Thoughts on the old

Hello!

Today I'm sharing three layouts and a thought. These I made with really old papers, scraps that I had left over and stuff that I wanted to use up. And I hated it. Yes, I did. I don't like the result. I didn't like the process and it took forever to get it done. It even took forever to get this blog post ready. This got me thinking. Perhaps it isn't only good to feel the preassure to have to use up every old bit and scrap. I will think differently in the future. This was bad for creativity. Those things that are bad for creativity is bad for the soul. Period.

 

 

 

 

Take care! //Åsa

 

Christmas cards 2013

Hello! Today I'm having the day off from work. Hubby and I have done the last gift shopping for Christmas and we've been to the Lucia celebration at our daughter's preschool. At 3 pm we're going to the Lucia celebration at our son's preschool. Until then we're relaxing at home and I decided to photograph all the Christmas cards I put together yesterday and show you!

I really thought I wouldn't have time for cards this year but I started with the card bases a couple of weeks ago. I painted some stamped motives during fall and I spent a couple of evenings making shadows and cutting them. Then one night I cut out patterned papers and put on the card bases and yesterday I sat for a couple of hours making the final cards!

 

  

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

The motives are from Swedish stamp companies "Magnolia" and "hÄnglar & stÄnglar".  The ones with large eyes are Magnolia and the ones with small eyes are hÄngar & stÄnglar. all the cards are 6''x6''.

Now I'll see if I can gather up enough inspiration to do some scrapbooking! I wish you all a lovely weekend! Take care!

//Åsa

Last two

Good morning! Today I'm sharing the last two layouts I've made for our own albums. Summer photos! We have snow, or rather slush... it is really a horrible type of weather. I hate it! Today after working hours we're having a little get-together with Christmas food with the people from work and I'm looking forward to it. I did some Christmas baking yesterday evening and we recieved the photos for the Christmas cards from printing. I ordered the books to complete my gift shopping for my daughter and today I just finished my gift shopping for hubby online and my plan is to make a massive effort with the Christmas cards this evening. Perhaps it will become Christmas after all. Maybe...

 

 

 

Yesterday I showed you all my latest scrapbooking hauls so if you didn't visit yesterday, please scroll down and have a look at what I got in the mail! 

 

Have a wonderful day!

//Åsa 

December Haul #4

Hi! This is my surprise bag from Freckled Fawn's ware house sale. The house wood chips didn't come in the bag, I bought them on the side. I love the four fabric patches! The frames are adorable too! So much fun to work with!

 

 

Take care and come back to morrow for some layouts!

Hugs!

//Åsa 

December Haul #3

Hello! Yesterday I finally had the oportunity to pick up my package from CiLi in Papers with all my Christmas stuff in it!

 

From Studio Calico's Magical collection I ordered the 6''x6'' paper pad and the chip board die cuts. This collection will be fun for all types of winter photos and I'm looking forward to working with it.

 

 

They had the chipboard stickers from the Studio Calico Snippets collection and they have been on my wish list for some time. I think that they will fit really well with the Magical collection, at least the ones that are solid in color. While I were in the Studio Calico section of the web shop I picked up some alphas and feather die cuts.

 

 

I bought some Sn@p stickers from Simple Stories and two Versa Color mini ink pads. I have decided to invest in a well planned selection of Stampin Up ink pads. Or, I'm actually trying to get it as a birthday gift from hubby for my birthday in March. After all these years I'm finally big enough to commit to some real ink pads!

 

 

I treated myself to two packages of Thickers, full price mind you, eventhough I usually end up cursing the total lack of usable vowels and need to be "alpha-creative" beyond all reason.  

 

 

This is my main collection for the season. It is from Carta Bella in 12''x12''. The papers are textured and really thick! I don't know if I think that is a good thing though... I'm not 100% pleased, the colors are a bit muted due to the texture and the heaviness will be a problem with layering. But it will have to do. I will mix it up with light cream papers and gold/silver to give it some sparkle and brightness.

 

 

I bought one paper and a sticker sheet from Teresa Collins' collection Santa's List.

 

 

I picked up a random paper from Simple Stories Say Cheese collection...

 

 

...and a sticker sheet from their Christmas line December Documenterd.

 

 

Yeah, it's crazy, but I have one more haul coming up! Stay tuned!

//Åsa

 

 

December Haul #2

in with #3Hello again! We have a Swedish version of ebay which I like to browse from time to time and lately I have found lots of dies there. I have had my eyes on this feather one for a long time but the bidding has always gone over my budget but finally my time had come and I got it!

 

 

This die I bought to get that take-away coffe mug! It is one of my new favorite icons! I'm sure I'll be able to use the tea cup as well, I like the steam!

 

 

I'll be back soon again with haul #3! Yeah, I've been shopping like a crazy scrapbooker, as always :)

//Åsa

 

 

December Haul #1

Hello! Today I'm sharing a couple of hauls from my latest shopping sprees online! This first is from PY Hobby, a Swedish web shop that had free shipping the other day. I think I ordered on Sunday and got the order on Monday,it was super fast! This isn't a shop I buy a lot from, they don't have the things I like, but they do have the double sided tape that I like to use and it is almost for free! I bought three rolls of that tape and then I just bought a few things that caught my eye, but nothing special really.

