The Jelly Journals

Tag it challenge - fairy

2008-07-19T14:35:00.001Z

I embossed the heart with my cuttlebug.

Super Lamb banana's

2008-07-16T18:22:00.000Z

These are my favourite from today.

http://www.weekendtaggers.blogspot.com/

2008-07-13T19:55:00.001Z

You had to use Red brown and cream.

4th July challenge

2008-07-05T19:14:00.001Z

http://www.weekendtaggers.blogspot.com/

I had a quick go.

http://www.weekendtaggers.blogspot.com/

2008-07-03T18:40:00.001Z

I love this quote.

http://artygirlzchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/arty-girlz-weekly-challenge-40-nature.html

2008-06-25T18:46:00.001Z

I did a collage from all the bits I have stamped.

Diamonds

2008-06-25T18:42:00.003Z

Everyone seems to be looking for something new so I thought I would try diamonds.
I have had the sizzix die for a while and this is the first time I have used it.
I hope to make a quilt and frame it.

Twinchies http://wednesdaystamper.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/twinchies/#comment-13923

2008-06-22T14:50:00.003Z

I had a go at a few Twinchies.

Tag challenge

2008-06-21T16:20:00.002Z

I decided to have another go as I was inspired to use my scallop die when I saw it on the blog.

Tag challenge

2008-06-21T12:22:00.002Z

http://www.weekendtaggers.blogspot.com

This week's challenge was to do a tag with a pocket.

Cuttlebug tip

2008-06-18T08:36:00.006Z

I thought of this a while ago but the new strip folders reminded me.
Emboss 2 sheets of card and turn over put strips of double sided tape in rows down the long sides.
Cut both pieces into even strips.
Either weave or put strips one across then the other going the opposite way.
The smaller patterns work the best.

http://www.weekendtaggers.blogspot.com/

2008-06-13T20:00:00.000Z

This week you have to use olive green, aubergine and ivory.

New Kitten

2008-06-13T14:55:00.001Z

We have just got a new kitten and he is called Oreo.
It took a while before we could agree on a name.

http://www.weekendtaggers.blogspot.com/

2008-06-12T11:48:00.000Z

A bit late this week.

Friendly plastic

2008-06-08T09:26:00.004Z

I went on a workshop today with Rob of once upon a stamp and we learnt how to use friendly plastic.

http://www.weekendtaggers.blogspot.com/

2008-05-30T11:37:00.001Z

I had a go at this weeks challenge.

Altered playing cards

2008-05-28T13:30:00.000Z

http://wednesdaystamper.wordpress.com/
Decided to try the challenge.

Fans

2008-05-28T11:22:00.002Z

My friend lent me her sizziz die so I experimented.

Adicted to houses.

2008-05-26T17:43:00.003Z

Just a few I made yesterday.

Tag challenge

2008-05-26T17:20:00.005Z

I tried a couple of the old challenges Pretty and Feminine and no stamping.

Tag challenge.

2008-05-26T15:07:00.006Z

www.weekendtaggers.blogspot.com

I had a go at the challege on Tag you're it.

Letters

2007-09-24T17:10:00.001Z

I went away with a group of friends for the weekend.
My friend Madge got my letter and did this for me.

2007-09-24T17:05:00.000Z

I went away for the weekend and look what I found on the lawn when I got back.

Unusual grave stones.

2007-07-04T14:35:00.000Z

Flaybrick Angels.

2007-07-04T14:16:00.000Z

This picture shows a cowl which means the person died from the plague.

Flaybrick Cemetery.

2007-07-04T14:04:00.000Z

I finally went today to take some photographs.

Water marks

2007-06-11T18:51:00.000Z

My friend Gill has been encouraging myself and a group of friends to get more creative with our photography.
It has made me look at things in a different light hence the following pictures.

Fan books

2007-06-03T11:58:00.000Z

I borrowed my friends sissix die yesterday and made about 12 fan books.
I have sent some as presents to my friends and I have decorated a few for future use.

This one I brayered and stamped.

This one I distressed stamped and use images of birds.

This one I embossed in a swirly cuttlebug embossing folder and added pearlex.

Tips for Handling Telemarketers

2007-06-02T08:00:00.000Z

Three Little Words That Work !

Just a little something I got emailed a little while ago, and is food for thought...

(1)The three little words are: "Hold On please..."Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.

(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real" sales person to call back and get someone at home.What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible This confuses the ma chine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!

(3) Junk Mail Help:When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 32p postage "IF" and when they receive them back.It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 29p before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in their postage-paid return envelopes.For example; send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back!If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them. You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 32p.The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's lik e to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice! Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea ? If enough people follow these tips, it will work !

2007-05-27T18:27:00.000Z

Rome.

I have always wanted to visit Rome and throw a coin into the Trevi fountain.
Rome is beautiful even though there was so much graffiti.
I really enjoyed the tour bus which stopped at all the major sites.
Later we found it would have been cheaper to buy a bunch of bus tickets which cost 1 euro each. These can be bought in advance and then validated when you ride on the bus. We tried to visit St. Peters on the Saturday but the queue was 4 hours so we tried agaon on the Tuesday and got straight in. It was free entry and was breathtaking. We went to the Sistene Chapel which was expensive at 13 euros as you got sent around the whole building up and down stairs into rooms with only a few things in and it took over an hour to get to the chapel even though we went at a quiet time.

2007-05-27T18:20:00.000Z

Florence.

This is pont bridge which was full of shops selling gold jewellry.
I found Florence very expensive for example the tour bus was 16 euros in Rome but 55 euros in Florence. We got fed up of Italian food and ended up going to a Chines restaurant for a meal and had the best chinese food I had ever eaten. It was also very reasonably priced. There are a lot of churches to visit and you can attend mass at some of them.

2007-05-27T18:15:00.000Z

Venice.

I loved Venice and went on a gondola even though it was very expensive. It was 100 euros for half an hour for 6 people. It would still have been 100 euros for 2 people.
I read before I went it would be about 40 euros so it was a bit of a shock but at least it is something I may not be able to do again.

Fort William - a little taste of the Highlands

2007-05-25T06:46:00.000Z

I thought I’d the opportunity to share with you the lovely area I live in. Fort William recently has, like most town centres, gone down hill, with lots of local business’s closing there doors due to high rates and low customer numbers, this, could be due to any number of reasons, none of which I’m here to talk about today. Today I’d like to share with you some of the more positive things about our area.

Fort William is the home of Ben Nevis, Britain’s largest mountain. Anoch Mhor is Ben Nevis’s neighbour and also where you’d head to if you fancy an “easy” trip up the mountains. Take the scenic gondola 2150ft up Anoch Mhor where you can ski, snowboard or just relax at the restaurant and enjoy the view. At the summit they have a fantastic Boardwise Terrain Park for the snowboarders, there is also a Ski school, and very excellent Ski patrol staff to look out for you.

The Scottish Six days trials has been running since 1909, although not based in Fort William as it now is. This is a famous motorbike trials event. Entrants travel from all corners of the world to take part in this endurance trial of rider and machine over six days of gruelling terrain. More recently Fort William has hosted the World Mountain Bike World Cup, and hosting the UCI Mountain bike championships, again they can be found at Anoch Mhor, where you can follow the paths and support the riders.

We have had hundreds of famous guest staying in our luxurious Inverlochy Castle. Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, Jerry Hall, Elton John, Barbara Streisand, Naomi Campbell, as well as HRH King Hussein of Jordan and HRH Queen Noor - regular visitors who describe Inverlochy as their Scottish Home.

The Hollywood blockbuster Braveheart was filmed in Glen Nevis, at the foot of Ben Nevis. Mel Gibson, was often spotted in the Town Centre when not filming. Wizard fans will also know that a lot of Harry Potter has been filmed around here too, with the famous the Hogworts Express, on our West Highland line from Fort William to Mallaig. Dozens of excited school children got to be part of the first film, although I think it wasn’t what they were expecting, with lots of hanging around and chugging back and forth on the same piece of railway line for hours!!

This is just a little taste of what goes on in my area – I hope you enjoy it.

Look after those breasts!

2007-05-23T16:15:00.000Z

Last week I altered a bra. Not one that didn’t fit me any more, of course, but I have a friend, Sian, who took part in the London Moon Walk to raise money for research into something dear to every woman’s heart, breast cancer. This was a 26 mile walk through the London night that began at Hyde Park and finished, for Sian, 8 hours and 32minutes later, to raise awareness of this awful disease. Thousands of women (and some men too I’m pleased to say) took part and the majority proudly sported a bra, on show, to anyone who cared to look!

A group of us had been out for the evening a few days previously and the wine was flowing as usual, when the conversation got around to Sian’s Moon Walk. I got to thinking, ‘Well, I have all that stash at home, I’m sure I could come up with something,’ and heard myself volunteering to decorate her, as yet, plain bra. Somehow I also apparently offered my house as the venue for an Anne Summers party, but that’s another story!

She dropped the bra off on Thursday evening and I got to work straight away. I pulled out an old scarf I’d been saving for that 'certain' layout, some tasselled edging a friend had given me, a length of pretty pink fibre from a swap, a huge silk rose and some Prima flowers. By the end of the evening it wasn’t looking too bad and by Friday it was complete with the finishing touch – four strategically placed flowers on the cups. Just to stop it looking too bare, you understand! I handstitched everything - well, it's one thing to pin items to a layout but brads pinning your bra to your skin? I don't think so. ( Sorry for the poor photo by the way - it was taken in haste. )

Here is Sian modelling it on the Saturday morning of the walk. She told me afterwards that she braved the first few hours without the t-shirt but by midnight it grew too cold and she was glad to put on something warmer. I don’t blame her.

There is a more serious side to this blog entry as well. One of my best friends died of undetected breast cancer nearly 3 years ago now. One minute we were happily celebrating her 50th birthday and two months later she was disabled because it had spread to the base of her brain. Paula died 5 long years later and I was privileged to be with her on the night she died. I wouldn’t wish her end on anyone. She was a funny, loud, vibrant lady and we, her friends, miss her dearly. Please remember to check yourself regularly and, please, give our link on here a click every day. You’ll find it on the right hand side of this page, it won't take more than a couple of seconds, it won’t cost you a penny and it may well help to save someone’s life – just as Sian hopes her walk in her underwear has done.

Toot, Toot - A Class Act

2007-05-23T07:21:00.000Z

Way back in the mists of time a lady called Gillian posted on a thread on UK Scrappers and asked if there were any more Gillians out there in the ether. Several mad women replied and we got chatting and we formed a UKS team called The Gogs. Mind you not all of the team were Gillians, we had a fair sprinkling of other names too. People would come in and chat and wander off again and generally we had a good laugh about every subject you could imagine.

Then disaster struck, UKS crashed and our thread was lost forever. But the Gogs kept in touch and we have become firm friends through the last few years.

We have shared each others joy, pain, achievements, sadness and the trials and tribulations of everyday life, supporting each other wherever we can.
.
We, like many others, had been affected by Cancer, personally, relations, friends, workmates and acquaintances. Like Cath, who ran the Race for Life in memory of her brother, we also lost loved ones and we wondered what we could do to contribute, albeit in a small way, to funding research into this devastating disease.

It was suggested that we do our best to contribute what we could each month, by selling handmade cards, selling unwanted items, sponsorship etc.

We started working toward this end in May 2005 and in March 2006 we had collected through our efforts £405. We were elated that we had managed that amount - but the following year in February 2007 we sent our second donation, a staggering £1000.

What an achievement for 13 ordinary women!!!

This year we have made £300 and look forward to sending our next donation.

Here are just some of these wonderful, totally insane women that I am proud to call my friends

Visual Balance

2007-05-22T22:22:00.001Z

Continuing on with the "science" of achieving balance on a scrapbooking page, we are delving further this week into the different types of balance that can be achieved.

The term “Balance” refers to some equal distribution of visual weight, so that everything works in harmony. However, visual Imbalance is used purposefully by designers to grab attention and to create more energetic impact.

The use of “white space” (irrespective of colour) on a layout represents creating visual balance through the absence of elements. Not only can we achieve horizontal balance (using the left and right hand sides of the page), but also consider vertical balance, where the axis is divided into top and bottom. With our sense of gravity, we are accustomed to seeing more weight toward the bottom. When the main distribution of weight is higher, the image becomes more unstable and dynamic, as can be seen in "Laughter" below.

