6th Day of Christmas - A 2013 ATDML Overview (The Abbreviated Version)

Well 2013 has been a year crammed full of all sort of ATDML adventures, not least those of the crafting kind. In this short video there are a few snippets from each month of this last year and boy was it a good one!  But before you watch the video I would like to share a few words of wisdom as we say goodbye to the Old and welcome in the New Year.  Some folks say I have a short attention span, but they just ... Ohhhhhhh look ... sparklies!

A huge Thank you to Jill and Mel & all the ATDML family who provide so much more than crafting supplies They have given us opportunities to make new friends and to share ideas.

2013 has been fabulous- looking forward to what 2014 brings.

Wishing you all much love, much laughter and the Happiest of Happy New Years!

On the Fifth day of Christmas...

Ok - so it's meant to be 5 gold rings - well there are 5 rings in my project, but they are silver and attached to 5 chipboard tags!

 

I wanted to make a mini book for my resolutions for 2014. Usually my resolutions about doing less of things - eating less, spending less...etc but I decided that I am going to make next year a year of more. I had lots of ideas - more adventure, more creativity, more sending birthday cards to people and lots more... but I decided to focus on four things - M is for more music, I want to play my saxophone more and get back to the level I was when I was taking my grade exams. O is for organisation - I am a very last minute person and I want to try to be more organised in 2014. R is for rest - I am notoriously bad at staying up late but I know that I function better with lots more sleep so... it's early to bed in 2014. And finally E is for eating - yes, this year I vow to eat more instead of eating less!! So often my first meal of the day is in the evening and by that time I am so hungry I eat rubbish - so I am going to try to eat three proper meals a day - that way I'm hoping they will be healthier meals!

I decided that for a quick 'post-Christmas' project I would use up some papers from my scraps box - I chose some Graphic 45 scraps because I knew they would all go together ok.
I started by covering each side in a different paper, I then sanded the edges and used black ink on the edges to cover them up.

I then cut some flowers from one of the patterned papers to decorate the front cover. I added Thickers for my title and some ribbon to bind the book together...

All I have left to do now is add photos to represent my four resolutions and then I will have a little tag book that I can keep to hand to remind me of my resolutions throughout the year.

 

On the Fourth Day of Christmas.....

ATDML gave to me ...

Some new Marion Smith 'Mad Tea Party' papers.

These have recently come into the shop here - and when I saw them I knew I would have to get some ...
I thought I'd grunge things up a bit as when I'm in the mood I love to sit and play with inks and mists..... so I set to with some spray mist and a photo of me at one of my favourite places in the world.
I used some white distress stain on the frame which was one I had in my stash,then braved it and sprayed some red mist over the page at the top right and bottom left..

I just loved this paper with the hearts and crown and flowers, they are all things that describe the castle -majestic,beautiful and I love it!

I had some little flowers so I arranged them round the side and the corners and cut some little white paper hearts and gave those a little spray as well..

                           Then I used a harlequin stencil and white distress stain and some little words down the other side.

These Marion Smith papers are really varied and quirky and are something a bit different.

I really enjoyed using this one and will definitely be doing some more pages with the collection.

On The Third Day of Christmas .....

On the third day of Christmas the ATDML Design Team gave to me - missed opportunities!

As you know if you follow this blog I am passionate about scrapping the everyday and feel that there are many 'everyday' Christmas opportunities that can be scrapped.  I have used Simple Stores December Documented range to make two such layouts.

Shopping for Presents - this is one of our family traditions that started when Gracia was very young.  We go into our local town and have breakfast together at one of the large department stores.  Then David takes Gracia to get presents for me while I wander around the town choosing presents for Gracia and David, we then have lunch and after lunch Gracia and I shop for her presents to David while he shops for presents for us. 

 Trimming the Tree - how many of you capture the beauty of your Christmas trees and then forget to scrap the photos?  This year ours looked particularly gorgeous. It's David and Gracia task to buy the tree and Gracia's job to decorate it.  I was inspired by the three trees cut from one of the journalling blocks

and made a large tree by cutting a piece of copier paper into a triangle and then covering it with scraps of patterned paper to mimic the patterns on the small trees.  I cut baubles from black card using my Silhouette and then printed circular photos of my favourite baubles to mount onto these.

