Just one sketch - The sketch!

Thank you to all who commented yesterday, it seems I also like to use blue a lot, who knew!! (well Nicky & Jem did obviously ;-) I think this may be because it's such an easy stereotypically boy colour.

Heres the sketch I came up with.....

You can see the horizontal line, the strong placement of the title, journalling & the photo. The layering of the stars, which could be paper, embellishments or a mixture of the 2. The layering of paper over the background creates a border effect. I shall keep in mind textures, pale background & blue.

So heres the first page I created from it....

Can you believe I didnt have any banana related craft stock!!! Thank goodness for fimo ... not sure how it'll last, especially on the "peeled" bananas but we shall see.
I started off looking for a yellow that would go with the banana in the image, but all my stock seemed to clash, then I found the sheet I used for the back ground (Alla-Prima collection "Aquarella"), and decided to match up the other colours with this instead as the pattern on the majority of the page seemed quite internal-banana-ish. As it happens I couldnt match the mustard/brownish yellows tones up, grrrr! so I inked over a fawn coloured sheet instead.

The ribbon matched the teal plants perfectly, and it all seemed to go very well with the photo, making the banana yellow really stand out. I finished off with the yellow title, the journalling done in brown, and finally the little doodle of the banana as I felt the space here made the page look unbalanced.

Just one sketch

I've dedicated this weekend to following Miss Smiths prompts from Just on Sketch.

So I have initially looked at my favourite pages....

Baby Blues

I like the simplicity of this page, the central photo with the space around it. I also like the pale back ground making the other colours stand out, and the border around the edge. I like how the title & journalling are as important if not more than important as the photo.

Rub a dub dub

On this page I like the pale background (ooo, maybe a theme here!), the left strip for the writing, and the movement in the splash. I like how theres plenty of space to write my journalling & its just as important as the photos

Memory

In this one I like the layers, and how the white words make a border (I seem to like borders then)

Kaidy

We have another pale background here & I like the horizontal lines. The story is yet again given as much significance on the page as the photos.

Every thing is fun with "U"

I like the texture on this page, the layering up on images, paint, letters etc.

Hide & sleep

On this page I yet again like how the title & journalling are as important, if not more than the rest of the page. I like the 3dness of the shirts, buttons etc & I like the layering. I like the initial straight lines which are then blurred slightly by the embellishments.

So, in summary, the things that usually make me like my pages style are.....

• Pale background sheets
• Borders
• straights axis (predominantly horizontal)
• a space for both journalling & title that make them clear and stand out.
• texture & 3d
• layers

Join me tomorrow as I look at making a sketch encompassing these ideas; until then, can you spot any other similarities in these layouts?

Party Crafts - Place names & a game

On monday Kai & I made place names on our family learning course, these also doubled up as counters for a game.

I coloured in my figure & he coloured in his, we then cut them out & stuck them to a lollipop stick. The lollipop stick was pushed into a bottle top full of plasticine. We could have used any shapes, and also added our names onto the image if we'd wanted, I think you can tel which ones mine & which ones Kai's though ;-)

The game was using the clock you can see in the background, its made from a disposable plate . The hands are a lollipop stick, cut in 2, and a hole punched in the ends for a brad to go through, the plate also has a hole in the centre for this as well. The plate then has the numbers put on & gems stuck on for decoration.

The aim of the game is to get to number 12 first. 3 dice are rolled, if one of them is a 1 you can move to number one, then its the next persons go. If you dont roll the number you need then again its the next persons go. If your on number 1 you'll then want to roll a 2, then, the next go, a 3 etc etc until someone reaches 12. For older children you can use sums, they must use at least 2 of the dice to make the number they need. For even older children/adults they must use all 3 dice to create a sum to make the number they need (very countdown).

Cant wait to find out what we'll be making next monday.

Rocking MY World Friday

Hi everyone, phew, what a week! By the end of Monday I already felt like it should be Thursday.

Monday morning I attended Party Crafts, a family learning course at my local primary school. It caught my eye in the weekly school newsletter purely because it said "crafts" so I though hey ho, push myself forward & go join. Its a 2hour session where we make things for parties, half way through our children (Kai in my case) get to come along and join in. I'll show you what we made this week tomorrow. Its a small group, no more than 14 adults can join due to space, safety etc, who seem nice, though there's a bit of a click at the moment due to some of them attending a different course last term together. There's even a woman who went to school with my brother & kind of remembered me (she initially asked if I'd lived near her as a child as she recognised me). **Its a small world after all** It was lovely to listen to adult chatter, to do something structured with Kai that I hadnt organised, & to feel a warm glow of pride afterwards that I'd managed to push myself into a situation I was certainly not comfortable with & had caused panic attacks the night before.

