Do you scrapbook?

Originally I didn't. I started off making cards, not the most brilliant creations, but cards never the less. You know the ones ... flowers, computer generated text, and of course torn handmade or mulberry paper .... giggle, they all HAD TO HAVE that torn paper ... let me see if I can find an example.

Oh yes ... here are some early creations

Eventually I was roped into the world of scrapbooking and that quickly became my number one passion. Scrap scrap scrap! Loved that!

If you cannot read the journaling, fret not, you have not lost your mind, I have altered the text as it is a bit personal.

But those cards ... I did so love making them.

...and then came stamping, yet another thing to get hooked on. Yup, there goes the old budget again.

But see, stamping on cards, well that one is easy, stamps are made for cards, right ... but stamping on scrapbook pages, I found that much harder to get my head around.

But it did seem a waste not to use all those lovely stamps on scrapbooking too, so came hell or high water, I WAS going to use my stamps, and slowly I started to incorporate them more into scrapbooking.

Just recently though, Katy from Craft Stamper asked if I would like to do a masterclass on creating patterned papers using stamps. Uh huh, oh yeah, I surely would.

So, in the latest Craft Stamper magazine (January issue), I have made four different patterned papers using inks and stamps. Resist, masking, kiss stamping and so on. If you are a stamping scrapbooker, go and check it out. Making your own patterned papers for scrapbooking is just the coolest way to get great mileage out of your stamps.

I can show you this sneak peek.

Happy scrapping and stamping!

Ooooh, and I forgot to mention, the cover mount stamp this month is just gorgeous!

Birthdays, cake and still no crafting

We celebrated my daughters 12th birthday on the weekend. Of course that meant cake, and the best kind too, guilt free cake .. because when it is someones birthday you HAVE to eat cake, right? It would be rude not to, obviously.

For those of you who don't know me, I have two daughters. They are great .. for the most part at least. There are of course times when I would happily give them away to charity, and I challenge any parent who does not occasionaly get the same urge.

Thinking back I am quite shocked that my mother still speaks to me - I was a ... shall we say ... headstrong little girl. I remember for at least 5 years when I was about 8 to13, I refused to kiss anyone. NEVER EVER, nope, not on your life. Not hello, not good night, not ever. Even before that at 2 I refused to get out of the car when we went to see anyone for about a year. My mother used to put a little camping seat and some toys in the back of the car (we had a kind of pick up truck with a canopy on, so I could sit there in the back and play) and just leave me. She would always come and check on me and keep me within her sight somehow, but it was easier than trying to deal with the backlash of forcing me out of the car. There was mention of a child psychologist, but before they could get that far I outgrew that little phase. There was nothing wrong with me, apart from the fact that I was a little control freak.

I guess what I am saying is that in comparison my children are a walk in the park, and my mother is a saint.

So, in a nutshell, we have been celebrating, we have been finishing off my craft room, we have been shopping, we have been doing everthing but crafting. I am really stretching myself to think what to put up on here, as essentially this is a crafting blog, but if I am not crafting ... well, that is a bit of a dilemma then.

Here are the rest of the 9 for 5 cards I mentioned in the previous post - old photos are better than no photos I guess.

So there you have have it - see what you can do with simple string, patterned paper and bottletops. Crafting does not have to break the bank.