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

I love photos that take a bit of explanation. Because normally the explanation is just as good – if not far better – than the photograph, right?

When I ordered those 691 prints, I got a bit bored of picking individual photos and I had a couple folders that I may have just clicked ‘order all’. Then when the prints arrived, I found I had a lovely collection of photos I didn’t remember taking. They were certainly from my camera and I recognised the people and the scenery, but surely I didn’t take three dozen photos of trees out the window and various clouds and rocks? And then I remembered: I let someone else use my camera for a bit.

She just happened to be four years old.

I kinda love this picture of one-quarter of The Boy. But it does take some explaining. Portraiture by Miss Hattie, Age 4.

Do you have a photo that needs explaining? That’s scrapbook day challenge numero quatro: Create a page with the story behind a photo. Find something that has way more story than what you first see, and get explaining!

A note about all the Scrapbooking Day challenges here: You can enter any time between now and Sunday, 15th May, so you have a full week to do as many challenges as you like. Unless otherwise noted, winners have a choice of prize – an online class pass or a gift pack of scrapbooking stash. I’ll also be choosing three winners from all the links and comments left today (Saturday the 7th of May) on any post, so just participating and saying hello gives you another chance to win!

xlovesx

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I once had a college professor who had a simple rule for choosing a hair salon: nothing that involves a pun. That ruled out such adorably named establishments as Shear Madness, Blown Away and The Cutting Edge. Actually, if you’re faced with a surplus of hair salons, it’s a pretty quick way to create a short list.

I don’t think Edward Scissorhands the barbershop counts as a pun. It’s a reference. THat’s different. There’s no second meaning of Edward Scissorhands. It’s just someone who is confident enough with cutting hair to say Oh yes, I am willing to put myself up there with Johnny Depp and frankly, that is the sort of confidence I would want in a barber. You know, if for some reason, I needed a barber. (I realise now it’s kinda hard to see what’s in the pictures, so take my word for it: a barber shop called Edward Scissorhands and a bakery called…)

Then there are literary-referencing bakers: the Baker in the Rye. Now that is both a reference and a pun. But I don’t think my professor applied the pun rule to baking establishments. Just places that groom hair. JD Salinger may not have had much sense of humour about it, but as a lover of Catcher in the Rye and not so much a fan of rye bread, I loved it enough to take a photo.

But the best bit is these two shops are just a couple blocks apart. And that alone gives you a feel for the adorably kitschy neighbourhood of St. Kilda in Melbourne. It was a little bit Camden meets Brighton meets Vancouver, and yet nothing at all like any of them really.

I’m thinking this layout isn’t finished. But I’ll be honest: I was also thinking I had to catch a train. So I’m going to post the challenge and then come back to it in a little bit, because the trains in my neighbourhood are a little too busy to bring along a 12×12 page and finish it. (As opposed to the time when Mary Anne set eyelets with a hammer on the floor of the train on the way home from a crop, if I remember correctly.)

So the challenge then: Use a border between two photos. You can include more photos (and more borders!) if you wish – but the border has to go between the pictures rather than to the side or elsewhere. Make sense? The border can be as simple as a strip of paper or as ornate as something you create from many layers! Totally up to you.

A note about all the Scrapbooking Day challenges here: You can enter any time between now and Sunday, 15th May, so you have a full week to do as many challenges as you like. Unless otherwise noted, winners have a choice of prize – an online class pass or a gift pack of scrapbooking stash. I’ll also be choosing three winners from all the links and comments left today (Saturday the 7th of May) on any post, so just participating and saying hello gives you another chance to win!

xlovesx

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Two things you should know about The Boy and I.

We really like coffee.
And we really like, well… knowing stuff.

The Boy is probably more dramatic about this than I am, but it’s a little contagious. You take something that’s a passing interest and then you have to become as much as an expert about it as possible. That’s why I don’t just like Kit-Kats, but I can bore you all day with amazing Kit-Kat trivia. And The Boy couldn’t just watch Heston Blumenthal cook with a water-bath thingamy – he had to crack open an electronics kit and build one in our kitchen. To a point where it would keep a more stable temperature than one he could special order from some sort of special restaurant supplier. Of course.

So we don’t just like coffee. We’ve studied beans and origins. We (he!) hacked a grinder to get it just right. We watch the World Barista Championships. So for his birthday, we took an all-day intensive course in making coffee. Doesn’t everyone get an Australian culinary qualification as a birthday present?

