New layout

Right now, my favorite paper company is Making Memories, specially their die cut papers.
So I could not resist the new Noteworthy papers, ribbons and journaling notebook. Also I used the Prima felt lace in the back.

So, no big sporting news today, but I am still feeling happy about Nadal's victory a week ago. Thanks for all the messages and comments left. I love the fact that so many non Spanish people were supporting Rafa. Anyway, hopefully I will be posting more crafting entries.

Small project

I haven't been a good blogger as I have really busy the last few weeks and I will be for the next few weeks. Tomorrow I have the first session of step by step photography for my third book, really looking forward... to tomorrow evening when the session is over as it is quite tiring process.


This is the project I taught last Saturday at Treasure Crafts. I love teaching there, the atmosfere is always so lovely! This project is what I call a scrapcard, but I am not sure if everyone would agree that it is. I guess as of now it doesn't have photos therefore the scrap part doesn't quite apply.
The butterflies are from the Cricut Home Accents cartridge and the papers are from My Minds Eye.


But whatever you call it, I think is a great little project to send as a card for a family or a card that a family sends to one person. Why? because as it has different pages and little tags, you can write different messages for different people, or different people can write each a message for the one recipient. (I don't know if what I just wrote makes sense, too late to check it out!)

Some scrapping

Sometimes when I have nothing to do, I have no ideas or no imagination to do anything, yet when I a am busy with loads of works, I have this urge to do other stuff like scrapping.

Now I am immerse into the process of making my third book (the second one it's already finish!). Next week the photographer will come and do the firsts step by steps which means that between now and then I have to have everything set for that purpose, but it should be all right.

One of the past days, missing my better half I was inspired to do this really simple layout using Basic Grey's Arcaic collection. I was going for a title, then I thought: all the layouts of Omar have OMAR written over them, it is just silly! That is to show that there aren't really any rules in scrapbooking and if something works for you, what should you care if anybody else likes it or thinks that it needs something?

By the way, on the back I have written all the info, even some emotional stuff. Some may wonder why I have put it somewhere hidden. For me, when I was making this layout I was just happy designing it, which meant that the visual aspect was more important than the emotional one. As I, for one, do not like how the words sound when I journal, never feel confident on displaying my journaling and hence my hidden journaling specialty. If the writing is hidden, I feel more free to enjoy the process and after all that is what scrapbook as a hobby is all about.

Travel memorabilia

We do our fair bit of traveling, and me being me, that is a magpie that keeps absolutely everything, I end up with masses of memorabilia. I really like to kep my non acid free stuff away from my precious pages and photos, so I created this tag-a-long mini album.


Alternating I put in some journaling spaces in plain pages or even in chipboard arrows that I painted or covered. Also I attached a spare photo of the place so I can easily identy what it is inside without having to read it!


Each main page is actually an envelope made with the cricut expressions, which allows me to make a decent sized envelope with 12 x 12" patterned paper (Basic Grey in this case). This envelopes contain the memorabilia.


Of course, the whole thing is hold together with the Bind-it-all.

Stampin Up and Everything

Although I am a Stampi n Up demonstrator, it is true that I am not pushing it very much. The trth is that I am very busy with other stuff, but if you ever want to make an order you can through me.

As I posted before, this past week I was feeling creative, so I did this little album. It is really a cross between card and scrapbook as it only has two photos and uses loads of rubber stamps and a little bit of journaling.



I used the clear scallop circles from Craftwork cards, Stampin Up stamp set (US set, not yet in the UK as I bought it while I was in the States), Paisley Basic Grey rub on on acetate and flowers from different companies.


As you can see I cut all the circle just slightly so I could bind them with the Bind it all, I also incorporated the rectangle ruffles just to add other shapes in to the circular album.

Mini album fever

I know Christmas is long pass but I thought I would share this little album make last year about a family Christmas. I am so in love with mini scrapbooks, hey are so easy and quick to make. All the products are 7 Gypsies.

In love with my cat, as if you didn't know that!

All is ready for tomorrow, Make it show at Farnborough, where I will be demonstrating the Cricut expressions using the Design Studio!

