The Life and Times of a Scrummy Lass

I have moved....

2009-05-16T17:13:00.002+01:00

Yes after months of deliberating I have finally made the jump! So that I can display my layouts etc properly and not using that awful slideshow thingy I now have a typedpad blog!
You can find me here.... be warned, it's a work in progress whilst I grapple with the newness of typepad :-)

See you there x

Blah.......

2009-04-09T12:36:00.006+01:00

too much to say and not enough time to type it all out! Missing in action for ages as I secretly think that someone is stealing whole weeks from my life!!! Cannot believe that we are into April already, the year is whizzing by.
Soooo.... what's new?
Shop is now closed! I really had to decide what direction to head in this year as I was juggling too many balls in the air and something was about to come crashing down on my head big style!!! Closing the shop was the best solution... anyone who has an online store knows just how much time it takes to run and time was something that I did not have much of!
So now am concentrating on my nursing and design work. The upside of all this is that I get some free time to play and am not totally stressed out of my brains all of the time hahahaha!
Not sure about the new look blog... may have to change it again! But not now... have too much to do and starting work in a hour or so! It needs a revamp... have put it on my list of things to do which is now about 3 miles long!!!!
So since I last blogged what has happened?
Work.... lots of it!
Got me a fabby new camera (canon 400D) loves it!
Ended the Morpeth crop (long and not so pretty story!)
Met up with an old friend from my schools days at the Seaton Sluice crop totally by chance (don't you love it when that happens?).... Clare came to the crop with her Mam and friend and I seriously couldn't believe it was the same Clare from my school days :-)
Love life is interesting!
Classes all done for the Scrapajack retreat (which will be here before I know it!)

Have just got back from visiting Anita in Holland! I had the best time and am home feeling very refreshed. Anita and Ries made me feel sooo welcome and am seriously looking forward to a return visit!!! Obviously I took my new camera with me and picked up some instruction and also a lens wish list hahaha!

The visit was a mix of sightseeing and relaxing! We took a canal trip in Amsterdam so I could get a feel of it all.... not the best for taking photos as the boat was covered in and I hang out of a tiny window... Anita has some pics of my bum sticking up in the air as I did so hahaha!

We were soo lucky with the weather as the sun shone brightly for most of the trip! Amsterdam was great... very busy and a great atmosphere. Loved sitting out in the terrace cafes watching the world go by and catching up on all the gossip of course!
I had packed in my case a new gin (we love gin!) that came highly recommended... so if you like a good gin and tonic get yourself some of this...

Possibly one of the nicest drinks I've had in a long, long time! Serve in a tall glass with tonic water, ice and a thick slice of cucumber..... heavenly!!!!
And on that note I need to dash off to work.... back with more Holland photos soon

Maria x

New look!

2009-02-21T19:59:00.003Z

So I jazzed it all up a bit! Loving this blog in a box marlarkey by Zoe Pearn... who just happens to be one of my fav all time paper designers ever! Have you seen the new stuff she's done for My Mind's Eye this year???? Bloom is my favvo thing to come out of CHA this year... I love's it and can't wait to start carving it all up and creating some delish lil projects with it!
Anyhoos.... I know I've been a VERY bad blogger again :-( .... my life has been a bit crazy for the past few months and blogging has had to go on the back burner for a bit til I got myself sorted. Back to nursing... WOW... loving it! Didn't think I would... but I totally am! So got myself a temp contract with a lovely nursing home just 10 mins down the road. To be honest I was only back a couple of weeks and it felt like I had never been away!
Christmas seemed to pass in a bit of a haze.... and then it was new year... poorly with a tummy bug... and well now we're over half way through February! Where does the time go?????
I haven't managed a huge amount of scrapping.... just the odd project or 2! But looking forward to having some scrapping time over the next week or so.
Here's my UK Scrappers cyber crop class... was really nervous about putting this together but it seemed to be well received... phew!

The journalling tag slips neatly in the pocket and becomes part of the layout!
Ok so enough blabbering for one post... I'll be back very soon with more layouts and stuff about stitches!
Til then
Maria x

I love saturday mornings!

2008-11-29T09:18:00.004Z

It's when I grab a little time for me, chill out, put some music on, slap on a face mask (believe me I need it this morning) and do a little blog updating!!!!
The past couple of weeks have passed in whirl of activity and it's been great fun!
Got a fair bit of scrapping done and lots of teaching which is cool cos I love it!
Samm set the challenge on the shop blog a couple of weeks ago to scrap your favourite song/band/album... well at the moment I just can't stop singing Bubbly by Colbie Caillat! Love this tune... along with a fair few others... loving my music just now!

I used Happy Place papers by Sassafras... these are my favvo papers at the moment and have carved up sheets and sheets of the stuff!!! Lots of layouts in progress... none finished.. ho hum!

Last weekend we had the very first all day workshop thingy! It was fab! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day and I think all the ladies did too! I taught 3 classes so it was pretty full on... 2 layouts and a mini book. We had heaps of yummy food thanks to Gillian, her Mum Pat and Margaret... so a HUGE thank you to them!

This was the first class (excuse the rotten pic... there is no light at the mo and everything looks pants!).... using the delicious Daisy Bucket In The Meadow papers! So so easy to work with and a gorgeous texture! There's a little hidden mini book to hold all our hopes for the coming year.

Next up was a bright and cheerful quick layout class using MME Just Dreamy 2 Dazzling papers.... they really are a Dream to work with....well they would be... everything that MME produces is totally gorgeous!

And finally the mini book class using the yummy Crate Lemon Grass!!! I've made my book for times when my mojo just disappears out of the window... it's full of sketches, inspiration blogs that kind of thing!
I do have some spare class kits available and will upload them to the shop tomorrow :-)

So onto this weekends blog challenge... it was mine and an evil one at that!!! No patterned paper allowed!!!! I love my papers so this one really was a challenge!
Gillian took this photo last weekend of the moody sea at Seaton Sluice and it was SCREAMING to be scrapped! I used Collage Press stamps, prima crystal swirls, some lace and chipboard letters... very simple but I think it works well!
Also found this layout when hunting through my pics.... I did this a while back at one of the crops when I actually found a wee bit of time to get some scrapping done!

I used one of my old Studio Calico kits that are actually new as I just don't have the time to play these days....
Well that's all my news for this morning!!!
I start working as a nurse again next week and am really looking forward to it! It will be strange after so long so hoping that it will go well!
Lots of other exciting stuff happening too... just gotta find those extra hours in the day!
Til next time
Maria x

For Jakkii! ;-)

2008-11-03T19:11:00.004Z

Ok, Ok, Ok! I know that I'm a crappy blogger! There just doesn't seem enough hours in the day at the mo to fit everything in! I will try harder... promise!
Ok so what's been happening in Maria's world since the last post? Heaps and heaps!
Aside from the usual crop classes and mag work I have had the bestest time ever teaching at the fabulous Scrapajack retreat down in Bromsgrove! Jakkii and Debbie sure can organise a mean retreat! Oh they just happen to be the nicest people that you could ever ever meet! I loves them!!!
Bookings for the Stratford Retreat in May are happening now! Sooo... if you fancy a fabulous few days away from it all with heaps and heaps of scrapping and laughing thrown in go visit here and book up... you will not be disappointed :-)
So onto the stories! Well the journey down to Bromsgrove was a complete nightmare! Managed to get stuck in the biggest traffic jam. There had a been a terrible accident on the M1 which closed the motorway totally. I set off at 11.30am and eventually arrived at the hotel at 8.30pm!!! Car overheated and I was a complete wreck LOL! But... I arrived safely which is more than can be said of the poor people killed in the crash so thank god for that! Motorways terrify me!
We all had a pre-retreat challenge... to make a badge that wasn't a badge and I came up with this lil baby!

A pinny!!! Don't worry Deb and Jak... yours will be made soon ;-). There were some amazing creations... but unfortunately I didn't take any pics! Yup the camera sat on the table the whole retreat without being used once!

This is my retreat class! It seemed to go down ok... well no-one walked out which is always a good sign LOL! The classes were all amazing! I had the pleasure of taking Rachel Millington's and Tracie Hudson's fabulous classes and thoroughly enjoyed them. Just wish I had managed to squeeze in the others....
I met the most amazing people over the few days... it was really good to put faces to avatars LOL! I shared a room with the lovely Sue (owner of the delicious Crafty Stash) and also spent a small fortune buying illicit stash... hehehe... came home with lots of gorgeous goodies!
I can honestly say that I have not laughed so much for bloody ages! My face is still hurting... so thank you everyone for making me feel sooo welcome! And speshal thanks to Sarah for sending me a zillion crochet links... hopefully the willy warmer disaster will be a thing of the past!!! Gonna make a start on a hat just as soon as I can get my hands on some more wool :-)
I had a great journey home with no mishaps (or so I had thought) and spent yesterday catching up on sleep!
All was well until I went to use my business bank card today... and it wasn't there! It would seem that when I had stopped at the services on the way home some "kind person" broke into my car and nicked them! Only realised today and thankfully nothing is missing from the account...phew! Its just a pain as it takes 10 bloody days for a new card... grrrrr!
So to the two ladies who stole the cards.... yup I know who you are! If I ever see you again (I remember what you looked like!) I will gouge your eyes out with my pokey tool and make an altered art project with them... be warned ;-)
And onto to lighter things.... :-)
It was my go for the blog class and this is what I came up with...... using up your scraps!

