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

After a very late Friday night I had to be up very early this Saturday morning, off to help tourists for the day in all my bright pink and purple glory. I couldn’t quite muster the idea of getting up and sat reading tweets in bed whilst the US west coast was watching the opening ceremony of London 2012, and this tweet was my very favourite: London, there appears to be a party in your house. Oh Chris, how right you are.

I have no time for anyone who is not excited by the games at this point. I have set aside everything I felt didn’t go perfectly in the seven years leading up to this and now I am here to enjoy without a grudge. On Friday, I started the morning on Westminster Bridge for All the Bells: an art project with the idea of all the bells anyone can find to be ringing for three solid minutes. From the bridge I could hear forty rings of Big Ben from 8:12 in the morning, plus a handbell choir in the crowd, the chimes of Westminster Abbey and what we think must have been St Paul’s in the distance. And my favourite bells of all? A crowd of cyclists who pulled to the side at exactly 8:12 and rang their bicycle bells like crazy for three whole minutes. Bells rang all over the country and it was sweet and simple and lovely.

Then I spent the day helping out in front of City Hall, in the shadow of Tower Bridge, including the arrival of the torch in the middle of the Thames, arriving at a set of floating rings and eventually heading indoors until finishing the journey during the ceremony.

_{This was my favourite part – the most dramatic part of the Suffragettes choreography wasn’t shown on the BBC footage we were watching, but it was such a beautiful moment.}

And then there ceremony! I actually watched on a big screen at the Royal Naval College (with The Boy, Kelly and Stephanie) but earlier in the week I had attended one of the final dress rehearsals for the show, and I was allowed to take my camera. So I have pictures! I couldn’t share them until the appropriate moment in the actual ceremony, so I did a bit of ‘live’ tweeting while watching until my phone ran out of battery.

I knew from the moment I sat down and saw the ceremony’s opening set that the hymn Jerusalem had to be involved. I know I am not really British, but Jerusalem always makes me cry. It turns out it makes me cry even more when I hear a voice singing it from the crowd and turn to realise he’s just there, a few rows to my right. And that was just the start of the show. I loved every minute.

I’ve uploaded my favourite snapshots from the ceremony here and they are licensed under Creative Commons so they can be used by anyone for free. If you want to scrapbook the ceremony and need some pictures – feel free. You don’t even have to ask. If you want to blog about the ceremony, you can use them! All I ask is that if you use them on the internet, you include a credit link. That’s all. I got to see the ceremony for free and I want to pass them on in the same spirit.

And to those of you who have been guessing at what my second Olympic project might be, I’ll finally tell you. A bunch of you guessed that I was in the show last night – and I wasn’t. I had friends in the show and was so excited for that! But I was definitely sat on the ground aside the Thames watching from Greenwich. I do however jump straight back into rehearsals this weekend. Because that super secret second Olympic project for me is the closing ceremonies. I still can’t tell you anything, but I will be dancing in the show and I’m at the beginning so don’t be late. Schedule your TV viewing now, yes?

Yes, London, there is a party in this house. And there’s going to be a big finale too, we promise.

But first! Let’s play some sports! If you’re local and have no tickets but want to watch something today, you can catch the cycling road race for free. And the screens at Hyde Park, Victoria Park, Potter’s Fields, Greenwich (old Greenwich, not North Greenwich!) and Blackheath (um, right in front of my flat!) are all free to enter. Most are running a 7am to 11pm schedule. If the weather turns, your better option might be a Vue cinema. They are also devoting screens to free BBC coverage of the games.

Right: I better go help some tourists find their way from Tower Bridge to the Globe or Earl’s Court! Have a fabulous weekend.

xlovesx

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This weekend, one commenter will win a cute Panda Plushie Pattern from Dolls and Daydreams.

Sarah Hanson is a UK girl living in the US. She designs patterns for plushies that are just gorgeous, and her store is bursting with cute doll and critter patterns that are sure to delight!
The more I read about Sarah, the more I like her and her work.

“I specialize in Fun & Easy Step by Step Photo Tutorial Patterns so that even a beginner sewer will be able to make dolls and softies just like mine!

When I was a little girl my Nanna taught me to sew & my first project was a little rag doll – I was in love! But when I brought a store doll pattern I was shocked at how hard it was to understand and so unhappy with my finished friend. So I kept creating my own doll & softie designs for my friends & family.

My life took an interesting turn after I organized a charity doll drive for the children of Haiti. I designed and offered an easy free doll pattern and the response was amazing. We collected over 500 dolls for the children and have since continued to collect, make & send out 1000’s to children in need all over the world. Through this wonderful work I received so many kind comments and requests for more designs and patterns and thus Dolls And Daydreams was born.”

