National Scrapbooking Day BLOG HOP

Today we celebrate National Scrapbooking Day, and what better way to start this special Saturday than with a ScrapaGoGo blog hop!

There's goodies up for grabs along the way, what more could you ask for!

You'll have been sent here by Nic, having just collected your sixth word? And I guess you want a word from me!

So without further ado my word is sister, which I felt was very apt in light of the fact that we all share this addictive hobby and are 'sisters' in a kind of way!

So take your seventh word and I'll send you on your way in the direction of Eileen.

Please leave a comment. They'll be a gift for one person who leaves a comment on each blog and an overall prize when you've solved the anagram. But you have to have left a comment to be in with a chance to win the overall prize!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day, whatever you're up to!

A right Royal wedding!

I am so excited for tomorrow! I am possibly more excited than even Kate herself!

I'm a real royalist and think that we are very lucky as a nation to have all the pomp and ceremony that comes with this great country of ours!

I was lucky enough to be eight when the wedding of Charles and Di took place. We had the most amazing street party and although it is nearly 30 years ago, I still remember bits of it like it was yesterday!

So when it came to celebrating this one, I put the idea into a friends head that we should have a party at her parents pub! So guess what, we are!

7am tomorrow Harvey and I will be setting up the portrait sitting area, back home for around 9am, being picked up at 9.45am and the fun starts.

Us ladies are going in posh frocks and the men are in DJ's... Guests arrive from 10am. Champagne and canapes on arrival!

Harvey is taking portraits for charity, service at 11am, back at Buckingham Palace for 12.30pm, kiss on the balcony at 1.30pm, buffet lunch is served.

Fun and games in the afternoon, someone did suggest "It's a knockout!" We are also having a charity auction... lots include a voucher for Tootsies... your feet are immersed in a tank of Garra Rufa fish and they nibble away your dead skin - I'm after bidding on this lot!

All proceeds to Help for Heros....

So without further ado, it goes without saying 'CONGRATULATIONS WILL and KATE"

I know these aren't Royal cupcakes, but it was Nina's birthday on Good Friday and my Mum always makes stunning cakes, so as some of the other images are edible, I thought I should show you her creations...

Pretty huh?

Enjoy tomorrow whatever you do xxx

OMG it was manic!

For those of you who attended the recent GoGoGetaway, you'll remember the stampede for the shop when it opened its doors at 22.45 on the Friday night.

Having been lucky enough to set up the shop, I had spied so many lovely things, even if my bank balance wasn't going to like it!

So at my local crop last weekend I 'broke' into some of my new stash, including some delicious Websters Pages button gems, to create this layout.

I used a photo taken by Cheryl Johnson at a previous GoGoGetaway, that I had printed to use with my stunning April ScrapaGoGo kit. I had ended up using a version of the same image but in more bluey grey tones, so this was 'spare'.

One of the items I had spied at the retreat was the gorgeous KI Memories scribble words, but I was sadly not quick enough then! I have since managed to get hold of a set and rather than just keep them for 'best' I am actually using them!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend xxx

A paper challenge....

Yesterday myself and Nina attended my local crop, to spend the day crafting together. Nina has really taken to scrapbooking, unlike the elder two who I forced into coming with me to my first crop as I was too nervous to go on my own!

Nina and I arrived and I was really keen to delve into my recent purchases from the GoGoGetaway. There was an odd amount of paper left over from one class that Lorraine took, so I had a couple of sheets. I decided to suggest Nina and I scrap the same piece of paper, a really pretty design from October Afternoon.

I love to cut into my papers so after a certain amount of patience to cut around numerous trees and a stream, not to mention an owl, this was my finished layout 'wise bird'.

I added numerous embellishments, including some gorgeous Websters Pages buttons, which I succumbed to at the Getaway.

So Nina created 'Princess in the wood' using photos of her older sister Caitlin in an outfit the eldest sister Olivia had made for her creative media course.

It's lovely to see Nina's own style developing and she rarely asks for any help, usually more for stash!

Yesterday I became a feline granny xxx

It seems like an age that I have been waiting for LuLu to have her kitties.... each day I say "she's acting differently, today's the day!"

Well I thought that again yesterday and she proved me right!

Two little bundles of kitty cuties and Lulu is such a great mum, she can't stop purring, licking and loving them. She isn't even taking time out to feed, so I am holding her plate of food for her so she can nurse and eat at the same time!

I'll warn you now... these little cuties may well have to feature in a layout or two... xxx

Thanks for stopping by!

I had to share really, didn't I?

And so the kit continues. Along with the super scrummy kit, the hybrids, designed by the ever so talented Kirsty Wiseman were gorgeous too.

I used a fair few of them in this layout, along with one of the bespoke cards that I design for each kit. If you're tempted to a set, hop on over to the ScrapaGoGo shop as I think there may still be a couple left?

The photos were taken when Nina was on her first holiday abroad, she was only three at the time, bless her... she could have some serious strops!!!

My other layout uses loads of the G2P, sadly they have all gone... I wonder why!

I have to admit that this was a staged photo, honestly Nina wasn't in the slightest bit upset! You can see why she'll be good on the stage!

Enjoy the rest of Mothers Day

xxx

The Mary Poppins of all kits....

I can honestly say that the April ScrapaGoGo kit has to be possibly the nicest kit I've ever had.

I am seriously jealous of all you lucky ladies whose kit will be winging their way to you in the not too distant future, whereas mine is getting rather low. Still you have to use this kits to make way for the next scrummy GoGo kit.

Anyway, I realised that I hadn't blogged any of my layouts with this gorgeous kit, so here goes....

'Soon to be Mrs' uses a photo of me on my wedding day. I'm beginning to get past the basics of photoshop so I decided to put into practise what I had learn't and change the colour in this photo to a kind of lilac / sepia type tone to match perfectly with the papers.

The next layout 'Swish' uses a mix of five different manufacturers. I'm big into lots of hand cutting and so these papers were a perfect anecdote to my obsession!

The photo was taken of Caitlin and her friend for their 16th birthday invites and the "real" image is a combination of black and hot pink - this manipulation didn't put my photoshop skills to the test, only the kodak instant machine in Boots!

Check out other DT layouts in the gallery for more inspiration.