During the beginning of the class I could take some pictures, so these were some of the first drinks we made that day, including learning the different designs favoured by various coffee shops in Melbourne. It was a crazy amount of coffee.

But this doesn’t have a crazy amount of embellishment. Just three things really: the label above the title, the stamp shape to the left of the top photo and the flower sticker in the bottom right corner. Together they make up a triangle – three things of a similar colour, size or shape placed in three different parts of the page so if you drew a line connecting them, you’d have a triangle shape, ideally with your photos inside the lines. When I first started teaching scrapbooking workshops, this was the biggest design concept we used. Now it seems so simple, but I thought it was worth bringing back today and seeing how you would interpret it in your own style. So there’s Scrapbooking Challenge 2: Create a triangle. What will you scrapbook?

A note about all the Scrapbooking Day challenges here: You can enter any time between now and Sunday, 15th May, so you have a full week to do as many challenges as you like. Unless otherwise noted, winners have a choice of prize – an online class pass or a gift pack of scrapbooking stash. I’ll also be choosing three winners from all the links and comments left today (Saturday the 7th of May) on any post, so just participating and saying hello gives you another chance to win!

xlovesx

Comment [55]

When I went back over some of our photos, these two made me laugh. I remember sitting on a bench in Melbourne, just too tired to walk or think straight for a bit because we had just taken part in a ‘cycle for power’ thing where you got on a bicycle that was hooked up to a power generator and the energy from all our pedalling got pumped straight into the city’s power grid. It was kinda crazy sprint cycling (even though we weren’t actually going anywhere) and about three minutes later we both looked at each other and realised we had to sit down. Now.

So these two photos were really me being exhausted and a bit silly, but they are the only two images in all those thousands that show something I saw every single day. With just two pairs of shoes, I was always looking at either these sandals or a pair of red Chucks. And that handbag joined our journey from Phnom Penh, after my first handbag (a completely fake Cath Kidston bag from a street market in Bangkok) fell to pieces. This green bag was horrible, actually. It was so uncomfortable to carry, it always got in the way… but I was determined to just make do rather than go shopping for a day bag yet again. We were both sick of the sight of this bag by the time we came home!

So now my feet have criss-crossed tan lines (despite covering them in sunblock every day) and I can sort out nail varnish rather than just leaving it to crack and I can carry a bag that I actually like. Two of the three are kinda fun. Also fun: scrapbooking with patterned paper!

So here’s Scrapbooking Day Challenge 1: Use patterned paper for your page background. Pretty simple! You can follow this page if that helps or you can create something completely unique – as long as the background is a sheet of patterned paper rather than solid cardstock, then you’re all set.

And there’s a prize for this challenge! To enter, create your page and share it online – on Flickr, in a page gallery or on your blog. Then leave a link to your page via the Mr Linky box below – or you can leave a comment if you prefer.

A note about all the Scrapbooking Day challenges here: You can enter any time between now and Sunday, 15th May, so you have a full week to do as many challenges as you like. Unless otherwise noted, winners have a choice of prize – an online class pass or a gift pack of scrapbooking stash. I’ll also be choosing three winners from all the links and comments left today (Saturday the 7th of May) on any post, so just participating and saying hello gives you another chance to win!

xlovesx

Comment [71]

It started as National Scrapbook Day, and it’s recognised as NSD or maybe iNSD for those who embrace the international participation, but I’m just going to make it easy and call it Scrapbooking Day. Sound okay to you? It’s today, by the way. The first Saturday in May, each year.

And to mark that special occasion of Scrapbooking Day 2011, there’s something special in store for you here at shimelle.com, all day long. Perhaps even all week long, depending on how you like to play!

Today I’m posting a series of challenges with new layouts, tips and tutorials, and each challenge has a prize up for grabs. Plus there are some bonus discounts and special offers coming up. But to get started, I’m all about getting some supplies ready.

The projects I’m featuring today are all made from the same supplies that I chose at the beginning. You can do the same and create a set of supplies then use them for all the challenges OR you can approach any of the challenges on its own and not worry about the supplies for the whole stretch. Cool? That way if you’re wanting to stretch your supplies as far as they can go, we’ll do that. And if you would rather take part in lots of NSD Scrapbooking Day challenges around the web with whatever supplies you fancy, you can do that too.