I hope this has inspired you to look for little family traditions to scrap which might otherwise be forgotten and do come back tomorrow to see what we have for the 4th day of Christmas.

On the 2nd Day of Christmas

Welcome to day two of the 12 days of Christmas. I am going to share a Christmas LO I recently taught at the Eclectic Keepsakes crop.

I love to use circles in my page design but this time I changed it up a little using the row of chevron stickers from the sticker sheet around the edge of the circle changing the shape slightly and adding interest.

I used the lovely December Documented range from Simple Stories which I know is a line I will come back to again and again!

The full PDF instructions for this class can be downloaded HERE on our site.

Come back tomorrow to see what we have in store for the 3rd day of Christmas!

On the 1st day of Christmas...

Welcome to your 1st day of Christmas with the ATDML design team. As promised this is day one of 12 days of blog postings from your favourite design team :)

I have created a box(ing) day themed layout for you today, a nice simple page for a portrait photo taken over the holidays. The idea being the page looks like a parcel, and it incorporates a neat bow technique that Katherine showcased on one of her retreat layouts from earlier this year.

I lightly inked the edge of each piece used on this layout.  You can ink heaver or leave off depending on your scrapping style. I first took a 12x12 background cardstock and added a 10"x10" square (kraft grid), followed by the parcel block in green which measured 6.75" x 7.5". From the same green patterned paper I cut 2 small ovals and 2 larger ovals,a bow centre strip (1/2" x 3") and two bow tails (1" x 3" each). I then mounted a 3"x4" photo on a slightly larger piece of red dotty paper, and cut a multi-coloured dotty piece out the same size, these formed the bottom two blocks of my parcel. I then cut two smaller blocks (same width as those above but not as tall) to complete the grid of four pieces making up the parcel. Next I made the bow. I inked both sides of each bow section. Fold each of the ovals not quite in half and layer a pair of smaller ovals over a pair of large ovals. Affix together with the bow centre which wraps around and hides the joins. Decide on the placement of your bow, mark where the tails are to be adhered, then affix the tails first and the the bow.  I completed my page with a sticker titles, some journalling and doodling.

Hopefully you will get some crafting time over the holiday season to join in with us. I know I will probably be busier than usual but I am planning on printing off my favourite days and taking them to my first crop in January along with photographs taken over the holidays. Should kickstart the mojo in the new year then! Enjoy! and see you back tomorrow where Mel hosts the 2nd Day of Christmas.

Happy boxing day to you all xx

12 days of Christmas with the ATDML design team!

We hope you are all prepared for the seasonal festivities of the days ahead, have your presents wrapped, your turkey ordered and are ready for some goodwill!. Something other than the washing up, grandpa's snoring and the chilly weather to look forward to after Christmas...we are having a 12 days of Christmas ATDML blogathon!

From December 26th through to 12th night on January 6th we will bring you a daily blog post from the design team sharing all sorts of craftiness to bring a smile, a chuckle and some inspiration to your day. We look forward to seeing you pop by each day. Do leave a comment to let us know how you are enjoying the posts from our design team.  Until then we wish a Merry Christmas to all our loyal blog readers.
See you soon xx

UKS Christmas Blog Hop - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the UKS Christmas Blog Hop! We hope you enjoyed yesterdays post, the lovely December Daily kit from Princess Scary!

Our project is very flexible. You can use it as an Advent Calendar, Christmas Organiser or a double layout to record your Christmas preparations.

The project was designed by the wonderful Jane Hewitt from our Design Team AKA J-Bug on UKScrappers and it was taught at our recent retreat where it went down very well :)

The link to download full PDF instructions is at the end of this post.

Click HERE to visit our site and download the PDF instructions.

Be sure to visit A Sprinkle of Imagination tomorrow for a Christmas Angel \ Art Doll from Biskit!

