Scrapping Tonight

August is soon upon us, and the girls and I have so much planned, we thought why not share some of our crafty days with you, my blog readers!
Every Friday in August, I will have a little tutorial/ step by step that the girls and I have made, baked and created. We have lots to share with you, including a crafty treat that Lilly showed me how to make; I cannot wait to share it with you all.



Next Friday our Crafty Friday treat will be buttons! Suitable for age 8 + ; under 8 may need adult supervision. Lilly is 7 and did need some help.

Supplies needed:

1 skein of embroidery thread
aprox 20 x 3/4" - 1" diameter buttons
aprox 70 smaller buttons no more than 1/2" diameter
1 x 3/4" (aprox) wooden bead
Embroidery needle

your buttons can be a mix of colours or tones of a chosen colour! Ypu shouldnt need to go out and buy buttons, we manage to make 3 Crafty Friday project and still I ahve far too many buttons left to count, LOL!

And here is a small taster of what next week has in store! We do hope you will join us every Friday in August for some crafty fun and prizes.



I am now back to the kitchen, where baking and cooking is the order of the day. This weekend is our big family party, where I will be host to about 60 guests!

Have a great weekend, I will be back Sunday.
Thanks for stopping by..
Anna x

So whats got your attention this year!

I am totally loving Dear Lizzy, again! Cannot wait to get my hands on her Enchanted range.




Nikki Sivils has out shone herself with her new releases and My Friend Birdie and Blueberry Hill are amongst my favourites, as well as Tree Love!



Looking forward to seeing more from Modern Homemaker, Cosmo Cricket




another favourite on my list is Indie Girl by Sassafras Lass and Fancy Pants's new releases!

So whats on your must have list?

See you later for a sneak and details of Crafty Friday's.
Anna x

I am guest blogger over at Blackleaf Studios today. Blackleaf Studios are a digital graphics company with a multitude of different products for you to download; from papers, templates, digital stamps and lots more.
Tanvi sent me the Frozen Wonders set to play with.



I decided to make some recipe cards with them using  photo editing software.

The girls are going to enjoy writing these cards with their favourite "sweet" recipes on in no time! I made them blank on one side to pop a photo of the girls creations on.






I then made a recipe card holder for them using Debbie's instructions from here. You only need 1 sheet of 12" x 12" patterned paper (cardstock weight)!
So easy to make and I am sure I will be making some more of these as gifts.



Supplies : American Crafts pattern paper, Making Memories ribbon, Prima flower, Such Sweet Tierney button, white card stock, Papermania brads, Blackleaf Studios Frozen Wonders set.


Remember to bookmark me, or become a follower so you dont miss Fridays post with details and sneak peaks of Crafty Fridays; A tutorial every Friday in August for all ages!

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

We are so lucky to live surrounded by fields, and now we have Suki, we see them alot more that we used too. My camera as always comes out to play, and Sunday, Izzy and I messed about in one of the wheat fields (don't tell Mr Farmer!)




I am not very good at action shots, but practise makes perfect.

Here is Izzy throwing wheat in the air, love these shots!




Today the girls and I made our first crafty Friday project, and they were a huge hit in our house! I suggest you go find lots of colourful buttons, around 100..... more on Friday when we will have some sneaks and a shopping list for you.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

Sharing a sneak of a layout for The Scrapbook Magazine, for their Back to School gallery.I have mixed up Nikki Sivils, Jenni Bowlin, Papermania, KandCo and October Afternoon, to create a school layout of the girls.



Fancy a month of crafty fridays, free tutorials, guest designers, prizes, and some recipes thrown in?
Well once this week is truly out of the way, the girls and I are going to bring you Crafty Fridays starting on 6th August, and every Friday there on throughout August. There will be activities for the adults, and activities that the kids can do on their own or accompanied with a responsible adult!

I will have more details and sneaks to share this Friday, so bookmark NOW!


Suki update:



Well we have a little swimmer in our family! She swims like a fish and we cannot drag her away from the water, LOL. Local haunt at the moment is Hitchingbrooke Park lake for a swim. Going to check out Paxton Pitts and Grafham Water also over the holidays.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

Boy its been a  busy few weeks. This last week has seen us all break up from school, and with that has meant a very busy week! I am so behind with a multitude of stuff, and with our annual summer party this coming weekend, its not going to improve yet!
As I havn't blogged in a few days I though it time to pop by and update you all on my lack of blogging.

I have also got behind on Karen Russells photography workshop which has really annoyed me the most. I completly missed my assignment 2 deadline, and I am gutted. Today was the last day to submit assignment 3, so I made time this afternoon whilst walking Suki to get the girls to help me out on my apperture assignment.

Sharing today a couple of jumping shots! Had such fun doing the shutter speed week, lots of jumping was
involved!



