January Pages

Well, I was stopping blogging, but I've decided on a monthly round-up post to record what I've made, all in one place and I'll be numbering the pages through the year to keep track of the total (counting doubles as two pages). Starting from the beginning of January, these all belong in my annual album for 2023:

1. Chartwell

Churchill's home in Kent

Supplies: Cardstock - The Craft Place; Paper Heidi Swapp Hello Today; Letters - Crate Paper; Enamel Dots - AC/Obed Marshall

2. A Flying Visit

A visit from my cousin who lives in the US, using a sketch from Stick It Down. 

Supplies: Glitter Cardstock - DCWV; Paper - Basic Grey, Craft ID Travel the World AC/Vicki Boutin Fernwood; Letters - American Crafts; Journal Card - Heidi Swapp; Stickers - Fancy Pants, American Crafts; Enamel Dots - Simple Stories, Ebay

3. Christmas Parkrun

DT page for Twilight Crafts using the Large Star in Sections Cut-File

Supplies: Cardstock - Craft Sensations; Paper - Simple Stories Very Merry, Fancy Pants Merry Little Christmas; Letters - Simple Stories; Stickers - American Crafts, Simple Stories; Enamel Dots - Simple Stories; Thread - DMC; Washi Tape - Little B; Cut-file - Twilight Crafts

4. & 5. Explore Antwerp

A weekend cruise to Antwerp for the Christmas markets, using another sketch from Stick It Down.

Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill, American Crafts, DCWV, The Craft Place; Paper - 49 & Market Vintage Artistry Butter, 49 & Market Vintage Artistry Anywhere; Letters - October Afternoon; Die-Cuts - 49 & Market; Stickers - Fancy Pants, Freckled Fawn; Enamel Dots - Eyelet Outlet, Hey Little Magpie

6. Beatrix's Christening

I finally used up a 'starting point' page that I made back in 2018.

Supplies: Cardstock - American Crafts; Paper - Pebbles New Addition, AC Dear Lizzy Neapolitan; Letters - MAMBI; Stickers - Crate Paper/Maggie Holmes; Enamel Heart - Freckled Fawn

7. Ladies Who Lunch

I used the back of my Antwerp page because the pattern was too pretty to lose, and 49 & Market papers are thick enough for it to work.

Supplies: Paper - 49 and Market Vintage Artistry Butter; Letters - Tim Holtz; Ephemera - 49 and Market; Word Stickers - Tim Holtz; Washi - 49 and Market; Enamel Dots - 49 and Market

8. Summer Fun

Completing another 'starting point' page with photos from a summer barbecue.

Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill, DCWV; Paper - AC Shimelle Sparkle City; Letters - American Crafts; Washi Tapes - AC Shimelle Sparkle City; Stickers - AC Shimelle Sparkle City

9. & 10. Morph in the City

Thirty-one photos on a double page for Morph's Epic Art Adventure, a sculpture trail in London.

Supplies: Paper - DCWV Romantic Life; Letters - American Crafts; Stickers - AC Paige Evans #Stickerbook; Die-Cut - 49 and Market 

11. Endurance

Recording my husband's epic 50km walking challenge using a sketch from Scrap a Sketch.

Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill; Paper - Photoplay Paper Boarding Pass; Letters - American Crafts; Stickers - Photoplay Paper; Enamel Shapes - My Mind's Eye

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

Au Revoir

This is the post I wrote at the start of the year:

"Things have been a bit quiet around here recently, with tumbleweed blowing across the blog. I lost my crafting mojo for a while and even when I did make anything I really couldn't be bothered with photographing it and blogging it. I even considered giving up entirely. However, new year and new focus. I have been scrapbooking and I feel  that if I stop blogging I might regret it later, but I am unlikely to regret carrying on, at least for the time being. 

I'm not promising regular posts again, but I do have a few ready and lined up from what I have made and not shared in the last month or so. I am also still creating for Twilight Crafts so you will see projects for them too.

Away from crafting, I want to continue with my local project of walking in all the grid squares in Thurrock (I have a walk blog post coming up) and further afield I need to complete the Capital Ring. I'd reached Wembley in March 2020, just before the world closed down, and I'm ready to go back. To be honest, I just want that walk over and done with as it's been underwhelming and I have another long distance walk planned for afterwards."

And now, at the end of the year:

The blog has gone quiet again, with long periods this year when I didn't post at all. I've always said that I blog for myself as a record of what I've done, and it's a bonus if anyone else reads it. If I'm finding it a chore, then why continue? I might regret stopping, but right now I prefer to put what free time I have towards scrapbooking and memory-keeping rather then blogging, so I'm pressing pause on the blog. It remains to be seen whether or not I press play again at some point in the future.

I'm still on the design team for Twilight Crafts so you may see those projects pop up on their Instagram or blog, or in scrapbooking groups on Facebook.