Fun

Lately, I find myself scraping less and less for fun. Still, I love it, and find it really useful, however I seem to have lost my scrap motivation at least for layouts, though cards and mini albums keep coming out of my head and my hands.
This one shows how little journalling -non existing- or relation between photo and the artwork I use lately.
Mix and match of products as usual. Background by Creative Imaginations, Patterned paper by BG, Letters by Heidi Swapp, Stamp by Melissa Frances and flower by Prima.

One of my favorites

This layout is indeed one of my favorites, not so much for its theme but for how it came out. The Basic Grey paper is the exact shade of blue as was my dress for my sisters wedding and the unusual edge is just funky (at least in my books!).
This week has been really hectic. Monday: designing some cards for an article; Tuesday: down to The Glitter Pot (Scaynes Hill) and Tresure Crafts (Burgess Hill) with my friend Sarah to pick up some stuff I needed for my future classes there (see right for details); Wednesday: QVC, TSV from noon till 1:30 in the morning!; Thursday: Scrap session at my house with a new addition to the club (no, it's not Wasabi); Friday: preparing for today's demo and another article; Saturday (today): demo at The Paper Mill Shop (Ashford).
Right now: really tired but happy.

QVC was a bit tiring but it was lovely to work beside Leonie, Carly and, of course, Dawn. Met Nacy Hill owner of Die Cuts With a View, who had an hour, she got crossed with me because I took one black 12x12" from her stash! But she had loads, so she then soon forgot all about it. If anyone saw the bit when I got in front of the cameras, please understand that comment from Dawn is truly not shared by me! (I know I am NOT the best scrapbooker in Surrey, so hardly I am going to be in the world!) However, it was sweet of her to say that.

Today, I was at the Paper Mill and Lousette Ashton, who really is one of the best scrapbookers in the world pop in. She is such a nice lady! And also very nice was that Richard, the shop's owner (I think) who gave me an A4 fox full of my choice cardstock as a thank you for the demo gift. Really nice and totally unexpected.

I have realized this last few days how lucky I am, I mean I work really hard, but all my big breaks, if one could call them big, have arrived without me looking for them. When I do, I never get them. I guess my lesson for this week is: do my job as better I can, never say no to craft jobs and not have high expectations, good things will come!

Ah, and by the way, the RAK for Charity keeps going on. I have a couple more coffee tins available and thanks to Sarah, Jan and Linda we have already £39 in the tin, which added to the first donations means that we have raised over a hundred pounds!

Bind it all

Love this machine! And I get to demonstrate it next Saturday.
trying to make some nice samples, yesterday I made this mini album about my school experiences. The pages are just the Basic Grey Chipboard tags that fitted the old die cut shapes. Well, lets just say that the new Recess line from Basic Grey set the theme, and then found some nice rub ons (again from Basic Grey, how original of me! NOT)


The idea of incorporating the pencil was from my DH Omar, it is an Ikea one, you know the free ones! Also it has a function, it keeps some of the tags straight. Then I looked for other reasons into Basic Greys gallery and one of the Recess samples had pencils on! Nothing is original anymore, even if we come up with a novel idea, somebody else has or is thinking/doing the same.


Inside I used Journaling stamps, but I haven written anything yet.

Back Home

Again. I am happy to be home. Although I am tired because we just arrived a couple of hours ago and it is very hard for me to sleep in the plane. However the coffee I took meant that I couldn't sleep in my bed either.
Oh well, I'll start sorting out the stash I bought in Canada which look like this:


And this is the only layout I did while I was in Toronto.


(Basic Grey Obscure collection, 7Gypsies Rub ons, Fontwerks Journalling card.)

Marrakesh

Morroco is one of those countries that you either love or hate, and sometimes all in one day. I personally think that is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to, after of course, Italy, Spain and Japan, in no relevant order. This photo was taken in my second trip while we were wearing kind of traditional clothes in one of the valleys around Marrakesh. I used some of the Rusty Pickle Cap'n Jack range including papers, stickers and stamps. You can see all the products here.
By the way, the photo was taken in May 1999, the layout done in April 2007.

Just so you know...

... my family.