A lot depends on whether you want a symmetrical or asymmetrical design to your page. In brief – a symmetrical design is evenly distributed across the page – by folding the page in half from left to right, a mirror image could also be formed. This is good for formal layouts – "The Four Seasons of Grace" to follow is an example of a scrapbooking page with symmetrical design elements, with a bit of a twist, where I have balanced the die-cut flowers with the embroidered ones, but put the paint chips on the top right and bottom left to avoid a feeling of "top heaviness".

Asymmetrical balance occurs when several smaller items on one side are balanced by a large item on the other side, or smaller items are placed further away from the centre of the screen than larger items. One darker item may need to be balanced by several lighter items. An asymmetrical design may be more dynamic, because it appears casual and less planned. Very careful planning is required here, because it is often harder to achieve overall balance. "Annie Walters" is a clear example of this type of asymmetrical balance.

There are more interesting examples of achieving asymmetrical balance in art here, represented in classical paintings:

With the increased popularity of circles on pages, radial balance must also be considered, where all the elements have a common central focus point. In this following case, "Katrina's 40th", the photo.

This type of balance is typically associated with circles, but I have used the heart shapes here as well.

Crystallographic balance is defined by having the same visual weight over the whole page – probably a bit harder to achieve with scrapbook pages, because our intention is for the photo to form the focus on the layout. However, I guess the following example is about the closest we could achieve in scrapbooking:

(I shall replace the dodgy scan later!) All these layouts are not recent, so it just goes to prove that we are often employing design principles even when completely unaware!

Now, if it were only as easy to achieve some life balance – but that’s a different topic altogether! Why not have a go and produce something completely different from your normal style - all it takes is a little research and planning - or else - just go for it! Till next week, when we talk about the "Z" principle, and the rule of thirds.

Happy scrapping!

Ali :)

Spotlight on Karen

2007-05-21T11:56:00.000Z

Karen Leahy (aka Scrapdolly)

I live in Poole with Nigel, my husband of 19 years, and with our three cats …. Well two cats and a Fiki monster! I am the head-teacher of a local school for 3 – 11 year olds, which keeps me fairly busy, but I still find plenty of time to scrap since discovering this all consuming hobby almost three years ago.
I love scrapping – it is a real creative outlet and there is no better way to wind down after a stressful day at work than putting layouts together. It has filled a real gap in my life and brings together my love of photography, my love of nature and my love of all things creative. Besides which – I am a teacher …… we LOVE cutting and sticking!
Discovering scrap-booking has opened my eyes to so many new things and I love trying out new products and techniques, although my layouts tend to be very simple. I tend to stick to scrapping rather than altered art and I have recently been scrapping 8 x 8 and 11 ½ x 8 as well as my normal 12 x 12. I love to scrap anything and everything, from the small, inconsequential daily events to recording family history and creating layouts about all things in nature. To me it is the perfect hobby.
Nigel is very supportive of my hobby, offering lots of useful advice as he is very artistic, and he always allows himself to be the butt of my jokes in humorous layouts. He has even completed a few pages himself – digital though … I am not letting him loose on my stash! As we don’t have children, the cats really are our fur babies and are such characters, especially Kira and Fiki, our two Bengals. The cats feature quite heavily in my layouts and I love trying to make ‘different’ pet pages.
Scrap-booking has enabled me to make some really special keepsake gifts and albums for family and friends. It has also opened opportunities for me to extend the enjoyment of my hobby by teaching at local crops and thus making even more scrapping friends than I have made on line. I have been proud to have been on several design teams for magazines and on the design team for the UK's largest scrapbooking forum. I have recently joined with other British Scrapbookers to form the design Collective, offering on line scrapbooking classes. I am proud to be a member of Jillybeans design team, working with the gorgeous kits she sends out and having my work showcased on her site. I also have a scrapping blog where you can see my work and read my general daily ramblings http://dollysdreamings.typepad.com/
Scrapbooking is such a wonderful and all consuming hobby and I would go so far as to say that, for me, it is more than a hobby – it is a way of life.
the page I have included is an older one but it seems to sum up me, my style and my love of scrapping. It is a picture of me looking at albums of me and my parents with a lot of smaller pictures of us at various stages in my growing up. Scrapping for me is about recording those memories we all have and about remembering the love.

Get your hankies out

2007-05-21T11:50:00.000Z

Tuna and Water Chestnut Hankies.

Another cheats starter for dinner parties, 2 per guest, or if you prefer to make larger ones they make a nice supper meal.

To make 16 you will need:

2 packets of ready rolled puff pastry
1 small tin of Water Chestnuts (my Tesco have stopped doing them so I got them from Sainsbury)
1 medium tin tuna (I prefer in brine but oil is OK)
1 small chilli (optional)
1/4 pt thick white sauce
Make approx 1/4 pt of thick white sauce and allow to cool.
Drain the tuna and roughly flake
Drain and chop the water chestnuts. Roughly chopped will give a crunchier texture than finely chopped.
Finely chop the chilli
Mix these with the white sauce
Cut the pastry into 3" squares. Put a spoonful of the mix into the centre of each square and dampen all round the edges with water. Draw up opposite corners to make a parcel and press the edges together to seal.
Brush with egg yolk and bake in a hot oven 180C till golden, about 20 mins .
Serve hot

Curves in all the right places.

2007-05-20T19:29:00.000Z

Digital cameras are amongst the great wonders of our time. I feel so lucky to have benefited from this amazing technology but can't help feeling sad that it came so late in my life. All you young parents are able to capture every small change in your children's lives. All the milestones. Every happy moment.

When my children were born times were harder and money tighter. Cheap cameras were plentiful but not good. Getting films developed was relatively expensive when every penny counted, and the prints were very small. They faded quickly, even out of the light. There's an old joke about rolls of film that developers enjoyed - every roll of film they saw had christmas trees at both ends and a holiday in the middle! How very true. Even now it's possible to find an old roll-film camera at a carboot sale with a film still inside it with a few frames used up but nothing else. Now, we can just click away happily away.

One thing that has changed with having this freedom is the fact that we are now the ones in control of how our pictures look and not the developer. Our cameras have very good auto-exposure metering but, just as with film cameras, can sometimes under-perform in tricky lighting situations. For the techno-challenged - exposure metering is how cameras work out how long to keep the shutter open in any given situation when switched to auto settings - the way most people use their cameras. Put simply - a bright day will need only a short exposure and dark conditions mean the shutter stays open longer.

Unfortunately I see a lot of potentially good digital photos that are underexposed, over-exposed or with lack-lustre colour. Mostly - just dark! We all make them, even top photographers can turn them out. The trick is to recognise them and either delete them or correct them. Most digi-cameras come with editing software of some sort because the manufacturers know that taking a photo is only the first step towards a quality image. Photoshop is probably the best known software - it's an awesome piece of kit but very expensive. Photoshop Elements is the simplified, cheaper version. Somewhere in-between comes Paint Shop Pro, the software that I've come to know and love over the years. It's as powerful as the full Photoshop imo but very much cheaper. There are lots of different packages out there - it's just a case of using them and getting to know them, without fear.

I use the word fear because I know that some people really are scared of editing their photos. Please don't be scared - it's fun! Your image won't self-destruct - neither will your PC. You've taken a great shot - why not give it that finishing touch? Just open your image file in the programme and play.

Here are some screen-shots where I've been brightening up a photo in Paint Shop Pro, using Curves. This is a standard tool in Photoshop too. A small tweak in Curves can brighten an image and improve the contrast in amazing ways but with good control. I could have just shown the use of Brighten/Contrast but although that's simple to use it's like using a sledge-hammer to crack a nut - no subtlety at all!

Go to Adjust > Brighten and Contrast > Curves.

Opening screen ^

Don't be put off by the fact it looks lke a mathematical graph - just think of that diagonal line as if it was a length of stretchy elastic. You just click and drag your mouse on the line, pushing and pulling it. Most tweaks will result in an S-shape to give good results. Towards the top of the line will be the brighter end, and at the bottom, the darker end. To start with you could try big movements - just to see how it works. Simply click on that curved arrow at the top of the screen to undo. Eventually you will see that just small changes in that line will greatly improve brightness, colour-saturation and contrast. I touched the line in 3 separate places to produce a subtle arc. Hopefully you can see the difference.

I just pushed the line in 3 places ^

So, I hope you can see that basic photo-editing is not difficult - or scary. You may have invested a lot of money in your camera - invest some time in your images too.

To finish, here are a couple of links. The first one is Picnik (link) - a new on-line photo-editing website. Anyone who doesn't have software might like to try it out. I can't vouch for it, and this is the beta version but it's a great idea.

The 2nd link is Photojojo (link) a really fun site that I've just discovered and subscribed to. It's full of fun things to do with our digital images and shows new ways to display them too. There's also a shop. Check out the archives if you have an hour to spare!

Keeping Diaries

2007-05-19T15:09:00.000Z

I've kept diaries all of my life, ever since I was a child. I've always found it a really great way to express yourself and release emotions. Keeping diaries has really helped me to gain a better understanding of myself and how my feelings work, and I've learned a lot about myself this way. I have many different types of diaries, not only the one where I write my inner most thoughts. Some of the diaries I have go way back to my childhood and some are from my teenage years. I have diaries that my best friend and I kept together, where we would each write a little bit about what we did that day, sort of like an on-going story of our teenage life. Sometimes we just wrote down song lyrics that we related to at that time and sometimes we made up silly poems or just drew silly pictures, but I love to read this diary now that I am older. It never fails to shock me or have me in fits of laughter at the memories. I look back and can't believe how much I have changed and how different my life is now.

Other diaries I have are holiday diaries that I kept as a child. They are very basic, but I love and treasure them dearly. One of my favourite diaries is the one I kept when my family and I went on holiday to Cairns, in Queensland, Australia in 1990. We emigrated to Australia, from England, in December 1988 and had been living in Australia for one year when my mother won the holiday on a radio competition, it was for a 2 adults and 2 children to go on holiday to Cairns for one week. It was the best holiday I ever had. I collected leaflets, tickets, napkins, postcards, maps, photos and many other things and stuck them all in the diary. I am so glad I kept that diary, because now I can look back and remember all of the things we did, people we met, see all of the places we went and remember the things we saw there, some of which I would have otherwise forgotten.

I still keep diaries like this, and am in the process of finishing one from my most recent holiday to Hastings, along the East Sussex coastline of England. I also keep a personal diary and I know that in another 20 years, I will look back and see how much my life has changed and will be shocked at how far I've come. I think keeping a diary is a lovely way to put your life into perspective and to treasure all of the experiences you have in your life, good or bad. I love to pull out my old diaries when I'm having a bad day and laugh at all the funny things that have happened to me throughout my life, or see how much better my life is now than it was, which never fails to cheer me up a little.

As well as keeping diaries, I also love to read books in the style of diaries. A favourite of mine was one I read a little while ago called 'Diary of an Ordinary Woman' by Margaret Forster. It was a brilliant read and I would definately recommend it to anyone who likes to keep diaries, or enjoys this sort of book.

My day at Race for Life.

2007-05-18T08:40:00.000Z

Now to "My" day. My local "Race" was Inverness and heres how it felt for me on the day:

We arrived in good time, infact an hour and a half before the warm up was due to start, but we are very glad we did as not long after we arrived it started getting really busy. It was, as I had been told, an amazing atmosphere, as everyone there is there for the same reason with the same goals, raising as much cash for Cancer Research UK as possible.

When I stepped out of the car to get my bag out I had a wonderful suprise, my niece and her husband had travelled all the way up from the Borders to support me, so I had plenty of support including my Mum my Sister in law and a friend of my mum's, it was lovely to have familiar faces there.(For those of you who don't know me, I did this race this year in memory of my brother who died of cancer at the end of October last year).