Happy Scrapping, and Merry Christmas!
Mel & Jill
xx

December Photography Challenge

Hello December, hello ATDMLers! Time for another photography challenge as another month rolls by. I know like me many of you will be stupid crazy busy this month with school bazaars and Christmas plays, festive shopping, work, seasonal preparations and of course keeping warm which is why some of our photography challenge items are indoors this month! No need to brave the outdoors if you'd rather not! Snap the signs of the approaching season from the comfort of your own home - well some of them anyway!!

Without further ado, lets see what I came up with this month...

DECEMBER Photography Scavenger Hunt

1. Advent
2. Seasonal foliage
3. Nativity
4. Lights
5. Family/Together
6. Busy hands
7. Festive Food

So from now until the end of the month see how creative you can get photographing your 7 items in among the chaos that can be December! Share them by leaving a link to your images in our comments below or in the December 2013 photography challenge folder on the ATDML #Create page on Facebook.

Pop back and see our review of November photos soon.

Ann x

Sharing a selection of October Challenge photos

We posted our debut photography challenge last month HERE and below we have some of the shots taken by our design team and customers during October.

Weather by Ann Freeman (rain drop covered web)

All seven challenge photos from Jane.

Love Wendy's Scary Cheese!!

Thanks for joining in! If you didn't have time in October join us this month as we continue with another set of 7 photo prompts for November. They can be found here and there is still time to join in!

A bit of a messy page !

The lovely Katherine from the design team shared a video of a mixed media page in the week and there is a little  trend at the moment for making such pages.I thought I'd share a page I did for the ATDML gallery a while ago using Prima resist canvas and Prima papers and products. it's not technically mixed media but its messy stencilly and stampy !

                                                 Hope you like it

The Return of Cards on Sunday!

Back after a long absence is my cards on Sunday spot. I sometimes forget, in my quest to scrap all my photos, how enjoyable it is to sit an make cards.

Last weekend I headed over to one of my favourite events of the year - Tina, a regular at our retreats, holds a craft day 2 or 3 times a year with card making inspiration and challenges and the option to do whatever you like craft wise.

One of the challenges was to use a certain piece of paper as the basis for a card. It was so pretty and reminded me a lot of some of the Prima lines we have had in stock and also some of the Marion Smith designs papers which are due in right about NOW!

I decided to make two cards with the pretty background paper and it really didn't take uch foraging around in my stash to find appropriate "go with its!"

With the addition of some stamping, a bit of sparkly bling and a couple of stickers and punched shapes my two cards were finished and I thoroughly enjoyed making them.

I actually did these when I was having a lapse in mojo for the layouts I had taken and once I had finished the cards I went on to make 3 layouts so maybe they were the kick start I needed!

A bit of T (L) C

I love the Teresa Collins Memorabilia range of papers, I've made loads of pages with them and still love the papers and colours, so for those who feel the same as me our gallery this month is going to packed with Teresa Collins.  Memorabilia is great because the colours work well with the male side of the family, but equally well with girls and also any occasion as there is not theme.  It has some very on trend Chalkboard papers, with frames and arrows…so elegant and trendy, all in one.

I started my page with one of the woodgrain sheets by Savanna, and then added some tea dye distress ink on a sponge pad to bring out some of the lovely grain this paper has and it is just a little different to having a completely neutral background.  I layered up lots of pieces of paper from the Memorabilia range, distressing the edges and then inking them with tea dye distress ink too, to keep it all consistent. I cut out a journal card and then some  of the shapes from the snippets sheet such as the arrow and word 'here' and used these as little embellishments around my photo.  The final touches included a couple of prima flowers - that go really well with the tea dye distress ink, and a sprinkling of sequins (the non-messy version of paint) with a pocket behind the picture for all my journalling.

Also for anyone that hasn't noticed ATDML now have our own Facebook group (in the sidebar near the bottom or search for ATDML # Create) with lots of inspiration and chat….and Mel is offering up a prize with some of the Optimist papers by Prima - if you love chalkboard you will love these - have a look at Karen's post.  The competition ends on the 13th November at 6pm, so it would be lovely to have you join us on Facebook too.