An insiders view of Dawn Bibbys world {Part One}

So many of you, I am guessing here, have seen or heard of the QVC Craft expert: Dawn Bibby. You may know her also because appears regularly in many cardmaking magazines. Because of her regular appearances on TV she is probably the most know face in the UK craft industry, I mean everybody knows of her and many people have an mental image of how is she. Well, I was no different and I had in my mind an idea.
When I met Dawn for the first time we were in Holland. As exotic as this may sound, it was not exotic at all, more like craft business and fun. Kars, one of the wholesale companies I work for, every year host a demonstrating and buying event at their warehouse in Holland. Kars demonstrators including myself were invited to this event last year, September 2006. There I met Dawn and Leonie, her lovely yet spirited assistant. A few months later Dawn needed another assistant at QVC for a few weeks and she remembered me and offer me the job. Let me tell you that maybe on the screen the whole thing looks really glamorous and fancy, in real life, it is a bit more down to earth. Long, long hours, and when I get there Dawn ussually is already there. She works really hard, so much so that when everyone else is exhausted and cranky, she still has stregh to go in front of the camera and sell you craft stuff.
Going up to Lancashire to demonstrate for the weekend was a first in my crafting life. The demo was Saturday and Sunday, so I drove up on Friday, and thanks to the advice I left fairly early, at least by my standards. My trusted Sat Nav took me via M1: BIG mistake. All in all it took me about six hours when it should had taken me around four and half. But I do enjoy driving and I had plenty of time so it wasn't a major set back.
Got to the Mill (Topaz is within a restored mill converted in to a shopping area), I set up my demo area and helped merchandising a little bit.
As I was staying with Dawn and JJ at their beautiful and comfortable house (it sounds kind of clishe but it is true, honestly) Dawn and I spent the evening making samples, pricing things up and so on until really late (even for my standards). I went to sleep before Dawn did and she kept working for awhile. Oh, boy, I really don't know where she gets the strength to go on.
This two photos, top and bottom, were taken on Saturday night, which means that already an exhausting day of demos all day long had passed by and yet, here we were making cards almost all night. Yes, there is love of the craft, but it is also work!

This photo taken by JJ shows his height, not a short man! also the photo shows how tired we were after 15 hours of work.
I think what it shows is that yes, Dawn Bibby is successful but she works really hard for it.









On the Sunday I did loads of ATC's, a recent love of mine to be honest, but that I really enjoy. It is instant and very fun to swap. This ones were mostly Christmas themed. Yes I know, it is only early August, but for cardmakers this is when everything Christmassy starts.








On the Saturday I concentrated mostly on scrapbooking doing and chatting people on how to start, a few basics and so on. One of the layouts I did at Topaz Crafts using Phoebe collection from Basic Grey, Maya Road tinted clear plasma and American Crafts Chipboard alphabet. This is not the first layout I have done with this photo, but because I like it so much I tend to reuse it. Also it helps the fact that I have quite a few copies, thanks to the perfectionist husband of mine who doesn't stop till he gets the perfect print.

I need a good camera!

And a new computer, and a... well so many things that I would like to have but don't. In the mean time, bad photos will have to do the job of illustrating this entry.
Today I had some friends over and did a scrapping session. I really enjoy this sessions, we enjoy each others company and ideas. Also, everyone can use my tools. Sometimes I really do a lot, sometimes I am just helping. Today was quite productive and I did this two layouts.
The first layout is using a photo that Omar took with hi 1938 Rolleiflex while I was interviewed in the town where I was born, Zaragoza. The white background is 11 inches wide so that the patterned papers that go over edge make up the 12".
The second Layout features the cutest baby, Omar when he was one month old.
Tomorrow I am off to Lancashire to demonstrate at the Topaz Crafts demonstration weekend, where I will be doing some scrapbooking. Don't look forward to the drive, but I have never work up North (if you don't count Scotland!).

Shimelle's class

Yesterday I treat myself to an all day class at Creative Pastimes. The teacher: Shimelle Laine, another of my big scrapbooking idols. I had been wanting to go a class of hers for ever and finally I could do it. The theme was Journalling and, she is good! she makes it quite simple to actually sit and think and then write. Of course, for the morning project, a layout, I had to use a photo fo Wasabi. (Sorry about the refection of the flash, as some of you may know I take the photos using my camera phone!)
I look forward to the 24th of August when Shimelle is back at Creative Pastimes to teach about embellishments. By the way, Shimelle's famous cupcakes are as scrummy in real life as they look in the photos.