After an short hold up, we began the warm up, the biggest aerobics class I've been in with over 3000 people. We were then separated into "Runners" and "Walkers", I had to go with the runners which felt very strange considering I couldn't jog for more that 1 minute 9 weeks ago, and we headed for the start line. The tape went up and we were off, the sun was now shining and the heat, for me, was terrible and I thought at that time I wouldn't make it, but just calmed myself down and took it easy when I needed too. We are very lucky where we are and the whole run was beautiful, running along the side of the River Ness. (I'm the one adjusting my headphones!)

I was amazed at the amount of children and young girls taking part in the race and they all were amazing, running alongside there mums/aunties/friends, and whizzing past me I may add! Reading the back signs on everyones t-shirts is very emotional, I liked the ones that simply said "I race for life for..... those who can't"

Anyway back to the race, we had so many lovely spectators clapping and cheering us on, it was a real boost to the system, it felt strange, but good. Coming down that last 1/2 mile or so seemed to take forever, you can see the finish line but its far away, but we carried on heading for the "sacred" blue inflatable finish line, my family were there cheering for me as I crossed it in 35 mins and 32 seconds! Unbelievable (for me), I had hoped for around 40 mins, so I was well below that, so the 9 weeks of training paid off.
Would I do it again? too right I would, and I am looking forward to next year where my daughter is coming with me - although my niece is trying to persuade me to do a 10k with her next October - we'll see.

In the end, my friend and I raised over £1600 - and feel very VERY proud. Now...what are you waiting for? click those links in the post below and do something special for yourself and others. Remember you can walk if you want or sprint in with the front runners, its your day to enjoy as you wish.

Race for Life?

2007-05-18T08:38:00.000Z

Race for Life. What is it?

The Race for Life is the country's biggest woman only charity event with 280 separate events taking place from May to August. Its run in aid of Cancer Research UK, and has raised over £100,000,000 since it started in 1994. This year they are hoping that 800,000 women will pop on there running shoes and walk, jog or run the 5K course (3.1 miles - its longer than it sounds!!) raising as much money as they can.

There will be a race near you, so if you fancy joining in the fun and helping raise funds to try to beat this dreadful disease click here and sign up today. If you can't manage yourself and see a "I race for life" or similar in someones signature line click on there link and donate today you'll be glad you did.

If you want to, take a digital watch and time yourself, although, with huge crowds and varying ways of getting to the end you wont be setting yourself a new personal best! Just walk, jog run and enjoy the atmosphere and the day.

Remember these frightening stats: 1 in 3 of us will get Cancer in our lifetime and 3 in 4 familes will care for a loved one with Cancer. Its a scarey thought and one that affects all of us!

Introduction to Cath

2007-05-18T08:37:00.000Z

Hello. I'm Cath, and I live in the Highlands of Scotland. I've been crafting all my life really, and have tried most crafts. I knit (although not since I started scrapbooking), do cake decorating, paint, make cards, scrapbook, but don't crochet, never could do that.

I have been part of the Suprise Supplies DT, an occasional entrant in Altered Treasures DT and work on the Pencil Lines sketch blog.

I'm married 16 years this year, and have a teenage daughter, nearly teenage son and a re-homed westie dog called Rosie (she's a handful in herself!).

I'm thrilled to be involved in the Jelly Journals and love the way its taking shape.

Layout Balance - Fixing the Mistakes!

2007-05-17T07:29:00.000Z

When writing articles for this blog, I’ve chosen to research things that I would like to know more about. This is why I have decided to write a series of articles on achieving balance in your layouts. When trying to design new and innovative layouts using eclectic materials, I sometimes struggle to achieve what I consider to be pleasing design elements and balance. I therefore thought it might be an interesting topic for others who may also struggle with the same things.

I will often look at a layout and think – “Ok, I’ve finished!” yet when I go to upload my layout on-line, I look at it onscreen from a different perspective and think “oh no – there is something missing!” You ask your friends “what’s wrong with this?” and they will appreciate it as it is, because it is something you have hand made – and they like it! However, this is not always helpful when trying to gain an honest critique when something niggles – and I usually have to sit there for a while, or maybe come back to the layout after a significant break, and have another fiddle, in order to see just what the layout might have been missing.

I wanted to delve into more of the science and the principles of graphic design, in relation to scrapbooking. However, as this subject is quite in-depth, I have decided to break it down over a number of weeks, and I’ve taken quite a lot of material from John Magnik, a compositor and teacher who teaches principles of graphic design. His site is here, but I am going to adapt the material specifically for scrapbooking.

This week, we will talk about visual weight. I am also going to show you some befores and afters to provide some examples.

Visual Weight:
Graphic designers use the terms “visual weight” and “visual balance” – where things are placed in connection to the layout space. Something that has a lot of visual weight is dark, or large – your eye is drawn to this and rests for a longer period of time than for something which is small, or light.

Look at this layout – this was my first attempt.

Now – I am not asking you to critique my scrapbook page – this is using my oldest wedding stash, and the photos are some candid night time shots at my wedding – so I started off with less than premium materials. The photos are not well composed – there are chairs in the way, and they are full of red eye. I made this page from a class on the recent UK Scrappers cybercrop, but I decided to change the page quite considerably, in order to better suit my own purpose.

Being that I have all this stash in place for my wedding scrapbook, I am determined to use it - even though I may not love it as much as once I did. So, I popped the stickers onto cardstock, cut the letters out, outlined the letters in ink, and raised them onto foam pads to add more depth. I added eyelets into the scallops for more detail.

The ribbon and key detail was recycled from a lovely handmade card sent by a friend.

I added the prima flowers and stickers strategically - to block out bits of the photos I didn't want to see. But when examining or self-critiqueing the page when I thought I had finished, my layout didn't look balanced. The curve on the right hand side of the semi-circle means that there was more space and there were less elements on the right hand side - I felt it needed "more visual weight" to make it look balanced. But how?

I fiddled and faddled for a while - and then came up with the idea of adding more cornflower ribbon, which partially achieved the trick, because it was a darker colour, and thus drew the eye - but it still needed more.

The addition of threaded beads weaving their way on the right hand side really worked for me - and thus gave the layout a finishing touch, and I felt it added the "wow" factor. Here it is in more detail -

And so I was finally happy with the end result, after some considerable time.

I have added more visual weight to the right hand side of the page, in order for it to be balanced with the elements of the left hand side. So, after some considerable faffing - I am pleased with the end result - and happier to know WHY my layout didn't work in the first place!

Next week, we shall talk more about visual balance, and I shall be doing some more research into the science bit - and the design principles of scrapbooking! Until then, happy scrapping.

Ali x

A LITTLE SEASONING

2007-05-15T19:07:00.000Z

Isn’t this year simply flying by?? I really can’t believe that spring is nearly over and we will soon be officially in summer.

I live in the far north of Scotland – so far north that a couple more miles drops us unceremoniously off the top of the country and into the sea. I’ve been here for 14 years and this year is the first I remember us actually experiencing a proper spring. Normally we go straight from winter to a poor summer and back to winter again.

I’m lucky enough to have a small nature reserve just a few yards from home where I normally walk the dog. It’s the sort of place that makes you feel good to be alive – there is hardly any traffic noise, the birdsong is so loud and varied, there are lots of rabbits and the occasional deer and, just now, there are new leaves growing and starting to unfurl on the trees.

I think these buds are a gorgeous colour. What a great colour the sky was too.

My favourite parts of the reserve are the wooded areas where the coniferous trees grow. I love watching these trees change over the course of the year. They are usually fairly uniform in colour but each individual tree can vary from dark bluey-grey through storm cloud purple to rich, deep green. They can easily withstand all the elements and we certainly get 'some elements' here!

It's hard to believe this snowfall was only a few weeks ago. The snow reminds me of candy floss that has been spun over the branch.

The time I like best in the woodland has to be spring when the tips of the branches are wrapped tight in a shiny, golden brown covering, like parcels waiting to be opened.

They don’t stay like this for very long and soon bright green, soft, needles emerge from underneath the golden brown.

Aren't they amazing? Most of the trees will look like this - like they have flouncy, multi-layered dresses on with bright green frills swaying in the breeze. Others have these fabulous, exotic looking cones. It could almost be a Mediterranean cactus.

I complain a fair bit about how far away we are from civilisation here - it's a two hour drive to the nearest Marks and Spencer each way, but having this almost on the doorstep helps to make up for some of the hardships!

Chipboard

2007-05-14T10:39:00.000Z

My scrapping style changed when I discovered chipboard. It is so versatile and forgiving.
As pages normally have titles at present I am using a lot of the Maya Road Chipboard letters, and my 'thing' at the moment is to cover them with UTEE. I painted these letters with Making Memories Lime Green paint and when it was dry I pressed it into a versamark pad and sprinkled with clear UTEE. When it was heated it left a pitted effect which I left as I thought it was scale-like. I did the same with the scrolls which I thought looked a bit like his chin and neck

With this one I used a red UTEE using 2 coats and by the same method as before for the letters and the arrow. The centre of the flower and the photo anchors were from the Basic Grey Undressed Elements and I coated these with Diamond Glaze and sprinkled them with microbeads

Again the scrolls were coated with black UTEE. It gives a lovely rich, glossy finish and before it is completely cold after heating it is nice to sprinkle just a little gold UTEE on the letters to give a rich finish.

They can also be painted, chalked, glittered, painted with H2O's, left bare, decorated with crystals and rub ons. You can punch holes in it for brads and eyelets, tie ribbon and fibre around it. In fact your only limitation is your imagination. But don't just stick with letters, use shapes and flowers. Cut out shapes using a Sizzix.
On this layout the letters were coated with diamond glaze and then covered in glitter and left to dry. The problem with glitter, as you may have found, is that it migrates but with a thickish coating of diamond glaze the glitter sinks into the glaze.
The scrolls I painted with H2O's which gave a shiny, metallic finish and I the added some crystals

Amazing Chickens

2007-05-14T10:32:00.000Z

My love affair with chickens began around 20 years ago when I saw some little bantams at a show. These daft little creatures really fascinate me and as my husband says ‘ Little head - Little brain but they are comical to watch.
Chickens used to be only kept by farmers and country dwellers but the fancy breeds are now to be found in city gardens as well. Their eggs range from dark reddish brown through pure white to a beautiful blue. The sizes range from monsters to dainty little bantam eggs.
Throw them some scraps or corn and they will scratch around in the garden for hours. I did once have some chickens rescued from a battery farm. When they reach 18 months old their egg production drops off and they are used for food. When I got them home and put them in the garden at first they were very timid as they had been kept in a tiny cage and their beaks cut to stop them from pecking themselves in boredom. Within a short while they were scratching about in the dirt clucking happily to themselves.
But my real favourites are bantams. Over the centuries chickens have been bred into an amazing variety of shapes , sizes, patterns , textures and colours. Some of the cockerels are vicious as they are descended from the fighting birds in the Far East but generally they are happy little birds.
This is a Polish White Crested Blue bantam and Polish have a mop type crest on their heads.

