Friday, November 29, 2013

More is more!

Hello! It's Friday! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday and that you have had the opportunity to do some fun Black Friday shopping today! People around here thought it was strange I even knew it was Thanksgiving yesterday so it is not something we hear alot about over
here. But I celebrated it in my mind and in my heart, I am a very thankful person.
 
Today I'm sharing two layouts from last weekend. First is a colorful summer page with the kids playing with friends in our garden. I like the mixed media look on this one, textures from messy acrylic paint and ink spray, via patterned paper to very crisp and clean stickers.
 
 
When I started this next layout I really had low expectations to actually get it done because the colors felt kind of off. Then I added the photo and all my hopes went away. I even put it away and thought I would put the different pieces back in my stash when I had the time. But then something happened and in the middle of one of those very creative scrapbooking sessions I started adding things to the page and in the end it turned out pretty good after all. The photo is from 2008 when my daughter was born.
 
 
Have a nice weekend! Tonight I'm meeting up with all my lovely coworkers and we're having a glögg-evening. Glögg is spiced wine served warm with raisins and almonds. The spices in glögg are for example cinnamon, bitter orange, cardamom and ginger. It is a very popular drink for Christmas. I'm looking forward to having a great time and laugh alot! Take care!
 
//Åsa
 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Very different

 Good afternoon!
Today I'm sharing three layouts that I made during the weekend! First is a page with photos from one of our mushroom picking tours in the woods this fall. I used some of the stamped images that I made a few days ago and some older cards from Simple Stories.
 
 
This layout I've been waiting to scrapbook since I saw that chipboard decoration fom the I {heart} summer collection with the clothes line! I love it!
 
 
And last is a photo collage from our midsummer dinner with the family. Multi photo - it is like my middle name =)
 
 
 Have a nice day!
//Åsa

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

I'm thinking pastels!

Good morning!
 Today I'm sharing two layots of the softer kind in contrast to the colorful ones from yesterday. The first one is with my daughter scrapbooking, a sweet sight, don't you think? The title is rhyme and means "Embellish more!" which is pretty much her philosophy when it comes to scrapbooking. She's such a brilliant kid =)
 
I've used three papers the Basic Grey collection "Knee Highs" 6''x6'' paper pad. I just cut the papers in half, chalked the edges and layered them on a piece of cream cardstock. I like the outlining I did with the QK alpha diecuts for the title, I've used it again on next layout. It gives something extra and I'm looking forward to trying it with my white pen on darker letters.  
 
 
 
Next is a layout with photos from "that boat trip" again =). I will probably fill an album with those photos eventhough I was just kidding when I wrote just that about a month ago. This time the photos show a specific location, an island called St.Askö. I wrote my journaling around the edges this time and it is really difficult to read, but in a way that is good since the journaling is kind of personal (at least serious) and only the very interested viewer will take the time and effort to read it. I do love the stick-it notes from Smash, the red and blue ones were perfect for this page, the arrow one almost looks like a sail! For this layout I digged around in my small pile of recent purchased patterned papers and it was fun, I have been so concentrated on my 6''x6'' paper pads lately I had almost forgot about the extra possibilities you get with larger papers =) 
 
 
Have a nice day!
//Åsa 
 

Monday, November 25, 2013

Autumn layouts

Good morning! Today we have a thin layer of snow, it's just below zero degrees Celsius and it was pitch black at 7 am when I went to work. Winter indeed. But let us remember the beautiful fall that past so quickly. I'm sharing two October layouts made with papers from 6''x6'' paper pads.
 
The first layout uses four 2011 papers from Bo Bunny's "Forever Fall" collection as a . This is a collection that I have regretted buying since the moment I got it. I love the colors and the style of pattern but since each sheet is like a little piece of art with patterns that has a very distinct edge to them I think they are more suitable for cardmaking. Now I've sold half of the pad on Internet auction and I'll try and use up the sheets that are left. Perhaps I'll try some fuzzy cutting.
 
 
This next layout, with photos from a mushroom picking walk in the woods, has papers from Simple Stories' "Say Cheese" collection. I took three papers and cut them into 2'' squares, since they are dubble sided I actually got six different styles to work with and I placed them kind of randomly on a black piece of cardstock. The woodgrain blocks behind the photos are pieces of cardstock that I've embossed and chalked.
 
 
I have been very creative during the weekend and made several layouts for our albums so I will have new things to show you every day this week! And I'm longing sooo for my new stuff to arrive!
 
Thank you so very much for visiting me in my blog! Have a nice day!
//Åsa
 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Confession time...