Before I go, I had an email today from a lovely lady giving me a little nudge to update my 365. I am still doing it, when time allows, so I will make it one of my jobs to do over the holidays and get uploading.
The brush I use on my photos is by Jessica Sprague by the way.

Hope you had a good weekend. Drop by Pencil Lines for our last Nikki Sivils week.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

drum roll please........

Thanks to Lilly who gave me a number between 1 - 15, the lucky reader who is going to win lots of scrummy Nikki Sivils goodies is number 10 ......................


KNITKATH

Kath please email me with your address and I will post out your box of goodies.

Back later with a proper post. Its the last day of school for me and teh girls have to join me as tehy broke up yesterday, its going to be a fun and emotional day. I hate saying goodbyes!

Back later
Anna x

I feel really honured to be on Nikkis Sivils design team, and this week Pencil Lines design team have also been fortunate to play with some of Nikki Sivils papers and embellishments.
I played with Ellies Day Out (again!). I have decided this is my fav collection at present, LOL. I say at present, because I am waiting patiently for my box of CHA Summer releases, and I am sooo excited. I have seen the previews and Nikki has really outshone herself this time.

I used a photo of Izzy and her Nana for this layout. Nana used to own her own wedding dress shop, where she designed and made all the wedding dresses herself! Izzy is a keen wanna be Fashion Designer at the moment, so Ellies Day Out with some EAD transfers and Cosmo Cricket Material Girl embellies thrown in were perfect.



Supplies : Nikki Sivils pattern paper, burlap buttons and diecuts, Prima flowers, Prima pearls, Cosmo Cricket Material Girl chipboard, EAD transfers

Pop on over to Pencil Lines to see what Nikki and the design team did with Nikki Sivils products.



Talking of Nikki Sivils, I have some last seasons product to giveaway to one lucky reader!
A full set of Bella Blue and Oscar Too papers, burlap buttons, cordroy brads, 6" x 6" mini pad.

Just leave your name in the comments and I will draw a random winner on Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

I have started making the girls a skirt with lots of ruffles, using these instructions from Ruffles and Stuff. Sadly the owner has closed her site down. I am gutted as I loved browsing and being inspired by Disneys work.

Here is Lillys skirt in progress.



Used some beautiful printed jersey from an online shop, that I can't for the life of me remember the name.
Hoping to complete both the girls skirts in the next few days, and do a little photo shoot with them!
I chose pinks, reds and yellow, perfect for summer. I am also going to make bandanas with some left overs and flower headbands I think too!


Hope you have had a lovely weekend.
Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

I eventually, after 3 weeks, got into my studio today! The last 3 weeks had been spent prepping the house for Suki's arrival and then settling Suki into her new home. Today I desperatly needed some crafting time.
Stevie Wonder playing on CD, comfy beanbag for Suki to sleep on, and the arrival of my order from Craftz Boutique and I was set to scrap my first layout of Suki!

These photos were taken on her first day with us, in the garden. I used lots of Love Elsie Daisy, not the easiest of papers to find, but my trusty personal shopper, Sue , sent me a link to Craftz Boutique and I bought lots of scrummy papers and embelishments.
I adore the Love Elsie frames. I need another sheet of Daisy's Collar desperatly though. As I cut into the paper I saw what was on the other side, and I need!!!! Teach me a lesson to check the other side next time, hadnt realised it was double sided, ggrrrr.




Supplies: Love Elsie Daisy papers and embellishments, Bazzill cardstock, assorted alphabet stickers Making Memories, Such Sweet Tierney handmade buttons

Here is a layout I did at my last crop. Photos of Lilly messing in the garden in her many guises; bubble blower, MI5, gymnast.
Love the birdcage paper!



Supplies :  Making Memories pattern papers, Bazzill cardstock, butterfly punch, Dear Lizzy glitter title, Dear Lizzy flowers

I am currently sewing ruffle skirts for the girls, hope to have some photos of them tomorrow modeling them!

Thanks for stopping by
Anna xx

Just to prove I am not only photographing Suki, LOL.
These photos were taken at the weekend. Just love Lillys sweet expressions. Working on my composition and taking horizontal shots! ; I take so many portrait shots its was hard to actually turn my camera, LOL.
I am going to play with these photos in photoshop using Pioneer Womans actions, especially heartland/sunshine and seventies, all of which I love at the moment.


A common image now we have Suki. We are so lucky to have farmland surrounding us. So many beautiful walks to experience now.
 Love these photos, Lilly looks so young, all gappy,and since these photos we have another lost tooth!



Couldn't help myself, had to take a portrait shot!