Frizzles have feathers that curl away from their bodies and this one is a Frizzle Polish

or how about these lovely little silkies in a variety of colours

Spotlight on Heather

2007-05-14T10:17:00.000Z

Another member of the Jillybeans Design team is Heather Pearson and she has given us a little bit about herself:

I am Heather, wife to Andrew and stay at home Mum to 4, James (14), Chelsea (12), Whitney (10) and Nicholas (3). The children are mainly the subject matter for my scrapbook pages.
I began Scrapbooking in January 2006 after following a few leads found through on line craft supply shops on the internet. I found UK Scrappers and I have never looked back. My children
were the inspiration behind my scrapbooking as I have always kept memory boxes full of things that they may treasure in the future, first nursery drawing, cards they made,favorite items of clothing, badges, bookmarks, all their birthday cards, all the little things that I would have loved to have had kept for me. Scrapbooking seemed to me a perfect addition to those treasures. It let me put even more memories into the archives with much more detail than I ever would have.
It also lets me speak to them in a most unusual way. I can start with a picture from any given day and tell them how I felt about their achievements, hopes and dreams and just how much they mean to me, good and sometimes not so good,
I wonder what they will make of those pages in time
As a keen photographer scrapping gives me another way to get my many 100's of photographs in albums. I belong to a camera club which is another wonderful source of inspiration and I find that my photography assignments often end up on my scrapbook pages. The two hobbies compliment each other perfectly and each enhances the other.
I have always struggled to put my style of scrappiing into a particular category. I seem to leap from one style to the next depending on the project I am working on. I love trying out new techniques and styles and definitely have my favourites which I use over and over again. I could not live without ink and stamps, I confess to being a real 'stampaholic'. At this point in time I am having hours of fun playing with textures and various mediums and paints.
I love altered art and dabble in many forms, ATC's, Inches, working with glass and metal, I seem to have permanent inky/mucky fingers with one thing or another.
Challenges I take up with great gusto, I like nothing more than to be given a title or a list of items to use and left to run with it as I choose. I do love subscribing to courses and I constantly strive to learn new design elements. techniques and principles.
I teach classes for my local craft shop crops, design scrapbook pages for a couple on line shops and of course I am a proud member of Jillybeans Design Team . Earlier this year I also taught classes at the Luxurious Angels Retreat in Lockerbie and I am teaching again at
the next retreat, now that was great fun.
I have had a whirlwind scrapbooking year and enjoyed some small success in my own way. I seek no fame or fortune (good job as I spend a small fortune on stash!) I just enjoy being creative and I can't ever see that ending.
I find it an impossible task to choose a favourite layout so I have chosen to share a recent page starring my youngest son and my husband. This photgraph was taken on Easter Sunday on a family day trip and my recent submission for Jillybeans Design Team Gallery. Now this page I love,
my eldest daughter and I did have this conversation and she thinks it is hilarious that it ended up in her scrapbook album. These memories are priceless!
This wonderful hobby has brought so many hours of pleasure it is almost beyond measure, investing in memories, designing recollections, what better way could I spend my time

Heather
www.designrecollections.squarespace.com

Colour Pencils

2007-05-13T16:02:00.000Z

A week of discovery and rediscovery for me. I chanced upon a wonderful blog by artist Kal Barteski (link) and was captivated both by her art and, in particular, her enthusiasm for using colour pencils. Check out her amazing shoe paintings, btw. Kal shares her artwork but also her techniques and I had one of those lightbulb moments ....
Now I haven't used colour pencils for years but I knew I had some somewhere. A quick rummage produced a battered tin of Berol Karismacolour pencils in varying stages of use - favourite colours being the short ones of course. In my formative years I could never get on with colour pencils finding them scratchy and hard to get strong colours without a good deal of pressure. Not so with Karismacolour - these are waxy, soft and semi-translucent and they lay down a good degree of saturated colour without too much pressure. Ideal for blending and overlaying. ( It seems that Karismacolour pencils are no longer made but they have re-emerged as Prismacolor and are made in the USA. Other manufacturers have similar soft pencils in their range and are readily available in art shops etc.)
Then I had fun finding out how the pencils worked and looked on different papers. Besides the obvious choices of artists' papers there are a multitude of different supports that can be used. Textured Bazill cardstock proved to be easy to work with and gave an interesting canvassy look, made more subtle by using the smoother reverse. DCWV patterned card also proved effective, as was their textured solid colour blocks.

This led me to thinking about using coloured pencils more for scrapbooking and with the current trend for doodling on layouts it seems like a good choice. Being a dry medium, and easy to use, it has obvious advantages over painting for freestyle scrapbooking.
This led me to my next rediscovery. One of the banes of my life has been having slightly uncontrolled hand movements when drawing or doing other detailed work. It's a mental thing - the more I try to keep a line smooth the more likely it is to wobble! Not too bad for straight lines - I can use a ruler - but keeping curved lines looking right is much harder. Enter stage right - my flexible curve! Another thing bought a few years ago and then hidden by the junk in my studio. I imagine most people will know a flexible curve when they see one, but just in case, it's about 18 inches long, encased in softish rubber with a flattened surface to the underside, and it can be curved any which way to sit on your paper and used like a curved ruler. So simple to use and it gives very satisfying results. I used a roller-ball pen for the the outlines and then coloured in the design with my pencils.
These pencils will work on any colour background, even black. The example below was done on buttery-yellow DCWV cardstock.

The next example was by way of a further experiment on white Bazill textured card. I printed my image straight onto the reverse of the card, giving a subtle but soft effect like a painting. Then I used the curve to make the sweeping lines and coloured them in. This is 8x8" and it could easily go onto a sheet of 12x12 for further embellishment etc.

Another idea would be to get children creating art onto a layout of photos of themselves. Older children can do their own thing, whilst younger children could maybe simply colour in patterns you've created with a flexible curve or hand-doodling. Get the whole family involved - and no mess!

Illustration Friday - Citrus

2007-05-13T15:29:00.000Z

This is my illustration for the Illustration Friday 'Citrus' subject. It's a colour pencil drawing that I've abstracted digitally. Erm... thing is... do I put it in the colour pencil category or digital? Decisions, decisions....

2007-05-12T16:49:00.000Z

A Waggly tale

I am the very proud and lucky owner of probably the cutest Westie pup ever (in my humble opinion that is.) I had wanted a dog for over two years, and as much as I tried to put myself off the idea it just didn’t work. I had spent the last two years searching the Internet for articles about my favoured breed of dog, the West Highland White Terrier. Even reading that the terrier can be very wilful didn’t put me off. I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment as the thought of a dog with a lot of ‘spirit’ made me want one even more.

I even had a name for the as yet non existent dog- Pablo. I’d chosen the name in a rather complicated way. I followed Formula one, and admired the driving skills of Juan Pablo Montoya, who drove for Maclaren, who were sponsored by West (are you still following? I told you it was complicated didn’t I?) Anyway, West-Westie- Pablo. I guess there are more conventional ways of choosing a non existent dog’s name really.

So - I do have a habit of making a ten word story into ten thousand words - two years of wanting the said Westie, lots of Westie products in the house (including a Bear Factory stuffed Westie toy, called Pablo of course) I was still no nearer to getting the actual real life furry version. I started searching websites for Westies for sale and came across The Kennel Club site. I found Westies for sale just down the road from us, but a quick phone call later confirmed they were all spoken for. I decided it was just not going to happen, but couldn’t resist frequently going onto the Kennel Club site for another look. Eventually I found another add for Westies a bit further away, but available. We said we would go and have a look but not rush into anything (after two years we thought we were rushing?) We decided not to take any money with us when we went to look at the pups, to stop us buying one there and then, HA!

As soon as we walked into the room where the pups were we were choosing which one would be ours. I had my daughter’s birthday money in my purse, she kindly donated it to the deposit, not that she knew as she wasn’t actually there.
There were 3 puppies, but one was reserved, we chose the one with the floppy ears, he was so cute, his brother was lovely but there was just something about ‘floppy ears’ that we fell in love with. As the pups were only 5 weeks old we had to wait two weeks to bring Pablo home, two weeks in which I managed to buy just about every puppy accessory available. With my favourite hobbies including photography and scrap booking, I couldn't wait to have the cutest little furball to use as my subject.

This LO was made using Crate papers- Hampton court collection, which was sent to me as a birthday kit from Jillybeans scrap yard. I love the way the papers matched a lot of the photos I had taken of Pablo as a new pup, and have used the kit in a mini pupbum that I can use as a brag book. I used transparency for the title. I love this as you can layer it over your photos or embellishments. The only thing is you have to print everything in mirror image, and I often forget. We thought we would give Pablo his first bath soon after bringing him home, he didn't exactly love the experience!

Selection of mini books I have made

2007-05-11T07:50:00.000Z

I make a lot of books so I thought I would show some examples.
I hope to share instructions for most of them in the future.

Mini books

2007-05-11T07:40:00.000Z

I love making mini books and thought I would share this one with you.
1.Cut 8 circles in paper (I used a cd as a template).
2.For the cover you will need 2 quarters of card.
3.To assemble t-bag fold each circle then stick on top of each other.
4.Before you add the covers to each end sandwich some ribbon between each cover and page.

Texture paste

2007-05-11T07:32:00.000Z

I have been experimenting with texture paste.
First I spread some on a piece of card not too thick but enough to get an image when you stamp into it.
Then I used some of my texture and alphabet plates to stamp into the paste while still wet.
Clean your stamps straight away with something like an old toothbrush to get the paste out of the hollows in the stamps.
Leave to dry for about an hour then paint over the top using one or more colours.
This effect can be used for titles by stamping letters into the paste.
I would do a title on a seperate piece of card and mount onto lo when dry.
Beads and glitter can be used and best added to the paint.

Blooming Transparencies!

2007-05-09T18:05:00.000Z

Did you treat yourself to these cute sprays of beaded flowers from Jillybeans' site and then wonder how on earth you'd fix them to your project? Here are a few ideas that might help you.

1. Use a liquid adhesive such as Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents to stick the backs of the flowers and anchor the wire stems behind another embellishment such as a tag, envelope or title.

2. Sew the sprays in place either with a pale thread or contrasting fibre, depending on the look you want. You can stitch around the centre of the large clear flowers but be careful not to pull the thread too tightly as you might pull a hole in your background paper.

3. Tie a ribbon around the stem and secure at the back with a glue dot. Stick the flowers with glue dots too.

4. Make a small hole in your paper, thread the stems through from the front of the paper to the back and secure these on the back of your LO with tape. Your spray will sit more firmly if you bend the wire at the back by about 90 degrees before securing in place. Fix the flowers in place on the front of the LO.

5. Remove the stems from the large clear spray and just use the flowers for embellishments. Cut the wire (this can be done easily with either wire cutters or old scissors) leaving about 1" extending from the flower. Hold the flower with the back facing you and twist the wire round in a tight circle to anchor it before sticking the flower in place with liquid adhesive or glue dots.

It was this last method that I used on the following LO.

One of the members of the U.K.Scrappers forum (UKS) asked for ideas of how to use 12 x 12 printed transparencies. As I love these but have been at a loss for how to use them, I joined the thread for inspiration. Another member then challenged us to use one by the end of the month and this is my attempt.

The transparency is Life's Journey Dream Compass by K & Co which I have had for ages. I've done a search for it and the only place I can see one is an Australian site. Maybe someone knows of a source nearer home, if it's still available? The background paper is Daisy D's but I think it is so old it doesn't have a name!

The LO depicts my mother at different ages through her life. The circle at the bottom right of the transparency had printing on it but I cut this out and the resulting hole is a frame for one of the photos. I rarely give my LOs titles as they don't need to stand on their own - they mainly form part of holiday journal albums or family history albums and each LO is just part of the story in that album. This particular LO will be the start of a series of LOs about my mother's life; not all of them will have pictures. The start of the text on the facing page will have a title - Marjorie . . . a lifetime - heading it and because I wanted to mirror that, I printed the same wording and font on Safmat and laid it over the transparency to give just a hint of colour at the bottom left.

The pointer of the compass is a sunflower brad with a mini framedangoe coloured with silver and metallic blue rub ons. These are not the rub on transfers that are popular just now but pots of creamy colour that you apply with a finger or cotton bud. The ones I used were a freebie from Scrapbook Inspirations magazine but they can usually be bought from shops specialising in rubber stamps. The flowers and leaves, representing fading years, are mainly Prima and those lovely beaded flowers echo the sheerness of the transparency.

They also provide a lovely texture and movement.

I really enjoyed using them and hope you do too.

Wet and Sticky ....

2007-05-08T23:14:00.000Z

Following on from last week, today we are discussing wetness and stickiness - liquid adhesives, of course!

Be cautious when using wet glue, as it can cause the paper or card to warp. For paper to card applications, a dry glue is best, as discussed last week. However, you will need to use a wet glue for sticking larger and weightier embellishments like metal, acrylic or wooden objects. A glue that is archival and turns clear when dry is essential. Felt is best stuck with wet glue, also, as otherwise it tends to dissolve when cut. What I have found works best is to apply the wet glue sparingly to your piece, and then rub on with your finger or a lollypop stick to make a really fine layer. This helps the glue to dry more quickly, and for objects to be bonded more rapidly. Wet glue can be used to stick ribbon - but caution is needed, as the glue may "flood" and stain the material, and thus ruin the look.

The two way Zig glue pen is indispensable for sticking little intricate details to the page like diecuts. You can dispense as much glue as you’d like – for a repositionable bond, wait until the glue turns clear. For a permanent bond, affix the piece to the page whilst the glue is still blue and wet.