That afternoon I had a phone call off Zacks school, which started off with "he's ok but we think he needs a trip to A&E". One of his friends passed his bag to him by throwing it, the zip, or similar, had caught his cheek below his eye making a rather deep cut. Though it wasn't pouring with blood it wouldnt fully scab over so was weeping blood. It was also very swollen and a lovely shiner of a bruise developing underneath.
So why is this in my positives? Because my MIL was home & able to give us a lift, as well as offering support & being chatty. Because it only needed a couple of butterfly stitches (4 in total, but 2 were used to hold the initial 2 in place) and wasn't worse. And finally because there were barely anyone in front of us in the queue at A&E meaning we got home within 2 hours, as we were leaving the waiting room was suddenly very busy. I do wonder if this was because it was by then just after the kids had finished school & accidents were occuring on the way home or people were arriving with things that had happened at school that teachers hadnt thought needed an A&E visit but parents thought were.

Boots 75% off sale! woohoo!!! Wednesday morning I checked the boots website as I wasnt going shopping that day but knew the boots 75% off sale was due soon & didnt want to miss it. There was the "75% off instore only" sign, changed from the previous "50% off instore only". With a woop, a surge of adrenaline & excitement I quickly got dressed, & enthusiastically hurried Kai up so he'd be in school on time & at the front of the queue that always forms to get in through the reception class doors.
I bought £240 worth of stuff for £60. All of it presents which will be spread through out the year. It doesnt really alter my present budget, but means I can buy a much bigger present for so much less.

Weightloss - yesterday I was weighed & had lost a further 2lbs, yay! I'm not too impressed that I think this may be from my top half but a loss is a loss and I shall keep on going (excuse the pun ;-)

My blog followers - I get such great support & advice off my followers - you guys are GREAT!!!

Fancy putting fingers to keys & tapping out your weeks positives & then linking up for us to have a read? Then link up with the rest of us rockers over at Celtic House

Halloween Scrapbook page in January

2 weeks into 2012 & I have finally had a moment to make a Scrapbook page. This ones been in the form of printed out photos, sheets of paper, stickers and a sketch for a couple of months

The images in the corner are all layered up, a mixture of stickers, die cut images and photos.

The journalling is on a tag, one on each page

I'm still considering ageing the title, browning it up a little so it blends in more.

Have you managed to do any crafting yet this year?

Bookbinding

Look Lizzie, I did it, I did it!!!!

The front

Lizzie gave us a great lesson on book binding with Japanese side stitch when we met her in Coalport. Just before Christmas I gave myself a few hours off and decided to finish off the book I had started. Its not the neatest of books, but it taught me a few things and I'm sure my next go will look far better. What I was very happy about though was that it worked! Not only did I manage to bind my own book but it isnt falling apart, and is totally usable! I even scored the front cover so that it opens easier.

Inside

So what did I learn....

• I need to pay a lot more attention to making the covers so that they are neat without the odd gluey finger print on them.
• I need to buy a smaller needle, though mine worked the eye made the holes too large for the thread. This makes it look rather untidy.
• That book binding is really fun & not only do I want to make more but I'd love to learn more techniques as well.

The back

Thank you Lizzie for giving me a new hobby (I'm sure Ryan (my other half) will be far less enthusiastic that I have another hobby to spend money on ;-)

Home made Baileys

One of the gifts we gave at Christmas was Home made Baileys

400g (1 tin) sweetened condensed milk
375ml (1 tin) carnation creamy evaporated milk
2tsp Vanilla extract
2tsp glycerine (optional but gives it a smoother feel)
1tbsp coffee granules mixed with 1tbsp off-the-boil hot water
Whisky (quantity to taste)

Mix everything together except the alcohol, add this a bit at a time, tasting as you go.
I added Tia Maria instead of Whisky as I prefer the taste.

As soon as I find the link I'll let you know which blog I got the design for the stickers from as they truely are beautiful and came in very handy over Christmas.

Mmmmmmm, homemade baileys really is delicious, though its not particularly good for your waistline :-)