 

I bought washitape, one roll of white and one roll of striped blue. The blue tape looked more aqua in the shop photo but I think I can use it anyway. The dimensional tape was a bargain and I use that alot for my Christmas cards.

 

 

I misunderstood the size of these pearls, they are very tiny but I think I can use them anyway. They are in the colors yellow, blue and brown.

 

 

I bought black and white alphas, can never get enough of those, can you? I thought these were special since they are tiny but still cut out and not on a rectangle or circle.

 

 

 

This product is called Card Candi and it is cardstock dots with a little dimension. They look like large brads if you glue them down. They are available in a wide range of colors and patterns and there is about a zillion of them in each package. They have been around for a long time and I'd seen them in UK-based web shops a long time ago but never in American or Swedish. Then I saw that Mercy Tiara had gotten them in a kit recently and when I found them at PY Hobby I thought it would be fun to try them for Christmas layouts and cards.

 

 

I bought a set of colored doilies, I've not had any of those before and I must say that my attempts to color the white ones have failed pretty much every time.

 

 

I'll be back in a while with another haul! See ya!

//Åsa 

All are well

Good morning! After one week of illness I'm back at work and it feels sooo good! For the past three weeks I've been at work a total of five days. Both kids have had chicken-pox and been at home one week each. Why couldn't they just get it at the same time?!? Then while my daughter had her chicken-pox my son came home with a tummy flue and passed it on to all four of us. Yeah, it's been a total chaos lately.

 

But now I'm back! I just wish I could get a week off and only do scrapbooking - on my own! I can't understand it is only two weeks until Christmas! There is so much I'd like to do!

 

Today I have two layouts to share with you from a couple of weeks ago. They are made with almost the same papers and when you see them side by side it is really obvious but they will not be this close to eachother in the album. I've done my best to use up the stickers from Simple Stories' "I{heart} summer" collection and I don't think I have many left now.

 

 

 

I'm also trying to use up my old stash of ribbons but I think it is sooo hard and very uninspiring! The colors and styles I have left are old fashioned, boring and some are even ugly. Gaaah, why do I buy stuff just because it is cheap!?! Pure stupid! I think I do this less often these days, or at least I hope so.

 

Today I'm going to the post office to collect my package of Christmas papers and supplies from CiLi in Papers! It will be Christmas this evening!

 

Take care of you and stay healthy! Hugs!

// Åsa

 

 

 

 

 

 

More is more!

Hello! It's Friday! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday and that you have had the opportunity to do some fun Black Friday shopping today! People around here thought it was strange I even knew it was Thanksgiving yesterday so it is not something we hear alot about over

here. But I celebrated it in my mind and in my heart, I am a very thankful person.

 

Today I'm sharing two layouts from last weekend. First is a colorful summer page with the kids playing with friends in our garden. I like the mixed media look on this one, textures from messy acrylic paint and ink spray, via patterned paper to very crisp and clean stickers.

 

 

When I started this next layout I really had low expectations to actually get it done because the colors felt kind of off. Then I added the photo and all my hopes went away. I even put it away and thought I would put the different pieces back in my stash when I had the time. But then something happened and in the middle of one of those very creative scrapbooking sessions I started adding things to the page and in the end it turned out pretty good after all. The photo is from 2008 when my daughter was born.

 

 

Have a nice weekend! Tonight I'm meeting up with all my lovely coworkers and we're having a glögg-evening. Glögg is spiced wine served warm with raisins and almonds. The spices in glögg are for example cinnamon, bitter orange, cardamom and ginger. It is a very popular drink for Christmas. I'm looking forward to having a great time and laugh alot! Take care!

 

//Åsa

 

Very different

 Good afternoon!

Today I'm sharing three layouts that I made during the weekend! First is a page with photos from one of our mushroom picking tours in the woods this fall. I used some of the stamped images that I made a few days ago and some older cards from Simple Stories.

 

 

This layout I've been waiting to scrapbook since I saw that chipboard decoration fom the I {heart} summer collection with the clothes line! I love it!

 

 

And last is a photo collage from our midsummer dinner with the family. Multi photo - it is like my middle name =)

 

 

 Have a nice day!

//Åsa

I'm thinking pastels!

Good morning!

 Today I'm sharing two layots of the softer kind in contrast to the colorful ones from yesterday. The first one is with my daughter scrapbooking, a sweet sight, don't you think? The title is rhyme and means "Embellish more!" which is pretty much her philosophy when it comes to scrapbooking. She's such a brilliant kid =)

 

I've used three papers the Basic Grey collection "Knee Highs" 6''x6'' paper pad. I just cut the papers in half, chalked the edges and layered them on a piece of cream cardstock. I like the outlining I did with the QK alpha diecuts for the title, I've used it again on next layout. It gives something extra and I'm looking forward to trying it with my white pen on darker letters.  

