Farewell 2010, it's been nice knowing you ...

So this is it ... my last post of the year. It may shock you (or not), but this won't be an particularly insightful or profound blog post ... instead, I just want to leave you with my latest layout which was created using [Mscraps featured designer for January 2011] Three Paper Peonies new January kit ...

My journaling reads:

As one year closes, so a new one begins. With it comes a clean slate on which to write your life story, a blank canvas on which to paint your portrait. So don’t dwell on the past and the things that might have been. Instead, look forward to your future and embrace all that awaits you.

Happy New Year everyone ... see you in 2011!

Seasons greetings ...

Merry Christmas!

So were you on the "naughty" or "nice" list? Enquiring minds need to know, so please do tell!

Waiting for Santa ...

Oh, the weather outside is frightful ...

But that doesn't stop me from going out and taking photos!

click here for credits

Ladies that lunch ...

As my train drew into Paddington station yesterday morning, the weather was cold, but dry. Just 10 minutes later when I stepped out of the underground station at Bond Street, I was met by a flurry of white snowflakes that was just so unexpected!!! Have you ever tried finding people in a VERY BUSY city centre in the middle of a blizzard? Trust me, it ain't easy! But find them I did, and it was BIG hugs all round as Lorraine, Selena (+ her darling son, Woody) and I headed off for our pre-Christmas lunch / get together! I've said it before and I'll say it again, there is nothing quite like good food, good conversation and good friends! Thanks for a lovely day girls (& Woody) ... we'll do it all again in a few months time I hope, although minus the snowstorm next time!

Oh, and for those expecting to see a photo of the three of us together, well here you go ...

Honestly ... this was the ONLY photo I could get!!!

Ho-Ho-Ho ...

How on earth did I ever get organised for Christmas when I worked full-time before? I swear my brains have gone to mush. I'm forgetting even the most basic of Christmas stuff (i.e. advent calendars & cards). I've got sooooo many "to-do lists" on the go, I need a list for all my lists! Having said that, I'm finally starting to get somewhere ... the outside lights are UP!

I actually got my Christmas lights down from my attic about 2 weeks ago. I knew a couple of the bulbs needed replacing, so I thought I'd check [nice & early] and buy replacements ... BUT ... the Christmas gremlins had obviously been at work and instead of needing "a couple of bulbs", I needed more like 100 ... heck! Do you have any idea how much replacement bulbs cost? No, neither had I until I did some on-line research. £3.50 for 4 teeny, tiny bulbs ... £3.50!!! It goes without saying, I went for the cheaper, though not terribly environmentally friendly, option of buying a new set of lights. What do you think? They're LED supabright white snowing icicles ... they can flash too, but I prefer them on static mode.


Bright aren't they! Just compare them to my neighbour's (far right of the photo) ... yikes, that's what my old lights looked like ... this new set certainly has some va-va-voom!!!


On the scrapping front, it's a busy time of year (when isn't?) for designers and they're producing some gorgeous holiday themed & not-so-holiday themed kits.

Jaime of Three Paper Peonies is doing a wonderful Advent giveaway on her blog! Opening her gift each day is such a delight and all her freebies are building into a fabulous kit.


Joyce has just released her new kit Serenity and is also December's featured designer over at Mscraps! Check out the special offer she has in store for you when you buy anything from her shop during the month. P.S. there's also a special freebie if you sign-up to the Mscraps newsletter.


During November & December I've been guest CT'ing for Ange Designs and it couldn't have been a better time because not only is Ange designing some gorgeous holiday kits, but it was her birthday last Wednesday and to celebrate she released Delicious Birthday at Digital-crea (a fabulous French site with tons of goodies to "oooh-la-la" about ... they also have a language translator which a life-saver for me!)


Tina has moved to a new home at Oscraps and just check out her shop ... it's only been open a week and already it's bursting at the seams with yumminess.


And last but by no means least, Shaui's recently released a gorgeous kit called I Love You Like and one of the pages I created with it got a mention at Gallery Standouts ... like many other digi-scrappers I know, it's always such a thrill when you see one of your own creations featured on this blog!


Well peeps, I think that brings us back up to date! I'll try not to leave it so long between posts next time. I'll definitely be posting again before Christmas as I have some exciting news to share ... but more on that towards next weekend ... tease, aren't I?!?!?

Just for you ...

I recently created this layout using papers and elements from a fabulous new collab kit from Ange Designs & Pink Reptile Designs called Scrap! (btw, don't you think that's the perfect name for a kit?) ...


When I uploaded it to my gallery at Oscraps, a very dear friend, Kym, added a comment that said:

"Sue, get out of here! This is fabulous! I need a page like this for myself. I think this needs to be turned into a quickpage. If you do, please send my way!"