You can become a fan of her facebook page here.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post describing your most treasured toy, childhood or adulthood!

Entries close at midnight Thursday UK time and the winner will be posted Friday evening, so be sure to check back to see if it’s your lucky day!

Good luck!

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Congratulations to Sabrina, who wins the two kitchen prints from Peanutoak.

Sabrina, please email me (shimelle at gmail dot com) with your address.

There’s a new giveaway every Friday night, so check back next week for another chance to win just by leaving a comment.

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Hello hello! How can it be Wednesday already? Well… it’s because it is indeed a funny little week in my world. Throughout this week, I’m wearing a bright pink and purple uniform and standing next to a pink and purple kiosk to help the fine pedestrians of London with any questions or concerns they may have. (Sorry, I don’t have any tickets for sale. But I can provide a free map, if that’s any consolation.)

I have several hundred more CHA photos to share with you, but I just need a bit more time… and I know it won’t be today since I have my day of bright pink combined with the super excitement of heading over to watch the dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony tonight. It’s so exciting that I’m afraid you’ll just have to pardon me for collapsing into a heap by the time I get home tonight and not blogging. (But you better believe there will be new photos to scrapbook from tonight!) But I really will get them all shared here, and I thank you for your patience. (I know there are some other posts I need to get live here. Please know they will be available as soon as they are ready! That includes some videos and the new class I’m working on and all that sort of goodness. Thanks!)

As it’s Wednesday, Glitter Girl will have a new adventure today. When it goes live, you’ll be able to find episode thirty here.

Have a fabulous day!

xlovesx

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On the twenty-second of every month, we bring you Gardeners’ Digest – a blog hop of scrapbooking news from the Garden Girls at Two Peas in a Bucket! It’s been an especially Two Peas week for me, with the rare opportunity to catch up with Two Peas at CHA. In person we are equal parts crazy ideas, serious business and chatty fun. I’m pretty sure Amy, Kristina and I stopping to take this snap with Heidi Swapp counts as all three.

With all the CHAness on my calendar this week, I haven’t had a chance to blog the latest Glitter Girl adventure! It’s all about challenging patterned papers, and includes two layouts this week in an extended episode. You can find it here, including the pages, videos and easy shopping! You can catch all the other Glitter Girl adventures from this past month here if you’ve missed anything!

This month I’ve found myself taking the time to look at all the tiny details on pages like this one by Jaime Warren. Take a closer look at her gallery here and see what little touches might complement your own scrapping style. I love how she works with small photos but also a lot of open space, so despite the beautiful details, your eyes are still taken to the pictures.

This month my shopping basket has been filled with papery goodness and very few embellishments really. I have been using these printable journaling cards by Hello Forever (mostly because they include that rainbow Polaroid camera!), the Paper Cottage collection pack from BasicGrey, this great paper tablet from BasicGrey Clippings and the 6×6 version of Studio Calico HeyDay. Plus something not paper – this hexagon mask by Studio Calico for use with mist, paint or ink makes a great framework to hold smaller, simpler embellishments like buttons, brads and small die-cuts. What products have been catching your eye this month? Paper, tools, embellishments or a mix of everything?

With new releases expected over the next two months, there’s a fabulously big sale on at Two Peas right now.  (In fact, I just searched by price low to high to see how discounted things are, and there is actually a piece of paper marked down to just nine cents. Super sale!) To help with your shopping, I’ll give a $15 Two Peas gift certificate to three (three!) lucky readers this month. To enter, just leave a comment on this post! Entries close at the end of next Thursday, UK time, and the winners will be announced on Friday.

Now, once you’ve left that comment, remember to click on over to the next Garden Girl. Your next stop is the always amazing Jen Gallacher, a blog filled with constant happiness. And enjoy the digest posts from all the Garden Girls! You can also catch up with the Two Peas blog for everything happening in Pealand!

Fancy a post CHA chat? Just a tiny notice: I’m going to host an hour of live chat tonight/today (depending on your time zone) over on the Two Peas CHA message board. That chat will kick off at 8pm UK time, which is 2pm US Central time, and with a bit of luck you can adjust from there. I have lots of CHA posts left to finish the commentary and set live, but if you fancy some real time discussion on the message board, that’s where I’ll be! See you there, I hope!

Gardeners’ Digest is a monthly update from the Garden Girls, the design team at Two Peas in a Bucket. To keep up with the Garden Girls throughout the month, check out the garden gallery, find us on Twitter or subscribe to all our blogs with just a couple clicks.