 

 

 

Next is a layout with photos from "that boat trip" again =). I will probably fill an album with those photos eventhough I was just kidding when I wrote just that about a month ago. This time the photos show a specific location, an island called St.Askö. I wrote my journaling around the edges this time and it is really difficult to read, but in a way that is good since the journaling is kind of personal (at least serious) and only the very interested viewer will take the time and effort to read it. I do love the stick-it notes from Smash, the red and blue ones were perfect for this page, the arrow one almost looks like a sail! For this layout I digged around in my small pile of recent purchased patterned papers and it was fun, I have been so concentrated on my 6''x6'' paper pads lately I had almost forgot about the extra possibilities you get with larger papers =) 

 

 

Have a nice day!

//Åsa 

 

Autumn layouts

Good morning! Today we have a thin layer of snow, it's just below zero degrees Celsius and it was pitch black at 7 am when I went to work. Winter indeed. But let us remember the beautiful fall that past so quickly. I'm sharing two October layouts made with papers from 6''x6'' paper pads.

 

The first layout uses four 2011 papers from Bo Bunny's "Forever Fall" collection as a . This is a collection that I have regretted buying since the moment I got it. I love the colors and the style of pattern but since each sheet is like a little piece of art with patterns that has a very distinct edge to them I think they are more suitable for cardmaking. Now I've sold half of the pad on Internet auction and I'll try and use up the sheets that are left. Perhaps I'll try some fuzzy cutting.

 

 

This next layout, with photos from a mushroom picking walk in the woods, has papers from Simple Stories' "Say Cheese" collection. I took three papers and cut them into 2'' squares, since they are dubble sided I actually got six different styles to work with and I placed them kind of randomly on a black piece of cardstock. The woodgrain blocks behind the photos are pieces of cardstock that I've embossed and chalked.

 

 

I have been very creative during the weekend and made several layouts for our albums so I will have new things to show you every day this week! And I'm longing sooo for my new stuff to arrive!

 

Thank you so very much for visiting me in my blog! Have a nice day!

//Åsa

 

Confession time...

Good evening! Yeah, you read it, it's confession time in the scrap blog... I'll start with a new personal law:

"I will stop pretending that I can stay away from shopping for more than three weeks, it is silly and I'm making a fool of myself trying to be someone I'm not. Trying and always failing gives me guilt feelings instead of happy feelings, which is super bad for creativity! Get a grip!"

So what have I done? I've just spent 1000 SEK (US$ 145 or 105 €) in half an hour and I'm feeling a bit light headed.

First I placed an order at CiLi in Papers, one of my favorite Swedish webshops, for Christmas papers and embellishments. Then I ordered two (yes, TWO!) large warehouse sale surprise grab bags at Freckled Fawn! That calls for some serious blog confession! But on the inside I'm actually jumping up and down like a child, clapping my hands like crazy, can't wait to get the packages and see all the lovely things I've bought!

Another thing that has been on my mind today is actually a "palm to the forehead" kind of thing. Until a few weeks ago I only owned black inkpads.  Why would I want colored ones? No clue. A stamper like me stamps in black and color the areas that remain white with markers. Solid stamps have always been strange to me. Why would you want a solid black heart, flower, speach bubble or tag? Pure stupid. Why even bother making those stamps? Yeah, now you see where this is going!  Palm to the forehead, don't you think?

I feel like a whole new level of stamping just opened up to me! I've been such a noob! Sigh!

Good night ladies, thanks for reading!
//Åsa

Scrapbooking X-mas 2013

Hello! I haven't bought any Christmas papers this year. I will have no problem making the Christmas cards with papers that I already have in my stash.  But for our December photos I'd love a new line or two so I've ben browsing the web for some papers that look the way I want Christmas to feel. 

I've decided not to fall into the "dark red / dark green" hole again, I must try and be different for a change! The last two years I've bought Simple Stories collection packs for Christmas and I will not do that again, I love their style but I get so much elements left and I feel it is a waste of money to buy whole collections that give you so little creative freedom.

I'd love to keep it a bit lighter this year. I'd like to be able to add white and still go with the collection theme. I have found a few collections that I like:

"Nordic Pines" by Bazzill

"So this is Christmas" by Carta Bella

 
"Magical" by Studio Calico

 "Wonderland" by Studio Calico (2012)

 
"Santa's list" by Teresa Collins

"Hello December" by Glitz

What to choose, what to choose...
Have a nice day!
//Åsa 

Gorgeous Gorjuss!

Hello! Today I'm sharing my latest haul! It was an accident, but a happy one! It all started with the Christmas card preparations and I was coloring my stamped images and suddenly I realized my Warm Grey 2 was totally empty and I use it around the edges of ALL my images so I need to have it. I went online and started looking for a webshop with ok prices and good shipping. During that search I came across a webshop I hadn't seen before and I became curious about them and wanted to see what they carried. And then I found the sale cathegory and my "trigger happy shopping finger" went all bonkers :) These were 55 SEK each (5,80 Euro or 7.80 US$) and I couldn't help myself!

 

 

 

 

My favorite is the girl on the stack of books! The stamps are so big! I was super disappointed when Magnolia changed the size of their images and made them smaller. These are nice and big and will look perfect on cards! I love that they come with a couple of extra stamps for embellishment! I might even need to buy some more!

 

 

 Have a nice day!

//Åsa