Layout with Instagram pic...

Hello everyone,
Heres a 12x12 of our little cat Mog. She's very photogenic and knows how to play to the camera! This photo was taken on Leon's iphone and put through the Instagram app which made it all lovely and contrasty and old skool! The actual LO itself was inspired by one I'd seen in the latest version of Scrap365. The feature in it demos how to make a woodgrain effect background on cardstock which I fancied having a go at. It was really easy to do and I think its not bad for a first attempt! I would encourage you all to have a go too - all you do is drag the edges of your ink pads at varying angles down the cardstock then distress the edges. Simples!
Thanks for having a look,
Jak
x

Happy Mothers Day....

If you've ever "Mothered" someone or something, human or other, then this day is especially for you - you're a star! A big thankyou to my gorgeous family, you ROCK MY WORLD! A special thanks to Sadie who visited me at 5.45am this morning to wish me Happy Mother's Day, ask if I would like my breakfast now (er - no) and would I like to open all my cards (see below!). Cute!


A whole My Little Pony show worth of cards here - I think I got the whole cast. Bless!


A sculpture from my Belle!



I love this packaging as much as the perfume! Get those colours - LUSH!

Enjoy your day!
Jak
xxxx

retro photos...

Crafting on hold this week - been watching the Masterchef finals!!!!
I've been having a trawl through some photos my other half has taken on his iphone. There are some beautiful pics from our hols and lots of kids and cats. Can I just say - with the Instamatic app you just can't take a dodgy photo. I just love the old retro polaroid feel they have. When I look at them they remind me of MY childhood. I guess everyone has those old snapshots, kept in dusty old shoeboxes at the bottom of the wardrobe that whirl you back in time to those never-ending summer holidays when the sun always shone and you were out to play all day, only returning home when you were hungry. Ahh - those were the days. Sweet!

I'm gonna put together a couple of LO's with these pics, hopefully, so pop in again soon and thanks for stopping by.
Keep creating
Jak
xxx

What's up Sadie?

Good Saturday morning to everyone in craftland - hope you are all well!
In my pile of "photos to be scrapped", I found these b&w supercute pics of a 2 year old Sadie. She's clearly fed up with me clicking the camera at her and wants up for a hug instead. That pic of her puckering up for a kiss is just adorable. When I first looked at them I thought I would definetly do a monochromatic layout for a change as these photos were just ideal, but I'm such an anti-authoritarian (I try to keep it in check mostly heehee) - I couldn't help but rebel against even my own rules! So instead of toning it down, I have ended up with a riot of colour and glitter thrown in for good measure too! A bit OTT? Probably. I wonder if this psychology works in reverse? Like, if I set myself a brief to make the most colourful layout known to mankind, will I end up doing a black and white one. Probably not!
Anyhoo, for this LO I have used American Crafts textured cardstock as my base and I added some background texture by dabbing a white chalk ink through some sequin waste. The photos were distressed at the edges by sanding with an emeryboard and layered on top of Colorbok patterened paper. Both the turqouise and orange alphas are from WRMKs kits (from TK's again, ages ago) but the pink foam ones are from Poundland (I love a scrapbooking bargain).
My favourite tool of the moment is a rotary cutter I bought from The Works. I love the blade that does a perforated line which you can then rip, leaving a roughness to the edge of the cardstock.
Righto - the washing machine has just stopped. Heyho, time to get that washing out and on with my domestic duties. I have a work related project to get stuck into later which entails a bit of sewing! Hopefully I'll be able to cope with this and not get into too much of a mess - you know how stressed sewing makes me!
Wish me luck
Jak
xxx

Sweet Birthday Girl...

Oh, memories... Sadie's 2nd birthday and auntie Kaggy is helping her open some presents. God, how time flies when you're bringing up a family. Sadie is going to be 6 next month and we've just been invited to her second Parents Evening at school in a week or so. I will be interested to hear if her teacher still thinks she's the wee angel that started with her back in August who she never hears a peep from in class(!). . Tell ya, no-one was more surprised than I when her teacher told us she was such a quiet little thing. I can only think she must save it up for at home where her little munchkin voice rings in my ears 'til bedtime. Haha - the only time she's quiet is when she is up to no good, usually in the bathroom, with tubs of cream and water - or anything that leaves a mess come to that. Thankfully we don't get so much of that these days, since she realised she can work the PC and i-pad. But that is another story that needs only two words to describe - one of which is i-pad and the other is WARS which consists of us having to limit their times and make sure they share in a rota kinda style! Can't wait 'til the weather warms up a bit and I can force them out into the fresh air to play in the garden!
Oh happy days!
Thanks for dropping by,
Jak
xxx

Oh joy!...

...says every mother throughout the land when their kids go back to school after those long, long, summer holidays. As is the tradition - photos must be taken before they set off in the morning just to have that photographic evidence to prove they do in fact start the day all spic 'n' span and squeaky clean - till they get to the top of the road at least!
This is my Millie heading back to school for P2, I think, which may not be entirely factually accurate, but hey, who's gonna split hairs. The papers are from a WRMK set again, on sale last year in TK's for 2 quid. I've also used a bit of old dictionary paper and some pink hessian which has been cut with my sizzix heart die. Ooh I'm really breaking out the old stash now - the cat brad is from Smirk (not sure if they're still on the go) which I think is probably the first out of the pack which I bought probably at least 3 years ago. All text from my computer - if you like the typefaces I used they are called Chickenhawk and Albertsthal Typewriter, which you can download for free from fontspace.com. Love, love, love, free typefaces! As for me, I'm quietly chuffed (or is that smug haha!) that I've kept to my word so far and got 3 LO's done and uploaded, quite quickly too. Best not get too carried away with myself though as I did say I would do a half dozen.
Well done to my friend Elaine who finished her Xmas mini last night at the craft club we go to. It's looking lovely E! Another heirloom in the making!
Love to you all
Jak
XXX