Scream machine and blueberry goes grape

So, another two layouts to share today; these ones based on Creative Scrappers' challenge sketches #254 and #255. I was pretty happy with the first, Scream machine, layout below...until I added the journalling! For me, the journalling is really important because it gives the photo context and captures all the little details that would otherwise be forgotten. For that reason, mine is always fairly lengthy. Unfortunately, my handwriting is awful. So I usually always type up the copy and print it before adding it to a layout. This time I decided to throw caution to the wind and hand write my blurb. Ick! Still, I'm glad all the information is there. I just wish it was a bit more aesthetically pleasing! For this layout I pulled out the Sew Easy tool that I've had stashed away and unused for months so I could add the stitching detail to the bottom right corner. And it was fun to incorporate some paper quilling in this layout too.

For the second layout (#255) Creative Scrappers combined their sketch with an Australian challenge blog called White with 1. White with 1's premise is to have a layout that is 85% white combined with one other colour. And for this challenge, the colour was blueberry. I'm afraid I veered a little more toward 'grape' and introduced more colours than just the 'white with 1', but I'm still fairly happy with the result.

Thank goodness for deadlines

Thank goodness for deadlines. Yes, I know, it's counterproductive to worry about time when pursuing a hobby that should help you lose track of it! But I don't think these latest two layouts would have come to fruition if there hadn't been an October 31 cut-off date for their completion. Between planning for, and executing, my three-year-old's birthday party, succumbing to yet another cold, and juggling all the usual domestic duties, the chances of me fitting in some scrapping time seemed slim. Still, here's proof that I managed it. My take on Creative Scrappers' sketch challenges #252 and #253:

FIRST FLUFFY:  This layout started off a little shaky, not least because I didn't have a lot in my stash to work with. I was reasonably happy with it by the end though, especially since it's only the fourth time I've done a layout based on a sketch!

BOYS & THEIR TOYS: I'm still sitting on the fence with this layout, which is apt given the paper stock I used! I started out loving the direction it was going in but wasn't too sure by the time I'd finished. Regardless, I love the photos and the moments they capture of my little boy having quality 'tool time' with his dad. 

Arriving in the Blogosphere

Well, here it is: my first foray into the blogosphere.  It's ironic that it's taken me this long to get started. I am passionate about writing. I do it as part of my job and I dream of a time when, having won Lotto, I can sit in a room with a view and write a best-selling novel! So it's also ironic that I've established this blog less as a platform for words and more as a platform for pictures. It will feature the scrap booking layouts I create to document my family's special moments - the ordinary and the extraordinary. That's why I've called it Paper Heirlooms. Because I hope I'm creating pages and albums that my children will enjoy looking through time and again, and will retain as treasures for their children. 

Delaying the inevitable

I've given a lot of crafts a go over the years: decoupage; cross stitch embroidery (something I still really enjoy but do rarely); crocheting; knitting; mosaic tiling...but I avoided scrap booking for quite a while. Not because I didn't like the idea - quite the opposite. I (rightly) suspected that once I started I would be cultivating an addiction I'd never be able to shake off! Like many who scrap book, it was the arrival of my children that prompted me to stop delaying the inevitable and succumb.

Until now, my layouts have only been seen in albums by family and friends. I've never taken on any sketch challenges and frankly - looking back on my early layouts (and some of my later ones) - that's probably a good thing! I don't have the strongest eye for design - it's really the execution that appeals to me most. But now I'm making a conscious effort to create pages that are a bit more 'on trend' and that I, hopefully, won't be too ashamed to enter into some challenges! So, since I said this blog would be more about pictures than words, I'd better stop yakking! Here is a shot of my most recent layout based on a challenge sketch - #251 - from Creative Scrappers. And I'm about to give their next sketch - #252 - a whirl too. Wish me luck!