moment so it was nice to fit some scrapping in!

...because we've been busy decorating. This is what my bedroom looked like before we moved in:




This was half way through decorating - Jon took out the fireplace himself and blocked up the hole and did a FAB job (there was still some of that hideous wallpaper lingering though!):




And now we are very nearly finished - just got the door to paint and carpets to lay...



And just to prove that I do still scrap (sometimes) here is a LO based on the 1st May sketch from the Stuck sketches blog:

I really love scrapbooking but one of my aims this year was to try some other crafts and to branch out a bit. At this year's stitch and craft show my Mum and I had a go at making jewellery for the first time, so tonight I put my scrapbooking stash away and got out this:


All the beads and the wire came from the workshop and the tools are recent acquistions! (and very good value too!). We had made a bracelet in the workshop so tonight I had a go at recreating it and making the matching earrings. These were the finished pieces and I was extremely pleased with them:


The instructions for them are here and I will definitely be having a go at a few more jewellery projects in the near future.

So this started off from the April 1st stuck sketch but has ended up being completely different to the original! I have seen lots of LOs recently with horizontal stripes of PP across the page and was inspired to try something similiar. The PPs are all Bella Boulevard Plasticino and the alphas are thickers. I'm not wild about this LO, it makes the photo look really dark when it was taken on a really sunny day and i think I should have cropped some of the sand off from the bottom of the photo, but we live and learn!

This challenge was to use a sketch and outside photos - easy except my printer decided to run out of ink :( so I had to abandon the photo I was going to use and find something that I already had in my waiting to be scrapped pile. I think this will probably be my last effort towards the UKS cybercrop as it my Grandma's 80th birthday today and that really has to take precedence! Am going to have a go at The Strand class at some point as I really like the sketch that it uses.

What a fab class! Have hand cut the frame and am v happy with this LO - the only annoying thing was my white pen deciding to dry up :( so will go back later and finish the frames. The PPs are from October Afternoon and Scenic Route, alphas are BG and ribbon from stash. Doesn't Owen look fab in this photo? - he LOVES ice cream!

Loved this class and will definitely be painting over alphas again - a great way to use up spares!


The bow just didn't work with the ribbons I've got so I left it off. The PPs are scenic route and BG, and the stickers are from Scenic Route Sonama. Rub on is daisy bucket. Very happy with this LO!

Someone has asked me about my last post and how I have got more organised, so here are some details:

1. I have used google reader to organise my blogs so now new posts automatically appear and I only have one site to check - this has probably been my biggest time saver of all and though it takes a bit of time to set up, it's definitely worth it.

2. I am using principles from flylady.com to organise my housework. I have a different set up to lots of people in that I work full time and my husband stays at home with the kids - he's FABULOUS at looking after the children but doesn't seem to have time to do much house work?? We now have a morning list of jobs (washing up, hanging washing out, checking calendar, getting food out the freezer); an evening list of jobs (tidying washing away, putting a load on, feeding hamster, washing up, emptying bin) and a weekly cleaning plan (i.e. one day to change bed linens, give bathroom/kitchen a proper clean, hoovering twice a week). Having this written down has been really helpful and freed up a lot of weekend time.

3. I buy cards and presents monthly for all birthdays that month on the day I am paid. This means we don't have last minute crisis and satisfies my urge to spend money!

4. We are keeping a much closer eye on our budget and where we spend money - there is definitely more work to do in this area though.

5. I have done some archiving and filing and now have the room to put paperwork away as soon as it arrives :)

All this means despite 2 meals out this weekend I will hopefully have some time to join in the UKS cybercrop, I am a thimble :)

So another challenge for Shimelle's scrapbook party is to share your 5 favourite LOs - I have about 20, as much because I like the photos for sentimental reasons, as well as liking the LO for anything in particular.... but have chosen my top 5 (for today at least!). Am cheating a bit with my first one as it's double sided acetate... but that counts as one LO doesn't it? ;)



My next is a generally cutie one of DS2 - love the colour combos in this LO:


And this one is of DS1 - this was from a sketch (maybe Pagemaps?):


The next one is partially sentimental, but I also like it as it's the first LO where I used my MM slice:


And my final one I have chosen as I love the photo, but I think the design and colours of the LO also capture DS2's character really really well:


Let me know if you like them too!

Sorry been rubbish at blogging recently - however life is starting to get a bit more organised and the bathroom is very nearly finished, so am going to try and aim to blog once a week - I have been doing plenty of crafting so there's lots to post - it's just finding the time to do it...

Anyway this weekend Shimelle is having a scrapbook party on her blog and I felt inspired to turn the google box off last night and do some scrapping instead.