This is a pic of my lil sis circa 1975! She was not amused that I had scrapped this pic but hey ho.... hehehe! And I made a card from scraps too...

Keep checking the blog each weekend for more challenges and classes!
Right and with that long post out the way I'm off to finish this wine!!!!
Til next time..
Maria x

2008-10-21T17:51:00.003+01:00

Been busy creating heaps and heaps of stuff! Love it when my mojo returns and I just can't get the ideas down on paper quick enough!!!! My classes for the rest of the year are almost all done and its a big relief! Just a few blog challenges to do layouts for and I'm almost organised!
I can't believe that the Scrapajack retreat is nearly here! Next week!!! I'm so looking forward to it but a bit nervous at the same time!

This was my layout for last weekends blog challenge.... me about 7 years old... check out the collar!!!!! I have scrapped the same school photo of my sis for this weekends class.... she'll kill me... hehehe! So tune in saturday morning for a class on using up your scraps :-)
Today I've been playing with some of the new Crate paper.... I love it! Scrapped for the very first time a photo of my Mam... which was much tougher than I expected and spent about an hour in floods of tears! Its for this weekends crop class so will pop a pic up on sunday!
Right I'm off to chop into more Crate... Lemon Grass this time... delicious!
Maria x

Busy, busy, busy....

2008-10-06T17:11:00.003+01:00

but it's all good stuff! Had a busy couple weeks with a new crop and magazine work and classes to sort for a one day workshop! Feels like my feet haven't touched the ground for ages. Had Mark up to stay for a fun few days and my head is still trying to recover from all the wine that was consumed.... the man is a bad influence!!!!

This is my layout for the SSC blog challenge.... posted by Rachael, it's a fab one! All about edges... rolled ones, distressed ones, scalloped ones... you get the picture! Karen got me this little Russian doll for my birthday (amongst other gorgeous goodies!) and I love her.
This weekend is Morpeth crop and I'm teaching a UTEE class! It's ages since I played with the stuff and had huge fun putting together a layout for this. Managed to warp my cutting mat again so thats 3 I've now ruined!!! MUST remember to take mat off desk when using the heat gun! Here's a little peek of the layout...

We're using some of the gorgeous new papers from MME... glittery and varnished and totally delicious! No prizes for guessing that the layout is about me with journalling like that!!!
Right on that note... instead of dreaming I need to finish a magazine article that need's to be in the post tomorrow.... better get my skates on!
Til next time
Maria x

Still around....

2008-09-17T09:06:00.003+01:00

I'm still here! Just been as busy as anything. Lots of scrapping and card making been going on but nothing to share.... but i can give you a couple of sneaky peeks of my class for the Scrapajack retreat....

rumour has it there are a couple of places on this fabby retreat up for grabs so go check it out.... would love to see you there!

Last weekend I had the total pleasure of having Samm up to stay! We had a blast and am really looking forward to her next visit! Although next time we'll have to schedule in some more sleep time... hehehe. Still recovering!

I'm having few days off.... yes i know my last post said the same thing! But to be honest those were my last days off.... seriously! I have been working non stop! Talking of work... I am now back in the world of nursing.... well bank nursing! So's I can work it around everything else. Hoping to start in the next couple of weeks and can't wait! So back to my time off... I have a friend travelling up from Manchester today.... so excited about this! Eeeeks! Will pop back on sunday to share some gossip... when i shall be one year older! I hit the grand old age of 41 on saturday! Where did this last year go?

Right must fly as have stacks to do today.... til next time

Maria x

A bit of R&R....

2008-08-24T13:27:00.004+01:00

over the bank holiday weekend :-) I'm having a couple of days all to me this weekend. This happens very rarely at the moment as I always seem to have stuff that has to be sorted RIGHT NOW!!!! But I'm starting to pick up colds and snuffles which is a definate sign to recharge the batteries! I've had a busy old week... sorting out the new kit, finishing off some mag work, organising a new crop and craft event (more of that in a later post!!!), planning my retreat classes for Scrapajack... oh sooo much is happening! Which is good... don't get me wrong... I love having so much to do but a little me time is also good!

This is my layout for Samm's fab sketch challenge over on the shop blog this weekend. It's one of those sketches that immediately cries out to be transferred into a layout! The photo was taken by Anita at the Baltic art gallery.

Anyhow... just a quick post today! I have a sunday lunch to finish preparing!

Til next time

Maria x

Surely not!!!

2008-08-17T09:21:00.003+01:00

It can't be 2 weeks since I last blogged... can it??? Where on earth does the time go? The past 2 weeks have been packed full of errr... well stuff! I don't seem to have had 2 minutes to myself never mind a day off!
Our little cyber crop on the shop blog seemed to go down a treat and we are already planning the next one. The entries were amazing and we had a really tough time choosing winners... but winners we chose and they're on the blog now! Along with this weeks class ;) A little wackiness from myself!!!

The class this week looks at making cloud masques to create a sky and paper pleating (so much easier than ribbon ;-) ) You can find the destructions here!

Last weekend was our crop. Now I love the crop and meeting up with everyone but BOY the preparation is hard work! So why, I ask myself, am I setting up another one? Probably because I'm a glutton for punishment and hard work!!! Anyhow, the ladies at the crop this month got down and messy with paint and had a ball! We made homemade stamps from anything we could lay our hands on and created some fabby background effects.

This month we played with MME Just Dreamy Daydream papers... I do have a couple of kits left here ;) Oooh and talking of kits.... our August kit is almost ready to go! A bit late this month but worth the wait ;)

I've another busy week ahead. Lots of layouts to finish, a magazine project to put the finishing touches to and a very special class to complete! I've been asked to teach at the Autumn Scrapajack retreat and am just finalising what, I hope, will be a fab class for the ladies attending. I think that there are still a few day delegate place available so why not pop over and book yourself a place! Go on.... you deserve it!!!!!

Right I had best get some work done!
Til next time
Maria x

Scrapping Sunday!

2008-08-03T15:29:00.004+01:00

So are you playing along? Our classes and challenges at the Scrummy Stash Cafe Blog are almost done with just 2 more to go live!

I have to confess that I haven't got much done!!! But am hoping to do a couple this afternoon. I have so many projects on the go at the moment that it is just not funny. Here are my contributions to the weekend...

This is my challenge layout... I used Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie collection, some prima bling, chipboard, brads, buttons and flowers. The photos for both the layouts were taken my Anita.

And this is my class layout... instructions and supplies can be found here! Right I'm off to scrap a little....

Til next time

Maria x

Where does the time go?

2008-08-01T15:56:00.005+01:00

I've been so busy over the past 2 weeks catching on lots of bits and pieces! This week I've spent the time putting the finishing touches to this weekends mini cyber crop over on the shop blog. I am sooo excited about this! We have some fab classes and challenges for everyone over the next 3 days!

Here's a little peek at my class ;) It's on sunday morning so I'll have to make sure that I drag my butt out bed in time for it to go live!!!

Aside from catching up on projects and assignments etc I've been trying to keep up with my daily walks! There are some lovely walks in my area... I forget how lucky I am to live so close to the sea, countryside and city! When walking the other day I came upon this piece of art!!! I have NEVER noticed it before.... don't know how! I've walked past it about 50 times and it isn't exactly little (about 10 feet tall!)

The spoon is one of 3 sculptures in the fields surrounding us. Amazing... isn't it? It has "eat for England" engraved on it!

Til next time

Maria x

A productive week...

2008-07-20T09:47:00.003+01:00

Well apart from feeling rather icky for the first half I've had a busy old week. Last sunday was the race for life. Angie and I power walked and Vanessa ran! Next year I hope to run at least some of the way!!! Anyhow we had a fab time. The atmosphere was amazing and the rain held off which is quite suprising considering that is the north of england and it's July!

Angie and I treated ourselves to a lovely meal after the race and I undid all my good dieting practices by having a chocolate pudding! It had to be done! So this week I'll be back on the diet with new resolve and still a fair few pounds to shift!

Our new kit went on sale this week :-) I love this kit... I love anything 3 bugs as I find it so easy to work with be it scrapbooking or cardmaking! Have you seen their new summer CHA releases? Oooh delicious!!! Lots of gorgeous stash being launched at the moment. I love the new Crate lines and MME have hit the jackpot with their new lines... they are just divine. I love My Minds Eye... their papers are classic and won't date.

Anyhow here's a couple of bits that i've made using our July kit.

I'm having a good old scrapping weekend and first half of week to get up to date with projects and assignments! It feels like ages since I had this much time to scrap and play and I'm loving it!!! My scraproom is due a HUGE sort out and I'm going to spend a couple of days being ruthless! Anything not likely to be used is going up for sale! I honestly think that even if I scrapped solid til Christmas I would still have too much! And on that note... I'm off to hang my washing out (whilst it's not raining!!!) and get scrapping!

