The weather outside is frightful....

... well ok the weather outside is a lot better than it was but I still find myself longing for sunny days and short sleeved tops!

So to beat those end of winter blues I cracked open my Simple Stories 100 Days of Summer collection pack to make this summer layout.

I scrapped this at the weekend and it was only my second session of the year so it was nice to have all the matching "go with its" together in the collection pack - I just added Bazzill.

I love the Simple Stories ranges and this one is no exception, the colours, patterns and elements really brightened up a grey day! For extra impact I outlined several of the elements with my journaling pen just to make the stand out a little more.

Come to Mama!

I was wondering around cyberspace, yesterday evening, as I sometimes do whilst preparing dinner and though "Oh! I haven't popped over to ATDML to look at what they have that's new for a while"

Oh My Word! Have you seen the new Prima ranges that are now in stock?  There is one in particular that I instantly fell in love with and, coincidentally as it is pay day on Tuesday, some will have to fall into my shopping basket.

Gorgeous is not an adequate word to describe these little gems of lusciousness. I am not a 'vintage' scrapper but there is just so much potential for the Almanac range.   How gorgeous are these papers?

  
And then there's the blossoms to go with them

 

And if that's not enough - just look at these!

Well, all I can say is "Roll on payday" because these little beauties are all going to be mine   ;0)

Long Time No Scrap!

Aside from my work for the February DT gallery I have got very little scrapping done in 2012 for many (not very exciting) reasons.

LAst night and this morning however I managed a good scrapping session and finished this layout which I started a good few months ago!

I love the photo taken last May on our trip to Windsor but there was no particular story that it told so I used it for a layout to record something Olivia, my youngest daughter, said all the time for a few months.

For a long time she would say "I love you so much and a little bit!" after a while and me saying "only a little bit?" she changed it to "I love you so much and a great big bit!"

She still says her amended version but I am glad I scrapped her first version as it is the sort of quirky little thing that captures her funny personality but that in years to come I might not remember.

We like to think that we will remember every little detail of our kids \ family \ significant other but recently I looked through some layouts from Isabelles early albums and realised that even though she is still only six and a half there are still lots of things that I had forgotten about!

From Pixels to Paper

I like all types of scrapbooking. I like to make pages digitally, when sitting in front of the tv as I can create without having the mess to clear up. I like making hybrid pages when I use conventional supplies teamed up with digital supplies that I print out and of course I like conventional all paper scrapping.

Although, I like digital scrapbooking I am always left with the dilemma of what to do with the page. Sometimes I print them out but I like my pages to have texture and dimension so am usually unhappy with the result. Of late, I have been using the digital pages as a sketch to make a paper page and that is what I have done with this one. I really loved the layout and soft colours of the digital page (Echo Park digital elements) and so used similar papers (from an Echo Park Springtime pack) to recreate the page.

I find the taking a page from pixels to paper very satisfying and often take a digital page to a crop to change into a paper one. It is so quick to pull out the supplies you need because the page has already been planned and made once so it should be a doddle to make again in paper. Often the paper page is so much better than the digital one and for this one I was able to use the little birdies to further illustrate our conversation.

Do you redo pages again or are you a use a photo only once kind of scrapbooker?

*U/V* Thirsty Thursday

We thought we would combine letters U & V this week for our Thirsty Thursday challenge, especially as we didn't post one last week. Only a few more letters left in the alphabet so I am sure you all know how to play along by now. Below we have listed some prompts for you and we challenge you to use to kickstart your next papercrafting project. Incorporate one or more in a layout or card and share your creativity using the link at the end of this blog post for a chance to win a prize in our monthly draw.

U is for University - Have you scrapped your graduation photo, your sons/daughters? Maybe you have fond memories of your time at University that need to be told on a layout. This week we challenge you to create a page linked to University. Karen shares a layout for this challenge where she scrapbooked how hard it was bidding farewell to her daughter returning to University after her Christmas visit.

U is for Upside down - Why not take this month's sketch challenge, turn it upside down and use it for your next project inspiration? Maybe you have some upside down photos to scrap? Kids in the park hanging from the swings, maybe monkeys in the zoo (and can you tell the difference!) Share your upside down projects with us.

U is for Unfinished - Complete a page or project you started and share it with us here, a before and after photo which shows you completed it as part of this challenge. I often start pages at crops and then finish them off at home with those final touches I always omit to take with me!

Last weekend it was my photos I left behind so two pages were created with photos to be added later!

V is for VALENTINE - Have you felt love in the air this week? Maybe you have made a handmade gift for that special someone that you can share for this challenge? Why not scrap a photo that shows much love for this week's Valentine's challenge.