This is for the 'use your own handwriting' challenge:


And this LO (which I love) is for a sketch challenge - I have had this photo in my 'needs to be scrapped' pile for ages and was very pleased with how it turned out:


Hopefully there will be a bit more later!!

Well, I've had a busy few days. Have done quite a bit of scrapbooking - all LOs for my Christmas Journal:






It's nearly, nearly finished now - I just need to scrapbook photos from our day out on Christmas Eve and photos from Christmas Day itself.

I've also been busy with these:


It was my cake sale for Haiti yesterday at work - loads of people baked and even more came and ate - we sold out in 30 minutes and raised £450 - far more than expected and I was overwhelmed and delighted!

Finally last night we went see Avatar - the special effects were amazing (we saw it in 3D) but it wasn't really my sort of film so I was a bit disappointed. Jon loved it though.

Jon's off at rugby today and I've got the monsters. We're off to B&Q soon to buy a shower :S and are then going to a fab park in Farnborough - I need to tire them out so they go to bed nicely tonight and I can finish my christmas album...

Almost forgot - here's a blog to be going on with, it's one of my favourites so hope you like it too!

Skipped last night due to a small boy who wouldn't go to bed and popping out for an extra concert rehearsal with the band we're singing with on 21st February. I really should have been at a choir practice tonight but instead I have been baking cakes for the cake sale I am organising at work in aid of the DEC Haiti Earthquake appeal - I decided to do something after reading a post on soulemama here. This evening I've made fairy cakes, a lemon syrup loaf cake and coca-cola cakes all from Nigella Lawson's Domestic Goddess book - very enjoyable and I may bake some more tomorrow night. Surprisingly have NOT been having little tasters for the chef as I go along, lost 2lbs last week and would like to do the same this well so being v disciplined.

Have also done a couple of LOs for the Christmas journal today as well but the camera's batteries have inconveniently given up the ghost so will share asap. Am pleased with them anyway and did them in a speedy fashion rather than my usual lingering quite non-productive way and they look just as good as the normal ones! (maybe there's a lesson there!)

Here's a blog for you to enjoy!

Sorry late post (again) but with good(ish) reasons. On Saturday I was singing and dancing my heart out to the Rocky Horror Picture show at Southampton Mayflower Theatre. We had all dressed up (photo later, sorry can't upload at work!) and were very glad we had as we were in the second row from the front and everyone around us was wearing amazing costumes. The people in normal clothes looked quite odd! Everyone joined in and danced along to the Timewarp and there was an amazing atomsphere. If you get the opportunity to go along to the UK tour, DEFINITELY GO, you'll have a great time!

After all the excitement on Saturday (including a curry after the show and several wobbly pops!) I was rather jaded yesterday :S - spent the morning recovering and the afternoon at the garden centre drinking tea and buying a new addition to the family - Princess Holly the Hamster - who is extremely cute and rather shy at the moment. I was going to craft in the evening but instead curled up on the sofa with hubbie to watch gladiator and went to bed early.

Here's a blog to be going on with...

This is my last CJ entry for the Glorious GoGo CJ which I have been taking part in for the last 9 months or so. The theme for this one was 'Me, Myself and I':


I am looking forward to getting my CJ on 'Words to inspire me' back soon and will share some of the pages when it arrives. I have now cancelled my scrapagogo kit - I do really like them but have been getting them for about 18 months now and decided that I would prefer the money for other things. I can't really justify spending extra money when I've already spent £25 on a kit each month, and it'll be nice to have the freedom to spend at a few other shops/kit clubs. I have also built up a really nice lot of stash that I want to start working my way through.

Here's today's blog.

I was too busy to post last night as I was actually crafting and made this:


The theme is from a blog post I did a few days ago about me (which I said at the time would make a good LO) and its also my entry for the Sarahs Cards January Sketch challenge here. The PPs are Basic Grey Nook and Pantry and Abbey Road from MME. The ribbon is I think from making memories and the bling thing is from Prima. Journalling cards were in the Jan 2010 scrapagogo kit.

Really like how this LO has turned out and there is some hidden journalling on the back about what's good and not so good about life at the moment which I think will be interesting to look back on in a few years time.

Am hoping to do some more LOs for my christmas journal later today, but Jon is on about getting on with decorating our bedroom so my creativity for today may involve a paint pot and roller!

Here's yesterday's blog...

It's snowing AGAIN here today, and though it's not settling so far, it put paid to my lunch plans. Instead I had a look at the CHA sneaks that are about - in truth there was not that much that I was desperate to have (which is probably a good thing as with the new house there is less money for lovely bits of paper - ho hum). These were my top 3 sneaks...