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This weekend, one commenter will win a pair of kitchen prints from Peanutoak.

You may have noticed that July has been a month of beautiful artwork giveaways, and this week is no different – if you have fallen in love with our previous sponsors work then you are bound to adore the quirky and fun style of Peanutoak.

Patricia from Peanutoak creates beautiful bold images which feature an eclectic mix of subjects and some kooky phrases sure to have you smiling. I love finding out what inspires artists to create their work, and Patricia’s daily routine sounds beautifully inspiring:

_My name is Patricia and I’m a graphic designer. I usually work at home, dividing my day time between graphic design, arts and crafts and taking a few walks with my eighteen year old dog ‘Queenie’, who keeps me company during the day while I work. I live in Lisbon and it’s in this beautiful city that I also work. It’s a lovely, sunny and bright place to live and it’s easy to be inspired by it.
My brand is my signature as a person and it mirrors the story of my life, representing who I am as an artist. It often translates my tastes in several areas, such as movies, music, life and even nature and this is something of which I am very proud._

You can read more about Peanutoak prints via their Twitter or join the Facebook fan page.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling us if you are a kitchen goddess or kitchen catastrophe!

Entries close at midnight Thursday UK time and the winner will be posted Friday evening, so be sure to check back to see if it’s your lucky day!

Good luck!

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Congratulations to Kristen, who wins a place on the Scrapbooking Family Vacations Workshop with Nancy Damiano.

Kristen, We will be in contact with your prize details soon!

There’s a new giveaway every Friday night, so check back next week for another chance to win just by leaving a comment.

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I know this subject sounds ridiculous, but I promise I haven’t lost my mind. I’m quickly going to discuss Christmas scrapbooking supplies and then we’ll get back to it being July straight away.

What does happen in July is the CHA summer trade show, and I’m writing this from Chicago as the conference opens today and the show floor opens tomorrow. I’ll be posting a booth-by-booth rundown of what’s here at the show and Glitter Girl is reporting for Two Peas with a special series of product picks chosen to answer the sorts of questions that come up on the message boards there. But that’s not all: the summer show is also where I choose what I’ll be working with for Journal your Christmas, and I place all my orders to be able to share that with you through an optional Christmas scrapping kit.

I’ve been offering Christmas kits (called Christmas in a Box) to UK addresses for the past five years or so, and last year I worked with Two Peas to also be able to offer the same supplies from their shop, shipping to anywhere in the world. That will continue this year. Every year the UK supply of these kits has sold out on the first day, and I’ve had requests every year saying I wish I could have reserved a kit… so that’s what I’m offering this year.

Here’s the deal: if you would be ordering to a UK address and would like to reserve a kit, you can do so by paying a £5 deposit today. Kits will ship by the first of November (earlier if possible – manufacturers’ shipping dates are an important part of picking what will go in the kits). The £5 will be deducted from the total price of your kit. In past years, the kits have been priced at £40 to £45, including first class postage, and that is the same price range I will use this year: it will be no less than £40 and no more than £45, including first class post to a UK address. So you would simply pay £5 now to guarantee your kit, then the £35 to £40 balance will be due when the kit is ready to ship to you. If you choose not to pay the remaining balance for your kit, the £5 will not be refunded and you will not receive the kit, but that’s all: no further action will be taken.

Yes, I definitely realise it’s a bit different to consider paying a deposit to reserve a kit sight unseen, and by no means do I feel you have to do that! There will be a very (very!) limited number of kits further available to UK addresses at the time should you wish to see the kit in full. Or there is the option of ordering the kit contents from Two Peas, which requires no deposit (and Two Peas ships internationally). But every year I’ve had the same request, so I’m offering that to make sure I order a kit just for you while I’m here at the show and you will not have to worry about being online at just the right time to grab a beautiful box of Christmas goodness. It’s totally up to you which option is best.

To get an idea of the value of scrapbooking supplies packed into the kits, you can see last year’s kit as an example. There will be a similar balance: plenty of paper, letter stickers in a range of sizes, versatile pieces for layering and writing, quick-to-use embellishments and pieces with dimension. The kit does not include an album and can be used easily for different sizes of scrapbook, from a tiny mini album to a full 12×12 book. I always look to create a kit that can be used to the very end, so instead of everything being loudly Christmas in nature, you’ll find Christmas prints with simpler b-side prints (polka dots, stripes, ledgers) and elements that are Christmas in colour rather than pattern, so you can easily use those papers for non-Christmas projects by mixing and matching with other elements from your stash.