When I limit my supplies for a batch of layouts, I tend to grab four things: patterned paper, special paper, embellishments and letters. I like to choose things that will mix and match and are not overly themed, so I look for a mix of bold patterns and small patterns so there will be a balance. I also tend to go overboard on paper because I love it the most! (Shhh – don’t tell my other supplies.) So for today’s projects, I’ve set aside:
15 sheets of patterned paper, including Cosmo Cricket Upcycle and Social Club, American Crafts Hello Sunshine and Campy Trails, Sassafras Starters and Paper Crush and Sweetly Smitten, Studio Calico Countryside and Jenni Bowlin Family Tree. Which means I picked lots of different designs and manufacturers, but if you find it easier to stick with one collection, then that works too!
4 sheets of special paper, which is a very official term I’ve given to those things that are generally paper but they aren’t just a plain 12×12 sheet. I’ve chosen two sheets of dot-embossed Core’dinations Cardstock, one die-cut label paper by Jenni Bowlin Studio and one screen-printed transparency by Hambly.
5 types of embellishments, with my love of stickers really showing here! Three of the things I selected are all from the same collection – the large and small sticker sheet plus the banner stickers all from the Sweetly Smitten collection by Sassafras. In typing this, I’m thinking I may go pull the Sweetly Smitten foldie sheet too, though it’s not counted in this picture. Those stickers are all quite vintage and soft, so then I picked some stickers that are quite clean and modern, by American Crafts. And my non-sticker item is a butterfly, of course! These are wooden and by Studio Calico.
3 sheets of letters, and again I’ve gone with stickers. Letter stickers are really my go-to item with titles, especially a mix of sizes and some including dimension, so I have a shiny new pack of these Thickers by American Crafts and a smaller, flat set of Mini Market stickers by October Afternoon. Then the third option cheats a little bit, because this sheet of letters by Bella Blvd actually has four different alphabets on one sheet. Makes it great for packing for crops or working in a series like this. I’ve chosen brown and white but it comes in brighter colours too.

Now obviously there are some things missing here! If I use full sheets of cardstock for the background, I don’t count that. In this case, most of these pages will be on kraft cardstock, and I will just pull those sheets as I go. If you’re packing to go somewhere else, then you’ll need to that that with you! I also don’t include tools – so punches, cutting dies, stamps, inks and paints I will just choose as I go. That can help to change up the look even if the supplies remain the same. And lastly, if I’m scrapping at home I don’t worry too much about adding little things. If there’s something in my scrap basket or bowl of die cuts and I suddenly thing that’s what the page needs – then fine. The idea of the starting supplies is to make things easier, not to make everything else prohibited. So you won’t see any other major elements, but I might add in a scrap of paper or ribbon here or there. That’s pretty much my process!

Oh, and I don’t really use many themed papers, but I do like to include some themed things that can be subtle. I’ve been using this stamp set by House of 3 for Pink Paislee on many of my travel pages, so it’s pretty much living on my desk right now. I will admit I pretty much bought it for the globe, but the whole set looks lovely, and it stamps especially well with Distress Ink.

So there we go – that’s where I’m starting! But how about a GIVEAWAY to get Scrapbooking Day off to a great start? I have a pack of scrapbooking supplies to send to a lucky winner. Just comment on this post for a chance to win! (By the way, on some browsers, it helps to click the preview button when you’re leaving a comment.)

Happy Scrapbooking Day! See you soon with the first project challenge!

xlovesx

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This weekend’s giveaway comes to you from Heather at Sparklehen. Two fabulous 8×8 prints for you to frame and adorn your walls.
Sparklehen sells light-hearted and whimsical creations. Themes vary from animals in teacups to dream-like landscapes with flowery lights! Heather also wanted me to let you know that she has a 3 for 2 offer on all prints!

To enter, leave a comment on this post, inspired by the tea cup print, telling us who you would invite to a tea party.

Entries close at midnight Sunday (UK time) and the winner will be posted Monday night, so be sure to check back and see if this was your lucky weekend!

xlovesx

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After my single-photo soap box, I promise I have something slightly more versatile to share with you today. Two photos and plenty of opportunities for patterned papers and stickers and ink, if you like. Just don’t do what I did: think ‘oh but it’s such a lovely day, I’ll just step outside to spray this ink across the top of the layout’. Because there is a big difference between outdoor spraying and indoor spraying, and that difference is… wind. If you look closely, you’ll see it’s somewhat snowy on that lovely beach, since the spray went in entirely a different direction to what I was expecting.