Good evening! Yeah, you read it, it's confession time in the scrap blog... I'll start with a new personal law:

"I will stop pretending that I can stay away from shopping for more than three weeks, it is silly and I'm making a fool of myself trying to be someone I'm not. Trying and always failing gives me guilt feelings instead of happy feelings, which is super bad for creativity! Get a grip!"

So what have I done? I've just spent 1000 SEK (US$ 145 or 105 €) in half an hour and I'm feeling a bit light headed.

First I placed an order at CiLi in Papers, one of my favorite Swedish webshops, for Christmas papers and embellishments. Then I ordered two (yes, TWO!) large warehouse sale surprise grab bags at Freckled Fawn! That calls for some serious blog confession! But on the inside I'm actually jumping up and down like a child, clapping my hands like crazy, can't wait to get the packages and see all the lovely things I've bought!

Another thing that has been on my mind today is actually a "palm to the forehead" kind of thing. Until a few weeks ago I only owned black inkpads.  Why would I want colored ones? No clue. A stamper like me stamps in black and color the areas that remain white with markers. Solid stamps have always been strange to me. Why would you want a solid black heart, flower, speach bubble or tag? Pure stupid. Why even bother making those stamps? Yeah, now you see where this is going!  Palm to the forehead, don't you think?

I feel like a whole new level of stamping just opened up to me! I've been such a noob! Sigh!

Good night ladies, thanks for reading!
//Åsa

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Scrapbooking X-mas 2013

Hello! I haven't bought any Christmas papers this year. I will have no problem making the Christmas cards with papers that I already have in my stash.  But for our December photos I'd love a new line or two so I've ben browsing the web for some papers that look the way I want Christmas to feel. 

I've decided not to fall into the "dark red / dark green" hole again, I must try and be different for a change! The last two years I've bought Simple Stories collection packs for Christmas and I will not do that again, I love their style but I get so much elements left and I feel it is a waste of money to buy whole collections that give you so little creative freedom.

I'd love to keep it a bit lighter this year. I'd like to be able to add white and still go with the collection theme. I have found a few collections that I like:

"Nordic Pines" by Bazzill


"So this is Christmas" by Carta Bella
 
"Magical" by Studio Calico

 "Wonderland" by Studio Calico (2012)


 
"Santa's list" by Teresa Collins



"Hello December" by Glitz
What to choose, what to choose...
Have a nice day!
//Åsa 

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Gorgeous Gorjuss!

Hello! Today I'm sharing my latest haul! It was an accident, but a happy one! It all started with the Christmas card preparations and I was coloring my stamped images and suddenly I realized my Warm Grey 2 was totally empty and I use it around the edges of ALL my images so I need to have it. I went online and started looking for a webshop with ok prices and good shipping. During that search I came across a webshop I hadn't seen before and I became curious about them and wanted to see what they carried. And then I found the sale cathegory and my "trigger happy shopping finger" went all bonkers :) These were 55 SEK each (5,80 Euro or 7.80 US$) and I couldn't help myself!
 
 
 
 
My favorite is the girl on the stack of books! The stamps are so big! I was super disappointed when Magnolia changed the size of their images and made them smaller. These are nice and big and will look perfect on cards! I love that they come with a couple of extra stamps for embellishment! I might even need to buy some more!
 
 
 Have a nice day!
//Åsa
 

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Up to date

Hello! Today I'm sharing a my very latest layout. The photos was taken during that boat trip that I've already told you about a million times before. The people in the picture is my mum and her new life partner.
 
 
So now I'm up to date with my updates! It inspires me even more to do more scrapbooking, if I could only find the time and energy! The darkness is getting to me, I'm sooo tired in the evenings! I have tried going for lunch break walks to gather some energy and light but this far it has only given me more photos to scrap, no energy to do it. But I'm happy about my photos! Here is a selection that I want to share with you!
 
First is a photo from this morning, about 7.30 am. I got down town really early so I took a walk along my favorite harbour path and I dared to take off my gloves to capture this amazing sun rise behind the new bridge.
 
This photo was taken yesterday when I took a walk on my lunch break. It shows our town from the harbour.
 
 
Last is my favorite photo! I took it a couple of weeks ago when I had my autumn photography session and it has inspired me to work more with perspective and I have realized that crawling on the ground can result in very good photos!
 
 
Have a wonderful day!
//Åsa 
 

Monday, November 11, 2013

Holding on to summer

Hello & Happy Monday! I hope you've had a lovely weekend! I was home with the kids while hubby had taken his miniatures and gone to a long planned competition in a town a couple of hours drive north from here. It was hard work keeping the kids busy and happy. I wish the weather had been better. Needless to say, I got no scrapbooking done at all. Now I'm longing to go through my stuff again and have some fun with all the new stuff I've bought!