Sometimes, other scrapbookers/crafters ask me why I go to classes. Although I don't go as often as I would like, because of time and money, I think that everytime that I go to class I learn a lot, not only about a technique or composition but about how to teach. Yes, I did have some proper (although brief) training on how to teach (spanish as a foreign language) but seing someone else as a teacher helps to see how to improve myself and become a better instructor.

So if you have chance, go to a class, you never know what you will learn. Be open minded and think of what you can learn and not what you thought you were going to learn.

May 05'

I always want to create a very graphic and clean pages. The problem is that most of the times I get sidetracked by the lovely new or not so new stash that I have got. Therefore my pages end up looking like nothing I had planned. For once I think I kind of achieve that goal of clean and simple.
The background is an old Rhonna Farrer patterned paper, by Autumn Leaves which means that is terribly thin grammage. For that reason I needed to use a backing card. Also the transparency is by Rhonna Farrer, to attach it to the card I use InvisiDots, the most invisible glue that I have come accross but very low tack.
Normally I don't journal with the computer, for several reasons, the most important one I like inmediate results and when I use the computer it takes me hours to make it perfect. Here I decided to printed in a transparency and then attached to the page.
Paper flower is by Prima and letter stickers by Scrapworks.

Excuses

Yes I know I promised that i would post photos of the mini albums that i did for a class. The thing I forgot to take them, and since the albums are at the shop, well there is no way I can post them.
As a consolation, here you have the second layout I did using the new Basic Grey Infuse collection. Also I used Rusty Pickle Jigsaw chipboard and SassafrasLass Stamps.

I love my husband!!!

Not because of anything specific, but I have this urge to tell everyone how much I love him. Really. And this is my favorite photo of him, that is why I have use it in three layouts already (last month appear another one in Scrapbook Inspirations).

The excuse was the Newbury show, for which I needed some samples using the new Basic Grey Infuse -isn't it yummy? and Sassafras lass stamps.

Newbury was a nice show, as always is nice to see so many friends and do some shopping. By the way, I got one of the tools that has been since January in my List: The Bind-it-all. Oh, I am a happy girl (and Omar is too, he looooves notebooks!).
Also it was nice too to meet some new faces some of whom actually read my blog. It actually feels kind of weird that people who I never met before are checking what I am doing. But as always, crafters are very warm and affectionate so it's like I have known them all along. Meeting George was great, she is one of this extraordinaries stampers that I met through the Card Inspirations forum.

Well, I need to go, I have already prepared tomorrow morning project, but I have to do the afternoon one. I'll post photos on Wednesday. Really excited about mini albums, in case you haven't notice.

Edited to say: I have finished the second mini album for tomorrow. Also I discovered this quiz, and believe it or not I am my heroine, Lizzy Bennet. I do wonder: have I cheated?

Take the Quiz here!

Lisbon

We only went for a couple of days back in 2005, so we didn't that much apart from the hot turistic spots like Torre de Belem, Moesterio dos Jeronimos and a few other sites. Overall it's a nice city, altough a little bit run down but I guess that adds even more charm.
One of my fondest memories from there was how wonderful the food was and the coffee, oh well, there isn't better coffee that the one you get in Portugal. And that, coming from a Spanish person is big compliment.
Layout using Urban lily papers, Rusty Pickle Chipboard, all available from The Craft CO.

Classes at Creative Pastimes

Yesterday I taught two classes at Creative Pastimes, the shop where I used to work full time. In the morning we did two pet layouts (one shown at the end) and obviously I had to use Wasabi's photos. And in the afternoon we did some cards. Really had a great time.

My thoughts on favorites

It is funny. I mean there are scrapbookers, papercrafters actually, that really inspire me although they are not my favorites. Likewise, there are some that are my favorites yet they don't inspire me to create.

Take for instance Cathy Zielske, she is up there, at the top of my fav list. I just wish her layouts were mine, I adore the way she writes, the way that her photos come out, the way the layouts look. But (not a big but) never inspires me to get down to scrap. I feel that I can never achieve what she creates.

And then there is Donna Downey. While I like her layouts, the choice of colours and other bits, she is way below the middle in my fav list. But She is most certainly a scrapbooker that inspires me to do pages, to use her ideas or to just feel the mood of scraping.

