Trends on Tuesday - Going Airmail

Over recent months I have seen lots of airmail stripes and postal connections in papers, washi tape or just using old stamps on pages.  Seven Gypsies have a lovely vintage postal range which has a whole sheet of airmail stripes so I had to have a go and incorporate them in my page.  I just used small amounts of the stripes - in my tabs at the top and bottom of the page and my bunting - I cut a strip of paper about 1.5 cm across and then just cut it little triangles into it.  I then wrapped the top of the bunting flag around some garden twine and stapled it in place.

The airmail stripe is also perfect for scrapping summer holiday pages and October Afternoon have a lovely airmail stripe in their Boarding Pass range here and some lovely postal franc stamps from Bo Bunny here.

Thicker Love & Special Offer

We currently have a special offer on Thickers - 30% off all of them! I thought I would share a few favourite layouts with thickers on and then realised that they are sooooo versatile and come in so many styles then it would be harder to find layouts where I didn't use them!

Anyway, here is a couple of layouts using Thickers over the years. If you want to pop by and stock up at a bargain price then click HERE to go to our alphabet section and browse Thickers by type

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Pretend Camping!

Sorry to have been missing in action - I have been away camping with friends. The Hand family are not the most hardy of campers so we managed one night under canvas and then the other two days we stayed at the campsite all day but came home to sleep!!! I have decided this is definitely my kind of camping :) - I might add that the camp site was about 30 minutes from home so we weren't "commuting" that far!

I do however have plenty of camping photos to scrap and will be anxiously awaiting "Take A Hike" from Simple Stories to scrap some of those pictures. I love the fact that once you have used up the more themed pieces like the elements sheets the colours and patterns on others papers will work for lots of different themes.

I am still loving bunting and tickets so these stickers make me very happy! I can already imagine my photos of the girls toasting marshmallows on a layout with this paper range :)

Trends on Tuesday - Confetti isn't just for Weddings

There are lots of things you can do with confetti, and it is a fantastic use of little scraps of paper.  I have used a small star punch to make my confetti, but any remains from punches can be piled together to give this effect from your basic hole punch to the left over bits from a border punch.  I have scattered the confetti like I would paint drops on this page from right to left so my photo is in the centre and the confetti balanced on each side.  I stuck the stars down once I had them in place with a little liquid glue.  The papers I have used for this page are the Summer Fresh range from Simple Stories which you can find here (that is one of my favourite pieces of colourful chevron paper too)

However this is not the only ways to use confetti, you can also pop it in a glassine bag (you can use vellum to make a little glassine style envelope) and add it to a card or on a page - for this one I popped some PVA glue in the envelope so all my little punched pieces didn't fall down to the bottom.

So why not trying bagging up the offcuts from your punches and scattering them across your page.

Class Prizes

Well the deadline for uploading class projects from the cyber crop has finally passed and we had a total of 49 separate entries. Each one went in the draw for one of the six mini prize packs.

I got Random dot org to pick me 6 numbers from 1-49 and the numbers were allocated as follows: Class 1 participants number 1 - 13 the participants for class two were numbers 14 - 16 with the person who was number one in class 2 being allocated number 14... I hope this makes sense!

Anyone drawn twice will win one prize and a further drawing made.

So without further ado, the draw was:

Number 18 - Helen H

Number 21 - Sue J

Number 27 - Krafty Karen

Number 42 - Gemma Steele

Number 47 - Denise

Number 49 - Helen H (duplicate winner so redrawn below)

Number 20 - Kathryn

Please can all our winners send an email to Mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk to confirm your postal address and a small prize will be with you very soon.

Thanks again to all who took part! 

A Couple Of Layouts From Those Starting Points...

I posted my "Starting point layouts" or base pages the other day which I made up from the cut up collection pack. I have had hardly any time to scrap so it has been lovely to pick up a base page and know that I just have to add a photo, journaling and embellishments. The first one is a photo I took nearly 6 years ago when we went to see our new neice for the first time, I added some bling, some of the stickers which were in the collection pack and a few other bits and pieces that I had lying around.

The second layout really is straight in real life!!! The sticker sheet had the stamps on it but two of them were not right for the project so I amended them by layering paper and die cut shapes on top. The photo is Izzy with Elizabeth (known in our house as Libby Libby but to retreat goers as Elizabeth who adds up their shopping bills!)

I am thoroughly enjoying this method of scrapping - I am sure I will still scrap in my usual inefficient, slow and indecisive way sometimes but this is certainly giving me a boost in the mojo department!

