What paper manufacturer ...

Do you now love that you couldn't stand previously?

I am a patterned paper fanatic. I love all different styles, clean, grungy, muted, bold, bright, flowery or urban.

However, I suspect like most people who start out scrapping, I have a boxful of papers that I look at now and think .... Why? Paper Adventures and K&Co mostly. But, you know what, sometimes these paper companies turn themselves around with the appointment of new designers and a forward thinking philosopy.

For example last year my favourite Christmas papers were by Paper Adventures. I made these cards using their range and it was beautiful, with glittering and embossing it really lifted the whole design of the cards.





And this year I have fallen in love with K&Co. The new Amy Butler Sola range started me off and whilst I was in the shop buying that, I just had to have the sugary, girly and glitzy Sparkly Sweet collection too. Not totally my own personal cup of tea but I just knew that my daughters would both adore seeing their photos on those papers. Then a month or so I discovered the Peppermint Twist range. Oh my! As you can see from my previous posts I have loved using these papers. Love the colours and the funky feel with a slightly retro edge.

And now what do I see online. The Wild Saffron range. Sigh. More yumminess. I am trying very hard to resist but I just know that it will not be long before my will power caves in. I am just hoping that I get a nice little bit of cash from Santa in order to splash out on some.

For some reason I can't find either Peppermint Twist or Wild Saffron on K&Co's home page so here is an image from elsewhere online:



Oh and incidentally my page over at The Collectively Yours challenge blog this week features the K&Co Amy Butler Sola range.

Woo Hoo - at last!

The car has been picked up this morning to go into the garage for repair. For repair of the passenger side doors (front and rear) caused by that plonker (male driver obviously!) who went straight into the side of my car in Asda car park way back in July!

Heaven's knows why it has taken so long to get the go ahead and I was starting to get mightily frustrated when my phone calls to the insurance company just resulted in 'we are waiting to hear back from the third party insurer'. Hmmm 5 months down the line anyway today is the day. Just sat here now waiting for the hire car company to come with the hire car (like for like means I should be getting another 7 seater, though they did try and fob me off with a smaller car so we will see.

My desk needs a good declutter it is covered with papers, scrapbooking and business and a lot of little individual chocolate boxes I cut out with the Craft Robo (courtesy UK Scrappers again!) and which Chiara had great fun putting together (Mia couldn't quite get the hang of it.

Going to get a cup of tea and hope the people bringing the car find me without too much trouble.

Oh one more thing .... universal in car chargers for mobile phones. I bought one an age ago from Tesco (hence I no longer have the receipt) and just tried it out this morning and, whilst it fits my phone, the other end won't push into the cigarette lighter. No way. Nope. Am I allowed to swear? Well I am doing I can tell you.

Subscriptions will be open for December very shortly so keep your eye on The Design Collective blog for more information. We do gift subscriptions too so very handy that to bear in mind if you want to treat someone (or want someone to treat you!).

Oooh Craft Robo!

Well I had been lusting after one since they came out but it seemed so extravagant a purchase.

Anyhow, at the beginning of the Summer I bought a second hand one from my very good scrapping buddy Donna. Got it home, put it on the printer shelf. And left it there. I had read so many 'horror' stories on UK Scrappers and it all seemed so complicated the more I thought about it the more I couldn't stand the thought of dealing with any problems it might throw up at me.

Well, last week I took the bull by the horns and plugged it in. Downloaded some templates from UK Scrappers (thanks to all the very talented ladies who share templates for free!)and started cutting! I have only done simple things and haven't contemplated even trying to make my own templates yet. I need to go and read up how to create matted fonts though, that is a must!

These are two projects I created for The Design Collective. As well as the TWELVE CLASSES PER MONTH, on the run up to Christmas we have made an extra effort with the weekly extras that we send out and the girls have come up with some absolutely gorgeous projects on the countdown to Christmas.

I used the Craft Robo to create the scallops for my Noel wall hanging (template courtesy of Clare33, this is her blog where she has other templates for free download too) and the decorative box template to create these little decorated boxes for hanging on the tree (courtesy Ruthan, larger template here and smaller one here).

