A Proud Moment {Finally Finished Friday}

I know, I know. I'm cutting it a little fine with my Finally Finished Friday project this week but, since I actually managed to complete something earlier in the week and didn't save it until today, I'm not too worried. And, after all, it is still Friday.

For one reason or another, this project has been worked on in several stages. I first misted the background onto my cardstock about two months ago and absolutely loved the effect - I thought it looked like a starry night - and wanted to save it for the perfect project.

Back in October, the perfect project finally came along in the guise of a monthly challenge over on All About Me - a proud moment or achievement - but due to the timing, I was unable to take part in the challenge at the time. Over the next week or two, I got as far as finding the chipboard elements, trinkets and wording that I wanted to use but, until tonight, I never got as far as actually sticking them down on paper. Oh, how I love sticking things down on paper!

I even managed to squeeze some journalling on there - not always one of my strong points - all about how I managed to buy my own home at the tender age of 24.

It feels wonderful to have this layout finally finished and, thankfully, it looks just how I envisaged it all those months ago. Now maybe I'll have chance to play along with this month's challenge?

Archer Hairline

I'm sneaking in a layout for the current All About Challenge which ends today. (I know, I know, but the laundry!) The Design Team came up with an excellent theme - personality - and many of them chose to base their layouts on the results of personality profiles such as Myers Briggs. Whilst I do have several Myers Briggs stories to tell (the result of working in careers and training) I really wanted to create my little layout based on my results of the What's Your Type? quiz I found a while ago via How About Orange.

By taking you through a short series of questions (via a highly entertaining video, I might add) you are told which typeface suits your personality - and I came out as Archer Hairline. Once you've worked your way through the quiz yourself, you'll have the option to see the results and 'personalities' of other typefaces, so I won't spoil it by telling you what my results mean.

I've printed out a small sample of the typeface and added it to an old library card pocket and I've journalled about the results on a series of tags which I can hide away. Taking my inspiration from one of Tara Anderson's designs for the Something From (Almost) Nothing class, I've used several strips of scrap ribbon along the bottom of my layout and added a handmade ribbon rose. I love that the layout has a basic structure but that the ribbons break across the edges - a little like my personality type.

In The Year I Was Born

I am a child of the 1970's - but only just. I don't really remember flares, platform shoes and the days of disco. It seems, though, that my birth year was eventful - the first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was elected here in the UK; the Sony Walkman was released at a cost of $200; the first snowboard was invented; Idi Amin was deposed in Uganda; hostages were taken at the American Embassy in Iran; Rhodesia became Zimbabwe; and I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor entered the charts!

Since this will be my last layout for the Design Team at All About Me, I wanted to create a layout using all of my favourites. So, it includes my favourite colours; techniques and embellishments, which I've combined into one of my favourite layout styles with layered scraps and no photograph. I've come to realise that the layouts I've created in this style are my favourites and I wanted this last DT layout to be both a joy to make and a joy to look back on.

I hope that you'll pop over to All About Me to see what the rest of the Design Team have created. Next month, the new Design Team will begin creating and I can't wait to see what the new folks bring to the challenges!

Life Can Be Such A Chore!

I know that I said I was going to stay on the Design Team for All About Me, but during the DT Call life suddenly got a little bit busier and I decided that it was important to step down rather than 'let down' and, with much sadness, I'll be leaving at the end of my term. That means that this is my second to last challenge. *Sniff.*

The good news is though, is that there is an awesome team, with a mix of new and old designers ready to take on the challenges in the future and I'm looking forward to taking part in some of the challenges without any pressure! Besides, it means I might stand a chance of winning some of the fabulous sponsorship prizes.

Talking of which, as a little 'goodbye gift' I'm sponsoring this month's challenge with an embellishment box - full of the joys of spring; a mini album and a handmade bracelet made of some beautiful crackled glass beads. (I secretly want to keep it all!)

Anyway, I have digressed. The new challenge is all about scrapping your everyday, rather than life's special events. It makes sense to dedicate some time to documenting your life as honestly as possible - even though that may sometimes seem boring. Rather than documenting one particular day, my layout is more about how I sometimes feel - as though life can be such a chore. We all feel it from time to time, as though the washing; ironing and cleaning will never end!

I raided some old interiors magazines for pictures of ovens, bins, dishwashers and washing machines and combined the best ones together in a collage. I then simply sewed around the edges of each element to add a bit of depth and detail, added some lettering and even - shock horror - added my own handwriting.

There are some more awesome examples of how to tackle the challenge over on the All About Me Blog, so do go and have a look - after you've done the ironing, of course.