Til next time

Maria x

What a week!

2008-07-12T00:12:00.009+01:00

Its been one of those weeks... you know the ones... lots of things have gone wrong but interspersed with a couple of goodies!!!!

Ok yesterday was a day and a half.... managed to get me some nasty spyware on both computers! So spent all day trying to sort them out. Got the laptop sorted but unfortunately the PC seems to be dead in the water so to speak! Mind you I have lots of tips on how to revive said PC so am going to pucker up and try and give it the kiss of life over the weekend. Failing that its off to PC world for some intensive care!!!! On the plus side yesterday my photos from anita plopped through the letterbox... will share some of my faves in a mo ;-)

On to disaster number two yesterday... my car has been fixed! Great I hear you say... well not so great when you are faced with a £670 bill :-(. Especially when very, very skint! So have made the monumental decision to go back to nursing! Not full time mind you... I'm going to do some bank nursing :-) How scary?... esp after so long away from it! But... the pay is good and i can do hours to suit around the shop!

Ok so here are some of my favourite pics taken by Anita!

All coming to a layout near you very soon!!!!

Dad isn't too well again... had a trip to A&E this morning but thankfully they let him go home! He was dreading another hospital stay! Fingers crossed that he'll improve quickly... they say that kids are such a worry but I think that parents are too!

On a lighter note... July's kit is almost ready to go! Just waiting for some gorgeous buttons and then it will be all done. Will pop a sneaky peek up in the next couple of day along with some layouts that I've been working on!

Til next time!

Maria x

Getting organised!

2008-07-05T09:52:00.003+01:00

I have spent the last 3 days sorting out shop stock and moving it all into new storage. I am now converted to the really useful way of storing!!! The 35l XL boxes hold 12x12 papers beautifully so all kits are neatly stored in these little gems and they can be stacked on top of each other! This has freed up so much space! I am no longer falling over boxes when trying to get to my desk!!!!

Next task is to sort out my personal stash mountain... this, I think, will be a mammoth task! I need to clear out and declutter... so next week will see me rolling up my sleeves and getting stuck in LOL! Am planning to sell lots on ebay ;-).
This morning another challenge has gone live on the SSC blog. It was Angies turn to set the challenge this week and she chose a summer theme. However, looking out of the window this morning I think that was wishful thinking. Summer has disappeared! Its cold and raining. Ah well... at least I'll be able to scrap without wishing I was outside :-) I'll leave you with my sample for the challenge.

The photo was taken by Anita... love it! I used our June kit (so dreamy!) and added some Collage Press stamps plus Doodlebug alpha stickers which I am officially addicted to!!!!

Til next time

Maria x

Lots of things happening....

2008-07-02T19:16:00.005+01:00

to keep me occupied and not blogging! Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!!!
Have been having a busy week on the old crafting front... nothing I can share unfortunately as they are mag and DT work...but here's a little sneak of this weekends blog challenge layout.

I've been playing with our June kit for this and loving the soft and dreamy colours in it. Normally I'm a bright colours girl but these gentle colours are making my mojo go into overdrive!!!

Other news.... well its now day 10 of my healthy eating/diet! Won't go as far as saying the weight is just dropping off me (cos it ain't!!!) but I'm feeling sooo much better and have loads of energy! Along with the food thing I've been out walking daily... mainly with Kim and little bobby. He is such a character!!! And Kim's company ain't that bad either. Been clocking up plenty miles in prep for the race for life. There's no way I'm fit enough to run it but am planning a brisk walk over the 5k and that will be good enough for me!

My crocheting is coming along a treat! When Anita was over she taught me the basics as I have always wanted to learn... me being left handed does not help! But fellow leftie Anita got me crocheting circles.... ok my first attempt was not good.....

This was meant to be a circle!!!!!!!! Think my tension was a bit tight!

Tension much better on this one! I even added a lil frilly edge!!!
Next I wanted to do squares... so I bought myself this little book off Amazon. It was only £4.99 and has instructions for left handers....

And before I knew it I had mastered the granny square and working in rows!!!!

So... me being me... wanted to 'do a project'!!! So I picked what looked like the easiest thing in the book... a bottle holder! I know.... what an earth would you want a bottle warmer for! But hey! I'm playing....just wait til you see lil baby....................

I think it wasn't supposed to look like this!!!! Everytime I look at it I giggle... cos I think it looks like a giant willy warmer!!!! So maybe I need to just practice a bit more! On the plus side... I did make this little flower!

It's not quite perfect.... but I am thrilled with it!

Right on that note.... I'm off to finish another project!

See you later

Maria x

Life is a rollercoaster.....la la la

2008-06-03T12:25:00.005+01:00

Wow! So long since I have blogged and so much has happened! Dad is now home and doing ok-ish...still not right but getting there. He was in hospital for almost 6 weeks poor thing and was sooo happy to get home and in his comfy armchair with his pipe and sky sports!!!!

Scrapping and work stuff has had to take a back seat to all the family problems which isn't ideal but that's how it is. Family and friends come first with me... always have and always will! I work to live, pay bills etc and not the other way round! I have missed a couple of deadlines which I just hate doing but luckily this was met with understanding so I now need to get caught up on projects!

Last week was a strange old week... I heard the horrific news that one of my closest and dearest friends is very ill.... words just cannot describe how i feel about this so I am not even going try! Life throws all sorts of stuff our way and you just have to try and deal with it in the best way you can. It just puzzles me why the worst things happen to the nicest of people. Sooo not fair.

I have also had a lovely house guest to stay! Anita was over in the uk doing some photography shoots and I had the pleasure of her company for a few days. It was not without mishap... but anyone who knows me will know that is just "normal" in my life!!!!

On the first day my car decided that it needed a little "rest time" and promptly filled with smoke causing Anita and I to exit very quickly!!!! 2 hours later my little car was hooked up to the back of an AA van and towed to Dads with the very serious diagnosis of Cylinder Head Gasket Gone!
So we were stranded without car and had to rely on public transport. HOW EXPENSIVE ARE BUSES THESE DAYS!!!! No wonder people drive! In the end I ended up hiring a car for a few days so we could get out and about. Anyhow enough complaining... this week I am in positive mode (been getting re-aquainted with the secret ;-)!!!) Sooo check out this amazing photo that Anita took of me....

I just love it! we had a blast and anita took heaps of photos that i just can't wait to see!!!!

I honestly don't think that i have eaten so much over a 6 day period! Mind you... not that I was complaining.... although I am now as my shorts are, shall we say, very snug!!!! Healthy eating for me this week!

I haven't had much time for scrapping over the last couple of months but I'll leave you with some recent layouts!

This was for the UK Scrappers homepage class.... love this pic of Ziggy! He looks soooo naughty!

A layout using our may kit and a pencil lines sketch (sorry can't remember what number!)

And finally this one for the layers challenge on the shop blog! I LOVE this photo of my great gran (or old gran as we used to call her!) She looks like a proper biker granny! I used our Out and About kit (Fresh into the clearance section ;-)) and tore the edges and added some ink to achieve that distressed grungy look that is all about at the mo... not sure if its me or not but had to give it a go!

Right I'm off to finish up sorting this months kit.... and its a yummy one!

Maria x

Almost a whole month!!!!

2008-04-15T22:02:00.003+01:00

Yup it's been almost a month since I last blogged! But I have got a good excuse... honest! My Dad has been pretty poorly and it's kind of thrown everything upside down what with hospital visiting etc. It's been a rough month and we've been on a real rollercoaster of emotions with no sign of it ending soon. So blogging had to go on the back burner while I struggled to keep up with shop orders etc. Actually it went on the back burner along with scrapping! I have had no time to do anything other than the essentials such as blog challenges and crop classes!

So am looking forward to some scrapping time real soon! I have 2 friends coming over tomorrow evening for a craft night and I can't wait! I have 3 projects on the go and am hoping to get at least one of them finished!!!

A few layouts that I've manged to complete over the past weeks.....

I used Piggy Tales Ba Ba Black Sheep papers for this layout. This is a new company for me and I just love the quality of the papers and the little barn doors are oh so cute! Layout of my late cat Jasper... he used to snuggle up all the time with his paws all curled up over his face... sooo cute!

I used our April kit for this layout! It's of my friend Gillian taken at Cullercoats bay on a VERY cold day!!!

Another using the April kit! Photo taken by Anita Mundt and I used some of the new Collage Press stamps which I just adore!

And finally.... an altered photo frame for the blog challenge! Covered with Sassafras Lass Pocket Full of Rosies papers (loving these new collections!)

And a bit of detail!!!

Right that's me for tonight! I'm off to bed as another busy day looms!

Maria x

Still around.....

2008-03-17T09:58:00.003Z

but running round like a headless chicken! Sorry i haven't updated for a bit, life is just very, very busy at the mo.... which is good! However I would really like some time just to take stock and have a bit of me time. I'm not the best at juggling a huge amount of......er well....stuff for want of a better word and tend to find that certain things slip... like this blog!!!!!

Lots of great stuff happening on the work front so am happy just to plod along working my way through projects, organising kits and other stuff ;-) But you'll all have to bear with me on the blogging front..... will get sorted... one of these days!!!!