Of course there is always a third option which may be the most popular one. The one you like very very much and that inspires you at the same time to do some good paper crafting. And for me that would be Ali Edwards.

As a sample of this, I am posting this layout that I did last year. Donna Downey dedicated her article at Simple Scrapbooks (great magazine where both of them publish their stuff) to show how to use bits that come with the scrap stash(free bits that is!). She used the content sheet from the Basic Grey Collection Pack and used on a layout. Yes, I used the same collection as her (Urban Couture) but the result is different (the composition is different).

And then, after all this thinking, I come to realize that it happens the same thing with friends. There are some that we really like but they don't particularly inspire us to be better person (not to become a bad person either or this person shouldn't be a friend), then there are those who we may not like as much as the other one but their company and friendship makes us to want to be better. And of course there are those who we like very very very much and make us by there example to be better friends.

I love weddings

With this tittle I could write a long entry. I mean I really do LOVE weddings, maybe due to the fact that I don't go often.
Anyway, weather is not very good so I am not feeling that chatty. But I'll tell you that that is my sisters wedding back in 2000.
Basic Grey paper, 7 Gypsies Wedding and Urban Lily journaling rub ons

Feliz Cumpleanos, Papa

Isn't he handsome?

Our Engagement

This photo is the official photo of our engagement, which took place Christmas 2001. At the time, Omar was the overweight one! Basic Grey papers, Rubbons by 7 Gypsies (wording) Basic Grey (Border), Prima flowers and Lasting Impressions buttons.

Exhausted!

All right. The photo beside this text has little or nothing to do with my posting today, but I am too tired to upload Thursday's photos (behind the scenes at QVC) and today's (Alexandra Palace's Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show).
Thursday was Craft day at the shopping channel and because of that some extra assistance was required. Dawn Bibby had shows through out the day. I'll post more about it on Monday. (Fingers crossed that I will remember and that I wont be too tired!)
Today was day 1 of the Show. This is my total favorite craft show. I don't know how it compare to the big USA ones, but this is a nice, not too big, not too small, busy UK one hold in North London. Getting there is half of the job, but today we drove in just under an hour and ten minutes.
To be honest, this was my first time demonstrating at this show. I have demoed at quite a few shows including Trade ones, but because I normally attend this one as a customer and love it so much I wasn't sure I would enjoyed standing on the other side of the demonstrating table. All in all, I had a blast. I was demonstrating in the stand of two of my favorite shop owners Jane and Jo from the Craft Co. (were I teach some scrapbooking and cardmaking classes) using products from Scrapgenie.
So just because the products I used for this layout (Basic Grey and 7 Gypsies) are distributed by this company, I decided to use this layout for this entry. It is actually me on the photo, back when I was thin and pretty!

Scrapgenie

I have always loved Scrapgenie as a company because they import the best of best scrapbook companies, you know, Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, Urban Lily, Doodlebug, MME, Crate Paper... and so many, many more.

Yesterday they hold a demonstrator meeting. There were a few of us and we had loads of fun. Good times Becks (co-owner of the company) was as always fun and refreshing. So now I am part of the demonstrators team, really, really happy about that.
As a sample of one of the lines (Basic Grey, Scarlett Letter) the carry here there is one of the layouts that I taught at The Craft Co. last Saturday.

Basic Grey, ohhh, ahhh

When it comes to patterned paper there is only one name that everyone knows: Basic Grey. You may not love it but still you know which company and you knowtheir style. I personally didn't quite fall in love with them until their second or third season. But, oh boy, by then I was totally into them! For this layout I used one sheet of my favorite collections, Urban Couture. What I love most about them is the fact that you can make them into a really busy layouts or just make them look great in simple ones. And, those who know me, you will know that I really do simple!
So I tend to use small pieces of paterned paper on a plain cardstock base.
Other Items: Autumm Leaves, Clear Journalling stamps (Get them if you don't already have them, they are sooo useful), Heidi Swapp Green Circle chipboard letter.
The little tab on top of the photo is one of the tags from the Urban Couture line.

