An Indian Summer!!!

So, it's official. I'll be spending two weeks during the summer in India! At the university where I work we have a dedicated charity which, every year, sends teams of staff and students to development projects around the world to work.

This year teams are heading to India, Brazil, Mauritius, Uganda and Malawi - and I feel so amazingly privileged to be heading off to a country that I have never visited (have never even dreamed of visiting!) and to be working with the local community on a project which will benefit them long after we come home.

In the run up to our departure I'll be getting to know the other members of staff who'll be accompanying me and meeting the team of students we'll be taking with us and, together, we'll all be fundraising to cover the costs associated with our project. The journey starts right now!

To make sure that I don't miss out on documenting any of it - the 'getting to know you' meetings, the fundraising, everything - I've put together a mini-book using some of my Counterfeit Kit.

I've used a lot of papers from my versions of Into The Woods and Sunny Clearing, because the colours are so vibrant - just how I expect India to be. I've also added in scraps leftover from my projects using the other kits, so I've used up quite a bit of stash!

To add extra details to my mini-book, I've added some stamped images using my Make The Day Special. stamp sets, All About The Journey and A Girl & Her Adventures. I don't think there could be any stamps sets more perfect for documenting this trip. And aren't they beautiful?

I'm so impressed that I've been able to use my kits from the Counterfeit Kit Challange this month despite being extremely busy. Obviously having everything ready in kit form is just what I need. I cannot wait to find out which kit we'll be counterfeiting next month!

Learn Something New Every Day {Finally Finished Fridays}

After categorising some of my works in progress at the beginning of November and promising to complete at least one project each week - a promise which I managed to keep for all of three weeks before I became ill - it looked as though the pile of unfinished, unloved projects would once again be forgotten. But the sense of satisfaction that came from finally finishing a project that has been sat gathering dust was hard to forget and I've decided that the idea of Finally Finished Fridays is worth continuing on into the New Year.

I admit that it will be hard to pick up those old, unfinished items when new projects are beckoning but, thankfully, I have you - my lovely blogreaders - to keep me on track and tell me off when I don't post something each week. You will help me, won't you?

Anyway, just to prove that I'll be following through on my promise this time around, here's a completed project to round off 2010. (There's so many photographs of it, I've had to pop them into a slideshow!)

I started this mini-album in September, when Shimelle's annual Learn Something New Every Day project began in earnest. I was determined to keep up with the project but, I had some extremely bad news not long into the project, and although I continued to keep notes, take pictures and jot down my journalling, it was too difficult to complete the actual album at the time. (And it's easy to see why once you start scrolling through the photographs.)

I'd made a start on putting together some of the pages at the beginning of November, because I felt that since I'd managed to keep on journalling and taking photographs, that I should be able to finish the album without too much trouble. But, because there were some very hard lessons for me in September, looking back was difficult - and a little overwhelming, and I only managed a few pages at a time. I finally finished today (though the photograph from Day 18 seems to have gone missing!) and it feels just a little bittersweet.

But, if I can finish this little album, I can finish anything and I feel as though I can let go of the events of 2010 and move forward into 2011.

Have a Happy New Year x

Fall In Love

Autumn really hasn't started in quite the way I expected, the weather in my little corner of Britain is clammy, grey and very uninspiring. I was hoping for chilly, but crisp mornings; afternoons filled with golden sunlight breaking through the clouds and slightly blustery evenings that make me feel glad to be at home with the fire on. Oh well.

Thankfully, I've had Kara's lovely, lovely Fall in Love Class to help me make the transition from summer to autumn. (Not that I've noticed much of a difference as yet!) I finally managed to sit down and read through all of the prompts properly over the weekend and get together some of my materials. Then, with much excitement, I started working on this yesterday afternoon.

I've chosen a fairly plain palette of colours, but have lots of textures to work with including chunky cardboard, masking tape and threads - just to give it a bit of autumnal detail. I've also kept my mini-album at 6 x 4 inches, so that as autumn progresses, I can just print any photographs and stick them straight into the booklet or adhere them to the back of some of my pages with minimal fuss and effort. Less effort = more chance of finishing.

Making Mini Books From One Piece Of Cardstock

Before I start on the tutorial today, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who's added my blog to their favourites; added themselves as a follower, or comments on my blog. I have been overwhelmed by the genuine 'niceness' of everyone I've encountered in the blogging world and, honestly, you have all been a boost to my confidence and have restored my faith in people.

Okay, smaltz over with, let's crack on with the tutorial.

Anyone who knows me in the 'real' world of scrapbooking, knows that I'm a bit, um...stingy with my scrapbooking supplies - I like to get some bang for my buck and I am regularly trying to find ways to stretch my supplies that bit further. I use this basic way to make mini books from one piece of cardstock. It's easy enough to complete in one sitting - and this makes it one of my favourites.

I should note that this tutorial is, in no way, original. There are lots of similar versions out there (and if you know of one, let me know so that I can link to it here.) But, I've been asked how I make these little books at scrapbooking crops and thought I'd share the way that I do it. So, here goes....

You'll need:

A sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock;
Some card/paper scraps to decorate;

Ruler;
Scissors, trimmer or craft knife;
Adhesive;

Embellishments and photographs of your choice.