Will leave you with a few layouts that I've done over the past week or so....

This is a layout for next months crop class. Don't worry.... not giving anything away... the ladies have all seen it so they know the type of photo to bring along! We're concentrating on decorating chipboard so loads of painting, stamping and inking in this class!

Did this one for a UKS challenge. Love these new papers fom American Crafts.... love of texture, foiling and embossing....scrummy!

Last weeks SSC challenge was to use foam! So I dug my sheets of funky foam and cut some flowers using the big kick!

Right best make a move... have a cj entry to finish, mag article to finish (more of those gorgeous AC papers ;-)) and new kit to organise!

Oh... but before I leave.... had a fab, fab girly day out with my gorgeous friend Gillian the other week.... we shopped, we lunched and generally had a blast! It was freezing cold so what was sensible thing to do? Oh yes.... we headed down to the beach (it was snowing at one point!!!) and had a good old play and lark about with the camera! I have stacks of gorgeous photos that will be featuring in layouts very soon!

Oh and one more thing!!!! Our new scrap kit will be ready to ship next week... it's a stunner and jammed packed full with new CHA releases....will post a sneaky peek at the weekend!

Til then folks!

Maria x

Thank the Lord it's saturday!!!!

2008-03-01T09:29:00.004Z

Yes it's definately been not the best of weeks. But it's at a close and next week will be great! That's my positive thinking! Thursday was our chance to say goodbye to Anne at her funeral. I have never ever been to a funeral that was such a moving celebration of someones life and it was very emotional.... Anne was a true inspiration to all who met her and she clearly had a massive impact on all around judging by the huge attendance of the service. We, the SSC design team, are running (haha!!!) ahem well maybe walking the race for life in her honour. All the proceeds will be donated to Cancer Research and the shop will have some very special kits for sale (with an amazing guest designer ;))in June with proceeds going to the charity. The shop will also be hloding other fundraising events nearer the time. I want to raise £500 so if you have a wee bit to spare please, please, please do pop over to my fundraising page!!!!

Ok the blog challenge is live and this week Vanessa challenges us to Button It!!! I have a huge button fetish going on at the mo so this challenge was right up my street! My mojo even made a fleeting appearance for this layout!

I used elements from the Chalk Garden kit (only 2 left!!!) and a whole stack of buttons to create a wave effect. I also combined this with the weekly challenge on UKS to clock up some extra points for my team!

This is the final layout from Stitches and shows me at 2 years old blowing out my birthday candles! I just adore the look of pure concentration on my face!!!!! I used Daisy Bucket papers, Hero Arts stamps and lots of chipboard which was either covered in patterned paper or painted!

Have a couple of projects to play with this morning so will pop back tomorrow with some pics of those! Am having a well deserved night out tonight so will let my hair down and have a bit of fun!

Til tomorrow

Maria x

Still alive.....

2008-02-27T22:01:00.004Z

Just having a really busy and rather trying week! Mojo has gone walkies which is not good when I have a stack of projects to complete! Sooo.... if you see/find my mojo... please send him home as I am missing him!!!!

Oooh and before I forget (brain is sooo not working right at the mo!!!!) Thank you sooo much to Looby and Vanessa for their awards.... they made me smile!

Will leave you with a layout from stitches as I don't really have anything new to share :-(

Ok this was a really difficult layout to do... haven't really scrapped any of our wedding pics. Couldn't quite bring myself to journal on it yet! It's coming up to the 2nd anniversary of Danny's death and if anyone had told me 20 months ago where I would be now I simply just would not have believed them! Time IS a greater healer but as the layout says, we always have our memories. Life moves on.....

Hopefully I'll find time to blog soon and will definately post more pics from stitches! I have some lovely photos of the stand that just need a wee bit of tweeking!

Til the next time!

Maria x

Sad times...

2008-02-22T08:46:00.003Z

Sorry I didn't update yesterday. Had some very sad news that left me not wanting to rave about what a fab time I've been having of late. One of lovely ladies that attended our local crop finally lost her long and brave battle against cancer on wednesday. She was a total inspiration to all who had the privelege of meeting her and she will be very missed. My thoughts are with her family at this very sad time.

Not really got much else to say so will leave you with some more pics of the layouts from the Stampbox stand.

Using Collage Press Margot papers (love em!) and a mixture of Hero Arts and Autumn Leaves Stamps. The flowers have been cut using a sizzix/ellison die... can't remember which!

French Twist papers, bitty blossoms, corduroy brads and Hero Arts journaling stamp. Oh and yes! that is me... when I was a bit thinner than I am now!!!!!!

My Minds Eye Confetti papers and Autumn Leaves stamps. One of the rare occasions when Ziggy posed for the camera!

Til tomorrow and a new bog challenge!

Maria x

Catching up

2008-02-20T22:49:00.004Z

I've had a day of catching up after our jaunt down to Birmingham! Shop orders to pack and post and general admin stuff. As promised here are some of the layouts that I made for the Stampbox stand....

I used Daisy Bucket papers, Hero Art stamps (loving these!!!), Bazzill in stichez, ribbon and some bazzill blossoms.

Ok this has got to be one of my favourite layouts! Lots of grungy inking and Collage Press Grayson Hall papers!

Felix doing one his poses (he just loves the camera... unlike Ziggy!) I used a combination of Daisy Bucket and Grayson Hall papers, ribbons and rick rack, a whole heap of buttons (Autumn Leaves Whirligig) and of course some zig zag stitching using the Bazzill in Stitches programme.

Finally for tonight... more Daisy Bucket and a layout of my very gorgeous niece Louisa! Note the NUFC shirt... she is such a footie fan and a damn fine goalie too!!!!

I have a stack of projects on my desk to get through over the next couple of days.... so am looking forward to some serious scrapping time! Will show some more layouts tomorrow and some show pics!

Off to bed now!

Maria x

How tired????

2008-02-19T23:09:00.002Z

Yup I'm pretty tired at the mo! Have had a whirlwind time at Stitches and a nightmare journey home! Three days of looking at gorgeous new products, selecting products for future kits and meeting gorgeous people has left me totally shattered! I have had THE best time!

Our journey home was a complete nightmare! We left at 4pm and hit all the rush hour traffic! My poor sis was shattered before she started driving! And then... oh yes... freezing fog! All the way home until we reached South Shields! The journey took 5 hours.

So I'm home... not unpacked but with glass of wine in hand!

The show was fab... my layouts seemed to go down well! Well lots of peeps taking pics of them (very strange feeling!!) and a whole heap of great contacts and possible future projects!

I'll update fully tomorrow when I've had some sleep but will leave you with a pic of Alan (Stampbox), Joey (Bazzill Basics) and myself!

Til tomorrow

Maria x

Phew what a week!!!!

2008-02-16T11:48:00.002Z

It's been another busy week hence the lack of blog posts! Not had a minute to scrap... apart from this weeks SSC challenge.

I now have a very tidy and organised craft room! It so needed to be done and done it was! I can actually find stuff now... and along the way I rediscovered a fair bit of stash that I had totally forgotten about!

Spent the night at Angie's last night as we hit South Shields for an early birthday celebration (Angie's... next saturday ;)) Well needless to say am feeling a bit worse for wear this morning and pretty tired which isn't great as I have stacks to do before we set off for stitches!

Anyhoo... this weeks challenge... set by Karen, was to use only one shape on a project. Such as squares, rectangles, circles etc. Quite a tricky one this and I played it safe and went with rectangles!

I used our Mellow kit and some of our new buttons... have a bit of a button thing going on at the moment!!!!

Right on that note I had better dash... stacks to do and not much time! Will pop back with some pics from stitches when I get a mo!

Have a great weekend all!

Maria x

The Aftermath!!!!!

2008-02-11T08:29:00.001Z

Yes this is what my craftroom looks like after a manic week of scrapping! Ok to be honest, it's never the tidiest of rooms as I'm a pretty messy scrapper but this is the worst it's ever been! You know its bad when you lose a ruler and you can't find it any where!!!! I mean the ruler is 12 inches long for gods sake!!! I did find it... eventually!
I have finished the samples for the StampBox stand at stitches and I'm pretty pleased with what I've made... just hope that Julie and Alan like them too!!!! I've tried to stretch out of my comfort zone and try new things. Here are some sneaky peeks of the rest of the layouts....

You'd think that I'd be all scrapped out by now. Well no.... it seems to have kick started my mojo big time and I have sketches and ideas galore... but these will be made at a leisurely pace ;-)

Right best get the weekend's orders packed and make a start on tidying THAT room!!!

Maria x

As promised....

2008-02-10T07:21:00.000Z

A full pic of the layout for the blog challenge! Am still busy scrapping.... today is the last full day that I have to get as much done as possible!

I've used our Bliss kit and based the layout on one of the "recipes" from the new Designing With Recipes book by Autumn Leaves.

So have taken 2 paracetamol to help with the smallish hangover from last night and am about to head up the stairs and start creating!!!!

Will pop back later with some more sneak peeks ;-)

Enjoy your sunday

Maria x

Still busy scrapping!