Well Kym you're in luck! After I read your lovely comment, I approached both Ange & Mirjam (the kit designers) and asked if they would mind if I created a quick page to give away on my blog ... and I'm delighted to say they both agreed it would be OK, so here you go ...

click here to download

If you do create a page, I'd love to see it, so please leave a link in the comments so I can leave some love.

OK, that's all from me today ... to all my friends "across the pond", I hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday and I'll raise my glass in a toast to the start of a joyous festive season!

Choices, choices ...

So with me working regular 9am -5pm hours at the moment, I'm carting my laptop to & from the office each day, and I'm thinking it's about time I invested in some sort of bag to prevent the nice shiny surface getting all scuffed up. Something stylish and colourful, something to match my personality(!) ... not a boring black briefcase bag for me, oh no! But I must confess, I got totally lost in Etsy for about 5 hours on Saturday and I can't decide which of these I like best.

This one (which reminds me Twitter for some reason) ...

Or this one (which reminds me of Japanese cherry tree blossom) ...

What do you think ... which do you think would suit me?

Shocking fact #2 ...

There are only 41 days 'til the start of 2011. Fact!

Christmas Wishlist #2 ...

I missed all the hype surrounding Mad Men when it first came out a couple of years ago, but the BBC recently showed a complete re-run of the first season and I LOVED IT ... Joanie is my newest hero! You've gotta love her curves, right?

Christmas Wishlist #1 ...

Saw this gorgeous little number on Cathy Zielske's blog and just had to check it out in more detail. This is Jo Totes latest addition and I've fallen head over heels in love with the Rose style in the Sugarplum colour!

Now, if only I had a fairy godmother who wanted to gift me the $124 needed to buy it & ship it to me here in the UK!!!

Work is such an inconvenience ...

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the work I'm doing at the moment ... BUT ... it really does play havoc with my digiscrapping time!

Take last weekend as an example: Saturday 6th November was International Digital Scrapbooking Day or {i}DSD for short ... a day jam packed full of fun 'n' frolics, scrapping 'n' chatting, discounts 'n' coupons, blog-hops 'n' give-aways galore ... in other words, a digiscrappers PARADISE!!! And did I have time to indulge in this day of digital debauchery? The short answer is "NO". My weekend flew by in a blur of traveling to Birmingham (West Midlands not Alabama), washing and ironing clothes, weekly food shopping, housework in general and baking!

Thankfully, my job doesn't require me to work Saturdays or Sunday (I'm strictly a 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday girl) but I really could do with the weekend being extended to 3 days ... 2 just isn't enough any more.

Trust is a rare and beautiful thing ...

It may sound like an odd title for my post, but please indulge me and I'll explain. You see it all relates to this LO ...

click here for credits

Well actually, the flower I'm wearing in the photo of my LO to be more precise. Here's a closer look ...

It's beautiful isn't it? And it's hand crafted too!

It's creator is a wonderfully talented designer called Vikki Lafford. She's the creative force behind Liliia (www.liliia.co.uk) and she makes the most gorgeous bespoke dresses and one-of-a-kind accessories ... just like my flower.

Not only is Vikki a fabulous designer, but she's an incredibly generous and TRUSTING individual too. You see, last Saturday she was displaying and selling her creations at a craft fair in my home town of Abingdon (Oxfordshire, not Maryland that is!). I happened to be browsing her wares and immediately fell in love with a couple of pieces, including the flower above. The colours were so rich, the beads so beautifully arranged ... I just had to buy it! But there was one slight hitch ... I didn't have enough cash in my purse and unfortunately there were no facilities to use my "flexible friend" (I'm showing my age now, aren't I?!?!).

Now, I'd never met Vikki before and she had every right to say "Sorry - no money, no goods!" ... but she didn't ... instead she said "Go ahead, take it and post a cheque to me when you get home". Seriously? Wow! Such generosity. Such faith. Such trust. Well needless to say, I posted the cheque and a thank you card straight away. But I've been thinking about her gesture ever since, and so I wanted to say it once again ... "Thank you Vikki" ... I wish there were more honest, generous and trusting folk like you in the world ... it would be a lovelier and very much prettier place if there were!

Shocking fact #1 ...

It's only 53 days 'til Christmas. Fact!

Happy Halloween ...

I feel naughty ...

I'm at work and I'm blogging!!! But don't worry dear friend, I won't get in trouble ... I'm on my lunch break and I'm using a publicly available wireless network. Woo-hoo ... Internet freedom ... I could easily get used to this!!!

Sharing some layouts I've seen ...

