My Little PaperHouse

Burlington Arcade

2011-12-15T22:18:00.000Z

Isn't it fab when you open your kit and have a 'lightbulb' moment ! I did exactly that when I saw the beautiful Websters Pages paper with all the Seasonal doors on ....it was perfectly-perfect for my photo taken in Burlington Arcade in London last December. We had such a lovely day shopping , treated ourselves to Laduree Macarons and even spied Mr Stephen Fry (my celebrity stalker lol )

I went to town with my Go 2 Pieces add-on , all the elements work so well together , the richness of the ribbons , the blingy Websters trims and I've even converted my feather embellishment and star pin into a smart Christmas door wreath !

Remember that the 'nude' wooden alpha can be customised to suit any LO that is of course if you don't want to leave it plain, I simply coloured mine in with ProMarkers and it's super quick and easy to do. I also got busy with my vintage photo distress ink to ink the edges of the cream CS from the kit.

Have lots of festive fun with your Go 2 Pieces

Winter Wonderland - GoGo Create December

2011-12-14T11:28:00.000Z

The beautiful Wintery feel of the kit inspired me to dig out an old photo of Lulu at the German Christmas Market in Hyde Park. It’s there most years and well worth a visit with traditional German market stalls , food and drink – especially egg nog ! and even an outdoor skating rink and fairground rides.

I love the wooden alpha in the kit and wanted to really showcase it on this design by using different techniques ….some letters have been covered in patterned paper and the others have been coloured with Promarkers , a nice coat of Glossy accents really brings them to life.

The other gorgeous element I have focused on is the bespoke stamp , a vintage postcard design that’s not just restricted to winter designs ! I stamped and embossed the design in clear embossing powder and then swooshed over the whole image with distress ink for a lovely vintage look.

Creating this design has me all excited to visit a Christmas Market again this year !

Fauna & Flora ...

2011-12-13T13:35:00.000Z

Christmas Morning in our house is my favourite time ever, we get up early and light a real fire have champagne and smoked salmon bagels for breakfast and then open our pressies ...

Lulu distributes the presents to each of us and we take turns to open one each , of couse Lulu is still opening hers long after Mummy & Daddy's are gone !

The best bit of Christmas is the look on a loved one's face when they open THE present ....hence my LO. You'll notice that I've used a paper from each of the manufacturers in this months kit and how lovely do they all look and work together , genius !

I used the beautiful stamp to add my journalling , its simply stamped in dark brown ink to add to the vintage effect.

The 'Fauna & Flora' theme of the kit is so timeless for any seasonal LO not just Christmas based deisgns and I've added a die cut flower from the Websters Pages paper to join the stunning Prima leaves.

Exciting news !!!

2011-12-12T19:47:00.001Z

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND INFORMATION FOR SUBSCRIBERS

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND INFORMATION FOR SUBSCRIBERS

What?
After conducting indepth market research on what our members and customers would like to see from ScrapaGoGo during 2012 and beyond, we wish to inform YOU as one of those valued members, of a change to the structure of GoGo Create monthly kits.

Why?
ScrapaGoGo has always been in the forefront of ensuring that UK crafters receive the best quality, top notch array of scrapbooking items and unusual supplies to enable you to create beautiful designs and projects. It is with this in mind, and our continued commitment to this ethos, that we feel the time has come to put together a more 'purse friendly package' to help support and nurture YOU as a valued customer with your hobby. With most household budgets being squeezed tighter and tighter we are confident that ScrapaGoGo's launch of this budget busting monthly kit will not only save you money but will also enable you to plan into your personal budget a set amount to spend on your hobby in the most cost effective and inspirational way possible.

When?
Starting with February 2012 Kit

Tell Me More!
Delivery schedule will remain the same, invoicing schedule will remain the same; as will our continued excellent customer service. The changes you will see will be to the content of the kits. Each month your 'Essentially GoGo' Kit will comprise of the following:

5 12x12 Quality Papers
3 12x12 Bazzill Cardstock
1 Alphabet
1 Bespoke Embellishment Pack
1 Exclusive Stamp
1 Sheet Exclusive Hybrids
1 Idea Booklet

PLUS access to the Clubhouse Forum where classes and ideas will be uploaded each and every month.... sounds great for £14.99 postage included doesn't it!!!

What Do I Need To Do Now?
If you wish to continue with our brand new kit structure subscription the only thing you need to do is change your payment to the lower amount (now that makes a refreshing change doesn't it!) of £14.99.

If you have a standing order with your bank simply ask them to change the payment to £14.99 commencing with your JANUARY PAYMENT.

If you have a subscription set with Paypal you will need to STOP this after your DECEMBER payment and await a new invoice and reoccurring payment option during January. Simply follow the instructions on the new invoice at that time.

If you pay via Paypal when you receive an invoice you do not need to do anything but wait until your next invoice.

Are the Terms the Same?
Yes, all our terms and conditions of stopping a subscription will remain the same customer friendly option.

Cancelling?
If however you wish to cease your subscription BEFORE the changes take place you will need to submit an online cancellation form before the end of December 2011. Your last kit would be January 2012.

Ice Cream for Breakfast at Create & Co. Crop ...

2011-08-28T19:42:00.000+01:00

WOWZA...

Funds Raised

Nicola's Stamp Sale - £30.00
Sandra's Cards - £73.00
Shop Donation - £10.00
Raffle - £70.00
Nicola's and Jane's Cakes - £25.80
Ice Cream For Breakfast (dinner and tea!) - sponsored by Ceejay Heating and Eileen £41.10

Total = £249.90

Crop Fee Collection - £167.50
100% of the crop fee will be donatated to GKTW with ScrapaGoGo meeting the costs of the hall and donation of the class kits.

Grand Total = £417.40

'Curiosity Shop' ...come inside and take a look !

2011-08-24T12:26:00.000+01:00

'Curiosity Shop' (September Kit) featuring Crate Paper 'Portrait'; Echo Park 'For The Record'; Fancy Pants 'Artitst'; Hambly; Lily Bee 'This And That' and Jenni Bowlin 'Core Dinations'.

Vintage icons and stationary of old meets up to the minute products and mediums ready to document your own personal record of discovery. Vibrant tones of red, yellow and green; mixed with ink pen black and woodgrain browns truly does give this collation a timeless appeal.. GoGo style of course!

I can't wait to share some designs with this beautiful kit :)

Wanna Win ??

2011-08-15T18:51:00.000+01:00

Would you like to win a set of these cool September Kit Bespoke Design Cards - why of course you would! You simply need to leave a little comment on the GoGo Blog or over on our FB page and we will select a random comment and that person will be sent a set FOC:D

Cosy in Cardstock

2011-07-31T16:10:00.000+01:00

We recently created a little area at the end of the garden overlooking the fields behind our cottage , sometimes if it's a nice evening we go have a little sit down there with a cup of tea and Ivan lights a fire (mostly to get rid of garden rubbish etc) it's actually quite cosy !

Lulu was snapping away with camera and although the shots are very 'au naturel' I like the honesty of them particularly the photo on this LO.

I love the colour combination of the cardstock this month pretty and very stylish , this LO has been created using only the cardstock and the super versatile stamp. The polka dots are simply 1" punched circles stuck down onto the cream cardstock , I love it!!

I've used white embossing powder with the gingham stamp and I think it gives a great effect , I've tried many white inks over the years but this gives the best white image by far.

Some simple embellishing and a cute title and I've still got pretty paper left for my other projects this month ;)

Feeling Sweet with Ice Cream

2011-07-31T09:14:00.001+01:00

Some may say a little kitsch but definately full of girlie fun, this kit is overflowing with pretty sherbet colours of strawberry, raspberry blue, apple sour green and lemon drop yellow that all add up to a 1/4 oz mix of colourful delight. So grab your skipping rope, tie your hair in bunches and meet us at the wendy house at three!

Pretty sherbert colours indeed but of the iced variety in this sweeter than sweet design featuring Lulu at 4 years old enjoying a 'Rossi' ice cream cornet at Southend on Sea. She always got in such a mess with the ice cream and after a few licks and getting thoroughly sticky she would hold the 'icey' up for Mama to take !!

My GoGo August so far ...

2011-07-29T13:24:00.000+01:00

Create and Go 2 Pieces

DH and I were marvelling at the fact that we have been together for 17 years !!! I thought it would be a nice tribute to 'us' to commemorate this in a LO.
The photo's were taken using self timer at Helmingham Hall Gardens this month , the camera lens was peeping through the grass hence the soft green effect at the foreground , I love the way they turned out

The Go 2 Pieces for August is amazing and so plentiful , layering is deffo the way to go ...