Some people swear by glue sticks like Tombow. In a recent class with Donna Downey, she said the secret to making these glue sticks adhere is to activate them with heat – “sit” on your project! Tombow is acid free and clear - it is also useful for sticking vellum to a project as it is nearly invisible if other specialist adhesives aren't to hand. I find this type of glue very handy when creating serendipity squares, as you are layering card and paper over each other. The Tombow stick is a great budget option where lots of glue is required and its low water content means that warping of paper and card does not occur. Being a "gel" stick means that the glue doesn't "clump" together either!

Scrappy Glue by Magic Scraps is a strong glue that comes in a tube and dries quickly and clear. I have personally found Scrappy Glue very useful to stick fabric embellishments to the page, or heavier embellishments, such as metal.

However, the Art Institute Clear Glue has the advantage of being able to also adhere in very fine detail. Once you adhere a small amount of glue and stick the embellishment on the page, you need to leave it some time to dry. This is the greatest drawback with liquid adhesives. A small dot of this is all that is needed for sticking down flowers - a little of this glue goes a long way and was specifically created to adhere the Art Institute glitters (see Jill's previous post on medallion stamps). It was necessary to stick the wooden letters below on with this glue because of their weight.

Dimensional Adhesives, like Judikins Diamond Glaze, or Ranger's Glossy Accents dries to a clear, glass like finish. You can secure micro-beads, gems, glitter or other tiny embellishments in place. A chipboard embellishment can be made blingin' if you coat it with dimensional adhesive, and then cover with glitter. Another fine coat of adhesive over the top of the glitter, once dry, secures the glitter in place, so it doesn't spread through your scrapbook! The dimensional adhesive can also be mixed with dyes or inks, or paint, to customise your own pigments. You can "crack" this adhesive once dry for a shattered glass look. Glossy Accents has a finer applicator nozzle and remains more dimensional.

In this picture, I applied beads to a die cut title - a lot of work, but I thought it was worth it, in the end!

Comments, suggestions - other tips? Please feel free to leave it here! Till next week - happy sticking!

Ali :)

Crystal Laquers

2007-05-08T06:14:00.000Z

I am a real fan of crystal lacquers. They come in sets of 6 with different colour combinations. By gently squeezing the tube you can fill in sections between peel-offs, embossed images and even free hand if you allow the lacquer to dry before putting another colour next to it. Make sure to keep the tip in the lacquer to reduce air bubbles. If you get a bubble then prick it with a pin.

When dry, about 20 minutes, it leaves a raised glossy surface which looks fantastic on Treasure Boxes. This is one that I did using pastel lacquers. I used a large stamp that was pressed onto a Big and Bossy Pad, stamped the image onto some Bazzill cardstock then sprinkled it with embossing powder and heated with a heat gun to seal the image. Then I 'coloured' in whre I thought most suitable using the lacquers, allowing each section to dry before putting another colour next to it.

The idea with these boxes is to use a medallion stamp (on order) and pee wee glitters for the top but for speed I used a large blossom.

This is a small Treasure box made by Liz Oliver-Taylor, using the T winkling H2O's (see Madges first pst for details on how to use them) and pee wee glitter for the lid. They can be made with 4, 5 or 6 sides and the stamp is cut to accommodate the different size boxes

Liz also makes beautiful cards using medallion stamps and Pee Wee glitters and her are a few examples of her work

Lies, Lies and Damned Lies

2007-05-08T05:57:00.000Z

Last week my daughter, Angie, stood for election in the local elections. Unfortunately she wasn't elected but put up a very creditable performance.

The point is I got to see politics from the other side as it were, and in general a very unsavoury experience it was too.

Firstly I had to be one of those people who take your number as you go into the polling station. It is not compulsary to give your number but it does give an indication of the percentage of the area who are turning out to vote. I was so surprised at the people who did turn out. I only did a couple of 2 hour shifts but I think during my time there was one lad in his middle twenties and a woman with a baby in her mid thirties. The rest were senior citizens.

I quizzed the people from the two other parties who were with me and they said that it was quite usual. generally when people came of age it was such a novel experience to vote that they voted but then they didn't tend to vote until they were getting on in years.

The general opinion was that voting locally ought to be compulsary as it mattered what was happening in your area.

Some of the voters were downright rude and others were real sweeties. One woman came out muttering that it was a shambles and she had no idea who she had voted for. Does make you wonder why she bothered to turn out.

The next day I was a watcher(I don't know the official term). This meant sitting in front of the official vote counters just to make sure that they didn't make a mistake. It was interesting to see the votes being opened as you could see the way that the trend was going. And weren't the seasoned candidates ruthless too. They were like hawks watching over our shoulders.

Firstly the papers are counted to make sure that they tally with the official record of how many papers were put in the ballot box.

Then they are spread amongst the counters who sort them into piles. As an observer you are not allowed to touch the ballot papers but if you see a mistake you have to ask the counter to check the paper and put it on the correct pile. The piles are then checked by someone else.

They are then counted and put into clips holding 25 votes.

There were 6 candidates in Angies ward and the man who had been elected for the last several years was a clear winner. The second seat was a close call between Angies running mate and the winners running mate. They demanded recount after recount and finally the Returning Officer said there would only be one more recount and that would be final. After the fifth recount Angies running mate was declared the winner by three votes.

Jpegs

2007-05-06T17:11:00.000Z

Many of us have a love/hate relationship with our computers and digital cameras. We like what they can do but we find the technical aspects a bit daunting and it follows that we don't always achieve the best results. After all, who has the time to search manuals - we want to click and go!

Although a keen photographer for over 25 years, mostly with slide film, getting to grips with a digital SLR has been a steep learning curve for me. I doubt if I'll ever reach the summit but I'm proficient enough now to sell some of my images. I know lots of people struggle with some of the basics like image file types though and I thought I'd share my way of learning about the most commonly used file type in photography - the Jpeg.

JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. What? A file saved as a Jpeg is a compressed file and it's a great tool because it enables us to send images around the world in lightening quick time. Image files are often huge and jam-packed with data and not only take up large amounts of storage space on our hard-drives but would take forever to upload on the web without this compression.

BUT ... and it's a big but ... this wonderful tool has issues!

Think of a Jpeg file as a holiday suitcase. We've filled it up with all our best clothes but it won't shut properly so we have to discard some and then we have a nice neat case for travelling. On holiday we buy a few new things and some souvenirs but then when we come to fly home again our suitcase won't close. Some more things have to be thrown out. Every time we buy something new we have to make room for it!

Bear with me ... if we now switch the analogy - so that the suitcase is our image and the contents become the data, by saving the image as a Jpeg we are effectively sitting on the suitcase to squish it down for travelling (compression). A few bits (or bytes) will have been thrown out but we're ready to go. Okay, so now we might want to open the image in Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, etc, to brighten it up. This adds considerably to the image data and is like buying new things to put in the case. We hit the Save button again and once more the file is compressed - and more bits are discarded. Every time we hit that Save button on a Jpeg file it's throwing out data and it's doing it indiscriminately. It could be chucking out your favourite top or your new shoes - it doesn't care.

Now, whether people edit their images or not, the vast majority of digital photographers shoot Jpeg images as a default method. Our cameras come set that way. It enables us to shoot lots of images onto our memory cards and that's good, isn't it. Isn't it? Well .... if you shoot at the lowest quality setting to give the highest number of images on your card, your card becomes a storeroom full of little squished suitcases. Quantity over quality. The compression is much greater at low settings and your photos might be disappointing when printed. Far better to always shoot at the highest quality Jpeg setting - that means minimum compression and happier photographers. After all, memory cards have come down greatly in price now, so buy more storage. Because you're worth it.

Above is a photo showing a before and after Jpeg compression, after several saves. Hopefully you can see how the image has degraded - look in particular at the sky area, where the colours have separated or posterised. Below I've shown a close crop from the same image. Those horrid blocky bits are known as artifacts. Sounds like something the Time Team would dig up - just not nearly as helpful!

If you do edit your images, make sure, when you open them in your software such as Photoshop, that you hit Save As and save a copy of your file to work on in the native file format. (.psd for Photoshop; psp image for Paint Shop Pro, etc, etc) then you can save as many times as you need to without degrading it. If it's to be uploaded on the web, then export the file as a Jpeg right at the end of the process, at minimum compression.

This is just my way of learning about Jpegs and not meant as a technical guide - the whole subject is much more complex than I can cope with. I hope it goes some way to helping you too.
Happy snapping!

Jiminy Cricut

2007-05-06T07:52:00.000Z

Following an operation on my arm the previous loves of my life - Quickutz & Sizzix - were sadly relegated to gather dust in the cupboard. So I was in heaven when the new Cricut arrived. When I first got this lovely little machine I was really impressed with the speed & ease that I could cut titles, phrases & shapes.
I've never been a patient person & to be honest instruction manuals get shoved to one side in the excitement of having something new to play with. However, when I was asked to do a bit for the blog I thought I'd better get the book out & have a quick look. Oh my word! I thought this machine was good but how I underestimated it!
I spent yesterday evening on a 'getting to know you session' & learnt loads more about the little fella.
For those of you who haven't played with one of these yet let me explain -

The Cricut machine comes with one cartridge - George & Basic Shapes. This gives you numbers 0 - 9, uppercase letters A - Z, punctuation, 30 different shapes ranging from squares, circles & triangles to flowers, balloons & speech bubbles & a selection of phrases all of which can be cut in any size from a tiny 1" to a huge 5 1/2".

There are also 6 'creative features' that let you transform each character 6 different ways - that's an awful lot of characters from just one cartridge. These letters were cut using the basic letter shape plus the shadow feature.

There is an evergrowing list of cartridges available featuring fonts, shapes or a combination of both. At approximately £50 each they are expensive but when you think of the variations you can cut with each one - well over 200 in each size! - I think they are pretty good value.

Two of my favourite cartridges are Tags, Bags & Boxes & Animal Kingdom. This little gift bag was made using the Tags, Bags & Boxes. It only took a few minutes to make & would be perfect for a small gift like a voucher or a piece of jewellery.

The bookmark was made using the Animal Kingdom cartridge & again only took a few minutes which is probably just as well as my children now want bookmarks with a whole zoo on them! I really can't make up my mind which is my favourite font as they are all really lovely.

I could wax lyrical for pages about the the wonders of the Cricut but if you get chance to play with one I'm sure you'll be impressed.

Journal Jars

2007-05-05T10:27:00.000Z

It's often hard to find the perfect gift for a loved one, no matter how many hours you spend trawling the shops looking for that special something to jump out at you. That's why I love the idea of a handmade gift, but again, it can be hard to think of something a bit different. A while ago I wanted to give my Mum a gift with a bit of a difference and stumbled across a fantastic idea. A Journal Jar and I couldn't wait to get started. Once I had finished, I gave it to her and she absolutely loved it!

A Journal Jar is a jar that is filled to the brim with strips of cardstock that have questions printed or written on them, that are then rolled into little scrolls. These are the journal prompts. The idea is that each day you pull out one of the little scrolls and stick it at the top of a page in your journal and write your daily journal entry based on that question.

First of all, you will need a nice Jar. I chose to use a lovely glass biscotti jar, with a removable lid. You can decorate the jar and put some instructions on the front, made to look like a label. You will also need a journal, which you can also decorate with your choice of patterned paper. Another nice touch is to make a little bookmark to go inside the journal.

A Journal jar could be themed on absolutely anything. The nice thing about them is that you can give them as a gift for any occassion - new babies, weddings, engagements, mothers day, fathers day, birthdays, christmas - anything your heart desires. Whichever theme you chose, there are many questions you can include on your journal prompt scrolls. I think these would make particularly lovely gifts for Grandparents. Just think about all the questions you could include in the jar about their lives and all the stories they have to tell, that perhaps they would never think to tell, unless prompted! The journal would make such interesting reading once finished. Such a beautiful and fun way to preserve a lifetime of memories. I know I can't wait to read my Mum's journal when she has finished it. I just wish I could have given one to my Grandparents before they passed away. I was very young when they died and there is so much I don't know about them or their lives. Having something like this left by them would have been truly wonderful to me.