The Soundtrack Of My Life

Music has played a hugely important part in my life. From a very early age my parents would encourage me to listen to the radio or to their records - just as they encouraged me to read. As I got older, I used to sing along to the radio while my older brother and sisters were getting ready to go to school in the morning and tape songs from the radio to make my own 'collections'. I remember buying my very first single, on vinyl, of course.

Music became an every day part of life as I struggled to learn the piano, the saxaphone and quite a few percussion instruments as part of my high school orchestra and how, as life began to change, music helped me to make the difficult transition from teenager to adult. At university my most important possessions were my shelves full of albums and I would happily spend a week eating toast if it meant I could afford to go dancing in the evenings.

Older still and I realise that music has been a constant in my life. It has understood me when I felt misunderstood; lifted my spirits when I have felt low and said the words that I have sometimes felt difficult to articulate. It has never let me down.

So, when I found out that this month's second challenge at All About Me was to be The Soundtrack Of My Life, I knew that I couldn't possibly create a layout that included all of the songs that mean something to me - there isn't enough space or time - but I did know that not having a working camera wouldn't stop me. I had to do this challenge!

And this leads me to a rather convoluted explanation of how I designed my layout. Not having any digital scrapbook materials, I chose to create the main image using Polyvore. That's right folks. Not only can you use Polyvore to create fashionable collages, but also the most amazing illustrations. It's actually very simple to find items, arrange them in layers and create. Admittedly, to save the image, you need to e-mail it to yourself, then save the image as a useable file. But that's not really a big deal, right? Still much easier than fiddling with lots of layers in Photoshop.

Once I had the main image, I transferred it to Photoshop Elements and placed an electronic version of a Basic Grey scrapbooking paper behind it as a background. I then made some adjustments to the colours and added my text. Et voila.

Do let me know what you think before heading over to All About Me to see what the rest of the Design Team came up with. If you have any questions about Polyvore, etc, feel free to ask in the comments, okay?

It Makes Me Angry...

...to tell you that even though there is a new prompt up today at All About Me, I have no layout to show you, because I dropped my camera and can't download the photographs. It makes me angry with myself to know that I took those photographs and didn't have the time to download them straight away. It makes me angry with myself to let Melissa down at the last minute - and on her birthday, no less! I'm so sorry Melissa!

And it makes me stupidly angry that, because we've had almost three inches of snow (and this constitutes adverse weather conditions in the UK) our local buses aren't running. What? Sorry? Not running? I'm fuming!!!

Anyway, if you'd like to find out what makes the girls over at All About Me feel angry, do head over and take a look at their layouts. Then join in the challenge and tell us what really twists your melon.

Peace & Good Scrapping!

I've been on quite the journey this year and I'm facing 2010 with several major hurdles to overcome, but I have a growing sense that things are improving and that I'm up for the challenge. However, sometimes I feel as though I've got so much to think about and so much to tackle that it can seem difficult to think about my goals without feeling overwhelmed. So, in order to keep things simple, I decided to concentrate on one simple goal for 2010 - to find peace within myself.

Imagine then my surprise and delight when Melissa (who co-ordinates our DT over at AAM) told me that All About Me and Scrapbooking From The Inside Out were teaming up to issue a seasonal scrapbooking challenge - with the theme of peace. Do head over and take a look at the rest of the layouts from the DT and, if you can find yourself some peace (and quiet) to join in, there's a beautiful kit prize to be had.

I wanted my layout to feel seasonal so I tackled it in my usual way - by gathering up all of my current favourites. I ended up with a sheet of musical cardstock (no idea who it's by) and several scraps leftover from making my December Daily album (which I've not got around to starting yet!) The embellishments that I've included, both the dove and the beaded branch, are handmade by me - I'm such a clever so and so! :)

I then distressed the life out of all the cardstock and paper pieces (this is great for ridding yourself of any seasonal stress) layered everything up, then stitched and glued it all down. I love the way it's turned out and, actually, just looking at it feels like a small acheivement in itself!

I'm not going to be around now until the next Fashion Forward on the 28th, so I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas (or Season's Greetings.) See you then! x

We All Have Our Guilty Pleasures

Can you believe that it's actually time for another All About Me Design Team Reveal? And this one is all about our guilty pleasures. Oh, come on, you know you have one. Or maybe two!

I really had some fun with this one. I wanted to do something a bit unexpected and not many people expect me to be overly 'girly' - despite my current obsession with pale pinks and ruffles. Deep down inside though, there's a true girly girl with a passionate love of downright trashy chick lit. There's something rather comforting about predictable, romantic comedies and guaranteed happy endings.