Just popping in here really quickly so I can share a couple of the layouts I've seen posted in the galleries using my Frightfully Delightful collab with Nini ...

by Barbara (aka sokee)

By Kym

by me

Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the kit so far, and thanks too for all your wonderful comments of support and encouragement. It's lovely to hear from you and better still, to see your creations! If you'd like to have the kit, it is still available and you can download it for FREE here.

A frightfully delightful collaboration ...

I've been patiently waiting for this day to arrive and at long last it's here. Yeah! What's so exciting about today I hear you ask? Well, today I get to share a new freebie with you ... but this freebie is a bit special, let me tell you a little bit about why.

It all started about 3 weeks ago when I decided it was high time I created something to give away on my blog. It didn't take too long for me to decide that I wanted to make some Halloween inspired papers ... then I thought about adding a frame ... and a button ... and then a ribbon and before I knew it, I had the makings of a complete mini-kit. But, something was missing, it needed something else, it needed WORDS!

Now words are not my strong point (just ask anyone of knows me!) and so I asked myself this question: "Who do I know that creates gorgeous wordart and who would consider doing a collaboration project with me?". My answer came instantly ... Nini aka Suddenly Artistic Designs.

Two emails and only 48hrs later and our collaboration was almost complete! WOW, that was fast!

Working with Nini is an absolute dream come true ... she is soooooooo talented and she inspires me with everything she does. I really hope we get to create together again in the future.

So there you have it, that's the story behind the not-quite-so-mini mini kit that Nini & I present to you today ... frightfully delightful ... enjoy.

click to download

We really hope you like our kit and as always, both Nini and I would love to see how you use it, so please feel free to leave a link to your LO or other creative project in the comments section.

Have a great weekend everyone and may we be the first to wish you a spooktacular Halloween too!

Brrrrrrrrrr, it's getting chilly ...

I'm not kidding ... just look at the ice (yes ICE, not frost!!!) I had to scrape off my car windscreen this morning. I think it's fair to say the seasons have changed.

Summary of a working week ...

Weeding the garden = 5 hours (+ 72 hours of aching muscles afterwards!)
Current temp job = 32 hours
Miscellaneous = 83 hours (sleeping, eating, housework etc!)
Digiscrapping = 0 hours

Something needs to change!

Why did it have to be this week?

Of all the weeks to be asked to do some temping work, why-oh-why did it have to be now? Have you seen who's in the Designer Spotlight over at Oscraps this week?

TaylorMade Designs

Amanda is one of my digiscrapping heroes. I can honestly say, that if not for her, I wouldn't be blogging today. It sounds melodramatic I know, but is was during Amanda's week in the spotlight last year that I started digiscrapping seriously. It's thanks to her that I began posting my layouts in the gallery at Oscraps and as a result, I got my first CT gig with Sue Cummings (who btw has a collaboration with Amanda being released later this week ... read about it here) and when I started CT'ing I decided to start blogging! So you see, Amanda is the reason why I blog. Fact!

Colds and creativity ...

I Tweeted the other day that I'd lost my motivation, well now I know why ... I've got ANOTHER cold!!! This just isn't fair, it's the third cold I've had this year and the really annoying thing is that there's still enough time for me to get another one. Gah! But at least I now know why I'm feeling so low and uninspired ... it'll pass, hopefully soon. In the mean time, here's what's been happening in my digiscrapping world this past week or so ...

Creations by Tinamarie has released An Autumn Affair To Remember. It's a little different from the usual orange / golden hues of autumn, but the details are so exquisite and the muted tones so elegant.

click here for credits

Che Yang has created Family Fun and as the name suggests, it's got lots of family orientated tags / prompts to get you inspired.

click here for credits

Joyce Paul has teamed up with Designs by Anita and created a simply divine collaboration called Just Breathe. The colour combination of this kit is so delicious; soft muted tones of apricot and mauve. I sigh whenever I see layouts created with this kit.

click here for credits

Fei-Fei's Stuff has released Like Home and if you love patterned papers and quirky elements, then this is a "must have" kit.

click here for credits

Lastly, I'll leave you with an early sneaky peek at a new themed mini-kit due to be released on Friday 22nd October ...


Did you notice the designers names? Tee-hee!!! Ooohhhhh, I really can't wait to tell you more ... but I'm afraid I can't ... not just yet!!!

The fair is in town ...

and amongst the brash glaring lights, gaudy stuffed animal prizes and stomach wrenching rides, there remains a gem of tradition in the form of the carousel ride. This is my kind of ride ...

The weather on the first day of the Abingdon Michaelmas Fair couldn't have been better. Early morning autumn haziness slowly gave way to beautiful late summer sunshine and warmth. I love the fair, the sights, the sounds but best of all the smells. Mmmmmmm ... hotdogs, onions, fresh doughnuts and candy floss ... yummy!

