Wiper Card

How long have I been blogging? Two days? And already four posts. Anyway, I have had so much fun looking at others' sites and ideas, and found a fantastic tutorial for a Wiper Card. I just had to try it. So today, in between changing nappies and making puzzles and picking up trains, I made this! I am really proud of it, mostly just because I'm new to trying something new. Inspiration!


Ingredients: French vanilla cardstock and "Express Yourself" papers. I sponged the background of the stamped image a little to take away the starkness of the vanilla, and adhered it using foam squares, so it stands out from the decorative papers. I know the ribbon isn't quite right, but I liked it and used it anyway. I'm just experimenting, and I'll find something else next time.
The "wiper" part comes in as you open the card, when the rings pop up from behind the main square front. The tutorial is really easy to follow, mainly because there is a video to watch.

Twelve Months of Fun

Baby albums are my favourite. Maybe I'm biased, because it's what got me scrapping in the first place... but babies are so photogenic, and pages are so appealing with their wee faces popping out at you.

But out of all my baby pages, this is still my favourite. It's one I did quite early on, but the layout is so classic and inviting... and I think the page really highlights what scrapping is all about - preserving our memories and displaying them proudly for posterity.

I am so proud of my wee man. He is over two now, and watching him change and grow has been an amazing thing: both beautifully subtle and heartbreakingly quick at the same time. This page is lovely for quick reference, and I am compiling one for his second year to be placed in his album after this one.

Jewel Album Kit

One of the reasons I love the Creative Memories Jewel set so much is that it goes so beautifully with black and white photos. The colours are muted and take a back seat to photographs which might otherwise be lost on a page with vibrant backdrops. Here are some examples from a small 7x7 (old size) heritage album I made for Mum for Christmas last year. The papers are so beautiful that there was really very little I had to do but stick the photos in. In fact I didn't want to add much embellishing anyway... the story was all in the photographs, which I'd scanned from an old family album of Mum's.













One thig I would always recommend when making an 8x8 album is to have all your photos printed in half size as well as the usual 6x4. That way when you are putting it together you have two choices for every photo spread out in front of you. You can choose to lay a single photo on the page, or two or three related to the same theme. It means you will ultimately be able to fit more into your album, and it adds interest and variety. For example...

I love old heritage photos! They look so great in albums and plus, they give people wonderful surprises... maybe they've never been seen before, or maybe they've not been seen for decades!

Just Add Ink Challenges

This is such a cool page... have a look see! The current challenge involves St Valentines Day. Anything to do with hearts - and you can use any brand of products too. You can view others' designs and get great ideas for your own projects. I feel totally at sea when I see the smazing designs on show here, but I'm hoping to copy the techniques and ideas until I feel more confident. Thank you design team!

Make sure you check it out!
http://just-add-ink.blogspot.com/



Here is my card inspired by the current hearts theme (JAI2). Ingredients: french vanilla and brick cardstock, Starry Night papers. I decorated the brick cardstock with a stamped heart and crimson ink. Tools: CCS circles, heart punch and lovestruck maker. Very simple... for some reason it took me an age to think up though!

Henry Ford - "Whether you think you can, or think you can't - you're right."

So this is my first ever blog. Not only that, I only looked at a blog for the first time a few days ago. It inspired me (thank you, Helen) to say to David, "Can I make a blog?" He looked at me for a second, baffled, probably wondering where the actual question was in that sentence.
So here I am.
I am hoping that having a blog (and letting others know about it) will force me to update it regularly, in turn forcing me to make and complete scrapbooking pages I am proud of, and ready to showcase to others.
We shall see!