To see how the rest of the DT have intepreted this one and then have a go yourself, head on over to All About Me.

The Holidays Are Coming!

I am still having difficulty believing that it's December! That means it's time for another All About Me Design Team Reveal. Yay!

I'd like to say that I gave this one as much thought as usual but...um...I got the prompts muddled and put this one together yesterday afternoon. There's a lot of stiching, because I just couldn't find the double-sided sticky tape! Being pushed for time forced me into using the template and using the sketch made it a lot easier - so you might like to bear that in mind as we enter the holiday season.

The prompt is all about processing the holidays - our memories, traditions and thoughts about this time of year - so our layouts are all incorporating a little more journalling than usual.

Mine reads - No matter how many times I've heard the same tunes every time I go shopping; no matter how many mince pies I've had thrusted in my direction and no matter how many 'festive drinks' I've knocked back, for me it isn't Christmas until I've sat down to wrap all of my presents.

I know some people find wrapping presents just a little bit of a chore, but for me it's one of the Christmas traditions I most look forward to - I know. I'm weird. I blame my mother. (Sorry mum!)

On Christmas Eve my mum would always be busy cleaning the house and making preparations for Christmas Day. To keep me occupied (and out of the way) I was given the role as 'Chief Present Wrapper' - a role I took very seriously.

We would crank up the radio - full of seasonal tunes - and I would spend the next couple of hours writing gift tags; wrapping presents and arranging them under the tree, accompanied by the smell of mince pies baking in the oven. I would be happy in the knowledge that I was helping out and doing something important.

I still do all of my wrapping in one evening - no mean feat with a family as big as mine. I sit myself at the dining room table, surrounded by bags full of presents, wrapping paper, pretty ribbons and several rolls of sticky tape. Christmas tunes blazing, twinkly lights twinkling and cinnamon biscuits baking in the oven and I'm instantly happy.

If you managed to read through all that and would like to see some more takes on the challenge then head over to All About Me to see what the rest of the design team have come up with.

What This Mark Says About Me

So, today is another All About Me Design Team Reveal. They are really, really coming around quite quickly now, especially when I spend a week or so thinking about the challenge and trying to decide between at least three or four options. I honestly have no idea how some of the AAM Followers manage to whip up their challenge layouts so quickly, but I do love the fact that there's so much scope for interpreting the themes - and I'm making a note of my other ideas so that I can come back to them another time.

This month, were talking about marks and what they say about us. It's an odd one. Some of you will probably have an immediate reaction to the challenge, some of you may need to think about it a bit like me. Your mark could be a tattoo, a scar, a mark on the wall where you measured your first child, or maybe you have a mark on the inside. It's all valid.

When I was in my late teens (*sigh*) I went with a friend to visit a palmist. My friend had always wanted to have his palm read, but I wasn't in the slightest bit interested. I sat down to have my palm read full of curiosity and a healthy helping of scepticism.

The palmist explained that, along with the shape of my hands, the small cross nestled between the lines of the heart and head indicated a natural psychic talent or an ability to understand and work with the occult. He went on to explain that I was likely to struggle between an exceptance of the occult and my natural tendency towards science and fact.

I was disappointed. I wanted him to tell me that I would travel the world; be invited to all of the best parties and would never get fat!

Still, there was some truth in his reading. Years later, I have studied religions, the occult and science - and you'll often find me reading about research that seems to cross those boundaries. I am fascinated by things like out of body experiences; parapsychology and ... um ... Derren Brown!

Head on over to All About Me to see how the rest of the DT have intepreted this one and then have a go yourself, we've got another wonderful sponsor this month!

Free To Be Me! {AAM Blog Hop}

Welcome to the First Ever All About Me Challenge Blog Hop! The All About Me Team are all revealing this month's first challenge; sharing a little bit more about themselves and, well, there's a few giveaways too! I'm a wee bit excited to be involved!

In fact, I'm still really excited to be involved in the All About Me Team at all! I am so grateful that I have had the chance to work alongside the amazing women that make up the rest of the team and inspire so many people to start scrapping about the one thing that's usually forgotten. Themselves. The idea is simple, but it's affects are quite astounding. Through scrapping about myself - my dreams, fears and emotions - I've been able to learn more about who I am, who I'm not and who I want to be. I feel more comfortable with myself. I am finally Free To Be Me!

And since so many of the team feel the same way this is our theme for the Blog Hop, we only hope that in some small way, taking part in our challenges helps you feel free to be yourself.