Today I'm sharing two layouts I made last weekend. This first is with a photo and a story of my son. He was making faces and funny sounds when we were on our way home from the beach and he "demanded", in a 2-year-old's kind of way, to have some chewing gum. I've used papers and cardstock stickers from Simple Stories' I {heart} Summer collection and bits and pieces from my stash. The background is kraft cardstock.
 
 
For these beach photos I used The Pier again. I also added some frames that I'd made myself. To give the title color some extra legitimacy I added the same paper sticking out from under the other papers in three different spots. The photo of the layout is a bit dark, at least on my screen.
 
 
Hubby won first price in the painting part of the competition and I'm so proud of him! It is such a sweet reward and it proves that all his hard work and studies has paid off in skill and awesome result! My hubby is my art role model!
 
 
 
Have a nice week! Hugs!
//Åsa

Friday, November 8, 2013

Autumn Friday

Happy Friday! How are you doing? I've missed you! Work has been super busy this week and I've had no time for blogging! Occasionally I do secretary work at meetings and this week I did that on Wednesday and then I worked with transcribing my notes yesterday. When I was done I felt
 
This layout has been waiting for you for a week and finally I have the time show it to you! A couple of weeks ago I went out with my camera to capture the lovely colors of autumn/fall and I got lovely scenery. My coworkers thought that this photo was the best and asked if they could publish it on the information screen in the Municipality Office lobby. So now all people coming here (it's a lot) sees my photo! I'm actually quite proud :)
 
On this layout I journaled about what I just told you and I used my home made patterned paper with cameras and decorated with embroidery floss, washi tape and paper leave.
 
 
 
Yesterday I took half an hour of my "wellness time" and went on yet another of those photography walks and I went down to the docks to watch the bridge buildibg project. It was not a very nice day for either walking nor photographing; cold, grey and gloomy. My photos were grey and kind of boring. I played along with a couple of filters and the day became even more gloomy :) But I thought it was worth saving anyway.
 
 
I hope you'll all have a nice weekend. I'm alone at home with the kids from now until Sunday evening so I'm saving tricks up my sleeve to keep them happy and busy. Take care!
// Åsa
 

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Journaling cards!

Hello! Today I'm sharing the first scraplift I've done in a very long time! The layout I scraplifted is THIS one from NicoleJones911. I am so proud of the result it has been hard to wait for over a week to show you guys! I hope you like it too! It is super crowded but I think all the embellishments grounded the whole thing in a nice way. There is an appel on the left which is up side down, but I managed to peel it off and stick it down again, they way it should be.

 
 A few years back before every brand had cards and journaling spots I had a blog where I shared hundreds of home made printable journaling cards. I used some of them myself, actually I think I liked making them more than actually using them, and I was in constant search of the few ones you could buy from the scrapbooking companies. Then something happened and suddenly every brand had their own jornaling stamps, cards and spots and I bought all I could find - even the ones that weren't particularly pretty. So over the recent years I have collected quite a stash of journaling spots and my box of cards has become so crowded I hardly ever go through it.
 
After making the layout above I thought it would be fun to make a background with cards and ground them the way nicolejones911 had taught me in the video on You Tube. I made two layouts for my cousin's son's album and one for our album and I think it was really fun! I used up alot of really old tags and spots and in a crowd like this even the less fancy ones had a spot to fill.
 
 
 
Thanks for looking! Have a nice day!
//Åsa

Monday, November 4, 2013

Monday!

 Hello! I've made four layouts during the weekend and I'm very happy about that because I can't understand how I actually managed to find the time for that. But somehow I did! Those layouts will be on display here in the blog later this week, today I'm sharing layouts from when I was home on sick leave.
 
This is a photo from March 2008 when my daughter was born. These are the new grandparents and the new aunt meeting my daughter for the first time. She is only a day old and we're still at the hospital. The title says "Brand New".
 
 
This is my daughter and my mother. The title says "Grandmum's girl".
 
 
Here are photos from a mushroom picking tour in the woods a couple of weeks ago. Already when I ordered the paper copies I knew what I wanted to do with this layout and I kept the persons rather small to be able to fit us in the frames. The frame is stamped with my white Memento on black cardstock and cut out with scissors. The title says: "Wood trolls".
 
 
I'll be back tomorrow with more layouts! Have a nice day! 
//Åsa