How pretty are the free Hybrids this month , I was delighted to see the rose border as I had just the LO in mind.

The photos were taken at Helmingham Hall in Suffolk where they have the most beautiful gardens, Ivan was admiring the roses when I surrepticiously snapped him !

I've used the hybrid filigree journal spot as mat for my paper roses and the hybrid rose border has been separated to make lots of little accent roses. The gorgeous hybrid alpha looks fab offset on a polka dot red mat from the Crate paper.
This free hybrid element of GoGo kits is such a bonus as with a couple of pieces of paper and soem printed hybrids you can create LO after LO
The banner journal spot from MME makes the perfect centrepiece to build up all the G2P goodies on.

I'll have a couple more August lovelies to share with you all soon :)

Me In My Moleskine ...

2011-07-28T21:06:00.000+01:00

I have to share some of my pages from THIS class of Kirsty Wisemans that I took recently ...I have always admired people that can 'do' art journalling and now I can too :) There's a lot more to learn and I'm taking Kirsty's next Moleskine class FEEL as well so I am certainly doing my homework.

If you are thinking of taking a class with Kirsty do it , you most certainly will love it !

Isn't the Moleskine cahier notebook just gorgeous !

Lovely paper pieced 'me' in various clothes

hair and skin :)

Affairs of the heart

Home sweet home

Girly stuff

There are lots more pages and detail to this class but a girl has to keep a little mystery ...

Thanks for having a peep , hope you like it as much as I do :)

Create & Co. July Crop ...

2011-07-26T18:10:00.000+01:00

Just 4 more sleeps till Create & Co. July Crop , and we have a lovely free class included as part of your crop fee ....papers from My Minds Eye and scrummy co-ordinating Bazzill cardstock .

We will be dabbling with a little paint , you choose your fave technique , I opted for a splattered effect in my sample LO below ...

Bring along any paint you wish to use specifically and a brush too :)

The alpha and small enbellishments were from my own stash.

Look forward to seeing you all on Saturday :)

On my Christmas wish list ...

2011-07-25T20:03:00.000+01:00

Gorgeous !

July ? oh go on then !

2011-07-25T13:28:00.000+01:00

A very quick round up of the lovelies created with July ScrapaGoGo kits ...

Using the ShowTime Add on kit

Using the fabulous FREE hybids :)

And finally using the cute popcorn bag

TFL xxx :)

Catch up with June ...

2011-07-24T19:43:00.000+01:00

In the interests of not saying the predictable ...ie- 'bad blogger ' etc. I won't , so here's a catch up of some June GoGo stuff ...

Such a fantastic, fun kit :)

Our New DT Girls :)

2011-07-19T21:34:00.000+01:00

We are pleased and excited to announce three new designers joining Team GoGo!

Lisa Griffin

Pam Thorburn

Emilie Chamel

We are looking forward to working with our three new designers and will share their designs and inspiration with GoGo Kits real soon:D

WTG Girls hold on for an amazing ride !!! xx

Feast your mince-pies on this lot !!!

2011-06-10T13:53:00.001+01:00

The oh -so fantastic hybrids (there will be a cute alpha too) for July ScrapaGoGo kits , designed by the equally fantastic Kirsty Wiseman.

And you can download them for FREE !!!!

Life is good :)

GoGo To You - Branksome Place Surrey

2011-06-07T22:13:00.000+01:00

The GoGo 'tour bus' was on it's travels again last Saturday ... destination Haslemere in Surrey and more specifically DeVere at Branksome Place.

A beautiful Tudor facade with a very modern conference venue added on at the back, architecturally crazy but great for our event :)

We had some fun taking photographs in the grounds after the event, sadly Rebekah and Kirsty had left by then but I'm sure to snap them by a GoGo tree next time !

I taught a cute little mini book using Sassafras 'Nerdy Bird' and Kraft cardstock , if you took my class and wanted more pics they are now uploaded on the ClubHouse gallery ...feel free to contact me if you have any questions :)

Hope to see you all again at a GoGo Event real soon x

Juuuuuuuune's Here ! Where's Terry?

2011-05-18T21:30:00.000+01:00

Apologies to any one under the age of 35 who probs won't have a clue who Terry and June are !!

But here's the real deal June ScrapaGoGo kit ....

I was inspired to create this LO about our monthly crop by the Jenni Bowlin calender cards ...it just summed it up for me that all year round we gather for friendship, scrapbooking and cake

I used all the JB calendar cards on this LO , a tad extravagant ? ...no they just look even better when used all together. The machine stitching unifies the cards even more ...

While I had my machine out I made a banner for my title with punched circles of CS sewn together ...

I journalled on the stamp and added the last bit of my title using the Crate stickers.

Velocity

2011-05-17T22:04:00.001+01:00

A fun LO with Mays ScrapaGoGo kit about the ridiculously fast ride that Lulu & Ivan went on at Flamingoland last year..It was Lulus Birthday and its now a family tradition that we visit a theme park to celebrate each year

I added the stamped 'signpost' with a 3,2,1 countdown and doubled the apha stickers up to add depth and dimension...

The arrows on the hybrid sheet and the SC stickers really convey the sense of movement in the photographs.

The ride went from 0 - Crazy in a matter of seconds far too fast for me !

I'll share some June lovelies tomorrow :D

And the winner is ...

2011-05-10T20:30:00.001+01:00

Yvonne with lucky comment No. 3, Yayyy !

Congratulations , please email mail@scrapagogo.co.uk to claim your prize :)

Welcome Blog Hoppers :)

2011-05-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

So , you have made it this far for the final blog in the 'hop' , I hope you have left a comment on each blog otherwise you won't be in for a chance to win a cool prize from GoGo HQ ...

Anyway , I thought I'd share my LO using Mays kit ...

'Storage 4 Cats'

Create & Go 2Pieces

If you are owned by a cat I won't need to explain how much they love to get in , under or behind things for a peaceful snooze ...

I was greeted one morning by Missy fast asleep on my Expedit unit on a pile of completed (but not yet filed away LO's)...Lulu carefully lifted the moglet up and the LO's were saved , thank goodness for clean paws...

I added 2 smaller photo's of the proceedings to the Maya Rd chipboard tags from the G2P which I covered in the Barn Swallow SC paper and tied together with bakers twine.

The Jillibean Soup corrugated houses look so cute as an embellishment and are particularly appropriate as I fear until she finds a new favourite spot that my Expedit unit is Missys house for the time being !

Thanks for dropping by :)

Here She Is !

2011-04-22T19:07:00.000+01:00

I promised to send my second She Art girl along to meet you all , and without further ado here She is ...

Some of you may recognise her red locks ...I think She's beautiful and I am a teensy bit proud of this canvas if you forgive my 'modesty' :)

The colours are much richer and warmer than my last She Art girl , it really is a creative journey this workshop and I am loving it ...

So who will be my next Girl ?? Could it be you ??

'Til next time , thanks for looking and have a beautiful weekend x

She Art ...

2011-04-17T14:40:00.001+01:00

I signed up for Christy Tomlinsons 'She Art' workshop after seeing some of the amazing art work created by some of my friends ..I was particularly smitten with Sarah Youde's amazing girls , go check them out they are just devine.

So , armed with my supplies and a 50/50 mix of trepidation and excitement I set about creating my first 'She Art' girl ...

There are lots of things I have still to learn but I am very pleased with my first attempt , let me bore you with some close ups ...

A bit of a scary moment when I painted her hair ...

Loving the bubble wrap effect here and the look of rub-ons that are as old as Missy !

And some whimsical dictionary paper clouds , yummy !!

I have another girl on the go with much ricer tones of patterned paper in the background , when She's ready I'll send her along to introduce herself :)

Looking forward to Week 2 of the workshop now :)

UK World Tour - Trollbead Style !

2011-04-07T18:06:00.000+01:00

I am a little bit exciting and wishing it was Saturday so I can go pick these little beauties up from my fave jeweller Robert Gatward in Ipswich...

The Trollbeads World Tour makes a stop in the UK, bringing with it four beautiful new charm beads, specially designed to celebrate the diverse traditions and culture of the UK. The fabulous new beads are only available to buy in the UK.

The set comprises a 'Tea Party' silver bead celebrating 'Alice in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll, A 'Loving Spoon' silver bead to represent Wales a silver Celtic 'Kilt' and a glass bead in red, white and blue.