Feeling Optimist-tic!

Whilst at the recent retreat, I happened across the new Prima "The Optimist" range and, as  always with Prima products, instantly feel in love with it.  I was quite conservative with my purchasing, only buying a selection of the papers, the chipboard shapes and wood icons.  I could quite easily have taken every item they had in stock home - I loved it so much. I was also seduced by Prima's stunning bark butterflies!

Yesterday, whilst at Enfield Scrapmates crop, I set myself the challenge of making a layout or two with my little bundle of gorgeousness.  I quite often buy papers and can't bring myself to use them until I find another new favourite - that's me fickle by nature.

Gracia still takes dance classes twice a week, even though she is away at University studying a subject far removed from dance, and since the age of 2 and a half ballet has been one of her greatest loves.

So these are the end result, so far.

 

The story of how Gracia blagged a new pair of expensive pointe shoes from her Dad (note: Mum was at the retreat otherwise I suspect it would have been mum she blagged them off)

and one of her trying on her white and black swan outfits.

 

 I have trained her well, she knows it is imperative that she takes photos at every opportunity and sends them to me.  She truly is the daughter of a scrapbooker.
 

Oh dear! After going onto ATDML to find the link for this collection, I can feel another purchase looming ;0)

Scrapping The Everyday

If music be the food of love - play on.

What else should I choose to scrap but my iPod.  Small and sleek but bursting with good tunes - in fact mItunes!  Complete with it's little cupcake earphones and my constant companion.

Made with this fabulously fun range from Simple Stories.

Happy Sunday

Karen x

November Photography Challenge

Back again with another photography challenge which I may follow up with a scrapping challenge towards the end of the month too - for those of you that would like to join in.  So this month we are going to stick with seven items to find and photograph, this to make it achievable with the shorter days and longer nights, but it could be an ideal time to have a play with your camera or phone apps to try and grab some interesting nighttime shots, especially of fire or fireworks.  So what are you waiting for?

NOVEMBER Photography Scavenger Hunt

1. Fire/Firework
2. A reflection
3. Home comforts
4. View from a window
5. Sign of the Season
6. Favourite drink
7. Something you are thankful for

So from now until the end of the month see how creative you can get photographing your 7 items and do pop back here, leave us a comment and share your favourites. Alternatively you can share them on our new Facebook group ATDML #Create where there will be an album for sharing your November challenge photographs.  Happy hunting and be sure to pop back in a few days a view some of your October photographs!

Ann x

2013 Autumn Retreat

I've just returned from a fantastic weekend at the ATDML Autumn Retreat in Suffolk.  There were lots of classes and challenges, with some make and takes too as well as chatting, chocolate and good food.  For anyone that hasn't been here are a couple of shots of just a little bit of the cropping space we have....yes mine is the messy desk!

Beautiful views and the shop just a couple of steps away filled with lovely goodies.  Mel and Jill put on a large number of challenges which anyone can have a go at over the weekend, so I wanted to share the winners and their fantastic creations with you.

First up is Tina Kelson, winner of the card challenge...not only is it beautiful on the outside, but inside there is room for a picture and little pockets.

Next the altered art challenge...this started as 2 cones and Sarah Hunter created a Father Christmas puppet which makes a gorgeous jingling bell noise as you move it and all the bottle caps knock each other.

The Mystery Kit challenge which contained some of Simple Stories baby steps range and Denise Bird not only had some gorgeous baby shots, but made a little baby grow washing line and flap to show another photo.

And Vicky Freeman with a beautiful layered page, I love the kraft and stripes together, and a gorgeous photo for the number 1's challenge so the title is 'I will always love you'.

Tracy Annuziato won the bingo challenge with a very elegant page with lots of distressed and layered squares.

Ann Freeman won the sketch challenge with this fun page about her daughter and beautiful Simple Stories Say Cheese.

And finally the one that escaped my photography...Jo Launchbury won the project life challenge with her first go at a project life page.

Well done everyone.  

Jill came to visit us all a couple of times and is looking great after her hip operation.  If you haven't seen the shop website - the weekend storm brought down one of the trees cutting off power to the shop chalets, but even with no power they are still packing orders and hopefully the power will be sorted out soon.