2008-02-08T16:06:00.000Z

And loving every minute of it! The craft room looks like someone has thrown a bomb in it... but the rest of the house is still tidy-ish!!!!

I seriously cannot remember the last time I scrapped so much in such a short space of time!

The new kits are selling really well... mind you, they are pretty gorgeous!

Here's a sneeky peek of tomorrow's blog challenge which goes live in the morning. I have used our Bliss kit and based it on one of the layouts from the new Designing With Recipes book.
And here are some sneek peeks of some of the layouts I've been working on this week!

I have a few more layouts "in progress" so to speak! Will get cracking and finish some more tonight!

Tomorrow is our local crop day so I also need to pack up the shop and get ready for that. I'm busy , busy at the mo! Mind you will be having some let my hair down time tomorrow night...

Right off to make something to eat.... will post a full pic of the blog challenge layout in the morning!

Maria x

Busy scrapping!!!

2008-02-06T07:54:00.000Z

Am having a great week scrapping! It's not very often that I have the time just to spend pure days scrapping so this week is a pure joy. What am I scrapping? Ah well... unfortunately I can't share them just yet! I've been asked by StampBox, a fab UK wholesaler, to design some layouts for their stand at stitches. This means I get to play with the most fabulous products from ranges including Bazzill, My Minds Eye, Daisy Bucket, Autumn Leaves, Collage Press etc. How lucky am I? Stitches is the main craft trade show in this country and starts 17th February! I'm excited but terrified at the same!!! I really want to produce some great work to showcase their gorgeous products.
So that's what I've been doing for the past few days... oh and putting together kits! Monday saw me and Karen (my chief kit putter togetherer!!!) sorting out the new kits ready to ship as soon as the final 2 pieces arrive... which will be any day now!

I am loving this kit! It's bright and summery and just cheers me up no end just looking at it!!!! These papers by Rhonna Farrer have been around for a while but methinks that they will be classics! A bit like the Junkitz Flowerful... papers that you can pull out your stash and always be able to scrap with them. You know what I mean? Some papers... well you buy them because everyone is raving about them and then you just don't use them as they aren't that useable!!!! I could seriously decorate every wall in my house twice over with papers like this!!!!!

It's our local crop this saturday and for once I am sooo organised! The kits for the class are all packed and all I have to do is sort out the shop on friday night and I'm good to go.

Right I'm off to scrap some more! Daisy Bucket papers are calling my name!!!

Maria x

M is for Monograms!

2008-02-02T13:08:00.000Z

Yup that's todays challenge on the shop blog! Set by Samm, she has challenged us to use monograms on our projects....

and this is my example! Please excuse the wonky photo drenched in way too much sunshine!!! Not one of my better photographs! Ok for this layout I used stacks of Rhonna Farrer French twist products... I am loving playing with range.

The kits have unfortunately been delayed as we are still waiting for the scrummy rub-ons and transparency strips to hit these shores from America.... I want to say that it will deffo be ready by next weekend but I'm not going to tempt fate!

Have had a busy old week scrapping to my hearts content... heaps done... none that I can share :-( ! Am all scrapped out for today so am going to have a lovely relaxing afternoon watching the rugby, a leisurely soak in the bath and then off out tonight to drink copious amounts of alcohol and freeze my butt off in this chilly weather!!!

Have a great weekend all

Maria x

A couple of layouts to share...

2008-01-29T23:12:00.000Z

Yes I actually managed to fit some scrapping in over the weekend, although it feels like a distant memory now! Thankfully I have quite a lot of scrapping time pencilled in for the rest of the week. My mojo is well and truly back and my brain is buzzing with ideas... just love it when that happens!

This is a layout of Kim and her utterly gorgeous BMW Z4!!! How cool does she look? Actually Kim always looks cool... even with no make-up on... makes you sick! This is another of our Anita photos (and again on the next lo!!!) I used Tinkering Ink papers and bazzill chips to make the giant buttons. I raided my alphabet stock (I have heaps.. love alphabets!) to make the title and added a painted border and some zig zag stitching.

This next layout was for last weeks UKS team challenge combined with the Elsie 52 challenge. I used the new Margot papers from Collage Press, chipboard, buttons and some blossoms. I love how this turned out. Those papers are an absolute dream to work with and I'm itching to play some more! Watch out for them featuring in a kit very, very soon ;-)

Speaking of kits! Our next kit will hopefully be ready by the beginning of next week at the latest. Its a cardmaking OR scrapping kit! The choice is yours!

On a non-crafting front.... the exercise is still going well! No more weight loss but I'm still perservering. Tonight I've been for a power walk and then an hour of pilates to have a good old stretch out! My house is still pretty tidy although the ironing pile is growing... MUST get it done at some point. Its another busy week at work... lots of projects on the go and none that I can share just yet! Managed to squeeze in a haircut yesterday though so my cute little bob is looking nice and sleek again!

Right off to catch some sleep....although having said that... there's a good film just started!

Catch up soon

Maria x

A busy old week!

2008-01-26T10:43:00.000Z

Yes it's been pretty busy here all week! Have managed to get lots done but still so much more to do! Have been tidying and sorting... with not much time for scrapping as I would've liked :-(

Today is challenge time on the shop blog and this week I challenge you to use ribbons on your projects! I love ribbons and have a pretty substantial collection of them going on!

This is my layout for the challenge. I love this pic of Ziggy... he looks so chilled out! I used our Junkitz Flowerful kit which has sadly sold out.

The february edition of Quick & Crafty! is out now and has some cards that i made using the Bliss kit in it! I love this kit... you can make it traditional or really funk it up with doodling and ribbons!

Right I'm off to do some more housework and then some scrapping! Off out tonight so want to be all sorted!

Have a great weekend!

Maria x

Goals, goals and more goals!!

2008-01-21T17:07:00.000Z

Ok rather than set new year resolutions this year I set myself a number of personal goals! I've put on a few pounds over the past months and I need to lose them! Now I know its not the same as someone who has a lot of weight to lose... its only a measley 10 pounds but boy those extra pounds aren't half uncomfortable! My clothes don't fit... and I have the very unflattering muffin top thing going on... sooo not a good look! Being a classic apple shape the extra pounds have stuck themselves to my middle which is pretty uncomfortable when sitting!!! Oh and top of all that I just don't feel good! Soooo...... cue the healthy eating programme!

I'm not a fan of faddy diets cos as soon as someone tells me I can't eat something I develop a very unnatural craving for that thing! So I am doing the Paul McKenna thing.... eat what I like and just stop when I feel full! So far its helped me to lose 3lbs!!!

Along with the weight loss I am determined to get fit and tone up! I have been following an exercise plan for over a week now and can already feel the benefits! Today saw me signing up to do the race for life in July! I think we all know someone who has battled or are battling cancer so its a fab cause! There are a few members of the DT joining me to do the race and we are planning some fund raising projects for the shop.... so watch this space!

This is a layout that I made for last weeks shop blog challenge! It was set by Samm and we had to use brads. I used French Twist which just happens to be the next card kit ;-)... should be ready next week!

Its been a funny couple of weeks on the scrapping front! Totally lost my mojo last week so took some time out to chill and enjoy catching up with friends... was lovely! Oh and I managed to fit in a bit of shopping too! I love a bargain so was delighted to pick up some gorgeous new togs when in Newcastle. Hopefully it will put an end to the "what am I going to wear?" dilemma that I usually have on a saturday night!!!! Well for a bit anyway!

This weeks challenge on the blog has been set by Angie. Use at least 3 pieces of chipboard on your project! Easy peasy.... i just love chipboard! I made this layout using our Out & About kit. It's of Kim's dog Bobby! He is such a cutie!!!

I have 3 layouts on the go at the mo! So will post pics as soon as they're done. Right best go and clean the bathroom....another goal! Keep on top of housework.... although not doing very well with this one!!!!!

Maria x

Whoops!!!!

2008-01-05T14:11:00.000Z

Ok Merry Christmas and A Happy New year!!!
Just pretend that I posted this a couple of weeks ago instead of now!!!

Hope you all had a good one and spent time with loved ones. I have spent the past couple of weeks fighting a god awful cold :-(..... which has meant no scrapping and basically lying on the sofa watching TV and generally feeling very sorry for myself!
So I'm now playing catch up! I have a pile of projects to complete for various people and they all need to be finished by next weekend.... guess who's going to be busy?!

Today see's another challenge go live at the SSC BLOG!!! This week we are challenging you all to use up your scraps... I'm terrible at collecting scraps... I always seem to have a mountain of them and never use them so this is a great challenge for me!

I've used scraps from the Princess kit and some bits of chipboard and ribbon. There's some hidden journaling which my first few goals for 2008 scribbled on it! Photo by Anita Mundt :-)

Have a few projects on the go that I will be able to share (when they're finished that is!) so will pop back soon.... honest!

Oh and I just wanted to wish my buddy Kim a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Hope its a good one hun!

Maria x

Whoops!!!

2007-12-15T09:51:00.000Z

Didn't realise that it was so long since I last posted! Think that's mainly cos I've been running round like a mad thing trying to get caught up on stuff! It doesn't work... you see just as you think you're nearly up to date a huge pile of work just appears from nowhere.. oh and its all urgent!!!