V is for VIOLET - Do you use shades of Violet or mauve in your projects much? I must say I don't tend to use this colour very often so this would be a great challenge for me - maybe an idea to get a head start on a Mothers Day card for next month and some nice Violet coloured flowers!

As always we would love to see how you interpret the challenges this week. If you'd like to be in with a chance to win a prize from the shop simply link your creations using our Inlinkz tool below, or leave us a lovely comment with a link to your page and which of the challenges (one or more) that you have met with your creation. This challenge runs until middnight on March 1st 2012.

Making The Most Of Every Last Scrap

The DT were lucky enough to be sent the gorgeous My Minds Eye Lost and Found 2 for their projects this month. Now I don't know about you but I am a very frugal scrapper when it comes to papers I love and in my opinion, those beautiful little strips at the bottom of each piece of paper are just too lovely to throw away. So for this page

I used them to enhance the banner cut from the 'Sunshine - Classified' paper. I also cut a couple up and used them at the bottom of the page.

Do you use every little scrap of papers you love? Keep your eyes peeled for hte Feb Gallery to go live with more My Minds Eye Creations.

Winners!

Time for some winners. I do apologise for the delay but I have results for the sketch challenge and trim giveaway. Ann will post Thirsty Thursday January winner in another post.

The Winner of the sketch challenge from Karens post is PurpleJet!

The Trim Winners are:

Comment number 13 (GlitteryKatie), 26 (Wendy) & 18 (Amy)

Could all winners please email me - Mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk with blog winner in the subject line. Trim winners I will need your address, Purplejet I need your email address and name so I can send you over your voucher. Thanks for taking the time to enter!

Scraplift Saturday

OK so technically it is Tuesday but this is the first of the February Scraplift Saturday posts we will be making. Several of the design team are playing along by sharing two layouts they have created, one original page and then a second layout scraplifting the first.

“Scraplifting” is a term that refers to copying/borrowing (or taking direct inspiration from) the idea behind a layout or design and using it or modifying it for your own layout. First up this week to share is Mel. Her original layout is below, entitled Friends.

Mel then replaces the circles with squares, the flowers with stars, journalling strips for a block, but otherwise retains the principle placement of materials on her page for this scraplifted page which was also a class at a former ATDML retreat.

If you fancy having a go at Scraplifting Mel's layout above please do share your creation with us using the link tool below. Happy scrapping!

*T* Thirsty Thursday

Bit of late night Thirsty Thursday from us this week and with a winter chill in the air and even chillier weather forecast for the weekend why not rise to the letter T challenge(s) this week in the warmth of your own home! You know how to play along - below we have listed some prompts for you and we challenge you to use to kickstart your next papercrafting project. Incorporate one or more in a layout or card and share your creativity using the link at the end of this blog post for a chance to win a prize in our monthly draw.

T is for TRIMS - The perfect way to add a finishing touch to a special project and the subject of our giveaway earlier today too. This week we challenge you to use trims on your projects. Take a peak at the variety we have in store here.

T is for TURQUOISE - Cool it down with browns and greys for a wintery feel or spice it up with warm oranges, yellows and reds for a summery page. How will you feature the colour turquoise on your project this week? Mel created this striking page using inks and mists in turquoise as shared in the March 2011 gallery.

T is for TICKETS AND TAGS - Great for adding dates to projects, or for hidden journalling or simply added as efemera tickets and tags appear frequently on pages. This week we challenge you to incorporate a tag or ticket or both on your next project. 7Gypsies produce a vast array of 97% complete tags for use on layouts - take a look at some of them in our store here.

T is for TIME - Bo Bunny had a great range of papers in their 2011 collections featuring clocks and other time related items. The April 2011 DT gallery showcases a number of projects featuring clocks or with time related titles including this one by Karen Moss. Why not use time, or clocks or a reference to the passing of time on a project this week.

T is for TIM HOLTZ - The most well known male in scrapbooking and the name behind many a crafting produc Mr Tim Holtz never fails to inspire with his creations. From Grungepaper to configuration boxes, stickers to adornments, Distress inks to masks; there are any number of items you can include on your project this week to meet this particular T challenge.

So that's it for another week folks. As always we would love to see how you interpret the challenges this week. If you'd like to be in with a chance to win a prize from the shop simply link your creations using our Inlinkz tool below, or leave us a lovely comment with a link to your page and which of the T challenges (one or more) that you have met with your creation. This challenge runs until middnight on March 1st 2012.

It's been a while................

We have been really busy compiling our orders for CHA, but I thought it seemed a long time since our last giveaway. To try and tie it in with our Thirsty Thursday challenge, our giveaway this time is a big bag of trim! We have a large selection of trims and I realised that they are not even all on the web site. Just leave a comment on this post by Wednesday 8th February at 8pm and we will be sending out 3 bags of trim to different people chosen by random.org, so you have three chances to win this time :)