Bo Bunny's Roughing It - we already have 2 camping trips planned this year, which will be our main holidays and I can see a lovely mini book being made with these papers

Crate Paper's Brook collection - I always like Crate Paper collections and love the colours on this one

Studio Calico's Anthology papers and Other bits

Am out singing tonight and as we are gearing up for a concert I expect I'll be back late so this is my earlyish post for today. Here's today's blog...

Today I have been doing lots of resizing and printing:


These are all the photos I am going to use to finish off my Christmas journal for 2009 - there's actually a lot more than I thought and it was good fun choosing which ones to print - might even get some LOs done this week!

Have spent the rest of this evening reading a few prompts from the 'Blogging for Scrapbookers' class - this was an online class during November but I was just too busy to follow the prompts at the time so am starting today. I am getting used to blogging daily but definitely think I could blog a bit more about my day and what I've been up to. So, this is me


I am 34 and live in Aldershot in Hampshire. I am married to Jon and have 2 little boys, Charlie and Owen. I work full time at an awarding body and am constantly rushing around everywhere trying to fit everything in. I love scrapbooking, reading, cooking, singing, the theatre and playing with the boys. My new years resolutions were to blog more, to lose some weight and to try some new crafts, all of which I'm keeping so far. (am now thinking this would make a good LO!)

Here's today's blog

Today I have been thinking about getting together my January stuff for the 2010 documented project on UKScrappers here. So far I am going to include: a snow picture (we've had more this January than we've had for years); a bus ticket (as I couldn't drive in the snow); my badge from an exhibition I went to last week; a photo of me; and something about how much weight I lose this month - I have started at Slimming World and lost 6 1/2 pounds so far and I think it would be good to keep a monthly record of my weight going down. This Saturday I am going to see the Rocky Horror Show at Southampton and dressing up so should have some good photos from that too.

Here's today's blog...

Bought some more stuff today for my new bedroom - this and this (which will go horizontally above the bed) and some cute ivory chenille cushions that have a silver thread running through them - now we just need to finish the decorating! Jon has now finished the fireplace and just needs to skim over the top and then we can get on with sanding and painting the rest of the walls and the woodwork.

We spent the rest of the day walking at Alice Holt and then cooking and eating Roast Lamb - yum! Here's today's blog...

Here's the first Christmas present I've made for next year :D - one of the scarfs from the kits I showed you yesterday. The kit's actually twice as long but as I'm making these scarfs for little girls I think the length I've done will be plenty (and I can make the extra wool into another scarf). It was great fun to make and very easy once I got the hang of it.

Jon has been busy taking out the fireplace out of our bedroom and bricking up the hole that was left. He's hoping to do the plastering tomorrow and then we can get on with the painting - it's going to look fab. I spent the day with the monsters doing a few jobs in town and playing all afternoon - good times :D

Here's today's blog...

I had a lovely package waiting for me today and inside was one each of these scarfs - the start of my efforts to handmake some Christmas presents this year - I have started the pink scarf this evening and it's coming together nicely. Jon is off out with the rugby guys tomorrow so am hoping to finish it while watching an evening of trash TV!

Have spent the rest of the evening trying to decide how to decorate our bedroom. We think we are going to go for an olive feature wall, ivory for the rest of the room and Chocolate curtains with this bed linen. Has taken hours to find the bed linen and most I looked at were a lot more expensive.

Here's today's blog. Happy weekend!

Hurrah! Have finally done some scrapping! After sorting out my creative to do list the other day I decided it was time to make a start on it so have done 2 6x6 LOs for my Journal Your Christmas album, which had previously been abandoned around the 7th December :( . First LO is to explain what happened and what the rest of the album will be (all LOs to record Christmas 2009 but not in any sort of order, diary or journal) and the second is about Charlie and Owen's christmas PJs this year. Am so happy to have finally done a bit of scrapping and am planning to print off some more little snaps from this Christmas over the next few days and to get the album completed.

Spending the rest of the evening doing some salsacise, drinking some wine and writing labels for all the photos that are now in their albums. Here's today's blog.

We woke up this morning to MORE SNOW! Husband had already gone to work (someone skidded into him on the way there ggggrrr...) so when school was cancelled I had to take a day's leave to look after Charlie - we had a lovely day, playing in the snow, baking muffins and watching some films - very good fun. Anyway my creative activities today have been putting all the photos I sorted yesterday into albums and I am going singing this evening with my fab choir, the Park Angels. I thought it would be cancelled bcause of the snow so I am very pleased it's going ahead :D

Here's today's blog

...that I need to get my album photos printed off. I've spent this evening sorting out 300+ photos from the last year and half into date order so they're ready to go into our albums - it would have been much easier to do 6 months worth 3 times - am going to write this on to my calendar so I don't forget - well maybe...

