Well, so much for posting regularly.  Still, better late than never.  Several things to post today.

First - my digi calendar page for February.  This is a photo of our pet cat Ellie - queen of the house.

Secondly a new digi layout.  This is a photo taken in York last year.  The kit is Natural by Lilas Designs which I bought on Scrapbookgraphics.com.  The layout is in Scrapbook Magazine this month, on the letters page.  I love this style of page and it's so much easier to achieve using a digital kit, not to mention a great deal cheaper than a paper version would be.  Can you imagine the cost of all those metal embellishments.

I am still enjoying paper scrapping though.  As a complete change from my usual style I tackled this project life style layout as a challenge on UKS call simple recipes.  They have one challenge a month and this is the first time I've tried it.  The photos are of my daughter Sam with her father.  Sam is nearly 47 - so the photos go back a long way.  I deliberately used only papers and embellishments which have been in my stash for a long time.

My final picture for today is a set of metal ATCs for a swap on MixedMedia - a group I've been a member of for a long time.  I ran copper sheet through some ATC sized embossing folders before colouring with alcohol inks and adding embellishments and a backing card.

New Year, new post.  I've recently started using the computer for scrapbooking as well as doing papercrafting.  One of my first projects is a calendar for the new year.  I thought I might post one page per month on the blog.  Here is January.

The kit is Blue Christmas by Megan Farrow on Scrapbookgraphics.  I've bought several kits from this site recently - gorgeous stuff and very reasonable prices.  I've printed the calendar as a small 5x5 project and it's hung quite simply on white ribbon threaded through two punched holes.  It fits neatly hung from the shelf over my computer where I can see it.

A couple of new projects completed in the last few days.  This is a vintage postcard for a swap on MixedMediaATCs.

The background is strips of red ribbon and I used some of the stitches on my sewing machine for the vertical lines.  I printed the photo - an old Christmas postcard free on the net - on computer cotton then applied the lace to the back before sewing it on.  I went for glittery gold ribbon as a finishing touch around the edges.

Also did a couple of layouts at my crop last Saturday.  This is a monthly crop in Sheffield - love going and was a founder member along with my younger daughter over 5 years ago.  Now my elder daughter comes with me, being a recent convert to scrapping.  The layouts use the free papers from this months' Scrapbook Magazine.

This photo was taken in the 70s - I guess the girls would be around 9/10.  I hasten to add that neither they, or the Smurfs, actually drank the alcohol, lol.

This layout features the twig wreath I made for the UKS cybercrop and is scraplifted from the Scrapbook magazine.

It's not my usual style - I normally scrap vintage style.  Using such bright and cute papers really took me out of my comfort zone.  I like this style though, may do more in the future.

My daughter Sam and I have treated ourselves to an embellisher.  It's something we've both wanted for quite a while.  I've been needlefelting by hand for some time and just wanted to take it to the next level.  Sat down yesterday to have my first play.  I was surprised how easy it is to use.  Harder, of course, to become profficient.  I took a piece of felt and some wool tops and made an abstract background - thought it would be easier than trying for a specific scene/pattern first time.  Then wondered what to do with it.  Suddenly came to me that it was just big enough to make a pouch for my mobile phone.  Add a bit of embellishment - ie. felt on some glittery gold ribbon and stitch on a button - and I have a neat little accessory.  Fairly basic, but I'm so pleased to have come up with something useful and decorative for my first attempt.

And now for something completely different.  I finally finished my Sanmyaku top from The Knitter magazine.

I am pleased with it, but would not have started it had I known how much it would cost.  The pattern calls for 3 skeins of Fiberspates 4ply at £15 a skein.  Expensive enough at £45 but I thought, why not, a treat.  Unfortunately, despite being very careful to get my tension right, I ran out of yarn halfway up the front neck, so the final project cost £60.  I wish I'd gone for a more economic yarn, but the Fiberspates is scrumptious and has a lovely sheen thanks to the silk content - it doesn't show up well on the screen.  It's lovely and light and comfy to wear too.  Maybe I should have finished it sooner while it was still warm enough to wear it.  Oh well, roll on next summer.  Maybe I'll have tightened up those bingo wings by then too, lol.

Something a bit different today.  Again, a class from the UKS cybercrop.  This one was a wreath.  The class used a chipboard circle on which to build the wreath but, as I happened to have this twig wreath the I bought in Hobbycraft, I decided to do my own variation on it.

The little house is one of a set of three by Tando I think.  I used Tim Holtz Tattered Florals and Leaves dies for the flowers etc.  I'm pleased with the result and it will come in handy as I threw out my old Christmas wreath last year - it was looking a bit tired.

 This is a digi LO for the UKS cybercrop.  We were given the template and told to have fun - so I did.  The kit I used is Dawn Inskip's Rif-Raf.

 This one was a class on using spray inks.  The original class used ink sprayed randomly, but I decided to play with some masks instead.  The photos are really old.  That cute baby is now 46 (it's my elder daughter).  It's my parents and my sister holding her. 

 Another old photo of Sam and Mum.  It's not a poleroid snap, just a frame I made.  The class technique was patchwork and I followed the LO exactly - to make sure it all fitted together.  Used some 6x6 papers from Stampin'  Up - though it's a great way to use up scraps.

 Messy technique again here.  Spreading gesso - a bit hard to see in the photo.  I'm not the most patient of people so, when it wouldn't dry fast enough - I took a paper towel and dabbed it.  Liked the textured look it left, then attacked it with some really old coloured walnut ink I have in old olive.  The papers were a bargain kit from TK Maxx, cost about a fiver for a whole pack of papers, a box of chipboard elements and an 8x8 albumn.

These are what I made with the cybercrop mystery kit for the Romantics team.  Basically, you buy the kit and have to make something with it.  Until it arrives you don't have a clue what will be in it.  Luckily I loved the kit.  The birdcage is based on one in last month's Craft Stamper.  Not difficult, but fiddly.  That's why it's a wee bit wonky - I needed a third hand to keep it straight.  Still pleased with it though.  Most of the flowers are from a sheet of spiral diecuts.  Easy to make and rather effective.  The butterflies are cut using a new Nestabilities die I bought at a craft show in Leeds last week.  Some of the flowers, and the leaves, use Tim Holtz' pine cones die.  I made the box because I had loads of the kit left and I have, in fact, used more of it on the Hi Beautiful LO above.  Still got more to use up.