All papers and die cuts are by K&Co, the Peppermint Twist range, I adore it, in fact I must buy some more of the papers as I have nearly used my pack up on layouts and projects already and Christmas isn't even here yet!

Just need to pack my bags (cropping bags that is) and I am heading off to Donna's for the night.

Eeeeeek! How long?

Sorry been a bad blogger!

I seem to go from having too much to do and not enough time to blog, to the other extreme of having lots of time to blog but nothing interesting to say!

I have, however, been nagged by several people to update my blog so this is a little start. No new projects to post - other than putting my most recent Collectively Yours projects up here in one place.

This one was for the Summertime theme. Just totally adore Rouge de Garance papers. Love love love them!



This was for our Elemental themed week. The pub along the road in our village is the launch point for lots of hot air balloons during the Summer. Sometimes they struggle with the thermals and really do get very close. The ladybird one was so low once that we could hold a conversation with the passengers! A simple but bold page (love the red and sky blue combo) using Scenic Route Northshore papers.



This page features one of the few photos I can get of Josh at the moment. He hates having his photo taken with a passion so the only photos I can get of him right now are from a distance away when he isn't aware the camera is pointing his way! And yes, more Rouge de Garance papers. This Urbaine range is just fantastic for teen (pre teen) boy pages!


This is a Poundland canvas I decorated for the Harvest theme. Painted then a couple of Making Memories papers attached with a Hambly transparency overlaid. Photo is of the produce we grow in our garden (we aren't such great gardeners, really should make more of an effort because it is SO good to be able to go and pick fresh from the garden to cook and eat straight away).


Finally a page I created for the Halloween themed week. A real nightmare for me (groan!) as we don't celebrate Halloween in our house. Many thanks to my good scrapping buddy Donna for allowing me to use these great photos of her daughter Alex all dressed up for Halloween last year. Isn't she a beauty?!



Not that I haven't been doing anything. Quite the opposite! I have been busy doing projects for the Collectively Yours blog and the Design Collective classes, plus I have had a couple of lovely scrapping jaunts away (one with the kiddies visiting the very beautiful, funny and great hostess Roz .... when I managed 12 layouts) and another time for a weekend away without the kids (yeah!) with a lovely bunch of scrappers (some old friends and some new - Roz, Angela, Kirsty, Jayne, Lianne, Carole and Janet) where I managed 9 pages. My problem is that I am too darned lazy to get photos taken, cropped, resized or whatever, unless I need to (ie for the Dares or Classes).

I will try to get some of them uploaded on here by the end of the week though.

Family stuff sees little change. Have had a crisis point with managing Chiara's behaviour at home and that saw me have (I know, yet another) emotional breakdown. Very embarrassing as it culminated on the phone whilst talking to one of the teachers. Even more embarrassing (but I was incredibly touched) that ten minutes later I had the Head Teacher knocking at the door and she came and sat with me for about an hour talking things through. I now go to school for an hour each week for a session with Chiara and one of her fave teachers who works with children with various needs in Positive Play sessions. Our sessions together are very helpful as it gives both myself and Chiara the opportunity to talk about how we want to improve things with a negotiator helping us.

Mia is continuing with her one on one sessions daily too (she isn't statemented but does need additional help and yet again the school is coming up trumps).

I can't speak highly enough of this school. The staff there really do work hard with both children and parents. There are only three teachers plus the Head and several support staff yet they go well above and beyond the call of duty.

Josh .... having a bit of a crisis here too but I am still trying to get to the bottom of things. He won't talk to me so am having to do some detective work. Really hoping the situation was a one off cos I am really struggling with this. It's a big leap from a parenting point of view going from the local, very involved and supportive primary school, where you see the teachers on a daily basis and know all the children and their parents, to the more anonymous and remote High School where I don't get to see the teachers. Not that the school isn't trying to help, but just it is hard when you don't know the people involved, the teachers, the new friends or their parents.

Phew. Heck, once I get started I can't stop! Off to get something nice for lunch!