You don’t need to participate in Journal your Christmas to purchase the kit, and the kit is not required to participate in Journal your Christmas. It’s just for fun, and it can be a great way to treat yourself to a lovely mix of brand new products for Christmas crafting when the calendar is extra busy with holiday celebration leaving you little time to shop. By the way, after many years of just small changes here and there, Journal your Christmas is having a big refresh in 2012. But we’ll talk about that more when it’s closer to the holidays. (Rest assured, all previous participants are still welcome to join in at no extra cost.)

Okay, I think that is everything! If you are ordering to a UK address and would like to reserve your Christmas in a Box now, click to pay the £5 deposit and you’ll be all set! All other addresses, hold tight until we get closer to Christmas and I’ll have more information for you then.
Thanks – reservations are now closed! If you reserved a kit, I’ll email you when it’s time to pay the balance and receive your box!

I’ll take reservations until Wednesday, so I can make sure to order your kit here at the show. After that, no other reservations – just see if you can grab one of the few extras when they are ready to go. So don’t put it off if you want to reserve your kit!

And with that, let’s get back to July! And be ready for so MANY posts this week, live from CHA!

xlovesx

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This weekend, one commenter will win a class pass to Nancy Damiano’s new Scrapbooking Family Vacations workshop, worth $25 held over at Two Peas In A Bucket.

“Relive the magical memories you’ve shared with loved ones as Garden Girl Nancy Damiano takes you on a creative journey documenting your family vacations. From America’s favorite theme parks, cruises, road trips to day trips – we’ve got you covered! (Note: This workshop covers domestic travel only – we’ll tackle Europe & the world in a future workshop.)

So whether you’re still in the planning stages of this year’s vacation or sitting on stacks of old photos, Nancy’s got a plan for you! Join her as she guides you through a step-by-step process to divide, conquer and scrapbook those vacation photos.”

Included in the workshop are 50 brand-new scrapbook pages showcasing a variety of family destinations, helpful, printable PDF’s and 5 brand new videos to walk you through the ins and outs of organizing and scrapbooking your vacation. Each video covers Nancy’s approach to tackling vacation layouts, her perspective on using design on your pages and the creation of a layout from start to finish.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post along with your Two peas in a bucket username.

Entries close at midnight Thursday UK time and the winner will be posted Friday evening, so be sure to check back to see if it’s your lucky day!

Good luck!

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Congratulations to Rose, who wins a beautiful print from Black Baroque.

Rose, please email me (shimelle at gmail dot com) with your address.

We also have a winner for the UKS bloghop:

Well done Kat!

And – last but not least, the winner for Amy Heller’s Colour Class Pass

Well done Sandy!

There’s a new giveaway every Friday night, so check back next week for another chance to win just by leaving a comment.

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This week Glitter Girl read this discussion and thought surely there are plenty of ideas already out there for scrapbooking with ribbon, so she ran a trusty little search in places like Google and Pinterest. She found far, far more examples of how to store your scrapbooking ribbon than to use your scrapbooking ribbon, so she decided it might be best to start simply: a little washi, a little ribbon and a challenge to get you to use both on a layout this week.

This week Glitter Girl was quite excited to start working with BasicGrey’s new collection, Paper Cottage. You can find all that plus plenty of options for ribbon and washi tape here – just scroll to the bottom of the page to shop! Thank you BG for this great collection in colours I love.

After a little break from this album, I finally got my thoughts in order enough for this picture. The ‘In Blue’ title comes from the uniform colour – each level or grade or whatever they called the different divisions had a different uniform, with leotards handmade at the studio. So I can tell exactly where this fits in the timeline due to the leotard on its own, but the mismatched skirts and such do make me laugh! I decided to put some of the writing on show (and it is easier – but not completely easy – to read in person) and some additional writing tucked away in the pocket for my own personal notes but not really for public consumption. This album is filled with so much writing and I’m loving it, piecing together the story with so many fewer photos than I take now. It’s a good creative challenge and good for the mind to get all those memories filed away in a sensible way. Plus I’m giving myself permission to use pink on every layout. As if I need permission.

This week, Glitter Girl challenges you to use both ribbon and washi tape on your project, then share the results in the gallery! If you don’t have both, you can cheat and use what you have, but if you own both, use both! You can also leave a link in the comments here if you like.

Onward, covered in glitter, my dear scrapbookers!

The Adventures of Glitter Girl is a weekly series on Two Peas in a Bucket, and goes live every Wednesday. I’ll share each adventure here shortly after that. I hope you enjoy her quests for crafting happiness, and if you ever have a scrapbooking dilemma yourself, you can always call her to action on the message board.

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