Pages from Stockholm - Part 2

Last week I shared the first six pages from Stockholm on our Scandinavian cruise, and now I'm publishing the rest. We had visited the city before and visited the major attractions that interested us, so we spent some time on Stockholm's metro system, dubbed the longest art gallery in the world, looking at the artworks.

These are all pocket pages and, although I do use a few configurations of pocket page protectors, each of these has six 4x6 landscape pockets.

(The numbers that follow are my page count for the year.)

75. Universitetet / T-Centralen 

I gave the top four pockets here to Universitetet station which has a series of tiled panels devoted to Carl Linnaeus. The bottom two pockets are for T-Centralen, the only station which all three lines pass through; the walls of the red and green lines' platform are tiled with geometric patterns.

76. Odenplan / Thorildsplan / Rådhuset

Three stations this time, with two pockets apiece. Odenplan had a display from a local college; Thorildsplan is tiled with images in the style of early video games; Rådhuset has a variety of artefacts designed to look like they had sunk through the earth and reappeared in the station below.

77. Solna Centrum

This was the most impressive station, carved from the rock and painted with almost a kilometre of spruce forest below a sunset red sky. There are lots of smaller scenes along the walls highlighting nature, rural depopulation and environmental damage, and cases displaying smaller tableau. 

78. T-Centralen /Kungsträdgården

Back to T-Centralen on the blue line, which here is painted with calming blue vines and flowers. Then four pockets for Kungsträdgården; it means the King's Garden and the station is below a park of the same name where a palace used to stand. The bare rock walls have been adorned with casts of statues from the old palace and one end has a mock excavation site.

79. Underground Overground / Skeppsholmen

Back above ground, we visited the real Kungsträdgården and then walked over to another island called Skeppsholmen for coffee.

80. Stockholm Archipelago

My final page features the Stockholm Archipelago, the collection of 30,000 islands that we sailed through after we left the city.

That concludes my Stockholm scrapbooking and, since it was the last port I scrapped (though not the last we visited), it finishes off my Scandinavia album. I just need to have a check through all the pages for anything that's worked loose, or for any places that need a bit extra, or for places to add a few pieces that I like but haven't found a home on a page yet. Then I'll find an album and make a title card for the front cover.

Next up I have pages to make for my 2024 annual album and also for my 8x8 parkrun album, as I am trying to keep both of those up-to-date this year. I'll also be starting a new holiday album soon for this year's Mediterranean cruise.

Supplies

Cardstock - Core'dinations, The Craft Place, Craft UK

Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Life Right Now, Pinkfresh Studio Out and About, Pinkfresh Studio Simply the Best, Pinkfresh Studio Brighter Days, Pebbles New Addition, Simple Stories

Letters - Pinkfresh Studio, Jillibean Soup, Doodlebug, American Crafts, Studio Calico

Journal Cards - Studio Calico

Stickers - Pinkfresh Studio, Heidi Swapp, 49 & Market

Filmstrip - 49 & Market

Glitter Tape - Unknown;

Enamel Dots - Altenew, 49 & Market, Pinkfresh Studio, Carta Bella, Pretty My Page, Freckled Fawn, My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories

Pages from Stockholm - Part 1

It's been a while since I last shared a round-up of pages, and that's because I have been busy enjoying the summer, interspersed with making a whopping total of eleven new pages for Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, which we visited on our Scandinavian cruise last summer. I'll be sharing those across two posts as there are so many.

I'll start with the sub-title page; I make one of these for every port we visit to divide the album into 'chapters' for each one. I have shared this one before but I'm repeating it with all the new pages for completeness.

(The numbers that follow are my page count for the year.)

70. Heart of the City

We moored right in the middle of Stockholm and went ashore by tender. I used two overlapping photos at the top of the page to make a panorama of the old town and added three smaller ones below with some street views.

71. Gamla Stan

First pocket page, with photos of four of the landmark buildings in the old town.