They are so pretty and apart from the kilt (which I'm not that fussed about) they will be mine on Saturday :)

So just 2 more sleeps !

Hearts Desire - ScrapaGoGo April

2011-04-05T21:11:00.000+01:00

Oh my goodness , I really love this photo of Lulu and must admit that this isn't the first time I have scrapped it ...this time in classic black and white. I have written few words of wisdom to her for her future.
I have used the GCD 'Sweet Surrender ' paper here and by spritzing with inks and then machine stitching to emphasise the heart shape created a different look, I then carefully tore around the heart and mounted it on the Creative Imaginations die cut...

A touch of black acrylic paint and a scrap of patterned paper really brings the Maya road chipboard to life, its almost like a real cameo !

I added a touch of sparkle with the Prima crystals by hanging them chandelier style with a little of the WRM floss from Feb's kit.

Overlapping the gorgeous AC Thickers alpha emphasises the elegance of the design and complements my LO beautifully.

Lucy Locket in my pocket ....

2011-04-04T21:30:00.000+01:00

Using April ScrapaGoGo - Stamp & Create Kit

I wanted to create a vintage looking keepsake using the stamp this month and was inspired by the little locket from the Prima trinkets ...

Once completed it seemed just perfect to keep the 'locket' in the teal organza bag supplied with the Create kit.

Tiny photo's printed in a sepia finish look just beautiful with the antique gold and deep rich blue tones.

Hope you like it :)

Last Chance to Grab !!!

2011-04-04T13:22:00.000+01:00

Sadly the April 'Grab Its' section of the GoGo Shop will be closing soon but the good news is that there are still a few of these 'Family Portrait' home decor kits left and a few of the 'Lady of the House' add on its left too.

I was thrilled to get my hands on this beautiful add on kit ....a project kit comprising a domed hanging photo decor kit and 2 Maya Mists in yellow and blue to complement the April Create & Go 2 Pieces perfectly ...

If you look carefully you can see the acrylic domed section over the photograph, you can even add tiny keepsakes like a jewel , flower or even a lock of hair and they will be safely preserved within. I added a couple of flowers and a crystal stick pin in the top dome.
The top plaque has plenty of room for a title and embellishment too , the Maya Mists are perfect for colouring embellishments to perfectly co-ordinate.

A final touch of a crystal hanging from the bottom frame really sets this off a treat.

If you are quick you could have one winging its way to you real soon x

Happy Mother's Day

2011-04-03T15:41:00.001+01:00

It's such a beautiful day today and I have been thoroughly spoiled :)

Here are Lulu and I pre lunch at the Cameo Hotel , we had a gorgeous carvery lunch and an equally gorgeous strawberry meringue for dessert ! When coffee was served the waitress presented a box of choccies for Mum .... I'm sure Lulu will help me out with those ...

Off home soon for my Mother's Day pressie .... How lovely is that , I'm a very lucky , happy Mummy :)

I hope all Mums are having an equally lovely day x

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Testing!!

2011-04-02T23:09:00.001+01:00

Hi There !
Just testing out Blogpress on my phone ...

Normal service will resume tomorrow !

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Who knows ?

Send three and fourpence we are going to a dance !

2011-04-02T16:07:00.001+01:00

Bit cryptic there with my post title ...basically this is a round up the Chinese Whispers Challange organised by the lovely Rebekah over at the Clubhouse.

Bizarrely I always remember someone telling me about a very unfortunate Chinese Whisper that started with a military Captain saying "send reinforcements we are going to advance" by the time the message had filtered down the ranks it had become "Send three and fourpence we are going to a dance" !!!

Anyway , I digress back to the challenge ....

First up is Liz Lowe's Feb 'whisper' LO ....

And my 'whisper' using February GoGo kits.

And next Liz's March Lift ...

And my March lift (rotated) using March GoGo Kits and stamp ...

Its such great fun and I love the way the LO's are evolving , can't wait to see the full reveal at the end of the challenge.

500th post !!! a GoGo Getaway round up ...

2011-04-01T12:41:00.000+01:00

I can't believe this is my 500th post as I never really thought I would stick with blogging for so long :)

I shared some sneaks of Getaway classes a while back and now that it's all done and dusted (until October), it's time to show the designs in full ...

'Hinged'

'The Merry Month of May'

'Comic Strip'

I thoroughly enjoyed designing and teaching my classes as well as teaching 'Mercantile Memories' which was designed by Sarah Youde. Roll on October Getaway ..I am super excited about my classes two fabby LO's and a mini book :D

Thanks for dropping by on this 500th post , here's to the next 500 !

Nicola xx

The Lady of the House

2011-03-29T18:03:00.000+01:00

April Add On - 'Lady of the House'

Such an elegant add on , I adore this kit ! By chance I had a photo of Lulu that matched the colours perfectly and she was actually standing by the door of our holiday cottage last year so she truly is the 'Lady of the House' in every way

The Jenni Bowlin rub on silhouette is beautiful and rubs on to the cardstock like butter , I did use the smooth reverse side of the CS for best effect. I used some of the white cardstock to stamp a border with the Cameo stamp also available with April's kits.

With so many pearls you can really spoil yourself. As well as making a choker necklace for the rub on silhouette lady I also used a piece of pink twine that I bought from the Getaway shop to make a 'trim' with a pearl suspended from each loop, I attached this with my new Tiny Attacher also purchased at the Getaway !!!

A title using the American Crafts Thickers from the April Create kit completes this understated elegant design.

(Please note that I used a border punch on the top edge of the cardstock, the blue section showing is the background of the photograph.)

So if you love this kit as much as I do , be ready to Grab It on April 1st at www.scrapagogo.co.uk :)

And another !!

2011-03-10T20:58:00.000Z

'Comic Strip' - Nicola Kerridge

'Bam, Pow... come marvel at our storytelling with stunning effects and enjoy this sequential art form within the confines of 12x12. Panels, dialogue and speech bubbles make for a striking publication which illustrates how cool this narrative artform can be for your scrapbooks!'

So that completes my sneaky 'show & tell' , roll on the Getaway :D

Another peek ...

2011-03-10T13:20:00.000Z

'Hinged' - Nicola Kerridge

'Get a handle on creating an impression of what lies beyond as we invite you in to create a clever and unique 12x12 LO with a touch of architectural delight. You will benefit from how open we are with you on how we crafted this aesthetic piece, 'Hinged' in most definitely a door way to fun...'

Getaway sneaky peekettes ....

2011-03-09T18:36:00.000Z

I can't help but get just a teeny bit OVER EXCITED !!!! Yes folks , it's very nearly GoGo Getaway time :)

So how's about a few peeks at the classes I'll be teaching at our retreat ....

Merry Month of May' - Nicola Kerridge

'Come on folk, get entwined in this class and things will be just Fine and Dandy, you certainly haven't drawn the short straw and will have a 12x12 LO to prove it! Set yourself in pole position with a jig in your step as you twist your way around some pretty techniques and pretty patterns.'

I'll be back with another tomorrow :)

Create & Co. March Crop

2011-03-08T21:59:00.000Z

I can't wait till our Create & Co. crop this month on the 19th , it will be so nice to kick back and have some quality scrapping and chatting time with everyone again :)

We have a fantastic sponsor kit again , this month we have been spoiled by the lovely folks at Canvas Corp. with some gorgeous round cardstock , papers from their Chocolate & Ivory Collection and enough jute for 3 metres each !

Luckily for me I got to play with the goodies we were sent and I have created a LO using a photo of me and Jessie from Toy Story taken at Disneyland last year ...

and a little close up ...

Its going to be great fun seeing what everyone comes up with using their kit !

Another month another review ...

2011-03-07T13:22:00.000Z

February ....

A month of Love , Valentines and other loves too !!

I am especially happy to report that I love my work and play time just as much as each other right now

Once again I have visited some more fab venues for my job this month, notably The Royal Albert Hall where the Cirque Du Soleil were on tour with 'Totem' and The Apollo Victoria theatre where I even got to see Wicked ...what an amazing show!
Another fab highlight of February was the DT weekend shared with my GoGo Girlies old and new , we had a blast in a country hideaway complete with pool for a whole weekend. Can't wait till the Getaway when we are all together again.

The Maya Road banners look fab teamed with the Hybrid alpha for a cool title.

I punched a heart shape out of the Cosmo Cricket paper here and reversed it before stitching into place with the WRM floss ...dreamy !!!

Happy Reviewing !!!

