200th post! Giveaway & LSNED catch up

Hello all,

Yay, my 200th blog post! To celebrate this momentous occasion, I've made a little something for one of you to win, if you'd like. Details of the giveaway are after a LSNED catch up, so read on...

I finally managed to finish my LSNED book this week. I've been starting to gather bits for preparing my 'Journal your Christmas' book, and thought I ought to get September's project wrapped up before I started the next one. Here's the final pages:

I also wrote an introduction page, and a page about the top ten things I learnt, as well as a little 'blurb' on the back cover. If you're interested in seeing those, or any of the other pages of my LSNED album that you missed, you can see it all in an online photo album here, or you can watch this quick (1 minute and a half) video flick through of the pages:

Now, for the giveaway! I was so pleased that a lot of you liked the way I'd made my LSNED album, from an old ladybird book, that I've made another book just like it, especially for one of you lovely readers to win:

I know most of you could make one of these for yourself if you wanted to, but I also know you might want to, but not have the time! So now you have the chance to win one, and all you have to do to win it is leave me a comment saying what you might use it for. So that you can have a proper think about it, I've made a video (2 mins long), showing you the pages and bits and pieces you get inside:

So what do you think you'd use it for? A smash book? A mini-book along a particular theme? A journal or diary? The winner can ask me to decorate the front and back covers like I did with my LSNED book if they wish, or it can be left as it is, or the winner could decorate it themselves!

To enter win this 'Cinderella' smash-style book, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me what you'd use it for. If you're not a regular reader of the blog, please make sure you leave an email address within your comment so I can contact you if you win. Or you can email me your comment at 'jennifer grace at hotmail dot co dot uk' if you don't want your email address where people can see it.

For an extra entry into the giveaway, you can tell other people about the giveaway on your blog, or on twitter / facebook / pinterest! Just don't forget to let me know you've done it. Here's a sentence you could use for twitter: @_jennifergrace_ is giving away a gorgeous handmade mini-book, check it out here: http://bit.ly/rIKh85

The giveaway will close at 11.59pm GMT Wednesday 16th of November. I'll try and post the winner the next day!

Thanks for reading, now and always, x

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LSNED 20th - 24th

Hello! Sorry my blog is becoming all about Learn Something New Everyday at the moment, but it won't be for much longer. I can't believe September is nearly over. Here's my pages for the 20th to the 24th (the 24th has a few page photos - it was a big day!):

I'm pleased I've managed to keep up with LSNED, but I'm also quite looking forward to next month when I can get some other craft projects done - it's kind of taken over September! I know I'll be really pleased to look back on this book in the future though.

Hope everyone is having a good week! x

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LSNED 15th - 19th

Hello! A few more pages to share from my Learn Something New Everyday book:

Can you tell I like Downton Abbey?! For anyone who hasn't seen this program, it is a brilliant period drama just starting it's second series here in England. I'm loving it so far. I like that it has twists in the tale which aren't  always expected (unlike the usual period drama twists!). And Dame Maggie Smith gets some fantastic lines! Anyone else love this program?

Also (just to let you know) Sarah is having a special offer at the SJ Crafts online store at the moment, to celebrate the launch of the Design Team. If you enter the code TEAM5 at the checkout, before 11pm Friday 23rd Sept (tomorrow!), you get 15% discount on your order. That's as well as free delivery if you spend over £15. So go take a look!

Night Night! x

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LSNED 9th - 14th

Sorry I've got a bit behind on showing you my Learn Something New Everyday pages. I'll do the catch up in two parts (and hold myself back from chattering!) so I'm not bombarding you with too much at once! Here's the 9th to the 14th:

I'll be back tomorrow with more! x

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LSNED 3rd - 8th

Oops, I meant to post my LSNED pages more often than this, sorry! I'll keep it short and sweet and just share the photos (rather than babbling on!) because there's so many pages...

I'm glad I'm keeping up so far, sorry it means I'm not blogging quite so much though. I should be back at some point over the weekend with a layout, if all goes to plan!

Anyone else have a million ideas for crafting in their heads and no time to do them all? Hands up - you know you're out there! x

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LSNED 1st and 2nd Sept

A brief post to show you the first couple of entries in my Learn Something New Every Day book (if you don't know what I'm talking about see previous post here).

1st Sept:

2nd Sept:

I'm having fun using my Ipod Touch for all the photos. The photo booth ones were taken using the PocketBooth App, and the others were all taken with the standard camera, and then effects were applied in the BeFunky App. The quality of them isn't perfect, but they work well as little prints for this kind of 'smash' book.

Hope you don't mind me doing an Ebay mention - I'm currently selling some scrapbooking and cardmaking bits, including papers, a scrapbook calendar kit, stamps, and more. If you'e a uk girl and you fancy grabbing a bargain then check them out here (scroll down - there's a few items of maternity clothing at the top!).

Now Mollie Makes issue 5 is calling me to read it! Bye for now x

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My LSNED book

On the 1st of September Learn Something New Every Day will begin at www.shimelle.com. I took this class for the first time last year (you can see the art journal I made for it here), and I've been really looking forward to the class stating again. I love looking back on my book from last year and I hope I'll like this year's one just as much!

For this September I've made myself a counterfeit smash book, turning an old, damaged Ladybird book into a journal:

Here's a photo of the book when I'd just cut the front cover off, so you can see how battered it was (to cut the covers and pages off I just used a craft knife and metal ruler):

I punched the holes in the cover for the book rings by using my Crop-A-Dile Big Bite. To see what else I've done to get the book ready for class, you can watch this you tube video. The book is packed with papers and other bits and pieces, all ready to go (to view the video larger on You Tube just click on it once it's started playing):

Sorry about all the 'errrms'!

Things mentioned in the video (except Shimelle's site which I've already linked above!):

• I've made the book a bit like a smash book, to see the actual branded Smash Book that I got the idea from then check out this YouTube video.
• Some Studio G alphabet stamps like the ones I used can be purchased here (I bought mine a long time ago from The Range Home and Leisure)
• Julie Kirk's blog: http://www.notesonpaper.blogspot.com/ (I won the Airmail twine on a giveaway on her blog, and she sent the fabric strip in with the prize!)
• The airmail twine can be purchased from The Ribbon Girl here.
• The kraft paper I used for the pages inside can be purchased from Paperchase here.
• Kirsty Neale's first post on security envelope decorative tape is here, and her second post about using other papers is here.
• The Stick It glue dots that I've used on my page markers can be bought here.

The book is a little bit smaller than 6"x4", so I could slightly trim down a portrait 4"x6" photo if I wanted to include one full size. But I'm planning that if I include photos they'll mostly be ones from my Ipod Touch Hipstamatic or Instagram Apps, so I'll print them as 3"x3" square pics to stick in. To do my 'dates' each day I'll either just handwrite them, or I'll cut them from a newspaper or mag to stick in.

Hope you've enjoyed having a look at my book! If you have any questions, eg. if you want to know the make of a particular stamp or scrapbook paper then let me know as I should be able to tell you.

Are you taking part in LSNED this year? Do you have any lessons that you want to learn this month? Or are you going to just take each day as it comes? I'd like to learn how to make blackberry jam. Let's see if that happens! I'll be showing my pages throughout September as they get filled up, I hope you'll be back to see them!

x

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