Now, from the serious to the ridiculous! One of the things that I am coming to love about scrapbooking is the conversations that I have with The Steve as a result of sharing my final layouts. This time around our conversation went a bit like this -

Me: What do you think of this layout?
The Steve: What was the theme?
Me: We had to do a layout based on the idea 'I Can't Live Without'.
The Steve: Oh
Me: What?
The Steve: Well, I'm just looking for me on there.
Me: I do serious layouts all the time, I wanted to do something 'fun'.
The Steve: (starting to smirk) Oh? So now I'm not fun?
Me: *sigh*

It always ends in a sigh!

Indisposable Camera - Layout Details: Most of the hard work has been done by the rather lovely handmade paper which was sent to me by the rather lovely Joyce! I've added a few scraps of paper and ribbon; some stitching and an image of my beloved Nikon D40.

Now, I know there's a lot to take in here today, but keep reading - there are prizes to be had people! Each of the All About Me Team has a questionnaire on their blogs and you can win a fabulous prize on the main site by answering questions about us so this is All About Me -

1. My Childhood Ambition - "Heal the world. Make it a better place." Okay, that's a little facetious, but it is true. All I have ever wanted to do is make the world a better place, little by little. I honestly believe that, no matter how small we may sometimes feel, we can each make a very real difference.
2. My Retreat - Books. What better way to escape from your own world than by immersing yourself in someone elses?
3. The Perfect Day - Morning sunshine; birds tweeting; pancakes; a walk in the country; a pub lunch; a village fete; hot tea and biscuits; dinner with friends; hugs before bedtime; my favourite bed; sleep.
4. My First Job - Ooh, it's not very exciting, but my first experience of working was as a Paper Girl. I had to convince my parents to let me have a go. They thought I wouldn't manage to stick the early hours and the heavy bags of papers, but I stuck with it for a year and a half before I found myself a weekend job instead. I loved the early mornings - so quiet and peaceful. It was like having the whole world all to myself!
5. My Wildest Dream - If I could have anything that I wanted - a true, 'in my wildest dreams' extravagance - it would be the opportunity to really explore Africa, working on voluntary projects; living with locals; travelling with other tourists. Oh! I could go on and on about this, so I'm going to stop. Right now.
6. If My Life Was A Musical It Would Be Called - The Procrastinator! See it today. Or possibly tomorrow..... :)
7. My Proudest Moment - It might sound really odd, but I don't think that I have one. I don't mean that there haven't been times when I've felt proud of myself but there isn't one moment that sticks out amongst the rest - only quiet, little periods of satisfaction and contentment - and I think I prefer it that way.
8. My Favourite Item Of Clothing - I have to pick one? Oh f**k! Um.....
9. I Feel Ready For The Day - Only after a cup of tea, toast and a bath.
10. I COULD Live Without - Big Brother, ironing and pigeons. Bleh. Pigeons!

Your Chance To Win!

What would a Blog Hop be without a fabulous giveaway? And, boy, have I got THE MOST FABULOUS GIVEAWAY! The cute and crafty ladies over at The Copy & Paste Project have organised a Twelve Days of Christmas Workshop full of the most amazing projects which use up your amazing crafty stash and leave you with some gorgeous goodies that you can give as gifts (or...um...keep for yourself. Not that you would. Obviously. Ahem!)

Julie and Kirsty are both fabulous instructors and have, between them, designed for Banana Frog, Scrapbook Inspirations, Quirky Kits, Gauche Alchemy, Kitschy Digitals, QTea Kits and The Creative Type. Blimey! Do you think they'll be inspiring enough?

The workshop kicks off tomorrow, November 5th and runs until November 20th. There's twelve days of downloadable instructions; access to a super secret workshop blog and a much, much more. For your chance to win a place in the class, you'll need to leave me a comment below telling me your favourite tune for Christmas crafting. That's it, nothing complicated! (But you must include your favourite tune for a chance to win, okay?)

Since, I'll be drawing the winner at the end of the Blog Hop on Saturday, 7th November, my advice is this - sign up for the class now so that you don't miss the buzz on the blog as the class starts - and, if you win, Julie and Kirsty will happily refund you!

What Now?

Phew! Did you get all that? I'd suggest getting yourself a cuppa and a biscuit or two before heading on to Janis's blog The Reluctant Scrapper for the next part of the All About Me Challenge Blog Hop. But do come back and visit again, okay?

Who Do You Think You Are?

The third All About Me challenge has been revealed today and I'm so, so excited about our wonderful Guest Designer, who happens to be one of my favourite scrapbookers - Kara Haupt. Oh my!

For the challenge this month we're digging a little deeper and asking whether you feel like you've been pigeonholed, misunderstood or labelled; and it's a subject that I feel quite strongly about. I really hate it when people try to categorise me. It's always made me feel as though, to that person, I will never be more than how they originally saw me - extrovert, moody, just another 'suit'. You get the idea.