Month In Review Love

2011-02-05T16:34:00.000Z

New for 2011 is 'Month In Review' , a brand new monthly challenge for subbers and non-subbers alike. It follows on from the successful and popular 'Yearbook' challenge from 2010.

Here's how its shaping up so far ...

I wanted to create a simple intro page to welcome readers into my album, the Studio Calico star really packs a punch , I have painted it with a Jenni Bowlin paint Dabber in 'Cough Syrup' to make it a real focal point.

A layered journalling card and some ribbon completes the look. You can't quite read it as the prop ribbon is slightly obscuring it but the bottom right reads 'month in review' , the banner stamp is from my own stash.

Ah January !! Its a funny old month isn't it ....so very long until pay day , the excitement of Christmas is all forgotten and all we have is dark nights and cold weather...thank goodness for scrapbooking

I have been lucky this year as apart from the usual high points of New Year and Ivans Birthday I was lucky enough to get a back stage tour of the Royal Opera House and the English National Opera in London.

I tend to make 'collage' pictures in Picasa as they give flexibility to include as many little photo's as you need on these 6 x 6 pages.

Even the smallest scrap of the same paper or element carried over both pages will give your project 'flow' and cohesion.

Have fun with your January pages xx

Friday Love

2011-02-04T17:43:00.000Z

ScrapaGoGo Create , Go2 Pieces and Stamp Technique

I love this photo of Lulu , it was taken just before Christmas when the snow was still about , the light is just perfect and I felt it needed minimal fuss in the design of the LO but I still wanted to add a few special touches like the hand-stitched title and the stamped border ...

As fab as the cloud shape is I wanted to create something just a little bit different for this LO.

With the aid of a few removable memo notepapers and some patience you can get a really cool border using this months stamp.

First, stamp the image onto the notelet making sure you get some of the sticky bit on the back within the design. Carefully cut this out.

Now after careffully masking a central area from the CS , mine was 8 x 8 inches, stamp one image in the top left of your CS...

Then place the notelet 'mask' exactly over the stamped image, the next stamped cloud can then overlap the first...

Continue all around , turning at the corners until you have a complete border design.

The 'magic is revealed when you remove the masked area from the middle revealing a cool border

Trim round the edge of the pattern with scissors or craft knife for a die cut edge effect. Have fun with this technique and if in doubt have a little practice first on a spare piece of CS, hope you enjoy it x

Still feeling the February GoGo Love

2011-02-02T20:19:00.000Z

I was very lucky to recieve an invitation to The Royal Opera House as part of my job recently. As beautiful as the auditorium is the backstage areas were totally amazing.

I wasn't allowed to take photo's inside but got a couple of shots outside on the camera phone it was as lovely experience.

I have concentrated on the beautiful hybrids for this LO , I love the kites particularly and they are such fun with the yellow jute and the hybrid tails on them.

You really can stretch your kit so much further by adding the free hybrids to a sheet or two of paper or CS and get a great LO for almost nothing !

More February GoGo love

2011-02-02T13:51:00.000Z

Its great to have some decent photo's of ourselves ...especially as by our very nature us scrapbookers spend an awful lot of time behind the lens. Kirsty Wiseman took some shots of me at the last GoGo Getaway and I am very pleased with what she did !

I decided to make my photo black and white so I could use the exceptionally pretty MME paper , with its glittery accents and classic floral print and one of my favourite elements of the kit the Sassafras Brooches, don't be afraid to use them both together for maximum impact they look gorgeous together.

A simple monogram of my initials with the hybrid alpha on a Maya Rd chipboard banner adds the finishing touch.

Hope you like it :D

GoGo February Love ...

2011-02-01T22:00:00.000Z

Sometimes my photograhy doesn't work out quite the way i plan it LOL ! Like these 'arms length' shots of Ivan and Me taken on Christmas Day ( we were waiting for Lulu to get ready) you see a DSLR is not a great thing for me to balance and the pics were a bit fuzzy to say the least ...
I decided that as I loved remembering when they were taken I would embrace the faults and scrap them anyway.

As the pics take a 'vertical' aspect on my LO, I thought it would look really cute to incorporate the Jenni Bowlin buttons in a row as a focal point, the WRM floss really pulls the look together.

I kept the rest of the design simple and added a hybrid journalling tag with a typed title and an accent of the Maya Road heart element.

I'll share another design tomorrow .

Chinese Whisper love

2011-01-31T17:41:00.002Z

So the first whisper of the CJ is GO !!! Or should I say GOGO !!!

Here's my lift ...

All created with the ScrapaGoGo January kit ...see how versatile it is.

And here's the original by Elizabeth Kartchner , isn't it just lovely and she was soo gracious in allowing me to scraplift her work , thanks Liz xx

I lifted it 100% as it is such a gorgeous design.

Great fun , can't wait to receive the next 'lift'

Sneaky Peek love

2011-01-30T20:24:00.002Z

Shhhh ! Don't tell anyone I am showing these {very} sneaky peeks ...

They are from my LO for the Chinese Whispers CJ hosted by Rebekah over at the Clubhouse using the ever so versatile 'Elementary My Dear' January kit...

I won't tell if you don't !!!

Polka Dot Love

2011-01-27T20:43:00.000Z

Its amazing what you can find when you have a good sort through your supplies ....I urge you all to do it , I found stuff I'd forgotten I had and its like having new stash all over again !!

One thing I did find was a kit from a past GoGo Getaway , a class that was designed and taught by SJ Dowsett called Polka [.] Create. Beautiful Jillibean Soup papers , and a cute paint technique using the rubber on the end of a pencil made this a fun class, we literally had spots before our eyes and great fun with all the delegates. I had squirrelled this kit away carefully complete with the photo of Myself and SJ ( I was the class assistant) ...

And if you look carefully you can see that SJ is holding the LO in the photo on the LO if that makes sense ....

So there you go ....a LO in a LO , old stash becomes new again and the circle is complete !!

CHA Love

2011-01-25T18:28:00.000Z

I can't believe its been a year since I was in LA for CHA with all my lovely GoGo Girlies !!!

We had the best time ever ...

That 12 months sure has flown by and do you know what I still have stash bought on that trip sitting untouched ...eeeep! Note to self ...make that minibook and use that stash !!!

Anyway, if you can't be there yourself the next best thing is getting the experts to go to LA for you and be your personal shoppers at CHA ....GoGo HQ will once again be handpicking the latest releases from all our favourite manufacturers and blending them a together with some bespoke goodies and some new things as well to give YOUR GoGo kit the Wow factor.

Can't wait !!!!

Create & Co Love

2011-01-24T08:00:00.001Z

You may have seen details of the beautiful GoGo Value kit available at this months Create & Co Crop here
such a lovely kit and remarkable value too at only £3 !!

I have had the best time designing a LO with the kit, here have a little look ...

Isn't the stash just good enough to eat ??? I think its having everything served up on the delightful Hambly Doily transparency. Anyway, I have shared scenes of Bettys cafe where we indulged in a little 'light refreshment' in the most genteel of surroundings while we were in York last year. The theme of all the cakes and confectionary was 'Seashore' inspired with seahorse shaped biscuits and cupcakes and just check out the cute little cake shaped like a crab !!!

I have added some paper rosettes and cupcake cases to add to the overall 'prettiness' ...

and a stamped title too ...

Don't forget that the journalling stamp is included in the kit, I'm sure it will be used again and again :D

NB:- Photograph taken on a Kraft cardstock (not included) background for clarity, stamps used for title , models own ;-)

Only 5 more sleeps till crop now ....

Sketch Love

2011-01-23T13:07:00.000Z

I suppose its just about light enough today although its not going to be great for long here in Suffolk, I have managed to get a shot of the LO I mentioned in yesterdays post ....

Such a great sketch to work with and we will be sharing it with our Create & Co Crop members next week ....I decided to go for good old Kraft cardstock and create my own design with a Heidi Swapp Damask stamp that I have had forever and a stitched border. The LO features Lulu's love of all things Jack Wills , these shots were taken in the York branch both inside the changing room and outside although we have been to many, many other branches too LOL !!!

I added a tag from one of her purchases and some simple embellishments from October Afternoon 'Thrift Store'.

That's all from me for today Dear Readers , enjoy the rest of the weekend ...

Saturday love

2011-01-22T18:32:00.001Z

Well today has been a very different Saturday chez nous ...we're still without our car and TBH its made for a completely different routine.