So since last post... magazine articles x2 finished and posted off to editor. CJ mountain has been conquered and all up to date. Shop blog challenges up to date. New kits.. flying out the doors! Chrsitmas cards= none!!! Nope not a christmas card has been made..... so this weekend will be spent frantically making cards! Am thinking that this years design will be pretty simple but stylish of course!!!

This is the layout that I did for Samm's challenge last weekend.... we had to use material on our los! I used the Bliss kit and added some bits and pieces from my stash. The centre of the flower is material... a very old junkitz swatch! And took my tag maker out the bag again!

This weeks challenge has been set by Vanessa and she challenges us to rip up our stash!!! In the nicest possible way of course! I used the Out & About kit for this lo and added some stitching to create the circle.

Tonight I'm off to Karens where we will be heading off into the cold night air with a group of friends for our christmas get together night! Still haven't decided what to wear! Would thermals be uncool?!!!!

Ok off to make crimbo cards! Have a fab weekend all and don't forget to join in with the new challenge!

Maria x

Challenge Saturday!

2007-12-01T20:11:00.000Z

Yup its saturday and that means another challenge on the shop blog! This week it was Karens turn and she challenges us to do some colouring in on our creations!! Don't know about you but I just love colouring in! Very therapeutic!!!

This is my effort for the challenge! I used Mindy's Flowers stamps and the Doodlebug Memories stamps and coloured them using watercolour pencils! Added a Roxy ribbon some black brads and voila!!!

Have had a very rubbish day today :-( So I am now off to console myself with an evening of scrapping! For as they say... when the going gets tough, the tough get scrapping!!!!

Maria x

Cover Girl!

2007-11-28T19:08:00.001Z

Well its probably the only time I'll be on the cover of a glossy anyway!!! My card made the cover of this months Quick & Crafty magazine so I am one happy lady!

I used the gorgeous range of Christmas papers from American crafts for these cards and loved every minute of working with them!

Today has been spent finishing off another article for the magazine and finalising the new kits for the shop. I'm really pleased with these kits.... they are going to be really special! Following requests from many customers we are now doing 2 sizes of kits... they will cost £24.99 and then a smaller kit that will cost £14.99. This should cater for all budgets! The kits will go on sale next week so keep an eye out for them!

Right I'm off to finish my circle journal mountain!!!!

Maria x

In the pink!!!

2007-11-25T09:47:00.000Z

Today it was Samm's turn to set the challenge on the shop blog and she challenged us to create using one colour only! This wasn't as easy as I though it was going to be as I discovered that I am a bit of a contrasting colours girl!!!! When I look back at all my work it is crammed with colour...and lots of them!

So I opted for shades of pink (no surprise there!!) and scrapped another of the fabby pics by Anita! Ok I know that there is a red heart in there....but you have no idea how hard it was not to add some turquoise into the mix!!!

This morning I am nursing a bit of a hangover following a fab night out... so this morning I am pottering and catching up on some much needed housework! I have a couple of CJs to finish and get in the post and then a lazy afternoon is planned!

Have a great sunday all!

Maria x

I am in love......

2007-11-24T09:26:00.000Z

with the scrummy papers from My Mind Eye that we are using in our next 2 kits!!!!!

Supplies: PP MME Bohemia Bliss, Maya Road chipboard swirls, heidi swap blossom, thickers chip alpha, heidi swap ghost heart, MM tag, oh and I played the bazzill in stitchez for the sewing along the bottom! These templates are so easy to use and give great results! The swirl along the top is made from elastic bands stapled onto the lo! Photos by Anita Mundt :)

The ones I used for the latest shop blog challenge are from the Bohemia Bliss range and are sooo easy to work with! The other range? Ah well that would be telling!! You'll have to keep popping back for some more sneaky peeks!

Have had a busy old week and am now enjoying a weekend off with only housework :( and scrapping :) to keep me occupied! Oh and a couple of nights out thrown in to liven things up!

Right off to scrap!

Maria x

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMIE!!!!

2007-11-18T09:19:00.000Z

It's my nephew, Jamie's 16th birthday today! I just can't believe how quickly the years have flown....it doesn't seem 2 minutes since he was a baby!!!

This is a photo from last year when he taking part in the Remembrance Sunday march. Doesn't he look fab in his RAF cadets uniform?!!!! No doubt he'll kill me for posting this pic...but isn't that what Aunties are for?!

This morning there is another challenge up on the shop blog! This time it's Theresa's turn and she has challenged us all to doodle!

This is my effort! Another of the fab pics taken by Anita Mundt! Love how she brought the colour out in my shoes!!! I used a doodling template for the swirly bits! I've used a mixture of supplies from our kits and the shop.

Today I have my friend Gillian coming over for Sunday lunch so need to have a tidy before she arrives! Then off to visit the birthday boy!

Have a great sunday everyone

Maria x

Sketch Challenge!!!!

2007-11-17T09:41:00.000Z

Yes its saturday morning and that means another challenge is up on the shop blog with a chance to win an e-voucher to the tune of £10!!!!

This time its Angie's turn to set the challenge and she came up with this fabby sketch!!!

Now you can make a card or a layout using the sketch.....the choice is yours!

Here's what I came up with! I used our Mellow kit which worked a treat with the photo! It's a pic of Karen and Tilly getting to know each other!

Tomorrow we have another fab challenge in store for you all so keep popping back!

Maria x

What a weekend!!!

2007-11-13T20:12:00.000Z

Well I have been sooo busy over the past few days that I literally have not had time to blog!

So I have heaps to share with you tonight :)

Well saturday morning saw the third Scrummy Blog challenge go live. This time it was Theresa's turn to set the challenge and she came up with a great one! To use felt and real sewing on a layout or card! Here's my effort!

I love this photo of me taken by Anita!! I am well known for my fits of the giggles and she caught me in giggling action! I used some of the Princess papers, angel kiss, Queen & Co felt, some ribbon from the scrapbook shop, for the record journaling stamp and some other bits and pieces from my stash mountain!!!!

Saturday afternoon was our local crop at Morpeth! As usual the class kit went down a treat (chalk garden.....scrummy!!!) If you're from up here....why not join us? We meet the second saturday in each month...email me for more info!

On the way home from the crop I saw the most amazing sunset.....it was one of those that literally take your breath away. And I actually had my camera with me! So I pulled over, wound down the window and started snapping!

Sooo pleased it didn't miss this amazing sight!

Then it was home to announce the winner of the first challenge :) Congratulations Anita!!!!

A quick shower and off for a well deserved night out with Kim!

Sunday it was Vanessa's turn for the challenge and pockets was the order of the day! Vanessa's example is stunning (nearly stole it at the crop!!!) and we're really looking forward to seeing what you all create!

I made a card for this challenge using our Mellow kit!

Sunday was a long awaited day off....and boy did I need it! Did absolutely nothing and thoroughly enjoyed it! We had another winner to announce on Sunday evening..... Tracie was the lucky winner! Congratulations!!!!

Yesterday I took delivery of 4 boxes of delicious new goodies for the shop! Have managed to get them uploaded so you can go have a peek here! I can't wait to start playing with them and making some samples for the gallery!

Today I have been out and about with Theresa this morning. We were finishing our shopping for the advent swap on UKS....its a tough life!!!

Right I'm off to update the shop gallery!

Catch up soon

Maria x

Happy Birthday Gillian!!!!

2007-11-06T22:19:00.000Z

This is one of my favourite photos of Gillian and I together....Ok we don't look great...but we were having a ball! And that's what counts....not how we look...but how we feel! Note the empty cocktail glass in the foreground, the wet hair and I'll leave the rest up to your imagination!!

Met up with Gillian and her gorgeous Mum at lunchtime for a cuppa and a yummy cheese scone in Tynemouth. The weather was glorious and it was one of those days when you just smell the sea air, count your blessings and be thankful :)

I have a pile of work to get through this week and not enough hours in the day. Hey ho...think that my day off tomorrow has been cancelled! Tomorrow morning Theresa and I are off to The Scrapbook Shop in Durham for some retail therapy all under the disguise of Advent Swap shopping ;) Since starting the shop I have very time or opportunity to go stash shopping so I am really looking forward to it! Then I'll be heading home to get some work out of the way....

Hope your days have been as happy as mine was

Maria x

Scallop Crazy!

2007-11-05T21:31:00.000Z

Samm was in charge of setting yesterday's challenge on the shop blog and she decided that scallops were the order of the day!!! Which suited me right down to the ground as I am sooo in love with them at the moment!

I made this card using our Periphery kit. The scallops were hand cut and I used my cropodile to make the holes!

This card was made using the Flowerful kit and I added a black bling blossom!!!

We have some fab challenges in store for next weekend set by Theresa and Vanessa so please do join us!

I've spent today having business meetings and placing more orders with suppliers! Our Season of Joy limited edition card kits should be ready by the weekend (fingers crossed!!) and we also have Love Elsie Noel coming very soon too!

Hope you are all having a great bonfire night!

Maria x

One challenge down....seven to go!!!

2007-11-03T22:18:00.000Z

Well the first challenge on the shop blog went live this morning and seemed to be well received!