All too soon the fair will be gone and my little town will return to normal, but to me, the Michealmas Fair always triggers the start of autumn for real. Soon the clocks will be going back an hour, the central heating in my home will need to be turned on and I can finally put my lawn mower away for winter. Then of course my mind turns to all things spooktacular as I start planning for Halloween. My brother-in-law's birthday is the 31st October and this year he turns 40 ... the perfect excuse for a Halloween / birthday party don't you think?!?!?! Now if I could only convince him it's a good idea. Tee-hee!

It must be CT call season ...

My dear friend (and might I add, very talented designer!) Che Yang is having a CT call. This is a wonderful opportunity to work with an incredibly talented designer and to hang out with a fun-loving bunch of like-minded peeps over at Mscraps. Check out Che's blog for more details.

Ooooohhh, I can't wait to see who's going to be joining the team!!!!!!

What's wrong with this picture?

I don't mean "wrong" in a photographic sense. I know the lighting is pretty poor and the subject focus is terrible (and believe me when I say that the OCD in me is screaming for the door mat to be straightened!).

I don't mean "wrong" from a Health & Safety aspect either (I refer to the obvious tripping hazard caused by my Internet / telephone cable coming loose from it's clip and the curled up corner of my door mat). And now that you come to mention it, my door really could do with being cleaned (just look at those dirty marks at the bottom *blush* I'm hanging my head in shame here folks!)

No, I don't mean any of the above.

The content of today's Royal Mail delivery doesn't at first glance appear to be of interest or concern. But wait a moment, let's zoom in and take a closer look shall we ...

Do you see it now, do you see what's wrong with this photo? Still struggling? Well look at the date of this post. Today is Friday 24th September 2010. Look at the second photo again. Now do you see what's wrong?

You should never graffiti, right?

... WRONG! You definitely should graffiti* but only when it's using the gorgeous new kits from Fei-Fei's Stuff.

Graffiti No.1

click here for credits

Graffiti No.2

click here for credits

*Please note:- I do not condone any other form of graffiti ... it's not big, it's not clever and there are far better ways to express your creativity ... try digiscrappin' instead!!!

Please excuse the appearence ...

... of my blog at the moment. I've decided it's time to give it a bit of an update & a fresh lick of paint, nothing major, just freshening things up a little! So if things keep changing, please bear with me whilst I try to get things the way I want them, OK? Thanks!

Tick-tock, tick-tock ...

... waiting is a real test of patience, but sometimes, just sometimes, the wait is worth it. Check out the new collab kit from TaylorMade Designs + Ange Designs ...


Delicious isn't it? And guess what??? I won a copy courtesy of a give-away on Amanda's blog ... woo-hoo ... Thank Amanda!!!

Once again I find myself ...

... having to apologise for a distinct lack of blog activity! I start every month with good intentions to update this regularly and I honestly don't know what happens, I blink and all of a sudden it's the 17th of the month and I've only posted a couple of times!

In my defense I have been quiet busy recently because 5 out of the 6 designers I create for have released or are about to release new kits and I've been creating up a storm!!! Do you want to see what I've done (so far)? Here you go ...

Creations By Tinamarie has brought out The Splendor Of Fall and it's such a wonderful autumn inspired kit, full of rich reds and gorgeous greens and comes with a full alpha set too.

click here for credits

Che Yang is back to designing at her very best and she's come up with something wonderful ... no the kit's called Something Wonderful and it has the most delicious selection of patterned papers to play with.

Click here for credits

I know if I ever get stuck in the digital doldrums, I'll turn to templates to help kick start my creativity and Che's latest Simple Templates No.8 & 9 are just that, yet stylish templates and super easy to use too.

click here for credits

I was completed captivated by the sweet innocence of Three Paper Peonies' Sugar Heart kit. Jaime has such a good eye for details and all the little darling elements are what make this kit so pleasurable to create with.

Click here for credits

Joyce Paul has created a gorgeous new kit called Darker Days and as the name suggests, it's a perfect kit for scrapping about those early autumn walks in the park, kicking up the fallen leaves or spending a cozy evening by the fireside and snuggling with the one you love whilst watching a movie.

Click here for credits

And last but by no means least, Fei-Fei's Stuff has released a lovely kit that's just perfect for scrapping about those we love and the little pet names we have for each other. Shaui's Terms Of Endearment has such a fabulous selection of wordart, you're sure to find one you use in the kit!

Click here for credits

Click here for credits

And so my dear friends, as you can see I have been busy but that doesn't excuse me from not updating you more often ... as my school report often said "Suzanne must try harder" ... and I will. I promise.