The Rainbow Challenge - For The Record

Hello Everyone,

After a very lengthy time of being unable to carry on with scrapbooking I decided this year that it would do me good to get back into it. First, I decided to record my story of this current year because it was clear it was going to be like no other in my life. To help me with this project I enrolled in Shimelle's excellent class, This Year's Story.  Since then I've been happily trying to catch up with recording 2024 month-by-month. I'm only up to February so far but the problem is that I'd taken very few photos in the first weeks and months of the year. So to fill the gaps I've found myself harking back to happier times. No bad thing. I'm enjoying it. 

This renewed enthusiasm pushed me on to do more so earlier in May, I decided that another challenge was just what I needed. Lisa Sikorski's Scrap-a-Sketch Rainbow Challenge, on Facebook, with it's seven colours and seven sketches was just the thing. A great way, incidentally, to use up leftover stash! For the record I'm listing all seven pages here though the first two have already been in two earlier posts. 

1) At The Family Send Off - the red and pink colour challenge.

2) Visiting Alfie - the blue challenge.

3) A Rare Treat - the purple challenge,

4) Wildflower Study - the green challenge.

5) Driftwood - the yellow and orange challenge.

6) Quality Time With Silver - the black and grey challenge.

7) Florence In Tuscany - the challenge to use all the colours of the rainbow.

I actually managed to complete the challenge successfully! I thoroughly enjoyed sharpening up my scrapbooking skills thanks to Shimelle's class and Lisa's challenge.

Now to catch up with my story album before the year gets much older.

Take care, everyone,

Elizabeth 

Beautiful & Tasty Bouquet - A Scrapbook Page

 

As most readers will know, I love having flowers around me, but since Silver, the very curious kitten, joined the family three years ago, I've had to find safer spots in which to display my vases. This beautiful bouquet, a gift from my son and his family, was very quickly tasted, smelled, and finally tipped over, reminding me of how careful I should be. Of course, I just had to make a page to record the story for my 2024 album.

Materials: Heidi Swapp's 'Set Sail' collection; Pebbles' 'Kid At Heart' collection; embellishments from a selection from American Crafts,, Simple Stories, Doodlebug and 49 And Market collections.

Layout inspiration from Lisa Sikorski's Scrap A Sketch.

For the record: I've had to take some extended sick leave. Not so much because of the infection I had but because of my over sensitivity to one of the antibiotics prescribed. I'm not sure which is worse, the infection or the 'cure'! I'm on the mend but it's a slow process - I don't think it helps to be as ancient as I am - and I'm beginning to feel more able to scrap and blog again.  

PS: I wouldn't wish allergic reactions to antibiotics on anyone!

Take care everyone

Elizabeth

December Scrapbook Layouts Nos. 10, 11 & 12

Hello Everyone

I hope you had a lovely first day of the year yesterday whatever and however you celebrated. We skipped the Hogmanay celebrations this year - bed and sleep being a much more attractive proposition than partying into the wee small hours these days. But we did enjoy the traditional New Year's Day dinner to welcome in 2022 with a heartfelt wish for a better year than the one just gone. So far, so good. 

And I'm back with three more scrap pages made in December for my Winter Album. 

10. The Christmas Rose

I love my Christmas Roses, hellebores. They are special as they are often in flower when nothing else is in the garden. I usually steer away from black backgrounds - black is scary - but I thought it would show the pristine white of the flower very well. Disappointingly the mixed media looks so much better in real life than it does in this photo.

11. Hustle

This beautiful dog is one of my middle grandson's fiancée's collies. She has several that she trains for shows and they are lovely dogs. Hustle's coat is very different from the more usual black and white. I believe it's known as Lavender but why it's called that I really don't know. Because the photo is so striking I kept to a very limited white/black/silver colour choice and can't deny I'm pleased with the result. Most of the embellishments were made by either punching out circles or die-cutting snowflakes. 

12. Christmas Wedding

Another limited colour palate for this page. The photo is of my younger brother on his wedding day 46 years ago. There's is a marriage that has stood the test of time. The frame is from a pack of special die-cut paper that isn't quite as old but it's been in my stash for a very long time - DCWV's Holiday Specialty Diecut Stack from 2009. 

All layouts inspired by the same three Facebook challenges I've been participating in throughout December. Even though I've fallen behind, I aim to continue until done - it would be quite something to have a completed album for winter 2021. For more information scroll down to the previous December Scrapbook Layout post or click here. 

That's it for today but there's more to follow. 

Take care, stay safe and have a lovely evening.

December Scrapbook Layouts - No's. 5&6

Hello Everyone,

Back again sharing and recording the two latest pages for December. 

This is just a better pic of the one that was on my desk post yesterday. The background was made with two Brusho powders, Leaf Green & Orange. I had a moment or two of doubt whilst doing it but, once it dried, decided it would do. I kept the embellishments fairly minimal so the simple shot of rosehips in our frosty garden didn't get lost on the page. 

Page No. 6 features Alan in better times - 2018 in fact. Long before Covid. And he's wearing his favourite Christmas jumper. We'd stopped at the supermarket cafe for tea - our reward to ourselves after doing the Christmas shopping. 

As in the previous pages, I used Lisa Sikorski's sketch of the day in her Facebook Sketch-a-Thon for each page. I will continue to use her sketches for the rest of the month.

Similarly, I'm participating in the Scrap Backwards group challenge. This involves creating a kit from stash based on a sheet of stickers that has been broken into but not finished or, failing that, old embellishments like those ancient wooden stars in No.5. Admittedly, my kit for this month is enormous because I just dragged out ALL my Christmas stash. My aim is to use it all up so I can treat myself to a new collection for December 2022. 

And, because it's fun I'm doing my best to include each of the three items in Dotty About Flair's daily prompts. Day No. 5's prompts are, Texture, Rustic & Green, and No. 6's are, Water, 4 patterned papers & Silver. 

No doubt I could make scrap pages without participating in these challenges but it wouldn't be half as much fun. It also helps to see my daughter's inheritance shrinking some! 

Bye for now.

Elizabeth