Journal Jars also lovely for new mothers who want to remember every single thing about their new baby, just think of all the questions you could ask, that people wouldn't really think about unless asked. It would be a lovely journal for a child to read once they were older.

There are lots of little twists of your own you could add. One nice idea is to mix some chocolates up with the scrolls for a little surprise every now and then!

There are a few websites out there with lists of questions, but just to get you started, here is a list that I found particularly useful when making my own Journal Jar, and I'm sure you can think of many more!

Print the following questions on strips of paper and place in the jar:

Tell something about each of your children - the personalities, talents, and traits that make them different and special.
Describe a favorite vacation of your married years.
Tell about home cures or old wives tales: hiccups, toothaches, earaches, or arthritis.
Where were you and what were you doing the day the wall came down in Germany (or the coup occurred in USSR or when World War II started or ended)?
Describe your wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, etc. (suit etc, if male.)
Write a description of your husband or wife.
Tell about your retirement - when, where, what will you do with your time?
Describe your mother's wedding dress - what do you know about her wedding?
Where did you live as a child - town, country, suburb, etc?
What is your greatest joy? Your greatest sorrow?
Do you have a favorite author? Who? Why? Tell about your favorite books as a child and as an adult.
What do you feel has been the most significant world events that has taken place in your lifetime and why?
Describe the most serious illness or accident that you have had.
Describe your yard as a child. Did you help with the yardwork?
What are your memories --- Draw a diagram if you can.
Tell about Family Reunions.
Tell about your teen-age social life - your friends, dances, dating, outings, church functions etc.
What would you like to be remembered for?
Describe your last home as a young couple.
How did your father spend his time supporting his family?
Tell about exciting experiences as a young woman.
Tell about your life as the children left home - new interests, etc. What did you do with the extra time -- new employment, moves, hobbies, etc.
Tell about handed-down talents, foods, clothespin dolls, willow whistles, pottery, quilting, whittling, meat drying etc.
What lessons did you take as a child? Did you carry any over into adulthood?
What were your favorite places to go with your family when you were young?
Tell about any ancestors that you know about - name dates, etc. for historical purposes and any stories about them.
Tell about anniversaries, celebrations, trips, gifts.
What were your fears, expectations, anticipations about getting married?
Tell about a special date you had with a boy/girl friend or your fiancée.
What is your mother's best trait? Worst? The traits you share?
What is your father's best trait? Worst? The traits you share?
Give one word on how to live successfully.
How do you feel about winning? Losing?
Tell a courtship story about your parents - how they met etc... Tell the same about your courtship.
Describe a favorite childhood friend and something you did with her or him.
Tell about your grandchildren - how many- how did you feel about being a grandparent?
Have you met or worked with famous people? Who? Where?
How did you become engaged?
What is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to you? The worst?
What is your child-rearing philosophy?
Describe your Sundays as a mother/father or as a child.
What can frighten you the most and why?
Do you wish you had more sisters or brothers? Why?
Tell about your favorite aunt.
What is the most exciting place that you have ever been to and why?
What was your worst, really embarrassing moment?
What games did you play as a child - inside and outside?
Where did your grandparents live? What was their home like? Did it have a certain smell or look?
Tell about your favorite uncle.
Did you have a close relationship with your grandparents? Tell about it.
Did you have a bicycle, and what was it like?
Tell how, when, where you learned to drive and any memorable experiences.
Tell about each of your children's names, birthdate, where, doctors, circumstances surrounding the birth - raising them in the home - problems, joys, etc.
How did you like being the oldest, youngest or middle child?
What were the advantages or disadvantages?
Tell about a frustrating experience that you have had with a car.
What is your advice to those younger than you?
Were you ever in a drama, speech, sports, pep or glee club? Tell about it. Did you and your father share any interests together - what and why?
What is your favorite scripture and why?
Describe a childhood Christmas.
Describe a typical day in elementary school.
What did you do when you were a child that got you in the most trouble, and how did your parents handle it?
Tell about your first crush.
Did you go camping? Tell about your experiences.
How did you feel about school?
Do you remember any of your four grandparents? Any greats? What were their names?
Tell about your mother: her personality, characteristics, stature, coloring, talents, temperament, family stories about her, her role in your home, etc.
What do you fantasize about doing or being?
What is your personal secret of happiness?
Describe a perfect spring day and activities on that day?
What is the most important lesson, message, or advice that you have learned that you might pass on to others?
Thinking back, was there a teacher who had a great influence on you?
Tell about your own family traditions: Christmas, birthdays, graduation, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Mothers or Fathers Day, weddings, funerals, hunting etc.
Describe a childhood birthday.
How did you become engaged?
What personality trait do you admire and why?
Did you have a favorite TV, radio, program as a child? Tell about it.
Did you go to college or have vocational training? Where or when?
Did you have a childhood hideout? Tell about it.
Tell about a favorite trip or vacation.
What is your secret for good health?
Describe a childhood Christmas.
Did it snow much when you were a child - tell something about it, what did you do?
Describe getting a Christmas tree as a child, when did you put it up and decorate it?
Tell about your civic or political activities.
Write about some places you went with your father.
Write about some places that you went with your mother.
What do you think about movies - what is your favorite movie and why?
If you could be an animal, which one would you choose and why?
Describe a typical day during your Junior High years..
What kind of extra-curricular activities did you participate in at school?
Tell about the houses you lived in childhood - addresses, phone numbers, etc...
What do you think brings good or bad luck?
Tell about all the places you have worked.
Describe your wedding day.
What are your food preferences and how did they come about?
How did your mother spend her time?
Were you responsible for household chores? What were they? Which did you enjoy most/ least?
What are your most deeply held values.

Preserve your memories
Seal them up well.
What you forget,
You can never retell.
But a journal that's kept fresh on the shelf,
Will help someone through rough times
Maybe even yourself.

(poem by unknown author)

Fabric Paper Collage.

2007-05-04T07:44:00.000Z

To make fabric paper you cover a sheet of fabric (ie calico ) in pva glue then cover with scraps of paper to make a collage.
Include things like dried leaves and flowers.
Cover again in pva and then tissue paper either scraps or a whole sheet which looks good if scrunched.
To bring your collage together cover in a wash of watered down paint.

Leave to dry overnight if possible then you can collage on top.
I have sewn buttons lace and ribbon on top and added a picture.

I also burnt around the edge to age it.

Distressing.

2007-05-04T07:19:00.000Z

Distressing backgrounds for postcards.

Step 1 cut an A4 sheet of card into 4.

Step 2 crumple the card then smooth out flat.

Step 3 using the lightest colour first rub a distressing inkpad over the top
catching the creases in the card.

Step 4 spray with water and iron till flat .

Repeat steps 3 and 4 to add other colours.

My favourite combination is tattered rose,worn lipstick and aged mahogony.

Step 5 collage ontop incuding stamping.

I like to stamp in the darkest colour I used or black.
I also like to paint the backgrounds too.

Just Scrolling Along

2007-05-02T18:19:00.000Z

I really love the current wave of chipboard embellishments to hit scrapbooking. The Maya Road products in particular appeal to me because as much as I love the product, I love the metal cases they come in too! These are really sweet just as they are or they can be decorated with papers, ribbons, paint or alcohol inks. So you really do get value for money.

Chipboard currently comes in grey or white. My favourite shapes at the moment are the scroll designs but there are other designs available such as flowers, frames and alphabets. Here I've got an undressed (plain) scroll on the left, the middle one is painted blue and decorated with flowers and beads, the one on the right is covered in accent beads and the gold one at the bottom has been inked and embossed with gold powder. They can be covered with paper, material, inked, distressed, used as a template, used to hang things from, and embellished further with ribbons, gems, buttons - the list is endless!

So with all these things that can be done to your shapes to customise them, is there any other way of using them? They can be used with various mediums in order to change or make your own background paper.

A scroll has been coated with Versamark ink and then pressed onto plain paper. The image left behind is like a watermark. It doesn't matter that the image looks a little faded in places; that is part of its' charm. Dot your background paper with images like this to tie up with the decorated chipboard embellishment on your LO.

Here the scroll has been coated in embossing ink, pressed onto the paper and then embossing powder quickly sprinkled on before being heated. The result is delicate, a bit like the versamark pad but raised and shiny. A different coloured powder would produce a bolder pattern.

This time the scroll has been dipped in a bleach solution (eek!) and pressed onto the paper. It leaves quite a chunky image, depending on how strong the solution is and how long you press it onto the paper. I think this would look great on LOs of the Meditteranean on terracotta paper. It reminds me of a Grecian tile. I'm sure I don't need to point out that bleach is not acid free so this decoration would need to be kept away from your precious photos. To paint or decorate with bleach mix household bleach with water - just a few spoonsful - in a flat bottomed dish. Fold some kitchen paper and lay this ontop of the solution so that it soaks up the liquid and use the kitchen paper as you would an ink pad.

Here the scroll has been used as a mask and chalk applied around it. Stick the shape to your paper using repositional glue and chalk around it. Pull the shape off and you are left with a 'negative'. I've done this quite dark so you can see it; it's very pretty when done with pastel shades. You can also paint over the mask but you have to make sure it's glued down well as the chipboard will soak up some of the paint and could transfer it to the area you want blank. It's best to use a thin paint as you have more control over it and can build up the colour with another coat if you wish.

If you're still looking for ways of using chipboard, scatter the shapes in front of you and look at them with new eyes. The scroll covered in accent beads in the first picture looked like a funky 'S' to me so could be used as part of the alphabet. It's mirror image that I covered in gold embossing powder reminded me of a question mark.

The only limit with chipboard

is your imagination.

I'd love to see what

you do with it!

Dry and Sticky ...

2007-05-02T08:30:00.000Z

So – what did you think this article was going to be about? As scrapbookers or crafters in general, we often face the same dilemma – what kind of adhesive do we use, and for which purpose? Hopefully this article will prove useful to people who may have puzzled over glues.

I must own at least 20 different adhesives, in both dry and wet format – each has its own specific purpose. I have built up a preference for adhesives over the three years I’ve been scrapbooking and tend to be loyal to a product once it is tried and tested. Naturally, other people have different preferences – but the following recommendations are what I have found works for me personally.

In the past week, I have been in the “scrapbooking zone” as I have completed numerous different layouts and tag books. This layout, completed on Friday night, was done for my friend Judith. I was very happy to do her a page for her parents album – and being 1947, decided on a heritage theme. I pulled the green ribbon, the cream and the stretchy purple lace from my stash as being the most suitable for a heritage layout. But what an awful colour combination! I tied the colours in by using that modern brown and pink striped ribbon at the bottom, and then the various flowers to give a sense of fluidity but unity to the page – the flowers form anchors for the eye. The dark green brads in the flowers help to link that dark green colour back in.

To adhere paper or card, my paper and card adhesive runner of choice is Hermafix repositionable. Being a “go with the flow” scrapper, I often have to move things about on a page, and with Herma, I can do just that. The repo will go permanent eventually and its best feature is you can remove unwanted adhesive with a concrete rubber or a swipe of your finger. Be careful with photo surfaces, however. As I am a mucky pup, I am always doing this! For stronger fixes, I use Hermafix permanent – it is very sticky and gluggy. I have learnt over the years you must keep each runner separate – the permanent will glug up your repo dispenser in a flash!

I printed the snippets of information Judith had given me onto patterned paper that was in my scraps bag – my scraps are sorted into different colours, and live in a 12 x 12 Artbin. This is the place I go to first, when die-cutting or only wanting little pieces of paper or card.

To stick ribbon onto a page, I use a thin crystal double sided tape – it is very nearly transparent, and I find this works pretty effectively with even organza. I added ribbon borders to the text boxes to give them a more finished look – even though some of these finishes weren’t exactly straight. Never mind – it is a hand crafted piece after all – and don’t sweat the small stuff, is my motto! On the layout, I mitred each corner of the various ribbons – which gives a neater effect, albeit a fiddly process. I bought these cream flowers ages ago, which, as they are mottled in colour, are perfect for heritage layouts.

The flowers were very quickly adhered to the page with mini glue dots – I had these lying in my stash, and were just rediscovered over the weekend. Since that time, I’ve used half a roll! They are a strong, dry adhesive – not easily repositionable – but they work wonderfully well for sticking flowers to a page. They also worked a treat when adding the heart charm to the flower. The Angel Kisses Old Pink Daisies add a touch of brightness into the page.