The challenge was to create a card or layout using acetate in some shape or form....acetate is so popular at the moment....especially the nice extra thick stuff so I thought it would be good to see how people use it. Actually I'm just really nosey!!!!!

Here are the two example that I made. The card was made using Cherry Arte Princess papers. I cut out an aperture to hold the acetate and then very carefully stamped the butterfly onto the acetate using stazon. The stamps are the Doodlebug Memories from the shop. When it was dry i flipped it over and painted on the reverse using acrylic paints.

The layout was made using the our Flowerful kit...this is by far my favourite kit...I just love the colour combos! Again I stamped the title onto acetate and painted on the reverse.

Tomorrow it is Samm's turn for setting the challenge and she has a really good one up her sleeve so please drop by to play!!!

Maria x

Busy, busy, busy....

2007-11-02T23:27:00.000Z

getting the shop blog all ready to go in the morning! Pop over and take a look....here! We are launching with a fab challenge at 9am-ish in the morning. Each challenge will have a winner picked at random so please, please, please do have a go....we are really looking forward to seeing what you all create!

Today see's the current issue of Quick & Crafty! hitting the stands...I have a project in there using some delicious papers by Scrapworks called Season of Joy. These papers will be uploaded to the shop over weekend when I get a spare second or two to spare!!! We will also be putting together a limited edition christmas kit using these gorgeous papers...hoping that will be ready by next weekend!

Here's sneaky peeky of the papers and a card that's in the magazine!

Update on Tilly....well Tilly has been settling in well so far...she's met all her new doggy friends and has been on 3 walks through the woods!!! Unfortunately she has also broken a very expensive crystal candlestick whilst bounding around the house!!! Ah well........

Right i'm off to bed now as I have a busy day ahead again! Will update in the morning with the very first Scrummy Stash Cafe blog challenge!

Nighty night

Maria x

Such a bad blogger!!!

2007-11-01T22:11:00.000Z

I truly am! I promise myself that I will blog regularly and life just seems to get in the way. However I'm not going to dwell in the reasons why I haven't blogged for so long....they are just sooo boring! So lets just pretend that I haven't missed out a whole month and carry on as normal ;)

Today has been great! I travelled down to South Yorkshire with my friend Karen to pick up her new dog from the labrador rescue place there. She is called Tilly, is a whole year old and absolutely adorable. Do you believe in love at first sight? Well I certainly do after today!!! When they first brought Tilly out to meet us she was very nervous but overcame that in about....oh....30 seconds and then was all over us! She has the sweetest nature and has obviously come from a very loving home.

So here she is! Gorgeous or what? Just check out those amazing big brown eyes....oh and she has fab ginger eyelashes to match her silky ears and the tip of her tail!

Karen and Tilly getting to know each other!

We took her for a good walk in some nearby woods before setting off for the journey north. There she met loads of other dogs and a couple of horses and wasn't bothered in the slightest....pretty amazing considering that she basically was with 2 strangers! On our walk through the woods we spotted these amazing fungi!

The journey home was pretty uneventful with Tilly snoozing happily....so a good day all round!

On the shop and work front things are going great! We are having a good old clear out to make way for new goodies so go grab yourself a bargain here! Our Chalk Garden card kit is flying out with only a handful left! I did an article for Quick & Crafty magazine using these papers and they popped in on their website which was a bit of a shock to say the least.....must change that photo!!!

I have plenty more deadline to keep me busy for the magazine and am thoroughly enjoying creating for them once again!

Saturday sees the launch of our shop blog (will post a link tomorrow ;)) We are celebrating the launch of the blog (and our shops' 6 month birthday!) with a whole months worth of challenges. Right on that note...I had better get back to working my way through my infamous list!!!

Bye for Now

Maria x

Just a quicky!!!

2007-09-28T15:53:00.000+01:00

Thought I would update this afternoon as am going out tonight and won't get a chance later on!

Not having a very productive day....in fact not managing to get much done at all! Starting stuff but not finishing....I do sometimes have days like this and they are usually followed by really productive ones so heres hoping!!!!

Managed to get music on my blog last night and had great fun compiling my playlist!

No scrapping or crafty pics today so thought I would share this pic of my neighbours cat.....so meet Mitch! Very lovable and needs to be cuddled lots....oh and talks non stop LOL!!

Right thats me for today....will hopefully be back tomorrow with some scrapping to share.

Have fun!

Maria x

Life Begins at 40!!!!

2007-09-27T20:59:00.000+01:00

Yup and I hit the big 40 last thursday!!! A huge, huge thank you to everyone who sent cards, e-cards (love em!!!), pressies etc... they really did make my day ever so special :) I had the best time and the partying went on all weekend so its taking me a while to recover LOL!!!

Life has been really hectic with shop stuff to sort and new ventures in the planning so haven't had a great deal of time to scrap unfortunately :( We are in the process of setting up our shop blog! We are planning loads of activities and challenges for you all plus updates on products etc. Samm is chief blog builder as I am a bit rubbish at doing stuff like that! So a huge big thank you to her!

This is a layout I did a week or so ago using some of the "Thelma and Louise" type pics that Anita Mundt took of us! We laughed so much when they were being taken as we were in a car park in Wigan and getting loads of strange looks from passing folks! I have used Love Elsie Roxie papers from our kit.

I have spent today drawing up a things that I must do list!!! First on the list is update my blog regularly LOL!!! Next comes scrap at least 3 layouts a week....now I know that this doesn't seem much but when I'm busy I just can't find the time which is very frustrating...which leads me to item three....structure my day more efficiently!!! While I can dream can't I?

Did this lo for a weekly challenge on UKS. I adore this photograph of Kim taken by Anita and I think it works so well with the gorgoeus Scenic Route Laurel papers!

And finally I'll leave you with another weekly challenge LO on UKS.....

My sister will no doubt kill me for this....but hey! She did steal my lolly!! (and I've never let her forget it!)

New kits are up in the shop..... Mellow and Pheripery and I am in love with them both...can't wait to start playing!!!!

Well thats all for tonight....except to say huge healing hugs to Gillian who is poorly at the moment :(

Maria x

Long time no blog....again!

2007-09-17T19:59:00.000+01:00

Well i have had one heck of a busy week and therefore no time to blog....again! Think I'm getting over my post holiday blues! Although having said that the weather today up here has been just awful....really cold (jumper and heating on!!) and rain...lots of it with wind added in for good measure!

Have managed to get another magazine article out the way and 2 in progress! And I have been scrapping!!!! Have done a couple of layouts for UKS weekly challenges and some shop samples with our gorgeous Princess card kit....

I just love this layout of my fabby friend Gillian!! She really is a water babe.....you can see by the smile on her face how happy she is (Oh and I should add that this pic was taken around 2 in the morning after a whole load of cocktails and an impromptu dip in the hotel pool!!!!)

Well Thursday see me turning 40!!!! That can't be right....can it? How come I only feel about 25? Have a whole heap of birthday celebrations planned from meals with friends to party nights that I am sure will last til the early hours!

Will post more layouts the next time I post....am not promising when that will be though!!!!

Take Care all

Hugs Maria x

Oh and well done Anna on your run.....the girl did good!!!!!

Oh Dear....

2007-09-07T22:56:00.000+01:00

Got a bad case of the post holiday blues today!! However have managed to keep myself pretty busy and the day has passed quickly. Today is my dearest, dearest friend Karen's birthday.... so have spent this evening making her a card and wrapping her pressies! I am going round there tomorrow night for pizza and girly chat :) Having said that....I really shouldn't be eating pizza as I have put on quite a bit of weight....ah well....the diet can start on Monday (that way i get a good day on Sunday too!!!)

Here's another photo taken by the very talented Anita Mundt...

Love this one...how dreamy do I look?!

Have been sorting out bits and pieces for our crop today....I am teaching a layout class which I hope the ladies will enjoy. Just got the shop to pack up in the morning and I'm good to go! Our crop is just a short one, 1pm-4pm and the time just flies by!

Here's a sneak peek of the layout we'll be making....

I have scrapped another Anita photo!!!

Ok well that's about it for tonight....not very chatty! Will pop tomorrow with more layouts and cards. Have a great weekend all.

Hugs Maria x

I'm back!!!

2007-09-06T23:07:00.000+01:00

Ok I know that I haven't blogged for yonks but life just has a habit of getting in the way of things! And I don't want to bore you all with my ups and downs so thought I had better wait a bit before blogging again...

Lots have happened since my last post... got my pics back from Anita and they are just gorgeous :)

This is one of my favs....will bore you all with some of the others over the next couple of days!

Been asked to start contributing to Quick & Crafty! magazine again! I used to write for them pretty regularly but what with setting up the shop etc I just kind of ran out of time.So I am now armed with a list of deadlines and my first article is in the November issue.

Last week saw me sunning myself and partying on the gorgeous island of Kefalonia with my bud Kim. We had a ball and were heartbroken when it all had to end :( I managed to catch up with old friends and made a few new friends into the bargain too!

Kefalonia has a large English population and one of our old neighbours now lives out there...so no doubt we will be knocking on his door during the cold winter months!

