Monday 4 April 2011

A weekend of two halves

So let’s concentrate on Saturday first! 
We never quite know what to expect from an Eclectic Keepsakes crop.  The only thing guaranteed is a a delicious cupcake:
Apr cupcake How pretty is this?  And those little jelly beans were the tastiest jelly beans I have ever tried!
So that got things off to a good start, and as usual, we were left to our own devices in the morning.  I decided to do a layout showing my offspring with their ‘other halves’ as I don’t think I’ve ever made a page with them as couples.  
apr layout
In the bottom left hand corner you can see a ‘Love eye test’ picture that I downloaded from Mel’s blog.  I photographed the page from a new location, who’d have thought the quarry tiles in my kitchen were exactly the right size to frame a 12 x 12 layout?
So after lunch, Karen revealed our project for the afternoon.  Was it a layout?  No.  Was it a mini-book?  No.  Was it a picture frame?  No.  It was a pretty canvas bag, just the right size to transport 12 x 12 papers/cardstock/layouts  etc etc.  We were given the basic bag, which Karen had kindly stencilled a lovely green swirl.  I’m guessing the thought of 20 scrapbooking ladies getting giddy over the fumes of aerosol paint didn’t pass health and safety rulings and so she had done that bit for us! Our task was then to make a variety of fabric flowers to stitch on.
apr bag
Now before I show a close up, I have to ask Karen, if she is reading this, NOT to look too closely!  I managed to do one ribbon rose bud correctly but the other two refused to co-operate and so I have ‘free styled’ them into carnations ;-)  The white flowers were fun to do and yet another H&S risk – we cut circles of organza fabric and then held the edges to the flame of a tea light.  As the organza starts to melt it curls up and makes a cup shape.  Very pretty, especially when you put a little glitter around the edges.   Oh, and I seemed to have only cut out two felt leaves instead of three….
apr bag closeup

11 comments:

Sian said...

I LOVE the fact your bag has its own character! That tealight business sounds a bit scary though - I'm not good with naked flames lol!

scrappyjacky said...

The bag's stunning,Deb.

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Hey Deb ~ Sounds like you girls had a great time, as usual! :o) The cupcakes look yummy, and the bag that Karen designed is so pretty!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Deb I am reading this and do you know what - free styled carnations look good! I really don't mind freestyling as I always think that my projects are just to jump start your own ideas and your bag looks stunning. Glad you had a lovely time. xxx

humel said...

I am so pleased that you used my download to such good effect, you've really made me smile! :-) And I *love* your freestyle flowers xx

Cheri said...

I've now seen this bag on at least three different blogs - it looks fab! Wish I had a regular crop like that near me.

Jo said...

Your bag looks fantastic and so does your layout

Gem's Crafts said...

Your bag looks fab, and the differences to the original just make it unique :)

furrypig said...

wow your crop sounds fabby! Tasty cakes and terrific creations. Your bag is a total work of art!

Cheryl said...

Gorgous bag Deb just love it x

Rachel Brett said...

I love the bag Deb, it is Fab! :)