Old layouts part 1

I haven't had anything new to show for for what seems like forever, i have lots of projects on the go but just need to find the time to sit down and get them finished! I haven't really shared many of my layouts (many were completed before i started this blog) so decided to start showing some of them here. I spent some time going though my old layouts and it made me realise how much my boys have changed in a few short years. I really love scrapbooking for the simple reason that it makes you sit and remember the memories associated with the photos, in an age of digital photography how many people really print off or even look properly at the precious images they capture?

That was part 1, there are MANY more to share another day.

Wordless Wednesday (Snow day)

(the laughter was infectious)

Wordless Wednesday (Smile)

When did they get so big?

All of a sudden the 'little people' don't seem so little.

What happened to May, June, July, August, September .....

Can it really be 6 months since I last blogged??? I am determined to give it another go!!!!

Fireman Sam and a couple of crafty bits

The sun was shining again today and we all managed to get up early enough to hit the car boot sales, 3 in total!!! The boys have enough toys really but we agreed that if there was something special or a real bargain then they could have something new. Both boys are OBSESSED with Fireman Sam at the moment and they both already have the fire engine and Fireman Sam character but in the last couple of weeks they have been asking if they can have a helicopter from the programme (or hocilidopter as they call it). I couldn't believe my luck when on the first stall i went to i found a set of the vehicles (including the helicopter) for £3.50, from then on I had two very happy little boys and lots of 'thank you' kisses.

We had not been home long when poor old Josh needed to pay a visit to minor injuries after he managed to split his gum. I can only assume from the bits i pieced together from a very tearful, sobbing little boy ( I was in the kitchen when it happened) was that Fireman Sam's Helicopter (flying around in his brothers hand) had somehow managed to collide with his mouth. Luckily minor injuries is only two minutes from our house and even more lucky was that his mouth will heal without any treatment, my mind went into stitches mode for a while there. No doubt as a mum of 2 boys this is just something I will have to get used to.

With both of the little people totally worn out and sleeping I have had time to finish a couple of projects that I started a while ago. Both 'gifts' were made from previous Scrapagogo kits as I am on a mission to use them up before they stack up and i had fun making them as it was a change from creating layouts.

The first is a gift card holder made using the April 09 kt (I think) I would love to credit the person who gave instructions on how to make the tree out of punched leaves, but I stumbled across it when blog hopping and didn't take the details. The bark effect ribbon was just perfect for the tree trunk.

This sweet/Go Go gift was made using the packaging that held the buttons in the November kit, i always save the packaging but this is he first time i have put it to good use.

Tfl x

Spring sunshine

How nice is it to get out in the warm spring air, my little ones had a blast today running and laughing in the park. Another thing I love about spring is the start of the carboot season, we have been to 2 today and have another 3 planned for tomorrow!!! I love the thought of finding things I'm looking for at a great price (and things I never new I needed!), luckily my partner shares my enthusiasm and my children are quite happy to tag along as they never seem to come home empty handed.

Today I only picked up a couple of sets of knitting needles at 25p each and some embroidery thread but in the last few weeks I have picked up some great items at the car boot and also at a new find, a local charity shop/warehouse just down the road from where I live. The charity shop is like an Aladdin's cave of bric a brac, furniture, clothing, books etc from donations and house clearances and you never know what you will find.

The photos below only show a sample of the bits I picked up, the whole lot only came to around £12 which I consider to be a real bargin. The cute little flower buttons were only 10p for 8 and the beads came in a bag of around 100 for only 50p. I have plans for some of the items but couldn't pass up on the others, i will find a use somewhere. I also nearly have a full set of crochet hooks and knitting needles now and each one/set cost no more than 30p.



The peach flowers have napkin rings on the back, but as they came in a set of 6 for only £1 i thought i could take the rings off and glue them back together.

The pink satin fabric at the back is almost a couple of metres worth and i have already started to put it to good use, watch this space!!

This 8x8 cardstock pack had to be my biggest bargin, only 4 of the 58 sheets are missing and I only paid £1, they seem to retail at at least £10.

Lets hope the sun keeps shining.

Another month gone

Is it just me or does the time seem to be going quicker than ever? I cannot believe that it has been nearly a month since my last blog entry, I am such a bad blogger and must get more organised. The trouble is that i spend so long reading other peoples blogs that I never get around to posting on my own!!!!!

Despite my lack of blogging, i am glad to say that I have still managed to get some crafty projects done. I seemed to loose my way for a while and all I seemed to do was push paper around, create a mess then put it all away again.

My kits from Scrapagogo have been building up, I have been subscribing for a year now, so thought it was about time I actually started using some of them up instead of opening them up, looking at them and puting them away again!

