Cousins - Scrapaholix October Kit

The October kit contains:
12"x12" plain white cardstock, Black Coredinations cardstock, Daisy Bucket 'Little Black Dress' papers, a length of white organza ribbon with black spots, two black and two white blossoms, black and white felt, sand paper and a pin!
I decided these would look good with an old photograph that Dad recently showed me
of my Grandmother, Sarah (Mandry) Smith with her sisters Et and May (left) and cousins Charles (Nobby) Sayers and Ede Mandry.

I decided to add a splash of colour so added some green satin ribbon and a bow. I pricked a pattern into the white border to the right of the photograph then used the pin on my journalling box which I embossed with a Cuttlebug Paisley folder then sanded to reveal the pattern.

My page was based on a design call Love by Laura Vegas which was featured in Scrapbook Trends recently.

My Grandfather

My dad did not have a birth certificate for his father, also called Harry Smith, and was unsure where/when he was born. His death certificate gave his age so we knew it was around 1900.

It made it impossible to trace the family tree in that direction although we knew his father was also Harry Smith - confused? I was :)

Dad thought his birthday may have been in April so I trawled the BMD and came up with two possibles so ordered the certificates (no fathers name on BMD index).

It arrived yesterday and suddenly opened a whole line of new family members dating back to 1833.

Family Ties

Having spoken to my Uncle Tom regarding our family tree research, we arranged to meet up.

Unfortunately Auntie Jess is now in a nursing home following a stroke so we met there.
In the photograph from L2R, my Dad - Harry Smith, his cousins - Jean Bradbury, Tom Elsbury and his wife Sylvie, Jess Bassett.

It was a brief meeting as Auntie Jess grew tired but we exchanged valuable information for my research.

Chelsea vs Porto

Last night I went to Stamford Bridge with my nephew, Steven, to watch the Chelsea vs Porto UEFA game.

I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the match, especially as Chelsea won 1-0.





There was I amid a sea of blue Chelsea shirts wearing..... a bright pink sweatshirt :)

Talk about being inconspicuous. hahahaha
















And best of all, Frank Lampard, who I adore, taking a corner near to our seats.

More Family History

The photographs below were taken in Chatto Road during WW2, Dad thinks they may be celebrations of VE and VJ day.



Chatto Road is in Battersea where I grew up, in fact I was born in the back bedroom of number 12. The house had been in my Dad's family for a while and holds lots of memories for us all.

The Great Tidy Up!!!

My craft room had got soooooo messy that I couldn't find anything - normal I hear you all shout!
However, I decided to have a massive clear out, below is the progress so far....

Genealogy

Inspired by Lynn, I have decided to try to trace my family tree on Genes Reunited.
I wanted to learn more about my Grandparents as they had all died before I was born
My Dad gave me some old photographs to scan so I thought I'd share some of the images.
The first one is of my Maternal Grandmother taken in 1936 on the South Coast.
The small girl is my Mum and the boy her older brother Jeff.
The middle picture was taken at Petersham Meadows, Richmond and shows from L2R
Nobby Sayer, Edie, my Paternal Grandmother and two of her sisters May and Et.
The last is of my Dad with his Dad, my Grandfather.

I think its going to be a very hard task as my maiden name was Smith! :)
An Ancestry album in the making......

Thanks Lynn for your help getting started xxx

Monthly Crop - updated.

Photos added as below

Had a lovely day at Jill's today, Thanks Jill !

Managed to make 4 flip-flop cards and 2 patchwork pals - photos to follow.

Great day with great company, what more could anyone ask for :)

Thanks to Lynn too for driving as I've hurt my knee falling down the stairs (again)!!!

Caron Vinson

Two more decoupage designs from Caron Vinson as below. These are called Sweet Tyla although everyone says the fairy below looks like my daughter Lianne - what do you think?

Molly Harrison Fantasy Fairies and Witches

Another of my favourite artists for Fantasy Art is Molly Harrison, http://www.mollyharrisonart.com/index.html These are some of the decoupage sheets I have of her designs.

This one is called Kiss of October. The autumnal shades matched perfectly with some CWC 8x8
cards I have in Burnt Orange.
I added some black holographic card to frame the background print.

This is the Funky Witch.

I mounted her onto some back holo card and

then onto some mulberry paper with gold stars from Cranberry cards (when they dealt with the public).
A CWC 8x8 in pearlescent mauve was the base card.

I can't find this one on her site so it's probably old work. The fairy is so delicate and was quite hard to cut out, especially the curly fronds of hair.

Again a CWC 8x8 card the background mounted onto silver mirri board.

Again, no name for this one but she looks like the Fairy in Bella's Tree, so I shall call her Bella.

8x8 White card with Cranberry cards mulberry paper in magenta this time on a gold mat.

Entitled - The Silence of Snow - this would make a beautiful christmas card.

Phoebe goes to School

Denise seems to be keeping me busy these days! Her granddaughter is starting school on Monday so she wanted a card for her.

I used a Jolly Nation decoupage sheet and created this card.

Good Luck Phoebe, hope you enjoy school x

Enchantment Fairies

I love the fairies in this decoupage, they are by an artist called Caron Vinson, http://www.caronvinson.com/ The images are so beautiful, its a pleasure to cut them out, even the very fiddly bits!

More Flippin' Cards!

These are another two of the Flippin card decoupage collection.
Outside and inside images shown, the decoupage is on both sides.

The image below was added onto an acetate panel placed in the card centre.
I added the disc for an age to be added later.

A Special Request

I was asked to make a card for a colleage of my friend Denise's.
The brief was that she liked horses and I thought of this decoupage by Jolly Nation of a lady with her horse. I created a framed background to look like a stable with the sadle hanging and added her name in a rosette. I hope they like it. :)