CHA Summer 2012: Simple Stories and their new brand Sn@p

We are really excited about the new Summer CHA releases. Currently our two top sellers at ATDML are Simple Stories and Graphic 45 and I have some sneak peeks of Simple Stories to share today plus some exciting news from them :)

First up here is a peek of their three new lines Harvest Lane, Handmade Holiday and Take A Hike.

They also had some exciting news to share, Simple Stories are releasing a second brand called Sn@p. It is bright, zingy and vibrant and we really like the look of it! You will have to wait until October for Sn@p products to hit the shelves but here is a preview.

Creating With Collection Packs

I have had hardly any time to scrap since the Cyber Crop as the end of the school year is a little manic; assessments made, data uploaded and analysed etc...

I did however sign up to this class called "The Perfect Collection" by Shimelle which addresses one of my big problems - stacks of unused paper, particularly collection packs which I love (nice to have lots of co-ordinating bits) but am very guilty of hoarding on the shelf.

I decided to work with BG Bittersweet, an old valentines line which I used a couple of pieces from and had the rest of the pack, some stickers, alphabets and rub ons to work with. For my base I have used Kraft and White Cardstock and a pack of Scenic Route Backgrounds papers.

So far I have made several base pages - I think I am up to 9 now but here are six of my favourites.

When I have finished making base pages I will have a stack of layouts just ready to add photos, journaling and embellishment!

Quick page with Cakewalk

Sharing a quick and simple to recreate layout with you today, a bright a cheery page to hopefully chase away the wet and windy weather out there. I knew I wanted this paper from the new October Afternoon Cakewalk as soon as I saw it.

Just the one sheet of patterned paper with so much going on can make a layout that looks like hours has been spent cutting when in fact it was minutes. I added a sheet of white and a sheet of black cardstock, some 7Gypsies alphabet stickers and American Crafts Thickers, oh and a few odd brads I had lying around.

First I trimmed 1cm from the left and top sides of the white card and mounted it on to the 12x12 black cardstock.  I used two 6x4 portrait photos which I had printed with a white border and placed these slightly off centre on my page (aligned more to the left than the right).  Looking at the patterned paper shown as it is above I cut from the left, along the lines between the blue numbered piece and the red dotty, cutting around the star when reached it then along between the diamond strip and the green strip.  I then rotated this piece around, cut upside-down V shapes in to the edge of each different pattern to give the impression it was many banner strips placed together. Once done I affixed this piece to the right of the two photos, ensuring the start overlapped my photos. Next step involved cutting the next three strips round, from the green piece to the blue pattern. Trimming this slightly and again cutting inverted V's into it I added another small burst of colour to the left of the top photo. I covered a small chipboard heart in another patterned strip from teh remaining paper, in addition to punching out a couple of butterflies.  Finally I doodled some black dots around the bursts of colours, added my title, some brads, journalling and the butterflies for a quick page that looks like it took much longer than 15-20 minutes to make! Hope you enjoyed and that maybe the cheery colours brightened your day. xx

Quick and Simple Layout

I wanted to share this quick and simple layout I made a couple of weeks ago. I have still got a lot of photos from my 2010 holiday which I want to scrap and although it was a relatively simple layout I had fun doing it and I am pleased with how it turned out. I find that I often need to remind myself that every layout does not need to be an intricate masterpiece to be a pleasing way to capture a memory!



Once again I reached for the Simple Stories and used some more of the Summer Fresh range. I also managed to use a little bit of an ancient KI Love Elsie ribbon!

Also, I wanted to give you a quick reminder that the deadline for uploading your cybercrop class layouts is around a week away. We will hold a random draw. Every layout you upload will get you one entry into the draw. We will pull out six names and they will each receive a small prize so the more layouts you upload the greater your chance of winning!

Thursdays are trendy too :) - Triangles

Triangles have been appearing more and more on the scrapping front lately and a popular way to use them is to layer them all up as below.  They nice thing about using them in this format is that they create an arrow type shape which draws your eye across your page, or highlights a certain area.

Compared to hexagons triangles are very easy to make and cut down to the right size. I start by cutting a 1" square piece of paper.  Once you have done this you just need to cut your square on the diagonal, and if you want a smaller triangle then cut the triangle in half again.  So a really easy embellishment to add to your page without needing any fancy tools

Here are a few inspiring triangle pages I found on the web to get your creative juices flowing

Sophie Crespy
Mandy Strainer
Marcy Penner
Waleska Nerris

I'll be back the week after next on Tuesday with the spotlight on another trend.