72. The Longest Art Gallery in the World / T-Bana / Östermalmstorg

We'd been to Stockholm before and seen some of the major sights, so this time we explored the T-bana, Stockholm's metro, where many of the stations are filled with art. This page starts with an introduction and a map, then the first station.

73. Stadion

Back to 12x12, partly as I wanted to make a feature of this station and partly because the photos didn't work well in a pocket page. Stadion station is carved from solid rock and painted blue with rainbows to remind people of the blue skies above. This page was my first August DT page for Twilight Crafts, using their Filmstrip cut-file in my layering.

74. Tekniska Högskolan

Another 12x12, on the back of the last. This is the station for the Royal Institute of Technology and is a tribute to various scientific discoveries. I split the page into a half and two quarters on different subjects.

Six more to go, and I'll share those next week.

Supplies

Cardstock - Core'dinations, The Craft Place, Craft UK

Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Life Right Now, Pinkfresh Studio Out and About, Pinkfresh Studio Simply the Best, Pinkfresh Studio Brighter Days, Pebbles New Addition, Simple Stories

Letters - Pinkfresh Studio, Jillibean Soup, Doodlebug, American Crafts, Studio Calico

Journal Cards - Studio Calico

Stickers - Pinkfresh Studio, Heidi Swapp, 49 & Market

Filmstrip - 49 & Market

Glitter Tape - Unknown;

Enamel Dots - Altenew, 49 & Market, Pinkfresh Studio, Carta Bella, Pretty My Page, Freckled Fawn, My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories

Mug Makeover

Just a quick post today, with a share of a coffee mug makeover.

We picked up a couple of these mugs at the end of a conference when the exhibitor just wanted to get rid of them all. They are a decent size with a well-fitting lid, but had an advert on them which I decided to cover up.

I acquired some adhesive vinyl then used my Silhouette to cut both a circle large enough to cover the original advert, and the initial A in a stencil font sized to fit the circle. Quick and simple, but I now have a personalised mug rather than carrying an advert around with me.

Before and After

I've never used vinyl before, and don't know how well it will stand up to being washed. Hopefully it will last at least a few months and won't all peel off straight away.

Summer Scraplifts with Scrap Squad - Part 2

The Scrap Squad group on Facebook generally post a scraplifting challenge once a week, but sometimes they do longer seasonal events and earlier this month they ran '12 Days of Summer Scraplifts'. I shared four pages in my last post, and now I'm back with another 

Please click on the links to see the original pages.

66. Twilight Crop (2024)

The page for Day 6 was based around circles, and I used it to record the Twilight Crafts weekend crop back in May. I cut circles from photos of the room, but had to keep my main picture as a rectangle as a circle wasn't going to work.

Supplies: Paper - Paige Evans Truly Grateful, Make & Create Moments; Letters - American Crafts; Puffy Stickers - MAMBI; Enamel Dots - My Mind's Eye

67. Family & Fireworks (2017)

Day 7 was a multi-photo grid, so I went back a few years to this set of photos from Bonfire Night which I had previously printed but never scrapped. My title was inspired by the original page which was called Sun & Sea, with a large ampersand.

Supplies: Cardstock - Craft Sensations, Bazzill; Paper - Echo Park Magical Adventure 2; Ampersand - American Crafts; Word Stickers - Tim Holtz; Washi Tape - Simple Stories; Enamel Shapes - Prima, Labelshop

68. Soapbox Racers (2024)

This was just the loosest inspiration from Day 9, which had two rows of triangles which looked to me like bunting. I pulled out a bunting-printed paper to fussy-cut but then decided to leave it whole as my background. I had two photos from when my niece took part in Red Bull's Soapbox Race and they are much bigger than the one on the original page, so my page ended up looking quite unlike it. I still need to journal but I wanted to speak to my niece first.