We all walked up to Tesco this morning to grab a couple of essential and not so essential bits and bobs and some DVD's to watch (Book of Eli and a couple of others). I must admit after the walk my leg/back was a bit more 'ouch' than normal but keeping it moving seems to be the best thing by far and I am painkiller free today so thats a real bonus !!! Once home we 'blitzed' the house cleaning and laundry to make way for quality time :D

I scrapped this afternoon from the GoGo Blueprint to Go ( although I went a bit 'off piste' with my colour scheme) which is also showcasing at our Create & Co Crop next weekend.

So, tomorrow I have more scrapping planned for the Chinese Whispers CJ over at the ClubHouse , I was delighted that Elizabeth Kartchner said it was OK to 'lift' a Lo of hers !!! I also have coffee cupcakes to bake and a spot of knitting if I have time ...

Happy Weekend everyone ,

Double Up Love

2011-01-21T19:24:00.000Z

Brand New For February GoGo !!!

Double Up!

Can never choose which side of the paper to use, then worry no more as you can purchase this Double Up! pack and literally double your card and paper within the kit.

This pack is also ideal even if you don't subscribe, a great way to boost your paper supply with a fab collaboration of manufactures PLUS don't forget you can download the GoGo Hybrids to compliment your purchase!

The simple idea's are always the best eh ??? And now its like having 2 kits in 1 if you GoGo Double Up !!!!

Celine Class Love

2011-01-21T12:07:00.000Z

Colorful Designs - new ONLINE workshop!Good evening all!
A lot of you have been asking me lately if I was going to do another online workshop, such as the SCRAP World Cup class I hosted last summer. Well, shall I say YES?!! :)
Colorful Designs is my new online class especially created for you, the scrapbooker looking for fresh design and loving colors!


Want more designs on your layouts ? Afraid of colors ? This workshop is for you!
Join me on this new journey and get this 2 MONTHS long class and become a design and color expert!
As an experienced scrapbook teacher travelling around the globe, I've seen so many scrappers being AFRAID of colors and not knowing how to balance their creations. Colors are the skin of your feelings, emotions : get rid of this fear and pick your color palette!
Design itself is such a concept. It actually makes a layout work...or not. I will teach you tricks, tips and techniques so that you won't be scared of the blank page and that your style gets itself confortable with design and colors.

For 35€ (around $40), you'll get :
 access to a private blog where you'll see the weekly classes posted on Wednesday
tips and tricks on design once a week
a sketch with each class
color combos for you to scrapbook NEW colors
my blogging feelings
posts about the DESIGN world
VIDEOS! you'll be able to laugh at my accent! :)
access to a FLICKR gallery for you to upload your layouts
TWO live CHATS for us to get to know each other and for you to ask whatever questions you have in mind
a complete list of supplies used for each workshop
and all of this for 2 months!!!
And because you know I am a mini album lover, your last class within this workshop will be a mini album class! I'll be offering the possibility to order a class kit for this one.
Become an expert COLORFUL DESIGN SCRAPBOOKER!
For only 35€, come scrap with me for 2 months!
Colorful Designs online class
 
SIGN UP by clicking on the PAYPAL button above. SIGNUPS close on 22 February 2011. BEGINNING OF THE WORKSHOP : 23 February 2011. END OF THE WORKSHOP : 23 April 2011. No refunds possible once purchase is done. A PDF file will be sent to you once the class is over.
+++

And to celebrate this new online workshop, I'm hosting a BLOG HOP!
Copy and paste this whole post on your blog, copy the link of your post and paste it here in the comments section!
TWO winners will be hand picked and will win a FREE access to the workshop !
Posted on January 20, 2011 in ONLINE class | Permalink

You can never have too much love

2011-01-20T17:53:00.000Z

Especially when its good , wholesome GoGo love !!!

Just check out these add on beauties coming your way in February

Bazzill Cardstock Kraft
Bazzill Cardstock Sunflowers Light
Bazzill Cardstock Aqua
Bazzill Cardstock Sunset Rose

October Afternoon Modern Home Maker Canning Jar
Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Pinwheels
Pink Paislee Sweetness Love Letters
Little Yellow Bicycle Savor Kitchen Medley
Little Yellow Bicycle Savor Canvas Borders
Cosmo Cricket Ready Steady Chip Red Robin
My Minds Eye Lost and Found Adore Trims

May Arts Ribbon Red Roses
May Arts Ribbon 363 27 Mustard Jute
American Crafts Love Tenderness
Little Yellow Bicycle Savor Epoxy Chipboard Buttons

Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Kite Strings
Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Making Plans
Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Borders
My Minds Eye Lost and Found Lovely Buttons
Sassafras Glittered Alpha Pink

Go 2 Pieces can be added to your subscription and all the other Add Ons as a Grab It from the shop on Feb 1st.

Now GoGo love some more !!!

Day Job Love ...

2011-01-20T12:45:00.000Z

I LOVE my hobby time belive me but yesterday was one of those days where my 'day job' just rocked !!!
I had an amazing day was very privileged to have visited the finest venues for ballet and opera , the Royal Opera House and the London Coliseum , home of the ENO.

Beautiful bronze ballet dancer sculpture , situated just outside the ROH.

ROH Exterior

Dress rehearsal of Swan Lake was taking place inside and I was lucky enough to see the sets too, jaw droppingly beautiful. There was lots of activity in preparation for Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville,fantastic sets !!) and Gisele which was broadcast live to cinemas last night ,The Magic Flute and bizarrely the Anna Nicole Smith opera !!! It is totally amazing how these productions are brought together and the enthusiasm shared by all those involved.

The London Coliseum ....

Just a short walk up St Martins Lane , a remarkable building totally refurbished in 2004 and restored to its former glory.The crew are in full preparation for Lucrezia Borgia at the end of this month.

So much more than a normal workday wednesday and I loved every minute of it.

I will share a more crafty post next time , until then xxxxxx

Birthday Cake love...

2011-01-19T19:58:00.000Z

A birthday in the middle of January is just what's needed to chase the winter blues away, especially when chocolate cake is involved ....

The cake was Cadburys Flake and it was scrummy with a nice cup of tea :D and not too many candles LOL !!!

Happy Birthday Ivan xxx

Sneaky peek love

2011-01-18T12:40:00.000Z

Look how beautifully February GoGo Kits and Elements are shaping up ! Cute Cosmo papers , chic Sassafras flowers , totally cool WRM Floss in the most amazing shades , a rather lovely stamp designed by Yours Truly and Sams equally scrumptious Bespoke Design Cards ...what's not to love ??? Don't forget the awesome Hybrids which are FREE to download designed by the lovely Kirsty Wiseman.

I think I am in love ..... x

January GoGo love

2011-01-17T12:56:00.000Z

January is always a time of resolution , new starts and reflection. I chose to scrapbook this photo of me taken by Kirsty Wiseman as I am looking quite thoughtful...for a change !

The Bo Bunny fabric bloom is cool but a little too 'fat' for my design , so I carefully took it apart and cut it lengthways. I punched some circles from CS and applied the fabric lengths with DS tape , this gave me 3 slimmer flowers :) A great way to stretch the supplies a little further ...

The GoGo Store had some gorgeous Jenni Bowlin paint dabbers on sale earlier this month and as I managed to bag a few I thought it would be a good idea to brush up on a few paint techniques.
I have stuck the lovely Maya Road frames to the CS with pva glue and then applied acrylic paint uniformly over the CS and frames for a dimensional look that's quite effective in showcasing the architectural shapes but at the sametime is not too busy or distracting.

A simple BG star creates a focal point amid the stark white. This is a little bit out of my 'comfort zone' as I am normally a layer , layer and then add another layer kinda gal !!

Hope you like it :) x

Sunday love

2011-01-16T15:44:00.000Z

Well so far today has been interesting and not in quite such a good way as yesterday ...

We popped out this morning for a few bits and bobs, Tesco for a paper and then to Argos for a new set of Ipod earphones (i have inherited Lu's old Nano) but halfway round our little route the car decided to have a hissy fit , literally and overheat !
We managed to splutter into McDonalds carpark (handy for loo and coffee ) and awaited the AA who were amazingly quick and helpful , a poorly water pump was identified as the culprit and we were then promptly loaded onto a recovery vehicle and the car dropped off at the garage and us home. Just need to find out what the ££ damage is tomorrow ...GULP !!

Anyway , on a more positive note , we are home safe and well and uploading 'stuff' to our respective ipods and generally relaxing :D

So before I go I'll just leave you with a couple of LO's from last Novembers GoGo kit ...it would be rude not to share some pretties !!

