Gates of Gorgeousness-thanks to Bubbly Funk!!

I would like to thank Caroline at Bubbly Funk once again for giving me the wonderful opportunity to work with these divine papers.....I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be able to get my hands on these Prima papers so quickly if ever!!





I HAD to cut the gates open there was just NO WAY I couldn't!! I used my craft knife to carefully cut out all the bits in between the gates so that you could see through them and then I strengthened it with acetate as it was so fragile.
I'm still slapping that Opal Dust on everything!!
The gates open to reveal the word love and the flowers tucked into the corners.



To visit Bubbly Scrumptious and see how I made this layout click HERE. Kits can still be ordered from Bubbly Funk HERE.



With floodgates of love

Ruth xxx

Lets Get Shabby Challenge # 5 DT Layout

Challenge Number 5 is open today!! yay!!


*This months challenge is to make something handmade.....it must be obvious on the layout.


* It should be the focal point on the layout apart from the photograph.


*You can make more than one handmade embellishment if you wish.



(I think mine is obvious because you certainly wouldn't pay good money for it! lol!)

Here is my take on it: I made a Christmas Tree!


I cut out a tree shape from cardboard and added fringed layers to it, then I applied various types of fake snow...some better than others!! The enamel star at the top is from one of Georgias broken hair clips!


Papers are by Bo Bunny and I white washed the bottom one as it was too bright and not nearly Shabby enough!!

I am sure I'm not the only Mum who loves going around Garden Centres at Christmas to look at all the pretty baubles.....the only difference is I bribe my daughter with a visit to Santa if she behaves! So each year that makes about 4 Santa visits.......ooops!

However the lovely sweet Santa at Pennells remembers her every year..it's a bit spooky! She thinks it's because Santa knows all the children....I wondered if it had anything to do with my Kiwi accent? Maybe it's just the magic of Christmas and we will never know!!

I am chuffed to bits to have scrapped a Xmas layout because my Xmas photos are famous for being rubbish so it's a good job someone else took this Polaroid..although I did have to pay for the privilege..worth every penny!!

Please come and join the fun at Lets get Shabby there are so many talented layouts to view and all the entrants are wonderful scrappers just like you.

PS: You should see the beautiful prize on offer!!

Love and pine-cones

Ruth xxx

Enchanted Christmas at Bubbly Scrumptious

My projects for Bubbly Scrumptious this week include a painted papermache box that has been lying around for years.....just saw some kits for these in Poundshop/Poundworld yesterday if you haven't got a local craft shop that sells them.

I made some tiny torn circles to poke into the spaces between the paper flowers. My DT colleague Kathy has a tutorial on how to do them HERE.

The Santa Sleigh is made from the Personal Impressions templates......I would seriously recomment these to all cardmakers who like to make shaped cards!! Me...I just like to makecovered matchboxes for some reason (My seat is a matchbox!)

The PEACE card is anothe PI template...I wanted to do them on Acetate but have run out...they would look so cool on that!! So instead I cut out a hole behind the patterned paper on the Bazzill.

Sorry for such a short post but we all have D&V and I am struggling to stay still whilst my tummy is jiggling...yuck!!

Please click HERE to visit Bubbly Scrumptious and Bubbly Funk.

Love and jingle bells!!

Ruth xxx

Happy Daze DT Kit

My first layout for Happy Daze is with the My Minds Eye Breaking Free Wild Ride papers , I knew just the perfect photo as soon as I saw them!! Talking of Breaking Free...Ben climbs onto the window sill and watches his sister playing outside.....I bet he is wishing he could break free!!



I roughly painted the orange cardstock with brown acrylic and cut it into a frame that sits on top of the other layers.
I stamped the cream stars with a star shaped cookie cutter and simply matted and layered the rest of the papers. With cool embellishments like these you don't really need to do a lot more....can you see the little skull and cross-bones brad....it's wicked!! (Click on the layout to make it bigger).

The little Jenny Bowlin journaling tickets read:


Name: TROUBLE


Place: WINDOW SILL


Date: MOST DAYS

The kit can be purchased from HERE

TFL xxx

I'm a Cover Girl - (in a roundabout way) UKS layout with generous giveaway

UK Scrappers have a Sponsor Page where a sponsor of UKS can post a layout and sell the corresponding kits for it.

I have made this one for Happy Daze so all this week you can see my sprogs on the main page of UK Scrappers!! Toot Toot!!




I was so lucky to be able to choose my own papers from the Happy Daze shop. These beautiful 7 Gypsies Victoria papers are perfect for a shabby chic look........and I also managed to get Moira to throw in some hard to get hold of Prima bling for everyone....he he!!


Obviously I had to keep it fairly simple for my first time so it's really a case of punching, cutting and tearing. I'm a little bit nervous about whether people will like it but you can please some people some of the time...etc!! It's hard to know exactly where to pitch it at for your first time.

Each kit will include a gorgeous random 7 Gypsies Tag to use....some have flowers on them, vintage images or space for journaling. I'm going to write about how their love for each other isn't always so pure, especially now that Ben can argue back with Georgia!!

"BLOG CANDY ALERT"

Super fabulous, generous awesome giveaway HERE

To win Moiras Blog Candy of a FREE Page Kit and a £15.00 Voucher to spend in the Happy Daze shop simply become a follower to Happy Daze DT blog, existing followers are entered automatically.

For a second chance to win just post a link back to the Pure Love layout post on your own blog and leave a comment that you have done so.

Blog Candy will close at 12 noon on 30 October and the draw will be by random number generator.

Good Luck

Love and lovin those gypsies

Ruth xxx

Butterflies and Snowflakes

Remember the beautiful butterfly I couldn't help but show to you last week?