Am using the rest of the evening to finish this book. It's been an OK read, not sure I'd be keeping it if I had bought it, luckily it's from the library.

Here's today's blog from my list...

Back at work today and back to normality, despite lots of snow still hanging around. Hopefully it'll be gone by the end of the week as I've had enough now and am ready for spring to start!

Spent my lunch hour going through my (probably far too long) list of blogs I have on my favourites list and having a bit of a cull - tried to keep those which are relatively up to date and mainly about craft/scrapping, rather than visits to the vet, people's holidays and other non crafty stuff. Still have far too many to keep up to date with but I do like looking at them for inspiration and ideas. Thought it might be fun to post one of these per day so here is today's.

After spending some time last night stroking some paper and not really doing anything I thought it would be useful to get together a list of aims for this year - not sure what I'll get done but it might help me get more focussed.

- Start Shimelle's Blogging for Scrapbookers class - this just didn't happen last year as I was too busy moving house
- Finish Everyone Has A Story - another Shimelle class, I started this one in Gosport in November 2008 and did lots of LOs for it last year, I then got a bit behind and the class format changed so I need to print off the new PDFs shimelle has emailed and get on with this again
- Do some Christmas LOs - JYC got dropped in a mad December, but we did take some nice photos and I did have a nice album made so this is probably my top priority to do, so I can put the Christmas stash box away for another 9 months.
- Am liking the look of Documented:2010 here - have my envelope already.
- Birthday LOs - I started in a minor way folders to keep LOs in for the boys birthdays - I have 4 to do for Charlie and 2 to do for Owen and a 5th birthday fast approaching in April so it would be good to do these by then.
- Other crafty stuff - have ordered some knitting/crochet your own scarf kits which are the start of my effort to give people home made stuff for Christmas next year.

Forgot to add my mum's been getting creative and has made this in her garden in Reading:


How fab is he!!

Lots of creativity going on here this weekend, mainly to keep the boys amused as they have realised that snow is rather wet and extremely cold...

- Making gift tags Each year after Christmas we choose some of our cards to recycle into gift tags. The bast cards have one image on the front of the card (eg a robin or santa) with nothing on the back of it. I cut out the image in a circle/oval using pinking shears and then use them as gift tags next year. This year I have also stamped an image on to the plain background which I will write over when I write the gift tag. I used a stamp of a snowman juggling snowballs with gold ink, but a tree or bauble stamp would work just as well.

- Thank you cards I try to do something different for the boys thank you cards each year. This year the boys did potato prints of stars, moons and rockets on to some blank cards I had in my stash. I have then written the thank you notes in side them and they are in the process of signing them, 2-3 at a time. Hopefully we'll get them all done by the end of the day for posting tomorrow.

- Baking So far today we have made butternut squash soup, a stew (still going in the slow cooker), and flapjacks, and we're also planning to make some banana muffins from Nigella Lawson's Domestic Goddess recipe book - just need to get some honey from our local store. Our pantry is starting to look a bit bare but the snow's looking like it miht start to disappear in the next few days and Jon will be able to stock up.

Woo-hoo, have actually done some creative stuff today! Have done a CJ entry on 'Just One Wish' using the December Scrapagogo kit. I've been participating in a CJ on the scrapagogo clubhouse and this was my second to last entry. I'll be getting my CJ back soon on 'Words that inspire me' and am really looking forwards to seeing it. Was hoping to take a photo of my craft room actually being used to upload here but camera's defunct again - am thinking it may be time to buy a new one..

Some BIG snow here today, unfortunately as I have a laptop with remote access I still had to work all day but love these creations:

My friend Carrie saw this in Camberley.


My friend Iain made this snow head - isn't it fab?

Am spending tonight watching Harry Potter and creating some new hems on a few pairs of trousers and a dress that need them - at least it involves a needle and thread!

Getting inspired today by this and this fab website and wondering if I could make a heap of handmade gifts for next Chistmas. I got this fab book for Christmas and already have this and this. Am off to look at the list of people I give gifts to and to work out who would like what - probably seems completely over organised but I think it will take me a year to make them all!

Creativity today:

- sorting out lots of photos to use in creative projects

Not much but have been busy sorting through a playroom and now have 5 BOXES of toys to sell or donate, it's something I've been meaning to do for ages and the boys are much happier now they can see all their games and lovely new toys...

Despite only 3 hours of sleep (aaagh!) today's creativity has been:

- finishing my little boys' space themed room - pictures to follow...
- spending the evening building with lego and listening to some christmas CDs we hadn't opened yet, tele was off and Charlie has a big lego surprise waiting for him on the dining table tomorrow morning!

Happy new year and decade to anyone reading this... :D