Hope you've enjoyed it.

Katherine

Our Blog Hop Winner

As promised as well as entering the main UKS draw if you commented on all the blogs we have done our own draw from those who commented on ours.

The winner, chosen by Random dot org is.....

kim3 July 2012 09:17 Really lovely layout- love the circles. Kim on UKS

Kim, please email Mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk and a little prize will be on the way to you!

UKScrappers Blog Hop July 2012

Hi, welcome to the ATDML stop on the UKScrappers blog hop. Many of you will have come here from A Sprinkle of Imagination where I am sure you found more than a sprinkling of inspiration!

To be included in the prize draw over at UKScrappers please leave a comment at the end of this post and ensure that you visit all the blogs in the circle, then post on the UKScrappers Thread.

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Our project for you today is a layout using what I consider an instant classic range - Simple Stories Yearography. I have so many products from this range in my personal stash and still I worry when I use them that I will run out and "need" the things I use again!

For this layout I had a set of three photos taken one after the other of Olivia in one of the local parks trying to get across a wobbly balance beam. I like the way you can tell a story or convey a moment using a series of photos and although I love single photo layouts I find that increasingly I like to get a few photos on the page.

Looking at the photos it is obvious that there is movement going on in the pictures and I wanted a more dynamic look to my page so decided to use diagonal lines to make it a little different to my usual style. This also worked well as the park in the photo is on a hill so placing all three photos side by side would give an awkward stepping effect on the fence and horizon. Instead I lined them up so the fence was continuous as shown below, adhered them to an offcut of cardstock and trimmed where the red lines indicate.

My background comprises a sheet of Kraft cardstock, a 6x12 piece of patterned paper above the photo strip and a 2x12 strip below the photo strip with a calendar piece cut from another piece.

I love the fact that on many of the Simple Stories designs include layered elements already on the paper making it quick and simple to make a layout with lots to look at. 

The final step was to use the co-ordinating stickers to embellish the page. I really enjoyed working with these stickers and was very happy with how it turned out. Something I particularly like to do is use embellishments to blur the line between the photos and the background. By placing the tree stickers in the park it firmly links the photo to the papers around it taking away that hard edge and merging the two a little.

I hope you enjoyed this project, please keep reading for details of a special offer and for the next stop on the blog hop!

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TODAY ONLY - 15% OFF ALL ORDERS OVER £10 FOR BLOG COMMENTERS ONLY

Please enter the code 30712-blog in the discount code box (not the comments box) and in the order comments box note your blog ID if you do not comment under your regular name.

**Not valid on Gift Vouchers**

BLOG HOP ADDITIONAL PRIZE DRAW:

In addition to the main draw on UKScrappers we will make an additional draw of all those who comment on this post and send a small bonus prize so you have 2 chances to win!

Check back on Wednesday evening to see if you won!

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I hope you enjoyed this stop on the blog hop. To continue on the UKScrappers blog hop your next stop is Art From the Heart.

Winners

Random dot org did the business for us and picked out winners for the challenges. The winners are as follows:

**Cybercrop Challenge 1** STAMP YOUR FEET WINNER: Helen
**Cybercrop Challenge 2** JUBILEE BUNTING WINNER: Furrypig
**Cybercrop Challenge 3** READ ALL ABOUT IT WINNER: Eleni
**Cybercrop Challenge 4** SKETCH IT! WINNER: Denise
**Cybercrop Challenge 5** Olympic Podium WINNER: Scrapdolly
**Cybercrop Challenge 6** SCRAPLIFT IT WINNER: Antonia

Would all winners please email me confirming their address and a little prize will be on the way to you shortly. My email address is Mel@atripdownmemorylane.co.uk

Thanks to all who took part in the Cyber Crop. I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at the entries and will make sure to look at any which were uploaded during my weekend away very soon.

Don't forget to come by tomorrow ready for the UKScrappers Blog Hop, there will be another chance to win and a special offer for those commenting on our blog tomorrow :) 

Gone Fishing!

Well actually I am writing this just before I leave for a girls weekend away!  It has become a twice yearly tradition amongst my group of close friends to go off for a Bluewater weekend twice a year for shopping, lots of eating and a night in a hotel! I found this layout which I don't think I have shared on here.

The photo was taken just as we were leaving after our first trip there. I will set this to publish on Sunday morning when I hope to be enjoying a long lie in, a trip to the gym and pool followed by a delicious Hilton breakfast!

See you soon and hopefully next week I will have some more recent crafting!