pretty paper. true stories. {and scrapbooking classes with cupcakes.}

Oh goodness, the next thing I was planning to post as an inspiration piece may not make me too popular if you’re currently wishing you were able to travel and instead are stuck either at home or somewhere else. Because giant clouds of ash aside, Iceland is a fabulous place.

We traveled the ring road around the island in the summer of 2006 (including following part of the tour that became this film) and I remember sitting on the plane home thinking I couldn’t wait to go back. We were meant to go back last September but a work obligation meant we had to reschedule for this spring, so we’re currently just waiting to see when it will be possible to get there. Seems that volcano has other ideas.

That trip was the first time I had ever seen a volcano up close and now I am quite obsessed with them. One of the fabulous things about touring outside Reykjavik is provided you aren’t harming the landscape, you are allowed to walk wherever you like. So you can walk right up to the strongest waterfall in all of Europe (I still have the odd nightmare about how we close we were!) and you can walk right up to steam vents and see inside the volcano. No guardrails, no signs to announce tourist attractions — just things as they are.

Jónsi – Go Do from Jónsi on Vimeo.

Plus, I have rather a major obsession with Icelandic music, so I should share at least one song, right?

As we’ve already talked about places we find inspiring, care to share what music you find inspiring in the comments? Or you can discuss the big cloud over Europe if we must but as I live under a flight path I actually think a tiny break has been most amazing! I know that is sadly no solace if you or someone you know is trying to fly right now though. Sorry!

xlovesx

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I remember a time when I said I would never buy stamps. Just too much to get into… And man, was I wrong! Now stamps are one of my favourite supplies and I get so excited for something new or a new way to use an older design.

Your challenge is to create a scrapbook page or card with stamps. Take a picture and upload it to your blog or page gallery. Leave a link in the comments here to enter.

One randomly chosen entry will win a set of Banana Frog stamps.

Entries close at 6am UK time Monday morning.

xlovesx

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What could be more inspiring than a picnic blanket and a beautiful day in the park? Now… Why didn’t I pack my crafting supplies in that basket?

I took these pictures with the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone. Look for a post next week about printing and scrapping Hipstatic pictures.

xlovesx

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A new challenge for you… scrapbook something you define as an adventure!

I’m curious to see what all our adventures will be!

Leave a comment with a link to your project to enter! Entries close at 6am UK time Monday morning.

One randomly chosen entry will win a shimelle.com class pass good for your choice of any class past or future!

xlovesx

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see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Well, I wanted to show you this because it never fails to make me laugh, but the powers of legality on the internet say no, so have a lolcat instead!

Now…stop your giggling and get back to scrapping!

xlovesx

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A funny little inspiration point to share with you this morning! I’ve worn glasses since I was about thirteen and to me, they are just part of who I am. If I look in the mirror without my glasses I see a stranger instead of a reflection! But I never realised that some people have such a bias against glasses until the time I was innocently browsing a wedding fair and a make-up artist grabbed my arm and used me as an example to a crowd of listening customers. Obviously she’s not going to wear her glasses for her wedding, because if you wear glasses all your guests will talk about is how you look as ugly as a librarian.

Seriously? Of course this woman was crazy (as well as rude!) but I couldn’t think of an end to the number of things she said that were wrong! Librarian does not mean ugly! My guests are going to be my family and friends and they all know me with glasses, so why would they talk about it? And no, it’s not an obvious that I wouldn’t wear glasses. Sheesh, what a strange thing to say at all! (Never fear, instead of not wearing my glasses, I got new glasses which was far more fun!)

Anyway, I find girls who wear glasses to be inspiring. A bit empowering. A teeny little reminder that we all have little things that make us unique and what others see as a negative might actually be a positive if we want it to be.

Plus it probably took me at least ten years of growing up to realise that the biggest bit of teasing I got at thirteen and fourteen was that glasses were for brainy people. You know what?

I am really okay with that!

What funny little thing in the world do you find empowering? Do share!

xlovesx

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Good morning and welcome back to the third and final day of our scrapbooking party! Time to put the music on and get back to the scrapping. I have an easy challenge for you this morning so you can party along even if you’re a little bleary-eyed! It’s a sketch with plenty of white space and a few clusters of embellishments.

Simply use this sketch as the basis for a scrapbook page, then upload your page to your blog or page gallery and leave a link in the comments of this post to enter.

One randomly chosen entry will win a shimelle.com class pass good for your choice of any class – past or future.

Entries close at 6am UK time Monday morning, so you have all of today to create!

xlovesx

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~See these pages here, here, here, here and here.~

For our final Saturday night challenge, all you have to do is think – no actual scrapping required!

What are your five favourite scrapbook pages? And why are they your favourites? Do the photos make them extra special to you? Or a story about a special moment or person? Or does the creative design just make you so happy you created that?

I think this is a ridiculously hard challenge but I’ve chosen the five pages above. They represent the two things I scrap most often — the two of us and places we go. They are favourites for a mix of reasons and I find sometimes all three things come together on a perfect day of scrapping: an amazing moment inspires you to take a photo you love and that inspires you to kick it up a bit with your design and make something extra special.

I’d love to hear about your favourite pages. You can write a blog post about this and leave a link or you can just answer in the comments. If you’re posting more than one link, your comment will go into moderation but not to worry as I will approve it in the morning, I promise.

You have until 6am Monday UK time to answer this challenge, and one randomly chosen entry will win a gift certificate to Two Peas in a Bucket.

And just in case you think I am the only one in this house with crazy ideas, I’d like to share a conversation from today. This morning I got up and The Boy asked what I was doing today and I said I was throwing an online scrapbook party. I asked what he was going to do and he said he fancied walking a marathon. You know, just on a whim. So he did: 26.2 miles walked in London today! I met him for lunch in the West End and I walked the last four miles with him and he’s just asked if the party was still going. So if you’ve been scrapping all day, just to let you know: you could have completed a marathon by now!

Well, you know… if you woke up as crazy as The Boy. Bless.

See you at 8am tomorrow for the next challenge. Have a lovely evening!

Oh, and I thought this was a party!

xlovesx

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