It is a large Maya Road chipboard one from the BF kit. I covered it in Prima papers and a Prima flower......then I added my new and most favourite product of the season. OPAL DUST!!!

Ok so it's not new and it has sat around for about 2 years in my box but OMG it is sooo perfect for these papers..the twinkling greens and purples in the glitter are incredible and when I brushed the liquid gel onto the squashed petals they sprang back to life!! I mean seriously jumped for JOY!!

The butterfly is part of the lid for this box which also jumps for joy when you open it!!

The butterflies are mounted on thin acetate strips and literally pop out when the lid is removed.

You can see more of these magic boxes HERE on Elaines beautiful Magic Box site.
Thanks Elaine for the Inspiration xx

......oh what fun!!........... I am quite addicted to the pretty things in life now.


Please don't faint because I did a little stamping.....Sue you would be proud of me!!

Thanks Helena for these stamps they have really come into their own this year.

I love the saying" A snowflake is a winters butterfly" and even though I drool over the original stamp I have never got around to buying it...so I decided to make a canvas dedicated to the stamp instead!!

I'm not sure if I am so in love with Opal Dust anymore...it's a *%$* to photograph!!

Yet another awesome chunk of Maya Road chipboard hangs from the canvas and I had great fun nicking Mr IT's heavy duty drill to make some tiny delicate holes to thread my wire through.........although he did tell me to get my hands off and use a different drill, hey I was gentle with it....it's not like its a wall or anything!

Love and opal dust everywhere

Ruth xxx

Happy Daze Design Team Blog

I am delighted to tell you that I have been made a member of the Happy Daze Design Team.

Woohoo......you may have noticed last week I snuck a new DT blinkie into my side bar......well today the new blog is up and running!! Come on over and meet the team HERE.

Happy Daze is one of those groovy 0n-line shops that sells all sorts of interesting embellishments for altered artists and scrapbookers....you know the sort of vintage findings from 7Gypsies, Tattered Angels and Jenni Bowlin.. ...that you have been lusting after and didn't know where to get them from! For my local friends it's only an hour away to Sheffield to visit the shop and for everyone else, simply spend £10.00 and P&P is FREE!

Moira says she only stocks the things she likes....mmm..mmmm...my kind of woman......No Peels Offs then huh?


I have been put to work straight away.....lol!! And am currently designing a Sponsor Class layout for UK Scrappers so keep posted for the finished layout.

In the mean time here is a little peek.

Love and Jenni Bowlin Bingo Cards

Ruth xxx

Magic Boxes part one.......

It's Fabulous Funky Friday again and I'm all boxed up and ready to go over at Bubbly Scrumptious.......

......and I am still rocking these Purple Prima papers and embellishments..the words are from Darkroom Door and come on a handy strip of good quality card, ready to cut to your chosen size.

I might have gone a little overboard with the stickles and dots!!

Somehow I fell apon these Magic Boxes that once opened reveal 4 small boxes inside (see previous post HERE) and as you know I fell in love immediately. leah has kindly let me share her instructions with you. So please click HERE and leave her a nice comment.

I can't say it enough...once you get the hang of them they are soooooo easy!!

Having mastered the art of making the lids I decide to make two the same size and create an acetate tube. One end opens so that you can pull out the money, voucher present etc......I think a £20 pound note would match these colours perfectly!

My acetate is running out and I bought that lot on sale......I hope it has made a come back this year with Christmas Cards I need more..more..more!!

As for the boxes I am brimming with ideas and next Friday I will have another type of magic box but with a twist or should I say a surprise!!

Love and purple stickles
Ruth xxx

Mixed up migraine head....

....so I woke up today with a banging head and went downstairs for some tablets and an hours peace and quiet before the kids woke up.....yeah right ...Ben must have heard me sneaking down.

Anyway I carried on with my morning like normal because what else can you do when you have a little one at home. I vacuumed and moved the table and shook the rug and took my curtains down for washing, then I started to bake this recipe that Mark was going to make with some left over pastry from yesterdays Quiche....(I buy my pastry!! Oh yes I can't make it and have given up on it am so NOT ashamed there are worse things in life to worry about and at least I can make Yorkshire puddings because the bought ones are gross!)

So I lined my tin to blind bake my flan case and there was a little pastry left over so I thought I know I'll make a small cornflake tart.....then when I took the flan cases out I poured the cornflake tart into the wrong sized one so now I have a huge cornflake tart and a small pastry jam sponge thing that is probably going to overflow in my oven......not that it matters I haven't cleaned that for years!! It's on my to do list!!


Summer may be over but look at this butterfly I found in my garden!!



I thought I'd show you a sneak peek...it's a few weeks away but I am so excited and you really need to get the feel of this Enchanted Christmas kit so that you rush out and buy it from Bubbly Funk.....cause hey guys it's Prima need I say any more!!


Got to dash I can smell the oven and that normally means it's burnt!
Update on baking: The pastry is an undercooked disaster I might as well have had a bowl of cornflakes and poured milk all over them!!

Love and butterflies

Ruth xxx

Enchanted Christmas

Enchanted Christmas is the name of this months Bubbly Funk kit and it's such an apt name......once you get your head around a Purple, Lilac and Green Christmas and away from the traditional Red and Green you will be mesmorised.

I couldn't wait to use the pretty embellishments in the pack so chose to use a whole load at once...and created my own little enchanted display!!

This divine flourish is so intricate and yet tough enough to handle a few layers of paint and some abuse from me! It is an Exclusive design from Tando Creative Ltd and stocks are limited, so for the low price of £12.95 you too could be making pretty projects and living in a purple haze......

Love and joy

Ruth xxx