Will leave you with a photo of the beach in Skala at night....

Will be back tomorrow with more news!

Hugs Maria x

Oh Dear....

2007-08-08T21:48:00.001+01:00

I've been a bad bad blogger already!!!! Can't believe that it's been almost a week since my last post...where has the time gone?

Have been busy with the shop and manages to bag myself a full 3 days off :o This is almost unheard of but I was just so tired that I knew if I didn't take some time to myself I would start getting ill!!!! So what did I do on my 3 glorious days off? Well on friday I met up with my friend Angie for a good old chin wag, coffee and a cheese scone :) Was great!

Friday afternoon I got the proofs through from Anita! Wow is all I can say....that lady sure does know how to take a good photo or 2!! Am absolutely delighted with the results and can't wait to get my mitts on them and start scrapping!

Saturday and sunday were taken up with housework...yuk...but it had to be done! I am not a tidy person by nature but I can't stand the house messy....work that one out! My bedroom was blitzed, washing and ironing was done and I now feel a whole lot happier!

This week saw our new card kit, Princess, go up for sale in the shop. Can't believe how quickly its selling! Just got to find the time to make some samples now!

Here's a little peek of the mini books that I am making with the kit ;) Am teaching this little beauty at the crop this weekend so best get a move on and get it finished!!

Right, that's me for now....will not leave it so long before I post again!!

Hugs Maria x

A good days play!!!

2007-08-02T19:02:00.000+01:00

I have spent the whole day playing with some of the new kits from the shop!!!
And I have thoroughly enjoyed myself!

It is very rare that I get to sit and play for a whole day so I really made the most it and I'm not finished yet! Am planning a layout for later! Having said that, I have a rather large glass of wine in my hand at the moment so we'll see how things go LOL!!!

The greeting on all of the cards are from Hampton Art Studio G stamps....aren't they gorgeous?
I have a real thing about stamps at the moment and am building up my collection very quickly! All of these cards are made from our Junkitz Flowerful Kit. If you haven't got yours yet I would hurry as they are flying!!!

Now I know that I said I'd been tagged by Samm a couple of days ago....I have to confess that I still haven't sussed out people to tag who haven't been tagged already....so if you would like to be tagged....leave a comment and I'll tag you!!!! It'll be a great way to meet other bloggers as I'm very new to all this!!

And changing the subject completely!!! Yesterday I took my Craft Robo out of the box for the very first time! I've ony had it 8 months!!! I think I was a bit scared of how complicated it would be to use....well I shouldn't have been....it's easy peasy!!! It is well and truly christened now! Will show you some of the results tomorrow ;)

I'll leave you with the final card of today that I can share (the others are for a forthcoming kit ;))

Catch up soon

Hugs Maria x

Where does the time go?

2007-07-31T20:17:00.000+01:00

Honestly, I do not know! This year is flying by! It's 25 days til I head off to Kefalonia again and I cannot wait!! It will be lovely just to relax in the sun with a glass of something nice in my hand and to feel the sun on my face!!!

Today has been busy as usual! Met up with Theresa (one the design team girls) to hand over some stash to play with and then it was an emergency trip to see my sister who had been clamped by the DVLA (that'll teach her not to get her licence on time!) and bail her out....so £200 lighter (yes...I know!!) I came home with a headache (I wonder why?) to pack and post today's orders.

The flowerful kit is proving really popular and well it should as those papers are gorgeous! Last night I did something that I haven't done for months.....I did a UKS weekly challenge!!!

I used the flowerful kit and added a few extra brads and some felt! Have to confess that I did this whilst under the influence of a few glasses of wine but hey!!! it turned out ok!!

Other news..... I have been tagged! By samm....I will get her back...don't you worry!

Now all I have to do is find 5 poor people to tag too.....cruel isn't it?!!!

Will post in the morning who the unlucky people are!!!

Right off to scrap (without the help of wine tonight!)

Hugs

Maria x

New kits and CJ finished!!!

2007-07-29T20:20:00.000+01:00

Well I have one busy weekend! Karen, my friend came over yesterday and we sat and made up the new kits for the shop....the flowerful kit has gone live but I'm still waiting for one piece to complete the Cherry Arte kit!

As promised here's a peek....

This is Junkitz Flowerful....now I know that its not a new paper range but it is gorgeous and it's selling really well already!!!

Now for a sneak peek at the new card kit.....

Ok so that's enough kit talk!!!! Today has been spent finishing off my Scrapping Angels CJ :) Now for all of you who haven't heard of Scrapping Angels.....why not?!!!! Only joking!!! It's fab kit company that do monthly page kits and lots more! Anna also organises the best retreats and thats what the Cj is for! The aim is that we all hand over the completed cjs at the retreat next April!

Here's a few pics of the completed article....

I'm pretty pleased with the finished result! I have used the Flowerful kit and the new card kit but shhh don't tell anyone LOL!!!!

Also had a play with the ranger paint dabbers.....i am just in love with these babies! and the odd rub-on and angel kiss!

Right enough chatter....I'm off to watch BB :-)

Hugs Maria x

I'm no model......

2007-07-28T08:17:00.000+01:00

but we had the best time having our photos taken with the lovely Anita Mundt!

I learned quite a few things about myself over the past couple of days...... 1) I simply cannot jump and fling my arms up to the sky whilst smiling all at the same time!!! In fact jumping is not my thing! My leg muscles are killing me! I gave it my best shot but I am no Elsie!!!! 2) I cannot stick my tongue out without making people shriek with laughter! Don't know why?!!!! and finally 3) My sexy pouty look needs a lot of work! Anita's face says it all doesn't it?

Anita was brilliant with us..... my friend Kim was really nervous and self concious and Anita made us feel totally at ease! She spent hours (literally!) getting the right shots and we are both

just dying to see the results. The weather was not knid to us on Thursday....it tipped it down! Not just light rain, OH NO!, proper heavy rain! We met up at Haigh Country Park (gorgeous place) and luckily they kindly let us take some pics in the country house but the lighting wasn't great so as soon as the rain stopped for a bit we legged it outside for pics in the gorgeous grounds!

We were literally soaked to the skin so we headed off to a lovely village pub for a late lunch....well it's gotta be done!!!!
The weather clearly wasn't going to get any better so we decided to call it a day and meet up the following morning at Wigan Pier as the forecast was much better for Friday.

Kim and I sampled the nightlife of Wigan on Thursday night (not quite the same as Newcastle!!!) and we both slept like logs!!! The weather on Friday was much better and we got some good pics before setting off home :) This modelling malrkey's not all it's cracked up to be and we were both absolutely shattered by the time we got home!

Luckily for me, my friend Karen was at my house when I got home and she made me a lovely cup of tea before showing me all the delicious goodies that had been delivered in my absence!!!

So today we have heaps to do! New kits to make up and new goodies to upload onto the shop site. I'll leave you with a couple of pics that I took from our trip :)

Kim and Anita

Kim posing next to her new car....we had some great shots taken with this car!!!!

Will catch up soon with some pics of a cj that I've been working on....and maybe a sneaky peek of the new kits ;)!!!!

Hugs

Maria x

Running round....

2007-07-25T20:02:00.000+01:00

like a headless chicken today trying to get stuff sorted before my trip to Wigan in the morning. We are setting off at 6am so there will be no last minute packing (my usual trick!!). I need to organised and packed before I crawl into bed tonight.

Today I have been packing and posting orders, making supplier orders, visiting relatives, housework and food shopping! Still have ironing and packing to do, a facial (I really need it!!!) and a list to make for Karen who is shop and cat sitting :)

So instead of yakking on here I had better make a move LOL!!!

Keep your fingers crossed that the weather holds out for us and I'll hopefully be back on Friday with photos to share!

Hugs
Maria

WOO HOO it's getting there!!!

2007-07-24T21:55:00.000+01:00

Well today I learned how to do the links at the side of my blog! This is huge deal to a technophobe like myself! Now just need to work out how to do a groovy banner thingy for my title LOL!!!! One step at a time Maria!

Today has been busy,busy,busy! Which isn't great as I've been a bit under the weather and am struggling with a sore throat :( I've been sorting out a stack of orders for the shop and putting together the kits for rest of the year! I just love doing this and am just sooo excited about all the new products released at CHA.....ooh decisions, decisions! Think I've made my final decisions....just need to order now :)

The rest of this week is spoken for already (where does the time go?).... tomorrow I am visiting Tom and Mary (my late hubby's parents) and then home to finish off a cj, pack and post orders and get ready for my trip to Wigan :)

My friend Kim and I are having a photo shoot with the lovely and very talented Anita Mundt! And we are soooo excited about it so keep your fingers crossed that the weather holds out for us! We're travelling down on Thursday and coming home on the friday....it'll be a lovely break for us both. Oh and we are travelling in style!!! Kim has just bought herself a BMW Z4 so we can pose to our hearts content LOL!!!

Right that's about it for tonight.

Hugs
Maria x

Bear with me......

2007-07-23T11:41:00.000+01:00

this is a work in progress!!! I will get the hang of this blogging malarkey eventually!
I decided to keep a blog as a means of recording my day to day life....kind of an online jounal!