Supplies: Paper - Simple Stories Awesome Boy; Letters - American Crafts; Sticker - The Paper Studio; Enamel Dots - Hey Little Magpie, Simple Stories

69. Cruise Scandinavia (Scandinavia 2023)

The twelfth and final scraplift of this event was based on a large photo taking up most of an A4/8.5x11" page. I had no photos that big, but I did have a map of our cruise route that I printed on A4 paper for the title page of my Scandinavian cruise album.

 

Supplies: Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Out & About; Letters - Basic Grey, Pretty Little Studio; Numbers - Violet Studio; Die-Cuts - 49 & Market; Stickers - Pinkfresh Studio, Studio Calico, MAMBI; Gems - Prima; Enamel Shapes - Marianne Designs, Docrafts, Studio Calico, Stampin' Up!

Summer Scraplifts with Scrap Squad - Part 1

The Scrap Squad group on Facebook generally post a scraplifting challenge once a week, but sometimes they do longer seasonal events and this month they ran '12 Days of Summer Scraplifts'. These series are great for getting me out of a scrapbooking rut and making some 'different' pages. 

I won't be doing them all, and I'm just sharing the first four today. Please follow the links over to the group if you want to see the original inspiration pages.

61 & 62. Getaway - Scotland (2023)

The first lift was a double page, which enabled me to make one of the last two pages for my 2023 album, a summary of our three week road trip around Scotland. I stuck to a single travel collection, trying to use up as many stickers and die-cuts as I could.

Supplies: Cardstock - The Craft Place; Paper - Photoplay Boarding Pass; Letters - Unknown; Stickers - Photoplay, Simple Stories; Die-Cuts - Photoplay; Enamel Dots - Carta Bella, Simple Stories

63. Easter Engines (2024)

The second page was based on a diagonal line of hexagons, and I've long thought about cutting up this hexagon patterned paper as I found it too busy to use whole. This was my chance, with two photos from the Bluebell Railway on Easter Sunday.

Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill, DCWV; Paper - DCWV Linen Closet; Filmstrip - 49 & Market; Washi Tape - Stampin' Up!; Ticket & Puffy Sticker - Unknown; Enamel Dots - My Mind's Eye

64. Southend Half (2024)

Day 3's page featured a giant chevron, which I thought gave a sense of movement, well-suited to documenting my husband's first half marathon.

Supplies: Paper - Cocoa Vanilla Studio No Limits, Bo Bunny Little Wonders; Letters - American Crafts; Acetate Filmstrips - 49 & Market; Die-Cuts - 49 & Market; Star Stickers - Unknown; Enamel Dots - Carta Bella, Altenew

65. Out for the Count (2024)

I concentrated on the patterned border from Day 4's page, and used inks and stamps to create something similar. I went off-piste in the middle, replacing the original trio of photos with eight pictures from election night when we were involved in the local count. I used the Filmstrip cut-file from Twilight Crafts and Jenny Wren Cut-Files so this doubled up as my second DT page of the month.

Supplies: Cardstock - First Edition; Letters - American Crafts; Puffy Stars - Rosie's Studio; Acetate Filmstrip - 49 & Market; Washi Tape - American Crafts

Disclosure - I receive cut-files free of charge from Twilight Crafts as part of my DT role. All other supplies are my own.

Pages from Copenhagen

I've switched from monthly round-ups to subject round-ups now, so today I'm sharing all the pages from Copenhagen on our Scandinavian cruise last summer. I've shown you the first one before, but I'm  posting it again now for completeness.

Each port of call has a 12x12 sub-title page in the album, all based around a 6x8 initial letter backed with a photo. The rest of the album is a mix of 12x12 and pocket pages.

(The numbers below are my page count for the year.)

54. Waterside Wander

This one has to be a 12x12 too as it sits back-to-back in the album with the one above. It has photos of some of the statues and memorials that we saw while walking from the quay to the town.

Supplies: Cardstock - UK Crafts, Bazzill; Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode;  Vellum - My Mind's Eye; Letters - Violet Studio; Stickers - 49 & Market; Enamel Dots - Altenew, My Mind's Eye, Marianne Designs

From here on, it's all pocket pages, but they gave me some trouble and I had to go for 'best fit' of photos and pockets, rather than strict chronological order (which I would normally choose).