When your hobby becomes something else

Very often people come to me while I am demonstrating and say how lucky I am that I get paid for just seat and play. It is true, I am lucky. It is not true, however, that I just sit and play. Any fellow professional crafter will know and tell that, as much as it is an enjoyable and beautiful job, it is a job non the less and more importantly, when your hobby becomes your job, it is not your hobby anymore.
Don't take me wrong. It is wonderful to design projects for articles, classes or to demo and teach. But that is simply not play. There are few things I enjoy more than working on crafts, but then again most people tend to enjoy their jobs. That is why I understand why Donna Downey and Cathy Zielske are such a big fans of knitting: it is their new hobby. (Well actually I am guessing that, since I don't know either of them personally.)
As I see it (and of course I can be very wrong as often I am) most papercraft designers are part time professionals. I mean they tend to have other jobs (better paid, I would imagine, crafting pros don't get much unless you are a HUGE star) or have children to look after (the hardest job ever, also the most important provably). That way they keep the magic of crafting alive, it is still somehow their hobby. I know a few like me, no young children (as cute as he is, Wasabi doesn't qualify) and no other job than teaching, designing... Some of them have made it big, some others like me just kind of survive.
Would I change it? No way. I really love my job. But it is my job, not my hobby anymore.

My Mum

Tiring days

Last Friday was a craft TSV at QVC, so that meant all day shows, loads of stress. Very sad news reach us by the end of the day meaning that on top of the tiredness of all we had to deal with emotional issues. I honestly don't know how Dawn could have been so brave and good and go on front of the camera as she did. She is an amazing person and a very professional one too!
Today was just a normal Tuesday which means that its less hours but still some stress involved.
I do enjoy it, but it's a lot of hard work. One think I really appreciate is gratitude and that is a quality that Dawn shows all the time. And she means it.

After that, I went to pick up my mum from Gatwick, she arrived a little bit later than expected but it was fine.
This layout on the left is one of my my recent ones. I love it although the colours are ugly colours (as opposed to pretty colours, I know I should use naff but I like to create my own little language), and the photos tiny. I love it because although it has clean lines it uses lots of product (I have tons) and because features my favourite subject (after my cat of course): my husband Omar.

Isn't he cute?

Inside and back

The last two photos of the minibook!

The photos

Let's try one more time!

Why I like scrapbooking

Many people don't get why some of us scrapbook. While there be many reasons why some fellow scrappers spend their time doing layouts and everything related, for me at the end there is just one reason: to express myself using the best way I can, and that is using paper and glue and everything in between. I am not good with words, as you may know by now, but paper is a medium that allows me to say things (dance too, but lasts only a few minutes). By doing a layout, selecting a picture, some coloured papers and a design I am expressing what I feel, who I love and what it matters.
And this layout is a proof of that, of how proud I am of Omar, my husband.

Mini Albums

This is one of my all time favorites magazine projects. It was for Quick and Crafty. I used SEI papers, love the retro colours and feel of them. Also they are doublesided and heavyweight (for being patterned paper), so it's perfect for a tag book.
I like to keep my mini scrapbooks in boxes so they are protected. I make them to measure using an M&F board so it matches perfectly with its contents.
I used a Zip'e Slim Tag die to cut lots of tags out of different patterned papers. I decided to print all my journalling on acetate and then cut it and stick down to the plain card. It worked!

The pages inside alternate between patterned tags, journaling ones and the photos (in this order). I finished them off with some ribbon, paper blossoms and stickers from SEI. 

The photos

Here there are, as I said before, the photos of my Around the World album.
I bought the album in Papier+, a lovely shop in Paris.

On the front there is a rubon from 7Gypsies and a piece of plain Basic Grey. On the spine I stuck a woven label that reads Bon Vogaye which is made by Me and My Big Ideas.

On the inside is plain pages, no protectors, in a off white textured paper as a base.

I have to say that the great influence behind this album is Ali Edwards.
This two pages are from a weekend break in Lisbon last year. One of the easiest ways to scrap for me is using the colour blocking technique, which is provably in every page through out the album.
All the stamps are from Autumn Leaves, the new clear sets, both the journalling spots and the swirls.
The fisrt pages I made were the ones for Istanbul, which was the more recent trip (ironies of us scrappers). I wanted the feel of a journal so I printed some lines with the computer. Then I cut different plain Basic Grey papers to fit inside and attached them. Then, it's the tricky but fun part of embellishing and stamping.