So...with all that angst - that I hadn't even realised was there - out in the open, I decided not to focus on one particular label and focused on that more general feeling of "You dont know me!" (Honestly, AAM is better - and less expensive - than therapy.) Admittedly, I have come over a little dark and mysterious in my journalling. So, I think I need to tell you all that the 'terrible things' I'm referring to aren't 'dead body under the patio' terrible, just 'terrible to me' terrible. And that's enough, believe me.

You can see all of the details, and more examples over on the All About Me site. And, if you're all happy with your labels be they mum, wife, lover, tinker, tailor....then that's all for the good and we'd still love to see what you make of the challenge.

What Colour Are You?

The second All About Me challenge has now been revealed by the Design Team and we're asking you, what colour are you?

Really think about it though, won't you? The colour that represents you may not be your favourite colour; it might not be the colour that you wear or decorate with most often; it might not even be an obvious colour. You could even be cheeky, like some of the Design Team and choose to be represented by more than one colour. And I know I gave some thought to representing my often...um...colourful language!

Having said all that, though my choice of colour may seem a little less obvious than most, I knew almost instantly how I wanted to approach this challenge. I used to be a lively, confident sort of person - always the life and soul of the party; out with friends and family all of the time; quite the socialite. I had a colourful and interesting life. Over the past few years, I've had a few knocks and I've found myself making careful and considered choices; safe choices. Choices about what clothes I should wear to look more professional. Choices about which career moves I should make to show that I was progressing. Choices which meant staying quiet rather than saying what I felt and rocking the boat. Choices, it seems now, that were much more about what was expected of me, than what I truly wanted for myself.

I thought that making the 'right' choices would increase my confidence; would make people see me in a new light; would make me stand out. Instead, I felt more and more as though I was just another person in the corporate machine. I was starting to blend into the background, but the more I tried to be seen, the more invisible I was to other people. I became beige.

Beige. Safe, conservative, unoffensive beige.

Since leaving work in April, things have started to change and 'the old me' is starting to resurface but there are still times when I feel as though I've lost something; lost a part of who I was but at least I know that there's a colourful future ahead!

When I'm 100

The very first All About Me challenge has been revealed and I can honestly say that I am still thrilled to have made it onto the Design Team - being picked to work alongside the other fabulous ladies on the Design Team has been a massive boost to my confidence levels.

Which is more than I can say for the conversation that I had with The Steve whilst thinking of ideas for my layout -

Me: When I'm 100...
The Steve: I'll be 97.
Me: 98.
The Steve: 97.
Me: There's only two years between us!
The Steve: Three, even if it's for just a few months.
Me: So, 98.
The Steve: Whatever age you are, you'll still always be older than me.
Me: *Sigh*

Believe it or not, but these moments filled with friendly bickering are just one of the few things I'm looking forward to over the next seventy years!

Journalling reads - Will you still love me when I'm 100? I've always assumed that growing old is a lonely process. Until I met you. The idea that I might get to grow old with you, that we can grow old together, seems a little less scary. Even if you do steal the covers and eat all of the biscuits.

Head on over to All About Me to see the rest of the Design Team's interpretations and, maybe, pop into the All About Me Forum to have a chat about your ideas for the challenge.

All About Me Design Team Reveal

I'm not exactly sure how to express my excitement, but the first Design Team for the new scrapbooking challenge blog All About Me has been revealed. And it includes me! Get in! (You'll just have to excuse the colloquialism, okay?)


I'm really thrilled to be part of the Design Team but, honestly, I'd have been playing along religiously with this challenge blog anyway. The prompts are designed to get us scrapbookers designing and creating layouts about the one thing that's often neglected - ourselves. We all need a creative outlet and, having seen some of the upcoming prompts, the next few months are going to be fantastic.

There's a Flickr Group to accompany the blog, where everyone can upload their own interpretations of the challenges and, a bit unusually for a challenge blog, we also have a friendly forum. With some of the challenges going a little deeper than most, everyone can talk about the current challenges and get extra support when it's needed - and of course, it's just nice to chat!

So, would you all like to know who's joining me on the Design Team? These ladies really rock so please, if you have chance, show them a little blog love. Melissa Elsner, Miranda Wedekind, Mette Kallander, Kim Tupponce, Arlene Camacho, Helen Croft, Janis Medina and Britt Lejune.

I'm off to work on my layout for the first challenge which will be posted on the All About Me Challenge Blog on the 9th September. I hope you'll all come and play along.