55. Amalienborg

This royal residence is made up of four separate palaces arranged around an octagonal courtyard.

Supplies:  Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode; Vellum - My Mind's Eye; Letters - American Crafts; Labels - Teresa Collins; Glitter Tape - Unknown; Enamel Dots - Pinkfresh Studio, Carta Bella, My Mind's Eye, Altenew

56. Christiansborg / Børsen

A split page, with the top four pockets for Christiansborg, the Danish parliament, and the bottom two for Børsen, the old stock exchange. At one point I was going to miss out Børsen, but it burnt down earlier this year so I decided to include it as it looked last summer and also mention the fire.

Supplies: Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Life Right Now;  Enamel Dots - My Mind's Eye

57. Rosenborg / The Marble Church

Another split page, but a change in page protector style as I needed some vertical pockets. Rosenborg is a fairy-tale castle which used to be a royal residence and is now a museum. The Marble Church isn't made of marble; it was abandoned part-built for 150 years before being finished in limestone. 

Supplies: Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Out and About; Letters - Unknown; Stickers - 49 & Market, Heidi Swapp, Pinkfresh Studio; Enamel Dots - My Mind's Eye

58. & 59. Rundetaarn

I'm counting this as a double page, even though it's all pockets, as all the photos are from the same place - The Round Tower, an early 17th century astronomical observatory. It was part of the Trinitatis complex - the observatory, a library for the university and a church (though the old library is now an exhibition space).

Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill; Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Amy Tangerine Shine On, Pinkfresh Studio Life Right Now; Stickers - Pinkfresh Studio, 49 & Market; Labels - Teresa Collins; Glitter Tape - Unknown; Enamel Dots - My Mind's Eye, Altenew

60. Rådhus / Nyhavn / Gefion Fountain

Last page from Copenhagen, and it's a bit of a mash-up of what's left - the Town Hall, a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, the coloured houses of Nyhavn and a fountain.

Supplies: Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode; Letters - Violet Studio; Stickers - 49 & Market, Pinkfresh Studio; Enamel Dots - Pinkfresh Studio

I have one more port left now. That's Stockholm, but I'm still pondering how to tackle it so I'll be scrapbooking other subjects in my next post.

Tote Bag Makeover

If you are a regular around here, you'll know that we like a cruise for our main holiday each year. Our sea days have a fairly predictable timetable and there are certain things that I like to carry around the ship with me, but I don't have a suitable bag and I've been 'making do' for years. This summer I started to look for something that would suit my needs, a bag with enough pockets to organise my paraphernalia, including a spot to keep a drink bottle upright. I failed to find anything I liked and was planning to make my own when I went to a conference and was given a tote bag that was about the right size, but was branded and still lacked the pockets I wanted. 

However, I decided that this bag was a good basis for what I wanted and that it would be much easier to adapt this one than to make a new one from scratch.

I raided my fabrics box and found an offcut of cotton canvas which I could use for the internal pockets, and the quilt cover that I made for our son when he was a toddler (he's now 27), which I decided to cut up and repurpose. The farmyard print may have been bought for a child's room but I don't feel that the colours and pattern are themselves childish.

Internally, the bag already had one pocket, shown at the bottom of the photo above. I added a large one suitable for my puzzle book and kindle with a small one for pen and pencil on the opposite side, and a sleeve at one end to hold my drink bottle. The main body of the bag still has space for a jumper or cardigan, something that didn't fit in my previous bag and I often ended up carrying separately.

At this point, the stitching for the pockets showed through to the outside of the bag, but that didn't matter as I intended to cover it. I used the original bag as a template for the cover and attached the two together with a double line of stitching around the top.

My sewing is a bit wonky in places, but overall I am very happy with my new tote bag and looking forward to using it this summer.