Postal love ....

2011-01-15T14:59:00.000Z

Some days we all dread the postman ...you know like the dreaded December credit card bill or the water rates or tedious mailings from DFS or some other random soft furnishings enabler.

But today..the postman knocked with a parcel , and I was like 'I haven't ordered anything' to myself , and believe me this is unusual as I am an online shopping junkie and my postie really earns his keep !

Do you want to see what he brought ....

One of my all time favourites Angel , by Thierry Mugler , I love it

and to Lulu's complete and utter delight one of these ...

She was squealing with delight ...literally !

So , we have been thoroughly spoiled today one of us far more deserving than the other , but we both thank and love the senders, my Mum & Dad very, very much ...x

Hope you all have a lovely weekend :)

Stamping love...

2011-01-14T13:43:00.002Z

Using GoGo Loyalty Stamp & Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934

The GoGo Loyalty stamps are a joy to stamp with , I had a play with stamping on cardstock, embossing and even shrink plastic and the images are so crisp and clear.
I was delighted to match the designs up with these photo's of Lulu trying out some 'old technology' at a recent National Trust visit to Sutton Hoo, she was quite taken aback at the slowness of the old 'dial' telephone a far cry from her Blackberry !!!. But check out the stamped typewriter and the one in my photo they are almost identical ... serendipity?
The papers are from the luscious Cosmo Circa 1934 range bought from the Getaway shop ...a match made in heaven !!!

Mix & Mend love

2011-01-13T20:35:00.000Z

Anyone remember BBC 'PlaySchool' ??? I thought of it straight away when I saw the Maya Road Square, Arched and Round Windows !!
Lulu went to a beautiful Nursery called Stepping Stones in a renovated Georgian building with windows just like these and a fabulous rocking horse which she loved to ride.

A nice thick coat of white embossing powder really makes these look like real painted wooden window frames, so cute and I always love to have a little play with embossing powders and a heat gun.

The gorgeous Sassa. 'Mix & Mend ' paper inspired a few extra stitches to pull the design together in no time at all, another gorgeous collection of supplies from the lovely GoGo 'Attic Treasures' kit xx

A new blog for a New Year ...

2011-01-13T18:41:00.000Z

Do you like it ????

I do :D , its cute , its unique and its all mine !!

Designed by the very talented SJ of Little Musings , and she even drew a Missy for me , too cute !!!

Thanks SJ xx

So , I shall be blogging much more now just so I can keep coming back and admire all the prettiness ....espesh Missy !

Crop Night !!

2010-10-14T13:37:00.000+01:00

Fab fab night again last night , a cool sketch and a chance to use up some more stash ...Yayyy !

JilliBean Soup papers and embellies , burlap left from September GoGo kit, Dear Lizzy crochet flowers and a stamp from Banana Frog.

Really enjoying these midweek cropping sessions :D

October GoGo designs ....

2010-10-08T22:00:00.000+01:00

Kicking off with my personal fave ....gotta love that woodgrain stamp LUSH !!!!

I love this picture of my Girl , and she is everything I could have wished for in a daughter ...

I wanted to use the beautiful bark stamp with different mediums so I chose Distress Ink in 'Dusty Concord' a lovely purple shade for the Kraft envelope and then a glue 'ink' pad to stamp and then apply the teal glitter.

The butterflies were inspired by Kirsty Wiseman's gorgeous hybrids , I used different size punches and a diecut to make mine but you could also stamp and glitter over the hybrid ones too.

'Bags of Love'

2010-10-08T21:58:00.000+01:00

Don't get me wrong I totally love all the beautiful elements in this kit but my fave has to be the Kraft bag ....so simple but it's just sooo cute it made my heart go all skippety !

Combined with the gorgeous Sassafras heart paper I thought it only natural to make 'bags of love' and cut lots of different sized hearts from scraps of PP and CS and a couple of mini ones from the hybrid sheet.

I even made the shaped kraft envelope look like the top of a bag by adding a flamboyant bow to the top , the ribbon has wired sides so it holds a shape perfectly.

Greetings !!

2010-10-08T21:56:00.000+01:00

A couple of cards from October GoGo Greetings too ...

and some LO's following ...

'Lets Play Statues!'

2010-10-08T21:52:00.000+01:00

Isn't the Maya Road glitter just gorgeous !!! I had a bit of a brainwave when I was using some round double sided pads , I thought they would look cool covered in glitter...

I simply dipped one sticky side in the glitter so it was completely coated and then adhered the other sticky side to my LO like sparkly buttons !!!

It's great that there are so many cool alpha's in the kit and I have used a bit of each of them to convey a fun title for some fun photo's.

'Lucinda'

2010-10-08T21:49:00.000+01:00

I love the combination of the Royal Purple and Pistachio Green especially with the flocked transparency layered on top.

This LO is a little bit out of my normal patterned paper style but I like the classic elegance of the pleated ribbon combined with the Prima pearl spray.

The title has been layered on to the lilac trim for a tone on tone effect , I love the way it accentuates the photo of Lulu among the Wisteria blossom earlier this year.

Kirsty's Online Crop ....

2010-10-07T13:26:00.001+01:00

Is a great way to spend a Wednesday evening ....

I created my LO in 'real time' whilst joining in with the Ustream Chat :D following the sketch and required items of stash although i did use Indian Ink in place of paint and replaced the heart bunting with butterflies.

Pop over to Kirsty Wisemans blog for a link to the FB group. Its great fun to play along :D

Psssssst !!!

2010-10-04T20:35:00.000+01:00

Opportunity of the year ...check it out !!! From the GoGo blog ....

GoGo Needs You!

ScrapaGoGo and GoGo Getaway Ltd are looking for a new designer to join Team GoGo and are welcoming submissions from enthusiastic paper artists worldwide NOW. So if you love scrapbooking and feel you can work to deadlines, briefs and within a team then we would love to hear from you.

Submissions are due BY 25th November 2010. This call is open worldwide.

How to apply:

Please send the following information to mail@scrapagogo.co.uk by 25th November 2010 12 noon.

1) Name and Address
2) A short bio, including any other Design Team positions past or current.
3) Published work details if any.
4) Links to online galleries/blogs.
5) What you feel you can bring to Team GoGo? Do you have experience in creating sketches, running challenges, writing instructions etc

Please also attach as jpgs the following:

1) Three scrapbook layouts that showcase your personal style.
2) One 500x500 (px) sketch from one of the three designs submitted.
3) One set of instructions to complete one of the designs submitted, including six 500x500 (px) step by step images detailing six main features/techniques of the design.

ScrapaGoGo and GoGo Getaway Team members are required to sign a contract, if you wish to receive further details about the main points in this contract please do email and we will be more than happy to help.

Kindest regards,

Lorraine & Janice

September Yearbook

2010-10-04T20:31:00.000+01:00

My fave project of the year my GoGo Yearbook , its fab to get all those photo's in a book that would otherwise have not made it to a 12 x 12 LO....

As there is always so much stash in a GoGo kit I always have lots of cute things to add to my book.

Do share pics of yours on the ClubHouse if you are 'Yearbooking' too :D

Nearly forgot ....

2010-10-04T20:22:00.001+01:00

To share my final GoGo Getaway Class with you !! I am so excited , its not long now ...

'Scrape by with a little wishful thinking in this hands on 12x12 Layout class. Even if you are feeling a little rough around the edges after a couple of late nights crafting you will adore the fancy outcome of us wearing you down for 90 minutes!'

An Island Adventure ...(picture heavy post)

2010-09-27T20:49:00.000+01:00

The weekend in Jersey was fantastic , its such a beautiful place with stunning scenery and a fascinating heritage and always gives me a very special feeling of being abroad but feeling right at home if that make sense ...I love it !!!

The flight was a bit of a worry for me , although its a short journey from Gatwick its a small plane and all the lumpy bumpy bits feel so much worse especially as it was mighty windy on Friday. I needn't have worried as Lorraine and I had such a giggle over a rather dubious advert. in the flight magazine that before I knew it our Captain 'Spencer' had announced 10 minutes to landing ...and this made us giggle even more as Lorraine's daughter Kirsty has a cat called Spencer so we giggled about the idea of a cat in a pilots uniform flying a plane with his little ginger paws ......!!

Anyway I digress....we were amazed by how pretty the venue for the event was ...

The Church hall of St Saviours Church, architecturally stunning outside and full of history and detail inside. Incidentally, St Saviour's church is linked with the name of Lillie Langtry. She was born in the Rectory, and married twice in the church. She was later buried in the churchyard.