Preparing for a retreat

This time next week the shop and many customers will be scrapping up a storm in Stoke-by-Nayland as we gather for the second retreat of 2013.  I have been busy preparing my two classes, my make and take, writing up instructions and photographing items and as always I suddenly arrive close to the event and realise I have prepared very little for myself.

So I thought I would do a quick blog post on preparing for an ATDML retreat. Nothing clever about this but it might serve as a reminder to some so in simple bullet point format here we go

1. Photos for your classes, extras for challenges
2. Basic tool kit (scissors/trimmer/glue/foam pads/journalling pen)
3. Fave die cuts (the Sizzix machine will be there) and punches
4. Inks/paints/sprays and fave stamps
5. Baby wipes (if you've plenty of #3)
6. Blank kits made up with papers/card/embellies/photos for quick pages
7. Few sketches/scraplift images to kickstart mojo if needed
8. Cash/Cheque book for shop (remember no card machine!)
9. Overnight bad/washbag/change of clothes (always last min)
10. Snacks/nibbles/tipples
11. Raffle prize donations
12. Anything else you are bringing for someone else!

Am sure there are many more things, though given how little time I have left to prepare I'm hoping not too many more.

What item do you take to a retreat or crop that you cannot live without?

October Photography Challenge

I love this time of year Autumn, and this month in particular.  There are so many beautiful colours to be seen outside and whilst it is sad to bid farewell to the summer I do love fluffy socks, comfortable boots, cocoa and steaming hot soup!.  I find myself taking more photos of things that please me and remind me of this season, almost as many as I do in the Summer and with a phone that has a pretty nifty camera on it as well it is not hard to snap away more frequently. I know I might be in the minority here and as the nights draw in sooner and the days get shorter it can be hard, as scrapbookers, to find ourselves taking as many photographs. So I thought, what about a little challenge to take us through to the end of the month?

OCTOBER Fortnight Photography Scavenger Hunt

1. Time (to represent clocks changing at the end of the month)
2. Pumpkins
3. Autumn Leaves
4. Weather (good or bad, blue skies or wet shoes!)
5. Winter Warmer
6. Something Scary
7. A Treat :)

So from now until October 31st lets see if you can collect the 7 items on the list above this month. How creative can you get? Will it take you out and about more often or at least make you appreciate the vibrancy of the season.

Leave a comment with a link to your images if you feel like sharing. I will be joining you so lets see what we can photograph for the remainder of the month! Who knows, if this proves popular maybe we can make it a monthly challenge! Enjoy!

Soap & Glory

Now, as you know, I like to record the everyday.  When Gracia came home for the summer she had an array of Soap and Glory products.  They seemed to take over our bathroom and at first I didn't pay them much attention. BUT one day I read the fabulous names the company gives their products, my favourite being 'Scrub Your Nose In It', and knew that this was something I had to scrap.

 

As luck would have it Jill and Mel had sent me some beautiful Teresa Collins Family Stories  and Memorabilia papers to work with and the colours went perfectly with the photos.

Say Cheese!

Known to be a bit of a fan of Simple Stories I was drawn to the Say Cheese collection and it's fun colours.  Last weekend I taught a couple of layouts using these papers for Karen's Eclectic Keepsakes crop in Marks Tey near Colchester.  We made the most of the 12" strips paper which has so many cool elements and layered them on the great patterned basic papers that come with this collection.

 

Whilst the range is marketed as a Disney theme there are plenty of aspects which can be used for other pages as shown on my second layout but my first page I went with the magic theme and scrapped our summer visit to Harry Potter world - at the time the kids BEST DAY EVER!

My second page has no magic nor Disney them but rather photos of the boys at the end of the last day of school when their much awaiting and eagerly anticipated summer holidays were to begin. The Bingo card paper has many generic cards which can be used with an array of pages, and of course I have plenty left for another layout or two...watch this space!

For those attending the forthcoming ATDML retreat Mel is teaching her Sunday class with this paper collection too!