This layout was made using the March kit. I have taken the more subtle elements (the kit was very 'loud') to create a layout about one of my twin boys. Everything is from the kit expect for the alphas which were from the February kit as they seemed to 'fit' better with the feel of the layout.

My second layout is from the February kit

Now that the sun has finally decided to make a long awaited apperance, I have spent the day photographing layouts and also the interesting bits and pieces i have found at the local carboot sales and a new charity shop/warehouse i have discovered (that is practically on my doorstep) where you never know what you are going to find, so I hope to have some photos up soon.

Tfl x

Happy Birthday Boys

Happy Birthday to my 'little people' who are 3 today!!! I cannot believe they are 3, where does the time go? After a day of balloons, cake, presents, shopping, the zoo, visiting Granny and their friends, they will both probably sleep for a week!

Three weeks that I am more than happy to forget

I don't like to literally wish time away but i am more than happy that the last three weeks have been and gone. When they said having your tonsils out as an adult would be rather painful, oh how they meant it! I can honestly say that it was the worst thing i have had to go through. I know that people have to deal with much more (i had major surgery on my stomach a couple of years ago, which in the grand scheme of things was much worse) but for some reason this operation left me feeling drained, low and with pain that i couldn't seem to escape. I was hoping that the two weeks away from work (which turned out to be three due to an infection) would give me some quality crafting time at home, but it didn't work out that way. I am thankful that it is all over and today managed to actually get back into the crafty swing of things and produce a layout using the beautiful February Scrapagogo kit.


A little while ago I decided to have some of my parents photographic slides of my childhood scanned and saved so i could print out the photos to use on my scrapbook pages. All of my childhood memories are on slides which are sadly deteriorating and the old slide projector we used no longer works, so the images are hardly ever viewed which i find really sad. It is fascinating looking at all of the old images now because I can really see how alike my children are to me when I was small.

I used a photo of me in 1975 as it seemed to fit with the vintage feel of the kit. For the first time ever I used actual stitching on my layout (despite buying a miniature sewing machine specifically for the purpose about a year ago) and i am really pleased with the way it has turned out. A vintage style is unusual for me but i enjoyed the change and would like to think I do more in the future.

tfl x

A rather productive Sunday

I have had a really productive day today, not only have I made Apple Crumble Muffins which I will definately be making again (they tasted amazing and are not going to last until tomorrow) but i have also managed to put finishing touches to a project that I have been working on for a while now. I am really into making mini albums at the moment, I find them much easier to dip into (when I don't have much time in a day for anything crafty) and find I can use up small rub ons, stickers etc that tend to be too small to use/somehow loose their impact on a big layout.

This book started life as 2 blank chipboard sheets that I covered in fablon (the sticky sheets that come in a roll designed for covering kitchen drawers/cupboards etc). Fablon is great as it comes in a variety of designs, including some great woodgrain effects, and can be wiped if it gets dirty which is really good as mini books tend to get handled alot. There is a mixture of solid and clear pages and I have used mainly October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket papers, two of my favourite companies.

Sorry that this is rather photo heavy, TFL x

Finally something finished!!

I have had lots of projects on the go over the past few weeks and today I finally managed to sit down and complete a couple of things I have been working on. I bought a template a while back to make 'Take out' boxes as I thought they would be a nice way to package a small gift. It is a colleagues birthday tomorrow so I thought it would be nice to fill a small box with chocolates as a little birthday treat. The box is so simple to make, I used a sheet of bazzill cardstock and some leftover pieces of cardstock from the October Scrapagogo kit. There is a little tag that says 'For you' which is finished with some apple green gingham ribbon but in true style, i forgot to take a photo of it!



The other project is a layout using the Scrapagogo November kit which is just perfect to use with photos of boys. I have a growing collection of punches that i need to make more use of so i decided to go with the circles theme.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, tfl x

A little ray of sunshine on a cold and wet winters day

This photo makes me smile everytime I look at it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the snow and we have had our fair share of fun playing in what little snow we had, but I look forward to the days when we can enjoy the freedom of the beach, build sandcastles and splash in the sea. I plan to spend more evenings at the beach this year with the boys now they are a little older. It is all to easy to take what is on your doorstep for granted, I have lived a couple of miles from the sea all my life but you see it through fresh eyes when you have little ones to share it with.

The winter weather has however given me time to start many 'crafty' projects but in true style, i tend to start and not finish projects so have nothing to share just yet. I am waiting on a couple of parcels to arrive full of pretty things which should hopefully give me the push I need to get some of my projects finished.

Check back soon to see what i have been up to, I promise I won't leave it so long this time!