The “treasure” postage stamp was raised from the page with 3d foam squares - which add shadow and thus provide depth and dimension. Some pearl brads I’ve had in my stash for ages – and voilá – the layout is finished. Photographed late at night, and posted the next morning.

I tend to reserve double sided tape for making cards, unless I am sure it is acid free. Most double sided tape is not. When I know it is, DST is very useful in minibooks and to effectively cover surfaces with paper or card securely. DST is brilliant – adhere it right to the straight edge and now that they are easy tear, you can rip and go with ease!

For sticking intricate, small details to the page, like die-cut letters, the Zyron 150 is brilliant, because you insert the die-cuts into the “feeder” and they come out sandwiched between the adhesive and the fixer sheet. Peel back the sheet, lift with tweezers and go – perfect for straight positioning and especially for keeping all your letters secure until you can finish the page.

Oh – and for sticking vellum – though you have to give it some welly! – I use Wackytac Vellum adhesive. It really does work, and is a fairly recent discovery of mine.

I completed "Galeries Lafayette" during the UKS Cybercrop as a class by Shimelle Laine. After Margot's post last week about the Queen & Co felt ribbon, here it is in action!

I have used the tiniest bit of green on each layout - it is luscious!

"My hands are the heart of my creativity" was a late addition to Kirsty Wiseman's "Scrap your Hands" challenge. I found some time last minute, and this is what I came up with. I love the creative expression of creating a crazy, freestyle layout - it is so much fun!

In both cases, the felt ribbon was attached with - you guessed it! Mini glue dots! As were the myriad of buttons used here. Open the roll, place the button on the glue dot, and stick the sucker to the page - done!

And so am I for this week - finally, you say. Next week - we'll be getting wet and sticky! In the meantime, happy scrapping!

Ali xx :)

If I'd known you were coming I'd have baked a cake

2007-04-30T14:59:00.000Z

If I have visitors for dinner and have had a busy day and I know that I won't have time to make anything fancy, rather than pop down to Tesco for a fruit flan I make this quick and tasty one.

You will need:

1 packet of desert pastry

1 tub marscapone cheese

icing sugar

fruit (fresh or tinned)

jelly glaze

Roll out the pastry and line a flan case. Bake blind (i.e. prick the base cover with greaseproof and fill with baking beans)

Cook until the pastry is set and then remove the greaseproof and baking beans. Cook until golden.

Put the marscapone into a bowl and add a little icing sugar to sweeten. (Not too much as the fruit will add sweetness.

Spread into the cooled flan case.

Cover with fruit. I usually use fresh fruit but often add some tinned fruit as the syrup makes a mix with water for the jellly glaze

Make up the jelly glaze and spoon over the fruit.

Simple eh!!!

Then serve and watch it disappear. The compliments will follow

Spotlight on Giselle

2007-04-30T11:19:00.000Z

We have a fantastic Design Team and I hope that each of them will do an introduction about themselves. This week our newest member, Giselle Homer, tells us a bit about herself

I live in the South West overlooking the river Severn, with my long suffering husband Jim who has generously let me take over a whole room, complete with a 9ft purpose built scrapping desk. I suppose he thought it'd keep all the stash in one place.

We run our own business and have lived here for 10 years. Before then we were in Madrid for 5 years and I can still speak Spanish only now with lots of mistakes!

We have 2 daughters - one is a teacher and the mum of my two gorgeous grandsons. The other is a professional photographer - that's lucky for a scrapper! When I'm not scrapping you'll find me with my nose in a book or watching movies. I occasionally do a bit of housework but only when I really have to.I started scrapbooking about 5 years ago having seen it in the huge craft stores whilst on holiday in America. As my 1st grandson had recently been born I knew instantly that this would be the best way to document his life and the rest, as they say, is history! I now have 2 little grandsons and to date I have completed nearly eight 12 x 12 albums featuring everything from their first baths to losing a front tooth.

I studied graphics at college a long time ago but still stick to the design rules I learnt there - balance, straight lines and cohesion. My style is very clean and simple, though I have been known to tear and ink a piece of cardstock now and again! I've taught myself the basics of Photoshop, enjoy retouching my pix and using b/w photos in my layouts. I am huge fan of iMacs and love experimenting with typography. There are over 1,000 typefaces on my iMac though I tend to stick to a trusted dozen as most of them are illegible!I'm fortunate to have been published in all the UK scrapbooking magazines at one time or another, was one of the winners of the first Best of British Scrapbooking competition and more recently I was chosen to be on the American Crafts Design Team which is a huge thrill. I teach layout classes at my local crop and have taught at weekend events as well.I'm looking forward to doing lots of layouts for Jilly Beans and to being part of their Design Team :)Giselle (aka Queen of Straight Lines - as named by my fellow croppers!!)This is one of my favourite LOs:

Friends

2007-04-30T06:52:00.000Z

This is a simple digital layout that I did using iStockphoto's free image of the week by Michael Kemter. I have no small children in my immediate family so it was a treat to use this beautiful image. The background and flower elements are my own artwork then I just played with layer blends.

Llandrindod Wells - faded elegance

2007-04-29T15:46:00.000Z

When we moved to Mid-Wales it was not only the beauty of the surrounding countryside that attracted us to the area but also the unexpected architecture of Llandrindod Wells. As you drive through this Spa-town the eye is drawn by a succession of multi-storeyed buildings with grand entrances, turrets, towers, tall windows, decorative ironwork and weather-vanes.

Postcard from 1913.

The town was a Victorian creation and it grew around the fashionable obsession with health spas and taking the water. The railway brought people to the area in their thousands and as a result Llandrindod Wells effectively became a town of hotels.

Rock Park became the main centre after mineral springs were discovered there, one of them being the Chalybeate Spring which remains today. Apparently the health-restoring waters had a very strong purgative effect and I can only wonder quite why the Victorians would queue up to drink it on a daily basis!
Sadly, this elegant town is today more like a distressed gentlewoman. Many of the hotels are gone, some are in a sad state of repair and others are in use as council buildings. The good news is that refurbishment is under way for some and tourism is once again restoring pride in the town's eccentric splendour.

Postcard from 1917

I have some postcards of the town and wanted to get some up-to-date images of the same scenes. This proved trickier than I thought, as trees have grown up since the originals were taken and I couldn't get the same elevated viewpoint. I hope you can get some idea of the 'then and now' though!

Postcard from 1908. >>>

Mid-Life Crises Are Us!

2007-04-29T09:38:00.000Z

Hello everyone,

I’m so pleased to have been asked to contribute to this blog.

I’m a single Mum to a twelve year old (almost thirteen actually Mum!) diva princess, and an 8 year old WWF Wrestling Champion so as you can imagine, life gets a little lairy sometimes!

I’ve written creatively for a good few years now and subjects include anything from irreverent observations on everyday life to a bit of silly poetry, which I hope won’t mind me sharing with you from time to time.

As I’m careering towards age forty without the aid of brakes or a safety net, then some of the observations will be made with that in mind. I will warn you however that I have a sense of the ridiculous and this may come to the fore now and again!

I’d like to share with you a poem I had published in the Daily Mail earlier this year. Out of the list of things to do within that poem, I’ve managed the nose piercing – the task of bedding of the whole of Take That is currently being pursued!

Mid Life Crisis

I think I might be having a crisis

A mid-life crisis at that

I’ve developed an overwhelming desire

To bed all the guys in Take That.

I want a tattoo on my shoulder

My kids’ names inked in hearts and swirls

My nose pierced with a single diamond

To sparkle when I go out with the girls.

I need an I-pod, a lap-top and a boom-box

A credit card with no charge to me!

And I hear that sat-nav comes as standard

In a brand new silver Audi TT.

I need over-the-knee boots and a hand-bag

From Dolce Gabanna , no less.

The waiting list for the new Nintendo DS

Has been causing me no END of stress

I think I might be having an epiphany

A dawning that something’s not right

When you’re my age you’re supposed to know better

Than to hang around on street corners at night

But the Nike trainers are great on me bunions

And my hoody top keeps out the chills

I’ve been down to the shops on my skateboard

Hey I know how to get my cheap thrills.

Don’t ‘diss’ me man, I’m still growin' up

I’m still allowed to be a little bit naughty

I’ve got a whole five months worth of playing to do

Until I reach adulthood at forty!

Circle Journals

2007-04-28T12:48:00.000Z

Along with Scrapbooking another great love of mine is Circle Journals. I have taken part in many Circle Journal groups and have the most beautiful collection of completed Journals. Each one is a unique work of art in it's own right. I love them because they are original, there is only one of each in the entire world and they belong to me. Each entry has been made with love and is a part of the person who created it, and to me, that is something special. I also love the fact that somewhere out there, there are little pieces of me and my artwork in other people's journals. I often wonder if some time in the very far off future, someone might discover my journals and what they would make of them. I am hoping they will be treasured by my family and passed down the generations. I would love to show you every entry in each journal, but I don't think that would ever be possible!

I know a lot of people reading this blog will know all about Circle Journals already, but I'm sure there are people wondering what I'm talking about, so I'll give a brief explanation.

A Circle Journal is a book that is passed along a group of people, usually of 10 or more. The most common way to pass the book is via the mail, so it is important to choose a sturdy book that will withstand being posted numerous times. A very popular book to use for Circle Journals is the Pink Pig sketch book. A lot of people take the spirals off, cover the journal with their own patterned paper, rebind the book with ribbons, fibres or book rings and decorate the cover however they like.

There are a few important things to include in your Journal. The first is an introduction page just inside the front of the book. This is used to introduce yourself to the rest of the group, to tell them about the theme of your journal and what you would like them to do. You could choose to theme your Circle Journal around absolutely anything you want. There are various websites that give you lists of themes to choose from. Some popular ones are 'Quotes to live by', 'What's in your handbag', 'Fairies', 'My Favourite Things' and many more. I have done entries in journals on many, many topics, including some very unusual ones!

The next thing to include in your journal is a 'sign in' page. This can be made in a number of ways. A popular way is to have a pocket with little tags inside it for people to decorate, sign their name, the date and perhaps include a photo of themselves. Other times, people will just leave a blank page for people to sign their name and the date on.

You would then create an entry yourself on your chosen theme to start the journal off. This usually gives people a good idea of what you would like to see in your journal. The rest of the book is left blank so that the other people in the group can create their entries in it. Each person would usually take 2 consecutive pages to create their entry on and usually holds the book for 2 or 3 weeks, giving them enough time to do their entry. It's a long process, but once you get your journal back, it is definately worth the wait!

There is also a variation to Circle Journals, which is the Circle Album. It is the same basic idea, except you send around a small album, say 8x8 or 6x6. You choose a selection of your own photos for each person (say 2 - 4 photos each) and seperate them in envelopes and number them so that each person in the group knows which envelope is theirs. They then take the photos and create a double layout in your album for you, using your photos. I've joined 2 Circle Album groups so far, and I loved it. It was great fun scrapping other peoples photos, it really made a change to scrapping my own. It was lovely having a complete album back as well. It can be helpful for when you have photos you just can't scrap yourself for one reason or another!

I keep all of my completed journals in a wooden trunk. I love opening the trunk and seeing them all there, looking fat, full and gorgeous!

Hello, a little introduction!

2007-04-28T12:35:00.000Z

Hi there everyone! My name is Sarah, I'm 27 and I've been scrapping for about 4 years now. I first discovered Scrapbooking through my older sister, who started scrapping not long after the birth of her first daughter. I thought it would be a nice idea to have a go at making a few layouts for the album myself. 1 trip to a scrapbook shop, £90 and four layouts later, I was hooked and haven't looked back since! I suppose you could say I've been scrapbooking all of my life though, as I used to keep holiday diaries as a child. Along with my journaling I would stick in photos, postcards, leaflets, serviettes, tickets - you name it! I still have the diaries and it's wonderful to look back on them. Before Scrapbooking, I dabbled in other various arty, crafty things such as card making, glass painting, encaustic art, jewellery making, drawing, painting and quilling, but never felt that any one of them was for me. I finally feel like I've found the hobby for me now though, and have also made many wonderful friends, who I am truly grateful for.