I think we are all very clear now on why I am a scrapbooker rather than say a meteorologist.

This page captures a moment of impulsive seaside behaviour: it looks like a gorgeous beach because it truly is! (This is Wineglass Bay in Tasmania.) But as gorgeous as it looks, that water was incredibly cold. But yes, a certain individual who shall remain nameless thought it was too good to miss, regardless of the temperature, and swam a few laps across the bay. He lasted significantly longer than the next group of tourists who stepped into the water and promptly ran back to dry land with a scream.

Truly, this is a very basic sketch that I use time and time again by just customising the embellishment. This time I used a similar technique to this layout by changing the rectangles at the top right to that flag shape with the inverted V. Chipboard is a little something different for me too – I don’t tend to use plain chipboard shapes like these, but I quite liked them here! Maybe this sketch can help you use a few embellishments you might otherwise ignore.

As always, the weekly sketch is no-stress and just for fun! If you use it, I’d love to see, so please leave a link in the comments.

From last week’s sketch, I really want to highlight two layouts. The page on the left, by Kate made me smile a huge smile, because Kate hadn’t really been scrapbooking for a while. And then she decided to get back in the swing of it and I just love that she started with a lovely layout about herself. Kate, I hope this is your gateway to much crafty happiness! And the layout on the right is by Amy who decided to combine the sketch with the bunting ideas, and I love her unique bunting treatment for the additional photos! So very clever.

Please also check out beautiful pages from Julie (who can turn t-shirt shopping into a brilliant scrapbook page), Jeannie (who made friends with Charlie Chaplin just for the excellent scrapbooking potential of black and white papers), Amy (who discovered her perfect kraft paper in digital format and made this sketch look lush at a unique 8×10 size), Linda (who braved additional photos and used fab lacy paper with panache), Claire (who wins for most adorable this week with her little ones and their royal wedding celebration), Alyssa (who took on the multiple photo challenge and did some very cool stuff with pink and black) and Heather (who made me swoon with her use of fabric and paper flowers). Oh, and Rachel gets bonus points for actually making her page in front of me, while we were scrapping in a lovely cottage last weekend! Scroll to the bottom of her post to find her layouts. Thanks to everyone who played last week!

xlovesx

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I am still loving the last bits of wedding decoration in central London. Today I passed the offices of The Lady magazine and the entire building is wrapped in giant purple ribbon, like a wedding gift. So sweet. But I have the very best wedding story to tell you.

On Friday, I headed to Charing Cross as I usually do, but I brought The Boy along because well, I needed him to babysit my luggage while I was in class, believe it or not! And he could happily work on his project sat in Starbucks so this seemed ideal. Upon arriving at Charing Cross station, he first comments on how many people are milling about the station at lunchtime on a Friday. And then adds ‘But why are they all carrying Union Jacks?’

Darling, it’s the wedding.

‘What wedding?’

I kid you not.

So, a wedding layout then, even if my dress was less fancy than Kate’s. At least I could get away with wearing comfy shoes in the evening, right? I am very excited at how the former Miss Middleton has now brought sleeves back to wedding fashion, as a random aside! So more on topic, papers here are from Jenni Bowlin’s Be Our Guest collection. A little scrapbook info about Jenni’s papers — starting from this collection, the patterned papers are now double-sided and cardstock weight. They are seriously lush and I love that I can use them as a full page background now. The colours and the paper quality are just fabulous with the new stock, so definitely give them a try.

That ‘photographs’ stamp? Best £1 market find ever, perhaps! One of the camera stalls had it tucked away in a box of old photographer’s business cards. I couldn’t come up with a reason to buy thousands of business cards with someone else’s contact details, but asked if I could just buy the stamp and was quoted that princely single-quid sum. Also, actually useful for sending photos in the post… and usually my market purchases are not exactly practical. Unless one needs a dozen different editions of Through the Looking Glass. Maybe I’m gearing up for some epic readers’ theatre someday…

Oh, and look: it’s a single photo layout again! I didn’t even plan that. I promise.

xlovesx

_{This weekend, join us for challenges, prizes, chats and inspiration aplenty at the Two Peas three day party for National Scrapbook Day. I’m hosting a live chat on Sunday (8pm UK time / 2pm US Central time) and we’ve planned lots of other fab things for the weekend too. I would love to see you there!}

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