Away from crafting, I did finish the Capital Ring this year with three (unblogged) walks. There's a chance I will blog these just for my own records, so I have notes if I decide to make a scrapbook or mini-book for it later on. Locally, I haven't done any more grid squares and that may be my focus this year as I should be able to fit short local walks in around work (where we are still chronically understaffed which is having an effect on the rest of my life).

So, for now, it's au revoir! I may be back, but no promises.

Around Town

The town here is Skagen, the most northerly town in Denmark and the second stop on our Scandinavian cruise last summer. I made the sub-title page for Skagen a while back and there will be five more coming up, all 12x12 rather than using any of the divided page protectors that I used for some of the Oslo pages.

Our objective for the day was a walk to the sand spit at the tip of Denmark where the Kattegat and Skaggerak Seas meet, but we walked through the town on the way out and back so I'm starting there.

I printed four pictures for the page - two 3x4 photos of the church and water tower and two 2x3 photos of the houses - and arranged them on a large paper circle.

Supplies

Cardstock - Craft UK, Bazzill

Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Life Right Now, Shimelle Never Grow Up

Letters - Doodlebug

Filmstrip - 49 & Market

Glitter Tape  The Works

Enamel Dots - Pinkfresh Studio, My Mind's Eye

Ink - Ranger

Mist - Mister Huey's

Tools

Big Shot & Spellbinders Circle Die

Woodware Postage Stamp Punch

Woodware Scalloped Circle Punch

Acting Our Shoe Size

I'm sharing another Twilight Crafts DT page today in the catch-up of recent pages. I used the Numbers Background cut-file with photos of me and my mum on the swings earlier this year. 

I cut the numbers background from kraft cardstock and backed the open parts with patterned papers. I also added strips of the same papers to the top and bottom of the page and ticked in a couple of label stickers wthe the date and location. My title is inspired by the old saying 'Act your age not your shoe size' which I twisted round as we are definitely acting our shoe size here.

Supplies

Cardstock - Bazzill, The Craft Place
Paper - Heidi Swapp Hello Today
Labels - Jen Hadfield
Flower Die-Cuts - Rosie's Studio
Enamel Dots - American Crafts/Obed Marshall
Ink - Ranger

Tools

Silhouette Portrait & Numbers Background Cut-File

Fiskars Bracket Edge Border Punch

Capture the Moments

I've sat on this page for a little while as I wanted to finish sharing all my Oslo pages first. This one is for my 2023 album and is a DT page that I made for Twilight Crafts and Jenny Wren Cut-Files.

I used their Circle of Circles cut in kraft cardstock with two photos of my daughter and papers from both Simple Stories and Vicki Boutin. The photos were taken on a walk we took together at the end of August, probably the last time we will do something like this for some time as she left home in September. The ephemera piece that says 'Capture the moments' made a good title.

Supplies
Cardstock - The Craft Place

Paper - Simple Stories Simple Vintage Lakeside, Vicki Boutin Fernwood

Ephemera - Vicki Boutin

Puffy Stickers - Vicki Boutin

Enamel Dots - Pretty My Page, Simple Stories

Ink - Ranger

Paint - Golden

Tools

Silhouette Portrait & Circle of Circles Cut-File

Hobbycraft Small Star Punch

Disclosure - I received the digital cut-file free of charge from Twilight Crafts. All other supplies are my own.

Akershus Fortress

Last page from Oslo now. We walked back from the town hall and harbour to our ship via Akershus Fortress, a collection of military buildings of all ages surrounding the 14th century fortress.

My page is the back of a divided page with six 4x6 landscape pockets. I filled four of them with photos, two at the top and two at the bottom, with title and journalling in between.

Supplies

Cardstock - Bazzill

Paper - Echo Park Capture Life, Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Pinkfresh Studio Out & About

Stickers - 49 & Market

Enamel Dots - Doodlebug, Pinkfresh Studio

Ink - Ranger

Tools

Big Shot & The Works Alphabet Dies

Fiskars Shape Cutter & Circle Template

X-Cut Circle Punch

Radhus & Around

Things have been pretty hectic here recently. I've still been scrapping, but only slowly, and I haven't had the time, energy or inclination to blog anything. Now things have eased, I'm back to share those pages here.

Last post I was in Oslo, the first port of call on our summer cruise to Scandinavia. I have two more pages to go from that day, two pocket pages that will sit back-to-back in the album.

I used a pocket page with six 4x6 landscape pockets. The front is focused on the Rådhus (Town Hall) and the surrounding area. I used two 4x6 photos, smaller photos in two pockets, and used one pocket each for title and journalling.

Supplies

Paper - Pinkfresh Studio Out & About, Pinkfresh Studio Life Right Now, Pinkfresh Studio Tourist Mode, Shimelle Never Grow Up

Letters - Basic Grey. Doodlebug

Stickers - Teresa Collins, Pinkfresh Studio

Puffy Stars - Elle's Studio

Glitter Tape - The Works

Enamel Dots - My Mind's Eye

Ink - Ranger

Tools

Big Shot & The Works Alphabet Dies

X-Cut Circle Punch