I taught two classes to the lovely Jersey & Guernsey Ladies ...

'Stars In Your Eyes'

Play with some polygons and see bright lights before your eyes with the funky colours and patterns in this 12x12 LO class with a difference. You will soon feel the connection as you create a design that is sure to make a point!

A fabby class with super cute Sassafras and some cool dimensional stars.

and then ...

'Hip To Be Square' - by Nicola Kerridge

A class of equal sides and 90 degree angles but don't let that fool you into thinking it will be like a tedious maths class - far from it with bright colours, fun elements and hip ideas!

Everyone had great fun using overlays in a different way and loved the bold colours scheme of this class.

Lorraine and Janice taught some beautiful classes too ...here's a peek ...

I think our happy faces say it all , we loved it in Jersey !!!

I hope we GoGo to Jersey again one day ...:D

GoGo Take Shape ...

2010-09-23T20:54:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow I head off to beautiful Jersey in the Channel Islands to teach at the GoGo Take Shape Day Event...I shall be joining Lorraine and Janice and between us we will be teaching some fantastic and inspirational classes to our lovely Jersey delegates.

Its been a few years since I have visited Jersey and its fab to have the opportunity to go back with these Girls , two of my closest friends :D

Lets hope they put up with me being all nervous on the plane journey !!!

Can't wait till we are there , did I mention that being a GoGo Girl ROCKS !!!!!!!

I will tell you all about it when we get back xx

'Pipe Down'

2010-09-22T21:43:00.001+01:00

Another of my GoGo Getaway classes for October .....such an effective technique and great fun too ...

'Nothing basic about this 12x12 Layout class, it is clearly much more! Nurture the green at heart feeling whilst making funky adornments for your page, a little flexibilty is required but definitely no cleaning!'

Gotta love that 'Bloomin' Ribbon' !!!

2010-09-21T19:46:00.001+01:00

This class is my personal favourite ....its such a beautiful kit and I'm going to really enjoy teaching a cool technique ...

'Gather around and experience the bespoke approach to trim creation. This 12x12 Layout class is not only beautifully unique but tactile and bloomin' gorgeous too! A gala of the more ornate feel with a little sparkler to help showcase the fabric of life.'

Hope you are all enjoying these peeks :D

'Over The Borderline'

2010-09-21T13:42:00.000+01:00

How excited am I that I can start sharing sneaky peeks of my GoGo Getway Classes :D !!!! It really is a dream come true for me to be designing and teaching these classes to so many lovely Ladies , I just can't wait till the big weekend !!!!

So first up , a minibook class that has had me constantly singing the song of the same name by Madonna ....

'Step over the border and enter our Mini Book design adventure that will turn your thoughts 365 degrees! We take your creative skills right up to the edge in a class where you will get to play with products, tools and concepts to add that extra punch to your books.'

Looks great doesn't it , will I see you in class ?????

And in my spare time ...

2010-09-20T18:23:00.000+01:00

that is when I'm not a full time Sales Account Manager , running a house , being Mummy to Lulu and Missy and OH to Ivan and scrapbooker extraordinaire (;p) what do I do with myself ???

Why a little knitting and crochet of course ! I have lots of lovely yarn stashed away for quiet moments and a couple of projects to be finished off but these are all done ....

My Noro Silk Garden twirly scarf ...

I love the colours in this yarn , the photo really doesn't do it justice :D

And my 'in the car' project en route to and from Yorkshire was a crocheted bag from the Attic 24 blog....

I kinda liked it at first but now its done I'm not that mad about it , its a bit garish and not nearly as nice as the new Cath K. bag I have my eye on LOL !!!

Anyway lovely Blogreaders , I best get myself in gear and GoGo Yearbook my September or all my faithful Yearbookers will think I have abandoned them !!

I will be back tomorrow and for the rest of the week to share sneaky little peeks of my GoGo Getaway Classes ....I know I'm biased but I think they are fab (how could they not be with such great class kits) and hope the delegates do too :D

A little me time ....

2010-09-19T19:51:00.001+01:00

The perfect antidote to a hectic life is a little 'me time' and that's exactly what I enjoyed at our last Create & Co Crop :D

I normally spend lots of time shuffling papers and photographs and not really getting anything productive done , so this time I went to crop armed with a few page kits and my tool tote ....honestly that's all I took and very liberating it was too !!!!

I made the page kits up with patterned paper and a piece of co-ordinating cardstock , some Thickers and a couple of pieces of ribbon and a couple of embellishments , Oh and the photo's of course ...

First LO , using Sassafras 'Nerdy Bird' ......

I know that Sassafras is a bit of a 'Marmite' range , you either love it or hate it but I think it looks

so cute here with pics of Lulu and Ivan in Flamingoland on her birthday. 'Scraggles' is our family term for a really squidy hug !!

And having exactly the right shade of Thickers lurking inloved in your stash ....priceless !!!

Next page kit turned out this LO ....

Lulu enjoying some very pretty cupcakes at Castle Howard ...

The papers are Bella Boulevard and have been in my stash an age and the cutesy brads are Doodlebug left over from August 2008 GoGo kit, the cupcake stamp is even older from the very first GoGo Greetings kit .... there was another page kit and another LO completed but thats not ready for sharing just yet ;)

...so page kits are great for using up hoarded stuff and getting your scrap on , I'm converted !!!

Fresh New Fall ....

2010-09-15T20:36:00.002+01:00

If you are GoGo Girl , Like me :D , yours should be with you by now .....and wowsers it's such a tactile and varied kit with so many textures and elements to get your creative juices flawing this month.

Lets have a peep at my LO's .....

I wanted to do something different with the embroidery floss in the kit ....so I crocheted a border ....*claps hands * , clever moi ???? Oh thank you :D

Here I created a cool little camera embellishment with the burlap , cute !!!

Me and Him at Whitby , deffo Bright & Breezy but still fab with this kit !!

My fave ...love , love, love the burlap circles from the Go 2 Pieces add on , and think they look just great on this giant lollipop tree :D

And finally a little gift card pouch from the gorgeous Greetings kit .

Create & Co.

2010-09-15T20:27:00.000+01:00

Our crop...Create & Co is going from strength to strength and with a combination of longstanding members and new ladies joining us all the time its a great melting pot of idea's , fun and creativity :D

Each month we have a free sponsored class , a Value Page Kit Class and a sketch challenge ....

Some of my sketch challenge lo's ( a great way to 'stash bust' ) ....

And a LO using the Value Page kit £3 !!! yes really , using Websters Pages , Artsylicious ribbons and Jenni Bowlin journalling pads ...

Phew !!!! Still with me .... I may have more to come ;-)

Tokyo Garden ...

2010-09-15T20:14:00.000+01:00

Subtle effects here with a resist effect using the gorgeous lantern stamp.

Prima to the max !! a really pretty branch effect with a very oriental feel.

Hambly , I am your biggest fan !!! Had fun with the Hambly doily overlay here to make a fan.

Lanterns ahoy ....going stamp crazy with embossing powder , inks and thread .

July & August Yearbook ....

2010-09-15T20:08:00.000+01:00

Time for a little catch up methinks , I'm sure you must all think I have given up crafting LOL ....but truth be known I am so busy actually crafting that I get little time to blog it :D

So , August Yearbook ...scrumptious colours and fabby elements from the GoGo kits made for a great entry this month.

July here too .....just look at that awesome Union Jack bunting !!! I love it and so did the Ladies playing along with the Yearbook project on the ClubHouse too :D

Yearbook -June

2010-07-13T20:34:00.000+01:00

The months sure are flying by this year !! Just as well I have been keeping track of each months events in my GoGo Yearbook ...

Junes kit was a stunner and coupled with the yummy embossing powder and hybrids made a great Yearbook design ....

This really is a great project, I really enjoy compiling my entries every month. It will be time to share Julys pages before we know it !!

Thanks for stopping by xxx

Paper Proposals Week 2...

2010-07-12T20:34:00.000+01:00

Using cards creatively ....I have written a card to my Nanny about the electric whisk that was passed to me when She died. I wanted a LO where I could record the meaning behind a very ordinary kitchen appliance that means so much to me ....

and a little close up ...

Hope you are all enjoying Paper Proposals and playing along with the challenges , don't forget to link your creations in the comment section of the blog.

TTFN xx

The Bolton Wanderers Return ....