Had some good news today as well, Lindsey Hopkins has asked me back on the team at The Scrapbook Magazine. First editorial is for Issue 50! Looking forward to writing again for the magazine.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

It has been a beautiful weekend here in the UK. The sun has been shining, we have been entertaining all weekend outside , and the BBQ has been doing overtime. The garden is blooming, we are enjoing our crop of lettuce daily, and life just couldn't be better really!

I am currently doing Karen Russell's Photography Workshop, and thoroughly enjoying it. My camera is coming out more than usual, and I am reallly taking the time to critique my composition, and spend a few seconds longer composing a shot. I have so many photos that when I look back at have really bad composition; a cut of foot or hand. Far too many portraits and not enough story telling I have also noticed.
I am also prone to underexpose my photos knowing that I can lighten in photoshop. All photos we submit for assignments cannot be edited in any way; I am learning a lot!
Is anyone else who reads my blog taking her course, or has in the past?

I also have a new subject to photograph, in Suki. A break for the girls at times, and a good way to improve photographing  a moving target, LOL.



Lots of photos have been taken this weekend,  as I have been working on my shutter speed assignment.
I will share tomorrow as I am on my laptop, so here is a photo of Suki as I cannot resist sharing...

Today we took Suki to Hitchinbrooke Park where she enjoyed playing in the lake, took to swimming like a true Springer Spaniel!
We ended the day with another BBQ; pork steaks, JP's and salad all washed down with a Magners, mmmmm.

Hope your weekend was as good as ours.
Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

I am often asked by numerous magazines to submit for galleries, months in advance of the magazine being published due to printing schedules. And it often takes another few months before I even see my layouts again! Which often means I have compeltly forgotten about a layout, and my design and paper preferences have often changed also, LOL.
Yesterday I got my complimentory copy of The Scrapbook Magazine Issue 46, where I had 2 layouts published.

The first was for the designer gallery, theme birthdays.
This layout features in my book, Pencil Lines the Sketch Book.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun




Supplies : MME



This next layout was for a sketch challenge. More photos from a great weekend with friends when the girls all played warriors.



Supplies : Nikki Sivils



Suki Update:



Suki is doing great at nights, no more howling straight into her crate! House training is kinda getting there!
She is definitley part of the family and has made us complete and now a family of five.

PS: I know she has a blue collar, why she came from the breeders with a blue collar, I have no idea. The collar I bought her is still too big. So please dont fret, LOL

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

Do not adjust your screens, this is not a scheduled post, I am up and awke, and yes its only 6.30 in the morning! Infact I have been up since 6 am the last couple of days! Why? That little bundle of joy from my last post, is an early riser, I on the other hand am NOT. Its taking some getting used to and she is sooo worth it.
At the moment I am sat in the garden whilst she has a play. Our daily routine has changed so much, LOL. peter is up his usual godly hour of 5am, lets Suki out, feeds her and then they come and wake me up at 6am. I spend a good 1hour and a half playing with her, and then the girls and I get ready for school. Yesterday morning, I had done 2 loads of washing, hung on the line, emptied and filled the diswasher, had a coffee and my breakfast all before waking the girls! never been known from me.
I am whacked by 9pm and struggle to stay awake until 10pm, LOL.

The howling nights are subsiding, and we are down to only 5 - 10 minutes at bed time which is fantatstic. Classic FM is working a treat!
We are now working on toilet training her. Having been Kennel bred, she doesnt seem to have many toilet manners!

Scrapping has been on the backburner these last few days, mainly because I havnt had  a chance to do a Suki check of the room. I am sure she will manage to find a treasured Prima flower or two, and maybe a couple of buttons and brads at the moment!

Time for a large black coffee to wake me up I think.
No photos as I am on my laptop, hope to be back later with a scrapping post!
Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

PS: Check out our new sketch over at Pencil Lines. I love this sketch and hope to do a layout this week with it.

Warning:

If you do not like dogs, and image heavy posts, this post is not for you!



We are now the very lucky owners of Suki, a 5 month old working Springer Spaniel; isnt she just adorable!
She arrived a little scared and apprehensive, but it did not take her long to settle herself down and enjoy her new toys the girls chose her; this made for 2 very happy girls.



Last night was tough on us all, very little sleep as poor Suki howled and cried alot of the night.
Today she has played with the girls out in the garden whilst I took just a few photos *wink*.



We discovered as I watered a few pots this morning that she LOVES the hose; very amusing! ( piccies tomorrow)
I havent had much of a look in, but Suki did come and sit with me whilst I did some photo editing, a little peace and quiet.



Cannot wait to scrap some pages of Suki. I am desperate to get my hands on some Love Elsie Daisy collection embellishments. If anyone knows where I can get some or if anyone has any they want to off load, please let me know. Have my eye on the new Basic Grey Max and Whiskers as well :)

Off to snuggle on the sofa with all my girls!
Thanks for stopping by
Anna x