Since starting Scrapbooking, I have been on various design teams over the years, and am currently on the Jillybeans Scrapyard Design Team. I also design the bi-monthly kits for Jillybeans Scrapyard, along with various one off kits for different events on UKScrappers. I've been published several times in UK Scrapbooking magazines, which was amazing as I never thought I'd see my work in print.

I'm really looking forward to sharing my thoughts, inspiration, work and life with you over the coming months. I hope you're enjoying this blog so far, I know I am!

ATC'S

2007-04-26T12:10:00.000Z

I have been collecting atcs for about 3 years now and my collection must be well over 3000, so I decided to show a few of my favourites.
The only important thing for ATC'S is the size which is 2 and a half inches by 3 and a half inches.

ATC's I have recieved as swaps.

Here is a display I did at the library.

Local library.

I have a group of friends and we meet once a week in our local library to Craft and Chat.
Our library has a hall and lets us hire it very cheaply so each week we decide on a project for the next week and then everyone who wants to can bring the items required and join in.
Some prefer to sew or knit or just watch and we all chat.

Next week we are doing a simple tag accordian book.

Instructions.

Needed
4 tags
Sheet A4
paperglue or ds tape
hole punch
ribbon or fibres
quotes
embellishments

1.Stick the 4 tags along the bottom of the paper leaving a small gap for folding between each tag.

2.Score between each tag and fold.
3.Trim the paper around each tag.
4.Make holes in the paper in the same place as on the tags.
5.Put ribbon or fibre in each hole if wanted.
6.Decorate the inside with quotes or pictures if preferred.
7.Decorate the cover.

I will show some pictures of the results next week but here is one I did a while ago but I added a pocket to the bottom and put an atc on each tag.

BRADS, BRADS AND MORE BRADS

2007-04-25T19:16:00.000Z

I have a confession to make . . . . . . I am a bradaholic. I am actually quite obsessive about other things too but this admission is enough for now. I just love how each one is a little shiny shape of perfection and so versatile! They can be used as punctuation, centres of flowers, accents, photo corners, and designs in their own right to name just a few uses. They are easy to place too - anywhere on a scrapbook page or card, without the need for special equipment. They can be customised, if desired, with paint or nail varnish, embossed, decorated with rub-ons or glitter - just let your imagination fly!

I got my latest fix last week when these little sweeties arrived from Jillybeans Scrapyard.

By Queen and Co., they are just so cute – teeny little
plain and patterned hearts and flowers in three scrummy
colour ways - purples, greens and black/white.

I had to treat myself to their bigger cousins too.

These are about the size of a 10p. The flower ones come in the same range of colours as the mini brads. The round ones come in a choice of 8 colours and you can also buy cute, matching
heart and flower shaped buttons too.

While you’re checking out the brads at Jillybeans have a look at this felt ribbon, also by Queen and Co.

Isn't is great! ! It comes in 6 lovely colours and is about 3" wide. It could be used just as it is or individual flowers could be snipped out. Careful snipping a little way in from the edge will produce a thinner ribbon with a more indented design, a bit like a funky daisy chain.

I love the way this undulates and it makes a great border. Further snipping will produce gentle swathes of flowers that look lovely as photo corners or general embellishments. That’s not all! The felt is thick enough to take glue and glitter or coloured pens and inks without warping so you can really go to town and customise it. Or just jazz up the centre of the flowers with a few strategically placed gems, buttons . . . . . . or brads.

Here's . . Margot!

2007-04-25T19:04:00.000Z

Hello everyone and welcome. I’m Margot and I look forward to chatting with you over the coming weeks. Like Jilly, I am a new kid on the blog so please be gentle with me.

I have been married for more years than I care to admit and have two adult sons who live away from home, a 17 month old alsatian who thinks he’s the Tasmanian Devil and an 11 year old cat who acts like Zsa Zsa Gabor. I left the ranks of the gainfully employed about 18 months ago and became self employed a year ago this Saturday. That time has really flown!

Having been crafty most of my life I now find I have very little time to indulge my creative side but I hope to start rectifying that soon. Currently, scrapbooking is my favourite craft and I am really looking forward to scaling the mountain of photos I have and start turning them into lovely albums. I came to scrapbooking about 4 years ago via QVC when I realised this would be an ideal way to display my family tree – genealogy being a passion of mine.

I think I must fall into the category “others too who have a sparkling wit and so much to offer us” to quote from Jilly’s introduction. That remains to be seen, LOL, but I am definitely in Madge’s Grumpy Old Woman category.

An Introduction to Collage

2007-04-25T07:15:00.000Z

Collage is from the French word “colle”, meaning, “to glue”. and is a form of visual arts, whereby assorted “found” objects are assembled to form a three dimensional artwork. “Found” objects are thus described because they exist to provide a function other than act as artistic decoration. An artistic collage work may include many things, the most common of which are newspaper, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of other artwork, and photographs. Mixed media collage refers to the incorporation of distinct and traditionally separate visual art media like paint, textiles, beads, pieces of glass and so on.

Collage became a distinctive part of modern art by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque and is often referred to as the art form of the 20th century.

I love to use non-traditional craft elements that remain acid and lignin free on my scrapbooking collage pages, but anything goes with cardmaking or making altered art. Size and weight of the material prohibits totally free reign, but I have included such diverse elements as pot pourri and moulding resin, and most elements from jewellery making, beading and assorted craft work.

Let me show you a couple of my most recent examples:

This male card involved direct to paper inking with fluid chalks, embossing, using metallic copper Stewart Gill embossing powder, the Montagerie clock cube stamp, and then some stuff that I had lying around. I layered some Tim Holtz alcohol ink over the vintage buttons and metal bits, to give the impression of age stains. Layers add to the visual weight. My "Joie de Vivre" stamp is part of the Tin Can Mail collection by Inkadinkado - both of these stamps were half price when I bought them - I love to think I am getting a bargain!

I used my Heidi Swapp daisy mask here, and with a stippling brush, laid over that different colours of Jo Sonja acrylic paint to form the background page - these paints are of a beautiful quality and rich in pigment. All the embellishments I've used were bits and bobs I've had laying around, including the felt, but by using my friend's Big Shot, I've cut loads of lovely daisy shapes in various colours. My friend Val recently sent me some large gold sequins, red beads, the glass mosaic tiles and the small gold beads, and I've used an assortment of them all here. I've added some foam shapes that have been lying around in my button tin for years - these are now very fashionable, being that American Crafts have just brought out a new range of embellishments in various mediums such as felt, chipboard and plastic. I get a great deal of satisfaction of using bits of "junk" in an up-to-date way and making a cohesive art piece that just "gels" for me - eventually. Probably not collage in the strictest sense of the word, but I've incorporated mixed media and lots of layers - so who is going to argue the point?

Meet Alison

2007-04-25T07:05:00.000Z

My name is Alison – Ali to my scrapbooking friends, or Alibri on UK Scrappers – and – here comes the confession part – I am addicted to all things even loosely related to scrapbooking. I have been scrapbooking now for just over three years, even though I have been “cutting and sticking” into my photograph albums for many years. I love learning anything new that might, in any way, shape or form, appear at some time on a scrapbooking page, however vague it’s association!

In order to support my addiction to buying stash, I have become involved in the industry on a different level. I started teaching scrapbooking classes at local craft shops two years ago, and taught at my first retreat very recently – the lead-up was a bit hairy, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt so much about myself in the process - a wonderful learning experience, hopefully for all concerned!

I have been published in many UK publications, and until recently was part of the Design Team for Creative Scrapbooking, which sadly published its last issue in January 2007. My interest now also extends beyond scrapbooking to mixed-media collage, painting, photography, digital art and papercrafts in general. Though I think it could be difficult to define my style, common elements include lots of colour and dimension. I guess you could call me an “altered” scrapbooker, which more aptly may also describe my mental state!

I love the social aspect of scrapbooking, and this wonderful hobby has also blessed me with many friends, both on-line and local. There is nothing I love more than getting together with like minded crafty people to scrap, talk, eat and shuffle paper around, however much I may dislike the packing and unpacking! I am currently engaged in the journey to live life more creatively, however that may unfold.

A Visit to the Zoo

2007-04-24T06:31:00.000Z

I have never been much of a photographer, point and click and hope that something is worth looking at, but since I have been scrapbooking and seen some of the outstanding photographs in layouts, I have become more aware of the subjects that I am photographing.

I love animals and my ideal day out is a visit to a zoo, and this has encouraged me to think more about taking a good photograph. We are very lucky in as much as we have a small zoo locally. It is more of a pet zoo as it doesn't have the larger animals but makes for a great day out for both adults and children

Drusillas nestles at the base of the South Downs, near Lewes in East Sussex, and has penguins, flamingos, monkeys, meerkats and otters to name a few. There is also a fantastic childrens playground and a small railwway where Thomas the Tank Engine, Annie and Clarabel will take you for train rides around the zoo. If you are ever this way it is well worth the visit and will occupy most of your day. I have a membership ticket which allows me to visit at anytime and I popped in last week and took these photos

My first ever blog posting

2007-04-24T06:25:00.000Z

Hello everyone. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Jilly in Jillybeans and in true Oscar style I would like to thank Madge for setting up this Blog and Miss Sarah Jane for her techie expertise. We just say Sarah can we have.... and she says 'No problem - I can sort that'

I hope that this blog will become addictive as we have many talented bloggers, from Madge with her fantastic photographic and cardmaking skills, Lindy who will alter anything that isn't nailed down ( and things that are), Alison the teacher, Sue with her poems and short stories and Miss Sarah Jane with her eye for colour and techie skills. There are the others too who have a sparkling wit and so much to offer us.

Simply blue

2007-04-23T13:41:00.000Z

I love simple flowers like poppies and daisies. I also have a soft spot for Forget-me-nots and allow them to self-seed in my garden along with Love-in-a-mist. Somehow nature always manages a far better floral display than anything I've achieved with planting plans. I wonder who first gave those flowers their common names - so much nicer than Myosotis or Nigella.Each tiny flower is so perfect in close-up and the recent warm weather has faded them quickly into soft shades of lilac and pink. True shabby chic!

Twinkling H2Os

2007-04-19T13:42:00.000Z

I adore using paints of all types and I suppose I've tried them all - even oil paints. However a new type of watercolour paint hit the market a couple of years ago and when a friend gave me some as a birthday gift it was love at first sight.

Twinkling H2Os. A quirky name, but very apt. These tiny pots of irridescent watercolours are like shimmering jewels and actually ought to be edible they look so good.

You need to add a little water to the pot by spritzing or with a loaded brush, then wait a few minutes for the paint to soften into a creamy consistency. When the paint dries out again the surface often has fascinating air-bubbles - this is normal. It can be used on a variety of surfaces - I've even used it on shrink plastic. It's a shame that photos don't show up the rich shimmer. This is a painted ATC :-

Many of us have suffered from 'blank page syndrome' when starting a journal. I find it useful to brush H2Os onto my pages before doing any work on them and that way I'm less inhibited about doing any real work. The creamy consistency means you're less likely to warp the paper with too much water and the lush colours really make the pages sing. This is a page from a collaborative journal on which I used this technique. The subject was metals and the background paints were in shades of copper, bronze and gold.

On black card or paper the irridescence really sings and the new generation of chipboard shapes would make the perfect canvas. Highly recommended.

Welcome!

2007-04-19T13:41:00.000Z

Welcome to the Jelly Journals - a magazine style blog created by friends of Jillybeans and devoted to all things scrapping, cardmaking, journalling, art, photography, food, literature and life.
There will be regular contributors and also occasional interlopers. We hope to share our ideas, thoughts and projects with you all and maybe own up to a few disasters too.
Some of us fall into the Grumpy Old Women category so expect moans along the way!
I hope you'll drop in from time to time - the kettle's always hot.

A bit about me:-
I'm a life-long crafter, digital artist and stock photographer. I enjoy scrapbooking, paper or digital, and also cardmaking. I am fascinated by design and love contemporary visual art - apart from anything that might reasonably qualify for the Turner Prize, that is. I hope to share with you some of my favourite art sites over the coming months.
Madge.