2010-07-11T20:32:00.000+01:00

We had such a brilliant time in Bolton for GoGo Total Textures ....the venue was fab , the classes were all fantastic and the delegates were such a great group of Ladies and a pleasure to 'teach' , not that they needed much teaching they all created such beautiful LO's and projects I hope to see them on some blogs soon !!!

We were just up the road from the impressive Reebok stadium but my photo looks like its of a very impressive Tesco store LOL !!!

This was my 'Surface Area' texture class ...

and some of our lovely ladies creating my class :D

Can't wait to do it all again so keep your eyes peeled on the GoGo website for more Day Events in the future , you never know where us GoGo Girls will turn up next !!!!

Busy busy ...!!!

2010-07-08T21:35:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow we are off to Bolton for Total Textures Day Event....

The event will be held on:

Saturday July 10th 2010 9.30 am-5.30 pm

The event will take place at:

St. John s Methodist Church
Victoria Road
Horwich
Bolton
BL6 5PJ

See you there!

I am teaching a fab class and can't wait to see all our lovely GoGo Ladies in The North , we have the shop too ....yummy !!

Also tomorrow sees the second challenge over at Paper Proposals blog , I really enjoyed scrapping my LO for the blog this week and it really is lovely to see all the people following and sharing their examples from Week 1 too :D

Here's my card from Week 1's sketch ...

I will hopefully get chance (and a WiFi connection) to blog some pictures of Total Textures over the weekend so do pop back for a looksie ...

In the meantime TTFN xxx

July Cards & MiniKit

2010-07-07T20:33:00.000+01:00

I was a very lucky Girl this month as GoGo HQ sent me the fantastic July minikit to play with ....

The minikit comprises an October Afternoon 'Thrift Shop' flashcard album and a set of their matching mini alpha stickers , combined with goodies from the Create and Hybrid kits I was on to a winner ...

More pics will be on the GoGo blog soon.

Then there were the cards ...

Cherry delicious with the polka dot stamp in clear embossing and a swoosh of resist red ink over the top.

and then this super cheery colour combo great for Summer birthdays !!

So what a beautiful kit July was hope you enjoy yours as much as I did mine xx

Not Long Now

2010-07-06T21:17:00.000+01:00

Until July ScrapaGoGo kits will be winging their way to subscribers ....I absolutely loved this kit , it 'hit the spot' with every single scrap of paper , length of ribbon and exclusive embellishment , truly a box of scrumptiousness !

My final LO with the kit was focussing on the Cosmo Cricket 'Garden Variety' papers ....

I even made a 'rosette' using the stamp and some white embossing powder ...

Cute huh ??

To finish off the garden theme I 'planted' the photo's in pots made from the Canvas bunting and added leaves and flowers ....

See what I mean about a fabulous kit !!

Back tomorrow with some pics of the Mini Kit and a couple of cards.

TTFN xxx

dotcomgiftshop

2010-07-03T19:57:00.000+01:00

I was perusing the lovely comments that had been left on my blog the other day and was thrilled to read that dotcomgiftshop had listed my little blog on their list of '101 Lovely Craft Blogs' !!!

The list is HERE and I'm honoured to be in such talented company :D

So there you are just when you think nobody's looking !!!

Cool Britannia !

2010-07-02T20:35:00.001+01:00

Well , there's no doubt where the title for this LO came from is there !! I love all the shabby chic style Union Jack pretties that are around just now ...so far I have , tea towels , mug, Emma Bridgwater Notebook, my lovely knitting (its going to be a cushion), and of course now I can add the absolute 'must have' of the season the exclusive GoGo stamps !!!

I used the stamps to create the row of white embossed Union Jack flags , seriously how can you not love them ???? So if you now need them as much as I did ....click HERE and get yours ;-)

Oh and see the cute little flags in my cupcakes ??? They were made from the free hybrid download for July ...yummy !!

Thanks for stopping by xxx

Workshop 4 ...

2010-06-23T21:47:00.001+01:00

World cup Scrap Class I love you !!!!

Created this LO , instead of the recommended watercolours (I didn't have the right shades) I used watered down distress inks and I love the random , translucent effect they give.

I used Prima paintables paper and made puddles of the distress ink on my cutting mat and then laid my paper face down in the puddles ....pretty !!

Forgive me if you have seen this photo of Lulu before but it was perfect for this LO and I couldn't resist scrapping it again.

Next class is on Friday ...and Create & Co Crop on Saturday , whooopeeeeeeeee !!

Cream Tease !!

2010-06-22T19:28:00.002+01:00

Time for more GoGo loveliness I think ...

A play on words for the title , sometimes you you just have to dont'cha think ?? I love the Jenni Bowlin papers so much , the plaid looks like an old vintage cotton table cloth and theres even more JB gorgeousness in the bunting stickers.

I made the little ribbon rosettes with the lovely wide May Arts ribbon, so pretty !

So my lovelies , thats your Cream Tease !! I have just checked out workshop 4 in Celine's World Cup Scrap Class and its all about watercolours ....yummo !!

See you all soon xx

Getting Messy !

2010-06-21T19:12:00.000+01:00

With paint, Indian Ink, Gesso, and stickles ...

I was a bit unsure at first but once I got into the swing of it all I loved it !!

So there it is World Cup Scrap Class, Workshop 3 , I am all up to date which I am very pleased about as I have taken many online classes in the past and never kept up to date. Workshop 4 is up tomorrow ....watch this space !!!

Thanks for stopping by xxx

Playing keepy uppy ...

2010-06-19T21:16:00.000+01:00

With my World Cup Scrap Class ....Here's my LO for workshop 2 ,

A cool technique cutting out circles from the top patterned paper and faux stitching ....I am really loving this class and its a great way to do some stash busting too !

Here's a little detail ...

I will be doing Workshop 3 tomorrow, playing with gesso , indian ink and all manner of lovliness ...

Be back soon xx

The Village Fete ...

2010-06-17T21:21:00.000+01:00

GoGo style of course !!

With bunting and the coolest Union Jack stamp set and Jenni Bowlin Crepe paper ribbon and bunting and exclusive bunting , did I mention we have bunting ????

I had a little play with photo transfer paper on the Home Basics canvas bunting in the Go 2 Pieces add on kit ...

How cool do photos look printed on the canvas !!! Some things are just meant to be ...

Back soon with more July loveliness xx

Fathers Day Card ...

2010-06-16T20:49:00.000+01:00

I love having a little play around with my stash especially to make a card , you know one of those cards when it has to be just right ...I wanted a pirate theme to my card for my Dad's Fathers Day this year and this little Pirate Monkey Sugar Nellie was just perfect ....

I coloured him with Distress Inks and my waterbrush and then matched him up with some very old Sassafras 'Whale of a Tale' paper , least I think thats what its called and some super cute little sea horses and a string fishing net ...cute huh ??

A simple greeting with Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Letters and the job's done ! I must get this little chap in the post tomorrow to make sure he reaches his destination in time ...just hope I'm right in thinking that my Dad doesn't read my blog !!

Farewell for now me hearties xxx

Kick Off !!!

2010-06-13T17:57:00.000+01:00

Well kick off for Celine's World Cup Scrap Class that is !

I have just completed Workshop 1 with this gorgeous colour combo and a great resist technique on the tag ...

I have really enjoyed rummaging through my stash and (shamefully) finding all manner of beautiful things that have never been opened ...the papers on this LO are Jenni Bowlin and Making Memories, the flowers are Prima, Making Memories butterfly twill, Sassafras stickers and AC Thickers , the birdcage stamp is Basic Grey 'Porcelain' and has been inked with Tim Holtz 'Marmalade' Distress Ink. The beautiful doily was a brand new purchase today from Paperchase , yes !! we finally have one in Ipswich.

Now I'm super excited to see what Celine has lined up for us in Tuesdays workshop !!

Thanks for stopping by xx

Create & Co Sketches ...

2010-06-10T19:27:00.002+01:00

We love to inspire at Create & Co. and each month as well as our 'class' kits we offer a sketch to kick start the mojo :D

My interpretation of June's sketch is here ....

The photo's were taken in Goofy's Kitchen at Disneyland California , we had a fabulous character breakfast as a final treat before out flight home, I think 'Chip' took a bit of a shine to Lisa and Me he really was a very cheeky chipmunk. All of the stash I have used on my LO is from American Crafts I think the bright colours work really well especially the white polka dot on turquoise ..yum !!

The original sketch can be found on the Create & Co blog , if you create a LO from it please let us know and we may even feature it online :D

Thanks for stopping by xxx