Take your piece of 12 x 12 cardstock and cut into three sections, each measuring 4 x 12.

Next, take one piece of the 4 x 12 cardstock pieces and fold in half. This will form the cover of your mini-book. (If you are using double sided cardstock, choose now which side of the cardstock you want to appear on the front of your mini book.)

Now take the second piece of 4 x 12 cardstock and measure sections of 3 1/2 inches, 4 inches and 4 1/2 inches. Score along the lines, but DO NOT CUT. (I missed out the photograph for this piece - sorry - but if you read through the rest of the instructions and check the following photographs, it should make sense!)

With the final piece of 4 x 12 cardstock, measure sections of 1 inch, 1 1/2 inches, 2 inches and 3 inches. (The remaining two inch section will be used to join our pieces together.) Score along the lines, cut off ONLY THE 1 INCH FLAP.

Score and fold the 1 inch piece in half, so that you have to flaps, 4 inches by 1/2 inch. Adhere one 1/2 inch flap to 4 1/2 fold of your second piece of 4 x 12 cardstock. (As shown below.) Then take your cover and adhere one side of the 1 inch flap to the back of the cover, right next to the fold. (Nestle it in as tightly as you can.) Now fit the final piece of cardstock to the booklet, by adhering the 2 inch section at the end of our final piece of 4 x 12 cardstock to the top most flap in our mini.

Bend all of the flaps (one forward, one backward) until the mini book forms an irregular accordion style booklet. If you're anything like me (I can't cut or score in a straight line!) the edges of your book might not line up properly, so just hold the covers together and trim them straight. And, you've finished - a cute, chunky little mini ready for your photographs and embellishments.

Hopefully, the instructions and the photographs are clear and easy to follow, but please let me know if you have any questions about the tutorial. And, if you have a go at making one, I'd be delighted if you left a link in the comments so that I can have a peek :)

Sometimes - The Mini Album

Dedicated friends and lovely blog readers will be aware that I've been feeling somewhat low this week. (It really hasn't been difficult to notice.) I should thank you all for your kind words and support. You know who you are. Thank you!

Although I'm feeling so much better, I do want to share the creative madness genius that is the Sometimes Mini Album. I had been thinking about the latest Copy & Paste prompt, Post Secret, and initially thought I might centre a layout around this cheery little thought - "Sometimes I feel lonier when I'm with other people than when I'm by myself."

But I had so much more to say and in the end I started putting together this little wonder on Tuesday evening - when I felt the need to just 'get it all out' and concentrate on being honest, not pretty. I collected together some papers, ephemera and embellishments that seemed perfect for the story that I wanted to tell and didn't stop until I'd finished.

I am in love with this little piece of honesty. So often, scrapbookers seem to feel obliged to document the celebrations; the holidays; the good times and leave no room for documenting the truth that sometimes everything isn't perfect. And you know what? It really helped.

We're Hitting The Road

It looks as though I'm going to get my road trip. The Steve and I are meeting up with Steve's brother, Andy, and heading out of town for some forest walking; festival going and fun times. I'll be back in a week with a bit of a 'show and tell' - and believe me, judging by our last trip together, there should be lots to share.

While I'm gone, you can have a leisurely nose at the mini-album I made after our last trip, or the original trip photographs. Here's a peek -

Art Journal - Musical Memories

So, I thought I'd share another of my art journal pages from Kara's fantastic Art Journalling Adventure Class. As part of the class we needed to think - really think - about the part that music plays in our lives.

There's actually rarely a time that I'm without music, I nearly always have it on the background while I'm working, reading or crafting and, sometimes, I don't even notice. But, there are those moments in life that will be forever defined by a piece of music - the song that was playing when you had your first kiss; the tune they played on the radio all summer while you were travelling; the comforting lyrics that helped you mend a broken heart.

To me, every piece of music evokes some kind of emotion, but the tunes I remember are the ones that evoke memories and tell the story of my life. For my art journal entry, I made a random list of songs and the memories attached to them, then inked and blended to create a simple background. (There's a larger version if you'd like to see a little more detail.)

What does music mean to you? Are there any particular tunes that always bring back a certain memory?

Colourful Mess (My Creative Space)

My creative space is a little bit of a mess this week - a properly creative and colourful mess though! I've been participating in Kara Haupt's amazing Music + Composition Book = An Art Journalling Adventure Class and I am loving it. I've been so intimidated by art journalling - which is crazy when you think that an art journal is meant to be the place where you can try new techniques; be random and not really care about how it all looks. I think it's helped that music is something I find really easy to journal about because it's such a large part of my life, but Kara's video posts - which are so adorable, by the way - have also helped me to understand that I wasn't the only person to get a bit stressed at the idea of just letting go and experimenting. It's great to know that you don't have to be comfortable with what you're doing and that, actually, stepping out of your comfort zone is pretty much the point of the whole thing.

You can find out more about My Creative Space - and have a bit of a nose around other people's creative spaces - by visiting Kootoyoo.

And just because I'm really proud of what I can accomplish with some time; some encouragement and some pencil crayons, I thought I'd share one of my art journalling pages.